Translator:Atlas StudiosEditor:Atlas Studios

The matter implicated the entire Federation and all the political entities within. As one of the four great Dao Colleges, the Ethereal Dao College had many graduates who gained office in the Federation. The disciples came from a wide range of family backgrounds; their relationships with the Federation were complex and multi-layered.

That was why news of the Operation Sword Sun had appeared on Upper Academy Island almost immediately, even before the operation had been unanimously approved and announced publicly. Heated discussions and excited exchanges also turned up on the colleges Spirit Intranet.

Have you heard about Operation Sword Sun? A mission to land on the ancient green-bronze sword! There must be Divine Armaments up there!

Compared to the ancient green-bronze swords strong Spirit Qi and its countless rare materials and treasures, Im actually more interested in whether there are any living female ancient sword cultivators, and whether their physiology and psychology are identical to ours. If theres an opportunity, as an academic endeavor, I would like to study whether its possible to develop a romantic relationship with one!

Why the mention of female cultivators only the poster above is harboring immoral intentions! I demand to be part of the research team!

Shameless, you lot of guys. You men have fantasies that show how much of a scum you are!

Such excitement and playful banter spread like wildfire on the Spirit Intranet. Wang Baole was equally excited. He started fantasizing about the possibility of one day stepping on the ancient green-bronze sword and holding his presidential inauguration there. Behind him would be an army of guardsancient sword cultivators. He played out the scenes in his mind, and his eyes lit up.

He couldnt help himself. He posted anonymously on the Spirit Intranet.

I have no respect for you lot, guys who have no ambition and whose brains are obsessed with female cultivators. How could we as cultivators behave in such a manner! Im telling all of you, in all seriousness, that if theres any research on romances with aliens, to please give me a holler! Im an expert on this!

His post was soon mocked by others. Amidst the lively and rowdy atmosphere, the college disciples started to look forward to the mission. What they had said previously had all been in jest. In reality, every disciple held feelings towards the ancient sword that couldnt be described with mere words. The Dao civilization on Earth had arisen because of the ancient swords appearance. Its origins inspired all kinds of speculation, and at the same time, people were in awe of the ancient sword.

More and more people started talking about Operation Sword Sun. There were even some mainstream media outlets in the Federation that began broadcasting about the mission. Wang Baole was munching on his snacks and scrolling through the posts on the Spirit Intranet one day, ready to post an article under his anonymous account, when he received a voice transmission message from the seventh primary strongholds General Zhou Dexi.

Wang Baole, Ive made arrangements for someone to send over the Beast Kings tooth that I promised you earlier. You should be able to receive it today!

General Zhous low voice was calm and composed as usual, and it traveled slowly into Wang Baoles ear. Wang Baole became alert and filled with energy. He hurriedly set aside his snacks and turned towards the voice transmission device.

Many thanks to General Zhou!

A fire burned within Wang Baole. He had been waiting for the tooth for so long. He was confident that once he got hold of the Core Formation realm Beast Emperors tooth, he would be able to upgrade his Numinous Treasure-grade Dragons Tooth. With the help of the Core Formation realm-grade beasts tooth, his Dragons Tooth would let loose an unimaginable power.

Zhou Dexi heard the excitement in Wang Baoles voice. His remained calm. He chatted casually with Wang Baole for a short while more before switching the tone of his voice, saying suddenly, Wang Baole, you little rascal. You decimated everyone during the Ethereal Dao Colleges Armament Soldier assessment, sounded the Elder Request Drum and called forth the Grand Supreme Elder in your college to judge the matter of your Numinous Treasure. This entire incident has reached our ears.

Im interested in that Baole Cannon of yours. Lend me one. Ill find someone to test its effectiveness in actual battle.

Wang Baole agreed to General Zhous request without hesitation. The Fire God Cannon had inspired his original creation of the cannon. Furthermore, he had a unique friendship with the seventh primary stronghold. He would be glad if the cannon could be of use to the seventh primary stronghold. In fact, he had already thought of the same idea as General Zhou.

Zhou Dexi was comforted and pleased by Wang Baoles swift and decisive agreement. He spoke a few more words, then ended the conversation. It didnt take long, and by the time the sun began to set, a cruiser that had come from the seventh primary stronghold landed in the Ethereal Dao College.

The person who had arrived was Zhou Lu. After some communication with the Ethereal Dao College, Zhou Lu appeared before Wang Baole. She stood outside the cave abode and watched as Wang Baole came outside. Regardless of the contributions Wang Baole had made towards the seventh primary stronghold, her feelings towards him were slightly complicated. Because of their unpleasant history, she couldnt bring herself to like him. Furthermore, she sensed a certain perversion in Wang Baoles naming of the Numinous Treasure. All the above resulted in her glaring at him and stretching out her right hand impatiently.

Hand over your Numinous Treasure!

Wang Baole originally had a smile on his face when he had seen Zhou Lu approach and was about to hand over the Baole Cannon, but upon hearing the tone of her voice, he became displeased. He rolled his eyes and stopped, and instead leaned against the rock wall. He crossed his arms and gave Zhou Lu a sweep once over.

Whatre you getting at? You ask for presents whenever you see a cute guy?

Stop disgusting me and hand it over, quickly! Zhou Lu heard Wang Baole call himself a cute guy and couldnt help the contempt surging within her. She frowned and snorted.

Wang Baole became angry when he saw Zhou Lus attitude towards him. All his life, except Du Min, he had never met his match in a spar of wits. He raised an eyebrow.

I have so many Numinous Treasures. Which is the one you want?

You Zhou Lus chest heaved. She had a shapely figure with fine curves and was wearing a black form-fitting uniform. As she grew more agitated, the uniform looked as if it was about to burst at the seams at any moment.

After a second, she finally gritted her teeth and said, one word at a time.

The. Baole. Cannon!

Wang Baole coughed and thought himself rather gifted in the area of naming. He would not have treated another person in such a manner, but Zhou Lus tone was unfriendly; she tried to order him around, and when she looked at him, it was with contempt in her eyes. Wang Baole didnt feel he was in the wrong, no matter how much he pushed her around.

However, Wang Baole considered the possibility of Zhou Lu being General Zhous concubine. Even if that wasnt the case, they had the same family name; they could be relatives. He felt that there was no need for him to lower himself to her level and continue their fight.

Wang Baole thought his decision showed great consideration to General Zhou. He lifted his right hand and with a wave, threw a Baole Cannon over.

Zhou Lu caught the Numinous Treasure and snorted. She flung a storage bracelet at Wang Baole, turned, and left. Her clothes clung tightly to her body, and as she left with her back towards Wang Baole, he couldnt help but eye her departing form.

Theyve turned back to peachesHe sighed. He couldnt help himself as he yelled at Zhou Lus retreating back.

Zhou Lu, speak the truth. Are you secretly in love with me?

A dozen yards away, Zhou Lu heard what Wang Baole said. She stumbled and almost fell. When she spun around, she was clearly furious and on the verge of explosion. She glared at Wang Baole.

If thats not the case, why do you wear clothes a size smaller when you come to see me? Zhou Lu, I advise you to just give up. Were not compatible! Wang Baole sighed loudly. He didnt wait for Zhou Lu to respond, only turned and quickly returned to his cave abode. The doors shut with a loud slam.

Outside the cave abode, Zhou Lu was on the verge of flying into a mad rage. Her chest heaved, and she stared unblinkingly at the doors of Wang Baoles cave abode. After a moment, she finally clamped down on her temper. With gnashed teeth, she turned around and boarded her cruiser, dashing off.

Stupid fatty, shameless rat! I, Zhou Lu, would rather fall in love with a beast than fall in love with you! On the cruiser, a raging Zhou Lu cursed.

After making sure that Zhou Lu had indeed left, Wang Baole, who sat cross-legged in his cave abode, started humming merrily. He opened the storage bracelet happily and retrieved from within a black tooth the length of an arm.

The tooth was sharp and exuded an intense aura of violence. Upon its exposure, the surrounding temperature fell considerably. Wang Baole shivered, and he focused his breath and became serious. He could feel a suppressive force weighing down on him.

An impressive and imposing aura was exuded from the tooth as well, one which tested the stability of Wang Baoles cultivation. It took Wang Baole quite some time before he could get used to it, and with some difficulty. His eyes started to shine.

This is good stuff. Wang Baoles eyes shone.He could wait no longer. He rushed into the smelting furnace room with the beasts tooth, pulled out the Dragons Tooth, and started the refinement.

During that time, Zhou Lu had returned to the seventh primary stronghold and handed the Baole Cannon over to General Zhou. He inspected it briefly and immediately arranged for one of his soldiers to test it on captive monsters.

A thundering shot resounded in the air. The blast from the Baole Cannon pierced straight through the beast and disintegrated half of its body. It was a beast that rivaled a first level True Breath realm cultivator.

The power of the blast didnt surprise the surrounding soldiers observing the trial. After all, it was weaker than the Fire God Cannon. Even though it proved fatal for a True Breath realm beast, similar Numinous Treasures did exist!

Continue! General Zhou said coolly. The warrior holding the cannon continued firing. Soon, the number of shots fired reached eighty, a hundred and sixty, three hundred and fifty, five hundred and thirty

Gradually, the warriors breathing quickened with excitement. Those watching couldnt maintain their composure either. Their eyes widened and slowly revealed their amazement and disbelief.

Zhou Lu, who had been standing at one side, was dazed as well.

General Zhous breathing quickened slightly as well.

The Baole Cannon was simply stable beyond belief. Even though Numinous Treasures with similar destructive force were plenty, the reason that those treasures werent as prevalent in usage was that they were firstly, costly to make, and secondly too unstable!

War was, after all, different from a mere friendly challenge. During a friendly challenge, one could switch their Numinous Treasures countless times. A Numinous Treasure would generally be fired a few timesat most, a few dozen or up to a hundred times. But in war, it was common to fire one Numinous Treasure a few hundred or a few thousand times.

The Baole Cannon was fired a total of a thousand and two hundred times before it showed signs of instability. The test was finally concluded, and there was silence in the air. Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide. When they looked at the Baole Cannon, a battle scene appeared in their mind.

In that scene, the Baole Cannon had been mass produced. After a salvo of Fire God Cannon shots, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousandsperhaps even a millionBaole Cannon shots would be fired. Picturing that sent everyone shaking to their core.

No wonder the Ethereal Dao College didnt go around spreading news of this, but suppressed the news and contacted the military in secret Im afraid even Wang Baole himself is not fully aware of this cannons worth and what it truly means General Zhou muttered to himself.

Beside him, Zhou Lu remained unconvinced. She said quietly, I examined it on my way back as well. Even though I dont fully understand its workings, but I can tell the cannon isnt that complex a Numinous Treasure. Its just a matter of a few modified inscriptions. There are plenty of Dharmic Armament cultivators in the Federation, so why was it that no one has come up with this before?

General Zhou stared calmly at Zhou Lu. When Zhou Lu finally lowered her head in uncertainty, he said in a cool voice, There were many who thought the same when the Fire God Cannon was created. In fact, many people think like you when anything of any value is first created!

Its just a matter of a few modified inscriptions you try and modify one. If you are up to it, go ahead!