Moon Goddess and Leng Mei had left a step ahead.
Although they said nothing upon returning from Sin City, seeing those corpses, the anger in their hearts was probably no less than Ling Xiao’s.
Moon Goddess was better at controlling her emotions, while Leng Mei was so furious that she even wanted to immediately pursue and tear that so-called Sword Demon into ten thousand pieces.
But since Ling Xiao wanted to take revenge himself, they remained silent.
After the others had left, Ling Xiao spoke. “Senior Brother Wu, you have worked hard during this time. I am afraid it will be even harder in future. You know I cannot stay in Divine Capital for long. This time I have returned and will remain until the Dragon-Phoenix Selection begins, but most of that time will be spent in seclusion.”
“I know.”
Wu Xiang nodded.
Ling Xiao had entrusted him with managing Divine Capital and the entire Heavenly Dynasty Empire. That was trust, belief in him. Naturally, he would not betray Ling Xiao’s trust.
“Good. After today’s meeting ends, please summon alchemists from across the nation, from the lowest ranks to the very best, no upper limit. Select the top one thousand alchemists, offer them the most generous remuneration, and then establish a pill refinery in Divine Capital!”
Ling Xiao continued. “Our people’s strength is still too weak. Pills are the fastest shortcut to improving strength.
Once the pill refinery begins operation, you must focus on raising the strength of the entire army.”
“Your Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, I feel that doing this might be a bit too broad in scope. After all, medicinal ingredients are limited. It would be better to select an elite group from among them and focus on building them up. After all, improving strength is not something that happens overnight. The effects of pills vary depending on the person.”
Ji Ning thought for a moment and said.
“General’s proposal is excellent.”
Ling Xiao readily accepted the advice. “In that case, General, you are the expert in leading troops. This elite force will be left to you to select. The most important factor is of course loyalty, followed by talent. I have already refined six hundred thousand pills. Of these, five hundred thousand are for Celestial Human Realm martial artists.
These should preferably be chosen from those at Celestial Human Realm ninth level or above. If there are truly too few, lower it to Celestial Human Realm seven-star level. If their talent is sufficient, the chance of advancing one or two realms is over eighty percent.”
“Eighty percent!”
Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
However, what shocked them was not limited to this.
“The remaining over one hundred thousand pills are for Cavern Heaven Realm martial artists. As long as their talent is not poor and they can wholeheartedly absorb the medicinal power, the likelihood of advancing one realm is similarly very high.
The Heavenly Dragon Continent is vast and boundless, the largest of the thirteen continents. I believe many hidden geniuses still exist. Issue a nationwide summons, inviting them to come to Divine Capital and serve the nation.”
Ling Xiao continued. “This army composed of Cavern Heaven Realm and Celestial Human Realm martial artists will be called the Heavenly Dragon Army. All of you here are those I trust most and can become commanders of the Heavenly Dragon Army. Training will be uniformly formulated by General Ji Ning and Qin Huo.
Remember, what I want are iron-blooded soldiers, not useless rice buckets. Therefore, training can be harsh. I would rather they die during training than disgrace themselves on the battlefield!
If the Heavenly Chosen Academy, Heavenly Dynasty Institute, or Heavenly Martial Hall have any missions, they can all be assigned to them. Without experiencing danger and life-and-death situations, they cannot grow.”
Along his journey, Ling Xiao had nearly died many times. Based on his own experiences, he understood that without braving storms, one could not see the rainbow.
He was like this, and so were others.
Flowers cultivated in a greenhouse could never withstand great winds and waves.
Although the Divine Capital Guard Army, with the Northern Desert Army as its core, was already very strong, it was still not enough. It had to be improved further.
He wanted the entire Profound World to tremble at the name of the Heavenly Dragon Army.
Ling Xiao’s words stirred great excitement in Ji Ning and the others.
“Haha, for so many years, I have thought about such things but never dared to do them. Now, at last, I can boldly give it a try.”
Ji Ning said excitedly.
“Senior Brother Wu, the matter of the pill refinery must be prepared and completed as soon as possible. Whether this Heavenly Dragon Army of ours can continue to grow stronger depends on the pills produced by the refinery.”
Ling Xiao looked towards Wu Xiang again. “I have some blueprints here for puppet mechanisms used in pill refining. Back in Sin City, I entrusted Princess Yun Ya to help gather the materials. The materials have now arrived. You should instruct the Ministry of Works to start building them quickly. With these, mass pill production will no longer be a concern.”
“No problem.”
Wu Xiang had already been dazed by Ling Xiao’s wave after wave of novel ideas, but he did not feel weary. Instead, he felt immensely invigorated.
His own strength was also weak.
Though already at the second Cavern Heaven Realm, yesterday’s battle, where he was repelled with a single sword, still gnawed at him.
If he could cooperate with pills to break through his cultivation, then even if he faced similar danger in future, he would no longer need to fear.
“May this old man join in the excitement as well?”
At that moment, an aged voice entered the imperial residence.
“It is His Majesty the Supreme Holy Emperor. Originally, these matters did not dare trouble you, sir. However, if you are willing to help, this junior is naturally delighted.”
Ling Xiao looked towards the door, where the figure of an old man had already appeared.
This Supreme Holy Emperor was the stabilising force of Divine Capital.
Without him, Wu Xiang would probably have been killed yesterday.
However, this person had an indifferent nature and generally did not wish to interfere in Heavenly Dynasty affairs.
Moreover, he had originally been the Supreme Holy Emperor of the Holy Dynasty. He felt some reservations about the establishment of the Heavenly Dynasty Empire.
Though Ling Xiao very much wanted his help, there was no way to ask.
Unexpectedly, today this elder had volunteered himself.
“Originally, this old man thought that you, young one, establishing the Heavenly Dynasty Empire was just fooling around and would not last long. But now it seems you truly want to make this nation powerful, and you have your own plans. Although those plans are quite mad, this old man is willing to be mad once.”
This Supreme Holy Emperor’s cultivation had long been stuck at Yin-Yang Realm second level, unable to break through. He was very troubled by this.
As a result, one night he dreamt, and an ancestor appeared in his dream, saying that his breakthrough might lie with Ling Xiao.
People of the Profound World took great heed of such dream messages.
Moreover, combined with Ling Xiao’s recent series of achievements, the Supreme Holy Emperor felt that perhaps the dream was truly correct.
The current Ling Xiao was merely a Celestial Human Realm martial artist, yet he could already refine pills for Cavern Heaven Realm martial artists to use.
Then, once Ling Xiao advanced to Cavern Heaven Realm, would he not also be able to refine pills for Yin-Yang Realm martial artists?
At that time, would his own cultivation not have a chance to break through?
Considering all these things, he felt that perhaps he really should cooperate with Ling Xiao.
Saving Wu Xiang yesterday could count as a gift.
“Rest assured, senior. This junior will certainly not disappoint you!”
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. With the Supreme Holy Emperor, plus Xie Li, Divine Capital no longer needed to worry.
