Ian Song spent five days at the military base before General Harold Han gathered everyone again.
During those five days, nearly everyone was racing against time to cultivate. With the help of pills and medicinal supplements, everyone had made significant progress by the time they met again—some even broke through an entire realm.
In Ian Song’s squad, Tyler Ao and Vince Huixin both advanced from Innate Seventh Layer to Innate Eighth Layer, while the other five members had nearly reached the peak of Innate Seventh Layer.
Not long after, General Harold Han arrived at the base hall, surrounded by four deputy commanders.
General Han’s reappearance made everyone realize that a new mission was likely about to begin.
Today, General Han had lost his usual warmth; his expression was serious and grave.
His gaze slowly swept across the crowd, then he said in a deep voice, "This time, your mission is to compete in martial duels against another group. Because these matches are tied to our nation’s interests, I expect everyone to give it their all."
"Don’t worry, Commander—we’ll do our best to defeat the opposition!" everyone responded in unison.
"Very good!" General Han nodded with satisfaction and continued, "But your opponents are not ordinary martial artists, so be extremely careful in the matches."
"If they’re not ordinary people, then who are they?" Ian Song wondered aloud, his face showing confusion, while the others looked equally puzzled.
General Han continued, "You will be facing a group of Immortal-Dao cultivators."
"What? Immortal-Dao cultivators?" Ian Song was startled, while the others showed a mix of strange, puzzled, and skeptical expressions upon hearing the term.
"Commander, do Immortal-Dao cultivators really exist in this world?" one War God Squad member couldn’t help but ask.
"Of course they exist," General Han nodded affirmatively.
The squad member went on, "I've heard Immortal-Dao cultivators can fly, move mountains, split seas, take someone's head from a thousand miles away, and cast world-shattering spells. Is that true?"
General Han shot him a glare, "Nonsense! Where did you hear that?"
The squad member gave an embarrassed smile, "I read it in online novels."
"Online novels?" General Han looked puzzled.
Hearing General Han’s question, the squad member launched into an enthusiastic explanation: "Online novels are a kind of fast-food literature—plots are all about instant gratification...!"
Seeing that the explanation was going to drag on forever, General Han waved his hand to cut him off and said sternly, "While what you've read about Immortal-Dao cultivators is exaggerated, they do possess extraordinary abilities. For example, they have magical treasures (fǎbǎo) that can multiply their strength. So, when you're fighting tomorrow, don't underestimate anyone—even if their realm looks lower than yours. Beat them as quickly as you can!"
Besides the seventy-two War God Squad members, twenty-eight other experts from major sects, families, and the military were also participating. Using his spiritual sense, Ian Song scanned them and found all twenty-eight were Innate Eighth Layer experts.
However, none of them were over thirty years old.
Spiritual sense is a detection ability only gained by Immortal-Dao cultivators who reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. It allows one to sense a martial artist’s aura and probe their strength, but its range is limited to a hundred meters—far inferior to Clairvoyant Vision.
At the same time, Ian Song noticed that the audience today was packed with big names. In the front row sat the Head of State and the nine Grand Elders, and behind them were representatives from the Ten Great Families and Six Major Sects.
Naturally, Edward Zhao, patriarch of the Zhao Family, was also among the crowd.
On the other side of the audience, nine middle-aged men and women in ancient robes stood at the front. But when Ian Song glanced at them, he was startled—he couldn’t tell their cultivation level just by looking.
With a thought, he activated his Clairvoyant Vision.
After probing, Ian Song’s expression grew strange. These nine were indeed Foundation Establishment Realm Immortal-Dao cultivators, but all had mixed-attribute Dao Foundations.
Compared to single-attribute Dao Foundations, their strength was much weaker. In the cultivation world, mixed-attribute Dao Foundations are usually called ‘false Dao Foundations.’
Behind these nine Foundation Establishment cultivators stood a hundred young men and women, also dressed in ancient robes.
He didn’t even need Clairvoyant Vision to check the cultivation of these people—just sensing their qi was enough to judge their true realm.
Among the hundred Immortal-Dao cultivators: twenty were Innate Fifth Layer, thirty-two were Sixth Layer, twenty-eight were Seventh, seventeen were Eighth, and three were Ninth.
On Ian’s side, excluding himself, there wasn’t a single Innate Ninth Layer fighter. There were thirty-nine at Eighth Layer, forty-three at Seventh, and seventeen at Sixth—none at Fifth.
Comparing the two sides, except for their advantage at Innate Ninth Layer, the Immortal-Dao faction was actually weaker than Yanhuang in terms of overall cultivation.
But Immortal-Dao cultivators have magical treasures (fǎbǎo). If every one of them has a fǎbǎo, Yanhuang might suffer a crushing defeat in this tournament.
Thinking it over, Ian Song used Clairvoyant Vision to probe the hundred Immortal-Dao cultivators again.
After probing, Ian Song discovered that the true essence cultivated by these Immortal-Dao cultivators was indeed purer than ordinary true qi, but only about twice as pure.
This struck Ian Song as odd. Why was their true essence so impure? Suddenly, he thought of the nine Foundation Establishment cultivators, all with mixed-attribute Dao Foundations. Could it be a problem with their cultivation methods?
Just as he was pondering the Immortal-Dao faction’s cultivation methods, General Han walked to the center of the clearing and announced loudly, "Today's tournament rules are simple: only victory or defeat matters, life and death are not restricted, and all matches are one-on-one. Yanhuang, please send forth your first fighter!"
"Who’s going first?" Logan Long barked.
Everyone hesitated. After all, their opponents were Immortal-Dao cultivators with unknown tricks, so whoever went first would be at a disadvantage.
"I’ll take the lead!"
Kyle 'Madman' Lee spoke up and strode out from the crowd, heading straight for the center of the clearing.
Seeing Kyle Lee step forward so decisively, many people looked on with admiration. In truth, no one knew Ian Song had ordered him to do so. In the stands, the Lee Family patriarch, Lee Mu, looked rather grim when he saw Kyle volunteering as the opening fighter.
"Now, Immortal-Dao side, send out your fighter!" General Han continued.
A young man in Daoist robes stepped out from the Immortal-Dao side. His cultivation was one realm lower than Kyle Lee’s—Innate Sixth Layer.