Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The first Barrier was named "Turin Shroud Barrier," its core reliquary being Saint Peter's Cross, with Latin inscribed upon it reading, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal." It was established deep in the Vosges Mountains, covering several countries in Central and Western Europe.

After the establishment of the Shroud Barrier, it caused a tremendous upheaval among the nations of the world. The former leader of the Amur Witch's Group immediately approved the idea, saying that we Spirit Communicators should also have our own Barrier. Thus, almost half a year later, the infamously known "Dark Canopy" was erected in Northern Asia, and it also earned her the fierce title of the Eclipse Queen.

The investment from Lu Country in this aspect was relatively late, the specific reasons unclear, but ultimately, under the leadership of Mei Yingxue, the "Taiyin Circulation Purple Cloud Formation" was established. As the world's most formidable defensive national-level Formation, once operational, it directly reduced the number of illegal Transcendents invading from abroad to about twenty percent of the original number. It could be said to have completely resolved this issue.

Of course, using the Taiyin Circulation Purple Cloud Formation as a dividing line, the major enemy of Lu Country before was from illegal Transcendents outside the borders, and afterwards, it turned to native civilian Cultivators within the country. Dealing with the former only required killing, but with the latter, it necessitated both suppression and pacification, with the difficulty evidently greatly increased.

Based on the above information, one can infer that in this life, due to the appearance of the True Obscurity Sun Sword Intent, before even a Golden Core Realm Transcendent had appeared, the world's various nations had seen the tragic state that befell Tianzhu. Hence, the Western world, even before their theories were complete, publicly proposed the Shroud Barrier plan. The next step should be to heavily tilt finances and attract investments from all circles urgently, striving to use the shortest time possible to put the national-level defensive Barriers into operation, in order to guard against some Sword Holder from a certain country, on a whim, flying over and slashing at your capital for fun.

But Yan Yu was indifferent. Given the rank and lethality currently displayed by Sun True Dullness, a Turin Level Barrier was absolutely unsustainable. The subsequent Jerusalem Level might stand a chance, but by that time, Yan Yu would surely have achieved Core Formation, so it would still result in the Barrier being pierced by a single stroke.

The only limiting factor was that Sun True Dullness was only Sword Intent, not the actual entity. Considering that he could provide guidance in the ways of swordsmanship, he definitely couldn't squander all the remaining Sword Intent, and had to leave some behind no matter what.

Teacher Mei had returned to help the country research a great Formation, and Yan Yu found himself back in a state of idleness, playing with his phone on the couch all afternoon, when he suddenly received a message from Chen Tianming.

The grand old mountain was already outside the door!

Although Chen Lingyun had lived here for more than a year, only her mother-in-law had come to visit. It wasn't that her father, the grand old mountain, didn't love his daughter, but he had too many ways to learn whether his daughter was faring well here, so there was absolutely no need for him to condescend to personally inspect... As for his visit now, it was surely to foster a bond of affection with his future son-in-law.

Chen Lingyun, look! Even your dad is coming to ingratiate himself with me! You better hurry up and prepare to kneel and lick my boots!

"Nice house," Chen Tianming said as he walked into the living room and ventured a look around.

"Ling Yun chose it herself," Yan Yu replied with a chuckle.

"She's told me," Chen Tianming said as he sat down on the couch, smiling. "When she first chose this house, she did so with heart. Not only did she want it to be the training base for the Zhenghai Team, but she also hoped it could become your home. Even if one day the Zhenghai Team ceased to exist, everyone could often gather here to reunite."

Although it seemed like casual chatter, Yan Yu knew the old mountain well and immediately understood his implication.

After a moment of silence, Yan Yu raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Is someone from above worried about me?"

"To be precise, it's a change in functions," Chen Tianming was not surprised, but rather appreciated the tacit understanding between him and his prospective son-in-law, and said calmly, "You are the captain of the Zhenghai Team, and at the same time, you wield the True Obscurity Sun Sword Intent. The team needs to frequently undertake various missions, like a special forces unit within the military; while the Sword Holder's role is more about deterrence, like a nuclear submarine that patrols the distant seas. If they remain still, all is quiet, but a single move unleashes thunderous force."

"Is it possible for one person to serve in a special forces unit and at the same time command inside a nuclear submarine? Suppose you continue to work with the Zhenghai Team, and enter some Mysterious Realm for exploration, what if the country suddenly encounters an urgent situation that requires the use of the True Obscurity Sun Sword Intent? Can we forcibly pull you out from the Mysterious Realm?"

Yan Yu was suddenly at a loss for words and had to admit that old Tai Shan made sense.

For Lu Country, the True Obscurity Sword Holder was far more valuable than the captain of the Zhenhai Team. Even if he left the team, Chen Lingyun could step in at any time. With Zhao Yuanzhen and Xie Ruoxi around, the previous weakness of the Spirit Transport Team not being strong enough head-on was completely compensated for; there really was no need to worry.

But for Yan Yu, he had no intention of leaving the Zhenhai Team. Ningning could cook, Yun Jin could clean, Ling Yun could devise strategies, Ruoxi could be teased for fun, and the Enchantress could be used as a pillow when sleeping. I am super comfortable staying in this team. Why would I leave?

I advise you to mind your own business!

Seeing that Yan Yu did not immediately express his stance, obviously resisting, Chen Tianming explained:

"Right now, it's just a proposal, and it hasn't formed a consensus in the Cabinet yet, after all, we have to consider your opinion too. If you care about the title of captain, the team doesn't have to be dissolved. But should future tasks allocated to the Zhenhai Team arise, there's no need for you to be deployed. Otherwise, it could be a case of overkill or using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

"Having Ling Yun lead the team?" Yan Yu asked.

"Or do you have a designated candidate?" Chen Tianming discussed with him.

To be honest, Chen Lingyun really was the best candidate; no second person came to mind. But according to old Tai Shan, it was as if he would just hold onto the captain's title, with a large part of the actual authority being transferred to Chen Lingyun.

"Let me think about it," Yan Yu said.

"Yes, and," Chen Tianming said with a smile, "the current limit of Spiritual Energy Concentration has been raised to the Golden Core Realm. Our pre-research on Cultivators in the Golden Core Realm determines that they are top-tier Transcendents with comprehensive abilities and no weaknesses at all. Therefore, the team system, which needs various professions to cooperate tactically, might be superfluous for Golden Core Realm Cultivators."

"If the pre-research matches reality, then the first batch of Cultivators who achieve Core Formation is highly likely to leave the teams, or even the four major military forces, to become special combat power directly under the Privy Council. The team system might evolve into one limited to Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators' Military Manor system. Of course, this doesn't mean you have to be separated. You can still live together, and if members from other teams... if they want to come over, they obviously won't be restricted by the team system."

He all but spelled it out at the end: you don't need to cling too tightly to the Zhenhai Team; given your current relationship with the girls in the team, even if the team were disbanded, they wouldn't leave you. On the contrary, you could freely add to your harem, what with Ye Jun, Li Minghu... Without the team system that requires collective action, who cares where they live on a daily basis?

Your house is pretty big, isn't it? It won't be troublesome to have a few more people live in it, right?

Yan Yu had to admit that he had already been persuaded by old Tai Shan.

My villa has ten bedrooms! Now almost half of them are vacant, and it feels rather lonely. Wouldn't it be better if a few more people lived here to liven things up?

"Alright!" Yan Yu finally made up his mind. "Then I'll continue to hold the title of captain. I will still be responsible for the usual team training and strength planning. But if a task requiring team deployment arises, Ling Yun will take charge of leading the team, and I won't step in."

Chen Tianming smiled slightly, stood up, and said:

"Get used to your new responsibilities as soon as possible. Being the Sword Holder can bring you great benefits, as well as a high level of exemptions and absolute freedom... even if you want to do something unethical."