Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

The prisoners on Incarceration Peak weren’t the only ones dumbfounded. Even the Dao-Seeking Sect members hadn’t expected the Zhutian Civilization’s fleet to show up right at their doorstep. Their first reaction wasn’t anger or any intense emotion, but sheer bewilderment.

“Isn’t that the Zhutian Civilization’s fleet from the newspaper? Why have they come here?”

“Did I fall into qi deviation during cultivation? Why do I feel like they don’t look very strong?”

The Dao-Seeking Sect disciples chatted among themselves. The situation didn’t match what they had heard.

“It must be a feint.”

“Report, Commander. The maximum-power energy beam failed to neutralize the force field.”

For some unknown reason, the commander felt somewhat uneasy, and an inexplicable irritation gnawed at him. His subordinate’s words sounded foolish to him, and he coldly ordered, “I’m not blind. If one shot isn’t enough, fire ten; if ten isn’t enough, fire a hundred.

“If that still fails, mobilize the entire fleet’s beams. I refuse to believe that two hundred beams can’t blast this place open!”

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

No one can stop me from seizing the spirit stones and earning merit!

“Yes, sir!” His subordinate saluted and hurriedly contacted every captain to warm up the energy cannons.

BOOM!

Ten energy beams at maximum power fired simultaneously, striking the Dao-Seeking Sect’s Great Sect Defense Array once more, creating ten ripples and nothing more.

~~~

“They dare attack us with that level of power?” The Dao-Seeking Sect elders were taken aback. Even the First Elder had risen from his coffin, ready to make a move.

Aren’t they underestimating the Dao-Seeking Sect a little too much?

“No one moves. Let me handle it!”

“Why you? The eldest brother should give in to his younger brothers.”

“The other party may be concealing their strength. If you go, your lives could be in danger. I’m the sect leader. I vow to defend the sect with my life!”

The elders and the Taciturn Daoist Priest all scrambled for the opportunity.

~~~

Just as the commander assumed this attack had also failed, the rivers of the remote mountainous region flowed upward against gravity, forming a curtain of rain that enveloped the entire fleet.

“What’s going on?”

Panic swept through the fleet. Why does this river behave like it has gained sentience? It can even fly into the sky. What principle is this?

They had never encountered anything like this in all their campaigns against other civilizations.

“Look outside, there’s someone!”

“They seem to be carrying weapons. Two axes?”

The River Spirit wielded a golden and a silver axe, his veins bulging. He soared furiously into the sky and surrounded the fleet.

It wasn’t the Dao-Seeking Sect’s first time being attacked. The Myriad Spells Daoist Lord of Great Yu had once ambushed them, but he had never witnessed such a weak assault. The Great Sect Defense Array was part of the River Spirit’s body. The fleet’s attack is like peeing on me. It’s a blatant insult to me, the Dao-Seeking Sect’s guardian!

“A flying aboriginal? Looks like that person called Lu Yang is one of the stronger aboriginals.”

“Ha, charging at us with two axes? He thinks such primitive weapons can stand against us?”

The Zhutian warriors laughed uproariously, recalling a campaign against a primitive planet where aboriginals clad in beast hide threw spears at their warships.

“Fire the cannons. Let him witness what a civilizational gap means before he dies.”

The fleet swiveled its cannons. Energy beams converged, firing directly at the River Spirit.

Shhk.

Golden light flashed, and the energy beam was cleaved in two. Every warship along that line was bisected cleanly, the cross-sections smooth and even. Warship remnants and the Zhutian warriors dropped like dumplings.

The fleet’s comms went dead silent.

Even star-destroying cannons could only blast a hole in their warships, which would then be automatically repaired. Yet against a single strike of the axe, they were utterly powerless.

The commander finally came to his senses and shouted, “Retreat! Retreat immediately!”

When they tried to pilot their warships away, however, they found the upward-flowing river had surrounded them. It was like sinking into a muddy swamp; the more they struggled, the harder it was to move. They were horrified. What kind of power is this?

“You think you can just come and leave?!” The River Spirit charged at the fleet with his axes in hand, slicing them apart as easily as chopping vegetables.

At the sight of this, Dean Gao’s jaw hung open for a long while. He had witnessed the power of the Zhutian Civilization’s fleet. The Interstellar Alliance’s twelve legions hadn’t stood a chance. But here in the Cultivation World, the situation was completely reversed. The River Spirit alone could crush all two hundred warships.

The Ether avatar displayed an envious emoticon. As a fellow innate living being, can I become this powerful too?

“Calling Fleet Two, requesting support! The Cultivation World aboriginals are far stronger than anticipated!’

“Calling Fleet Three, requesting support! The Cultivation World aboriginals are far stronger than anticipated...” The commander desperately called for help from his colleagues. He no longer cared about the credit. Staying alive was all that mattered to him right now.

However, there was no response from the other end of the communicator. He could only hear panicked cries, screams, and even the roars of wild beasts.

Fleet One’s commander was nonplussed. What’s happening on the other end?

Upon witnessing the River Spirit’s magnificent display, the Dao-Seeking Sect disciples excitedly used their quantum communicators to video-call friends across the world, showing them the sect’s imposing prowess.

Someone contacted a son of a Dragon Prince from the Dragon Palace and boasted, “See that? The so-called hegemon of the cosmos is nothing but mud chickens and clay dogs before our Dao-Seeking Sect.”

“Hey, I was just about to call you. The Zhutian Civilization fleet has also shown up at our East Sea Dragon Palace.”

“Why did they go to your place, too?” The Dao-Seeking Sect disciple was befuddled. The Zhutian Civilization’s warships are so weak, yet they still split their forces?

~~~

“Report, Commander, we have detected large quantities of top-grade spirit stones beneath these waters!” a soldier reported to Fleet Two’s commander.

“An undersea vein? Where exactly?”

“Report. At the surface of the seabed.”

“Drop some concussion grenades and trigger a seabed earthquake to expose the vein.”

Several high-yield concussion grenades fell into the sea, sinking steadily. The surroundings shifted constantly from light to dark, then dark to light, until they struck the Dragon Palace’s roof.

Today was the Old Dragon Emperor’s birthday. It wasn’t a milestone birthday,[1] just a simple celebration. His children and grandchildren presented gifts one after another. Surrounded by many filial descendants, the Old Dragon Emperor laughed heartily.

“Come, let us wish Emperor Father a long life!”

The dragon descendants raised their cups, the atmosphere joyful and harmonious.

Bang.

Along with a muffled sound, the ground trembled slightly, and a few drops of wine spilled from the cups.

The Old Dragon Emperor frowned, somewhat displeased. An unexpected incident at a birthday banquet is not auspicious.

Sensing something, he looked up and detected the Zhutian Civilization fleet’s presence. He transformed into a dragon and soared into the sky, his children and grandchildren following behind.

The sea region shook. Sensing the dragons’ auras, shrimp soldiers and crab generals fled the area. Whenever dragons rose into the sky, all creatures would withdraw.

“Report. We have detected intense fluctuations below, likely caused by the concussion grenades triggering a seabed earthquake.”

“Send two warships down to investigate.”

A mere seabed earthquake can’t affect our prized warships.

However, the moment the two warships entered the sea, a massive vortex appeared on the surface. Violent winds raged, and the clouds churned.

A ferocious dragon, ten thousand zhang long, clutched the two warships and leaped out of the sea, stirring up waves that were a thousand zhang high. Immediately afterward, a bunch of thousand-zhang dragons burst forth from the waters, besieging the fleet. Their roars shook the heavens and echoed across the skies.

The Zhutian Civilization’s technology leaned toward bio-engineering. Their warships were essentially very tough lumps of flesh. The Old Dragon Emperor squeezed the two warships like they were fleshy worms.

“D-Dragons!” The Zhutian warriors stammered in terror as mythical creatures suddenly appeared before their eyes.

A dragon’s might had a restraining effect on the vast majority of living beings, and the Zhutian warriors were no exception. They could feel the dragons’ terrifying auras, and every cell inside them trembled.

The Old Dragon Emperor grabbed the largest warship—Fleet Two’s command ship. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes. Is this the hegemon of the universe’s warship? It doesn’t feel very strong.

The commander shuddered in fear as he stood rigidly in place, holding his breath. He tried his best not to look at the gigantic dragon eyes outside the window, hoping he could pretend the command ship was empty and survive this ordeal.

The dragon’s oppressive pressure left him drenched in cold sweat. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to flee. But his instincts told him that fleeing in the presence of a true dragon meant certain death.

Suddenly, the static crackled over the radio. “Calling Fleet Two, requesting support! The Cultivation World aboriginals are far stronger than anticipated!”

In that very moment, the commander wished he could kill someone.

The Old Dragon Emperor roared, and the command ship shook. The commander could smell the blood and carnage on the dragon’s breath. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out cold.

1. Milestone birthdays are birthdays that celebrate ages such as 60, 70, 80, and so on. ☜