Chapter 998: The Highest Good is Like Water

A "Dao Soldier" is a force with extremely strong dao-cultivation battle strength.

Ordinary cultivators, whose qualifications and cultivation are limited, can leverage array formations, array methods, and spirit tools to form Dao Soldiers. United together, they can contend with heaven-bestowed outstanding cultivators.

This is a soldier array method that turns weakness into magic.

Unite the weak to contend against strong enemies.

In the history of cultivation, some Great Demons, whose individual strength was so powerful that same-realm cultivators found it difficult to match, were precisely strangled by groups of Dao Soldiers, whose hearts were like iron and who were fearless of death.

In the face of a Dao Soldier front formed by vast numbers and excellent equipment, even heaven-bestowed outstanding Heavenly Proud cultivators have to avoid their sharp edge.

Ordinary cultivators forming Dao Soldiers are already so fierce.

What about Heavenly Proud cultivators?

If Heavenly Proud cultivators formed Dao Soldiers, wouldn't they be even more invincible, with no one able to block them?

In the history of cultivation, countless clans, sects, and secret organizations, both openly and covertly, have all tried to raise "Heavenly Proud Dao Soldiers".

Except for a very few examples that succeeded, the rest basically all failed.

First, the cost is too high.

Raising ordinary Dao Soldiers requires a complete set of inheritance, including spirit tools, array methods, cultivation methods, dao methods, and tactics.

It requires consuming vast amounts of spirit stones, undergoing long years of bitter training, and pouring in immeasurable effort.

The cost of Dao Soldiers' qualifications increases exponentially with every level up.

However, cultivating Dao Soldiers with Heavenly Proud cultivators possessing superior grade, or even superior superior grade spirit roots, as the foundation, consumes an inheritance and resources that reach an almost inestimable level.

Even great clans cannot necessarily afford this consumption.

And Heavenly Proud cultivators are called "Heavenly Proud" because each one is unique.

Even if they are to act, they will be "generals."

It is impossible for them to obliterate their individuality and arrogance to be a "soldier."

Especially in the current Qian Xue state boundary, the practiced inheritance is "elite".

Sects want to cultivate top disciples through "survival of the fittest," allowing them to stand out and win honor and benefits for the sect.

This aligns with both the interests of the sects and the interests of the clans.

What the clans need are disciples who can tower above others, who can monopolize the championship, and who can climb to higher positions in the future.

They do not need Heavenly Proud disciples to form Dao Soldiers.

This is a waste.

And imitating the "Dao Soldier" form to organize sect disciples to participate in the Sword Discussion Assembly has been tried by some sects before.

Even the Tai A Gate tried it very early on.

But the effect was not good.

From team matching to spirit tool forging, array method matching, changes in array formations, and tactical practice, there were too many thorny problems.

First, the cost was very high.

Spirit tool forging and array method matching were also the biggest problems.

After all, the situation in the Sword Discussion is ever-changing.

The enemies in the Sword Discussion are also all different.

Even if sects could afford spirit stones, they fundamentally lacked a corresponding cultivation "industry" that could complete large amounts of specialized "customization" in a short time.

Organizing them was also very troublesome.

No one could truly convince the masses and "organize" Heavenly Proud cultivators.

Every generation of sects has a "senior brother," but even if this senior brother has high prestige, many times he cannot take care of the overall situation and make every disciple completely convinced.

Furthermore, in the Sword Discussion Assembly, the later it gets, the higher the weight of victory.

The battle situations are represented by the four characters *Tian*, *Di*, *Xuan*, *Huang*.

Especially the *Di* character situation and the final *Tian* character situation; winning one match can almost yield dozens or even hundreds of victory points.

Therefore, after tossing and turning, it was still more direct and efficient to directly practice "survival of the fittest," cultivate "top disciples," and let them obtain higher rankings.

Over time, few sects tried the "Dao Soldier system" for the Sword Discussion again.

The Tai A Gate also abandoned this plan.

Looking at the neat and uniform Tai Xu disciples drilling before his eyes, advancing and retreating in order, the Tai A Head was suddenly a little dazed.

Indeed, it was a "Dao Soldier system" Sword Discussion...

Then he observed carefully for a moment and was a little surprised in his heart.

It seemed there was still something different...

The Tai Xu Mountain's drill was not a "one-size-fits-all" Dao Soldier system; not all disciples followed the same routine.

Someone had created many special teamings according to the disciples' specialties, dao methods, and array formations.

There were teams balanced in attack and defense, those focused on frontal slaughter, rapid assault, skilled in escape, and also those specialized in enduring consumption...

Although time was limited and there was no matching of spirit tools and array methods, the true battle strength would be somewhat lacking.

But its power was obviously already showing initial signs.

At least it had a system; compared to the previous "spontaneous" teaming, it would be much stronger.

The Tai A Head looked at the scene before his eyes, admiring it in his heart, and sincerely said to the Tai Xu Head:

"Dao Brother, you are indeed deeply strategic, with extraordinary means."

The Tai Xu Head laughed: "Not at all, it's all the disciples' efforts."

"Too modest."

"It really is the disciples' efforts..."

"Still being polite..."

The Tai Xu Head was a bit helpless; what he said was the truth, it was truly all the disciples' efforts. As the Head, besides appropriately "delegating power," he actually didn't do anything.

Afterward, the two continued to drink tea.

The Tai A Head looked below, at the drill that was a prototype of a "Heavenly Proud Dao Soldier," and became more and more engrossed. After three rounds of tea, he finally came back to his senses and remembered what he had come for.

"Xuan'er... he shouldn't be causing trouble, right..."

The Tai A Head's gaze swept around and he found Ouyang Xuan's figure in the corner of the drill field.

Everything was normal.

Ouyang Xuan, the sword dao genius from Chong Xu Mountain, the array dao leader from Tai Xu Mountain named "Mo Hua," plus a big fellow and a sword cultivator with decent qualifications, were participating in a normal drill.

The process was still considered smooth, and the atmosphere was quite normal.

The Tai A Head breathed a sigh of relief, saying in his heart that this child Xuan'er, who usually seemed arrogant, was quite sensible at a key moment, hadn't caused trouble, and was executing the tactics well.

Indeed, one should look at someone with new eyes after three days.

One cannot always hold a "prejudice" when looking at people.

People will also change and grow.

This generation's "clan younger brother," who was equivalent to himself, now got along quite harmoniously with disciples from several other mountains.

The Tai A Head felt very gratified.

He picked up his teacup, just preparing to drink tea, but before the tea reached his mouth, he suddenly heard a *pu tong* sound, indicating an accident.

Ouyang Xuan and that big fellow, whose tactical positions were chaotic, suddenly collided together, one in front and one behind, and both fell.

The big fellow climbed up, complaining about something.

Ouyang Xuan's face also turned cold.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The Tai A Head paused, thinking it was not good, and before he could react, he heard a clear voice ring out:

"Little Xuan, you feint attack from the right wing, be careful not to collide with Cheng Mo..."

He was *yuhuà* (羽化), his cultivation was deep, and although he was far away, he still heard it.

This sentence directly stunned the Tai A Head.

"Little Xuan"... who was that referring to?

It shouldn't be... Ouyang Xuan, right?

This... with that kid's stubborn temper, could he endure it?

The Tai A Head fixed his eyes and indeed saw Ouyang Xuan with a face full of displeasure, seemingly extremely repulsed by this "nickname," his eyes revealing anger.

He obviously could not endure it.

The next moment, he had an arrogant expression, with disdain, and coldly snorted, heading directly towards the right side himself.

He obviously endured it.

The Tai A Head was stunned, almost thinking he saw wrong.

Was this person Ouyang Xuan?

He could even endure this?

Inside Tai A Gate, he would become impatient if the Tai A Head said a few things to him, and if the True Transmission Elder said a few things to him, he could directly lose face.

This "stubborn donkey" of a Head had changed his nature after arriving at Tai Xu Mountain?

The Tai A Head pondered for a moment, looked deeply at Mo Hua, his heart filled with emotions.

Linghu Xiao from Chong Xu Mountain wanted to team up with him.

Now Ouyang Xuan from their Tai A Mountain actually listened to his commands, and was even called "Little Xuan" by him, without even getting angry.

This child was probably a... "demon" who could bewitch people's hearts?

He looked at the clear and handsome appearance, bright eyes and white teeth of Mo Hua, and became even more suspicious in his heart...

This matter lingered in the Tai A Head's mind.

Until he bid farewell to the Tai Xu Head, left the drill field, returned to Tai A Mountain, and sat in the Head's room, he still had a heavy heart.

A moment later, he made up his mind and called an elder, instructing him:

"You tell the disciples inside Tai A Mountain to all go find Mo Hua, and let Mo Hua help match teams, drill together, and participate in the Sword Discussion."

The elder was slightly startled, "Head, this..."

The Tai A Head waved his hand, "Don't say anything, I have considered it well. This child called 'Mo Hua' can even 'tame' Xuan'er, so arranging Tai A Mountain's disciples should also be no problem."

"Moreover, I saw the drill on the Tai Xu Mountain side, and it is very systematic. Whether they can win or not is another matter, but it is definitely better than ours at Tai A Mountain."

"Since the three sects are merging, let's not distinguish between each other."

"We will also follow and blend in..."

This Head of his always did things very practically.

He learned from those who were good; he followed those who were powerful.

This is called seeking truth and being pragmatic.

It was precisely because of this that Tai A Gate once "blended in" to the first position among the Eight Great Gates.

When he, the Head, spoke, other elders generally did not dare to disobey.

"Then..." the elder said tentatively, "Should I go and arrange it?"

"Mm." The Tai A Head nodded, "The sooner the better, the Qian Xue Sword Discussion is imminent, time waits for no one."

"Yes."

The elder retreated and instructed according to the Head's order.

The order was also passed down among the disciples.

Inside the disciples' residence on Tai A Mountain.

A group of disciples gathered together, discussing fervently.

"The elder instructed us to go find 'Little Senior Brother' and let Little Senior Brother lead us to the Sword Discussion."

"What 'Little Senior Brother'?"

"Isn't it Mo Hua? What else is 'Little Senior Brother'?"

"I know, I mean..." a disciple lowered his voice, somewhat dissatisfied, "He is the Little Senior Brother of the Tai Xu Mountain lineage, what relation does he have with us from Tai A Mountain?"

"Didn't he also teach you array methods?"

"Teaching doesn't make it right. At most, you can greet him when you meet, but shouting 'Little Senior Brother' afterward, he doesn't have that qualification."

"Whatever you say, you don't shout, but I will."

"No backbone at all."

The disciple said unconvinced, "He taught me array methods, and even gave me an 'A' on my homework, and also said my future is boundless... If I don't call him Little Senior Brother, who should I call?"

"People need a little conscience..."

"Alright, alright, let's talk about the proper matter."

"Regarding the Sword Discussion, have we decided to follow Mo Hua and blend in?"

"Otherwise? This is the elder's order, it's the Head's intention..."

"Speaking of which, Mo... Little Senior Brother, he is only an array master, is he powerful in the Sword Discussion?"

"Not clear..."

"But the Tai Xu Mountain's Sword Discussion seems very different. There are several Tai A Mountain disciples who are also teaming up with Tai Xu Mountain disciples. I asked, and the things we practice are completely different..."

"Then are we really going to Tai Xu Mountain?"

The disciples of Tai A Mountain were a little hesitant.

A moment later, someone's eyes lit up and they asked a slightly dark-skinned, somewhat thin and small disciple in the middle of the crowd:

"Mu, you are familiar with Little Senior Brother, is Little Senior Brother really that powerful?"

Ouyang Mu was just burying his head, designing blueprints for refining tools.

These things were all handed over to him by Mo Hua, who asked him to help with the adaptation, correction, and improvement of array methods and refining tools.

Hearing this, Ouyang Mu raised his head.

Although he was still a little thin and small, after getting along with Mo Hua for a long time and experiencing the disaster in Wan Yao Valley, his temperament had become much steadier, and there was also a look of firm confidence between his eyebrows.

The fellow disciples of Tai A Mountain also unconsciously respected him much more.

Ouyang Mu put down his pen and said seriously: "Little Senior Brother is very powerful."

"How powerful?"

"No matter how powerful, he's just powerful in array methods, right..."

"Exactly, his spirit root is not good, his spirit power is not strong, and he doesn't know any superior dao methods, his body is also weak. If he goes to the Sword Discussion, what can he do?"

Ouyang Mu shook his head, "Not just array methods, but I can't explain it clearly to you. Anyway, if you want to get a good ranking in the Sword Discussion, just follow Little Senior Brother and blend in. Your manners should be a bit better, your attitude a bit more sincere, and don't have any other thoughts, otherwise Little Senior Brother will see through you at a glance..."

"This matter is for Tai Xu Gate, for Tai A Mountain, and also for yourselves. How to do it in the end is up to you."

After Ouyang Mu finished speaking, he said no more, and continued to bury his head in researching the refining tool blueprints.

He was not going to the Sword Discussion Assembly.

His aspiration was not to contend in the Sword Discussion and fight to decide the superior, but to specialize in refining tools and casting superior swords.

But the matter of the Sword Discussion concerned the sect's honor, especially Little Senior Brother, and he would not stand by.

Therefore, Mo Hua planned some things, and all the matters of spirit tool forging and design were handed over to him to do.

This not only lightened Mo Hua's burden.

At the same time, it also gave Ouyang Mu the opportunity to temper his foundation in casting swords through actual design and forging.

This kind of opportunity is truly extremely precious for a Foundation Building disciple, so Ouyang Mu cherished it greatly.

He also concentrated and did the tasks assigned by Mo Hua very seriously.

Looking at the fully focused Ouyang Mu, the crowd actually quieted down for a moment.

People who can truly focus on one thing are often admirable.

Ouyang Mu's words were also imprinted in the crowd's hearts.

The next day, disciples from Tai A Mountain successively came to visit, found Mo Hua, and sincerely requested:

"Please, Little Senior Brother, point the way for the Sword Discussion."

The implied meaning was simply: Little Senior Brother, please lead me.

Mo Hua also did not refuse anyone who came.

After all, strength is greater with numbers.

By strengthening the bottom disciples through the "Dao Soldier form," the strength of Tai Xu Gate would be stronger, and the probability of winning the Sword Discussion champion would be higher.

Mo Hua began to list and equip teams one by one.

Of course, he was not too familiar with the disciples from Tai A Mountain, so generally before equipping a team, he would ask:

"Who do you have enmity with?"

"Who is the person you absolutely don't want to team up with?"

"Do you have good friends?"

And so on.

To avoid putting two enemies in one team, causing the team to be disunited.

After equipping the teams, Mo Hua then arranged tactics for different teams one by one, and then considered customized spirit tools and array methods.

Afterward, he let the disciples of Tai A Mountain enter Tai Xu Mountain's drill together.

The drill field on Tai Xu Mountain instantly added a large group of people, bustling with activity, shadows of people interwoven, and colorful dao methods flying together, very lively.

And soon, the disciples of Tai A Mountain learned to blend into Tai Xu Mountain and were "recruited" by Mo Hua.

Chong Xu Mountain also couldn't sit still.

With the merging of the three sects, Tai Xu Mountain was originally a bit "maverick" because of Mo Hua's presence.

But now Tai A Mountain was actively getting closer to Tai Xu Mountain.

Chong Xu Mountain, on the other hand, became the one that "didn't fit in."

The Head of Chong Xu Mountain was unhappy, so after reporting to the ancestor, he also let the disciples under the mountain "take refuge" with Mo Hua.

Mo Hua similarly did not refuse anyone who came and thus "recruited" again.

Inside the Tai Xu Mountain drill field, voices were boiling.

The disciples of the three mountains were both teammates and opponents, conducting mutual exchange drills, just like this, blending together.

For a time, heads surged, indistinguishable from each other, coming and going, extraordinarily noisy.

This scene not only made the Tai Xu Head somewhat dazed.

Even Old Mister Xun felt a little hard to believe for a moment.

They all hadn't expected that the disciples of the three mountains, who still had some estrangement, would unexpectedly be "fused" together by Mo Hua in this situation because of the matter of the Sword Discussion Assembly.

Now the entire Tai Xu Mountain is surging with disciples and boiling with momentum, truly having a flourishing and lively atmosphere.

The three sects are truly merging...

And in the vast drill field.

Whenever Mo Hua had free time, he would patrol back and forth with his hands behind his back, pointing out tactics, commanding array formations, and improving the shortcomings of many teams.

All disciples, no matter their origin, no matter the height of their cultivation, no matter the strength or weakness of their dao methods, would respectfully call him "Little Senior Brother" when they met.

On the high pavilion.

The Tai Xu Head looked at this scene and couldn't help but shake his head and exclaim:

"Not to hide from the Old Ancestor, I have been an elder and even a Head for so many years, seen countless disciples, but I have truly never seen a child like 'Mo Hua'..."

He clearly had a poor origin, clearly had a poor spirit root, and his personality and temperament were not forceful.

But these disciples of the entire Tai Xu Gate, the three mountain sects, from top Heavenly Proud cultivators to ordinary disciples, whose origins and qualifications were all significantly better than Mo Hua, yet none of them did not listen to him...

Truly... incredible...

And beside him, Old Mister Xun, looking at Mo Hua in the crowd, who was composed and generous, felt both gratified and emotional at the same time.

In the original plan, he did indeed want Mo Hua to be the "Little Senior Brother" of the three gates: Tai Xu, Tai A, and Chong Xu.

But he also didn't expect that Mo Hua could actually achieve this level...

Old Mister Xun looked at Mo Hua's figure, his heart suddenly trembled, and he suddenly recalled an ancient saying:

"Superior virtue is like water."

"Water benefits all things without contending."

"Only because it does not contend, therefore no one under heaven can contend with it..."

Only because it does not contend, therefore no one under heaven can contend with it...

Old Mister Xun murmured in a low voice, his pupils slightly shrunk, and his mood could not calm down for a long time.

On Tai Xu Mountain, disciples from the three mountains came and went, interwoven and extraordinarily noisy.

In the busy and tense drill, amidst the tight drumbeat of planning, time also passed little by little.

Soon, three months had passed in a flash.

The Sword Discussion Assembly, anticipated by thousands of sects and tens of thousands of cultivators in the entire Qian Xue state boundary, and even the entire Qian state, also finally officially began...