Chapter 523: Population Transfer (3k)
“I will naturally demonstrate it myself for Miss Su, and the cannon will fire directly at the mountain forest area on the opposite side then.”
The Alchemy Guild President smiled calmly and said, “But controlling the cannon platform is also very draining of mental power. I hope the Mr. Secretary remembers to replenish some mental power-related medicine then.”
As his voice fell, he lightly grasped his palm, and with a “whoosh,” a pitch-black carving pen appeared in his hand. As the pen reached his palm, it was faintly visible that the pen tip was sharp under the light.
Two intermediate magic crystals were placed in the grooves again.
“To avoid errors, it is very necessary to prepare a carving pen for timely modification.”
The next moment, a faint voice came out, followed by him holding the pen in one hand and lightly pressing the virtual screen with the other. With a ‘ding!’ sound, a stereoscopic projection of the formation above their heads appeared.
The projected formation had three layers, forming a pyramid shape overall. The upper layers were more complex. To give an analogy, the first layer was like lotus petals, and the next layer directly transformed into a rose shape.
“There are saying that this thing does require a certain level of proficiency. Without proficiency, even just touching the first layer of the formation requires the level of an intermediate alchemist.”
Looking at the materialized formation, Su Jiu felt a bit surprised, but none of this was a problem for her. What she lacked was simply some operating procedures.
Her mental power reaching the early stage of a War God level had greatly improved her alchemy skills. Details that she couldn’t notice when carving [Dream Flower] before were now as easy as pie for her…
In terms of true skill, she felt she had already broken through to the level of an advanced Alchemy Master.
The Young Man in Fine Clothes, seeing Su Jiu’s indifferent expression, raised an eyebrow. Don’t know where he got the courage from, but he couldn’t help but speak up, “Miss Su, this thing is really not something you cultivators who only know how to cultivate can touch. Even for me, it requires an entire team.”
“That’s your…”
Su Jiu glanced at him indifferently, but didn’t hold back; her gaze was fixed on the Alchemy Guild President’s operation. The latter closed his eyes, and a faint blue light erupted from his palm…
Following that, external qi began to circulate at several starting points of the formation. The external qi rushed outwards from the base, continuously connecting the veins, finally forming circles of light.
The formation above everyone’s heads also slowly started to activate. The Alchemy Guild President swallowed slightly, his gaze intently fixed on the operation of the formation within.
“Sizzle—”
From time to time, he furiously jabbed with the pen, his veins bulging, forcefully pulling back the external qi that was about to go astray. Large beads of sweat continuously dripped down his forehead.
Releasing external qi along the formation, carving a formation was not simply drawing, but guiding the instantaneously erupting energy with one’s own control.
“What I lack is alchemy richness.”
Su Jiu’s gaze fell on the other’s movements, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. She felt that this thing was not difficult at all.
If it were an analogy, it would be like a freshman level, and Su Jiu’s current state was like a graduate student, so the difficulty was self-evident.
“Isn’t the President’s speed fast enough?”
“Hehe, of course it’s fast. The President’s mental power might be close to the Demigod level.”
“Everyone, learn from this.”
The ordinary alchemists showed a hint of admiration in their eyes, their gazes focused, trying to gain some experience from it.
“Done!”
After a little over half an hour, the President suddenly jabbed the carving pen and looked up at the formation that had already connected in the sky, then let out a long sigh and modestly said,
“Although the formation was not carved to perfection, its current power is infinitely close to the War God level. We can try to launch it later.”
After wiping his sweat, he stood up straight and turned to look at everyone. Seeing the admiration in their eyes and looking at the dumbfounded expression of the Mr. Secretary, he felt a little satisfied.
Su Jiu chuckled and pointed at the complex formation on the uppermost layer, teasingly saying, “President, the frost attribute symbols you’ve drawn look a bit like grass elements? It seems quite skewed—”
“Formations carved this way will not only have major problems with accuracy due to weight, but also… the consumption will double.”
Everyone followed Su Jiu’s finger, and saw that in the formation at the top of the small “pyramid,” there were some snowflake patterns that were crooked, clearly a result of the carver’s insufficient skill.
Soon, the Mr. Secretary lowered his head and looked at the President. His fleshy eye sockets narrowed, almost making his small eyes invisible. He asked rather displeasantly, “Was it your mistake that caused the energy to affect me?”
“How is that possible? My disciple did the preliminary aiming at that time, and an 80% completion rate is already considered a success. If it were another intermediate Alchemy Master, unless they were dual cultivators of external qi control and mental power, they would basically not exceed this value.”
Hearing the voice, the President quickly shook his head and answered very sincerely. His gaze then shifted back to Su Jiu. Seeing the expression on her face, he immediately raised an eyebrow, “Miss Su, if you think there’s a problem, feel free to try it yourself.”
With that said, he placed his right hand on the aiming console on the other side. The virtual image displayed on the console showed the scene outside the western district, which was clearly set up to assist operators with poor mental power.
“Boom!”
Following a booming sound, the formation suddenly dimmed, and even the runes on it scattered.
Immediately after, the mountain forest area occupied by monsters in the video was hit by a giant “snowball” from the sky. The immense power created ripples, which instantly turned the surrounding snow pines into sawdust. The surrounding area of nearly a hundred meters was turned into ruins…
Everyone looked at the area bombarded by the artillery fire, each showing different expressions. The funniest among them was the Mr. Secretary, whose face was a mixture of green and white, yet he also looked somewhat puzzled—was the power a bit too low?
Su Jiu, with a calm expression, took a few steps forward to the console and said softly, “This level of power is only comparable to a Demigod’s strike. The carved formation has too many flaws, and the targeting of the bombardment is also too poor?”
After speaking, her gaze fell on the suspended special carving object, then she extended her fingertip. Her sapphire blue butterfly orchid-like fingernail sprang out from the small nail sheath.
“Doesn’t she need a carving knife? This looks too amateurish!”
“Look at her fingernails quickly, she must want to use her fingernails as a substitute.”
“Can fingernails be compared to carving knives? Even using an avatar wouldn’t work.”
Su Jiu not using a carving knife like the President caused some people in the tower to frown. They didn’t understand why Su Jiu was using her fingernails as a substitute for a carving knife.
Su Jiu, however, said nothing more. She placed her hand on the formation control area, casually took out the previous “trophy” from her ring, and placed two intermediate magic crystals on it.
She then closed her eyes slightly and began to infuse it with external qi. The blood-golden external qi connected at a rapid pace, as if it had been injected with stimulants.
Compared to the President’s speed, this speed was worlds apart. Simply put, it was the difference between 1MB/s and 1KB/s.
Standing at the center, the Mr. Secretary frowned subtly, his gaze fixed on Su Jiu’s operation. He vaguely felt that this person was not as simple as an ordinary alchemist.
Su Jiu paid no attention to the gazes around her. With a thought, her fingertips nimbly guided the energy into the correct path, her movements as graceful as playing the piano.
“She can actually control the energy flow with her fingernails!”
“This means her fingernails have the hardness of a carving knife… I dare not imagine if one would survive being stabbed by it.”
“The third layer is done so quickly?!”
In just over a minute, everyone watched nervously as the energy rapidly traversed the uppermost and most complex path. The energy was like several errant snakes, maintaining a constant speed, and finally, at the intersection of several formation lines, it began to slow down considerably.
“She didn’t split the control of speed to avoid collisions…”
Seeing this scene, everyone except the Mr. Secretary showed a cold smile, their eyes filled with even more ridicule, as if they had seen Su Jiu’s distress moments later.
However, the scene they expected did not unfold as they imagined. As the cold smile just began to form on their faces, it suddenly froze, and then everyone in the tower’s eyes widened!
They saw that the intersecting lines brushed past each other at an extremely small distance. The pattern seemed to have changed slightly, but the instrument did not indicate that the formation placement had failed.
Then, after more than ten seconds, the formation was completed, emitting a brilliant frost-colored light. Compared to the previous one, the overall pattern had gained more spirituality, and it appeared ready to be unleashed.
“She actually performed such microscopic operation on the formation, even slightly modifying the direction of the formation! Without an Alchemy Master and the ultimate control of external qi, this would be impossible to achieve…”
This unbelievable scene directly caused the President to fall into self-doubt. The alchemists who were waiting to watch the show looked at the formation, which was much better than what their President had carved, with very comical expressions on their faces.
“Miss Su, please take this. The subsequent control of the city defense cannon will be your responsibility.”
The old Mr. Secretary also showed a serious expression, then tossed the token to Su Jiu, clasped his hands in a traditional Dragon Country greeting.
If she were just an ordinary Demigod, he wouldn’t have to be so polite. However, in such urgent need of alchemists, he had to show her sufficient courtesy.
“I’m glad you appreciate me. However, I need to cultivate now. If there’s anything, you can find the Head of the Heber Family.”
After receiving the token, Su Jiu smiled and put it away. Instead of firing, she walked towards the outside, and soon left the tower.
“Alright, I’ll also prepare to convene another meeting. It seems there are fewer monsters in the eastern district, and some council members proposed to transfer personnel.”
The old Mr. Secretary nodded and did not dare to delay, following her out.
After Su Jiu and the old Mr. Secretary bowed, she stomped her foot and transformed into a stream of light, heading towards the guest rooms of the Heber Family.
Her current task was to directly break through to the Battle King level, and then use the feathers to complete the Fire Domain. If she was lucky, she might even upgrade her fire attribute to a secondary Extraordinary Attribute.
After Su Jiu and the old Mr. Secretary left, the alchemists looked at each other for a moment. Finally, the Young Man in Fine Clothes tentatively asked the stunned President, “President, are we going to use the formation she carved?”
“I don’t want to humiliate myself further.”
The President snapped back to reality, his expression a bit gloomy. His eyes were slightly lowered, as if he had been contemplating something for a while. After a moment, he faintly smiled and said,
“Since they don’t need us here, let’s go. Coincidentally, Councilwoman Filina proposed to transfer the preferential treatment for special individuals in the city first.”
