223: Lingshu: Nine Heavens Palace

Outside the City Lord's Mansion, the sky was clear as if freshly washed.

Su Jin walked out casually, looking up at the sky.

The "Lingshu Heavenly Palace" that once hung above the city.

At this moment, it had transformed.

It was no longer a solitary palace.

Instead, it had become a floating architectural complex composed of dozens of halls and pavilions.

Clouds and mist swirled around it, crane phantoms gracefully flew, and bridges of rainbow light connected the various halls, with spiritual energy flowing, forming a cohesive whole.

At the very center of this Heavenly Palace complex.

A majestic main hall stood tall, with four ancient characters inscribed in a flourishing style on its plaque—"Nine Heavens Celestial Palace."

An epic-grade building, its grandeur was vastly different from before.

Su Jin's mind stirred slightly, and he called up its information.

【Spiritual Pivot · Nine Heavens Celestial Palace (Epic - Unique)】

【Core Function 1: Celestial Palace Soul Nurturing — The spiritual energy concentration within the Heavenly Palace increases by 500%, greatly accelerating the nurturing and recovery speed of soul entities.】

【Core Function 2: Sword Heart Clarity — Sword-type units within the Heavenly Palace's range have their comprehension increased, and the chance of comprehending sword techniques and breaking through bottlenecks is enhanced.】

【Core Function 3: Sword Soul Stele Forest — All Ling Shu Sword Guards can imprint their sword dao insights here, allowing successors to observe and learn, thereby increasing their growth speed.】

【Core Function 4: Guiyuan Sword Domain · Myriad Forms — The power of the Sword Domain is greatly enhanced; it can be activated by Ling Shu Sword Guards, and a hundred people working together can construct the 'Myriad Forms Sword Realm' to seal off Legendaries.】

【Core Function 5: Spiritual Pivot Sword Pool — Can recruit exclusive troop type [Ling Shu Sword Guard], with a limit of 10,000 people. Troop Potential: Legendary!】

【Description: Above the Nine Heavens, lies the Celestial Palace. This is the dwelling place of sword souls, and also the cradle of Legendaries.】

When he saw the line "Troop Potential: Legendary!", even Su Jin's heart couldn't help but ripple intensely.

Legendary.

These two words represented completely different meanings across the myriad worlds.

It was a leap in life essence, the threshold to begin touching the laws.

In the Tianyu Realm, for any force other than the three major overlords.

The birth of a single Legendary was a momentous occasion worthy of celebration.

Yet, his Ling Shu Sword Guards' potential rating was actually Legendary.

This was too far beyond common sense.

To date, Su Jin had never heard of any lord whose troop template had the potential to reach Legendary grade.

Even the most top-tier overlord-level territories in the Blue Star Alliance, their core troops' potential only reached the peak of Gold at most.

For them to step into the Legendary realm, it required countless acquired opportunities and resources, with a success rate of less than one in ten thousand.

But he was different.

As long as resources were sufficient and time was ample, all ten thousand of his Ling Shu Sword Guards had the hope of reaching the Legendary realm.

Just imagining the future, where other people's Legendary powerhouses were born with great difficulty, one by one, over decades or even a hundred years.

While here, what he could field were entire organized Legendary legions.

“This…”

Su Jin was momentarily at a loss for words to describe it.

After a long while, he finally let out a long breath and muttered softly.

“This is indeed a bit unfair.”

However, he quite liked this feeling of being unfair.

He then inspected the Grand Void Azurewood Palace, which had also been promoted to Epic grade, and several other core buildings.

The function of each building had undergone a qualitative leap.

Infinite City's war potential had at least quadrupled in this promotion.

Su Jin closed the panel, his heart settled.

He connected to Li Yi's communication.

“Old Li, is the handover of the city's central hub going smoothly?”

“Lord, it's going very smoothly!” Li Yi's voice carried an unprecedented lightness.

“White Queen's organizational ability is simply beyond imagination; I now only need to be responsible for the general direction of planning and decision-making.”

“The efficiency is more than ten times higher than before! Finally, I don't have to worry about collapsing at my desk one day.”

“That's good.” Su Jin smiled.

“Next, have the various legions conduct adaptive training.”

“Especially aerial combat and coordinated defense; they need to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible.”

“Also, for the city's subsequent development plan, you should also interface with White Queen and come up with a proposal.”

“Understood!”

Li Yi responded energetically.

“Don't worry, Lord, in at most three months, Infinite City will be fully adapted to its 'Heavenly Realm' form!”

Su Jin hung up the communication and did not disturb anyone else.

He believed that whether it was commanders like Bai Xiao and Huo Jun, or civil officials like Li Yi, they would quickly adapt to the new changes.

He cast his gaze into the distance, piercing through the clouds, as if he could see the battlefields ablaze on the Molten Heart.

He knew that Lin Yuan would soon need his unexpected force, descending from the sky.

...

The morning in the Heavenly Realm, the sunlight seemed even purer than when on the ground.

Infinite City, East District residential area.

Auntie Wang stood on her balcony, skillfully operating a palm-sized rune compass.

As her fingertips moved.

The plots of land outside the balcony automatically tilled, watered, and replenished nutrients.

Planted in the plots was improved spirit grain, which could mature in just one week per season.

“Old Li, your 'Hyacinth' ran to my balcony to steal food again!”

Auntie Wang shouted towards next door with a strong voice.

A head popped out from the next-door balcony, chuckling.

“Sister-in-law, my boy had some issues with its settings, please bear with it, please bear with it.”

“Later, I’ll send you a basket of freshly picked 'Blazing Crystal Fruits' as an apology!”

The one called "Hyacinth" was a construct shaped like a metal dragonfly.

At this moment, it was restrained mid-air by Auntie Wang with a miniature gravity beam, its wings flapping futilely.

This was a civilian model produced by the city's alchemy workshop, mainly used for short-distance letter and parcel delivery.

But Old Li's one was clearly a bit too intelligent.

Deviating from its route was one thing, but it even ate spirit grain, and he didn't know how it managed to eat it.

Above the city streets, "sky tracks" made of light crisscrossed.

"Floating shuttles" shaped like barracudas traveled orderly on the sky tracks.

These were the city's main public transportation, uniformly powered by the city's energy core.

Quiet, stable, and efficient.

On the ground, many "cleaning constructs" about one meter tall could be seen.

With their stocky bodies, they diligently cleaned every corner of the streets.

When they encountered pedestrians, they would politely stop and emit a synthesized child's voice: “Wall-E?”

Children's favorite activity was chasing the "gardener puppets" responsible for urban greening in the square.

These puppets were shaped like treants.

Their arms could transform into various tools, sometimes pruning flowers and plants, sometimes conjuring a small flower made of light for the children, drawing bursts of laughter.

Such scenes were common throughout Infinite City's one hundred thousand square kilometers of land.

Rune technology and alchemical creations had permeated every aspect of life.

Every citizen here.

Whether the initial refugees or the later-affiliated humans and elves, their faces were filled with an intrinsic confidence and pride.

They were children of the sky, living in a mobile, indestructible, great city-state.

And the creator of all this, the Lord they revered as a deity, was the ultimate destination of their faith.

Amidst this tranquil and harmonious atmosphere.

In the northern part of the city, at the "Star Gate Plaza" specifically used for long-distance teleportation, space began to ripple.

A massive blue teleportation gate opened out of thin air.

The strong spatial fluctuations caused the guard soldiers in the plaza to turn their heads, their expressions wary.

A moment later, a figure as burly as a mountain was the first to step out of the light gate.

The newcomer wore crimson general's armor, with a square face and wide mouth.

His entire being exuded a fierce, battle-hardened aura that was completely at odds with the surrounding peaceful atmosphere.

As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation gate, he curiously stomped his foot on the solid ground.

Then, he looked up and around, feeling the breeze above the clouds, which was distinct from that on the ground.

“Ho! It really did fly up to the heavens!”

His voice, like a grand bell, made the entire plaza hum.

It was none other than Xiang Tian, the Legion Commander of the Southern Crimson Dragon Legion.

Behind him, a squad of fierce personal guards followed, each a battle-hardened elite.

They were curiously observing this city in the sky.