Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Together with the overlapping, deafening explosions, from the hundred and twenty-four hot springs of air masses in the globe of the entire Martial Meritocrats Planet, the most dazzling rays of light shot out.

Those rays seemed to be dragons of light that were alive. Rising slowly but firmly in midair, they changed their trajectories and angles nonstop.

They had only one final target, which was the glamorous, evil Flower of the Other Shore that was hanging high in the sky!

The long ribbons pierced through the sun, ripping the sky apart!

All the resistant warriors were deeply fascinated by the picture that was beyond the description of any words. Holding their breath, they tried to bulge their eyes as best as they could, hoping to stuff their hot blood into the raging flames of light that were rising to the sky to make them faster, faster, and even faster!

The sky soon responded.

From the Heavenly Rails that entangled the entire planet, a storm of rays was spurted out too, trying to intercept the flames darted out by the “global sword network”.

The flames were not simple attacks of mystic arrays and spiritual energy. Instead, it was more than a hundred thousand super flying swords with autopiloting rune arrays.

Sensing the interception of the enemy, all the flames of light dispersed immediately, transforming from slightly more than a hundred into almost ten thousand, before they charged at “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky” from all directions!

A translucent barrier of spiritual energy glittered around “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky” when a cascade of flying swords crashed into it. The blasts that they triggered were the most brilliant fireworks that many resistance warriors and sinners had ever seen in their lives.

Although most of the swords were blocked, melted, and destroyed by the defense barrier, the defense barrier was also riddled with holes and finally collapsed. Finally, a tiny proportion of the flying swords broke through the defense and crawled in, turning into blossoming flowers that represented death and destruction on the surface of “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky”.

“We hit it. We have really hit it…”

“Did you see it? ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ is shaking. It is shuddering in fear under our attack!”

The resistance warriors were too stunned to believe it at first. Then, they were so overjoyed that their hearts were almost jumping out of their chests.

They jumped to their feet in excitement and collided into each other like bears and rhinos, roaring in their most primitive and wild voices, which congregated into an unstoppable torrent that swept across the entire temple!

Even the most resolute man was also crying like a baby with tears and snots running loose, for no reason other than the shiver of “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky”!

“As you have all seen with your own eyes, the power of the ‘global sword network’ far exceeds our imagination. The first wave of test attacks that is not filled with maximal spiritual energy already knocked down the defense shield of ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’!”

Wei Longtao declared loudly and determinedly, “If we are given a second, or a third opportunity, we will certainly be able to shoot the nest of the Immortal Cultivators down from the sky!

“However, the Immortal Cultivators are about to arrive, and a bloody war may break out at any moment. Whether or not we have a second opportunity, and a third one, to activate the weapon system again will depend on your hard work!”

“Just leave it to us, commander!”

The brawny resistance warriors whose hot blood was almost spurting out of their bodies into red mists bashed their chests hard and roared confidently.

“Just give your best performance. This… is going to be the last war.”

When he walked past Zuo Jingyun, Wei Longtao hesitated for a moment, and a hint of tenderness and sorrow flashed in his eyes.

“Understood!”

Zuo Jingyun, however, did not notice Wuying Lan’s hesitation. Still dwelling in the excitement of hitting “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky” just now, she said sincerely, “Thank you, General Commander, for leading us to create miracles again and again. We would never have dreamed that we could bring such shock to ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ someday if it weren’t for you!

“Please tell me in person once again. We do have an opportunity to shoot down ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’, don’t we?”

The bald, female warrior looked at her leader with eyes that were full of expectation.

Wei Longtao smiled and said, “I have sent the whole process of our attack on ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ just now to our fellow Cultivators in space. With their cooperative attack, we will certainly have our chances.”

“Alright. Since you have said it, it will certainly become the reality! Then, even if I am killed, I will bite the bones of the Immortal Cultivators hard and stop them from approaching the temple!”

Zuo Jingyun gritted her teeth and swore solemnly.

“Rest assured. We are not going to die.”

Wei Longtao sighed with subtle coldness in his voice. “We will live on, and we will live a good life!”

…

“It’s activated. The fellow Cultivators at the bottom of the Martial Meritocrats Planet have truly located the temple and activated the ‘global sword network’. The defense shield of ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ has been broken!”

At the edge of the Devilish Scorpion Nebula, the coalition fleet of Starlight that was lurking at the back of the stone belts and the barren planets was exclaiming in delight too.

Gao Kangda, captain of “Great Mountain”, which had been modified from a super-enormous comprehensive mining starship into a “comprehensive supply mothership”, was discussing with another ten leaders of Starlight about the final strategies through the short-distance information network.

“The fellow Cultivators below the ground have taken action. Let’s join them quickly and destroy ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’, the man-eating nest of fiends, together with them!”

Some people couldn’t wait any longer.

“Shouldn’t we be more patient? Right now, we only have some mottled images that have been sent over a long distance. There is no telling to what extent ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ has been destroyed. It is too risky if we attack recklessly just like that.”

Some people were more rational.

“It is now or never. The spiritual shield of ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’ won’t stay collapsed, and the moment of turmoil will be pacified very soon too. The underground fellow Cultivators can’t persist for very long. Haven’t we been expecting the most vulnerable moment of the enemy during such a long wait here? If we waver right now and do not take action, we will never have a chance to take action!”

Some people mocked back.

“I agree with Fellow Cultivator Qi.”

Touching the interconnected scars on his face that were caused by the burning of mystic rays in the “Unsettled Riot” twenty years ago, Gao Kangda said solemnly, “With our strength today, we do not have any leverage to not take risks. After gathering here from every part of the universe through arduous efforts, we have used up all the resources that we have accumulated for decades. It is safe to say that there is no turning back now!

“The members of the resistance party from every part of the universe have gathered here today not for a 100% guaranteed victory. It doesn’t matter whether we win or lose, as long as we have fought a good fight in a gratifying battle!

“Even if we indeed fail at last, as long as we can demonstrate the resolution and the valiance of the Cultivators, somebody will remember us, and somebody will want to be us. A greater Starlight will appear, and a new generation of Cultivators will be reborn from the ashes!

“We seek neither victory nor failure in the battle, but to inform everybody in the entire Imperium and the universe that when they are caught in desperation and they cannot hold it any longer, there is always one last option, which is to summon the courage, clench the fists, and rise up in resistance!

“So, now is the time. Let’s do it!”

“Let’s do it!”

“Let’s take action!”

“However inconspicuous the trajectories of our voyages to the Devilish Scorpion Nebula from various directions may be, they must’ve been discovered by the Imperium right now. It is absolutely impossible for us to retreat in one piece without any damage. Captain Gao is right. There is no turning back right now. Let’s take our chances!”

The coalition fleet of Starlight soon reached a consensus.

All the seemingly ragged, bizarre starships that looked like abnormal metal beasts dispersed and assembled into an arc-shaped formation of attack.

As the exhaust flames spurted out, helical wrinkles appeared around all the starships.

“Target: ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’. Activate the super short-distance space jump!”

“Long live the resistance! Long live the Cultivators! See our strength and go to hell now, Imperium!”

In the middle of the coarse and disobedient roars, the ragged starships of the coalition fleet of Starlight vanished all of a sudden, turning into furious streaks of brilliance that rushed all the way at “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky” in the four-dimensional space!

…

In the dining hall of “Manjusaka, the City in the Sky”, the fancy party with songs and dances was still going on. There was no sign of any attacks or explosions at all.

Both the overjoyed looks and the crazy movements of the resistance warriors of the underground branch of Starlight and the gallantry declarations of those in the coalition fleet were displayed on the 3D light beams nearby with a delay of no more than one second as a little entertainment show while everybody was enjoying their drinks.

The Immortal Cultivators picked up the round, juicy cherries and strawberries while smiling and put them into their mouths, savoring the sour or sweet flavors in them. Now and then, they glanced at the light beams casually and appreciated the live shows of the vigorous Cultivators with chuckles of amusement.

“Those clowns are truly adorably stupid. They really think that they can cause damage to ‘Manjusaka, the City in the Sky’!”

The Immortal Cultivators looked at each other and laughed, shaking their heads and sighing for the innocence and idiocy of the clowns. There were looks of sympathy for the mentally-retarded on their faces, as if they were wondering why such an amazing species had survived to this day without going extinct.

“Everybody—”

Wuying Lan, the owner of the place, knocked his cup softly and raised his voice. “Please focus your attention on the next scene. In the play that I have carefully devised, it is the most spectacular section. I hope you will not miss the look on any Cultivator’s face, which I believe will be more marvelous than any words can describe!”

On the light beam behind Wuying Lan, inside the “underground temple”, the penetrators of the Immortal Cultivators had already broken through the multiple defenses at the periphery and arrived before the Cultivators.

The preparations for the second attack of the “global sword network” were nearly finished too. It was in the middle of the final countdown!