Chapter 509: 463 Morning Sun

Once the Yunzhou Dudu Mansion begins operating at full capacity, its efficiency is quite terrifying.

In fact, to clear out the Turtle Bandits, Yunzhou has already been operating at full capacity for several months; the military, the Jiandisi, and other offices are all running at full load, and even the Instructors from the Training Camp have been completely reassigned. Yet, under the strict orders of the Gaoyuan Marquis, they were still able to squeeze out some manpower to form a new small team for Tang Zhao to complete his mission.

Tang Zhao had originally thought that his plan to face the Sword Deity directly was simple and straightforward, requiring at most luck and courage.

He would first activate the array to attempt communication; if he could teleport over, he would discuss with the Sword Deity how it could withdraw from Yunzhou face-to-face. If the array failed, he would dive down from the river and pay the Sword Deity a visit. The most difficult part, diving in to request an audience, would only be a matter of holding one's breath. But once this proposal was actually treated as a serious, major undertaking, it was not that simple.

That was a major matter involving the people of an entire province, perhaps even the only straw to clutch at in the future; how could it be solved by just taking a leap and rushing in blindly?

For example, regarding that communication and summoning array, Tang Zhao had only confirmed the array's efficacy by referencing the texts left by Bai Ni and adding his own understanding of Fu Formula arrays. Basically, he had just deemed it "close enough" and "I reckon it should work," but if one were to really delve into it, that was not enough.

Currently, this array is being studied by Xue Xianyun leading his Disciples. Not only must they thoroughly confirm its efficacy and principles, but they must also strive to trace its origin, the location it connects to, and the method, ideally locking onto the coordinates on the other side. If they could make changes based on the principles, skipping the step of requiring a response from the other party to forcibly teleport more people over, or establishing a more direct and open channel of dialogue, that would be even better.

In order to study this rare, high-level Fu Array, Xue Xianyun not only came to Zhongtian Prefecture in person from Zhuoyu Villa, but he also brought his other true-transmission Disciples, including Jiang Shenyi. Except for Xue Yeyu, who had become a Sword Student and was traveling around, and Zhu Ying, who still remained indoors, all other capable Disciples came to Zhongtian Prefecture to work overtime studying it at the Sword Casting Pavilion, instantly relieving Tang Zhao of most of the research work.

Only when Xue Xianyun began targeted research did Tang Zhao realize that he had been far too conceited. Becoming a Sword Hero at such an age was indeed rare, and being a bit arrogant was one thing, but did he really think of himself as some extraordinary figure in the way of Fu Formulas?

Winning the top prize at the Fu Conference was certainly good, but that was at most like winning a newcomer award upon debut, right? His master was a figure of lifetime achievement level who had been immersed in Fu Formulas for decades; he might have dawdled a bit in the way of Sword Casting, but his foundation in his own profession of Fu Formulas was far deeper than his own.

Even if they had never studied high-level Fu Formulas involving time and needed to call for help, that just meant Xue Xianyun had extensive connections, right? Having spent many years in the circle of Talisman Sword Masters, he hadn't just made enemies; he had made friends too!

Now that his Glasses were broken and could no longer provide research hacks, Tang Zhao really didn't have many advantages, so he simply trusted Xue Xianyun and waited for the number one Talisman Sword Master of Yunzhou to figure out the ins and outs of this array.

In addition, research in other areas was also proceeding in full swing.

There is no need to mention the research on the Jinwu Sword and Dongjun; it concerned the personality and abilities of the unknown Sword Deity, as well as how to establish contact with it safely and efficiently. Zhang Rong personally presided over it, extracting information from various classics and launching research from all aspects, determined to know everything about it.

Even the materials on Bai Ni were being studied by others. Every word of the few texts left behind by Bai Ni in Tang Zhao's hands was being stared at and read over and over again. The Fu Characters on Bai Ni's coffin lid, which Tang Zhao could not even recognize, were also copied down and analyzed one by one. The efficiency was much higher than Tang Zhao fighting alone.

Therefore, Tang Zhao went from being a main researcher in the camp to half a student and listener. When the others produced some results, he would rush over to learn, and perhaps synthesize the existing information and progress to suggest some directions for the scholars to use as reference, but his main focus remained on learning.

While the content was being studied here, the materials were also being prepared there.

Especially after the Gaoyuan Marquis observed the movements underground, he already believed that material preparation was even more important.

Tang Zhao had previously guessed that the water of the Tongyang River was warm throughout the land of Yunzhou, but the temperature was highest in Zhongtian Prefecture, especially in the section outside the city gate, where the river water had an extremely high temperature and was filled with the power of the sun. Perhaps that was the entrance closest to the Jinwu Sword Deity. Later, the Gaoyuan Marquis's observations proved this point. Therefore, if they were to go into the water, they must do so in the vicinity of Zhongtian Prefecture.

And this operation was highly classified and must not be leaked. If even a little bit were leaked, not to mention Cai Yun-gui coming down from the front lines to cause trouble, the social unrest triggered by the news of the Great Cataclysm alone would be enough to blow Yunzhou apart. Yet, Zhongtian Prefecture was bustling with people, and it was extremely difficult to keep secrets in any corner within the prefecture city.

Therefore, their team needed a base that was close to Zhongtian Prefecture, convenient for setting up arrays, convenient for entering the water, and also capable of maintaining secrecy.

Fortunately, there was one ready-made—the Jiandisi Xunying.

The Sword Inspection Division Training Camp was close to Zhongtian Prefecture but hidden on the side of Hezhou, surrounded by dense forests and mountains. In the past, it was also isolated from the world, and not many people knew about it. It was equipped with high walls and fortresses, stockpiling supplies, and was only used for closed-door intensive training for young people. At this time, the previous batch of students had just graduated, and the new batch had not yet been recruited, so it was perfectly empty.

Thus, Tang Zhao returned to the Training Camp after two months, and this time he was the commander of this camp.

Although the team had almost entirely changed, even the name had been changed.

The code name here was now "Chaoyang Camp".

In the Zhaoyang Camp, the strongest Fu Formula talents and historical talents of Yunzhou were gathered, piled high with supplies, ancient books, precious materials related to Sunlight, treasures that repel water and fire, and gifts that were speculated to be liked by the Jinwu Sword Deity. There were also personnel drawn from various places who might be of use.

All this manpower and material resources were under Tang Zhao's management, making Tang Zhao's head swell like a bucket.

Tang Zhao might not have lacked management talent, but he truly lacked management experience. Previously, given his age and status, he was mostly in a position of being managed. At most, he had been an Instructor, but that was also mainly focused on teaching; where had he ever managed such a large mess of things?

For such a major project involving critical stakes, there were nearly a hundred people in the Training Camp alone, and the number of people involved in coming and going was many times greater. The throughput of supplies was also astonishing. Just arranging the daily activities of the personnel to ensure no chaos occurred was very mentally taxing.

He felt he was not good at these things and was busy to the point of being overwhelmed, truly having no energy. It would be better to choose another capable person, and he would just focus on making preparations to approach the Sword Deity.

However, the Gaoyuan Marquis would not allow it, saying: "The core of this matter is you, and the leader can only be you. Time is so tight; if the person in charge were split into two, wouldn't misunderstandings and friction ruin the task? As for not knowing how, you can learn. You're only in your teens and you don't want to learn? Look at all the Sword Heroes; which one of them doesn't lead a team? A person's character, wisdom, and talent may differ, but as long as you are a strong person, people will rely on you. When you have many people under your command, you naturally become a leader, shouldering the responsibility of leading everyone; you cannot push it away. Sword Heroes all have to lead teams to fight independently when they go to the front lines. I see you have this potential; you will have to learn sooner or later, so start learning from this time."

Fortunately, the Gaoyuan Marquis did not just force him into it; he also assigned him a deputy, who was Dong Xingyu from the Training Camp, his partner when he was an Instructor. At that time, the two got along well, and Dong Xingyu also had the management talent to independently support the Training Camp for several months when the Mountain Chief was away, which was just right to help Tang Zhao keep an eye on the trivial matters of the base.

Although Tang Zhao was a Sword Hero, he was humble enough to learn because of his lack of experience. He listened to Dong Xingyu's opinions on most matters, and if it really didn't work, he could consult Zhang Rong, who was temporarily staying in the camp to preside over data research. He was both eager to learn and hardworking, and he actually managed to keep the large training camp base in perfect order.

If only all things in the world could be done well just by being diligent and hardworking.

But in fact, that was not the case. When the base here got on track, the annoying things there came one after another.

First of all, there was no good news coming from the outside world regarding the encirclement and suppression of the Turtle Bandits.

Although Yunzhou had tightened that net tighter and tighter, almost to the point of being airtight, it had not caught any big fish, only scooping up some insignificant small fry. It was as if the power of the Turtle Bandits had been completely eradicated from Yunzhou.

But who could prove that the Turtle Bandits had already ceased their activities and given up their schemes?

What if they still had forces deeply hidden in the dark, plotting that conspiracy in secret? What if the array mastered by Zhoucheng-zhi was wrong, and the real array had actually been quietly deployed? What if they were just waiting for them to lower their guard, and would counterattack the moment they relaxed?

The consequences of this matter were truly too serious, so much so that no one could say the word "give up".

But how long could they keep pulling the net tight?

The subordinates of the Gaoyuan Marquis were already considered extremely loyal and capable, and they could still grit their teeth and persist, but the funding could not last long. As the saying goes, "the army moves, provisions go first." The manpower and material resources mobilized this time were no less than a war. With grain and supplies being spent like water every day, Yunzhou could not hold up, no matter how wealthy it was. Moreover, Yunzhou was only considered better among the northern provinces; its savings were not deep.

Although Tang Zhao stayed behind closed doors in the base, he clearly felt that the pressure had been transmitted inside. After more than a month, this pressure was already hanging over the heads of everyone in the base. Although the Gaoyuan Marquis had not yet sent anyone to urge him, the mobilization of supplies and the transmission of messages from the outside world were becoming more and more frequent, clearly tightening continuously.

Yunzhou did not want to end without a result; it wanted a result. Could the Zhaoyang Base provide a result?

Tang Zhao accelerated the summary of the research, and after receiving another batch of precious gifts sent from the outside world for the "Jinwu Sword Deity," he prepared to start attempting the first teleportation.

At this time, he had already invited Xiangyangzi from Baiyujing, which was the only teammate he had prepared for this summoning. Everyone else stayed far away.

Xiangyangzi was very excited to know that he could go to the side of the current Jinwu Sword, and entered the base accompanied by two Sword Heroes from Baiyujing. And those two Sword Heroes did not return to the clouds after sending Xiangyangzi, but instead joined the Yunzhou operation to show their sincerity in the alliance.

When Xiangyangzi came, he also brought the Qianqiu Tower. Because the top floor of the Qianqiu Tower had the complete original array. Although Tang Zhao could already use Sword Images to copy the array, in order to be absolutely sure, it was better to bring the original version over.

On the twelfth of the second month, the birthday of the previous Dongjun, Ju Qingzhu, Tang Zhao activated the teleportation array to conduct the first conversation.