589: Ho Tung's concerns

Thinking of this, the last trace of hesitation in Jiang Lu's eyes completely faded. She gritted her teeth, steeled her heart, and decided to mobilize all the Spiritual Qi she had just replenished with the Medicinal Pill, holding nothing back!

"Lingxiao Sword Art, Second Form: Mountain Cleaver!"

With a clear shout that pierced the air, Jiang Lu's Aura fully erupted. Although her pressure as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator was compromised due to insufficient Spiritual Qi, it still swept out with a sharp Sword Intent.

The thin Spiritual Qi in the surroundings suddenly gathered, pouring entirely into the Low Grade Spirit Treasure longsword in her hand. The originally dim blade instantly burst with a dazzling golden glow, and a phantom of a mountain faintly appeared on the sword's body, carrying a heavy and majestic Sword Intent that covered the sky and earth.

In the blink of an eye, the longsword turned into streaks of golden afterimages in her hand, so fast that the trajectory of the Move was almost invisible. Carrying the power to split mountains and crack stones, it hacked down fiercely toward that Imperial D-class full-coverage battle armor not far away!

The moment the golden light collided with the battle armor's energy shield, a piercing hum exploded, and a wave of blinding light swept across the area.

That energy shield, which had a faint blue glow, actually shattered inch by inch the moment the Sword Intent touched it, failing to last even half a breath!

Immediately after, the sharp blade hacked fiercely onto the alloy body of the battle armor. Mars flew everywhere, and the piercing sound of tearing metal echoed throughout the field. A hideous, massive gash was carved into the hard shell of the battle armor, exposing the internal circuits and parts, which were sizzling with electrical sparks, clearly suffering significant damage.

But looking at the battle armor that was only cut open and not severed by her sword, a storm of shock surged in Jiang Lu's heart, her eyes full of unbelievable astonishment.

One must know that the Lingxiao Sword Art was a secret technique of the Lingxiao Immortal Sect, domineering and peerless. Even if her Spiritual Qi was insufficient and she only exerted seventy to eighty percent of its power, even an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator should have been sliced in half by a single strike!

Yet this unknown battle armor only had a gash cut into it. The gash was large, but the fact that it wasn't severed was ridiculous.

Jiang Lu's fingers tightened slightly on the sword hilt, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart.

The hardness of this battle armor far exceeded her understanding, and the background of a faction that could produce such an item was even more unfathomable, making her increasingly wary.

Compared to Jiang Lu's shock, He Dong, who was nearby, quickly raised his hand and tapped the Void Realm. A light blue operational light screen appeared out of thin air, with streams of data scrolling rapidly across it, clearly recording all the data from that sword strike.

His gaze was fixed on the light screen as he analyzed it carefully for a moment. The moment the sword Move touched the battle armor, the armor's built-in energy core had released all its stored energy. Although the shield it propped up shattered instantly, it had forcibly neutralized most of the sword Move's power. The remaining strength, though it broke through the armor's body, was greatly diminished, resulting in only this much damage.

Seeing this, the calm on He Dong's face completely vanished, his expression instantly darkening, and a trace of solemn displeasure flickered in his eyes.

His heart sank even further, secretly alarmed. If this were on a real battlefield, wouldn't it mean that these so-called Golden Core Cultivators could disable an Imperial Soldier with a casual strike?

One must know that the vast majority of frontline Soldiers in the Imperial army were only equipped with the D-class full-coverage battle armor before him. Only a few elite Squads could be equipped with C-class armor.

As for the B-class armor with even stronger defensive capabilities, those were exclusively for the personal guards of various high-ranking officers; ordinary Soldiers didn't even have the right to touch them.

Once the personal guards were required to don B-class armor and enter the fray on the battlefield, it meant the situation had deteriorated to the extreme and was not far from a total collapse.

He Dong composed himself and turned his gaze to Jiang Lu, whose expression was equally strange in the field, and asked in a deep voice.

"Miss Jiang, was that strike just now a common Move you performed casually, or was it a technique you put your full effort into?"

Hearing this, Jiang Lu looked up to meet his searching gaze. Her fingers loosened their grip on the sword hilt, and a helpless, bitter smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Her voice carried a hint of weak sighing.

"It wasn't a casual strike... That 'Mountain Cleaver' just now used the full power of my Sect's sword art, and it also completely squandered the little Spiritual Qi I had replenished with the pill. Right now, my body is empty, with not a single trace of Spiritual Qi left."

Upon hearing these words, the tense expression on He Dong's face suddenly relaxed, and most of the solemnity in his brows dissipated. The heavy stone hanging in his heart finally hit the ground.

He raised his hand and tapped the light screen, making the data analysis interface reappear. His finger slid across the light screen as he murmured to himself, his tone gaining a bit of understanding.

"In that case, the individual combat power of a Golden Core Stage Cultivator can roughly be benchmarked against the level of a second-level civilization as rated by the Empire..."

Even though he was shocked by the individual destructive power of the Cultivators, there was no fear in He Dong's eyes.

After all, warfare was never a solo endeavor. Even if a Cultivator possessed powerful strength, Imperial Soldiers would never foolishly stand in place to be slaughtered.

The simultaneous firing of starship main cannons, the encirclement by heavy armored mecha vehicles on the ground, the long-range suppression of various energy weapons, combined with the tactical coordination of joint operations—these were the foundations of the Empire's foothold in space and its sweep across the Star Domain.

Individual bravery ultimately amounted to nothing before a true System of warfare.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Jiang. I must trouble you to Move with me once more."

He Dong's expression shed its previous solemnity, and his tone softened a bit. He stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation, then took the lead to show the way.

Although Jiang Lu's heart was full of doubts, she had no room to refuse. She could only put away her longsword and follow with light steps. Before long, she was brought into a spacious, sealed observation room.

The interior decor was extremely minimalist, with only a massive light screen occupying an entire wall, suspended in mid-air. The light was brilliant, clearly reflecting a colossal object quietly floating in the clouds above the Forbidden Ground, surrounded by a faint silver-blue glow, its Aura intimidating.

Just as Jiang Lu was concentrating on observing it, a loud and solemn report suddenly came from the light screen.

"Reporting to the Chief! The Experimental Starship has completed its power self-check. The firepower System is ready and can execute the firing command at any time!"

"According to the pre-set plan, execute immediately."

He Dong gave the order in a deep voice toward the light screen, his tone steady and carrying the unquestionable authority of a military command.

"Yes!"

The response from the other side of the light screen was crisp and decisive, without the slightest delay.

Jiang Lu was completely confused, not understanding at all what they meant by 'starship' or 'firing.' But when her gaze fell upon the strangely shaped giant flying boat on the light screen, a strong interest instantly ignited in her eyes, and she couldn't help but marvel secretly.

This flying boat was peculiarly shaped, and the Aura around it was condensed and majestic. There wasn't even a hint of Spiritual Qi leaking out, yet it faintly exuded a world-shaking power. At the very least, it must be of the quality of a Lower-grade Earth Treasure, right?

I'm afraid even the flying boat of the Sect might not be as grand as this in appearance!