[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-20":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2342031,4578,"Chapter 20: Practicing the Sword","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-20",20,"\u003Cp>Jiang Ding slumped helplessly in his chair, waves of pain throbbing in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve… drained your spiritual soul?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Jun hesitated, then glanced again at the intricate, exquisite array diagram on the desk—clearly not a shallow copy, but a functional one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual soul depletion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a common phenomenon when cultivators carve talismans or arrays beyond their capacity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even this level of overreach is dangerous; if one attempts to carve high-grade talismans or arrays far beyond their limits, their spiritual soul can be drained instantly, turning them into a corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Yes, I learned it from the library. You have a bright future—don’t follow my path.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding reluctantly extended his hand and tucked the talisman sword array diagram into his sleeve to avoid endangering Li Junhao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s a path that costs your life and destroys your future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This % novel {first; release, > Please ! go : to : read!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pulled out the talisman-sword array diagram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding studied it carefully; after practical application, his understanding of the first-layer talisman-sword technique in the “Shenxiao Hundred-Step Flying Sword” deepened further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, if they survive, past experience shows such individuals are destined to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It has nothing to do with him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report, Master, young Han has performed excellently,” Huang Deyou forced a smile: “He can read and knows basic arithmetic—I’ve assigned him to the accounting office to record collected specimens, preventing duplicate purchases.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Yuan’s eyes sparkled, as if fantasizing about a life of lazy indulgence while still becoming a Gao Jie cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time Jiang Ding didn’t look at the ledger; he tossed fifty taels of silver over: “That brother… Han Lin—how is he doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanshi opened her mouth but held back, worried—she clearly knew what happened in class.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He handed over the ledger, verified no fewer than ten times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She felt her son was striving hard to prove something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after Jiang Yuan’s birth, Jiang’s father had an affair, chose another woman with superior strength, and fathered another child older than Jiang Ding—hinting at his lingering obsession with becoming a cultivator.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding froze. Such ambition! 800 points—even in Lián Ròu Realm? That means near-perfect scores in all academic subjects!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Junhao’s baseline is Qingfeng Beidou; even if he fails to enter the Daoist Studies department, he could still enter the realm of immortal-tech support research—and perhaps even reach the immortal path through the Academy’s route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint voice sounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, Huang Deyou came as usual to knock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dingding, why…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since elementary school, he trained with his sword day and night, without fail, through wind and rain, until today, reaching the absolute limit of daily nutrient absorption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? You want a beating?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a core Ruijin Array, combined with a touch of spirit-linking spiritual soul runes, later to be augmented with levitation, spirit-gathering, and flight arrays—four talisman sheets fused into one, forming a standalone talisman-sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She swung the thin bamboo stick she’d plucked from the garden downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The class fell silent, then erupted in murmurs—mostly worried ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Criminal Jiang Ding, confess!” Jiang Yuan declared sternly: “Or I’ll beat your ass—with this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike me—too high to sink, too low to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding and Li Junhao walked with the crowd outward, surrounded by chattering voices, distant engines rumbling as tanks returned to campus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grabbed his backpack, checked and maintained his pistol components.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Wanshi sighed, knowing their family’s talent was far too poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only can it use spirit-linking runes to accelerate mastery of levitation, flight, and spirit-gathering arrays, but the talisman-sword’s power rivals a strong bow—crucially, it’s agile enough to dominate within the Neiqi Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding murmured to himself, his heart filled with longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, since we began collecting animal specimens, the volume has surged—we now receive over a hundred intact specimens daily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding answered calmly, spreading his palms—a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy, covered in calluses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lay dazed in the cultivation room for two hours until the array spirit alerted him class was over; only then did he awaken and slowly walk toward the classroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Levitation array, flight array, spirit-gathering array—each harder than the last, and all weak. Even if the talisman-sword is completed, its impact equals only a bird’s flight strike, with short endurance. “Because of longing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meeting dismissed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding ling ding ling…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Message from Teacher Guo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding said calmly: “Mother, eternal life, sword ruling the world—these are every boy’s lifelong dream. Especially when it can bless one’s family and forcibly elevate those with inferior talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Junhao suddenly said: “I’m quitting martial training. I’ll devote all my time to studying, aiming for 800 points on the college entrance exam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Essence refinement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ‘Great Sun Seed Sword Refining Scripture’—once one of the Nine Outer Realm’s Dao-Heir-level cultivation methods…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If successful, the Great Dao is within reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one can forge a Dao-Heir-level Hundred-Step Flying Sword, their spiritual soul will undergo a qualitative transformation even in mortal life, granting an inherent advantage over other cultivators—not to mention the continuous spiritual soul nourishment the sword provides later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Class monitor Hua Bing did not immediately announce dismissal: “Midterm exams begin in a week. Everyone must work harder and aim for better results. The school places great importance on this midterm—top-ranked students will receive abundant resource rewards.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the scolding and lecturing Lin Wanshi had prepared suddenly died on her lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding glanced at Jiang Yuan; she shrank back, hiding behind Lin Wanshi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back home, just as he was about to return to his room, Jiang Ding paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Decided.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bell rang; Jiang Ding staggered toward the cultivation room, step by step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But you must be careful!” Lin Wanshi sighed: “I know when you were young, your father…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Deyou carefully closed the door and stepped before Jiang Ding, bowing respectfully: “Master, we now have less than one tael of silver left. Here is the ledger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Put down his backpack and sat before Lin Wanshi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Lin Wanshi and Jiang Yuan stared at him, faces grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Midterms approaching meant half the first term had passed—the college entrance exam, which would decide one’s fate, was not far off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You did well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such individuals are considered prodigies even among immortal sects—they will surely be specially recruited by the Daoist Studies department and won’t be denied a set of pills to improve martial talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened; without hesitation, Jiang Ding drank the Ningyuan Zhuanggu Soup. A warm flow surged down his throat, instantly easing his fatigue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a mother, she knew how much her son had sacrificed—but he’d inherited her own abysmal talent. How desperate must he feel?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing Jiang Ding valued this, he added:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is, of course, a shortcut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...Wishing you swift success.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Big brother!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The array script was exquisite and ornate, layered with spatial depth—ordinary people felt dizzy just looking at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom, are you off today?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding glanced at his library points: 658. Remember, not every specimen was a new unknown species—often, dozens were needed to yield one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, I need Purple Spirit Grass. Get me forty or so pieces—find a few seasoned herb collectors. Today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Deyou bowed respectfully and withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1193,"2026-06-20T23:34:14.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","02f55adac2bf118152d98e7b7bcb98379439e021803a0ac584546ab66d9b788b","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-21","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-19",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]