Chapter 214: Conviction
"Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang..." Fang Jinxue stepped forward to greet him, but Yaoguang simply raised a hand to stop him.
Harnessing his stellar force field, he rose into the air. As he looked down at the gathered array casters and artifact refiners, his voice was carried effortlessly across the air dock for over a thousand meters. "You are all professionals in Sky Patrol Warships' research. Although a few days are not enough for you to fully research the Spring Rain, they should have given you at least a basic understanding. Activating the major arrays on this warship should no longer be an issue."
He only gave a brief explanation. "Now, I want you to fully activate this warship’s defensive arrays, amplification arrays, enhancement arrays, and perception arrays. Before any more detailed research on the Sky Patrol Warship, you must at least become thoroughly familiar with how to activate and shut down every single array. Even if one person, or only a few, are responsible for a single array. After all, when a Sky Patrol Warship goes into battle, it does not carry many array casters or artifact refiners."
Though the refiners and array casters did not understand what Yaoguang intended, they exchanged glances and moved toward the arrays they specialized in. They might not be able to pilot the warship, but simply activating its arrays posed no problem.
As they took their positions, defensive, amplification, enhancement, perception, and offensive arrays lit up one after another. The speed at which they started up was somewhat slow, but with over six thousand array casters working around the warship, and each array handled by several or even a dozen people, it took less than ten minutes to activate the various arrays and artifact components.
Fang Jinxue glanced at Yaoguang. The arrays were about to be fully activated, and yet... The next moment, Yaoguang made his move. He did not shift his body even slightly. He merely released his psychic thought and pushed it forward.
His psychic thought carried a trace of psychic consciousness characteristics, allowing it to interfere with external objects. Though the interference was not powerful, as it swept across the nearest array, the array’s glow trembled and dimmed.
Fang Jinxue recognized it instantly. Yaoguang had interfered with the array’s operational process, causing those responsible for activating it to fail in their attempt. And that failure was only the beginning.
As Yaoguang’s psychic thought continued to spread outward, every array it touched flickered and went dark. The tremors and extinguishing lights began centered on Yaoguang, then spread across the entire Sky Patrol Warship at an unbelievable speed.
Fang Jinxue’s eyes widened in shock. To suppress an array’s activation using only psychic thought, which had minimal external impact, required a level of array mastery that could only be described as inconceivable. Especially when the number of arrays suppressed was not one or two, but hundreds.
"How is that possible?!" Fang Jinxue muttered.
He wasn't the only one confused. The array casters and artifact refiners responsible for activating the arrays were equally incredulous once they realized what Yaoguang was doing. Several level 6 array casters, whose understanding of array art was exceptionally refined, exerted every ounce of effort to activate the arrays under their control. Yet, in the end...
Yaoguang disrupted all the key nodes, causing activation to fail and the light to fade. In just ten minutes, the once glowing arrays across the Sky Patrol Warship were completely dark, and the time it took wasn't any more than what the six thousand of them working together had needed to activate them.
Silence fell over the air dock. Thousands of array casters and artifact refiners stood there, completely speechless. What happened? Did Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang suppressed the activation of the Spring Rain’s arrays by himself?
If he had used brute strength to defeat them and prevent them from approaching the arrays, that would have been one thing. But he had not. He had relied solely on his understanding of array art to interfere with their activation, causing them to fail.
What did that mean? It meant that with his comprehension of array art alone, Yaoguang had defeated everyone present. One man had outmatched over six thousand array casters and refiners in their understanding of this Sky Patrol Warship.
H-How is that possible? Everyone thought.
After extinguishing all the arrays, Yaoguang withdrew his psychic thought and said calmly, "As array casters, ensuring the smooth activation of every array on a Sky Patrol Warship is critical. Therefore..."
With a wave of his hand, a 900-second countdown appeared. "You have fifteen minutes to activate the arrays."
Still shaken, the array casters and refiners exchanged glances before looking back at Yaoguang. There was no trace of arrogance or doubt in their eyes now. Only deep conviction. Especially the level 6 array casters of the highest status. They understood better than anyone how difficult what he had just done truly was.
Among more than six thousand specialists, each had their own strengths and signature techniques. Yet, before Yaoguang, they had not even been able to activate the arrays they knew best. The gap between them was immeasurable.
"Continue." Yaoguang’s urging voice echoed in their ears.
They looked at one another. Soon, someone stepped forward and returned to the array he specialized in, focusing with utmost concentration to attempt activation again. Seeing this, the others followed suit, whether out of pride, curiosity, or a desire to test Yaoguang’s limits.
Once again, the arrays began to glow, accompanied by the rapid consumption of spirit stones. Fifteen minutes was enough for some arrays to complete activation. Yet even after successfully starting them, the array casters dared not relax. They carefully inspected the arrays they had activated, searching for any flaws.
However, despite pouring in such effort, the outcome did not change. As Yaoguang’s psychic thought swept outward once more, a large number of arrays was once again extinguished.
Among the level 6 array casters, some had gone beyond simply activating the array assigned to them and were also putting all their effort into maintaining it. Even Yaoguang’s psychic thought could not directly disrupt those arrays.
However, a Sky Patrol Warship was never a collection of isolated units. It was an integrated whole. It didn't matter that a single array could resist his interference, as Yaoguang could disrupt the surrounding ones, triggering a cascading effect. Under such overwhelming momentum, even those arrays that withstood his psychic thought ultimately dimmed as the others around it shut down.
With a final, subtle push from Yaoguang, in less than ten minutes, the arrays blazing across the Spring Rain were extinguished once more.
"Perhaps I can give you another twenty minutes. If that’s not enough, thirty will do," Yaoguang said.
The array casters exchanged glances. At last, several of the most senior and highest-level array casters stepped forward with wry smiles. "No need. The gap between our understanding of array art and that of Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang is too large. No amount of words can describe it. We are convinced."
"To be proficient in so many arrays at once... Is this what they call someone born with innate knowledge?"
"I never believed anyone could truly master all arrays. The category is too vast, too complex. Even the most talented individual cannot possibly have enough energy to encompass every field of array art. After all, I myself am regarded as a genius by many. But only now, after seeing Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang, have I realized what it means to be a frog at the bottom of a well."
The other veteran array casters nodded in agreement. As for the ordinary array casters, the way they now looked at Yaoguang resembled reverence for a divine figure.
Yaoguang’s gaze swept across them one by one. "It seems like you no longer have any objections to me overseeing the research and construction of the Sky Patrol Warship."
"With Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang presiding over its refinement, the Nine Cauldrons Sect will definitely be able to build a Sky Patrol Warship of our own!" Fang Jinxue stepped forward immediately, responding with fervor.
"Indeed. Not only can we build our own Sky Patrol Warship by studying the technologies aboard the Spring Rain, but we may even be able to skip first-generation warships entirely and proceed directly to building a second-generation Sky Patrol Warship!" Other array casters quickly echoed the sentiment.
Having witnessed Yaoguang’s strength firsthand, they were absolutely confident. However...
"A second-generation warship isn't enough. If we are building one, we have to aim for a third-generation Sky Patrol Warship," Yaoguang said decisively.
The array casters and refiners froze. The current Nine Cauldrons Sect did not even possess the capability to manufacture a first-generation Sky Patrol Warship. Skipping first-generation production to build a second-generation vessel was already an ambitious vision, a bold attempt. Yet Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang was proposing to build a third-generation warship directly, representing the highest level of craft in Cangwu.
Before others could speak, some quick-thinking individuals reflected on Yaoguang’s comprehensive mastery of artifact refinement and array art, as well as the many miracles created by the Purple Firmament Institute. Especially Fang Jinxue. He was the first to give a fist-and-palm salute. "Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3 is willing to devote all its strength to assist Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang in achieving this goal!"
The others followed wholeheartedly. "We shall wait for your orders, Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang."
"If we really succeed in building a third-generation Sky Patrol Warship... Even if I were to die the next day, I would smile in the afterlife."
"Then let us fight alongside Deputy Hall Master Yaoguang! Though I am quite old, my passion has not died. I am still willing to offer my last effort and passion on the path of forging a Sky Patrol Warship!" Someone else said, laughing heartily.
Voices rang out one after another, expressing their agreement. Yaoguang glanced at the crowd and gave them a nod. Their morale could be relied upon.
He wasted no time. One preliminary task after another was assigned. The most important thing needed to build a Sky Patrol Warship was having someone capable of coordinating the overall structure and ensuring compatibility among the many arrays and artifact components. Only after resolving that issue could they address the placement of arrays and refinement components.
The primary arrays of a third-generation Sky Patrol Warship were all level 6, 3-star arrays. The top array casters in the crowd possessed sufficient strength for such work. What remained to be seen was whether Yaoguang could fully draw out their potential.
As Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3 grew busier by the day, the construction of the Nine Cauldrons Sect’s first third-generation Sky Patrol Warship finally entered a steady trajectory.
While overseeing Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3, Yaoguang had not entirely set aside his work at the Purple Firmament Institute, nor his work on teaching and improving spirit-gathering arrays.
Yet, under the demands of Sky Patrol Research Institute No. 3, his efficiency inevitably slowed. Even so, when the warship’s refinement reached its first anniversary, the Purple Firmament Institute completed delivery of the first batch of six hundred improved Purple Firmament Type 15 flying swords. The transaction involving the Primordial Unity Bell was formally concluded.
