Withdrawing his palm from the rock wall, Zhang Xiaoman turned to look at Ye Cang beside him and softly inquired:
"Mr. Ye, carving the Enlightenment Array requires Dragon Sleep Stone, I need some more preparation..."
Before he finished speaking, Ye Cang eagerly interjected:
"Lord Jixing, now that I have decided to join the Star Alliance, this is my duty. If you need anything, just take it, and leave the other matters to me."
Surprised, Zhang Xiaoman looked at him. He hadn’t expected the old man to be so cooperative. The system’s recommendation was indeed a quality ally. It seemed necessary to advance the plan to find them a bit sooner.
With this thought, Zhang Xiaoman nodded slightly to the old man and said:
"I have noted Mr. Ye’s contribution. Once I have gathered the other materials for the Enlightenment Array, I will prioritize arranging for Mr. Ye to be on the list of the first batch of Awakeners."
Upon hearing this, Ye Cang sighed with relief, silently thinking that he had finally secured his footing on this ship.
A look of unmistakable joy appeared on his face as he bowed to Zhang Xiaoman:
"Thank you for your care, Lord Jixing. For someone of my age to meet you is indeed a rare fate. Should you need assistance in the future, please feel free to ask. I shall provide my full support."
Zhang Xiaoman "Hmm" responded. The location was not suitable at the moment, so he did not further the discussion on this topic.
He turned to look at the people behind him, and then said to them:
"Please step back a little, to prevent any accidental injuries, I need some space."
The crowd of disciples initially did not understand what Zhang Xiaoman meant.
What was he planning to do?
Could it be that he was planning to use explosives in the mine?
Without professional equipment to assist, let alone whether he had such equipment, the government had already tried this method and it had been utterly ineffective.
Seeing that they were still dazed, Ye Cang went over to remind them again. Only then did they come to their senses and retreated without questioning why, simply following the Sect Leader’s instruction.
Once Zhang Xiaoman saw they had all moved back at least 5 meters, he felt at ease and turned around. He planned to deploy a Sword Formation Skill first.
Although he knew the skill’s properties should prevent accidental injuries, he still did not dare to try rashly, as the Mountain and River Sword was far too sharp. An ordinary person would be disabled with just a touch.
Indeed, Zhang Xiaoman intended to use the Mountain and River Sword in the Sword Box behind him for mining the ore!
Although the Olharast Rock was extremely hard, the Mountain and River Sword in his hand had been forged from Olharast, which was what Yang Yangyang and the others commonly called "Sea God Steel."
This type of steel was crafted by fusing Olharast Rock with some other materials, making it many times stronger than the rock itself.
As for why Zhang Xiaoman went to the trouble of using the Sword Array first, the reason was quite simple: he simply did not know how to draw the Mountain and River Sword!
The massive Sword Box on his back didn’t contain the treasure sword within the box itself—there wasn’t even a hilt to draw the sword from, so the only option he had was to "summon" the sword out in this unconventional manner.
Zhang Xiaoman arrived at the edge of a slope made of Olharast Rock and looked at the angle before extending his right hand, making a sword-finger gesture at the ground there.
Before the crowd could understand the meaning behind his action, they saw a stream of light suddenly shoot out from the shadow-wrapped box behind the expert, carrying streaks of cold light as it flew upward.
Then, the stream of light swayed gently, changing direction, and danced a few circles around him before it suddenly thrust downward, piercing into the direction where his finger pointed—the Dragon Sleep Stone that had always been an insurmountable challenge.
A intense sword-humming sound echoed throughout the entire cave from the moment the Mountain and River Sword was unsheathed, reverberating in the confined space and painfully stimulating the ears.
"How, how is that possible!!?"
From behind the crowd, a familiar voice sounded, filled with surprise and disbelief.
The person speaking was none other than Ye Fei, who had been waiting to see a joke unfold.
Ye Fei could never have imagined that the Dragon Sleep Stone, which in his eyes had always been exceedingly hard and immovable, would be pierced so easily by a sword, as effortlessly as cutting through tofu.
Moreover, what frightened him even more on the field was the means by which that person used the sword, which had completely shattered his worldview.
If he considered Zhang Xiaoman’s previous blow that sent him flying as a result of fighting skills, the current method of wielding the sword, with its sky-shaking sword hum, was truly inexplicable.
"Flying Sword... Sword Control Technique... this, this is impossible... how could he really be..."
At this moment, Ye Fei stuttered, unable to speak; the wall in his heart had been completely shattered, and he could no longer voice any skepticism.
This scene also shocked everyone else beyond measure; when such truly extraordinary means were displayed before them, no one could maintain their composure any longer.
Especially for the young people who came here to cultivate for various reasons, the intense impact even made them forget to speak for a while.
Zhang Xiaoman paid no attention to the reactions of the people behind him; to tell the truth, he had seen scenes quite a few times recently and was no longer interested, even the small joy of successfully showing off was long gone.
Zhang Xiaoman walked up, gently lifted, and took the Mountain and River Sword from the ground. Looking at the two characters engraved on the hilt, he muttered softly:
"This time it’s the ’Seven Stars’ that came out, just as I thought. It works when you specify the sword and the landing spot at the moment you activate the skill."
With a flick of his wrist forming a sword flower by his side, Zhang Xiaoman’s sword fell as his hand lifted, smoothly and naturally severing a protruding piece of Dragon Sleep Stone from the wall, without any obstruction in the entire process.
"Damn, it’s just like cutting tofu, no resistance at all, who would have thought that the Mountain and River Sword could be so sharp!"
Zhang Xiaoman marveled inwardly: "It seems that the forging technique of Sea God Steel is quite amazing, they must have added some other special materials too."
Regarding the set of Mountain and River Swords in his hands, Zhang Xiaoman was very satisfied, although they were quite heavy, which made them tiring to carry around, but their sharpness was truly the strongest of all his weapons.
The Purple Cloud Divine Sword itself, being a Divine Artifact, was certainly made of materials hard enough.
But hardness is not the same as sharpness. Due to the seal, its sharpness is actually quite ordinary, comparable to regular weapons, and pales in comparison to the Mountain and River Sword.
"This makes things much easier; looks like I can come here to ’shear sheep’ frequently in the future."