Dragon Canon

After returning to the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan led the youths back to the new city. The dead were buried outside the city, and the wounded were treated. Everything was back on track.

In this battle, out of the 30,000 youngsters who had only just entered the blood-tempering stage, two hundred died and over a hundred were wounded. There were more deaths than injuries. On the other hand, the 10,000 northern frontier iron cavalry were routed, with survivors numbering fewer than a thousand. Moreover, these lucky survivors would never be fit for battle again.

Before the battle, it was unlikely anyone besides Wei Yuan could have imagined such a result. Yue Jinshan only had 60,000 elite cavalrymen in total, yet he had never suffered a major defeat in his life. How could he have anticipated that he would lose a whopping 10,000 men during the probing attack to test Qingming’s strength? It was a loss heavier than any previous major battle he had fought.

It was like a lone wolf trying to take a bite out of its prey to test the toughness of its flesh, only to have all of its teeth shattered in the process.

To prepare for this battle, Wei Yuan had studied every recorded battle of the Northern Frontier Cavalry, gathered all available intelligence, and even personally gone undercover to observe them covertly.

The training the youngsters had undergone was entirely focused on faster reloading and greater accuracy. Their guns and ammo sticks[1] had also undergone numerous improvements until the youngsters could finally perform a single, smooth reload from start to finish.

Wei Yuan then conducted multiple simulations with his own cavalry, ultimately enabling the youngsters to empty all five of their reserve ammunition within the brief moments between the cavalry entering the range and charging right up to them. The reason there were only five reserve ammunition was because more was simply impossible.

The youngsters knew no fear nor wavering. Even if an enemy’s saber or spear were to pierce their bodies, they would not halt their predetermined movements. Only they could empty six sticks of ammo while under the terrifying pressure of a full-throttle cavalry charge. That was why had said back then that these youngsters were the bane of the iron cavalry.

Without them, Wei Yuan would have had to face over a thousand Dao Foundation stage cavalrymen and ten thousand elite cavalrymen head-on. He would have had his faceless warriors flanking them while providing cover fire with the HFSLs. He still would have won, but it would have been a battle where he relied on overwhelming numbers and superior cultivation to achieve victory, and that was a victory Yue Jinshan might not have accepted.

There was still much to analyze after this great battle. For instance, the steel cylinders that had been so successful against the Shaman city had performed horribly in this battle. Despite launching over twenty of them against the enemy, only two had actually exploded.

Another issue was that reloading speeds had almost reached their limit; not everyone could achieve a firing rate of 600 rounds per minute through manual muzzle-loading like Yu Zhizhuo after all.

However, converting from muzzle-loading to breech-loading would require redesigning the entire firearm, inevitably adding numerous mechanical components. Speaking of which, the only parts Xu Wenwu could recall—besides the trigger and stock—were the bolt mechanism, and even then, he only remembered the exposed handle.

If, instead of adding a reloading mechanism, they switched to a rear-loading system using a ramrod and a breech plug—a simple solution—the reloading speeds of muzzle-loading and breech-loading would still be more or less the same. Moreover, the muzzle-loading design would be more robust because it had one fewer part.

After much deliberation, the cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning unanimously agreed that there was no rush to design an entirely new firearm from scratch. Instead, they should first popularize the already mature steel-barrel guns. Since the ammunition sticks were depleted, it needed to be remanufactured as well.

Wei Yuan delegated all the administrative matters to his subordinates and hurried to Qingming, the realm stone’s side. Then, he began his secluded cultivation.

At the moment, within his Dao Foundation, the black waters in the jade pool were churning harder and harder like boiling water. It was as if something beneath the water was struggling to rise to the surface.

Ever since the All-Gate of Reincarnation[2] had opened, the black pool where it resided had become increasingly eerie. Sometimes, when Wei Yuan stood at the edge of the pool, he discovered that he was unable to see the bottom at all, not even after probing hundreds of zhang with his perception. But judging by the dimensions of the jade hill—which had grown to about ten zhang in height after his advancement to the middle-stage—the depth of the pool should not exceed two chi.

Wei Yuan had a gut feeling that if he were to jump into the pool, something very bad might happen[3].

The waters of the pool kept churning more and more violently. Only by drawing upon the power of Qingming could they be barely contained within a certain boundary. Even so, something was clearly struggling beneath the surface, as if trying to break free from its shell.

It even put pressure on Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit.

The unknown entity seemed to be constantly changing while simultaneously absorbing every conceivable concept from its surroundings. Strangely, it absorbed the most from Wei Yuan’s knowledge of cultivation methods, the laws of heaven and earth, and the concept of fortune. Like a newborn infant, it was learning everything about the world out of pure curiosity.

Its struggles grew increasingly fierce. In the blink of an eye, it overcame even the combined suppression of Wei Yuan and Qingming. A huge splash suddenly erupted from the pool water as a dark shadow burst through the surface and stood firmly above the Great Realm!

It was a man, nine chi tall and wielding a long horse-cutting saber. His face was cold and hard as iron and radiating sheer ferocity and dominance.

Above his head was a rider clad in full heavy armor, eyes ablaze beneath his helmet. The warhorse beneath him was also wearing a suit of iron armor covered in sharp blades, and sparks continuously spewing from its nostrils. Together, they looked like a god or devil incarnate!

Wei Yuan did not recognize the rider, but there was no doubt that he was an Avatar. What in the world?

The day Hsu Li launched an attack, Wei Yuan had routed over 4,000 enemies. Specifically, he had killed a little over 1,000 enemies and captured the remaining 3,000. Those 1,000 dead eventually transformed into 20 faceless warriors.

During the showdown against Yue Jingshan, unbeknownst to everyone except Wei Yuan because the All-Gate of Reincarnation was open, he clearly saw all the souls of the fallen cavalrymen entering the gate one by one instead of dissipating.

That’s right. The souls of nearly 10,000 fallen cavalrymen had ultimately coalesced into the Avatar soldier before him. Although Wei Yuan did not yet know what his Avatar was, it was evident at first glance that it specialized in warfare and slaughter.

Gazing at the towering and seemingly immovable Avatar-stage soldier before him, Wei Yuan suddenly found himself at a loss for words. The path to immortality was arduous. It had taken him a decade and countless cultivation resources just to reach the mid-stage of the Dao Foundation stage. Now, an Avatar-stage soldier had suddenly appeared in his Dao Foundation.

Did the Avatar count as his own, or did it not? If not, then what was he?

If the Avatar-stage soldier were a metaphorical delicacy, was he the metaphorical plate holding the dish?

Or, if he were to use the common terminology of Xu Wenwu’s world, was he now 0.25 of an Avatar?

He was just contending with a throbbing headache when Wei Yuan suddenly sensed something. He flew out of his meditation chamber and looked up at the sky.

A layer of clouds as thin and delicate as silk or gauze had taken form in the sky. When sunlight filtered through it, the mountains and forests below lit up like an immortal paradise.

A light drizzle mixed with refreshing spirit qi began to fall from the sky. Many people stopped what they were doing, stepped outside, and stared at the sudden spirit rain in astonishment.

The earth was teeming with vitality. The spirit rain was nourishing everyone and everything without distinction, including the plants.

Mundane millet required very little nourishment, and it had certainly never been treated to the luxury of being watered by spirit rain before. They began growing at an insane pace, swelling from a sprout that had just broken through the soil to a sapling that was over a chi tall in the blink of an eye.

Ji Liuli appeared beside Wei Yuan, also watching the unexpected spirit rain. After a moment, she asked, “This worldly reward—do you know where it comes from?”

Wei Yuan slowly shook his head with a grave expression.

Ji Liuli asked again, “Could it be those ten thousand iron cavalry?”

“I think... it might be.”

“This is rather strange. I’ll return to the Palace in the next couple days and ask the founder what’s going on.”

What neither of them voiced was that this spirit rain covered an enormous area—spanning the entire realm—and was so abundant that it hardly seemed like a worldly reward. In fact, if they were to be perfectly honest with themselves, it looked strikingly similar to the Shamans’ Sacrifice to Heaven ritual.

......

Back in his quarters, Wei Yuan was unable to shake off a sense of restlessness despite trying to set his mind on cultivating multiple times. So, he decided to get up and set up an array. When in doubt, consult feng shui—this was a basic discipline every cultivator of the Palace of Absolute Beginning possessed.

For his first divination, Wei Yuan used the aura of the Red Lotus Bodhi as a catalyst and received the reading: “The opportunity lies in the southeast.”

Unfortunately, this reading was rather vague. The problem with Buddhism was that they loved their Zen riddles to death and could never just come out with it straight. Anything they said could be interpreted one way or another, and no matter the outcome, they were always right.

Next, Wei Yuan used the aura of the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree as the catalyst and cast another divination. This time, the reading claimed that the best opportunity lay in the northwest.

Dissatisfied, Wei Yuan cast a third divination—this time using the aura of the White Lotus of Tainted Earth—and the reading came back stating that success lay in the northeast.

It took him three tries to finally understand that all immortal objects possessed their own spirits, thoughts, and opinions.

Suddenly, an idea struck Wei Yuan. He had already cast so many divinations, yet there was still one catalyst he hadn’t used: the Dao Foundation whose tier was even higher than the Great Realm, Yin Yang. He approached the girl but did not intentionally look at her body[4], which was only becoming increasingly detailed every day. He reached out, rubbed her skin a few times to collect her aura, then left the Great Realm.

He was just about to perform a divination again when suddenly, he noticed that there was a strand of hair about an inch long in his hand. Where had it come from? The girl’s body?

She could shed hair?

The Dao Foundation Yin Yang was a seamless, unified whole. To attack one part of her body was to attack all of them, as all parts of her body were really one part. Therefore, the common sense of the cultivation world dictated that not even Zhang Sheng’s fourth immortal sword could sever a single strand of the girl’s hair. The only way it was possible was if he utterly annihilated Yin Yang in a single strike. But to destroy Yin Yang was likely beyond the capabilities of even a True Lord.

During the duel against the plain-clothed swordsman Xu Shiqi, Yin Yang had annihilated him in one strike.The Crimson Night Slayer of Immortals had certainly played a part in his destruction, but the remaining nine parts were all the overwhelming power of Yin Yang.

But now, a single strand of hair lay in Wei Yuan’s palm, clearly radiating the aura of Yin Yang. It seemed to be mocking his ignorance.

Wei Yuan instinctively knew exactly what this strand of hair was used for. All immortal objects possessed spirits; he could not have used it for any other purpose even if he wanted to.

So, Wei Yuan obediently set up a feng shui array and cast the strand of hair into it. The array began operating on its own, its level of existence elevated to unprecedented heights. In the end, he received a reading that was crystal clear and left no room for ambiguity:

The karma lies in the far north.

Finally, Wei Yuan understood a simple truth: immortal objects would never, ever share an opinion with one another. If he were to encounter more opportunities in the future, and if there were a couple more immortal plants in the Great Realm, even the eight cardinal directions would not be enough.

Unfortunately, after all the divinations he had performed, he ended up in the exact same position he had been before. So, Wei Yuan closed his eyes slightly and performed his own calculations.

A short while later, Wei Yuan sensed that there was something for him in the southeast. It so happened to be where Willow Ash Town was. Perhaps nothing was happening there originally, but since Wei Yuan had deduced through intuition that something should be happening there, he might as well go stir up some trouble. Otherwise, it would seem as if his divination skills were lacking, would it not?

Western Jin had already tested his strength. As the saying goes, it is uncourteous not to return a favor. He had to repay it.

Wei Yuan stepped out of his quarters, summoned his blue steed, and assembled his men. An hour later, a large contingent of masked riders left the domain and headed straight for Willow Ash Town.

Yuan Qingyan sat motionless in his study. The sky was overcast with thick, leaden clouds, and his room was as dim as night. Yet, he had not lit a lamp.

A bowl of soup sat on the side table. Yuan Qingyan reached out, picked it up, took a sip, then silently set it back in its place. He still didn’t light the lamp.

The soup had long since gone cold.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the study. The servants were in a panic, as if something terrible had happened.

Given Yuan Qingyan’s usual temperament, he would have opened the door to berate them long ago, and no doubt added a few lashes to the mix. But now, he suddenly felt no inclination to do so. It was as if he did not even have the strength to get angry.

There was a soft knock on the study door. In the end, Yuan Qingyan couldn’t help but get a little angry. He snapped, “What is it!?”

The study door opened, and the housekeeper entered, trembling with fear. “Lord Yuan, it’s terrible! The... The Heaven Fighting Gang has entered the city!”

Yuan Qingyan merely uttered an “Oh” and said, “I know. You may g—wait, go fetch me my sword.”

Startled, the housekeeper exclaimed, “My lord, while the green hills last[5]—”

“Go!”

The housekeeper dared not say another word. Moments later, he returned holding Yuan Qingyan’s sword.

The commandery administrator straightened his robes, sat up straight, and placed the sword on his lap. He suddenly felt the room was a bit dim and only then remembered to light the lamp.

It was deathly silent throughout Willow Ash Town. Not a single soul could be seen on the empty streets, and only the sound of echoing hooves could be heard.

Wei Yuan looked left and right, but neither the garrison troops nor the yamen runners were anywhere to be found. It was as if the town was a ghost town. As for the common folk, there were none here. They were all in Qingming now.

Willow Ash Town had undergone some changes. The former Lie Flat Inn had been converted into the commandery yamen. Next to it was the deputy general’s yamen. Its freshly painted doors glowed bright red despite the dim light.

Wei Yuan urged his horse forward and slowly made his way toward the commandery yamen, also the commandery administrator’s office. Before entering the town, he had spotted a few scattered groups of defenders here and there. But the moment the defenders saw the masked riders, they had scattered like birds and beasts. The speed and decisiveness could only be described as astonishing.

Wei Yuan arrived at the entrance of the commandery administrator’s office and tapped lightly on the door with his gun-spear.

He received no response. All he could hear was the sound of teeth chattering.

Wei Yuan smiled faintly and said, “It seems Lord Yuan doesn’t wish to see us. Let us be gone.”

A large band of horse bandits was strolling leisurely through the commandery city in broad daylight. The commandery administrator bore the responsibility of defending his territory, but not only did he allow them to enter, he did nothing while they were parading openly in front of the commandery administrator’s office and the deputy general’s office.

Wei Yuan couldn’t wait to see how Yuan Qingyan was going to whitewash himself this time.

1. Again it technically functions like ammunition magazines/clips, it’s just that the bullets are held together by invisible Dao energy, but I can’t really just translate it as ammunition magazine/clips because I don’t want to get surprised down the line and hit with a 300 chapter term update.