Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

”Mom has no power, can’t help you.”

Jiang Yuan sighed softly.

”I know, just, mention it to Uncle...”

Zhou Yun hurriedly said.

”Hasn’t Uncle already said it?”

Jiang Yuan countered.

”That’s why I need you to say something.”

”It’s no use.”

”Besides, I won’t go.”

Jiang Yuan sighed quietly, ”Brother, it’s not easy either, in the Gang Han realm, at the Great Sun Heavenly Pond, he went through life-and-death battles, numerous dangers, and eventually returned, building his current glory with the blood of enemies like Xuanwu Heavenly Palace.”

”Now, relying on brother’s merit, I, with a foundation-building stature, have expenditures comparable to a Golden Pill Monk.”

”How can I, with all the face in the world, keep begging for something for each and every one of my children? If everyone were to do so, generation after generation endlessly, what could a Patriarch Jin Dan even do?”

”Do I really need to give up my own cultivation for my kin?”

”That’s too selfish, not to mention unrealistic.”

”I...”

Zhou Yun’s face fell.

On the other side, Lin Yuanwang’s wife, seeing this scene and about to say something, glanced at her daughter, then cast a respectful look at the Golden Pill Monk and held her tongue.

...

”Haha, the old classmate is here!”

At the banquet, Jiang Ding, who was chatting with his family, joyfully soared dozens of kilometers away to receive his guest. Jiang Yuan and Lin Yuanwang quickly stood up to follow.

In the distance, a tall, muscular man, accompanied by a tawny-skinned, tall woman, and a sunny and handsome middle-aged cultivator, were coming together.

It was indeed Li Junhao from high school, cultivating in the mid-stage of Foundation Building, with classics-grade practice methods, and a mana purity far exceeding his peers. He must have relied on gradual progress with no major opportunities, taking it one step at a time to get where he is now.

”Haha, Li Junhao, long time no see, where have you been making a fortune lately?”

Jiang Ding and his old desk-mate shook hands vigorously.

”Hi, what fortune? I’m still messing around in a bio company in Demon City, other than occasionally serving in the military, I’m just earning wages and working. Can’t compare to you traveling from place to place every day.”

”I’m such a salted fish.”

Li Junhao forced a smile.

Most cultivators are like that.

Earning wages, working, cultivating, with no chances, relying solely on the tiny success rates from honing their cultivation methods over two hundred years, and then staking their lives in the few decades before their life’s end when they reach the pinnacle.

”What salted fish, this is called being steady.”

Jiang Ding smiled, ”Don’t look at the elites of today, living life on the edge, with sudden rises and just as many sudden falls. Your way is better, less risky, steady and assured.”

”In the end, cultivation is all about looking to the future. Temporary triumphs don’t count for much.”

”Haha, that’s what I love to hear.”

”You’re worthy of being my deskmate!”

Li Junhao laughed heartily, then his expression became serious as he bowed respectfully, ”Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Jiang on achieving the Golden Pill, extending life by six hundred years, and becoming the only Golden Pill Monk of Rongcheng No.1 Middle School in three hundred years.”

”No need to be so formal, no need.”

Jiang Ding returned the gesture.

”I have seen Patriarch Jiang.”

On the other side, the woman, holding her husband’s arm, smiled and said.

”Captain Hua, nice to see you.”

Jiang Ding responded with a slight smile.

The woman was none other than Hua Bing, who had returned from military service in the Outer Realm more than a hundred years ago, the high school class president, boasting a cultivation base in the latter stages of Foundation Building, her body still bearing the remnants of battlefield aura.

Over the years, she must have gone through numerous wars, dangers, and deaths.

These efforts were not in vain.

Even though they both practiced Classics-grade practices, her mana was much purer than Li Junhao’s, and the military perks, especially for the frontline troops who were frequently facing war, were not meager.

Many supplies that were limited or unavailable to the outside world could easily be acquired within the military.

Moreover, if one truly distinguished oneself with military achievements, one should also get some opportunities to assist with Foundation Establishment, far surpassing a Foundation-building cultivator who lived a safe life within the realm.

”I’ve seen you before, Elder Jiang.”

Standing next to Hua Bing was another old classmate from Rongcheng No.1 Middle School, Wu Tianli, who spoke with some restraint and respect.

The disparity between cultivators of different levels was immense, and even when their presence was retracted, there was a natural, psychological level of unseen pressure that could instinctively make one feel constrained unless they had a long history of living together or a good relationship.

This restraint was the natural survival instinct of a creature in the presence of a stronger being capable of easily destroying itself, difficult to control.

Wu Tianli was in the Early Stage of Foundation Building, and it was apparent that as he progressed into this stage, his potential seemed somewhat limited.

Yet, to be able to marry the girl he had admired from a young age and grow old together was enough to make many people envious.

”Wu, you are being too polite,” said Jiang Ding with a smile.

Although they were classmates, they had spoken little to each other and had almost no interaction. However, it was a happy and endearing occasion to be able to meet a high school classmate after more than a hundred years.

He led the three of them back to the banquet and they took their seats.

Everyone reminisced about their naive and youthful high school days, and in the blink of an eye, more than a hundred years had passed, prompting a profound sense of nostalgia.

”All the classmates from Senior Year Class One are here,” Hua Bing looked around with a multitude of feelings. ”The rest of the classmates have either passed away, died in battles in the Outer Realm or perished during the Foundation Establishment stage; it’s difficult to see them again.”

”Also, Teacher Zhang Dingjun, he has gone to the Outer Realm to enlist in the military, hoping to fight for a chance with his remaining life,” interjected Jiang Ding.

He was probably the most home-loving among his classmates, going home every week and knowing everything about his family.

Enlistment.

This was a choice many cultivators made after their elders had passed away and their children were grown, driven by a courage to fight for their own paths.

”Teacher Zhang is truly admirable for his age,” said Li Junhao with due respect.

Of course, he wasn’t the least tempted himself, having decided to live and die within the realm. The outside world might be full of opportunities, but with great danger. Apart from necessary military service, he wouldn’t go there.

”What do you mean by ’of an age’?” Hua Bing shook his head with a chuckle, ”Teacher Zhang is just around 160, only about thirty years older than you. Among Foundation-building cultivators, that’s practically the same age and still young.”

”That’s also true,” conceded Li Junhao.

They chatted about various topics, laughing and joking while occasionally discussing aspects of cultivation, such as Purification Mana and Divine Sense, and traversing trials like the Inner Demons. It seemed everyone gained a lot from these conversations.

A few days later, the banquet dispersed, and life returned to its usual tranquility.

After cooking for his family, Jiang Ding returned to his room and disappeared.

...

Tushan Immortal City.

A youth in green sat cross-legged, while another youth in green emerged from the light of the teleportation Formation, his gaze calm and steady, no longer concealing fear.

”The time is ripe.”

”There is a matter that needs to be handled.”

Jiang Ding spoke indifferently, ”Patriarch Hua Xue, Mu Tiansnow, has a fragment of Law-Breaking Steel in her possession, which has the potential to alarm the Great Sun Sect and attract the pursuit of Nascent Soul Cultivators to kill us. We need to address this.”

”Of course, according to my previous promise, I will not take the initiative to enter Chu Country.”

”First, we’ll set up monitoring Sword Dao formations both inside and outside of Chu Country.”

Jiang Ding’s eyes twinkled, ”Let’s wait for her for forty or fifty years. If she still hasn’t come out after forty or fifty years, I will find several Golden Pill Peak cultivators to go in, drive her out, and kill her.”

As his realm and lifespan increased, so did his patience.