Chapter 303: Change of Defense
Before Wang Hong returned to the Sect, he made a detour to Azure Void City. This was his own territory, and he naturally cared more about it than Sect affairs.
In the past two years, East Zhou Trading Company's business had been flourishing, rapidly catching up with the level of several top-tier shops.
Luo Zhongjie had gone to Boundary Mountain Range and had already returned. He was currently training new recruits at the Mountain Valley base.
The manpower Wang Hong had arranged to recruit was now complete, totaling a hundred people.
At this moment, they were all arranged in formation, practicing with precision.
These youths had never had any contact with the Cultivation World before. They had not yet developed the freedom and selfishness typical of Cultivation World inhabitants.
Starting now, they would receive training and education similar to that of a military, and the lessons they learned during their growth would influence their behavior for decades, even hundreds of years to come.
After the training session, Luo Zhongjie approached Wang Hong.
"How is the situation at Boundary Mountain Range?" Wang Hong inquired.
"Not very good," Luo Zhongjie replied. "The Demon Clan has mobilized a large number of low-tier Demonic Beasts from the West Zhou Demon Realm and continues to launch Beast Tides in an attempt to deplete the strength of the human race. It's become a small skirmish every three days and a major battle every five days, resulting in significant casualties. The consumption of various supplies, including healing Pills, restorative Spirit Wine, Magical Weapons, Spiritual Weapons, and more, is extremely high and in short supply. Fortunately, Wen Lan and his group of ten have been coordinating and supporting each other in battle, so there have been no casualties so far. However, when I arrived, their supplies were nearly depleted, and the shop almost had nothing left to sell. It's doubtful how much longer they can hold on."
Luo Zhongjie briefly explained the situation at Boundary City to Wang Hong.
"How is the construction of the new city going?" Wang Hong had heard about the plan to construct a new city in that area, and the tens of thousands of people sent there this time were meant for that purpose.
"The new city is located to the east of Jin'an City, forming a triangle with Boundary City in the west. It's being built to counter the Demon Clan presence in Boundary City. The Demon Clan won't allow the human race to build a city right under their noses. They've made several attempts to harass us, and by the time I returned, the city walls were only about ten feet high," Luo Zhongjie said, wearing a deeply concerned expression.
If Boundary Mountain Range fell, the Western Demon Tribe would march straight into the East Zhou Cultivation Realm's heartland. Qingxu Sect was situated at the westernmost side of the East Zhou Cultivation Realm, and at that time, Azure Void City would be the first to face the threat.
"Here's what we'll do: you select another ten people, take a batch of supplies to Boundary City, and then replace Wen Lan and his group. From now on, we'll rotate them every five years or so to give them a break from the long-term fighting."
Wang Hong thought about how Wen Lan and the others had been fighting the Demon Clan for over a decade, which was no easy feat. It so happened that he still had dozens of Foundation Building stage subordinates who were currently idle, and sending them over would provide some practical combat experience and serve as training.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Hong added, "Furthermore, in the future, our trading caravan will make at least one trip to Boundary Mountain Range each year. Even though we're not participating in the battles, we can still transport more supplies to support them. The materials we send over can be directly exchanged for special Demon Beast materials produced in that area."
"These materials, when brought back, can be used for our new recruits to practice. The finished products can also be sold again," Wang Hong remarked.
Wang Hong had previously stationed there for five years and had a deep understanding of the affordability of Demonic Beast materials in Boundary Mountain Range.
This approach benefited both sides. It allowed Wang Hong to profit while assisting the frontline human cultivators in their battle against the Demon Clan.
"Alright, I'll take care of it as soon as possible. East Master, before the last batch of new recruits, we spent two years teaching them various skills. However, most of them are still at a beginner level, and the consumption has been quite significant," Luo Zhongjie mentioned.
Luo Zhongjie was distressed by the fact that these new recruits had consumed a large amount of resources. Typically, even for a family or faction, cultivating one or two Disciples in these skills was quite a burden. Wang Hong had nearly a hundred, and the consumption was immense.
"It's fine. We're investing heavily now, and the returns in the future will be even greater. At the same time, we should identify those among them with exceptional talents and focus on their development. Additionally, they should maintain their cultivation and daily training rigorously to stay combat-ready."
Most of the materials used in their practice were grown in their own space, albeit after a roundabout from the Immortal Way Trading Company. Luo Zhongjie and the others had practically used up all the earnings from the three shops for these materials, which was naturally painful.
Subsequently, Luo Zhongjie went to prepare the supplies and mobilize the manpower.
Two days later, Ling Shuai came to find Wang Hong. He had learned that Wang Hong intended to send a group of people to Boundary City to replace Wen Lan and the others.
He specifically came to request permission to go to Boundary City.
In reality, his relationship with Wang Hong was more of an employer-employee arrangement, and if he went on his own, Wang Hong couldn't stop him. However, he had grown accustomed to following Wang Hong, and Wang Hong treated him well.
Just recently, with the help of a Breakthrough Realm Pill Wang Hong had given him, he had finally broken through the bottleneck and reached the late Foundation Building stage. If he ventured to Boundary City alone, he would only be regarded as a loose cultivator, the lowest status, and often relegated to cannon fodder roles.
Although he harbored a deep grudge against the Demon Clan and wanted revenge, he also didn't want to perish alongside a few first and second-tier Demonic Beasts, which would render his death meaningless.
Wang Hong naturally agreed. Having a late Foundation Building stage cultivator go would be safer.
"East Master, I have one more request. The only thing I can't rest assured about when I go there is Ling Xue. I want to leave her here and hope that East Master can look after her for me," Ling Shuai said.
In such a dangerous place, he was unwilling to let his daughter venture into danger, and besides, a Qi Cultivation stage cultivator would only serve as cannon fodder over there.
"Don't worry about that. Ling Xue has been under my care since she was young. I'll take care of her like my own junior," Wang Hong assured him.
Wang Hong nodded in agreement. Whenever they met, the little girl was always exceptionally enthusiastic, and it had left a good impression on him. So, every time they met, he liked to give her some snacks to make her happy. After all, children naturally gravitated towards those who had delicious and fun things to offer.
Ten days later, Luo Zhongjie had already prepared the supplies and manpower. Led by Ling Shuai, a group of ten Foundation Building stage cultivators headed to Boundary City.
After that, Wang Hong went to visit the new base recently established by Liu Changsheng, which was also located outside the city.
However, Wang Hong had purchased this piece of land with a significant amount of Spirit Stones.
Here, there were hundreds of acres of spirit fields. The previous owner had suffered from frequent Treasure Hunter activities outside the city. Their spirit fields had been plundered once before, and the people guarding the spirit fields had either died or fled. All the Spiritual Herbs in the spirit fields had been looted.
The previous owner didn't have the strength to protect the spirit fields and decided to sell them off. However, there were few people willing to take over the spirit fields outside the city, so they had no choice but to sell them at a low price.
After Liu Changsheng bought this land with hundreds of acres of spirit fields, he moved most of the people from the city to this area.
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