The Nine Cauldrons Sect’s side branch headquarters stood on a semi-artificial peak in what had once been the outskirts of Nine Heavens City. The complex consisted of six smaller hills, covering more than thirty square kilometers.

By now, however, thanks to the continued presence of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's side branch, the former suburban area had long since transformed into a new and well-developed district within Nine Heavens City.

Not only were the streets clean and the greenery well-maintained, but the area had also attracted a large number of advanced businesses. Over the past year alone, this new district, whose population accounted for barely one-tenth of Nine Heavens City’s total, had contributed fully half of the city’s GDP.

Inside the main hall of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's side branch, Sect Master Zhao Siliang was making arrangements together with Zhao He, hall master of the Warfare Hall, Wu Xunzhen, hall master of the Logistics Hall, and Huang Wei, hall master of the Profound Array Hall. They all stood around a large map.

"This area..." Zhao Siliang pointed to an island located less than 1500 kilometers from Haige Island. "Within one month, a level 4 defensive array must be set up here. We need to ensure that our sect disciples have a sufficiently safe place to rest and recover at peak condition so they can respond to any crisis."

"A level 4 defensive array... Given the terrain of the island, the Xunawu Sea-Suppressing Array would be very suitable."

"The Xuanwu Sea-Suppressing Array? That’s a first-generation array art. It can’t withstand a top-tier great cultivator’s life-bound flying sword. At the very least, it has to be the Xuanwu Infinite Array."

"One month is far too rushed." Huang Wei shook her head directly. "Sect Master, you should know that in the path of array arts, we have even fewer talents than spirit cultivators. The work needed to set up the Xuanwu Infinite Array is more than double what's needed for the Xuanwu Sea-Suppressing Array. One month simply isn’t enough..."

Zhao Siliang fell silent, thinking. He understood Huang Wei’s frustration. Like all sects, among the cultivation systems, the rarest were spirit cultivators, while among the livelihood professions, the rarest were array casters.

"I’ll request support from the main branch and invite three masters who specialize in defensive arrays, along with their respective teams."

"I’ll do everything I can," Huang Wei responded solemnly.

Zhao Siliang nodded and turned to Wu Xunzhen. "The allocation of spirit stones must keep up the pace. Once the array is activated, daily consumption will be enormous. We cannot allow a shortage to prevent the array from operating."

"Understood," Wu Xunzhen said, nodding his head.

Zhao Siliang added, "Also, reserve additional spirit stones for the spell cultivators and sword cultivators. Spell cultivators will only need resources once combat begins, but sword cultivators must conduct continuous patrols. Each person burns through several spirit stones per day, sometimes more than ten. This cannot be allowed to fall short."

"This level of expenditure is manageable in the short term," Wu Xunzhen said carefully. "What worries me is if the Great Sun Sword Sect drags us into a prolonged war. Even though we now have psychic consciousness cultivators capable of powering spirit-gathering arrays, and the Energy Department’s workers are over eighty million, our spirit stone production capacity is still too low."

"We won’t give them the chance to fight a war of attrition. If matters escalate in that direction, the higher-ups will intervene."

He paused briefly before continuing, "As for spirit stone output, our increasing contact with vassal worlds is already changing the situation. Star gates are being reactivated one after another, and more vassal worlds will join us in the future. There’s considerable room for growth there, so this isn’t something to worry about yet."

Suddenly, Zhang Jianlin hurried into the hall, accompanied by He Renzhi, the chief of the Artifact Refinement Hall. The elder scarcely spared a glance for the ongoing meeting as he spoke with unconcealed excitement. "Sect Master, after repeated verification over this period, we can now confirm that the design blueprint provided by Chief Yaoguang fully achieves every performance figure he claimed."

Zhao Siliang froze for a split second before realization struck. This was the improved Purple Firmament Type 12 project Zhang Jianlin had mentioned three days earlier. The project, along with matters concerning Posuo Island, had already been slated for suspension. Yet the flying sword data sent by the Purple Firmament Institute had been simply too exceptional. Even knowing that the higher-ups had already terminated the project, Zhao Siliang had still allowed Zhang Jianlin to carry on with the verification, or rather, Zhang Jianlin had insisted on carrying it through. Now that the results were in...

"It met the target?!" Zhao Siliang asked.

Data flooded his mind in rapid succession. In the next instant, he rose to his feet, unable to suppress his excitement. "It really met the target?!"

"It did!" Zhang Jianlin said firmly. "A high-grade spirit artifact! Maximum speed is Mach 4.5, damage 8.3, and its spiritual energy consumption is only 435!"

Zhao Siliang immediately turned to the chief of the Artifact Refinement Hall beside him. The master, himself capable of overseeing the refinement of high-grade spirit artifacts, nodded gravely. "The younger generation truly surpasses the old! I reviewed the Immortal Shadow 60 design before, and many of its bold, unconventional concepts already expanded my horizons. Even then, I believed Chief Yaoguang’s future would be extraordinary. I never expected that in just half a year, he would already be capable of designing such an outstanding flying sword. Among third-generation high-grade spirit artifact flying swords, this one ranks among the very best."

"Wait!" Zhao He could not help but interrupt. "Yaoguang designed a new flying sword?! And it reaches Mach 4.5 with damage at 8.3?!"

"Even speed-focused low-grade treasured-artifact-level flying swords barely exceed a damage of 10, and their spiritual energy consumption often surpasses 1000," Wu Xunzhen said, visibly shaken. "This high-grade spirit artifact is already approaching the damage of a speed-type low-grade astra."

"This still isn't the key point," Zhang Jianlin said. "The key point was that the production cost of this flying sword is only 1600 spirit stones!"

The moment those words fell, Wu Xunzhen, Zhao He, Huang Wei, and Zhao Siliang all visibly stiffened. "Only 1,600?! A quasi-fourth-generation high-grade spirit sword, and it costs only 1600 spirit stones?!" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"A flying sword with this level of performance can be produced by the Zhanlu Artifact Refinement Institute, but their internal cost is already as high as 3000 spirit stones, and the procurement price reaches 3400!"

"The Purple Firmament Institute actually possesses this kind of technology?!"

These figures, each one a top-tier authority within the Nine Heavens Domain, felt genuine shock. Compared to the others, Zhao Siliang knew even more. He knew about Yaoguang’s claim that he was confident he could continue refining the improved Purple Firmament Type 12 over the next few years and eventually elevate it to the astra level.

The performance of this flying sword alone had already proven that Yaoguang truly possessed the ability to refine high-grade spirit artifacts, and not merely ordinary ones, but extremely advanced high-grade spirit artifacts. If he truly succeeded in refining astras in the future...

The moment that thought formed, Zhao Siliang made a decisive move. "Assign a team to defend the Purple Firmament Institute immediately."

Zhao He thought for only a moment before understanding the intent. "I’ll put Qin Yi in charge."

A star lord could draw upon a stellar force field to reinforce either himself or an entire area, effectively forming a defensive barrier. He was the ideal choice for guarding or occupying a strategic location.

"Approved." Zhao Siliang then turned to Huang Wei. "Send people over and deploy a level 3 defensive array at the Purple Firmament Institute to ensure its safety."

"I’ll go personally," Huang Wei replied. "The materials for the Xuanwu Infinite Array will take at least two to three days to coordinate. During that time, I can complete the initial defensive array planning for the Purple Firmament Institute and, while I’m at it..."

She smiled faintly. "I’ll meet the artifact-refinement master whose name I’ve heard the most over the past few days."

Zhao Siliang nodded. After giving the final few instructions regarding the matters at hand, he dismissed the group. He then turned to Zhang Jianlin and He Renzhi. "The two of you prepare everything. Bring all flying sword data and experimental records. You’re coming with me to Crimson City."

"Crimson City?!" Zhang Jianlin and He Renzhi were both shocked.

That was the location of the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s main headquarters, the center of its authority and power. Zhang Jianlin and He Renzhi both understood what it meant for an "artifact-refinement grandmaster" to be involved. They nodded solemnly.

After quickly arranging affairs below, the two boarded a flying vessel and headed straight for Crimson City.

Upon arriving at the Nine Cauldrons Sect, Xu Qiexing, hall master of the Artifact Refinement Hall, who had already received word in advance, personally received them. Joining the meeting were Xiang Tianheng, the deputy hall master overseeing the Flying Sword Department, as well as several artifact-refinement masters led by the artifact-refinement grandmaster Dong Liushui.

Under Dong Liushui’s direction, the masters swiftly completed a second round of verification on the flying sword. Once the process concluded, the artifact-refinement grandmaster gave an exceptionally high evaluation. "This artifact-refinement master has already walked his own path. On my way here, I took the time to review the Purple Firmament Type 12 flying sword. Both versions adhere to the same core philosophy and possess tremendous potential to be refined further."

"Then does this path allow for advancement to the astra level in the future?" Xiang Tianheng asked immediately.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Dong Liushui replied without hesitation. "I said before that he has already forged his own path, one that even differs from the paths I previously understood. To a certain extent, it’s equivalent to founding a sect of his own! The potential of this path is already visible to the naked eye. The fact that its performance has reached third-generation standards is enough to prove it. With this level of foundation and potential, refining an astra flying sword in the future is by no means unrealistic."

"Really?!" Even Xu Qiexing found it hard to remain seated.

"Without a question!" Dong Liushui said, nodding emphatically. "Look at this flying sword’s data. Every metric places it among the best of third-generation flying swords. He likely lacks deep knowledge of array pattern engraving, or perhaps doesn’t have any renowned array casters under him, at least none proficient in array pattern engraving. Otherwise, this flying sword might very well have reached fourth-generation standards."

After saying this, the artifact-refinement grandmaster could not help but add, "Are we sure this flying sword was refined by one of our Nine Cauldrons Sect’s masters? It wasn’t a replicated design obtained from the Infinite Star Palace, the Thousand-Beast Sect, or the Immortal Alliance, was it?"

"We’ve thoroughly checked his background," Zhao Siliang said firmly. "There’s no possibility that he’s a planted agent from another sect."

Zhang Jianlin followed up immediately, "I believe that as well. No other sect would be willing to place such a genius as a covert asset within the Nine Cauldrons Sect."

"Then that settles it!" Xu Qiexing said heavily.

With a side branch sect master and an elder personally vouching for him, what was there left to worry about? As Zhang Jianlin had said, who would ever be willing to sacrifice such a prodigious talent as a mere planted agent? Even if they did, the Nine Cauldrons Sect would welcome more of them.

A sect still in the midst of rebuilding could afford it, and they were confident that through the sect’s sound systems and its broad, inclusive philosophy, they could reshape his outlook and make him a true member of the Nine Cauldrons Sect.