The Dawn of the New World

The drones would be sent out through the webway gateways that Hao Xuan created and because of the difference in the passage of time, they would return within minutes or sometimes even seconds.

Tens of hours over there were just a few minutes in here, it was like a dream come true. The ship cemetery was nothing short of a gold mine for Altron, Baracus, and Gamil.

The scavenger drones brought back tones of advanced equipment and parts that were created by using resources they hadn't even thought names off. It was a golden period of advancement in science and technology.

Hao Xuan's visit to the underground facility lasted up to 10 hours at a time where he mostly just opened gateways for them while giving advice to any Orcs that came his way and occasionally even partaking in the battles himself. .

He had already reached the peak of the Spirit Realm and after about 6 months of scavenging, managed to locate most of the items needed to absorb the physique demon completely.

The physique demon was not only a test for him but also a great boon to further his cultivation. By absorbing what was left of it Hao Xuan could advance his realm and increase the strength and uses of the physique.

What little time he had left was spent sparring with the four Warders to increase his understanding of the Glaive Dao. That was the slowest part of his cultivation.

Currently, Hao Xuan was once again the training hall surrounded by the Warders from all four sides. They were huffing and puffing while circling Hao Xuan, axes at the ready in various positions.

And then without any warning, they attacked simultaneously from every possible direction. One overhead swing from the front, one rising blow from the back, two wide chops from both sides to box him in.

Hao Xuan was standing in the middle with his eyes closed. The moment they started moving his eyes opened and the glaive at a 70-degree angle. The main blade went over the axe at the front while the hilt went under the one at the back and his entire upper body twisted while his legs stayed in place.

With minimum effort, he managed to change the trajectory of each axe. The one at the front was redirected towards the right while the one at the back was sent hurling to his left.

They met axehead to axehead with the ones on the sides, completely locking them in place. Even when they tried to pull back there was no budging. As long as the glaive stayed in place it acted as the linchpin.

"Tsk, no good. I feel like something is missing," Hao Xuan shifted the position of the glaive by mere inches and all the Warders were granted freedom.

They pulled back the axes and took a few steps back. Their main form of communication was still done telepathically and none of them spoke out loud unless they had to. Hao Xuan didn't even remember what their voices sounded like.

One of them glanced towards him and Hao Xuan met his gaze.

"No, it's not about technique anymore. The glaive is most useful when against multiple opponents but it's the one-on-one experience that I'm looking for. I need to fight someone much stronger than me, someone that has hopefully reached a higher realm in their weapon dao."

"I need to see it for myself, feel the differences in person to understand it completely."

Another Warder glanced towards him, sending his thoughts directly into Hao Xuan's mind.

"I already know what the next realms are. The first is 'Unison' where learn the main technique. That's the Imperial Glaive Doctrine. After that comes 'Resonance' where many other scriptures and manuals are integrated into the main one to create something that's my own, powered by my own understandings."

"That's when the weapon Dao starts to take shape and materializes in some shape or form. The only problem is that I don't have any other glaive manuals. As expansive as the Imperial Glaive Doctrine is, I still need more. There are too many holes in my knowledge."

*Sigh*

"I guess there is nothing I can do about that by myself. Each one of you has essentially the same problem right and that's why I came here in the first place, to be able to access the library of the Academy and steal all their manuals. And until then, I have to make up for the lack of Weapon Dao by advancing in other places."

All four warders exchanged glances amongst one another before looking towards Hao Xuan, making him shake his head.

"Yes, I know it's dishonorable but don't you think I've earned it by now? I'm doing all this for them. Plus it's not like I'll actually be stealing all their manuals, just making copies. You know what they say, knowledge should be shared freely among the populace."

That half-assed answer seemed to have placated the Warders as they took their leave one by one, leaving Hao Xuan alone.

Hao Xuan went to the elevator and descended further into the facility, towards Gamil's 'work place'.

It was an entire floor filled to the brim with the junk the scavenger drones had brought back. There were four forges located on the sides that were burning constantly.