35: Chapter 35 Mech Sword Formation, Power Doubled

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the ground of the Martial Arts Arena had already shaken three times.

Chen Xiaodao stood in the center of the circular formation surrounded by twelve mechas, his spine straight as a spear.

He wore no armor, only a close-fitting Spiritual Silk short jacket, and his left mechanical prosthetic arm gleamed with the luster of cold iron.

His fingers traced an arc in the air, and where his fingertips passed, a pale cyan Sword Intent hung suspended like a thread.

"House Master, look at this move!"

The moment his voice fell, he tapped his toes, his entire body leaping into the air, his right hand forming a sword gesture as he pressed down from above.

Hum—!

The twelve silently standing mechas activated simultaneously, their joints emitting a low, interlocking sound.

The cannons on their backs unfolded one by one, spiritual energy rails lit up with crimson patterns, and energy gathered within the barrels, emitting a high-frequency tremor.

At the same time, Chen Xiaodao's Sword Intent extended like silk threads, one end connected to his fingertips, and the other drilling into the main control chip interface of each mecha.

The Sword Intent and Spiritual Energy began to synchronize.

When the first wave of the energy net formed, Chen Wuwang was standing at the edge of the high platform, the lens of his mechanical prosthetic eye scanning the data stream.

His brow twitched—a 0.7-second delay, a gap appeared in the edge area, and the energy output curves of the No. 3 and No. 7 mechas were clearly lagging.

"Not right," he said in a low voice.

Before the words had faded, the energy net above the Martial Arts Arena twisted slightly.

The Sword Intent guided the spiritual energy cannon array to form a blockade formation, but just as the last mecha finished charging, the light net on the right wing suddenly collapsed by half a foot, as if torn open by an invisible hand.

Chen Xiaodao landed, his heel slipped, and he nearly fell to his knees.

He caught his breath, raised his hand to wipe away sweat, and looked up at the high platform:

"House Master, I adjusted the output frequency and followed the rhythm of the cannon array... is it still not working?"

Chen Wuwang didn't answer; he walked down the steps in a few strides and stood directly at the edge of the formation.

He raised his left hand, his mechanical prosthetic eye switching to spectrum analysis mode, and dense data bars appeared in his pupils.

"You were right to slow down," he said, "but it's not that you are slow; it's that they cannot keep up."

He pointed to the rune board of the No. 3 mecha:

"The Sword Intent rune board and the main control chip use old protocols, requiring three handshakes to establish a connection. The cannon array charging is a millisecond-level response, and you are still stuck in the old 'request-approval' process."

Chen Xiaodao was stunned: "Then what should I do? Re-engrave the runes? There's no time."

"No need." Chen Wuwang pulled a dagger from his waist, the tip of the blade tracing a stream of commands in the air, projecting it directly onto the control screen, "Remotely modify the driver. Let the rune board skip verification and connect directly to the preloaded buffer pool."

As soon as he finished speaking, the workshop Disciple in the control cabin had already received the encrypted command, their fingers tapping rapidly on the virtual keyboard.

Three seconds later, the System prompted that the update was complete.

"Try again." Chen Wuwang sheathed his blade and stepped back two paces, "Don't slow down this time; follow your own rhythm."

Chen Xiaodao took a deep breath and leaped up again.

This time, he no longer suppressed the Sword Intent output.

His fingertips pierced the air, the Sword Intent surged out like a tide, the main control chips of the twelve mechas sensed it simultaneously, and the cannon muzzles all tilted upward together.

Boom—!

Twelve spiritual energy cannons fired at the same instant, the energy beams interweaving in the air, Fusion with the Sword Intent into a huge light net.

This time, there were no gaps, no collapses; the hundred-mile Void Realm seemed to be firmly locked by an invisible hand.

A giant sword shadow appeared above the Martial Arts Arena, a thousand feet long, its tip pointing straight at the firmament, causing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to vibrate violently.

The wind whipped up the hem of Chen Wuwang's clothes; he looked up at the sword shadow, data streams flashing wildly in his mechanical prosthetic eye.

Synchronization rate 98.3%, error controlled within 0.12 seconds, coverage area met the standard, power evaluation: "Capable of slaying a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator in an instant."

But the expression on his face did not change.

The sword shadow slowly dissipated, the twelve mechas closed their cannon muzzles one after another, and the engines entered standby mode.

When Chen Xiaodao landed, his legs went soft, and he knelt on one knee, his mechanical prosthetic arm emitting a faint pressure-release sound.

He looked up, his eyes filled with a burning light: "House Master, it's done! This time it's stable!"

Chen Wuwang walked forward, his steps steady.

He stood before Chen Xiaodao, looked down at him, then looked back up at the residual energy trajectories in the air.

After a long while, he spoke: "Not bad."

Chen Xiaodao's eyes lit up.

"But it's still not fast enough." Chen Wuwang's voice turned cold, "From your action to the complete formation of the sword array, it took 4.8 seconds. In actual combat, a Golden Core Cultivator would be out of the blockade circle with a single teleport, and a Nascent Soul Expert could even counter-kill you three times before you even activate."

He paused, staring into Chen Xiaodao's eyes: "We are not doing this for show; we are doing this to kill."

The excitement on Chen Xiaodao's face faded bit by bit.

He stood up slowly and wiped away a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth—the forced acceleration just now had caused a backlash to his Sword Heart, injuring his Meridians.

"How do you suggest we modify it?" he asked.

Chen Wuwang turned and walked toward the high platform, saying as he walked:

"Preload the sword array protocol, have all mechas enter Level 1 combat readiness in advance, keep the main control chips in the resident buffer pool, and accept direct Sword Intent connection commands. Cancel all intermediate verification steps to achieve 'fire upon intention'."

"That carries great risk," Chen Xiaodao followed him, "What if there's an accidental trigger? The entire Eastern Wasteland would be blown up."

"That is why it is under your control." Chen Wuwang stopped and looked back at him, "You are the array eye, and also the safety mechanism. If your Sword Intent is not up to standard, the System will not unlock the highest authority."

He raised his hand, and his mechanical prosthetic eye projected a code structure: "Write this in, and complete the debugging by tomorrow noon. I want to see the activation time compressed to within 1 second."

Chen Xiaodao took the data stream, his fingers pausing: "That short?"

"Just that short." Chen Wuwang stared at him, "You were able to survive in the ruins holding half a wooden sword when you were five years old; now you're telling me you can't do it in 1 second?"

Chen Xiaodao closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only ruthlessness remained in them.

"Fine." He nodded, "By tomorrow noon, I will let you see the results."

After speaking, he turned and strode toward the control cabin on the west side. His back was straight, his steps firm, and his mechanical prosthetic arm tapped crisply on the stone road.

Chen Wuwang did not move.

He stood at the edge of the high platform, his mechanical prosthetic eye continuously scanning the residual energy trajectories in the air.

Data scrolled by one by one; he watched very slowly, as if wanting to carve every fluctuation into his brain.

The wind blew from the end of the Martial Arts Arena, rolling up a few pieces of rubble.

In the distance, the twelve mechas stood silently, their cannon muzzles slightly lowered, like warriors waiting for the next summons.

His fingers tapped the railing unconsciously, once, and again.

Then, he whispered to himself: "This is just the beginning."

When the door of the control cabin was pushed open, Chen Xiaodao's steps paused.

He saw three workshop Disciples inside already waiting for him, holding the newly printed driver modules in their hands.

The youngest one looked up, his voice trembling a little: "Young Lord, the House Master just sent a new command... asking us to cooperate with you and modify the System overnight."

Chen Xiaodao took the modules and squeezed them; the metal casing emitted a slight deformation sound.

"Tell them," he walked in and closed the door behind him, "No one is allowed to sleep tonight."

Outside the door, Chen Wuwang was still standing there.

He didn't turn back, nor did he move. The light from his mechanical prosthetic eye shone on the ground, like a trail of fire that refused to extinguish.