Chapter 1153 - 382: Sinister Xueyang

If the Evil Spirit Broken Bridge could be put into use a day earlier, Nanwu would enjoy the geographical advantage, and its students would gain an opportunity for their strength to skyrocket.

"It failed!"

Before anyone realized it, Mu Cheng had already struck down four-fifths of the Evil Lice. Just as victory seemed within reach, Mu Jingliang suddenly let out a sigh.

SNAP!

Before Principal Nanwu and the others could even register their surprise, the sound of snapping metal rang out. Just as expected, the sword in Mu Cheng’s hand shattered into countless fragments, scattering like a withered iron flower.

Deathly silence! The entire venue fell into a state of absolute silence.

The remaining fraction of the Evil Lice in front of Mu Cheng fluttered constantly around her face, as if mocking her. She had failed.

People already knew the pattern of the Evil Lice. In one minute, their numbers would return to the previous level. They were formed from the most primal Spiritual Qi, so their reproduction rate was terrifyingly fast. Of course, due to certain special rules, the swarm of Evil Lice wouldn’t grow too large; they would always maintain a constant number.

The entire venue was pin-drop silent. No one blamed Mu Cheng; it wasn’t her fault. This was a setback everyone had to endure.

"I’m sorry." Stepping down from the Evil Spirit Broken Bridge, Mu Cheng held the hilt of the sword, her face full of guilt. Failing yet again made her feel incredibly awful.

"It’s not your fault. It’s because our forging department isn’t skilled enough. Wait another week, and we’ll try a different alloy combination."

A researcher collected the fragments of the longsword. He seemed to have aged significantly. The government was rushing them every day, but despite spending astronomical research funds, they simply couldn’t develop a good sword. It was an agonizing feeling.

"Hmph, what a bunch of trash!" Xueyang thought to himself not far away.

Of course, his basic intelligence was still intact, so he hadn’t actually spoken the words aloud. This was the Divine Land, after all. Daring to publicly mock them at this critical juncture would be courting death. However, with his insight, he had indeed foreseen this outcome long ago. Born in the Eight Races Sacred Land, he was accustomed to all sorts of demonic weapons. To fight the things on the Evil Spirit Broken Bridge, the fundamental requirement was a demonic weapon, not pointlessly stacking materials.

The Divine Land Research Institute was heading in the wrong direction. But it was understandable. This wasn’t the Wet Realm; they simply couldn’t forge demonic weapons here.

Ban Rongchen stared at Xueyang, scared half to death. He saw the disdain in Xueyang’s eyes and was terrified that this bastard would speak without thinking and publicly mock the Research Institute. Thankfully, he still had some brains.

"The problem shouldn’t be with the materials. It might be a mistake with the forging attributes," Su Yue analyzed with a frown.

To destroy the Qi Blood Evil Lice left behind by Cang Ji, they had to use demonic weapons from the Wet Realm. But the Research Institute merely blindly increased the hardness, which wasn’t a solution at all. This was like using chopsticks to catch a mosquito inside a fire. No matter how hard the wood was, it couldn’t withstand the burning flames. The attributes were simply wrong.

"Exactly. The problem isn’t with the materials at all. Our teacher said the same thing.

"In fact, the Research Institute knows this too, but without the proper environment for such research, they can only resort to crude methods.

"Demonic weapons break evil qi—the principle is very simple. The Research Institute also wants to station themselves in the Wet Realm to study the forging of demonic weapons. However, there is no Spiritual Spring in the Wet Ghost Tower Fortress, so it’s completely impossible to succeed.

"My mentor said that Earth’s research on armor and weapons has reached a bottleneck. If they want to advance further, they have to go to the Wet Realm, to a Wet Realm City with a Spiritual Spring to conduct research. Otherwise, the Divine Land has already hit its ceiling," Zhou Yuncan sighed.

"The Divine Land’s armor and weapons can still improve?" Su Yue asked curiously.

"Yes. My mentor’s wife is a deputy section chief at the Research Institute.

"Last time we had dinner, she mentioned that if the Divine Land could occupy a Wet Realm City that has a Spiritual Spring, the Divine Land Research Institute’s level could advance ten years ahead of the rest of Earth within a single year.

"With the data the Research Institute currently possesses, as long as they have the right environment, they can immediately develop battle armor even more powerful than the Frost Vine Armor. Weapons and combat boots would also leap ten years forward. If that happens, the casualty rate of Divine Land Martial Artists would decrease by fifty percent.

"Unfortunately, this is merely a fantasy for now. Earth Martial Artists simply do not have the ability to control a Spiritual Spring!

"This ability is also locked down as a top secret by the Eight Races of the Wet Realm. Our human race doesn’t stand even the slightest chance. It’s a pity.

"The Divine Land’s Martial Arts Technology has already hit a ceiling, and Mei Jian Country is following closely behind. She analyzed that in perhaps three more years, the Divine Land Research Institute’s global lead will completely vanish.

"When that time comes, many of the products the Divine Land exports worldwide will lose their monopoly advantage, and our Divine Land’s finances will suffer a cliff-like drop. This is a very severe problem.

"Mei Jian Country has been constantly trying to find a way to steal the method for using a Spiritual Spring, but just like the Divine Land, they currently have no solutions. This can be considered an arms race. It determines who will be the overlord of Earth in the next era.

"The reason this Xueyang is so arrogant is also because Mei Jian Country keeps extending olive branches to Mandie Country. Mandie Country feels secure in the knowledge that they have strong backing, which is why he dares to harass Senior Mu Cheng here in the Divine Land.

"We’re still just students now, completely unaware of how complicated things are in society."

Zhou Yuncan revealed quite a bit of inside information. If it weren’t for his mentor’s wife, he would never have imagined that the Divine Land’s current situation was actually so perilous. The competition between major powers meant that as long as one side obtained cutting-edge research results, they could overtake the others on the curve in just a few short years. This was not alarmist talk.