Divine Convenience Store

Right before they set off to start the Flash Raid, Lin Mo turned to Xiaoyu and said,

"Now," Lin Mo said with a grin, "Let's give our army a little... convenient advantage on top of our supplies."

He waved his hand, scrolling down the Divine System Interface and navigating to the newly created Commission Management tab.

Taihao or Zhenren Lihua must've added it to the system. It was not anything special. It simply allowed him to properly manage all the commissions that he dispatched.

He tapped the [Store-Sponsored Commissions], bringing up the list of the active ones where a pool of resources has been allotted.

At the moment, there were only two commissions listed as active on it. The 'Sunken Caverns Anchor Commission' and the 'Flash Raid Commission'.

After picking the Flash Raid Commission, another screen popped up, showing him accurate details, starting from its title, [Flash Raid Commission: Cutting the Snake in Half].

Below it was a list of real-time statistics that made his eyes widen slightly.

[Total Registered Participants: 2,841 Cultivators]

[Factions Represented: 37 Sects, 11 Clans, 4 Kingdoms/Nobility, 183 Registered Mercenary Teams]

[Total Celestial Duelists: 978]

[Logistics: 'Convenience Combat Kits' Distributed (2,841/2,841)]

Over nine hundred Celestial Duelists. The number was far higher than he had anticipated. The Red Lotus Academy's influence and the allure of the new path were spreading faster than a wildfire in a dry forest. Nearly a third of the entire raid force was equipped with the store's most revolutionary product.

He scrolled further down the interface to a section he had been anticipating.

[Tactical Convenience Protocol]

[Effect: Grants all registered raid participants temporary, limited access to the store's remote services.]

[Available Services:

- Instant Supply Drop: Participants can use their Viewing Jades to order a limited selection of basic consumables to be delivered by Guardian Construct Drones.

- Summon Aura Beacon: A team leader can place a beacon to summon a single, Aura Totem to their location for a limited time, containing one of the unlocked Auras from the Dimension Essence Upgrade.

- Tactical Data Stream: Live updates on enemy movements, as gathered by drones and other teams, will be updated and streamed directly to the pinned post at the Store Bulletin Board. This includes data on terrain and sighted enemies.]

[Note: Each service can only be paid through the customer's Dimension Essence Wallet]

Lin Mo couldn't help but grin at the prices he set on it. Although he handed out 'Convenience Combat Kits' to everyone participating in the raid, he now had something else to recoup the initial investment and then some.

"Boss, you're one sly bastard! I mean, you're a genius!" Xiaoyu hurriedly corrected herself as her eyes sparkled in excitement, reading everything in front of them. "The store, even at a distance, will be their command and control, their air support, and their logistics, all rolled into one convenient package!"

"What did I tell you, Xiaoyu? Efficiency." Lin Mo said, his finger hovering over the final button. "Why not use our advantages whenever possible? Now, we can airdrop buffs that originally could only be felt inside the store, a Tower or an Anchor. Even if it'll be temporary, imagine how it can turn the tide in our forces' favor."

Without wasting any more seconds, he tapped [Activate Tactical Convenience Protocol].

A system-wide notification instantly chimed on the Viewing Jades of all 2,841 cultivators gathered outside the city.

A new tab, glowing with a crimson 'Raid Active' icon, appeared on their interfaces.

Soon enough, a collective gasp followed by a surge of excited and disbelieving chatter, rippled throughout the army.

On the city walls, Liu Zhongzu's eyes widened as he saw the new options. He looked back towards the distant store and gave a single, respectful nod.

"The time has come!" Liu Zhongzu's voice boomed, no longer needing to project just his own authority, but channeling the full, overwhelming weight of the store's support. "Celestial Duelists, as the Shopkeeper commands! Unleash the heralds of convenience! Advance!"

What followed was a spectacle that would be etched into the history of the Eastern Abyssal Domain for centuries.

From the front lines, nearly a thousand cultivators raised their hands as the Celestial Duel Gear on their wrists glowed with a unified, brilliant light.

One thousand Celestial Fields erupted simultaneously. It was like a sea of shimmering, multicolored circles of light that carpeted the plains.

The combined spiritual pressure was so immense that it appeared to be a tangible wave that washed over the landscape.

Back in the store, Liu Xiaoyu and Wu Meiyu, still hovering beside him, sucked in their breath as the sound of a marching army reached them. It's like the city had been hit by an earthquake.

A minute later, the army had already moved out of the vicinity of Fanling City, making the City Lord Wei Xian heave a sigh of relief.

"Shopkeeper, my Royal Brother is among those who signed up for that raid. He and his entourage can handle even a Nascent Soul cultivator. He's also one of those with the Celestial Duel Gear. I think his deck is the [Arcane Blossom Court]. He was asking how to effectively summon a Level 5 Unit at the shortest possible time but after he visited the Red Lotus Academy, he stopped bugging me about it." Wu Meiyu said with a hint of pride and concern.

"The Crown Prince himself?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow. "Then he must've been enlightened by the experts of the Celestial Duel at the Academy. No wonder Grandmaster Lian also sent out a few of their students to join and gain experience in this raid."

Although the danger was present, especially after knowing that they'd be fighting against cultivators from the Western Sacred Lands, many brave warriors stepped up to the plate. Of course, the majority of them were eyeing the rewards promised. While earning spirit stones or Dimension Essence was now viable, who would let an opportunity to earn a hundred thousand Dimension Essence pass?

Shortly after, Lin Mo pulled up the live feed from one of his newly deployed Guardian Construct Drones. It was a metallic falcon-like construct that soared silently high above the advancing army.

The Divine System Interface provided an almost unlimited fleet of them after spending 800,000 Dimension Essence to unlock it. If need be, he could send out at least a thousand of them for moments just like this.

The view was breathtaking. A river of cultivators, thousands strong, flowed across the land as they went north and beyond the borders of the Eastern Abyssal Region.

They avoided entering the Abyssal Forest due to the concentration of demonic energy inside. Instead, they skirted around its edges until the scouts that were to locate the enemy forces returned with reports of their sightings.

With that, the summons began.

One thousand duelists, one thousand hands slapping down cards onto their Celestial Fields. The sky above the army lit up as if a thousand new constellations had been born at once.

A pack of roaring [Stormfang Wolves] with gleaming claws and teeth. A flock of [Azure-winged Griffins] with their cries echoing across the plains. Elegant [Camellia Sword Maidens] appeared in a shower of petals, their blades drawn. And more importantly, many Celestial Idol units with the likes of [Sapphire Melody] and [Jade Serenade] inundated the field with their lovely hymn of voices and music.

And that was just the beginning. Higher-level summons began to appear, stomping onto the battlefield as the Celestial Duelists continued drawing new cards, activating [Spell Cards] or sacrificing lower-level [Unit Cards] to summon higher-level ones.

The combined army of spiritual projections was now even larger than the army of cultivators themselves. It was an overwhelming, mind-boggling display of force.

Meanwhile, as the army began its thunderous march towards the western forest, Lin Mo felt a strange resonance within his own body.

The collective will, the focused intent of thousands of cultivators, all directed by his words, culminated in more faith energy that propelled him further. It resonated with the spark of divinity in his chest, and it resonated with the starlight qi contained within the nodes around his dantian.

.

And then, he felt it.

A pressure, high above in the spiritual firmament, began to coalesce.

The sensation was no longer a distant call. Instead, it became an imminent, gathering storm.

His minor tribulation.

The massive outpouring of spiritual energy from the departing army was acting as a catalyst, pulling his own breakthrough forward.

"Boss?" Xiaoyu asked, noticing the flicker in his expression. "You okay? You look even shinier than before…"

Her words trailed there as she immediately looked up. She also started sensing the will of heaven gathering above the store.

And to her surprise, it was even stronger than when she faced her own tribulation a few days ago.

"Shopkeeper… You're about to face your tribulation. Are you going to face it here?" Wu Meiyu asked, her voice a mixture of awe and alarm.

The spiritual pressure gathering above was still invisible to mortals and low-level cultivators, but to someone like her and Xiaoyu, who faced their own tribulation, it felt like the sky itself was holding its breath.

"Yes," Lin Mo answered calmly as a resolute and eager light shone in his eyes. "The old man was very specific. The store is the only safe place."