Chapter 332: Divine Cannon
The new Human Sovereign!
Yankang National Teacher's gaze was somewhat complex, and a murderous thought even arose in his heart. Village Chief, as the previous generation's elder Human Sovereign, was indifferent to fame and fortune, without lust for power. His goals were lofty, his vision not fixed on worldly authority, thus earning people's reverence.
But would Qin Mu, this new Human Sovereign, be like Village Chief?
The Human Sovereign possessed immense influence, an influence so great it surpassed even Emperor Yanfeng, and its power of appeal was even stronger than that of Yankang National Teacher!
Yankang National Teacher had been to Little Jade Capital and knew some secrets. He deeply understood the vast influence of the Human Sovereign. Emperor Yanfeng and he had always wanted to bring all the world's sectarian holy lands under their rule, but few were willing to submit to Yankang.
However, the Human Sovereign could.
The Human Sovereign could make these sects submit. The Human Sovereign's authority was not won through fighting or killing, but was given to him by the major sectarian holy lands!
Even Little Jade Capital, if it knew Qin Mu was the new Human Sovereign, would likely support him.
If Qin Mu were obsessed with power, he could completely seize Emperor Yanfeng's authority and destroy the reform efforts of Yankang National Teacher and Emperor Yanfeng in one fell swoop!
"If you and Emperor Yanfeng fail, then with the Human Sovereign present, there is still hope for a comeback." Village Chief's voice entered his ears.
Yankang National Teacher's heart trembled. He withdrew his gaze and said, "I will not fail."
Village Chief smiled slightly and said, "I hope you do not fail. I do not want Mu'er to suffer."
Qin Mu walked over, and the two fell silent, no longer speaking.
Yankang National Teacher's gaze fell upon him again, and he felt a strange sensation. This fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth could be said to be the most powerful figure in the world, yet he himself was unaware of this fact.
Qin Mu, the current Demon Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Imperial Academy's Imperial Academy Doctor, and the heir of the Cripples' Village, but his greatest identity was still the current Human Sovereign.
His power surpassed even the Emperor and the National Teacher, but Qin Mu had no idea how great the Human Sovereign's influence was. This was truly an oddity.
Lame Man watched Yankang National Teacher's expression, secretly feeling smug: "The National Teacher probably doesn't know yet that Mu'er also has the treasure symbolizing the Ling family's imperial authority. If he knew the Imperial Disc was worn around Mu'er's neck, he would probably jump in anger!"
He had given the Imperial Disc to Qin Mu just for fun. He had studied this jade disc for decades but could never fathom its secrets, so keeping it was useless.
However, he knew the symbolism of the Imperial Disc. This jade disc was a gift from the gods to the Ling family, representing divine imperial authority. It was said that the Ling family's Nine Dragons Imperial Art was derived from the Imperial Disc.
The theft of the Imperial Disc was a major event at the time, but Emperor Yanfeng had covered it up, so outsiders did not know.
No one would have imagined that this Imperial Disc was in Qin Mu's hands!
With the Imperial Disc and the Human Sovereign Seal, Qin Mu was the most powerful person in the world, but Qin Mu was completely unaware of this.
"When that silly boy finds out, he'll be so shocked his jaw will drop!" Lame Man thought smugly.
The Vice Minister of Works, Shan Youxin, stepped forward, greeted Yankang National Teacher, and then whispered to Qin Mu, "Sect Leader, the cannon fire on the military ships has been used in battle and needs repair. I would like to ask the Sect Leader to come and take a look."
Qin Mu asked puzzledly, "Your forging skills are not much worse than mine. What do you need me for?"
"There is a problem with the array imprints in the cannon barrels. After the ship's cannons are fired eight or nine times, they become red-hot. Then the array patterns imprinted in the cannon are disturbed by the high temperature, greatly reducing the array's power, and they also explode."
Shan Youxin was the head of the Heavenly Works Hall. He walked ahead quickly, leading the way, and said, "In this war with the Barbarian Di Kingdom, over a dozen cannons have already exploded, killing over a hundred cultivators. The array patterns on these cannons were jointly designed by the Heavenly Works Hall and the Array Element Hall of the Imperial Academy. I suspect it might be caused by metal fatigue. The intensity of this cannon light probably makes the metal used to forge the cannons unable to withstand it..."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "It's not metal fatigue. It should be thermal decay caused by the array problem. Let me go and take a look."
"Thermal decay?"
Shan Youxin's eyes lit up, and he praised, "That's possible! But the Array Element Hall's design is already very complete; it will be difficult to improve."
Yankang National Teacher raised an eyebrow and watched the two walk away, saying in surprise, "The Sect Leader even understands the art of artifact refinement, to the point that Vice Minister Shan has to consult him!"
Lame Man chuckled and said, "Mu'er has learned blacksmithing."
Yankang National Teacher glanced at him and remembered how this shameless old master thief had relieved himself in his bed and urinated in his teapot, and his face turned somewhat green. Moreover, his collection of the Sword God Carrying Sword painting had also been stolen by him!
Qin Mu and Shan Youxin arrived at a warship. Many Ministry of Works officials were busy repairing damaged parts of the ship. Several large cannons had exploded, their muzzles split open, with some bloodstains still on the barrels.
This type of cannon was called a True Yuan Cannon. Merchant ships did not have them. Fan Yunxiao had wanted to get a few True Yuan Cannons, but they were simply unavailable on the market.
Qin Mu first examined the exploded areas, carefully checking what force had caused the damage. Then he inspected the metal cross-sections and looked at the intact cannon mounts. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Besides problems in the forging, there are indeed issues with the arrays. However, the arrays on these cannon mounts are difficult to modify. With the war situation pressing, there is no time to reforge the mounts or re-imprint the arrays. The only option is to work on the cannons themselves. I think we should add ring-shaped treasures at the muzzle and deep inside the barrel to focus the light."
He cut a large piece of metal from the cannon body and directly melted this metal with his own Yuan Qi, forging it on the spot.
Many Ministry of Works officials gathered around, watching his artifact refinement with continuous praise. They quickly took out paper and pen to record Qin Mu's forging techniques.
Before long, Qin Mu had forged two rings and imprinted array patterns on them.
The array patterns he imprinted were the Divine Firmament Array Patterns from the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Method taught to him by Blind Man. These two rings looked like the irises of eyes, but without pupils.
One ring was placed deep inside the cannon barrel, and the other was fitted over the muzzle.
Qin Mu used his Vermilion Bird Yuan Qi to transform into raging flames, connecting the array patterns of the True Yuan Cannon with the array patterns of the two rings. He said, "Hall Master Shan, try activating the True Yuan Cannon."
The True Yuan Cannon was powered by the warship's furnace. Qin Mu had improved the warship's furnace, allowing it to provide the strongest firepower for the True Yuan Cannon.
Shan Youxin immediately ordered the soldiers to light the furnace and lift the ship. The warship floated into the air, and then he ordered them to fire towards the Duck Tongue area.
A beam of light shot straight out from that cannon mount, even brighter than before. The next moment, this beam of light struck a Barbarian Di Kingdom soldier who was cleaning up the battlefield in the Duck Tongue area.
That squad of Barbarian Di Kingdom soldiers, relying on their speed, had entered the battlefield to loot treasures from the corpses. Unexpectedly, a beam of light shot over, instantly piercing one of the soldiers, who fell dead to the ground.
The Ministry of Works officials on the warship were stunned. They exchanged glances, each seeing the shock in the other's eyes. The cannon light from the warship's True Yuan Cannon could originally only reach thirty li, but now it had reached over a hundred li!
Shan Youxin personally stepped forward to adjust the cannon mount and fired again. Another beam of light shot out, and another Barbarian Di Kingdom soldier fell, killed instantly.
The other Barbarian Di Kingdom soldiers immediately turned and ran. Shan Youxin fired repeatedly, picking off the Barbarian Di Kingdom soldiers one by one. Not a single one escaped alive, leaving only their mounts running towards the fortress opposite.
Shan Youxin touched the cannon barrel and said in surprise, "Seventeen shots fired, and the barrel is still cool! National Teacher, National Teacher! Quickly, go and invite the National Teacher here!"
After a moment, Yankang National Teacher arrived on the ship, a questioning look on his face.
Shan Youxin could barely contain his excitement. He bowed and said, "National Teacher, the Barbarian Di Kingdom can be broken!"
Yankang National Teacher's heart shook violently, and his expression turned serious. "Vice Minister Shan, there are no jokes in the military!"
Shan Youxin smiled and said, "National Teacher, this is no joke! The range of our warship's True Yuan Cannon was originally thirty li. On the battlefield, there are many experts. A cultivator at the Seven Stars realm can activate a sword pellet and have their flying sword take a life from thirty li away. Therefore, the True Yuan Cannons on the warships could only be used in the central army position, and one cannon could usually only be fired eight or nine times. Now, the True Yuan Cannon's range is one hundred and sixty li, an increase of five times!"
Yankang National Teacher was startled and exclaimed, "One hundred and sixty li? Are you sure it's one hundred and sixty li?"
Shan Youxin nodded emphatically and said, "It is one hundred and sixty li! Moreover, after Sect Leader Qin's modification, the cannon barrel does not heat up. This is the most crucial point. You can fire as many shots as you want! Previously, the warships were in the central army. Now, the warships can be lined up in a single row and used to clear the way! Our army has over two hundred warships. Each ship has True Yuan Cannons in two rows, upper and lower, on the left and right sides, with eight cannons per row. There are also eight cannons at the front and back of the ship, totaling forty True Yuan Cannons per ship. With over two hundred ships, that's eight or nine thousand cannons. Killing the enemy from over a hundred li away, one wave of cleansing can push directly to the enemy fortress!"
Yankang National Teacher drew in a sharp breath and murmured, "Hall Master Shan, this cannon of yours has saved how much grain and military pay, and how many soldiers' lives..."
Shan Youxin bowed and said, "This is the Sect Leader's doing. Shan does not dare to take the credit."
Qin Mu was drawing the array pattern diagram for the Divine Firmament Eye. He had already finished drawing the array patterns and handed them to the Ministry of Works officials.
Yankang National Teacher stepped forward, looked it over, and asked doubtfully, "This is some kind of eye technique divine ability! You applied an eye technique divine ability to the True Yuan Cannon?"
Qin Mu cleaned his brush, nodded, and said, "The cannon muzzle is the eye pupil, and the cannon light is the gaze. It can be universally applied."
Yankang National Teacher was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "The Imperial Academy's Heavenly Record Pavilion records over a hundred eye techniques. Among them, there is a strongest eye technique divine ability called Shooting Sun, which I have not mastered either. However, I have memorized the array patterns of the Shooting Sun Divine Eye. Can you forge such a cannon?"
His Yuan Qi burst forth, and layer upon layer of array patterns emerged, forming an extremely complex eye pupil.
Qin Mu examined it carefully. Suddenly, his body shrank, and he walked among these array patterns. Then, landing, his body returned to normal, and he said, "Forging this cannon would require many people, two or three supervisory factories working together, and it would probably take two months to produce just one. Moreover, this kind of cannon is extremely large, likely heavier than any spirit weapon! Such a complex divine eye, where did the National Teacher obtain it?"
"The Great Ruins."
Yankang National Teacher said solemnly, "I was greatly shocked when I saw this eye technique. Can you tell what this eye technique is used for?"
Qin Mu shook his head.
"Slaying gods."
Yankang National Teacher said calmly, "If you can forge it, you will be the number one Heavenly Artificer in the world today. The cannon you forge can shoot down gods!"
Qin Mu quickly waved his hand and said sincerely, "I dare not call myself the number one Heavenly Artificer. I am only number two."