Half an hour later, the Divine Wind Institute, which had rushed over in haste, finally linked up with the Divine Fire Institute as it fled in disarray. However, when they saw that the Divine Fire Institute had returned with fewer than thirty surviving great cultivators, everyone’s expressions turned grim.

Even the Divine Fire Institute’s chief, who had managed to preserve his life, was looking haggard. His face was deathly pale. He seemed keenly aware of what kind of consequences awaited him after such a disastrous defeat.

Moments later, as though recalling something, he hurriedly said to the Divine Wind Institute’s chief, "Quick! Have one of your Divine Wind Institute’s primordial psyche cultivators contact Hall Master Chi Songzi. I have critical intelligence to report!"

"There’s no need for you to reach out first. The hall master already has questions for you." As the Divine Wind Institute’s chief spoke, a primordial psyche cultivator stepped forward and operated a device. Very soon, Chi Songzi’s figure was projected into view.

"Good! Wonderful! I sent you to restrain the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s Sword-Wielding Institute, and this is how you restrained them?! Sixty-six sword cultivators deployed, thirty-five lost. Thirty-two spell cultivators deployed, thirty lost. Ten primordial psyche cultivators deployed, wiped out completely! Hei Shan, you owe me an explanation!"

"A spirit treasure! The Nine Cauldrons Sect possesses another spirit treasure beyond the eight known ones!" The Divine Fire Institute chief, Hei Shan, replied rapidly. "It's a spirit treasure capable of amplifying psychic thought and enhancing the combat strength of primordial psyche cultivators!"

"A spirit treasure?" Chi Songzi frowned.

"Yes. Our Divine Fire Institute warriors struggled mightily to withstand the Sword-Wielding Institute’s attacks and were barely holding on. But the existence of that spirit treasure suppressed all of our primordial psyche cultivators in an instant. It was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back, directly leading to our catastrophic defeat..." Hei Shan explained quickly and firmly.

Chi Songzi recalled that Bai Shi had also mentioned the enemy’s primordial psyche cultivators displaying abilities superior to their own. Was it also due to that spirit treasure?

With this thought, his tone softened slightly. "Perhaps there were some circumstances out of your control. Still, the fact remains that your defeat caused the Great Sun Sword Sect to lose so many warriors. Return to the sect and accept the punishment you deserve."

"Yes." Hei Shan lowered his head in acknowledgment.

***

In the Void Psychic World, the various hall masters who had split off portions of their psychic mind to await news were now wearing expressions of utter astonishment. Most bewildered of all was Lou Yuyu, who had personally led forces toward the Xuanming Sect. His mind was full of question marks.

"So... in the battle conducted by the Sea Guardian Institute, not only did we crush dozens of great cultivators and over three thousand high-tier cultivators aboard the Spring Rain, but we also captured the Spring Rain itself, a Sky Patrol Warship equipped with second-generation technology? And the Sword-Wielding Institute also defeated the Divine Fire Institute? Is it true that although they didn't kill all of them, the damage was enough to shatter their organization and reduce the Divine Fire Institute to a second-rate battle institute?" he asked.

"We owe it all to the Origin World spirit treasure. Without it, we could never have achieved such a brilliant victory," Li Qingshan said with a smile.

"So, Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang, does that mean we’ll soon have a second-generation Sky Patrol Warship of our own?!" Xu Qiexing immediately turned his gaze toward Yaoguang.

Yaoguang nodded. "Yes. The warship is currently returning to the sect at full speed under the concealment of the spirit treasure. It will dock at Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3."

After replying, he turned to Jiang Zhuoyue. "Hall Master Jiang, please help provide cover. It would be best to keep this matter concealed for a while."

"Leave it to me. I guarantee it will arrive at Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3 smoothly and without drawing any attention," Jiang Zhouyue replied immediately.

Hearing the exchange between Yaoguang, Li Qingshan, and Xu Qiexing, Zhang Ruosheng felt somewhat dazed. "Our Nine Cauldrons Sect... has already become this powerful?"

"This is all due to Chief Yaoguang’s contributions! Through this battle, the Sea Guardian Institute has proven to everyone that, under Chief Yaoguang’s unique talent amplification, their combat strength can surpass that of the Sword-Wielding Institute. They are the strongest battle institute of our Nine Cauldrons Sect!" Li Qingshan declared.

After a brief moment of thought, the others nodded in agreement. The Sword-Wielding Institute might have been able to defeat the Spring Rain, a second-generation Sky Patrol Warship, but it could never have captured it. By that measure, the Sea Guardian Institute truly deserved the title of the strongest battle institute.

"In my view, we should quickly bring the Sea Guardian Institute up to full strength, replacing all personnel with third-tier great cultivators, and even adding some fourth-tier great cultivators. If the Sea Guardian Institute had possessed the same scale as the Sword-Wielding Institute in this battle, not only would the Spring Rain have fallen, but even the Vajra Sky Patrol Warship that the Great Sun Sword Sect sent as reinforcement might have ended up in Chief Yaoguang’s hands," Li Qingshan said with a laugh.

"I agree," Liang Qiu said immediately. "Given that our conflict with the Great Sun Sword Sect has reached this point, it’s time to invite some of the hidden great cultivators to join us and form new battle institutes."

"Exactly. Previously, we refrained from recruiting them for battle institutes partly to lie low and conceal our strength, and partly because we lacked enough flying swords to equip them. Even with third-tier strength, they would not necessarily prevail against the Great Sun Sword Sect’s—No, they wouldn't necessarily win even against the Xuanming Sect’s third-tier great cultivators," Xu Qiexing also said.

His expression carried a hint of wistfulness. "But now it’s different. On one hand, to reclaim and then defend the East Sea, we need greater strength. On the other, high-quality, high-tier flying swords are entering rapid production and will soon be ready for deployment. So my suggestion is to reorganize the Sea Guardian Institute and, in addition, establish two more elite battle institutes." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Their words prompted Li Qingshan, Huang Tianhao, Lou Yuyu, and the others to nod. The larger the territory, the more power was needed to guard it. Adding two elite battle institutes was indeed necessary.

"Expand the Sea Guardian Institute by 51 members," Yaoguang requested. "Give me 9 sword cultivators, 36 spell cultivators, and 6 primordial psyche cultivators."

"Oh? You can command them?" Lou Yuyu’s eyes lit up.

"Yes." Yaoguang nodded. With a note of emotion, he said, "If the Sea Guardian Institute had possessed this lineup in the last battle, we would have captured more than just the Spring Rain. If the Vajra had dared to come, it would have become our spoils as well. By then, the sect would have possessed three Sky Patrol Warships in one stroke."

Zhang Ruosheng’s eyes widened. "We... could we really have three Sky Patrol Warships?!"

Across the entire Cangwu world, there were thousands of sects, large and small. Many of them were so weak that they were not necessarily much stronger than the Hundred-Refinement Sect. Those truly qualified to be recognized were only the two hundred-plus sects that had joined the Cangwu Alliance Council. Yet even among those two hundred-plus sects, only a handful possessed three or more Sky Patrol Warships.

Li Qingshan glanced at Yaoguang, then turned his gaze back to Zhang Ruosheng and said with a smile, "The Nine Cauldrons Sect is constantly growing stronger. I believe three Sky Patrol Warships will not be the limit. In the future, we will surely have more. Four, five, six, even ten Sky Patrol Warships aren't an impossible dream any longer."

"More Sky Patrol Warships..." Zhang Ruosheng murmured to himself. "If one day our Nine Cauldrons Sect truly has ten Sky Patrol Warships appearing together, I can die without regret."

In the present era, possessing ten Sky Patrol Warships already counted as the mark of a top-tier immortal sect. Even the Golden Temple, a top-tier immortal sect, didn't have ten Sky Patrol Warships.

"That day will come," Yaoguang replied. He looked toward the hall master of the Inheritance Hall. "Hall Master Zhu, please get the Inheritance Hall to coordinate as well. Mobilize sufficient personnel to head to Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3. As for the Sky Patrol Warship from the Thousand-Beast Sect, let's stop researching it. Put it directly into use. Every day that it's being used counts as a day gained. We will focus on studying the Spring Rain warship. When we produce Sky Patrol Warships in the future, we can start straight from second-generation models."

"Understood. Right now, experts on Sky Patrol Warships from the various institutes have already gathered at Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3." Zhu Yanyu nodded. "However... Directly researching the Spring Rain might be a bit of a leap. After all, for so many years our research on Sky Patrol Warships has focused on first-generation models..."

"It’s fine. I studied this warship all the way back and found that there are not as many technical difficulties as I had thought. Those arrays, as well as the materials required to refine the warship, are all within the capabilities of many of the sect’s array masters and artifact-refinement masters," Yaoguang said.

"The array layouts of first- and second-generation Sky Patrol Warships are not difficult, and refining the materials is not difficult either. The key lies in carefully using the materials and coordinating all arrays so that everything can work together," Gao Shenghan sighed. "If we compare each array and each artifact refinement component to an elite soldier, then even a first-generation Sky Patrol Warship is equivalent to an army of tens of thousands. Commanding one person is easy for anyone, but the difficulty involved rises by a huge margin when taking control of tens of thousands of troops."

Yaoguang understood what Gao Shenghan meant. The technical difficulty of first- and second-generation Sky Patrol Warships was indeed not that high. But combining all those technologies imposed an unimaginably strict requirement on the refiner’s knowledge.

He had to be thoroughly familiar with every array and every artifact refinement component in order to coordinate and assemble all arrays and components as a whole. Not to mention ordinary array casters and refiners, even grandmasters were usually proficient in only one or two aspects. When faced with a nation-suppressing divine artifact that represented the culmination of both artifact refinement and array arts, they could only stare helplessly.

But their inability did not mean Yaoguang could not do it. Breadth of knowledge? Setting aside other fields, in artifact refinement and array arts alone, across the entire Great Cangwu World, if he claimed second place, no one could claim first.

"Alright, Hall Master Jiang, make preparations for the trouble that the Great Sun Sword Sect is going to stir up in the coming period. Once Lou Yuyu returns from the Xuanming Sect, the sect will recuperate for a time. The next large-scale operation should be the day we completely reclaim the East Sea's islands," Li Qingshan said.

"Understood!" Jiang Zhuoyue replied solemnly.

The Great Sun Sword Sect had lost a Sky Patrol Warship and suffered heavy manpower losses. It would not be easy for them to swallow this humiliation. What came next depended on whether the Nine Cauldrons Sect could safely defuse the Great Sun Sword Sect’s moves.

"Hall Master Lou, matters on our side have been settled. Next, it will depend on how you perform over at the Xuanming Sect," Li Qingshan said with a smile as he turned to Lou Yuyu.

"I will not disappoint you, nor Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang," Lou Yuyu replied.