Missile Control Artifact

Jiang Ding noticed that three missiles in the missile swarm shone exceptionally brightly.

They flew in a wedge formation, now on the left, now on the right. Sometimes they suddenly accelerated past hundreds of missiles to scout ahead; sometimes they slowed down, flew alongside the other missiles, and blended into their ranks, leaving nothing unusual visible from the outside.

In less than half a second, these sights vanished. The sky was empty, and the sound of children bawling filled his ears.

Boom!

In the distance came an intense flash, visible even in broad daylight. A second or so later, the tremendous roar reached them, drowning out the crying, followed at last by a scorching blast of air howling past.

"...A mere Ninth Level Qi Refining junior! I have roamed unhindered for over two hundred years..."

A faint voice drifted through the wind, very, very faint, mixed into the gusts so thoroughly that one would completely overlook it without paying attention. Jiang Ding was highly focused in his special state and caught a few words.

The voice was extraordinarily infectious, filled with fierce rage and unwillingness.

After that, he heard nothing more.

The air-raid siren stopped abruptly.

They waited for quite some time, but nothing happened again.

The panicked crowd slowly recovered. Many people, still shaken, used their phones to confirm that their relatives were safe. Some abandoned their rides and chose to walk, though most passengers eventually came back—the distance was simply too great to cover on foot.

Amid the blaring horns, the motionless traffic gradually began moving again.

There were considerably fewer people on the bus now. Jiang Ding managed to squeeze into a seat beside the driver.

"That's called a Missile Control Artifact."

Seeing Jiang Ding still staring into the distance, the driver casually said, "It can add special spells to missiles—Acceleration Art, Flight Art, Breath Concealment Art, Sharpness Art, and so on. A Ninth Level Qi Refining cultivator controls it while attached to a missile, and it can pose some degree of threat even to Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"The air-raid alarm stopped so quickly. That Boundary Breaking Cultivator was probably already shot dead. Just... no telling how many people died..."

Every invasion by Outer Realm Cultivators caused massive civilian casualties.

Compared to mid- and high-level cultivators, ordinary people were simply too fragile.

Jiang Ding's heart skipped a beat. He called his mother and younger sister. Thankfully, both were far from this area and had not been harmed.

The driver deliberately took a long detour.

Jiang Ding only saw that the place seemed to have become a patch of ruins, with red mixed throughout. He could see nothing else.

"Fulin Garden, we've arrived. Next stop, Baizi..."

Jiang Ding, his face pressed against his knees, jolted awake. He rubbed his eyes, wiped away his drool, and stumbled off the bus in a daze.

Fulin Garden was an old residential complex built twenty years ago, property his maternal grandparents had bought when they were young. It had seven floors in total—because of air-defense safety requirements, ordinary buildings generally could not exceed seven floors unless protected by formations.

"Fairy Xiao Fei, we're the best of friends..."

As he entered and opened the elevator, he saw a chubby little girl with a round face watching television in rapt attention. Without even turning her head, she said, "Jiang Ding, I bought the groceries. They're in the kitchen."

"Don't call me by my name."

Ever since Jiang Yuan entered middle school, she had started becoming rude. She had been much cuter in elementary school.

In the kitchen, Jiang Ding looked at the three lonely eggs and one tomato in the plastic bag.

"Jiang Yuan!"

Blocking the television screen, Jiang Ding said speechlessly, "Even embezzlement has to have limits, okay? Do you take the two of us for birds?"

Their mother often worked overtime. Since Jiang Yuan's school was close to the market, she was responsible for buying groceries every day. This girl was extremely dishonest.

"Well..." Jiang Yuan's gaze wandered as she looked everywhere but at him. "I ran into the school bully, and he robbed me of most of the grocery money."

"Very good."

Expressionless, Jiang Ding took out his phone and dialed 110. "Perfect. We'll call the police and have him arrested. Who was it? What's his name?"

There was no need to worry about being unable to find him. Aside from private places such as homes and bathrooms, most public areas were monitored by the Rongcheng City Array Spirit Computer. This was also one reason why the earlier cross-realm cultivator invasion had been resolved so quickly.

Jiang Yuan's face fell, and she turned her head away. "Fine, I admit it. I used that money and my savings to buy a Fairy Xiao Fei figurine."

Jiang Ding shook his head, switched his phone to the payment QR code, held it before her, and said nothing.

This little thing was like a pixiu, possessed by an utterly fanatical hoarding habit. From childhood to now, he had never seen her buy anything that cost more than ten yuan. Even a Fairy Xiao Fei figurine could not possibly make her spend money.

Of course, it was different when she spent Jiang Ding's money. Then she was generous and lavish indeed.

The two stared at each other for a full three minutes.

"Jiang Ding!"

Jiang Yuan was indignant, but in the end, she had no choice but to concede and scan the code to transfer the money.

Ding! 25.4 yuan!

Ignoring her flailing claws and bared fangs, Jiang Ding added a little money of his own and ordered two takeout meals. He warned, "If you go this far again, I'll report you to Mom and strip you of grocery-buying privileges. If Mom doesn't want her son malnourished all day, she'll agree."

"Got it."

Jiang Yuan replied unwillingly.

Jiang Ding got up and went to the kitchen. He washed the last remaining tomato, placed it on the cutting board, and rested his hand on his sword hilt.

Clang!

A snow-bright sword flash burst forth, flickering three times in succession, then another three times, before returning to its sheath.

"Not bad!"

Jiang Ding spread open the tomato, which still retained its spherical shape. It had been cut into seven slices of uniform thickness. He nodded in satisfaction, then sighed. "I still have to cut through the middle before it can go into the pan. That's not something the Body Refining Realm can accomplish with a single sword strike—it exceeds the basic laws of mechanical operation... If only I had true qi."

Speaking of which, although he ranked at the bottom in every subject from Chinese to mathematics, his swordsmanship was actually quite good—better than the Inner Qi Realm martial artists in his class. According to his teacher, if he worked hard for a few more years, he might even touch the threshold of comprehending "intent."

Unfortunately, it was useless as tits on a bull.

No matter how high one's swordsmanship, a burst from an assault rifle would put one down. If that was not destructive enough, one could simply raise a Heavy Machine Gun and sweep the area with a barrage. Even Qi Refining cultivators would have to temporarily circle around and seek cover.

The main purpose of the cold-weapons elective was to cultivate one's temperament and understand the combat methods of the external enemies of the Immortal Sect.

"Jiang Ding, did you wash your sword?" Jiang Yuan shouted. "Dust and sweat get on it while you practice! You might be able to eat it, but I can't!"

"Don't worry. I used the school-issued sword for practice today."

Very soon, a perfectly ordinary plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes came out of the pan and was placed on the dining table.

Jiang Yuan was still watching her Fairy Xiao Fei. Jiang Ding, meanwhile, sat on the sofa with his eyes closed in rest, a black scabbard laid across his knees as he silently contemplated the Eagle's Takeoff Sword Art.

This cultivation method was broad and profound. It appeared to be merely a sword art, yet in truth it encompassed everything: the principles of Chinese-language cultivation methods and talismans, the principles of mathematical and physical formations and formation patterns, biology's structures of human bones and muscles, as well as the meridians, flesh, blood, and internal structures of spirit beasts and demon beasts. The better one learned the relevant subjects, the deeper one's comprehension of swordsmanship became.

"Um, Jiang Ding..."

"Speak."

Jiang Ding did not open his eyes.

"Dad contacted me today. He just asked whether I was studying properly and whether I was healthy... Should I reply to him?"

"Either way is fine. Do as you please. Don't tell Mom."

Jiang Ding glanced at the conflicted Jiang Yuan, then closed his eyes again.

Not long after Jiang Yuan was born, Jiang Ding's father had divorced their mother. From that time onward, their mother had brought the two of them to live in her own home.

Back then, Jiang Ding had practically cried and screamed for his father every day. Yet as he grew older, he gradually mentioned him less and less.

Through his uncle and other relatives over the years, he had also formed some guesses about the reason for his parents' divorce.

Back then, after elementary school, middle school, high school, university, and marriage, his father—who had grown up as childhood sweethearts with his mother—had probably cheated on her. It seemed he had even secretly had a child slightly older than Jiang Ding.

Knock, knock, knock!

At the seventh-floor window, a palm-sized white bird tapped lightly against the glass with its sharp beak—one heavy tap followed by two light ones. Its claws held a beige bag.

"Mr. Jiang, your delivery has arrived. Please sign for it. Spirit Cuisine House thanks you for your patronage."

"Mm."

Jiang Ding rose, opened the window, pulled a delivery receipt from beneath the bird's belly, wrote his name on it, and tucked it back. Then he took the takeout bag from its claws.

"Spirit Cuisine House welcomes your next visit."

The white bird beat its wings and flew into the distance.

After eating, washing the dishes, and finishing that day's homework with Jiang Yuan, Jiang Yuan arranged to play with her classmates, while Jiang Ding returned to his room.

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Ding opened his drawer.

A crimson broken sword tip appeared before his eyes. It was the size of two fingers and extremely delicate, its fracture jagged and uneven, as though it had been forcibly snapped apart by some violent force.

"Could it be a fragment of a magic treasure?"

Jiang Ding pinched the Broken Sword Tip between two fingers. It felt warm and soft like jade, not like metal.

He had picked it up at a bus stop three days ago, though not by accident—at the time, while still at school, his soul had trembled, and he had abruptly sensed something incomparably important, something bound to him by blood, appearing somewhere.

Following that sensation, he had eventually found it beneath the bus stop sign.

The instant he touched the broken sword tip, an instinct surfaced, letting Jiang Ding know that it was named [Crimson...]. With a thought, it could carry its host across to another world.

Jiang Ding's first reaction to such a heaven-defying opportunity had been disbelief.

There was precedent. More than eight hundred years ago, an Outer Realm Nascent Soul Cultivator had lost both Nascent Soul and body during a war, escaping with only a remnant soul. He disguised himself as an old grandfather and lurked in the Sea of Consciousness of True Lord Canghai, who at the time had merely been a small Qi Refining cultivator.

The young True Lord Canghai had nearly suffered Body Seizure, allowing the enemy to infiltrate the Immortal Sect's confidential departments and steal its secrets.

137 points in Ideological and Moral Character.

Without any delay, Jiang Ding had gone straight to the city library where the Rongcheng City Array Spirit Computer was stationed and used his once-a-year student authorization for a comprehensive physical examination.

The Rongcheng City Array Spirit Computer was a subsidiary spirit of the Central Array Spirit Computer, and its database was connected to the main body. Its insight was practically equivalent to that of a Deity Transformation Great Expert. If there had been any clue, it certainly would have detected it.

The examination results showed no problems whatsoever.

"I'm taking the gamble."

Jiang Ding's heart settled. He muttered to himself, "Even if there is a problem, it would be a problem capable of deceiving a Deity Transformation Great Expert. A game between figures like that surely wouldn't erupt within a hundred years, right? That would be far too lacking in grandeur."

"Besides, this is just wild speculation. There's an overwhelming chance that no great expert would be bored enough to scheme against an ordinary person like me."

Having made up his mind, Jiang Ding did not delay. He picked up a cardboard box half a person tall, brought his ID card and medical insurance card, and rented a room at the hotel outside the city's First Hospital.

Rongcheng City First Hospital was the best public hospital in Rongcheng City. It had extensive experience treating knife wounds, gunshot wounds, and poisoning. So long as one's head was not blown apart on the spot, even severed limbs, broken legs, or a ruptured heart could be saved.

With student medical insurance, the price was not too difficult to bear.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Ding did not cross over immediately. Instead, he opened the cardboard box.

These items had cost him all the New Year's gift money he had saved since childhood, along with the money his mother had given him after he entered his senior year of high school to support his martial training and buy supplements. In total, it was a little over twenty thousand yuan.

A set of camouflage clothing, including shoes, and a pair of transparent tactical gloves.

Manufactured by Luban Arms Technology Company and made from bulletproof materials, it could deform to fit the human body. At maximum strength, it could withstand more than two close-range pistol shots, equivalent to a Minor Accomplishment of Inner Qi martial artist attacking at full strength with a sharp weapon.

One tactical Panoramic Helmet.

Spherical, like a glass basketball, it could protect against poison and supply its own oxygen for one hour. It could withstand several full-force attacks from an Inner Qi Great Accomplishment martial artist without damage. It could also connect to drone feeds and communication modules and receive orders from superiors. It was one of the standard pieces of equipment for Immortal Sect infantry in combat.

If he found the helmet too cumbersome, the seller had also included a pair of contact lenses that could carry communication modules and connect to drone feeds, though they offered no protection whatsoever.

There were also four rotary-wing drones. They could fly at an altitude of two thousand meters and came equipped with high-definition cameras and miniature sensing radar. They could clearly observe the movements of people and animals within five kilometers on the ground. If the target did not conceal their aura, they could even roughly sense their strength.

He was armed to the teeth.

Last of all, he had also bought a pile of cold medicine, Yunnan Baiyao, and other common medicines for his pockets. Against his chest was a Heavenly King Life-Saving Spirit Pill that his mother had bought for him in childhood at the cost of half a year's salary.

"This will do."

Jiang Ding steeled himself and activated the Broken Sword Tip. In an instant, heaven and earth spun.