Tank Infantry

After explaining several times and confirming Jiang Ding had understood most of it, Zhang Dingjun left, instructing him to record his understanding on the mini-computer built into his camouflage combat suit.

He still had to go to the Qi Refining squad.

After a round of Q&A, Jiang Ding suddenly understood the Minor Breath Concealment Technique. He instinctively circulated his internal energy through his meridians, forming complex structures.

It was incredibly smooth, with no instances of a spell structure suddenly collapsing.

Jiang Ding's heart stirred. He controlled the military drone that came with the camouflage suit, projecting its view to himself.

He found nothing.

After searching around, he could see Li Junhao and Sun Xiao, and even zoomed in to see the freckles on their faces, but he couldn't find anyone named Jiang Ding.

Jiang Ding sent a command. The military drone scanned this small area repeatedly with its mini-radar waves. After a full minute, a blurry humanoid phantom appeared in one of the firing positions.

So strong?

Jiang Ding was taken aback, then understood the reason.

[Scout-1 Camouflage]

A top-grade special magic artifact, woven and inscribed with a Tier 1 Breath Concealment Array. It needed to be used in conjunction with the Minor Breath Concealment Technique. When mastered to Minor Accomplishment, it could conceal the spiritual sense scans of Ninth Level Qi Refining cultivators and also offer some degree of concealment from the Tier 1 infantry radar carried by tanks.

The set he was wearing was not ordinary infantry camouflage. When used with the Minor Breath Concealment Technique, it was terrifying.

Of course, this was only true for mortals.

Currently, within the range of a cultivator's spiritual sense, and with Immortal Sect cultivators using the Spirit Particle Radar carried by tanks combined with the Electromagnetic Induction Wave Technique for reconnaissance, this stealth was no different from having no stealth at all.

Jiang Ding had an epiphany.

He carefully experienced the Minor Breath Concealment Technique enhanced by the reconnaissance camouflage. Immediately, many insights flooded his mind. Spell structures that he had previously found difficult and could only copy blindly, he now understood the principles behind after this comparison.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

Boom~

Boom boom~

From the horizon came the heavy roar of tank engines. Groups of yellow-camouflaged steel fortresses drove from afar, more than ten of them, advancing as a swarm with an overwhelming momentum.

Looking closer, a Qi Refining realm student was seated cross-legged on the roof of each tank.

"Everyone, assemble."

Zhang Dingjun jumped down from a tank, clapping his hands. "Today's lesson is on tanks and accompanying infantry. The role of tanks is to provide cover, fire support, and pinpoint kills."

"Accompanying infantry, six people, responsible for using heavy machine gun fire to disrupt formations, clear out enemy martial artists and low-level cultivators with poor mobility, and assist tanks in eliminating high-value targets with their firepower, or use their firepower to help deplete the magic power of extremely high-value targets."

"First squad, you will follow student Hua Bing's tank."

Zhang Dingjun pointed.

"Yes!"

Sun Xiao and the others replied loudly, a hint of excitement on their faces.

Training with early-stage Qi Refining cultivators was vastly different from training with late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

The tanks moved off, followed by Sun Xiao and the other six students, keeping pace with the tanks without falling behind, forming a standard marching formation.

Jiang Ding and the others watched intently.

He noticed that as Hua Bing, who was sitting on the tank's roof, made a hand seal, wisps of green wind appeared around Sun Xiao and the others, making their steps much lighter.

Tier 1 Gale Technique, a group military formation buff.

This display of skilled group spellcasting demonstrated her superb casting technique, something even direct disciples of Golden Core stage sects from beyond the realm might not be able to achieve.

"Combat formation!" Zhang Dingjun shouted.

The six people behind the tank spread out, forming two small triangular formations on the flanks and rear, spaced about twenty meters apart.

The students like Jiang Ding, who were observing, no longer used their naked eyes but focused their attention on their respective military drone feeds.

About four to five kilometers away, twelve paper figures suddenly emerged from the ground, lurking among the trees and grass, moving cautiously. They realistically mimicked a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator from beyond the realm leading eleven early-stage Qi Refining cultivators in combat.

Training paper figures, an industrialized product of cultivation, had no offensive capabilities but could simulate the speed and movements of various enemies. Their manufacturing cost was dozens of times higher than that of targets.

"Area (214,22), concentrate fire."

Hua Bing's clear voice sounded on the first squad's communication channel. Jiang Ding and the others could receive it but could not speak, as it was for observation and learning.

"Yes!"

Sun Xiao and the six fired at the designated area without delay, unleashing ten shots in rapid succession.

Instantly, in the drone's view, the jungle was engulfed by sixty heavy machine gun bullets with faint dispelling properties. Trees snapped, and wood chips flew.

The paper figures representing Qi Refining cultivators were instantly shattered – the shields of early to mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators were thinner than paper against heavy machine guns.

Only the paper figure with the mid-stage Qi Refining aura, having been alert beforehand, dodged most of the bullets.

Another piece of paper, representing a defensive artifact, fluttered, barely deflecting one bullet that was about to hit him. He narrowly survived, and the defensive artifact was instantly destroyed.

The paper figure moved away from the area even faster.

"The script is exaggerated,"

someone complained on the public channel, "Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators aren't this alert. Their spiritual sense range of only thirty to forty meters isn't much of a threat."

"Not necessarily. According to the battle recordings, there are still Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators who exhibit instinctive premonition of life-or-death situations from time to time."

Jiang Ding didn't join the discussion, focusing intently on the paper figure.

A cultivator with such capabilities could definitely be considered elite.

Bang bang!

Two bursts of fire from the anti-aircraft mounted magical cannons, rapid bursts that precisely sealed the path the Qi Refining mid-stage paper figure had to take. They hit their mark, reducing it to scattered paper scraps.

"Nice!"

The crowd couldn't help but cheer.

"Good."

Zhang Dingjun also praised on the public channel, "Qi Refining stage students possess spiritual sense, calculation, and observation abilities far exceeding ordinary students. Therefore, we must utilize these to predict gaps in the squad's firepower encirclement, where the enemy might escape, and so on."

Next, the enemy types continuously changed, and their strength increased.

There were paper figures with purely martial artist auras, slow-moving but numerous, wielding weapons like swords, spears, sabers, halberds, and bows, surrounding them from all directions.

"This is also something to note."

Zhang Dingjun said coldly, "The gap between cultivators from beyond the domain and our world, between immortal and mortal, is immense. 'Ants' isn't even a sufficient description. Both righteous and demonic path cultivators have examples of controlling large numbers of mortal martial artists, even going beyond martial artists to the old, weak, women, and children, simply mass-producing them into monsters like zombies and ghosts to deplete our ammunition reserves."

Many students showed expressions of pity.

"You only need to remember one thing: those from beyond the domain have nothing to do with us. Don't even mention the enemies on the battlefield; even if civilians block our path, what if we kill them all?"

Jiang Ding frowned.

In those words, he heard a bloodlust as vast as mountains and seas.

But he couldn't say anything. Zhang Dingjun's statement violated the Immortal Sect's political correctness of treating immortals and mortals as one. If someone reported him, he would also get into some trouble. It was a well-intentioned warning.

The Hua Bing squad pressed on, overcoming all obstacles.

There was a twelve-person squad composed entirely of Qi Refining mid-stage cultivators. Most of them could use spells like invisibility and earth escape, but they were still easily scanned by the tank's built-in Tier 1 Spirit Particle Radar. They were annihilated by tank shells, anti-aircraft magical cannons, and heavy machine guns.