Chapter 333 — The Cannon's Might Shakes the Heavens

That company of Mandi Kingdom soldiers, relying on their speed, had entered the battlefield to plunder treasures from the corpses, never expecting a beam of light to come flying at them; one soldier was pierced clean through on the spot, his body pitching face-down to the ground.

The Ministry of Works officials aboard the tower ship were stunned. They exchanged glances, and each saw the shock in the other's eyes. The tower ship's true-essence cannon had originally been able to shoot only thirty li, and now it had reached over a hundred li!

Shan Youxin went forward himself to adjust the gun mount and fired again. Another beam of cannon light shot out, and another Mandi soldier fell dead upon the ground.

The rest of the Mandi soldiers turned and fled at once. Shan Youxin fired shot after shot, picking off the Mandi soldiers one by one, and not a single one escaped alive; only their mounts ran on toward the mighty pass opposite.

Shan Youxin touched the barrel and said in amazement, "Seventeen shots fired, and the bore is still cold! Jingping Imperial Preceptor, Jingping Imperial Preceptor! Quick, go and summon the Jingping Imperial Preceptor!"

A moment later, the Jingping Imperial Preceptor arrived on the ship, a look of inquiry on his face.

Shan Youxin could not conceal his excitement; bowing, he said, "Jingping Imperial Preceptor, the Mandi Kingdom can be broken!"

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor was greatly shaken, his expression grave. "Vice Minister Shan, there is no jesting in the army!"

Shan Youxin laughed. "Jingping Imperial Preceptor, this is no jest! Our tower ships' true-essence cannons had a range of thirty li. On the battlefield there are many experts; a powerhouse of the Seven Star realm can drive a sword core and take a life from thirty li away with a flying sword. That is why the true-essence cannons on the tower ships could only be placed in the central army, and why a single true-essence cannon could generally be fired only eight or nine times. Now the true-essence cannon has a range of one hundred and sixty li, five times as far!"

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor was startled and blurted out, "A hundred and sixty li? Are you certain it is a hundred and sixty li?"

Shan Youxin nodded heavily. "A hundred and sixty li! And after Sect Master Shen's modifications, the bore does not heat up, and that is the crucial point: we can fire as many shots as we please! Before, the tower ships stayed in the central army; now they can line up abreast and clear the way! Our army has more than two hundred tower ships, and each ship carries true-essence cannons in two tiers above and below, on the left and right sides, eight to a row, with eight more fore and aft, forty in all. More than two hundred ships, eight or nine thousand cannons, killing the enemy from over a hundred li away; with one sweep we can push straight to the city pass opposite!"

Shan Youxin bowed. "This is the Sect Master's doing; I dare not claim the credit."

Shen Mu was drawing the formation pattern for the Lingxiao Heaven Eye; he had finished the design and handed it to the Ministry of Works officials.

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor leaned in and looked it over, then asked doubtfully, "This is a kind of pupil art. You have applied a pupil art to a true-essence cannon?"

Shen Mu washed his brush and nodded. "The muzzle is the pupil, the cannon light is the gaze; they are entirely interchangeable."

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor was taken aback and said hurriedly, "The Tower of Heavenly Records in the Grand Academy records more than a hundred kinds of pupil arts. Among them is the strongest pupil art of all, called Sun-Shooting, which even I have never mastered. But I did memorize the formation pattern of the Sun-Shooting Sacred Pupil. Could you forge a cannon of that kind?"

His vital essence burst forth, and layer upon layer of formation patterns emerged, coalescing into an incomparably complex eye.

Shen Mu examined it closely. All at once his figure shrank and he walked among those patterns; then he landed, his body returning to normal, and said, "Forging that cannon will take many hands; two or three foundries would have to work together, and even then, two months, I expect, to produce a single one. And such a cannon would be enormous; I fear it would be heavier than any essence weapon! This Sacred Pupil is so intricate, Jingping Imperial Preceptor. Where did you come by it?"

"The Desolate Ruins."

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor said in a low voice, "I was greatly shaken when I first saw this pupil art. Can you tell what this pupil art is meant for?"

Shen Mu shook his head.

"Slaying gods."

The Jingping Imperial Preceptor's face was calm. "If you can forge it, you will be the greatest Heavenly Artisan in the world today. The cannon you build could shoot down deities!"

Shen Mu hurriedly waved his hand and said with utter sincerity, "I dare not call myself the greatest Heavenly Artisan. I am only the second."