Imperial Scepter

Gao Chun spent the morning playing with his little niece, and at noon, he naturally went straight to his sister's house for lunch.

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I saw a bustling crowd with people coming and going.

All of them were neighbors who came to congratulate their little niece and give her gifts.

However, this lively scene was still slightly inferior to the grand occasion when his Dao Seed was born.

Gao Chun knew perfectly well that this situation was entirely due to his father's status as the village chief.

Although my sister and brother-in-law are both Silver Realm cultivators, Silver Realm cultivators are not uncommon in the entire Nine Suns Town.

Counting upwards to the counties and prefectures... there are countless more, certainly not enough to warrant such a flurry of celebrations from neighbors.

Seeing the endless stream of gifts before him, Gao Chun's obsession with becoming an official grew even stronger.

The scene of him spending time with the son of Director Chen of Jiuyang Town that day vividly resurfaced in his mind.

In particular, the other party's statement, "The position of director originally belonged to our Chen family," repeatedly struck Gao Chun's mind.

It seems that if one truly wants to become a high-ranking official, breaking the empire's caste system is the only way.

Thinking of this, his dedication to cultivation became even stronger.

"Sigh, what a waste of the whole morning! Time that should have been used for cultivation, how could I be so lazy as to sleep in?"

Gao Chun deeply reprimanded himself in his heart.

After a quick lunch, he bid farewell to his neighbors, sister and brother-in-law, and relatives, and rushed back to his own courtyard with a heart full of longing.

Cultivation is a matter that cannot be delayed.

Whether it's realizing the dream of becoming a high-ranking official or the grand ambition of breaking the caste system, both ultimately require sufficiently strong power as support.

Only strength can give you a real voice.

I went back to my room.

High purity calms the mind and spirit.

I began to re-examine and plan my cultivation path.

Although his experience in the Southern Wilderness Forest lasted only an afternoon, the impact it had on him far exceeded that of the previous twelve years of his life.

In just one afternoon, four battles took place in quick succession.

Every match deserves his careful analysis, reflection, and summarization; the experiences and lessons learned from them are enough to benefit him greatly.

Of the four battles, the one that Gao Chun remembers most vividly is the final battle against the bandit-repair team.

In that duel, Liu Neng's unusual behavior had already caught his attention.

It's illogical that Liu Neng, who was also at the four-star bronze realm, fell to the ground after only one round against the bandit leader.

Was he exhausted from the fierce battle with the Black Ox and unable to fully recover, or was he deliberately feigning injury to avoid further combat?

They don't care about these high purity levels.

His decision to stay and hold off the bandit leader was not for Liu Neng's team, and he didn't even consider them.

Gao Chun's only thought at that moment was to buy time for his two brothers and his nephew Gao Chengzhi to break through the encirclement.

That's right, Wang Hu has already become Gao Chun's acknowledged brother.

From the moment the other party disregarded his own safety to save him, Gao Chun regarded Wang Hu as a brother he could entrust with his life.

He has no saintly heart whatsoever.

He was willing to shield his loved ones and brothers from all the dangers of battle.

This battle also made Gao Chun realize his own shortcomings.

The most pressing issue is communication with teammates.

Only after reviewing the events did he realize that Li Daoqiu and Gao Chengzhi both carried talismans, and the four of them could have escaped unscathed by relying on the power of the talismans.

However, Gao Chun was eager to save his friend and was overly attached to his responsibility as captain. He acted rashly without consulting others, taking on too much and acting arbitrarily.

After learning the truth, Gao Chun deeply reflected on his behavior, sincerely apologized to the three, made a profound self-examination, and promised to communicate more and listen more in the team in the future, and never act arbitrarily again.

Upon reflection, those seemingly reasonable excuses are ultimately just pretexts.

Gao Chun knew in his heart that the reason he failed to discuss with his teammates in time was due to his strong and domineering personality.

"This must be completely corrected. From now on, we should listen to the opinions of others more often and not act unilaterally."

Gao Chun silently warned himself.

Another area that urgently needs improvement is the understanding and application of external objects such as mystical artifacts and talismans.

There were nine people who fought against the bandits that day. Eight of them were at the third level of the Bronze Realm, and one was at the fourth level of the Bronze Realm.

There were only five of them, and although they were all at the fourth level of the Bronze Realm, the difference in their cultivation levels was not significant at all.

The battle turned out to be one-sided, mainly because the enemy was equipped with magical artifacts, while they had nothing.

Especially long, mysterious weapons like knives, spears, swords, and halberds.

Regarding the use of mystical artifacts, Gao Chun had consulted relevant classic texts and also sought advice from his father.

In conclusion: "For those who are skilled in Xuan techniques, it is not advisable to choose a long Xuan weapon if they have not awakened the bloodline supernatural power corresponding to the weapon."

For a cultivator to use a long magical weapon, firstly, they need to spend a lot of time studying the techniques, and secondly, each slash and thrust requires the consumption of magical energy to activate it.

However, the power of mystical weapons is far inferior to that of weapons formed from magic. For example, the yellow wall of magic used by the bandit leader is far more practical than a mystical weapon shield, and its power is incomparable.

In reality, long magical weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds are mostly the choice of cultivators with mediocre talent and no hope of advancing to the next level.

The four Gao Chun members, along with the five members of Liu Neng's team, are all young geniuses with multiple Daoist traits and still have ample room for advancement. Therefore, none of them are equipped with such long weapons.

The problem was that none of the nine of them possessed any magical abilities, which led to them being on the defensive and the battle becoming one-sided.

However, short-range weapons are an exception, especially daggers, which are considered essential items for assassins.

Assassins rely on their agility and stealth skills, using daggers to launch surprise attacks and wear down opponents. If they can also learn assassin techniques, they can become the king of assassins, feared by all.

Unpredictable and elusive, they come and go as they please, moving like ghosts and hiding like shadows.

"Besides magical artifacts, the use of talismans also urgently needs to be put on our agenda," Gao Chun sighed.

He had read through a large number of related books on talismans and had long memorized their classification and conditions for use.

Similar to magic, talismans, regardless of their attributes, can be categorized into five main types: attack talismans, defense talismans, assassin talismans, control talismans, and support talismans.

The key to activating the talisman lies in the color of the Dao seed.

To activate an offensive talisman, one needs to use light red Xuan power, which means having a red Dao seed or a multi-colored Dao seed that includes red.

Defensive talismans require pale yellow Xuan energy, corresponding to yellow Dao seeds.

Control-type talismans require light blue Xuan power, corresponding to a blue Dao seed.

Assassin-type talismans require light purple profound energy, corresponding to a purple Dao seed.

Auxiliary talismans require light green Xuan energy, corresponding to green Dao seeds.

For those who practice the mystical arts, the seed of the Dao is the foundation of their cultivation. Whether studying techniques or using talismans and mystical artifacts, they all need to mobilize the corresponding mystical energies of various kinds.

Compared to magical artifacts, the importance of talismans is self-evident. Like elixirs, they are essential items for cultivators on their path of cultivation.

Among the myriad arts of Taoism, alchemy, talismans, formations, artifacts, meridians, animal science, plant science, cooking, and construction are the most basic and widely used.

Talismans rank second only to elixirs, highlighting their importance.

"Unfortunately, for this training, my father didn't provide me with any pills, talismans, let alone formations or magical artifacts."

Gao Chun pouted and muttered to herself.

Of course, although Gao Chun had a slight complaint in his heart, he did not have any resentment towards his father. He knew his father's good intentions.

Back then, he didn't successfully give birth to the Dao Seed until the very last deadline for its birth, which was when he was nine years old.

In the year or two prior to this, he had endured much criticism and ridicule, experiencing rejection and insults. Those hardships had already tempered his character, making him far more mature than his peers.

After careful consideration, Gao Chun had a clearer plan for his cultivation path.

"One's own hard power is fundamental. External things such as pills, talismans, arrays, and artifacts are ultimately just aids and cannot become the foundation for one's livelihood."

And magic is a core component of hard power. Therefore, my first priority should be learning magic.

Gao Chun made a decision.

He is now a four-star Bronze Realm cultivator, and is qualified to learn magic techniques.

He immediately straightened his back, composed himself, and strode towards the library filled with esoteric texts.

His eyes shone with a resolute light, his chest churned with passion, and he was filled with an urgent obsession with becoming stronger through cultivating his magic.