39: Chapter 39 Collective Promotion, Power Gap

When the General-Assembling Drum sounded, the entire Blue Moon Island was momentarily stunned.

That was a heavy drum only beaten when a major war was truly about to break out, or when the Lord wanted to publicly announce a momentous event. The sound of the drum rolled wave after wave over the city walls, the Outer Port, and the Workshops; even the Purple Lightning Sea Cavalry, who were still practicing charge formations in the shallow bay, were immediately halted by Lu Hu, who turned them around and rushed toward the Lords Mansion.

In less than fifteen minutes, the great hall was already packed with people.

Lu Hu, Leng Feng, Shi Jian, the centurions of various battalions, the leaders of the Outer Port gunners, and the master artisans of the Workshops—even Su Qingli was temporarily summoned from the formation room. When everyone entered the hall, the first person they saw was Lu Changyuan.

With just one look, the hall fell completely silent.

Because anyone could see that their Lord had changed.

His entire being seemed to have been polished anew. Before, though sharp, he still carried a certain tension from fighting his way up through constant slaughter; now, that tension was gone, replaced by a composed, restrained, yet even more daunting aura that made it hard to look at him directly.

Lu Hu was the first to react, his pupils shrinking sharply. "Lord, you..."

"Foundation Establishment Middle Stage." Lu Changyuan did not hide it, throwing out the answer directly.

The great hall was instantly struck as if by lightning.

Blue Moon Island's rise had been fast enough, but no matter how fast it was, no one had actually expected the Lord to take another step upward at such a critical juncture. Moreover, judging by his aura, he had clearly not just barely broken through, but had solidly stabilized his realm.

After the shock came an uncontrollable wild joy.

Because there were only three months left until the beast tide.

At a time like this, the stronger their pillar of support, the more reassured everyone on the island would feel.

But before everyone could fully process this joy, Lu Changyuan flipped his hand and placed a cold jade box onto the table.

When the lid of the box was lifted, the remaining leaves of the nine-leaf world-purifying lotus lay inside.

A pure white halo flowed faintly; even someone who didn't know its value could feel the astounding medicinal efficacy contained within. With just one look, Su Qingli's breath hitched slightly. Though she did not know where this item came from, she instantly understood that Lu Changyuan's ability to break through during this seclusion was by no means due to a common Opportunity.

"This is not something meant for me alone."

Lu Changyuan's gaze swept over everyone in the hall, his voice steady.

"Blue Moon Island's ability to reach where it is today was not achieved by me holding it up alone. Among you, some have braved naval battles, some have sustained the Workshops, and some have watched over the formations, guarded the port, mined ores, and captured horses for me. Now that the beast tide is upon us, having just me as a single Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator is useless."

"Distribute all the lotus leaves one by one, based on cultivation and potential."

When these words fell, they carried even more weight than the words "Foundation Establishment Middle Stage" just now.

Even Lu Hu didn't dare to speak for a moment.

For a divine medicine of this level, any other Foundation Establishment Cultivator outside would likely clutch it tightly to their chest, wishing to keep every single leaf and crumb for their own future path. Yet, Lu Changyuan actually dared to bring it out and distribute it in front of all his confidants.

After a brief, dead silence, Leng Feng took a step forward and cupped his fists, his voice deep. "Lord, this item is too precious. It would be far more valuable for you to keep it to continue breaking through than to give it to us."

"I am the one who decides whether it's worth it," Lu Changyuan glanced at him. "The beast tide is not a duel. What I want is a group of people who can defend the city alongside me."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of many in the hall began to turn red.

Because they all understood.

Lu Changyuan did not give them any more time to process their emotions and began calling names directly.

Lu Hu, Leng Feng, Shi Jian, several centurions with the greatest military merits, a few of the most reliable veteran soldiers from the Sea Cavalry Battalion, the leaders of the Outer Port gunners, and Su Qingli.

Those whose names were called stepped forward one by one, and the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense.

Looking at the pure white lotus leaf handed to him, Lu Hu's hand could not help but tremble. "Lord, I..."

"Cut the nonsense," Lu Changyuan slapped the lotus leaf into his hand. "Consume it. Whether you can endure it depends on yourself."

Lu Hu gritted his teeth and accepted, saying no more.

When Su Qingli received her piece, she remained silent for several breaths.

She knew better than anyone how severe the issues with her Meridians were, and she understood better than anyone that this single piece might not directly restore her to her original state, but it could at least pry open a crack in her cultivation path, which had almost been completely severed.

In the end, she said nothing, only bowing solemnly.

This bow carried more weight than any submissive words she usually spoke.

That night, the great hall was directly converted into a place of protection.

The Spirit Gathering Array was fully activated, and the auxiliary hall-protecting Formation Plate was deployed at the same time. Lu Changyuan personally sat in the center to stabilize the situation for everyone who had taken the medicine. A Breakthrough for one or two people was not difficult, but with over a dozen people breaking through their bottlenecks together in a single night, if even one person lost control, the entire hall could be overturned by the turbulent flow of spiritual energy.

The first to undergo a change was Lu Hu.

He had already been stuck at the edge of Qi Refining Perfection for a long time, and his Physical Body and combat foundation were the most solid. Once the medicinal power of the lotus leaf entered his body, it was like delivering a heavy hammer blow to the door that was already on the verge of being pushed open. In less than half an hour, the Qi around his body suddenly exploded, and a thick Spiritual Pressure pushed outward like a wave as he became the first to firmly step into Foundation Establishment.

Next was Leng Feng.

His Sword Bone was inherently different from ordinary people, and after being washed by the lotus leaf, his Sword Intent, which had previously been slightly sharp and out of control, was instead refined to be even purer. Upon breaking through, a thread of fine white sword light actually condensed on its own before his knees and silently dispersed, causing everyone in the hall to hold their breath for half a beat.

After that, Shi Jian, several centurions, the veteran soldiers of the Sea Cavalry Battalion...

One after another, surges of Qi rose up.

Not everyone took as solid a step as Lu Hu and Leng Feng, but with Lu Changyuan personally keeping watch, not a single person was harmed by the rush of medicinal power. By the latter half of the night, more than ten brand-new Foundation Establishment auras rose and fell one after another in the hall, causing the Spiritual Qi in the sky above the Lords Mansion to gently churn.

As for Su Qingli, she was not taking the path of a simple Breakthrough.

She had long been dragged down by old injuries to her Meridians, and her cultivation had been severed for too long. After the medicinal power of the lotus leaf entered her body, the first things to be pried open were those withered and blocked Meridians. Her expression changed several times as fine beads of cold sweat seeped from her forehead, but as the medicinal power washed through bit by bit, those originally dead Meridians actually began to glow with spiritual light once more.

As dawn approached, she finally exhaled a mouthful of turbid Qi slowly.

Her aura might not be as outwardly domineering as Lu Hu and the others, but it was clearly far stronger than before when she could "only coordinate, but not truly circulate the Great Cosmic Orbit."

Lu Changyuan saw this and said nothing, only steadily suppressing the final wisp of stabilizing spiritual energy.

When the first light of dawn filtered through the hall doors, the entire great hall seemed to have undergone a complete skeletal transformation.

Blue Moon Island now had over a dozen more Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Such a change would be considered terrifying for any force in the outer seas.

When Lu Hu stood up, even he felt as if the ground beneath his feet had become a layer lighter. He looked down at his hands, the excitement in his eyes almost bursting out, but in the end, he suppressed it tightly and bowed deeply to Lu Changyuan.

The others did the same.

No one treated this as an ordinary reward anymore.

This was practically a new lease on life.

Yet, after the wild joy, the first person to truly calm down was actually Su Qingli.

She turned her gaze back to the dozen or so newly born Foundation Establishment auras in the hall. After watching for a moment, she suddenly spoke, "Lord, this is indeed a great joy."

"But there is still a problem that we must address immediately."

Everyone was startled.

Lu Changyuan looked at her. "Speak."

Su Qingli's tone was very flat, yet it was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads. "The strongest tier of Blue Moon Island has been forcefully pulled up by you overnight."

"But the middle tier is now empty."

No one failed to understand who she was referring to.

Having over a dozen more Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the core tier overnight was, of course, a great thing. But looking at the entire Blue Moon Island, the vast majority of the Dao soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, and Workshop guards below were still stuck at the Qi Refining Middle Stage or Late Stage. When the beast tide truly arrived, Foundation Establishment Cultivators could slay high-tier beasts, but they could not be everywhere to cover every gap and fill every hole. If the middle tier could not hold, the dozen or so blades at the very top would sooner or later be worn down to bluntness.

Lu Hu's excitement from his recent Breakthrough was also cooled down quite a bit by this statement.

Lu Changyuan fell silent for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside the hall.

In the next instant, the hall door was pushed open from the outside.

Lu Hu's personal guard scrambled in, almost rolling and crawling. Before he could even catch his breath, he said urgently, "Lord, the Sea Cavalry patrol squad that the Commander ordered to go out before his seclusion... has captured something!"

Everyone frowned.

Lu Hu spun around, the ferocity he had just suppressed surging up once more.

"Bring it in."

Before his voice had even faded, he had already leaped out of the hall door.

Within just a few breaths, a muffled thud accompanied by angry cursing came from outside the hall.

Immediately after, Lu Hu strode back into the hall.

Before he even had time to fully restrain his newly stabilized Foundation Establishment aura, he slammed a slimy monster that was dripping foul-smelling mucus down into the center of the hall, holding it like a dead fish.

"Lord."

The fierce light of his Breakthrough still lingered in his eyes, and his voice was cold and hard.

"We captured a Sea Race scout sneaking around outside the island."