On the battlefield,
every Paperman had reached the later stages of Qi Practicing, with the leader at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Practicing.
Similarly, they were highly equipped in both Concealment Spells and Concealment Magic Tools, keeping a very long distance. Hua Bing could no longer sweep over the area with the "Electromagnetic Induction Wave Technique" to pinpoint their exact locations and focus fire on them.
It often required several repeated scans to determine precise coordinates before issuing attack orders.
But in the few seconds of delay, the enemy had advanced several hundred meters, and the original coordinates were outdated.
"This coordinate area, fire a probing shot!"
Hua Bing's tone was somewhat frantic.
The main cannon of the tank Magic Tool switched to shrapnel rounds, and Sun Xiao and the other six immediately understood the order, each firing towards a specific area for probing shots.
Boom!
The shells exploded in mid-air, covering an area of more than thirty meters with hundreds of high-speed fragments with Magic Arts-Breaking Attributes, while heavy machine guns fired twenty times in succession, forming a hundred-meter-wide net of fire.
In a certain empty space, a transparent ripple appeared, followed by blossoming blood and shattered limbs as a shield Magic Tool was sent flying.
In several other spots among the trees and close to the ground, the silhouettes of prone figures were now revealed.
They were extremely scattered, each at least a hundred meters apart from the others.
"At these coordinates, fire!"
Hua Bing's expression was calm as a shrapnel round bombarded the coordinates, and the other six heavy machine guns rattled off continuous fire, creating an impenetrable web of death that drowned the cultivators tunneling through the shallow earth, mixing mud with blood.
Boom!
Rattle, rattle, rattle!
Casings flew, and tank main cannon rounds bombed methodically, while the heavy machine guns kept firing without pause, tearing apart the exposed late-stage Qi Practicing cultivators.
"That's how it is."
Zhang Dingjun nodded slightly, "Information is the lifeblood of us Xianmen cultivators, and we must acquire the enemy's information by all means, at all costs."
"To lose information on the battlefield is to lose life."
He spoke with implications.
On the battlefield, Hua Bing's complexion changed, showing panic as she fumbled with her Mana Techniques, raising a shield to cover herself securely.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a cyan Flying Sword appeared out of nowhere, carrying a sharp whistling sound as it cleverly circled past the solid Magic Tool shield, piercing the eggshell-like Seventh Level of Qi Practicing magic shield.
It touched her throat lightly.
Then, with a speed untraceable by the Internal Qi Realm, it circled around, Sun Xiao and the others each had their turn.
All they felt was a chill on their necks, forcing them to stop pulling the trigger.
"We lost."
Both Hua Bing and Sun Xiao had a slightly bitter expression on their faces.
The spectators fell into a hushed silence. The battle had been fierce and lively only moments ago; how had it ended so abruptly?
None of them could detect the Sword Cultivator lying in wait.
"Let's review."
Once Hua Bing's team returned, Zhang Dingjun projected a large screen in front of everyone, displaying the third-party battlefield footage from just before.
Jiang Ding watched intently.
This team of cultivators was a typical twelve-person squad, with the highest at the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Practicing and the lowest at the Seventh Level.
From the beginning, a Sword Cultivator had left the main force and circled around from a different direction.
It was evident that this Sword Cultivator was highly skilled in stealth and Concealment Spells and wore a high-quality Concealment Magic Tool.
Hua Bing's tank came equipped with a first-order infantry spirit radar that, in conjunction with the "Electromagnetic Induction Wave Technique," sent out reconnaissance waves that had scanned him twice, both times avoided.
This kind of opponent required repeated scanning with concentrated radar waves to be detected.
Under such circumstances, during the distraction created by his comrades, this sword-controlling cultivator broke into the 500-meter range of Hua Bing. A blue flying sword carrying a concealment spell shot out, only to explosively reveal itself and decapitate the enemy as it neared the target.
"The data's off, teacher,"
Wu Tianli suddenly pointed at the sword-controlling cultivator and said,
"This distance isn't right. The divine sense of a peak Qi practicing cultivator spans about ninety meters; even if this Outer Realm cultivator had a fortuitous encounter, a little over a hundred meters would be the limit. How could they initiate an attack from over five hundred meters away and not have the power diminish in the slightest?"
Zhang Dingjun smiled but said nothing.
"It's a blood-refined magic tool,"
Hua Bing whispered. "It's similar to a life-bound magic tool, forged by adding one's essence blood. The 'Xianmen Science and Technology Journal' recently published an article stating that the Outer Realm cultivators are now attempting to popularize these blood-refined artifacts amongst their lower to middle-ranking groups to enhance their attack range."
As for a Seventh Level Qi practicing cultivator shattering her shield with a single stroke, there was nothing surprising about that.
The opponent's cultivation base was inherently two levels higher, and they specialized in offensive magic, unlike the Xianmen cultivators, whose defensive and offensive magical techniques were more of a hobby.
"That's how it is."
Zhang Dingjun sighed and said, "The Outer Realm cultivators have been evolving over the years too; the days when dense formations of Qi practitioners launched attacks are long gone."
"Especially among them, the sword cultivators and elite law repairers, who are already powerful, coupled with concealment magic tools and advanced concealment spells, make them hard to detect with a first-order infantry radar. Once they get close unexpectedly, a massacre ensails."
"Teacher, it's not necessarily like that; there's no need to scare us,"
Hua Bing argued. "In formal combat, there are usually multiple squads working together. At that time, we will have a professional second-order armored radar command vehicle and command-type cultivators who graduated from Beidou University and other national defense schools specializing in the 'Electromagnetic Induction Wave Technique.' Those few Outer Realm cultivators would be annihilated instantly."
Their previously pale faces improved slightly.
Though schools and television have mentioned it multiple times, when faced with the true blood-soaked battlefield, they couldn't help but feel fear.
Zhang Dingjun was noncommittal and did not refute Hua Bing's words.
Compared to the Nine Great Immortal Sects, the Xianmen's heritage is far too weak!
With a cultivation history of just over ten thousand years and scarce resources, when thirty-six tank squadrons assemble to form a tank battalion, equipped with a second-order spirit radar armored command vehicle, and a professional commander, there's only one scenario—
They are facing foundation-building cultivators!
It can't be helped. Whether low, middle, or high rank, Xianmen cultivators are outnumbered overall; the opponent won't bother with a fair fight at the same level.
There's no need to speak of this to the students currently enjoying their idyllic campus life.
His teachers had done the same when he was a student.
"Alright, let's end the review discussion here,"
Zhang Dingjun waved his hand: "Wu Tianli will take over the second squad, and Zhou Lingjun will take command of the third squad. The exercise continues, with the first squad resting for one round and rotating in this fashion. It's a rare opportunity; everyone must participate in the drill at least once during this class."
"Yes!"
The students answered in unison.
Regardless of gender, they all carried heavy machine guns, draped with four or five belts of ammunition, following their temporary commanders into battle.
As for Jiang Ding, who was holding an anti-material sniper rifle, he was called aside.
"Having observed this round of exercises, what do you understand about the role of reconnaissance infantry?"
Zhang Dingjun asked succinctly.
"Well..."
Jiang Ding thought carefully about the recent battle scene.
"Counter-reconnaissance? Sniping at highly concealed important targets, roaming outside the battlefield, protecting our own commanders, and taking out the enemy in the instant they expose themselves during an attack?"
"Of course, it would be best if one were of the Xiantian Realm; otherwise, firing a shot would take ten minutes or even an hour, and it would be useless,"
Jiang Ding added.