Building a sect from scratch.

Inside the training hall, a simply dressed middle-aged man was giving a final pep talk, while in front of him stood a hundred equally simply dressed but upright and righteous young people.

They were both men and women, their faces filled with excitement and anticipation, their eyes shining brightly.

"I won't say more, just remember this,"

The middle-aged man, his face still taut, said in a firm and powerful voice: "This is our first external combat operation in the Guixu Realm, and also our first attempt at military cooperation. It will be recorded in history, and future generations will see your heroic figures in their textbooks!"
"China is looking forward to everyone's performance!"
"All attendees—Dismissed! Heading towards the Ruins of Return!"

……

On the simple flying boat, a white light flashed, and several new players with levels only in the teens and a veteran player with level 20 emerged from the teleportation array.

Levels around ten are practically the limit for the new batch of players after this update, but even so, long-distance teleportation can't be done alone—the mana bar isn't enough. That's why an experienced player is in the team to lead and help use the teleportation array.

Soon, the teleportation array began to flash one after another, and players were continuously teleported here.

Compared to the noisy flying boats of Chang'an City not far away, this small flying boat, of average tonnage and with little decoration, was completely quiet. The players who had already been teleported over were all lined up in an orderly fashion to one side, heads held high. They were dressed simply, still wearing the initial sets that came with their characters when they were created, but each of them was holding a "monster" made of black metal.

That is one of the latest research and development achievements of the Taiyin-Guangcheng Research Institute—the Lightweight Psionic Continuous Multi-Shot Lightning Bullet Rifle, or Lightning Bullet Rifle for short. It is named so because it fires "lightning" transformed from spiritual energy, not metal.

The principle behind the Thunder Bullet Rifle differs greatly from the traditional lethality principle of rifles on Earth. Traditional rifles, or most firearms in general, rely on a trigger to ignite gunpowder, propelling the bullet and causing piercing damage. This method is fast and accurate, and extremely lethal to humans, but it has little effect on cultivators.

Putting aside everything else, even a Qi Refining stage cultivator, after being pierced by a bullet... can recover by using spiritual energy to regulate their breathing, and if possible, by applying some fast-healing spiritual medicine. They can be lively and energetic again in less than an hour. Unless you riddle them with bullets and completely destroy them, it's probably impossible to save them.

As for cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above, their spiritual senses and reaction speed have already surpassed the realm of "humans" on Earth. The more agile among them can easily dodge bullets. Even if they are hit, those with high-level body tempering cultivation might not even be able to penetrate the skin of a cultivator with such defenses!

Therefore, when developing weapons, one must naturally adapt to local customs.

Strictly speaking, the Thunder Bullet Rifle is more like firing countless small ball lightning bolts from the muzzle, using spiritual energy as a carrier, causing violent lightning explosions upon contact with obstacles to achieve the purpose of killing.

These "thunderbolts" are incredibly powerful, especially when multiple thunderbolts explode together, creating an enormous blast area.

As we all know, electricity needs a carrier. Even during thunderstorms, the lightning and thunder before rain are carried by substances like dust in the air. The reason why Earth doesn't have weapons that can launch lightning like in movies and TV shows is mainly because it's impossible to separate electricity from a carrier, and therefore, it can't be "launched."

Oh right, the stun gun is a compromise product of "electric shock" weapons. As for its lethality and practicality... well, it's quite suitable for educating petty thieves in the city.

However, the Guixu Realm is different. Many scholars who work tirelessly on scientific research in the Guixu Realm have discovered and confirmed that spiritual energy can be used as a carrier of electricity.

In other words, spiritual energy can serve as a carrier for almost any energy source or other substances, which is why many cultivators use spiritual power to manipulate water, fire, lightning, and other seemingly mysterious "spells."

Furthermore, spiritual energy can be "transformed" into various forms of energy and matter—though most of this is conditional and requires certain prerequisites. In short, after exchanges and discussions with the native cultivators and with full consideration of the opinions of researchers from both realms, the Thunder Bullet Rifle was born. Moreover, compared to traditional rifles on Blue Star that consume metal bullets, the Thunder Bullet Rifle only consumes the cultivator's temporarily stored spiritual energy!

And when spiritual energy is used up, it can be restored through meditation, which means that weapons like the Thunder Bullet Rifle have almost no consumption!

The reason for saying "almost" is that its barrel and other components will still have a reduced lifespan due to repeated use.

It is precisely because of the unique spiritual energy of the Guixu Realm that such an exaggerated and fantastical weapon as the Thunder Bullet Rifle has become a reality. You can even see players standing quietly to the side, holding Thunder Bullet Rifles, with expressions of excitement and anticipation that are more and more intense than the last!

Before long, the small airship was packed with people who had arrived via the teleportation array. They were densely packed together, numbering nearly two hundred. Among them, about a hundred people had a particularly distinctive aura and had spontaneously formed a square formation, seemingly waiting for something.

"Hello... cough, members of [I Love Farming]! You've all worked hard!"

A player with the same demeanor as the other hundred or so people, but who wasn't carrying a grenade rifle, and whose ID was "Retired Farmer," was the last to emerge from the teleportation array. He stood in front of the group and said loudly with a smile.

One player cheekily shouted back, "No trouble at all! Serving the Taiyin Sect!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the previously serious atmosphere dissipated considerably, finally resembling a game.

[Retired Farmer] deliberately glared at the player who had spoken, not because he thought the player was talking nonsense, but to correct him: "It is for the people of Taiyin Sect, for the people of Guixu Realm and for the many intelligent races!"

Everyone laughed again, "Hahaha, the club president is right!"

"This way of addressing you sounds really awkward, 'President,' isn't that the kind of title used next door?"

"That's called a village head? A village head, what else could it be called?"

"It would be better to just call it..."

"Hey! Have you forgotten what the political commissar said before we entered the game?"

"Alright, alright," the retired farmer interrupted the chatter, then straightened his face and shouted, "Everyone, get ready—get into gear!"

The words had barely left his mouth when the demeanor of the hundred or so players wielding grenade rifles changed almost simultaneously—

Most of them collapsed on the spot, as if they had no bones. Some exuded the air of street thugs, while others resembled the cannon fodder villains and hooligans in certain movies and TV shows, shaking their legs, swinging their arms, and twisting their necks in a series of movements, some even sporting an underbite. Even more outrageous, a few actually started taking off their clothes on the spot, stuffing their beginner outfits into their backpacks, leaving themselves only in their shorts, and even muttering, "I'm a stingy player, I'm a stingy player."

This group actually has even more of a player's mentality than the original players! (End of Chapter)