"It seems like a bug has been caught, a cultivation technique that I couldn't initiate. I might as well use Qingguang for a bit of innovative derivation, and naturally, I would reach the entry-level," he said.
He couldn't help but think of the movement technique he had yet to master.
Perhaps...
He shook his head.
Gu Jinlai soon dismissed that idea.
For one, the Level Eight Wandering Dragon Body no longer suited his current tactical style, and secondly, he couldn't afford to waste his last bit of Qingguang.
He glanced at the remaining Qingguang, then at the Grand Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method and the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method.
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Jinlai let the final ray of Qingguang fall upon the light sphere of the Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method.
For a moment, Gu Jinlai felt as if he had spent ten or eight years immersed in this Body Refining Technique.
How to quickly refine the blood of demons, how to strip away the demonic nature from the blood, and how to use the power of the bloodline to strengthen oneself—all these were clear to him, like a well-trodden path.
Demon, Middle-Level Demon, Upper Demon, Great Demon, Middle-Level Great Demon, Upper-level Great Demon...
At each stage, how his physique should be tempered was crystal clear in his mind.
Great Sun Demon God Body Refining Method: Entry-level → Small Achievement.
"Unfortunately, just like the Grand Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method, this type of cultivation technique only deepens my understanding of these magic skills and improves the efficiency of my practice, making operation effortless. It does not create from nothing to grant me corresponding Spiritual Sense or physique," he reflected with his eyes closed.
For an increase in combat power, he still needed to work on his swordsmanship, secret techniques, and movement techniques.
...
As a border city in Red State, the situation in Red Wind City was as complex as that in Changjun City.
However, compared to Changjun City with a population exceeding three million, Red Wind City only had a population of about four hundred thousand, with a total area including eight counties and towns accounting for roughly 1.3 million.
The city was governed by a Refining God City Lord from the Purgatory Sect, the Three Great Families, and six local sects.
The Gu family was one of the Three Great Families.
Hugging Pill, two people.
Gang Condensation, nine people.
Qi Refinement, twenty-eight people.
The two Hugging Pills included the Family Head Gu Changfeng, Gu Jinlai's elder brother, already seventy-four years old.
The other was his eldest son, Gu Haoran, forty-nine years old.
...
At this time, less than thirty miles from the city, at the military training field of Gu Town, there was a large crowd and flags fluttered in the wind.
Here, there were a full three thousand people.
Although nearly two thousand of those were recently recruited and had not been training for long, thanks to the veteran-led training system, the three thousand still looked formidable.
As the matter was crucial, Gu Changfeng put aside minor family affairs and handed them over to Gu Haoran; he personally came to Gu Town to train the soldiers, not daring to be negligent.
At this time, in a building on the side of the training field, Gu Changfeng was checking the financial and grain accounts.
By his side were his second son, Gu Daoyuan, and his sixth daughter's husband, Zhan Shaoheng.
"Three hundred elite of Chang Feng Army, eighty fierce warriors, and forty hundred-man captains have been incorporated into the three thousand, adopting the veteran-led training to quickly make these three thousand combat-ready. A selection will be made from them to train a thousand as elites," Zhan Shaoheng said.
"Is there still enough silver?"
"The treasures Uncle sent have all been sold, amounting to 1,440,000 taels... After recruiting personnel, purchasing war armor, warhorses, and grain, most of it has been spent, but with 480,000 taels left, it won't be hard to cover expenses for a year," Gu Daoyuan said, pausing slightly, "But our Gu family's annual net after all expenses is less than 200,000 taels. To maintain this three-thousand-strong army and train a thousand of them into elites, next year... I fear there will be a shortfall of 300,000 taels."
300,000 taels.
This number...
"No matter, let's cross the bridge when we come to it. If we grit our teeth and persevere through this period, once a thousand elites and two thousand soldiers are trained, why worry we can't find more resources," Gu Changfeng said calmly.
"I have a friend in the Purgatory Sect, serving as a protector. Recently, there have been rumors circulating within the Purgatory Sect not favoring my uncle... With such a major action on our side," Gu Daoyuan voiced his hesitation.
He hadn't finished speaking when Gu Changfeng interrupted, "It is precisely because my younger brother is in a bad situation that we need to help him hold the situation together on this side."
"Yes."
"You must remember, the prosperity or decline of one branch of the Gu family affects us all. The reason our Gu family has been able to develop rapidly in these years and become one of the three families in Red Wind City is entirely due to your second uncle, the Purgatory Sect Elder. Now that the Gu family is rising, we must similarly reciprocate your uncle to ensure that Lin Xiao from the Purgatory Sect dare not act recklessly against him,"
Gu Changfeng emphatically said.
"I remember."
Gu Daoyuan nodded.
At this moment, a member of the Gu family walked in with two others.
When he saw who had arrived, Gu Changfeng was startled, "Bu Wang, and Nanxing, why have you come?"
Then he gestured with an open hand, "Please, have a seat."
"Family Head."
Su Nanxing bowed and then fell silent.
"Family Head..."
Nian Buwang stepped forward, glancing around at the same time.
Understanding his intention, Gu Changfeng waved his hand. Gu Daoyuan and Zhan Shaoheng secured the doors and windows and stood guard outside.
Nian Buwang took off the bundle he was carrying and handed over a box about one foot square, "This is something the Patriarch asked me to deliver personally to you, Family Head, for you to handle according to his strict instructions."
Gu Changfeng opened the box and saw several secret techniques inside. After only a brief inspection, his expression changed dramatically.
"These cultivation techniques..."
He instinctively wanted to ask about the origins of these techniques, but immediately realized that it was not suitable for too many people to know. He promptly said, "I understand my younger brother's intention."
"Moreover, going forward, the Patriarch will arrange for a million silver taels to be sent each year. His thinking is that with the income of one million silver taels annually, the Gu family can sustain three thousand elites."
"A million silver taels!? How did he... how did he manage that?"
Gu Changfeng widened his eyes.
The Gu family only had two hundred thousand taels left each year.
An annual income of a million!?
That was astonishing!
"The Patriarch has switched to studying Heavenly Master and has mastered a new casting technique. In one month, he can cast three sets of war armor weighing no more than eighty pounds each, yet their defensive power is comparable to top-grade Treasure Armor."
Nian Buwang said, "Whether to form three thousand elites or allocate some funds to focus on training Qi Refinement clansmen, equipping them with Treasure Armor and Divine Weapons, and forming battle formations to fight enemies, is up to you, Family Head!"
"Top-grade Treasure Armor!?"
Gu Changfeng was stunned.
Is top-grade Treasure Armor that easy to refine?
Three sets a month!?
Even if they paused for two months in a year, that's thirty sets!
If thirty experts of True Qi and Gang Condensation Realm wore such armor, and together with a thousand elites formed a killing formation, let alone clutching pills, one or two Refining God experts could be surrounded and killed.
Refining God, capable of fighting a thousand, refers to ordinary soldiers.
Facing elites, they could only fight while retreating, spreading out the battle formation to avoid being encircled.
In a chaotic battle of hundreds or thousands, there isn't much space for maneuvering, and attacks come from all quarters. Refining Gods must constantly maintain True Qi to protect themselves; once they can't break through a few dozen wearing top-grade Treasure Armor of Qi Refinement and Gang Condensation, they would quickly exhaust their True Qi and die from fatigue.
"Three sets of top-grade Treasure Armor a month must mean my younger brother is putting all his effort into refining them."
It took a while, but Gu Changfeng finally took a deep breath, "His current situation must be extremely perilous, having fallen in realm and being forced to use this method to quickly rise our Gu family, to prevent it from persecution by the Purgatory Sect due to his circumstances..."
Having said that, he turned to Su Nanxing, "Heavenly Master Qi Refining and God Transformation, he must be very weak now, right?"
Su Nanxing, recalling how Gu Jinlai effortlessly carried two thousand kilos and exploded with every strike, didn't know how to respond.
"You don't have to say anything, I understand, I get it all. I will complete the elite troops' training as fast as possible,"
Gu Changfeng promised somberly, "Within a year at the latest, I will finish the army's training and bring him back home, by which time neither Lin Xiao nor the Purgatory Sect will dare harm a single hair on his head."
————————
(A year's deadline is up!)