……
"Ancestor Grandfather, I'm sorry," Wang Ningxi quickly admitted his mistake. "I shouldn't have publicly ntioned your plans to take a concubine, delaying your plans. From now on, I'll make sure to say such things in private."
Having grown up in a warm and happy family, Wang Ningxi had no interest in the content of those little scripts. In this world, it's really tough for rogue cultivators to get by.
Take the Great Qian, for instance; rogue cultivators who reach the Purple Mansion Realm are few and far between, each having extraordinary luck.
As for rogue cultivators in the Divine Realm, sorry, there's not a single one in the entire Great Qian.
The Immortal Dynasty has produced a few Divine Realm rogue cultivators, but further advancent is nearly impossible. Eventually, they either join a faction or establish their own family and beco an ancestor.
"Alright, alright, let's talk about the Heavenly Fire Master," Wang Shouzhe glanced at Wang Ningxi and said. "The master has co to our Wang's Clan as a guest and has taken a liking to your Leaving Fire bloodline, wanting to take you as a disciple. Isn't that a good thing? Why the headache? Or do you look down on a Divine Realm cultivator?"
"Ancestor Grandfather, it's not like that," Wang Ningxi sighed. "I found two ordinary mid-grade Leaving Fire and Yuan Water techniques in the family’s Scripture Repository and tried them both. I discovered that whether I focused solely on fire or water, not only was the progress slow, but it also caused my ridians to swell and ache."
"Later, I tried learning the skill of multitasking, cultivating both techniques simultaneously. There was so effect, but the progress was still not ideal, and after each session, I had to spend ti rging the two types of profound energy into Cold Fla profound energy."
"Out of necessity, I started researching a new technique that combines the two. I've made so preliminary progress and nad it the 'Cold Fla Art.' I hope to perfect it throughout my life, so taking the Heavenly Fire Master as a teacher seems pointless."
Wang Shouzhe was slightly surprised as he looked at Wang Ningxi. He knew the boy was smart from a young age, but he didn't expect him to develop his own technique.
Developing and refining a technique is an extrely complex and dangerous task. If not done properly, it could lead to severe consequences like going mad or even having one's ridians burst and sea of energy destroyed.
However, on second thought, Wang Shouzhe realized that Wang Ningxi's ridians and sea of energy had beco exceptionally broad and sturdy after being reshaped multiple tis, making it difficult to explode. Moreover, with him and Lixian at ho, even if his ridians burst multiple tis, they could be saved.
With such conditions for trial and error, Wang Ningxi developing a technique might not be impossible.
"You can develop your technique, but that doesn't affect taking a master," Wang Shouzhe pondered. "The 'Heavenly Fire True Art' from the Heavenly Fire Master's lineage is a very pure fire technique, which will be quite beneficial for you to perfect the Cold Fla Art in the future. Besides, you can also study the 'Yanshui True Art' shared by our Wang's Clan and the Chen's Clan."
"Whether it's necessary to accept the true Divine inheritance from both sides in the future is another matter. At least the early chapters of both techniques can serve as a reference before you reach the Purple Mansion Realm."
"Yes, Ancestor Grandfather." Wang Ningxi thought carefully and decided to take the Heavenly Fire Master as his teacher. Although the master's level was a bit low, since Ancestor Grandfather had spoken, he would make do.
However, Ningxi had a good personality. Once he took the Heavenly Fire Master as his teacher, he naturally regarded him as a father for life.
If the Heavenly Fire Master heard this, he would probably be so angry that he'd spit three liters of blood, then happily accept it.
……
anwhile.
At the Blood Dawn Sanctuary.
After a period of dismantling, the walls of the Blood Dawn Sanctuary now had missing pieces here and there, with traces left by the removal of formations, making it look like a patchy bald head, extrely unsightly.
However, the mbers of the Wang's Clan demolition team turned a blind eye to this and continued to work energetically every day. Under Ji Wuchen's command, they dismantled the "Composite Spirit Crystal Bricks" from the walls one by one. Due to the formations, each brick took considerable ti to remove, yet they enjoyed the process.
Each brick removed was carefully labeled and registered by designated personnel, then placed into specially made wooden boxes, padded on all sides to fit snugly.
Once ten bricks filled a box, soone would imdiately transport it out of the sanctuary and store it in a carriage specifically used by the Wang's Clan for transporting valuable goods.
The whole process was as orderly as ants moving house.
As everyone was busy working, a figure in a blue robe walked in from outside the hall.
The figure had a jade-like appearance and graceful deanor, but his face showed a bit of helplessness and fatigue, as if he had encountered so trouble.
"Young Master Anxin, you're here to communicate with the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy again?" The on-site manager saw him and quickly approached with enthusiasm to greet him.
Except for those whose hands were occupied, everyone else imdiately stood up straight and greeted him from afar.
As a direct descendant of the Wang's Clan, Wang Anxin's reputation, though not as high as his brother Anye's, was significant within the clan due to his extensive managent responsibilities and frequent assignnts from his great-grandfather.
Even those who were not his direct subordinates respected him from the bottom of their hearts.
"Mm. You all carry on; don't mind ," Wang Anxin waved his hand and casually instructed before heading deeper into the Blood Dawn Sanctuary.
Further inside was a secluded small room where the Spirit Artifact avatar left by Da Xue'er resided.
Upon entering the small room, the Spirit Artifact avatar imdiately recognized Wang Anxin's identity and reported in a chanical voice, "Honorable Young Master Wang Anxin, here is your daily report as requested. The overall dismantling progress of the Blood Dawn Sanctuary is currently at 58.35%, with the Expedition Hall at 73.23%, the corridors at 85.64%, the research lab at 22.69%, the storage room at 52.03%, and the incubation room at 32.15%..."
The dismantling progress of the research lab and incubation room was so low; the Wang's Clan really lacked skilled formation masters~
Wang Anxin lay back on the sofa, unable to help but mutter in his heart.
As a True Immortal relic, the Blood Venerable's research lab and incubation room naturally had many intricacies, making them far more complicated to dismantle than the hall. Although Senior Ji Wuchen's formation skills were strong, he still found it sowhat challenging, often having to ponder for a long ti before confirming the next step.
Although Senior Ji Wuchen said he had gained a lot from this experience, significantly improving his formation skills, it also highlighted the Wang's Clan's shortcoming.
Too few formation masters.
Despite the Wang's Clan's efforts over the years to cultivate talents in various fields, finding those with a talent for formations was extrely difficult. Currently, only his brother Wang Anye's formation skills were quite impressive, even surpassing Ancestor Xiaoxiao of the Yingxiu Lu Clan, but still not comparable to Senior Ji Wuchen.
With his formation skills, setting up ordinary formations or small spirit-gathering formations was manageable, but unraveling formations in the Shenwu relics was still far beyond his reach.
It seems he still needs to suggest to Great-grandfather to increase the training of formation masters and cultivate more of their own. Otherwise, when encountering relics in the future, they can't always trouble Senior Ji Wuchen~ He is just one person and can't handle everything.
Sigh~ The road ahead is long and arduous~
Thinking about having to continue negotiating with the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy today, Wang Anxin adjusted to a comfortable position with a weary heart and sighed, "Spirit Artifact, connect to the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy."
"Yes."
The Spirit Artifact avatar responded chanically, and soon the room lit up with a red glow. Monts later, the Spirit Artifact's voice sounded again.
"The signal is connected. Honorable Young Master Wang Anxin, you may begin your conversation with the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy."
Wang Anxin pinched his brow, sighed, and greeted the other side, "Senior Chii, did you sleep well last night?"
"It's you?" The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy, having conversed with Wang Anxin many tis, was very familiar with his voice. Upon hearing it again, her eyes lit up, "So, did Wang Shouzhe agree?"
Her tone was slightly urgent, clearly hopeful for the outco.
"I've conveyed your request to Great-grandfather, but... unsurprisingly, he refused. He said he has no intention of taking a concubine, so you might want to consider other conditions," Wang Anxin sighed silently.
Why is the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy so fixated on this? Of all the conditions to propose, why choose the most troubleso one?
"How is that possible?" The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy was incredulous, her tone becoming more urgent. "Didn't you tell him that my primordial yin is intact? Taking as a concubine could directly boost his cultivation by two small levels, and with so luck, I could help him reach the Divine Realm within two hundred years. That's the Divine Realm! No matter how good your Wang's Clan's relationship with Emperor Longchang is, it can't compare to being strong yourself, right?"
"Senior Chii, you might not fully understand the situation of our Wang's Clan," Wang Anxin was speechless. "We don't lack great prodigies, and my Great-grandfather himself is a peerless prodigy. Even if he follows the standard path of cultivation, he might not need two hundred years to reach the Divine Realm. Your offer doesn't hold much allure for him."
"What?"
The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy was stunned.
She had thought that Wang Shouzhe seed excessively young, but she assud it was because the Wang's Clan was wealthy and could afford the best cultivation resources to speed up his progress. She never expected Wang Shouzhe to be a peerless prodigy!
This was far beyond her expectations.
Even in the Demon Dynasty, peerless prodigies held extrely high status and were truly revered figures. In the True Demon Hall, so peerless prodigies in the Purple Mansion Realm with backing from elders could even command Divine Realm cultivators.
Her tone suddenly softened, "Even so, taking as a concubine wouldn't be a loss for him~ After all, I'm a Divine Realm cultivator. Without such a bond, how could he trust ?"
It's not entirely her fault for clinging to the idea of concubinage; it was simply her habitual way of thinking.
In the True Demon Hall, if a significant figure wanted to recruit and command female cultivators from her branch, they would directly take them as concubines. And once they followed soone, they belonged to that person.
This was an unspoken rule.
After a pause, she suddenly thought of sothing and said, "Otherwise, I can consider your previous proposal. Although your cultivation is a bit weak, your potential is decent, so I might make do."
Previous proposal?
Wang Anxin's face darkened at these words, recalling the painful experience from the previous night.
During his last communication with the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy, soone had maliciously relayed his words to his wife, Gongye Xianqiao. As a result, his wife had traveled all the way to Dragon Marsh, and what happened afterward was too complicated to explain...
Forget it~~ Better not to ntion it.
He took a deep breath and earnestly advised, "Senior, I suggest you abandon this idea. In our Wang's Clan, won can hold up half the sky, and we don't practice concubinage. This isn't the Demon Dynasty; we won't covet your primordial yin just because you cultivate the Chii Demon Path. Just consider yourself an ordinary Divine Realm powerhouse."
With that, he didn't give the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy a chance to speak further and directly changed the topic, "Let tell you about the treatnt we can offer you."
"According to Great-grandfather's rules, if you agree to beco a guest of our Wang's Clan, you will receive an annual stipend of thirty thousand Immortal crystals. In addition, we will provide daily necessities like pills, spiritual at, and spirit vegetables. Moreover, as a guest of our Wang's Clan, you will enjoy VIP treatnt in all our industries, with discounts on purchases and entertainnt, and so industries even offer free quotas, which is much more advantageous than working for us."
"Since you would be our first Divine Realm guest, you would also enjoy priority status. You can choose first from the family's treasure trove, including Divine Spirit Artifacts, high-grade spirit fruits, and treasures that enhance aptitude, as long as you have enough contribution points."
"Of course, as a guest, you can still take tasks from our mission hall to earn contribution points, which doesn't conflict with your stipend."
"Additionally, as a guest, while you would need to accept family-assigned tasks, those tasks also offer contribution points, so you won't lose out. If you find a task too dangerous, you can refuse it."
Wang Anxin elaborated at length.
The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy was stunned, "Do all guests receive such treatnt?"
"Naturally," Wang Anxin confird. "These are rules set by Great-grandfather decades ago, and they apply to everyone."
The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy fell silent.
She had personally witnessed how easy it was to earn contribution points from the Wang's Clan's tasks.
With a fixed stipend and the ability to earn contribution points through tasks, she might be able to afford a high-quality Divine Spirit Artifact in less than a hundred years if she truly joined the Wang's Clan.
Moreover, with the Wang's Clan's support, saving money wouldn't hinder her cultivation.
This was sothing she had never dared to dream of before.
In the True Demon Hall, despite its strength, resources were limited. For great prodigies like her to obtain sufficient cultivation resources, they had to cling tightly to Void Realm bigwigs. The amount of resources they could get depended entirely on the bigwig's mood.
Therefore, to obtain resources, they often had to do many things unrelated to cultivation, such as serving their masters, humbly pleasing other Void Realm Demon Lords, or finding a reliable bigwig to marry...
Ultimately, it was all for "resources."
If possible, did she really want to be a concubine? Her insistence on becoming Wang Shouzhe's concubine was rely an instinctive desire for an extra layer of security.
Growing up in the cutthroat environnt of the True Demon Hall, she was instinctively unwilling to believe in such a good fortune falling from the sky.
But now, trapped in a refuge with no other options, the Wang's Clan had no reason to deceive her with generous conditions.
If the Wang's Clan ignored her, she might be trapped here until her lifespan ended. That was too terrifying~
After much consideration, the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy couldn't resist the temptation and nodded, "Alright. I'll trust you this ti. I can tell you everything I know about the True Demon Hall, including the weaknesses of my master, the Yin Snake Demon Concubine, and the characteristics of the Blood Child Demon Lord's techniques. I believe your Wang's Clan would find these valuable."
"It's not 'your Wang's Clan,' it's 'our Wang's Clan,'" Wang Anxin reminded her.
"Alright. 'Our Wang's Clan,'" the Red Enchantress Demon Envoy readily complied.
Wang Anxin nodded in satisfaction and continued, "The information about the Yin Snake Demon Concubine and the Blood Child Demon Lord isn't urgent; we can discuss it later. For now, please provide us with your contact thods with the Yin Snake Demon Concubine and any necessary secret codes. This is more important."
Contact thods? Secret codes?
The Red Enchantress Demon Envoy was startled, instinctively sensing sothing amiss.
What exactly was the Wang's Clan planning?
However, at this point, she had no room for hesitation. Gritting her teeth, she decided to go all in, "The contact thod with my master, the Yin Snake Demon Concubine, is..."
In the small room, Wang Anxin's spirits lifted as he quickly took notes. He couldn't help but feel pleased. The Wang's Clan finally had its first Divine Realm guest, further enhancing the clan's foundation.
However, Wang Anxin believed that the Wang's Clan would have more and more Divine Realm cultivators in the future.
……
At the sa ti.
The Wang's Clan's application for an ard force from the Longzuo Commandery Governor's mansion had been approved.
Typically, clans would increase their ard forces through clan soldiers and family guards, but these did not belong to the official ard forces of the Great Qian, resembling more of a private army.
Private armies had their advantages, but they also faced bottlenecks in developnt. Firstly, they did not receive state military pay subsidies. Secondly, they lacked official designations, so even if they achieved rits, they wouldn't gain much recognition. Thirdly, if the private army grew too large, it could cause trouble for the clan, or at least tarnish its reputation.
Under normal circumstances, clans could not establish regular military units on their own.
However, according to the laws of the Great Qian, in the event of a national war or other situations threatening the Great Qian, clans could organize "militia" to defend the nation and humanity.
Although the national war hadn't started yet, the justification was there.
Therefore, the Wang's Clan applied for a "Changning Wang's Clan Militia Regint" designation, forming a regular militia unit with a full strength of 5,200 people. The tax revenue from Longzuo Commandery and Changning Garrison would provide funding equivalent to half of a "regular regint's" military pay.
Typically, the total annual military pay and provisions for a regular regint amounted to 300,000 Qian gold, aning the Changning Wang's Clan Militia Regint could enjoy an annual subsidy of 150,000 Qian gold.
As for the remaining portion, the Wang's Clan would have to find a way to cover it.
With the establishnt of a regular militia regint, the Wang's Clan began recruiting throughout the Changning Garrison area, with Wang Anye as the main person in charge.
The primary recruitnt targets were the Wang's Clan's family guards and soldiers, as well as all "native residents" who had lived in the Changning Garrison for at least three generations. This ant that those wishing to join the "Changning Wang's Clan Militia Regint" had to have settled in the Changning Garrison since their great-grandfather's ti.
In the central square of Xinping Town, the main recruitnt point was set up.
As the chief recruitnt officer, Wang Anye donned a general's armor and sat upright in the main commander's seat, overseeing the entire recruitnt process.
anwhile, the idle Emperor Longchang, wearing a red armband, disguised himself as an old general and openly supervised beside Wang Anye, "Anye, I've fought countless battles in my life, and no one can match my experience in military affairs."
"If it weren't for that rascal Wang Shouzhe not allowing to go to the front lines, I wouldn't have to create so many tricks. Give an army of 100,000, and I could march to the capital of the Southern Qin Dynasty. So, you should learn from about military matters."
Wang Anye was Emperor Longchang's favorite junior from the Wang's Clan, and his attitude towards him was vastly different from his attitude towards Wang Shouzhe.
"Emperor Grandfather," Wang Anye replied via voice transmission, "it's just forming a militia regint; there's no need for you to personally oversee it."
"Wang Shouzhe hasn't allowed to travel far recently, and I'm just too idle. Finally, there's sothing serious to do, so I can't miss it," Emperor Longchang replied cheerfully. "By the way, you should ensure the quality of your militia regint is high. After all, your Wang's Clan is wealthy, so it should at least match the main battle regints like the 'White Tiger' and 'Rosefinch.' It would be embarrassing to create a logistics regint."
The annual military pay and expenses for a main battle regint were around 800,000 Qian gold.
Emperor Longchang naturally had a good idea: with only 150,000 Qian gold from the garrison and commandery taxes, they could raise a main battle regint, leaving the wealthy Wang's Clan to cover the rest. It was a win-win situation for the nation and the people.
"Mm." Wang Anye nodded in agreent. "That's also my Great-grandfather's intention. Since our Wang's Clan is forming a militia regint, we can't set the bar too low."
At this point, more and more people gathered around the square to register, and the patrol team and the Wang's Clan's family guards were maintaining order.
Wang Anye stood up and announced loudly, "The ti has co. I hereby declare the official establishnt of the 'Changning Wang's Clan Militia Regint,' and we will begin recruitnt under the principles of openness, fairness, and justice."
"The first condition is that applicants must have resided in the Changning Garrison for at least three generations and have no criminal record since their great-grandfather's ti."
"The second condition is that ordinary soldiers must have a graduation certificate from the Wang's Clan's affiliated village school for basic education."
The crowd erupted in astonishnt. The first condition was understandable, as it was a local militia regint, so priority should be given to native residents.
The second condition was outrageous. How difficult was it to obtain a basic education graduation certificate from the Wang's Clan? Even Emperor Longchang, without systematic study, would definitely fail the exam.
"Quiet, quiet," Wang Anye said sternly. "Our 'Changning Wang's Clan Militia Regint' is a military force with ideals, morals, and culture. The Wang's Clan has already popularized basic education. How can soone without a basic education graduation certificate be an excellent soldier?"
After calming the crowd, Wang Anye continued, "Additionally, there are selection criteria for ordinary soldiers. They must be under thirty-five years old, at the Qi Refining Realm, and have never taken blood refining pills or Xisui Dan. Those with lower-grade B or A bloodlines who pass the tests for willpower and character will be given priority as ordinary soldiers. The military will provide one blood refining pill and one Xisui Dan, along with corresponding cultivation resources."
"What?" Emperor Longchang was shocked, looking at Wang Anye in disbelief. "With such resources, they might reach middle-grade D or C. And these are just ordinary soldiers? What about your officers?"
With sufficient and reasonable resources, such individuals could easily reach the late Lingtai Realm, and if cost was no object, they might even have a chance to advance to the Celestial Realm.
"Our plan is for the lower-level captains to be at least small prodigies with B or A bloodlines after enhancent. Brigade leaders should be prodigies, and the thirteen battalion commanders should be great prodigies. As for the regint commander, they should be a peerless prodigy."
Should be.
Emperor Longchang's head buzzed. What did he an by "should be"? Was he kidding? This was just a local militia regint, and it was already excessive to match the main battle regints of the Great Qian. Was he trying to surpass even the elite regints of the Great Qian?
"Your Majesty, didn't you say to make it as high as possible?" Wang Anye said. "My Great-grandfather said that if we're going to make it high, we might as well match the Shenwu period's regint configuration. The officer aspect is fine; it's just the lower levels that are still lacking. We'll adjust that gradually."
Emperor Longchang felt a bit dizzy. Fortunately, he had given them a local militia designation. If he had given them a main battle regint designation, wouldn't they have matched the Shenwu Royal Dynasty's elite regints?
……
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