Yaoguang said, "Array art is such a complicated and enormous system."

After a full day of teaching, he returned to the residence Zhao Siliang had arranged for him. Since he had been teaching the fourth-generation level 5 spirit-gathering array to these array art masters, he had spent most of his time at the Energy Department outside Nine-Heaven City. As a result, even the work progress at the Purple Firmament Institute had slowed somewhat.

There was no helping it. These array art masters learned far too slowly. Well, to be fair, the content was too broad and complex. Whenever Yaoguang advanced the teaching even slightly, the array casters had to painstakingly comprehend it.

He had been rather anxious at the start. How he wished these students, all of whom had achieved mastery in array art, graduate within a month or two. Soon, he realized that rushing it was pointless. Everyone had different strengths and learned at their own pace. It had nothing to do with his teaching efficiency.

Looking back, if not for the boost brought by high-dimensional cognition, even he would struggle to comprehend these things. It was like how 4D life forms found it baffling how ordinary life forms struggled to understand 4D spaces. Was it not just a matter of having a brain?

Likewise, anyone would be just as frustrated when forced to comprehend something they simply could not grasp. It was like telling a 2D life form, “Isn’t turning 3D just a matter of going from a plane to solid. Just jump. How could one not learn something so simple?“ That was probably how it felt.

Thus, he changed his teaching approach. He taught exactly like a teacher guiding students, casually assigning some homework or arranging an exam. That alone was enough to leave them racking their brains for a long time. In the meantime, he would have enough time to handle matters at the Purple Firmament Institute.

Without his primordial psyche to oversee things, running back and forth inevitably slowed the institute’s efficiency. Nevertheless, from a long-term perspective, this sacrifice was worth it.

As long as he introduced the level 6 spirit-gathering array at the right time and spent a few years teaching the improvements, the Nine-Cauldron Sect’s output could surpass 250 million spirit stones.

Of course, the exact figure would depend on whether the Nine-Cauldron Sect still had other concealed nodes.

Upon discovering they had feigned having only 300 third-tier great sword cultivators when the true number was 700, he became skeptical that the sect possessed only 43 spiritual power nodes.

Either way, Zhao Siliang gave me a set of figures. If we can upgrade all the spirit-gathering arrays within the next ten years, our spirit stone output will increase by 100 million, reaching a total output of 180 million.

Yaoguang did a quick calculation. Since I take 30% of that, I will be earning 30 million spirit stones a year ten years from now.

For the sake of the increase in annual income, enduring a bit of hardship was worth it.

He shook his head. "It took me nearly half a year to teach level 4 array art. Level 5 will probably take me a full year. I finally get why top students like explaining problems to other top students, and do not want to teach underachievers."

Just then, his communication bracelet lit up. He lowered his head and glanced at it, somewhat surprised.

Su Yaoyu: Yaoguang, is there going to be a war?

Her text was filled with worry. She also sent several screenshots of groups upon groups of sword cultivators rising into the air and rushing toward the East Sea's islands. There were several similar images as well.

Su Yaoyu: Should we stockpile some supplies in case things become tight later?

Yaoguang was speechless. No, he wasn’t surprised that she would ask such a question. It was evident that the incident half a year ago had left her highly sensitive to such matters.

Back then, the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship had pressed to the city gates. Hundreds of great cultivators had fought desperately. Torrent after torrent of world-shattering energy erupted overhead.

Though Longxiang City emerged unscathed, the battle took place not far beyond it, where many small towns were located. When faced with a Sky Patrol Warship and star-shattering powers, even the aftershocks alone were enough to flatten those poorly defended towns. Yaoguang had not investigated exactly how many towns had been destroyed, but it shouldn’t have been less than a handful.

He silently noted, Ordinary people...

In the face of such a great battle, ordinary people were powerless to resist. All they could do was close their eyes and wait for death. Su Yaoyu was one of them. Even changes in the external environment had not allowed her nature to break free of that category. In this regard, she was far inferior to Su Yaoxue, let alone Lin Xia or Leng Jun.

Ever since she arrived at Longxiang City, she had always worked diligently and conscientiously. Unfortunately, she lacked both talent and ability. Even though Yaoguang had given her quite a few opportunities, her achievements remained mediocre.

At the moment, her role was roughly akin to the chief housekeeper of the Su family faction. She was in charge of everyone’s food, clothing, housing, and daily needs.

He decided to reassure her.

Yaoguang: It is fine. Don't worry. Something like a Sky Patrol Warship charging inland and pressing to the city gates will not happen again anytime soon.

Su Yaoyu: Then, should I use some of our reserve funds to buy and store more food?

Yaoguang: If you think we should buy some, then buy a bit.

Su Yaoyu: T-then I will withdraw one hundred spirit stones. Just letting you know.

He nodded to himself.

Yaoguang: Sure.

Su Yaoyu finally relaxed, and soon busied herself with the matter.

On the other hand, Yaoguang felt rather speechless after easing her worries. Su Yaoyu was the only one in the Su family he had even a bit of patience with. He had no intention of wasting too many words with the others.

Take Su Yaoqin and Su Yaoshuang, for example.

The two had been arranged to study at Longxiang Imperial Academy for quite some time now, but they barely met Yaoguang five times. Even those five times had been during festivals, when Su Yaoyu had brought them along to pay their greetings.

Yaoguang pondered for a moment, then glanced at Su Yaoyu’s screenshots before contacting Zhao Siliang.

Zhao Shiliang smiled on the other end.

—Chief Yaoguang? No, I should be calling you hall master now. Do you need something?

Yaoguang asked, slightly surprised, "What hall master?"

—You will know soon enough. We are on our way to you right now.

"Is the sect moving against the forces in the East Sea?"

—Yes. The sword cultivators have taken the lead and set out. More than two hundred people are using the batch of treasure-grade artifacts you provided earlier. It is time for them to show their edge. Zhao Siliang nodded.

Zhao Siliang nodded with a hint of coldness.

—The last time the Infinite Star Palace’s Sky Patrol Warship pressed up to our gates, some sects took advantage of it and seized all our islands. Now that the Infinite Star Palace has shifted its focus to the Black Feather Sect, it is time to settle the score. Our targets are the Great Sun Sword Sect, Xuanming Sect, Great Yue Dynasty, and Star Sea Sect.

A trace of coldness flashed between Zhao Siliang’s brows.

Yaoguang nodded. "It is indeed time to settle it."

The Great Sun Sword Sect was one thing, but the rest were mid-tier forces. Jumping around so brazenly, he truly wondered if they knew of the deadly consequence.

—This operation is being taken extremely seriously by the higher ups. Not long ago, the Infinite Star Palace invaded deep into our sect’s territory. Not only did it cause considerable damage to the sect’s internal governance, it even led to large-scale capital outflows. We must reestablish the sect’s morale through decisive action!

Zhao Siliang was brimming with energy.

—The aim of this battle is not merely to fight or reclaim the islands we lost. We are to push the coastline forward. The minimum objective is 15 thousand kilometers! The maximum objective is 50 thousand kilometers!

"In that case, we will have to completely eliminate the Xuanming Sect’s forces in the East Sea. Wouldn’t it involve battles between great cultivators?"

—It doesn't matter. The Xuanming Sect only dared to act wildly because of the Infinite Star Palace’s backing. Now, the Infinite Star Palace has troubles of its own. They charged into the Black Feather Sect’s territory, not expecting the enemy to immediately adopt a scorched-earth strategy and split their forces.

—Moreover, there are quite a few survivors of the Quicksand Sect within the Black Feather Sect. They refuse to fight head-on and instead keep engaging in guerrilla warfare.

Zhao Siliang could not help but laugh.

—In the past, they could have declared victory by simply destroying all the Black Feather Sect’s cities and withdrawing. But after the Sun-Moon Peak, things are not so easy to gloss over. If they claimed mission success without eliminating the Black Feather Sect’s core strength, their reputation would be in shambles.

Yaoguang caught what he meant. "As in, if things go badly, the Infinite Star Palace will fall with the Black Feather Sect?"

Zhao Siliang cast a meaningful glance in the direction of the Thousand-Beast Sect.

—Absolutely. There’s an expert behind the Black Feather Sect.

Yaoguang also seemed to realize something. The Black Feather Sect and the Quicksand Sect had been members of the Northern Alliance, with the Thousand-Beast Sect as the leading force.

With the dissolution of the Northern Alliance, the Thousand-Beast Sect were probably reluctant to confront the Infinite Star Palace head-on again. Nevertheless, how could they remain idle after the Infinite Star Palace wiped out the Quicksand Sect, especially now that it was moving on to destroy the Black Feather Sect? In that case, helping the Black Feather Sect dig a pit for the Infinite Star Palace seemed perfectly reasonable.

—We will be there shortly. We can talk in person.

Yaoguang ended the call. "Alright."

After waiting only a short while, more than a dozen streaks of light tore through the air and arrived. Familiar faces, such as Zhao Siliang and You Qianshan, were among them. He had also seen several others on the Void Psychic World’s news interface. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Yaoguang greeted them, "Hall Master Xu, Hall Master Gao, Hall Master Liang—"

Xu Qiexing stepped forward and said hurriedly, "No need to stand on ceremony, Hall Master Yaoguang. It is we who should be paying our respects and expressing our gratitude."

The master of the Artifact Refinement Hall, whom Yaoguang had met a few times before, said solemnly, "Your contributions to the sect are simply too great, so much that we do not even know how to properly compensate you..."

"There's no need. Like I said, I am also a member of the Nine-Cauldron Sect. Besides, I already took 30% of the profits from the improved arrays, didn't I?" Yaoguang replied.

"That's not the same. Rewards must be given where they are due. Otherwise, how is our sect supposed to convince people and operate smoothly?" Xu Qiexing asked seriously. "After unanimous discussion between us and the sect master, we judged that the positions of chief of the Purple Firmament Institute and chief of the Sea Guardian Institute no longer match your level of contribution. Thus, as an expression of our goodwill, we hereby appoint you as honorary deputy master of the Artifact Refinement Hall and the Profound Array Hall."