At the Purple Firmament Institute, Yaoguang and Yun Lai welcomed a group of guests. "Hall Master Zhao, Elder Zhang, Master Wei, Master Lu."

"Haha, Chief Yaoguang, we came here specifically to congratulate you this time." Zhao He said, looking delighted. "Since last month, after our sword cultivators completed their refitting and officially began patrols in the waters around Posuo Island, we have encountered Xuanming Sect sword cultivator squads sixteen times. In all sixteen engagements, every single one ended in our comprehensive victory. At worst, it ended with our retreat. Whenever we had long-range support from a primordial psyche cultivator, the Xuanming Sect people did not even have a chance to escape. In just one month, the Xuanming Sect lost as many as forty-five sword cultivators."

"Forty-five?!" Yaoguang felt genuinely surprised.

Those dispatched to Posuo Island were all elite high-tier sword cultivators, specifically sword cultivators at the ninth realm of qi refinement.

Sword cultivators at the eighth realm only patrolled non-frontline zones, while seventh-realm cultivators were limited to guarding duties. As for anyone below the seventh realm, they were basically excluded from combat deployment.

Yaoguang did not know exactly how many ninth-realm sword cultivators the Nine Cauldrons Sect possessed, but for a small to mid-sized sect like the Xuanming Sect, eight hundred was already the upper limit. Losing forty-five in a single month meant that, at this rate, two years would be enough to wipe out an entire generation of the Xuanming Sect's most elite high-tier sword cultivators.

"What about our losses?" Yun Lai asked.

"Only one sword cultivator who practiced the Supreme Perception Sword Art was injured during a clash of psychic will, suffering damage to his psychic mind. He chose to transfer professions and should be heading to an imperial academy's sword cultivation institute as a combat instructor or possibly a chief." Zhao He smiled as he spoke. "An elite sword cultivator who retired after being wounded on the frontline will never be treated poorly by the sect."

He then looked at Yun Lai. "Speaking of achievements, Yun Qing’s squad performed exceptionally well. One month ago, his team was ambushed by six sword cultivators from the Xuanming Sect. Without any Primordial Psyche Realm support on our side, they still held their ground against a primordial psyche opponent, killed all six enemy sword cultivators, and withdrew safely. All four of them were credited with a major merit. His title should soon be promoted to protector of the Warfare Hall."

"Protector?" Yun Lai felt both shocked and overjoyed.

Protector was equivalent in rank to a chief, a position usually reserved for Foundation Building cultivators.

Although the Warfare Hall's protector was ranked half a level lower than a Nine Cauldrons Sect's protector, outstanding high-tier cultivators with exceptional merits could still hold the post in an acting capacity.

Once they eventually advanced to the Foundation Building Realm, it would be easy to be formally promoted to a Nine Cauldrons Sect's protector. The weight of that status was enough to stand on equal footing with figures like Longxiang City Lord, Zhang Jianlin, and Qin Yi.

"The higher-ups have taken note of the East Sea's battle results. They are already discussing increasing the order volume for the Purple Firmament Type 12." Zhao He paused here. "However, some elders have also pointed out certain shortcomings of the Purple Firmament Type 12, namely its lack of explosive power."

"Explosive power..." Yaoguang muttered.

"For high-tier sword cultivators, low-grade spirit artifacts offer the best cost-performance ratio. But it is foreseeable that after suffering such heavy losses this month, the Xuanming Sect’s counterattack will become far more ferocious. Our Nine Cauldrons Sect sword cultivators will face even harsher conditions. In such circumstances, they must possess the ability to erupt with sudden force and counterattack when danger strikes." Zhao He looked at Yaoguang. "That is why I specifically brought Master Wei Yan and Master Lu Yuan this time. We hope you can see whether the Purple Firmament Type 12 can be further improved to achieve a significant increase in its explosive power. From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, this ability can be optional, but it absolutely cannot be absent."

"Middle-grade spirit artifacts, high-grade spirit artifacts..." Yaoguang glanced at the newly increased progress of his Refiner profession over the past few months. "It is not that improvements are impossible. But can the sect’s budget really support the procurement of middle-grade or even high-grade spirit artifacts?"

After all, even Foundation Building cultivators who were not in active combat rotations only used high-grade spirit artifacts as standard equipment.

"The higher-ups believe in striking hard once, to avoid a hundred future blows," Zhao He said seriously. "Moreover, we have received intelligence that after the Northern Alliance disbanded, the Thousand-Beast Sect appears unwilling to continue confronting the Infinite Star Palace. They are actively sending them friendly signals. Once the northern situation eases, the Infinite Star Palace's sky patrol fleet will become available. At that point, they will likely seek a new target to conquer, as a way to consolidate their status as the number one sect in Cangwu."

As soon as these words fell, even Wei Yan and Lu Yuan turned grim. Sixteen years ago, the Infinite Star Palace had crushed the Quicksand Sect with overwhelming force, displaying a level of power that filled every faction in Cangwu with despair. No one truly believed that the Nine Cauldrons Sect possessed the strength to contend with the Infinite Star Palace.

"To prevent the Xuanming Sect from seeking support from the Infinite Star Palace, we need to show some strength. On one hand, we must quickly crush the Xuanming Sect. On the other hand, we must make the Infinite Star Palace realize that supporting a hopeless mess like the Xuanming Sect against us is simply not worth the time and cost," Zhao He said.

Yun Lai, Wei Yan, Lu Yuan, and the others nodded in agreement. Compared to other mid-sized or even large sects, the Nine Cauldrons Sect possessed an advantage that many large sects did not—a Golden Core cultivator!

Under such circumstances, if the Infinite Star Palace truly chose prey among mid- to large-sized sects, the Nine Cauldrons Sect would definitely be among the last candidates.

Still, thinking of this, Wei Yan’s expression dimmed slightly. "Right now, we can only pray that they do not choose us first. We are fish on the chopping block. I can't help but wonder when the Nine Cauldrons Sect will truly regain its true glory as one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects of the past, and possess power comparable to the Infinite Star Palace."

"It will happen," Zhang Jianlin said solemnly. "Under the sect master’s leadership, the Nine Cauldrons Sect is uniting every force it possibly can. That day will come."

Yet not only Lu Yuan, Yun Lai, and Wei Yan, but even Zhao He himself did not follow up on those words. Three hundred years ago, the Infinite Star Palace had already been one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects of the Great Cangwu World. During the Lunar Fiend Empire wars, they hid in the rear, providing shelter to fleeing families and amassing vast quantities of spirit stones, divine abilities, secret arts, and technical talent, which allowed them to rise at breakneck speed once the war ended.

Sixteen years ago, they annihilated the Quicksand Sect, a core member of the Northern Alliance, causing the entire alliance to collapse. By now, even the Thousand-Beast Sect, the leader of the former Northern Alliance, no longer wished to confront the Infinite Star Palace.

Even if the Nine Cauldrons Sect recovered to the peak glory of its Artifact Sect era three centuries ago, it would still be unrealistic to expect it to stand shoulder to shoulder with the present Infinite Star Palace. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"We need time." After a long while, Zhao He finally spoke again. "That is why we must stabilize our surroundings as quickly as possible, drive out the Xuanming Sect, and reclaim the East Sea's islands. The East Sea's islands contain fourteen spiritual power nodes. If we recover them all, the sect’s total spirit stone output will increase by at least thirty percent! By then, we will no longer need to be stingy with spirit stones, nor rack our brains over energy-saving measures."

Everyone nodded deeply in agreement. Then Zhao He turned his gaze toward Yaoguang. "So, do you have confidence in improving the Purple Firmament Type 12?"

"Recently, with the rapid production of the Purple Firmament Type 12, I have indeed gained some inspiration for improvements. However..." Yaoguang looked at Zhao He. "When sects engage in deadly battles, Foundation Building cultivators are the true core. In other words, only Foundation Building sword cultivators equipped with treasured artifacts can genuinely alter the course of a battle. No matter how many spirit stones we spend procuring mid- or high-grade spirit artifacts, such flying swords play only a limited role on the real battlefield. They are mainly chosen by small sects that cannot refine treasured artifacts and lack sufficient spirit stones. Therefore, I believe our real research focus should be on treasured artifacts instead."

As soon as those words fell, the gazes that Yun Lai, Wei Yan, and Lu Yuan, the artifact-refinement masters, directed at Yaoguang turned somewhat strange. Everyone knew that treasured artifacts were the truly important weapons. But one also had to possess the capability to refine them.

"Can you refine treasured artifacts?" Zhao He asked.

"I can’t," Yaoguang replied.

Zhao He did not feel surprised. When he asked that question, he had not held much hope to begin with. Thus, he simply said, "Procuring middle-grade and high-grade spirit artifacts indeed lacks cost-effectiveness, but sometimes you can’t judge everything purely by cost. The life of a high-tier sword cultivator is more important than a single high-grade spirit artifact."

"A sword cultivator matters more than a spirit artifact..." Yaoguang pondered for a moment before saying, "I’ll give it a try. I’ll give you an answer within three months."

"Alright. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You still need to oversee the production of the Purple Firmament Type 12." Zhao He smiled. "Wei Yan, Lu Yuan, and their teams will assist you."

Yaoguang glanced at the two of them. They smiled and said, "Chief Yaoguang, we’ll be troubling you for guidance from here on."

"It’s an honor for the Purple Firmament Institute to have two masters who are willing to help as our guests," Yaoguang replied with a smile.

The reason he had said three months was that, if he counted the two artifact-refinement masters and the teams behind them, three months later would be just enough time to complete the production order of three thousand Purple Firmament Type 12 flying swords.

artifact-refinement masters were talents of the highest rarity. Across the entire Nine Heavens Domain, there were probably only eight to ten of them. Now, the Purple Firmament Institute had directly gathered half of them. Of course, that was assuming he could keep them.

That night, Yaoguang returned to his residence. Zong Yan and Kong Xuan were busy, carrying batches of materials needed for artifact refinement inside. Zong Yan had taken on the role of steward, while Kong Xuan served as assistant and driver.

As for Ji Pingtian, although he was the president of the World-Saving Society, he ultimately was unwilling to completely attach himself to Yaoguang and planned to venture out into the wider world. Yaoguang did not force the issue.

"Sacred Lord, the materials you wanted have arrived," Kong Xuan said.

"Mhmm," Yaoguang mumbled in response, then asked, "Nothing else going on, right?"

Zong Yan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Xie Yushu sent an invitation, hoping to invite you to a sect-entry banquet a month from now. In the Nine Cauldrons Sect disciple assessment half a month ago, two members of the Xie family entered the Nine Cauldrons Sect. Princess Xie Yi'er was recruited as an officer, while Xie Yushi became an official disciple."

"Xie Yushi? An official disciple?" Yaoguang felt a bit surprised.

"This is a genius the Xie family has kept hidden for succession. She’s said to be only twenty-four and already at the fifth realm of qi refinement. After coming here for just over a year, she even reached the sixth realm. Her talent is higher than even Jiang Xuntian from the Crimson Star Empire. Moreover, during this assessment, her aptitude score was 81. In ancient terms, that corresponds to high-grade spirit root aptitude, so she was directly recruited as an official disciple," Zong Yan explained.

Yaoguang listened and nodded. The Xie family having more talented disciples hidden away did not surprise him.

"Set the invitation aside for now. I’ll go if I have time," Yaoguang said.

"Understood," Zong Yan replied.

Yaoguang then went upstairs and entered his cultivation room. He gradually sensed his own state. "My Martial Dao is at the ninth realm already."

Psychic thoughts flowed through his mind. "My Psyche Dao is also at the ninth realm."

But he did not rush to break through to the Star Lord Realm or Primordial Psyche Realm. He could not resolve the Merchant branch's no-loan exploit, but he could exploit a loophole in strength progression.

Once he broke through, it was foreseeable that if he then focused on refining artifacts to earn spirit stones, the required manpower cost would skyrocket. Originally, breaking through to the Star Lord Realm and advancing to the Star God Realm could have yielded profits of tens or hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, but the situation had changed.

Since the situation was relatively stable, he was in no rush. He then turned his attention to the Refiner branch. This branch had already surpassed the Martial Dao and the Psyche Dao, becoming the thickest of them all.

Yaoguang estimated the progress. It was roughly around 93%. At this level of progress, not only would upgrading the Purple Firmament Type 12 flying sword to the high-grade spirit artifact level be trivial, but even pushing their performance to a level comparable to treasured artifacts would be well within reach.

"The reason I’ve been able to make money in peace is largely thanks to the Nine Cauldrons Sect providing a safe and stable operating environment. If I had gone to some other major sect... With my background from a peripheral small world, they’d slap a Lunar Fiend Empire spy label on me within a month and then force me to refine artifacts day and night..." Yaoguang said.

After thinking it over, Yaoguang made his allocation. "First, secure the order to upgrade them into high-grade spirit artifacts. Then, push the Refiner branch into an entirely new domain and gain the ability to refine treasured artifacts, which represents the highest level of skill in the world. After that, concentrate all effort on advancing the Martial Dao branch."

No matter what, sufficient strength was essential to guarantee his own safety.