Chapter 412: Who Can Turn This Image into 3d?
Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy
Raising one hand and sending a halo of light that frightened thousands of fierce warriors out of their wits was no ordinary method.
Even cultivators that were most adept at manipulating the soul, without reaching Yuanying Stage, would not understand the mysteriousness of the soul, and thus would not be able to have such attainments. Let alone the souls that were destroyed by Xiang Liang belonged to Flaming Valley Barbarians whose primordial spirit was inseparably connected with their body. Even cultivators expert in wrestling soul away from the body would find it hard to drag their souls away from their body.
Yet Xian Liang was able to do it. By raising his right hand and sending a halo of light, he was able to tame these wild barbarian warriors. Though the cost was the permanent loss of a third of their soul, on the other hand, the disobedient warriors would henceforth be the most loyal soldiers.
Or in other words, the purest humanoid puppet.
It was one of the most stupidest act in the world to provoke the cultivator of Royal Soldier Sect as the commander-in-chief in the battlefield. As the commander-in-chief, cultivators of Royal Soldier Sect have inconceivable methods to suppress their subordinate. Seizing the soul, or destroying the mortal body, it could be said that they have the absolute power over their subordinates.
Although for many people, the difference between the commander and subordinate in the army merely lied in the status, the reason for the above lied in the fact that power lied in the delicate relationship between people, rather than in the real power gap between people. However, the cultivators of Royal Soldier Sect could take advantage of this illusory status to form a real power and make a substantial repression. The King of Flaming Valley gave the military command power of Flaming Valley to Xiang Liang, and from that moment on, Xiang Liang had the absolute authority over the barbarian warriors of Flaming Valley.
Without the identity, words were without weight, but with the right title, the words were omnipotent. This was the ability of Royal Soldier Sect people as the commander-in-chief.
Was it very inconceivable? It was indeed inconceivable, just as how inconceivable the cultivators flying on the flying sword for the mortal was. All in all, it was simply because of the realm difference.
In the military study, Royal Soldier Sect had reached the realm of perfection. Even the Ten Thousand Arts Sect was below them in this matter. Whenever they went into battle, there would always be miracles. They have been standing under numerous trials of blood and fire, standing erect above countless piles of skeletons. The strongest sect in Nine Regions was Shengjing Sect, which implemented the continent-wide strategy, so they could exert their power by bullying or hiding in the dark in various places, sometimes they even stopping at nothing. However, they never dared to provoke the Royal Soldier Sect directly. Because people from Shengjing Sect knew very clearly that once Royal Soldier Sect people went down from their mountain, no one would be able to tell them "that's enough".
In fact, before the rise of Royal Soldier Sect, before experiencing the age of chaos, many people from the civilizations of Nine Regions who have gone extinct always thought that there was no need for strategy in the war between cultivators. The so-called strategy only applied to groups of people. More people required more strategy. But if the fight was a solo fight, was there a need for strategy at all?
And among cultivators, the gap in the strength between individuals was enough to smooth out any quantitative difference. It would be difficult for ten thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators to withstand a single blow from one Yuanying Stage cultivator. Soldiers arranged in battle formation also could not resist an array designed with a clear mind. Similarly, different cultivators have different attribute in their methods and magical treasures. If they were forced to be in a team, let alone absolute sincere cooperation, solely the existence of each other in the same place could affect everyone. For example, it was hard for thunder body and heaven real water to coexist.
With so many problems, and the fact that the number of cultivators had always been small, the so-called art of war was rarely taken seriously.
Then, when Royal Soldier Sect rose to prominence, the common sense of cultivators was crushed. Nobody knew how exactly these savage warriors, who have always been alien to the traditional civilization concept, were able to become so powerful. People only knew that after the rise of Royal Soldier Sect, nobody could measure the superiority of battle formation with them anymore.
"Very well, since the combat readiness is done, then I can proceed to the next step."
After completing the integration of the army, Xiang Liang had no joy nor sadness, but just quietly adjusted his tactical plan. The plan to split the group into three was scrapped, and a more sophisticated plan was rapidly brewing.
In the original plan, there was no such thing as forcibly wresting control of the soul step, because, even for the lead disciple of Royal Soldier Sect, suppressing thousands of elites was no small burden. In the next war, his strength would at least be halved. However, on the bright side, since he was now able to have perfect command of these thousands of elites, Xiang Liang thought that this step was right.
Because with this strong army, he could, in impossible time, appear in an impossible location.
"The next step is Melting Gold Town."
—
"This is so boring."
A Shengjing Sect cultivator in long gown attire stretched himself while facing the red sunset.
In the frontier town of Golden City, Melting Gold Town, there were tens of thousands of heavily armed soldiers gathered. The once wealthy and prosperous town had been transformed into a war fortress. There were no more small town residences busily walking within, but just heavily armed soldiers.
As the frontline town of Golden City that bordered the Flaming Valley, the war might come at any moment. However, on the other hand, after the end of that dangerous battle, no one thought that the war would happen so soon.
The border between Golden City and Flaming Valley was a long line, and Melting Gold Town was only one of its points. Despite the proximity of geographical location, once breached, Flaming Valley could march directly into the heart of Golden City. However, according to the Feng Shui master of Golden City, because the laws of heaven and earth on that piece of rocky ground was twisted, endless strange rocky beasts wreaked havoc in the mountain, so it was difficult for anyone to pass. And with the intelligence of the group of soldiers of Flaming Valley, there was only a dead end in that chaotic mountain, even without Golden City dispatching its troops.
In this way, the border town had become a peaceful place. Although there was a large army in the town, compared to the real front line, the atmosphere here was without a doubt completely relaxed.
But if that was the case, how could Shengjing Sect team be stationed here?
"Humph, Senior Brother Jianglu's failed surprise attack has caused us to be the target of scorn in Golden City. The dignified golden spirits have to rush here to assume command yet without any real authority, a mere figurehead… This five spirits power struggle is simply unfathomable!"
After stretching, that cultivator immediately put on an indignant countenance, and then, in irritation, glared at the soldiers in the town. However, beside him, his two Junior Brothers just sneered at him, basically paying him no attention. Each sat cross-legged on the ground facing each other, each minding his own business. The two's magical power congealed into a go board, and the battle went in full swing.
"Senior Brother Luo, complain less about it. Your mood is not balanced. That is not good for cultivation."
"Cultivating-cultivating, his culti-f*cking-vating!" Luo Si cursed, turned around and kicked over the two's go board. "All day long idling about! Is this your two's cultivation?"
After their go board was kicked over, the two Junior Brothers were not annoyed. With a wave of a hand, the go board once again came into being. However, the position of the pieces was somewhat different.
"Ah, Junior Brother Sun, you cheated!"
"Hahaha, how could I? Senior Brother Shi, you're mistaken!"
Seeing that his two Junior Brothers were completely engrossed in the go game, feeling resentful, Luo Si stomped his feet, which caused half of Melting Gold Town to tremble.
After that, amidst the wild laughter of his two Junior Brothers, Luo Si flew high to the sky and observed everything around him in a bird's eye view.
He didn't have any purpose in doing this, but just a habit. As an elite inner court disciple of Shengjing Sect, it was their habit to continuously climb upward.
People often said that since Shengjing Sect was the number one sect in Nine Regions, those who were able to join it have unsurpassed glory. However, who knew that there was a heavy pressure behind this glory?
Nine Regions was vast and full of extraordinary things. Geniuses like Qiong Hua, Xiang Liang, Zhou Mumu… How many were they? How many cultivators were there in nine Regions? And how many amongst them were endowed with Heavenly Spirit Root?
Luo Si wasn't really blessed by the heaven. His qualification for cultivation was based on massive resources plus a bit of luck which were exchanged for a Perfect Spirit Root. Compared to those with natural spirit root, cultivators with artificial spirit root were a notch inferior. Not to mention that Perfect Spirit Root itself was not the top most spirit root...
In his one hundred years of cultivation, he was able to reach Peak Xudan Stage, but if he wanted to go further, he had to have the absolute support from his sect since it was only a slim chance if he only relied on his own effort. However, although Shenjing Sect was wealthy, it was not a spendthrift. Towards their disciples, though they were quite tolerant, they didn't indulge them. Unless their disciples could prove their worth, otherwise, the sect would never make a meaningless investment.
Luo Si needed the investment from his sect, thus he had to prove his value. And in his opinion, joining Qiong Hua's team was a shortcut to prove his worth. Although in his one hundred years of cultivation, his strength did not improve too much, his one hundred years of accumulated experience was no small matter. Compared to those geniuses Junior Brothers and Sisters, although his strength might not be as good, his experience was sufficient enough to make up for it.
It was also because of this that he could have a certain status within Qiong Hua's team. Thus, Luo Si extremely cherished this hard-won opportunity. Therefore, he couldn't bear to see his teammates idling their time's away.
In his opinion, every minute and every second was precious. Even if they were dispatched to some boring place like Melting Gold Town, he still believed that he could do something.
"I definitely can. I can't just be mediocre forever… In immortal cultivation, it doesn't mean that everything is preordained by the heaven since the beginning. Self-improvement and perseverance will always get their reward."
It was indeed true that since ancient times, those who ended up ascending to immortality were all geniuses, but could mediocre people not have their day?
They have indeed. Although it was extremely rare, there were people with ordinary talent who have meteoric rise. Although small, it wasn't that there was completely no hope.
His predecessors could do it, why couldn't he? As long as he grasped all the opportunities, there would always be a glimmer of hope to change his life.
Although it was only a meager gleam, just like the setting sun that was about to sink in the curtain of the night, but… as long as he could hold on.
Luo Si slightly frowned and stretched his hand into the horizon, as if everything was under his control.
Then, he suddenly felt pain in his palm—a terrible pain.
Was it because he thought too much, which destabilized his Dao's heart and lead to backfire?
For a moment, Luo Si's mind was filled with countless conjectures. He reached this point based on a mediocre capital, so there were unavoidable risks involved in it, and the side effect might come up at any time.
However, he quickly realized that all his guesses were wrong. The pain in his palm did not originate from himself, but from an external force.
Under the external force, his palm had been divided into two halves. Red blood gushed out from the parts that were split where bones and muscles were clearly visible.
At the same time, his own left field of vision also seemed to have disconnected from his right.
Before the darkness enveloped him, he seemed to see the grey matter of his own brain.
—
"Enemy's red marquis has already been eliminated."
From within the void, an ice cold voice sounded, which was only audible to the voice owner itself.
Then, the same ice cold voice sounded.
"All army assault."