Mount Hua Base

Outside the gate of the Southeast Military Region supply base, Jiangnan Base City.

Bai Yang and Yang Wu, both fully dressed, stood gazing at the sky, waiting silently.

Before long, a loud roar echoed from the heavens.

The familiar azure flying saucer appeared—the [Mount Hua] had come to pick them up.

Though he had seen it a few times, this was Bai Yang's first time actually riding in it.

Looking at the interior of the flying saucer, with all sorts of incomprehensible buttons and instruments, it truly gave off a high-tech sci-fi feel.

Lu Ting hadn't come this time; only Mei Xiaqing was there.

After boarding, Bai Yang called out, "Sister Mei."

Mei Xiaqing nodded at them amiably, then focused on piloting the flying saucer as it took off.

Having spent time with her, Bai Yang knew this was just her nature—work always came first—so he didn't mind.

The flying saucer rapidly ascended. Through the windows, the two could see the entire landscape laid out below.

Unlike Earth in his past life, here, outside the base city, all kinds of monsters ran rampant.

The land seemed vibrant with life, yet it clearly conveyed how scarce human territory was.

Bai Yang glanced a few times and felt displeased. All the picturesque mountains and rivers that humans cherished had been ruined beyond recognition by various mutated creatures.

The towns and villages that once lined the roads in neat rows had all vanished, reduced to rubble.

This Huaxia was indeed not the place he was familiar with.

The flying saucer traveled at several times the speed of sound. From Jiangnan to Kyoto, even accounting for takeoff and landing deceleration, it only took a little over ten minutes.

Neither of them felt much of anything before they had already arrived.

Stepping out of the cabin, the three found themselves in a desolate private airport.

Surrounded entirely by farmland, there were almost no buildings in sight.

This is the [Mount Hua]?

Bai Yang felt puzzled—it was nothing like what he had imagined.

Mei Xiaqing gestured for them to follow her, and the three entered a low building beside the airport.

She led them familiarly to an indoor elevator.

The elevator was extremely old, even using iron bars as its door.

Once they were inside, Mei Xiaqing did something on the elevator's button panel.

The entire elevator suddenly dropped, descending at an astonishing speed.

Bai Yang sensed the velocity—they had likely plunged hundreds of meters underground in an instant, yet there was no sign of stopping.

After a while, with a clang, the elevator finally came to a halt.

Bai Yang peered out. They were now in a vast white hall.

Mei Xiaqing led them straight to the front desk.

Two attractive female officers confirmed their identities and handled the basic procedures.

The hall was bustling with hundreds of people coming and going.

Occasionally, someone spotted Bai Yang, immediately snapped to attention, and saluted: "Sir!"

Bai Yang nodded in acknowledgment. His official position was now the leader of the [Mount Hua] Ninth Group.

Though in reality he was a commander with no troops—Yang Wu would be his first team member—

his military rank was indeed a genuine major general.

As they walked, Mei Xiaqing said, "The new office for the Ninth Group has been renovated, but there's basically nothing in it yet.

Are you sure you don't have any requests?"

Bai Yang looked around at the surroundings and replied casually, "I really don't have any requests. For a while now, I won't be coming here often, so renovating it would be useless."

The Wilderness Zone, the War God Camp... Thinking about Bai Yang's upcoming itinerary, he indeed wouldn't have much time to stay in Kyoto.

Mei Xiaqing said no more.

After walking a bit further, Bai Yang's eyes suddenly lit up.

In the middle of this white hall, a massive stone stood abruptly.

On it were carved some words—the very same short poem from the Mount Hua Sword box:

Mount Hua Sword rises, Ten steps, one kill, Shattered bones and body?

Protect our Huaxia!

This was also the founding purpose of Mount Hua.

After passing through the main hall, the three of them took elevators and stairs, winding through countless twists and turns.

The interior of the entire Mount Hua was as complex as a maze; without a guide, finding the way would be no easy task.

After over half an hour of navigating this enormous underground structure, the three finally arrived at an extremely secluded meeting room.

Jia Yi and Lu Ting were waiting for them there.

Everyone was straightforward and decisive by nature. Jia Yi asked as soon as they met, "Bai Yang, are you really confident about this?"

Bai Yang smiled and said, "Elder Jia, rest assured. I won't let you down. As for how much everyone can remember, that depends on the individual.

I've already sent the written explanations of the forty-seven routines to Sister Mei.

Either way, we won't come away empty-handed."

Lu Ting's expression was grim as he said, "That time, we offended the Limit Dojo badly. If my teacher hadn't personally intervened, they wouldn't even have agreed to lend us the holographic camera.

Our film stock is limited, and we might only have one chance. You'll really have to work hard."

Bai Yang said it was no problem—it would just take some time, nothing that would tire him out.

The five of them wasted no more words and directly pushed open a hidden door in the meeting room.

Behind the hidden door was a spiral staircase leading downward.

They followed the stairs down and arrived at a place that looked like a massive film studio.

Mei Xiaqing explained, "This time, we've used a double safety measure.

Besides the 'holographic camera' borrowed from the Limit Dojo, we're also using our own Earth equipment.

We've set up sixteen groups of cameras from six directions—above, below, front, back, left, and right—to achieve full coverage of the viewing angles.

We'll capture as much information as possible.

In the end, we'll consolidate all the data into the most advanced computer to generate a digital model. That way, it can be disseminated and replicated."

Lu Ting sighed and said, "Unfortunately, this method is just a last resort.

Otherwise, those aliens would have done it long ago. I've tried before, and every time, the same route of Dark Force differentiation produces different results.

Any tiny change could have thousands of different solutions.

Unless I could memorize every single variation, there's no way to teach it by rote."

Bai Yang was also resigned. He had tried it himself a few times, and each cultivation session turned out differently.

There was no way to teach it; even passing along a fragment of one percent to others was already very difficult.

He walked straight to the center of the studio and began demonstrating the Mist Sword.

The other four sat quietly in the corner of the room, waiting for this moment.

Before long, a massive, platinum-gold light projection appeared.

Though they already knew the truth, seeing such a scene for the first time was still indescribably shocking.

Especially for Jia Yi and Lu Ting, who had studied and cultivated the Mist Sword for decades.

They had never imagined that in their lifetimes, they could uncover the secrets within.

The entire studio fell into dead silence.

Only the low hum of nearly a hundred cameras of various types working could be heard.

Bai Yang swung his sword again and again in the center. This time, the Platinum Light Shadow was different from the last display.

As he swung his sword, he was also continuously refining his swordsmanship, gradually entering a state where he forgot both himself and the world around him.