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Time passed quickly for Qing Xuanling after her conversation with Qing Linxi and her squadmates. It was already five in the morning before she realized it. She opened her eyes while in her meditative position and looked up at the sky, where the sun had not yet begun to rise.
The stars above remained as indifferent as ever to the battle about to unfold.
By now, everyone in the platoon was awake, preparing for combat. She was no different—pulling several talismans from her storage ring and tucking them into hidden pockets within her robes.
She also took out the three high-grade artifacts she currently possessed. The first was the Five-basins Bracelet—the Five Elements Bracelet. Her second artifact was the lasso she'd used to restrain the Dawn Wild Monkeys—the Ghost-Catching Lasso.
And finally, the one artifact she hadn't used yet: her boots—the Shadowless Boots.
It had cost Qing Xuanling a small fortune to commission the three artifacts from old Gao, but at least, under his old and skillful hands, they had become three artifacts of impressive quality.
She placed a few more pills into the last remaining hidden pockets of her tunic before standing up. Those were her last preparations; she no longer had any hidden cards to play.
The rest of the platoon had also finished their preparations, with each squad gathering together. She was no exception and approached Qing Ziyi. The others arrived shortly after.
Instructor Huan nodded when he saw everyone assembled and spoke, careful not to raise his voice too much.
"You all already know what we're doing and why, so I won't waste time repeating it. I'll only remind you this: we're not fighting for meaningless things like glory or reputation—we fight for the future of our clan and our descendants. Your struggle is to make the Qing clan's heavens shine brighter than ever before. So I expect every one of you to fight like the glorious warriors of the Qing clan that you are!"
Instructor Huan's words immediately lifted everyone's morale. Most of them didn't expect to reach the next great realm in their cultivation, so their lifespans were limited, and their goals and desires were simply to ensure the prosperity of their descendants.
So Instructor Huan's words reminded all these people what they were truly fighting for. It was like showing a lion a steak before a fight, increasing the beast's ferocity several levels.
"Let's go—it's time to show the world the power of our clan!"
With spirits high, the Crimson Sky Platoon began advancing as soon as Instructor Huan gave the order. They moved swiftly, covering the kilometer to the spiritual mine in less than five minutes.
Qing Xuanling surveyed the mine, which, though supposed to be just that—a mine—resembled a mini-city with dozens of well-preserved buildings. She couldn't even see where the mine was. She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.
The sun still hadn't risen, so darkness reigned, yet she could clearly see that the Ink Sword Sect cultivators stationed here were still in their dwellings, either sleeping or cultivating.
Instructor Huan smiled at the sight. "Crimson Punishment Squad—execute Plan B-3."
The Crimson Punishment Squad was composed mainly of men and women who oddly shared the same feature: three red moles beneath each eye. The squad captain—a man of ordinary appearance—took a step forward and raised his hands toward the sky.
The other squad members followed suit. They began circulating their cultivation techniques, causing the air around them to tremble from the strange resonance between them. A translucent figure began forming above them.
Qing Xuanling watched the spectacle in surprise. The power emanating from the Crimson Punishment Squad was overwhelming. 'Could this also be a battle formation…?'
"It's the Thousand Solar Lions Mantra—one of the few Profound Rank techniques created by a Qing clan member," Qing Wentian explained, as if reading Qing Xuanling's mind. "It's a rather mysterious cultivation technique that allows practitioners to launch a combined attack."
"Those three moles beneath each eye are the result of excess Yang energy in their bodies—but they also help practitioners of this technique recognize one another."
Qing Xuanling's eyes widened slightly. Techniques like this were quite rare. Though powerful when multiple cultivators practiced the technique together, individually they were weaker than average.
She hadn't expected there to be eleven people willing to cultivate such a technique.
But her opinion shifted slightly moments later.
The translucent figure above the Crimson Punishment Squad grew sharper, fully revealing the form of a giant black-furlion whose mane blazed with fire. The lion opened its mouth and roared powerfully as a fireball dozens of meters wide formed before it!
The Ink Sword Sect cultivators began rushing out of their buildings in panic at the lion's roar—but it was already too late. The crimson fireball, like a miniature sun, finished forming and shot toward the mini-city.
The black-fur, fire-maned lion shattered like glass when the fireball launched toward the mini-city, while the Crimson Punishment Squad members paled and knelt heavily on the ground.
The Qi required for such an attack was astronomical—but the effect was undeniably first-class.
Qing Xuanling watched as Ink Sword Sect cultivators desperately launched sword lights at the fireball in a futile attempt to stop it. The fireball was simply too hot, reducing everything around it—including attacks—to ash.
The faces of the Ink Sword Sect cultivators filled with despair as they tried to flee, but it was too late! The fireball struck the center of the mini-city, exploding in a massive blast that swallowed two-thirds of the mini-city!
BOOM!
Qing Xuanling stared in disbelief as a small mushroom cloud rose where the fireball had detonated. Smoke dispersed, revealing a crater nearly two hundred meters wide.
She swallowed hard. "T-this is not a destructive power similar to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Qing Tanwei nodded, her eyes trembling. "Believe me, it is—and not just any attack…"
"This is the power of the masses. Though this can't defeat—much less kill—a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it's an unstoppable strike within the Qi Refinement realm. That's why the Qing clan values and rewards even ordinary members far more than other clans do. We understand the worth of the many."
Qing Ziyi smiled faintly. Such techniques were rare in the world, as most major forces tended to rely solely on a single overwhelmingly powerful individual, completely ignoring weaker members.
Going against that idea was precisely what had made the Qing clan the strongest force in Ziyu City in just a thousand years.
Qing Xuanling's body trembled with excitement as she unsheathed Memory. The Ink Sword Sect cultivators hadn't been entirely wiped out by the fireball—at least eighty had escaped its range.
Instructor Huan, as if sensing the emotions of everyone in the platoon, raised his spear high and roared, "Charge! Leave not a single soul intact!"
All fifty-six members of the Crimson Sky Platoon surged forward, roaring fiercely and intimidating their enemies.
The battle began immediately.
Contrary to Qing Xuanling's initial assumption, the Ink Sword Sect cultivators weren't pushovers at all. True, their cultivation levels were quite low, but they had considerable battle experience and superior numbers.
She faced two intermediate-stage cultivators attacking her in a pincer maneuver, restricting her movement. She scoffed at their coordination and kicked one forcefully, sending him flying back several meters.
She seized the opening and attacked the other.
"Double Thrust!"
The Ink Sword Sect cultivator's eyes widened in panic as he tried to discern which two strike was real, ultimately choosing to block the one aimed at his heart.
"Gah!"
Yet his eyes bulged in disbelief as the true strike turned out to be neither—but a third, aimed straight at his neck.
Qing Xuanling withdrew Memory from her enemy's neck and finished off the other. She took a deep breath, finally noticing the cries of anguish and despair from fallen enemies under her platoon's assault.
Wherever she looked, there was utter slaughter. Although the cultivators of the Ink Sword Sect were by no means weak, they had no way to resist the members of the Crimson Sky Platoon.
But for some reason, beyond the potent stench of blood in the air, something else gave her a bad feeling.
'Right… this has been far too easy.'
Though they had the advantage of surprise and superior power, no battle in Qing Xuanling's life had ever been easy. At that moment, the person giving orders to the Ink Sword Sect cultivators came into view.
He held a small circular metal object in his hands and appeared to be speaking into it.
Qing Xuanling's pupils contracted. She recognized that device! It was the same Earth Communicator the clandestine auction organizers had used!
A nearly manic smile spread across the face of the cultivator holding the communicator. He began laughing loudly. "Haha! The heavens haven't abandoned us! Boys, reinforcements have arrived! Fear not—these damned Qing clan cultivators are about to meet hell!"
Figures began emerging from the forest surrounding the spiritual mine, each radiating at least intermediate-stage auras.
Qing Xuanling's body trembled slightly as she counted them.
There were over a hundred!