Chapter 235 Moon Culler

After everyone took their leave, only a few people remained in the command tent.

"Marshal, Elder Beiqian might be acting with some personal agenda in mind, but his words are not completely without merit." General Mojian remarked. "It might be risky to entrust everything to these juniors without ascertaining their capabiltiies."

Marshal Xianming took a close look at him before letting out a warm smile. "Mojian, tell me. What do you know of Formation Master Beimu?"

"She is an excellent formation master, and is usually calm when handling matters. However, she comes across as a little too protective of Beimu Fei. Now, it seems that this protective nature has expanded to include Nanlu Tianzi as well," General Mojian answered without the slightest bit of restraint.

Marshal Xianming had watched him grow up from young. With his biological father being always busy, Marshal Xianming was actually more of a fatherly figure to him. Since Marshal Xianming had asked him for his opinion, General Mojian would naturally be forthright about it.

"What about you, Mosha?" Marshal Xianming directed his question to the younger of the two brothers this time.

"I can't say that I know much about Formation Master Beimu, but I do know a little about Beimu Fei," Mosha answered. "She might be arrogant, but she is unlikely to promise something that she cannot deliver. Considering that she agreed to do so, she must at least have a certain degree of confidence."

"Indeed," Marshal Xianming nodded with a smile. "Considering how protective Formation Master Beimu is of Beimu Fei, do you think that she would just leave Beimu Fei with such an important task without thinking it through? Do note that if Beimu Fei fails, she could jolly well become the sinner of this battle! I am sure Formation Master Beimu has something in mind. We would just have to hope that she doesn't let us down."

"And in the event that her plan fails?" General Mojian probed further.

It was the role of a superior to consider all possibilities.

No matter how confident he was in their strategy, a wise leader must always have a backup plan prepared. Simply hoping that a particular method would work out well was dangerous to say the least.

After all, thousands of lives under his command could be lost with a single failed gamble this time!

But if he was able to understand that, General Mojian was sure that Marshal Xianming did as well.

"That is precisely why I had you guys stay back," Marshal Xianming smiled. "Remember this. In the upcoming battle, the success of the formation is secondary. What I am about to tell you will be our primary focus instead!"

Oblivious to the scene currently playing out in the command tent, Formation Master Beimu brought Lu Tianzi and Beimu Fei back to her personal tent.

"Tianzi, I heard from Fei'er that during yesterday's fight, your sword cracked when facing the opponent. Is that true?" Formation Master Beimu asked in concern.

"Yeah," Lu Tianzi nodded. "My original weapon broke before this, so I had no choice but to use a spare. Who knew that even the spare would break this soon? That treasure from the opponent is quite the dangerous thing."

"Fei'er mentioned that as well," Formation Master Beimu's expression turned solemn. "It sounds like something that will pose a problem in the upcoming battle. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with you guys. After all, the opponent is an Origin Core realm expert. We will be the ones to deal with him. The most important thing for you to do is to focus on your task. Here, take this."

Formation Master Beimu drew a sword out of her spatial ring, handing it over to Lu Tianzi.

"This is…?" Lu Tianzi asked in surprise as he respectfully received the sword with both hands.

The sword was almost a metre long from end to end, with the metallic sheen on the polished blade reflecting his face like a mirror. Intricate engravings on the hilt of the sword gave it a mysterious feel, as though it was a treasure from an era past.

But most importantly, the energy undulations coming from the sword itself was far beyond any weapon that Lu Tianzi had ever possessed.

"An Origin Core rank weapon?" Lu Tianzi gasped in surprise.

Even though it was only a Primary Origin Core rank weapon, there was still a fundamental difference between it and any Essence Condensation rank weapon.

While Essence Condensation rank weapons might be able to allow their users to fully exhibit their strength, Origin Core rank weapons had the potential to go beyond that, amplifying their users' strength so as to execute attacks far surpassing what they were originally capable of!

Taking Nanlan Qianxue's Frost Jade Sword for example, it was able to emit wisps of frost energy on its own, thereby increasing the strength of her ice element attacks.

This was what lent her the capability to contend against an Origin Core realm martial artist. Had she been wielding any Essence Condensation rank weapon instead, there was no doubt that she would have died to Chiren back then before Lu Tianzi could save her.

At the same time, the vast difference between an Origin Core rank weapon and an Essence Condensation rank meant that the value of an Origin Core rank weapon was that much higher!

Despite that, Formation Master Beimu had actually given him one just like that?

Lu Tianzi looked up from the sword and saw a warm smile on Formation Master Beimu's face.

"This sword is for you. How is it? Do you like it?" Formation Master Beimu asked.

"How can he not like it? His emotions are written all over his face!" Beimu Fei laughed. "Why are you not thanking Master yet?"

"Thank you, Teacher!" Lu Tianzi gave a deep bow in gratitude.

He knew fully well that Formation Master Beimu had absolutely no obligations whatsoever to cater for his inventory needs.

She had already imparted to him her valuable knowledge on the art of formations, and that was already doing her part as his teacher, enough for him to feel thankful towards her.

By gifting him such a valuable treasure on top of that, she was definitely taking it a step further, going far beyond what was expected of her as a teacher.

From this, it could be seen that Formation Master Beimu truly valued and appreciated his existence!

Understanding this, Lu Tianzi could not help but feel deeply indebted towards Formation Master Beimu. At the same time, his impression of her had just skyrocketed.

"Don't mention it. After all, how are you supposed to fight in the upcoming battle without even a proper weapon? If you were to fail your task due to such a reason, it would really be too regrettable." Formation Master Beimu maintained the smile on her face. "This sword is called the Moon Culler, made by a famous blacksmith of the Iron Flames Sect. Try to get used to it before the battle starts."

Even among weapons of the same type, there were variations between each individual weapon. These variations could be differences in weight, length, curvature, grip, or other different properties.

All these differences affect things such as attack speed, reach, or even the flexibility of each move. They might seem insignificant, but not being used these differences, no matter how minute, could really handicap a martial artist, affecting his sense of judgement during a fight.

In extreme situations, just a slight error in judgement could even result in a loss when it should have been an easy victory.

That was the difference between life and death.

For example, without even knowing the reach of your own weapon, just how were you supposed to determine the ideal moment to strike?

Thus, Formation Master Beimu believed that it was of paramount importance that Lu Tianzi familiarised himself with his new weapon as soon as possible.

Even if it was impossible to reach the point of feeling as though the sword was an extension of his arms given the short amount of time they had, he should at least get to understand the basic attributes of the sword.

"Understood," Lu Tianzi thanked her once again. "I will certainly not let you down in the upcoming battle!"

"You'd better not do so!" Beimu Fei harrumphed from the side. "My reputation is on the line here as well!"

"Let's not waste anymore time then," Formation Master Beimu interjected. "Here is the plan…"

Formation Master Beimu quickly filled them in on what they had to do, meticulously touching upon every detail of the plan.

In the upcoming battle, the Origin Core realm martial artists would make a false push, as though they were intending to settle the fight right from the get-go. While the opponent Origin Core realm martial artists were being drawn away by this farce, Lu Tianzi and Beimu Fei would flit around the battlefield, concentrating on energising a select number of the huge protruding rocks, effectively turning them into formation nodes of their grand formation.

By tapping on the huge protruding rocks to be used as formation nodes, their plan would be far less obvious than using formation flags or any other identifiable items.

Of course, if any of the rocks were damaged or moved during the battle, then they would just have to improvise accordingly.

The emphasis was not on fighting, but on avoiding fights as much as possible.

Even though they did not have to go around energising every single one of the protruding rocks, the amount of work they had to do was still significantly huge.

If they wasted too much time in combat, they might just end up failing to complete the formation by the end of the day.

Should that happen, it was extremely likely that the enemy would notice the energised rocks, thereby putting an end to their plan once and for all.

After hearing of the plan, Lu Tianzi and Beimu Fei returned to their respective tents to rest and digest the new information.

Lu Tianzi, however, did not have the luxury of just lying in the tent to ponder over this matter.

He still had to get his body used to the Moon Culler.

Under the faint starlight, Lu Tianzi continued to swing his sword diligently, practising move after move. His mind had already gotten used to the weight and reach of the sword, but his body still needed time to adjust.

For martial artists, many moves during a fight were done out of reflex. That was why allowing his body to memorise the basic attributes of the Moon Culler was extremely important.

It was heavier than the Sword of Ivory Rock, and its reach was slightly longer.

This meant that there should be greater power behind each strike, but that alone did not necessarily mean an improved combat capability for Lu Tianzi.

After all, the increased weight also meant that the Moon Culler was an inherently slower weapon.

In order to wield it with the same agility as before, Lu Tianzi would have to exert a greater amount of strength, thereby increasing the rate at which he expended his stamina.

Lu Tianzi spent the night trying to get used to it as much as he could. Only then would he be able to display the strength of the Moon Culler to his best ability, and avoid disappointing the great expectations that Formation Master Beimu had placed on him.

Not just him, but everyone else was making their own individual preparations, all of them wanting to perform at their best for the upcoming battle.

Just like that, three days passed uneventfully despite everyone being on heightened alert.

On the dawn of the fouth day, the order finally came from above.

They will be taking to the Rockfall Plain, into what would hopefully be the decisive battle of the war!