Chapter 2345: The Way Of War

Back in the Fifth Mainland, within the Heavens Sect, Skymender responded to the message on his wireless jincan. "Dao Chosen."

"I'm assigning you a task. I need you to lead a group of twenty year old cultivators into the Perennial World so that they can join Virtue Archives. When you get there, I want you to help the academy maintain their defensive sourcebox array and force back another Array Grandmaster," Lu Yin explained.

Skymender answered respectfully.

The astral beast was an Array Grandmaster. While Lu Yin had not originally been aware of this, he had learned of his abilities when visiting the place in the Celestial Beast Empire where the humanoid sourceboxes were stored. Lu Yin was interested in seeing just how capable a Lockbreaker Skymender was.

"There are five Semi-Progenitors currently blocking access to Virtue Archives, so when you come, please request Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines to escort you," Lu Yin said.

Lu Yin did not want to instigate a vicious fight with the five Semi-Progenitors blocking access to Virtue Archives, but sending the Progenitor of Bloodlines would not trigger a fight. While the man was a crippled Progenitor who had lost his Progenitor’s world, he still remained a Progenitor. The Progenitor of Bloodlines could still exert the pressure of a Progenitor, which would be enough to prevent Xia Ziheng and the others at Virtue Archives from doing anything to Skymender and the rest of the people that the Progenitor of Bloodlines would be escorting.

After delivering his orders, Lu Yin turned back to his communication crystal. "My people will arrive by tomorrow at the latest. You don’t need to worry, Mr. Tang."

Mr. Tang let a sigh of relief escape. "That's good, that's good. Right, what are you doing here?"

A smile appeared on Lu Yin's face. "We are here to help humanity by taking over responsibility for the fourth array base. From now on, Virtue Archives can send its students to the fourth array base for training."

The communication crystal was then put away, and Lu Yin slapped the jiao. "Go."

The jiao roared as it rushed into the Tree Realm.

The Tree Realm was able to block ordinary cultivators from seeing the rear battlefield, but it was useless against those that had the strength of a Progenitor. The jiao was able to clearly see the what lay behind the Tree Realm, and it was not afraid of any danger there. The threats to the jiao were all in the Dominion Realm’s battlefield, not the rear battlefield.

The jiao was looking at the rear battlefield by peering through the Tree Realm, but no one on the rear battlefield could see the approaching massive creature.

As soon as the massive head of the jiao pushed into the Tree Realm, a crowd of people preparing to enter the rear battlefield were stunned by the sight. Most of the people were terrified and completely unable to endure the immense pressure that the jiao radiated.

Not too far away from where the jiao had entered the Tree Realm, Master Zan was relaxing by pinching a maid's waist and admiring her legs. When the jiao’s head appeared, the Lockbreaker collapsed to the ground in fear.

The pressure of a Progenitor enveloped the rear battlefield, and a surge of power swept out and crushed an entire group of corpse kings who had just rushed up the array bases.

The jiao had appeared at the second array base, and General Xia Yan looked up in amazement. The sight of the jiao caused the man’s pupils to instantly constrict tightly.

Long Laogui and all the array base’s colonels turned to stare at the jiao.

Lu Yin was still standing on top of the jiao's head, and he observed the second array base. After so many years, he was back.

However, Lu Yin’s presence on the rear battlefield was incomparable to his previous visit. Looking at Xia Yan and Long Laogui again, Lu Yin’s attitude towards the two men was completely different from his former interactions with them.

There was an ugly expression on Xia Yan's face, as he was staring at the jiao. The beast was the symbol of Shenwu's Sky, and yet it was being stepped on by Lu Yin. This was publicly humiliating Shenwu's Sky.

Long Laogui also had a rather bad expression at this moment. The old man had once done his best to protect Long Qi, and Long Laogui had even suggested that the White Dragon Clan ask an Array Grandmaster to accept Long Qi as an apprentice. The old man had even approached Grandmaster Gu Yan on Long Qi’s behalf, but Long Qi had eventually shown himself to be Lu Xiaoxuan. Long Laogui had no idea how to react upon seeing Lu Xiaoxuan again after so many years.

The jiao finished entering the rear battlefield, and its presence brought all fighting on the second array base to a complete standstill.

Lu Yin’s hands were clasped behind his back as he looked at Xia Yan. "General Xia Yan, have all the surviving vassals of the Lu family return to the Higher Realm now. I, Lu Yin, am taking over the protection of the fourth array base."

Xia Yan said nothing and just stared ahead.

A bit in front of the general, Liu Jing was in shock. Had the youth who had once been known as Long Qi truly risen to such an impressive height that even the array base’s general did not know how to deal with the young man?

Lu Yin did not bother waiting for Xia Yan to respond, and he instead directed the jiao towards the fourth array base.

Each of the five array bases was beyond massive, and since the jiao had entered the rear battlefield at the second array base, it had to pass by the third array base to get to the fourth array base. The sight of the jiao passing through the rear battlefield startled countless human defenders.

However, the sight also encouraged many people, as it was clear that the jiao was on humanity’s side. The presence of a Progenitor-level creature at the five array bases was guaranteed to transform the situation on the rear battlefield.

Unfortunately, such beliefs were nothing more than a dream. As soon as a Progenitor started protecting the five array bases, Aeternus would inevitably send Progenitors to attack the rear battlefield as well.

It was not actually a good thing to introduce a Progenitor to the rear battlefield, as it would not truly protect the five array bases.

It did not take the jiao long to reach the fourth array base.

There was still a bit of fighting taking place. Unlike what Bai Wangyuan had claimed, the fourth array base had not been fully abandoned by humanity’s forces.

How could they dare to completely retreat? If the Aeternals were able to attack the other array bases from the top of the fourth array base, then it would be a disaster that no one was willing to take responsibility for.

The general of the fourth array base was a woman known as Bai Qi. Lu Yin had never met the woman before, nor even heard her name. However, Bai Qi was Bai Wangyuan's own daughter.

The Array Master for the array base was another woman named Ru Ying.

Lu Yin was genuinely surprised to learn that the two people in charge of the fourth array base were both women.

When the jiao landed on the fourth array base, Lu Yin saw an overwhelming number of corpse kings. Innumerable creatures were ascending the fourth array base to attack it.

The sight completely shocked the people from the Fifth Mainland.

Fortunately, the Fifth Mainland had also fought against the forces of Aeternus at the entrance to the Starfall Sea. Without that experience, Lu Yin’s armies might have struggled to adapt to their new situation and take over the fourth array base’s defenses.

Bai Qi had been fighting against one of the Twelve Marquises, but the arrival of the jiao caused the Semi-Progenitor from Aeternus to immediately retreat. Countless corpse kings fell back like a tide as the marquis retreated.

Yao Di, Hen Xin, Jiu Yao, and Arch-Elder Zen all stepped onto the array base and began to attack the corpse kings.

Lu Yin waved a hand, and the armies arrayed behind him—the Lu Elite Troops, the Redemption Army, and the Astral Beast Army—all rushed forward.

The humans and astral beasts still needed time to adapt to fighting together, which made defending the fourth array base the best place for them to practice.

Bai Qi and Ru Ying pulled back and turned to stare at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin said, "The two of you can leave now. The Fifth Mainland is taking over the defense of this array base from now on."

Bai Qi stepped forward, wet blood still staining her face. She wore a feathered cloak, and she stared at Lu Yin with a cold expression. "Lu Xiaoxuan, we meet again."

Lu Yin arched a brow. Sometimes it felt like everyone was familiar with his former self. "I’ve lost my memories, so I don't remember you."

Bai Qi explained, "You previously fought on every array base. You acquired scars during your time here."

"Really?" Lu Yin looked out at the fourth array base. "My name is now Lu Yin, and I am the Dao Chosen of the Fifth Mainland’s Heavens Sect."

"Dao Chosen? Heavens Sect? Those are ancient names," Bai Qi commented. She then began ordering her troops from the Perennial World to pull back as the Fifth Mainland's armies began to take over the array base’s defenses. She had actually intended to leave immediately, as the fourth array base was defended by the jiao and four Semi-Progenitors. Even if a Progenitor from Aeternus arrived, they would struggle to take control of the fourth array base.

However, as soon as Bai Qi noticed the odd style of combat employed by the Fifth Mainland’s armies, she decided to stay. Not only Bai Qi, but Ru Ying also lingered. What they saw caused the former general of the fourth array base to stare in mounting surprise.

The Aeternals were forced to retreat because the Fifth Mainland's armies were simply too powerful, though some corpse kings continued to fight.

On the array base, each and every member of the Lu Elite Troops’ had white smoke covering their body, a Void Wanderer hidden by them, and a microarray weapon attached to their left arm.

Corpse kings were stronger than both humans and astral beasts at the same cultivation level, but the Lu Elite Troops easily defeated their opponents. Of particular note were the members of the Lu Elite Troops who were only Explorers or Cruisers, as they were still able to enter the void and move about.

The situation on the battlefield completely transformed.

The fourth array base was accustomed to bitter fights and trading a life for a life and relying on the defensive sourcebox arrays to defend their location. However, the Fifth Mainland’s armies not only held their own against the corpse kings, but the human forces even went on the offensive and started pursuing the retreating corpse kings.

While the pursuit was partially because the Aeternals had started retreating, the sudden offensive was more because of the Fifth Mainland’s odd methods of fighting.

The members of the armies were casually releasing sword qi attacks with the strength of an Enlighter behind them, and the corpse kings’ attacks did nothing at all to harm the humans. What was that white smoke? What were those beams of light?

The Fifth Mainland’s method of fighting on the battlefield was completely different from what the Perennial World employed, and the sight even stunned a Semi-Progenitor like Bai Qi.

Lu Yin was satisfied by the results that he saw on the battlefield. This was exactly what he had wanted to see. What was humanity’s greatest advantage? Their intelligence. Humans were intelligent creatures, which was why they had created tools, civilization, deception, and even a cultivation system. Intelligence remained humanity’s greatest weapon, so rather than brawling with the corpse kings, it was much better to fight in a smarter manner.

From their Progenitors, down to their weakest cultivators, the Perennial World was too rigid in their thinking. It was not that the people of the Perennial World were not intelligent, but rather that the existence of powerful Progenitors had changed how humanity thought in the Perennial World. Becoming a Progenitor was the goal of every cultivator, so they did not even consider anything else.

The Fifth Mainland was different. There were all kinds of civilizations that had flourished, and the absence of powerful Progenitors had essentially eliminated any form of faith in higher powers. This had led to various forms of cultivation blossoming, as well as the advanced development of technological civilizations.

If Aurora Enterprises had tried to move to the Perennial World, the company would have never survived. Transportation vehicles made from the white paper that came from the Mother Tree’s bark could replace the vessels produced by Aurora Enterprises. But in the Fifth Mainland, the company had not only survived; it had flourished into a behemoth. This showed the difference between the two places.

The Perennial World had Progenitors, and it looked down on the Fifth Mainland and referred to it as the Forsaken Land, but the Forsaken Land had reaped certain benefits by being abandoned.

There was good and bad in all things.

The Fifth Mainland's novel combat method was like a boulder crashing into a calm lake as the Perennial World observed the battle. The arrival of the Fifth Mainland’s forces would definitely trigger huge waves and transform the originally rigid style of combat employed in the Perennial World. This was part of Lu Yin’s goals.

Also, Lu Yin had only introduced the Lu Elite Troops to the Perennial World. He expected the Heavens Corps to create an even bigger sensation, as not only did they have the visualization method of the ancient golden characters, but they also employed layered microarrays and cooperated with various strange astral beast species. The appearance of the Heavens Corps would shock even the Perennial World’s Progenitors.

One person could not change anything on the rear battlefield, but an entire army was different.

Bai Qi stared blankly at the battle taking place. She looked at the corpse kings that had been almost entirely wiped out so easily by the Lu Elite Troops. "Lu Xiaoxuan, is this how people fight in the Forsaken Land?"

Lu Yin indifferently answered, "That's right, this is how the Forsaken Land conducts warfare. Of course, it’s far inferior to what your Perennial World is capable of, but you’re welcome to observe, General Bai."

Bai Qi continued to stare at the battlefield. "What is that white smoke? It seems defensive in nature. Is it actually protecting the troops?"

"That’s the same power that the Smokecloud Sect uses. It comes from Progenitor Smoke." Lu Yin did not try to hide this information, as humanity as a whole would benefit if the Perennial World could improve how it fought against Aeternus’s forces.

As for potentially using it against the four ruling powers, Lu Yin was not very concerned. The pending battle between him and the four ruling powers was not something that ordinary cultivators would be able to affect in any way. To even hope to have any sort of influence on such a battlefield, one needed to at least be a Semi-Progenitor. Forget the Lu Elite Troops, as not even the Heavens Corps could do anything to a Semi-Progenitor by relying on sheer numbers.

While the Perennial World’s style of combat was quite rigid, there were reasons why that was the case. When people saw a Semi-Progenitor easily suppress a region of the universe, it would inspire them to cultivate harder, unlike the very rare appearances of the Semi-Progenitors in the Fifth Mainland. Also, there were no Progenitors in the Fifth Mainland.

"Progenitor Smoke’s power? Are you saying that the Smokecloud Sect cultivates Progenitor Smoke's power?" Bai Qi asked.