345: Chapter 345 Victory Celebration Banquet, Summarizing Experiences

The stone-paved road of the central square in the main city had just been swept clean, and the scorched fragments of tattered flags were long gone. In their place were rows of wooden racks hung with spirit lanterns, their warm light reflecting the smiling faces of the crowd.

Clansmen brought long tables and set out wine jars and sizzling Yao Beast meat. Children chased and played between the tables, their laughter shattering the lingering chill of the morning.

Chen Tiezhu kicked over an empty wine barrel, wiped the grease from his face, and shouted toward the sky:

"Xiao Dao! If those boys of yours don't get here soon, I'm going to drink the last jar of 'Earth Fire Brew' myself!"

"Who dares touch my wine!" Chen Xiaodao flipped down from the high wall, followed by a team of young Sword Cultivators, each with a long sword at their waist and a post-battle flush on their faces.

He snatched the wine jar, tore off the mud seal, took a sniff, and grinned. "Now this is what a victory celebration should taste like!"

"Yo, isn't this the arm-severing Great Sword Sovereign?" Chen Tiezhu drawled intentionally. "Slashed happily yesterday, drinking merrily today?"

"It would be strange if it wasn't satisfying." Chen Xiaodao thumped the wine jar onto the table. "I cut off Blood Butcher's right arm, you shook his left leg out, and Big Brother blasted his head with the mecha—how should this merit be split?"

"Nonsense!" Chen Tiezhu slapped the table. "Of course it goes to the Clan Head! Without his command, we wouldn't even be able to start the mechas!"

As the two were arguing, Bai Ling landed gently at the end of the long table. Her fingertips brushed a newly sprouted vine, and tender leaves unfurled, winding around the lantern stand.

She said softly, "No matter how loud you argue, he won't hear you."

Looking in the direction of her gaze, Chen Wuwang stood at the edge of the high platform, his back to the boisterous crowd, a corner of his silver hair lifted by the night wind.

He wasn't wearing his mecha, but only an old-style martial suit. His Mechanical Prosthetic Eye glowed with a faint blue light in the darkness, as if scanning for something invisible.

"He's thinking about the enemy again," Bai Ling whispered.

Chen Xiaodao's smile faded slightly. He lowered his head and took a gulp of wine, the fiery liquid rolling down his throat.

"Set off the fireworks!" someone shouted.

Boom—!

The first pillar of crimson light shot into the night sky, exploding into a giant lotus. Immediately after, gold, green, and purple colors rose in succession, outlining the silhouette of the Chen Clan emblem in the air.

The crowd erupted in cheers; the sounds of drums, flutes, and clinking glasses blended together.

Chen Tiezhu jumped onto the table, held up his jar, and shouted, "To the Chen Clan! To the brothers who came back alive! To those who didn't see tonight's moon!"

"To them!" everyone roared in unison, spilling wine onto the ground.

At that most boisterous moment, the figure on the high platform moved.

Chen Wuwang walked up the steps one by one. His footsteps weren't heavy, yet they caused the noise to subside quickly, as if its throat had been gripped.

He stood still and surveyed the scene. No one spoke; even the children fell silent.

"Tonight's fireworks are beautiful," he began, his voice not loud, yet reaching everyone's ears. "I also watched the Sword Dance. The closing move of the third segment was too fast; you almost struck your own people."

Someone below laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed slightly.

"We won," he continued. "An enemy army of twenty thousand, with fewer than three hundred dead, ran faster than rabbits. When Chen Tiezhu's mecha rolled over them, they couldn't even hold their shields steady; when Chen Xiaodao's sword rain fell, they even forgot which way to flee."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the smug smiles on the faces of several young Disciples.

"So, does that mean we are so strong we're invincible?"

No one responded.

"Why did Blood Butcher return with only his right arm?" he asked. "Because he can still live. Who left the Self-destruction Array in the rift? It was because they feared we would pursue too closely. They weren't crushed; they were scared off."

He raised his hand, pointing toward the northern horizon. "Chuanyun Sect, Leiyin Pavilion, West Desert Sand Clan... seven forces joined hands, and the result? Their vanguard had their heads lopped off as soon as they entered the warning line. Will they just swallow this insult?"

People below began to lower their heads.

"We had three mechas participating in the battle," Chen Wuwang said. "The Shockwave Hammer was used twice; the second time, the energy was only charged to seventy percent, and it almost suffered a backlash."

"The earth dragon's left tread got stuck in a crack, and it only broke free after Chen Tiezhu manually dismantled it."

"When Chen Xiaodao's sword array was rotating, there was a nine-second interval between the third and fourth waves—enough for the enemy to release three Talismans."

His voice grew heavy. "What I see is not victory, but loopholes. It is luck. It is a danger where we might not come back alive next time."

The entire field was so quiet that one could hear the crackling of the burning lanterns.

"We celebrate because we are still alive," he said. "We celebrate that no one fled the battlefield, that the wounded were carried off in time, and that every mecha and every sword followed orders without charging blindly."

He looked at Chen Xiaodao, then at Chen Tiezhu and Bai Ling.

"But don't forget, Blood Butcher is still there. Behind him is the Blood Demon Sect. Today they retreated, but tomorrow it might be ten forces joining hands, laying a Killing Array, waiting for us to charge right in."

He closed his eyes briefly, and when he reopened them, the warmth was gone.

"The truly strong do not drink and dance after winning a battle. While others are celebrating, they check their weapons, repair their armor, and study how their opponents escaped death."

As his words fell, no one moved, and no one laughed.

After a long while, Chen Tiezhu slowly raised his wine cup, drained it in one gulp, and smashed the cup on the ground. "Understood, Clan Head. Starting tomorrow, the Artifact Refining Workshop will be in operation around the clock. I will personally modify the Shockwave Hammer."

Chen Xiaodao also set down his wine jar and wiped his mouth. "I'll adjust the rhythm of the sword array tonight. Nine seconds is too long."

Bai Ling lightly stroked the vine and nodded. "I will organize the battlefield support records and see where the magic coordination was half a beat slow."

Chen Wuwang looked at them, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed an inch.

He walked down from the platform, passed through the crowd, and came to the three of them.

Chen Xiaodao suddenly pulled a small flask from his robes and stuffed it into his hand. "Big Brother, this is 'Star Dew Brew' I brewed myself. Just one small flask; I haven't been able to bring myself to drink it."

"Oh?" Chen Wuwang raised an eyebrow. "You even know how to do this?"},{