53: Chapter 53 Baptism of Sword Intent, Dual-Track Competition

The next morning, the sea breeze at the foot of Qixia Peak was colder than usual.

Fifty elites from the Purple Lightning Sea Cavalry Battalion were already arrayed at the foot of the slope early on.

Men clad in Cold Iron armor.

Horses treading the shallow tide.

Over these days, Blue Moon Island had poured almost all available resources into this mobile naval force. Now, the fifty riders standing here represented the sharpest blade the island could muster, whether in terms of cultivation, mounts, armor, or supporting talisman weapons.

Yet even so, when they actually stood at the foot of Qixia Peak, everyone was strung tight like a bowstring.

Because the one providing them with methods today was that Golden Core Sword Immortal who had just sealed the peak last night.

Lu Hu stood at the very front of the formation. Despite having already reached Foundation Establishment, he could not help but swallow his saliva and whispered, "My Lord, this... surely won't play them to death, will it?"

"Are you afraid?"

"It's not fear." Lu Hu grinned, "I just feel the pain for them."

Lu Changyuan glanced at him: "Pain is better than dying in a beast tide."

Just as he finished speaking, the clouds and mist at the peak suddenly parted.

Luo Qingcheng appeared.

She did not ride a sword.

She simply walked down step by step from the end of the stone stairs.

Yet with every step she took, the Geng Metal Qi in the surrounding air grew denser, and even the sea surface below the slope seemed to be sliced into layers of fine lines by an invisible sharpness.

By the time she reached the mountainside, the mounts of the fifty Sea Cavalry Battalion elites had begun to whinny uneasily.

The Purple Lightning Seahorses were naturally sensitive in spirit.

At this moment, they instinctively sensed a danger capable of flaying them skin and bone, slowly pressing down from the mountain.

Luo Qingcheng stopped and scanned the entire team.

"Those who can endure, stay."

"Those who cannot, even if they are crippled, no one is to blame."

The corner of Lu Hu's mouth twitched.

This person really did not mince words.

Lu Changyuan, however, just said calmly: "Begin."

Luo Qingcheng raised her sleeve.

The next instant, a frosty white sword light flowed out from her sleeve.

The sword light did not strike the people.

Instead, it suddenly dispersed in mid-air, transforming into a waterfall of Sword Intent that blanketed the sky, crashing down from the peak!

That was not water.

It was a "marrow cleansing" condensed from extreme Geng Metal Qi and icy Sword Intent.

The moment the waterfall descended, the fifty Sea Cavalry Battalion elites and the Purple Lightning Seahorses beneath them simultaneously let out a shrill, piercing cry.

Many people fell from their horses on the spot, their muscles and bones cracking and popping, as if thousands of tiny swords were scraping and washing through their flesh.

The Cold Iron armor vibrated.

The seahorses' spines vibrated.

Even the Foundation Establishment Cultivators standing around to observe were pressed by that oncoming sharpness until their breathing tightened.

"Steady!"

Lu Hu could not help but roar.

But he also knew that this hurdle could only be overcome by them alone.

Lu Changyuan stood in place, his eyes fixed intently on the changes in every Dao soldier in the field.

This move by Luo Qingcheng was using her own Sword Intent to forcibly help this Sea Cavalry Battalion re-forge their bones, modify their Meridians, and wash their blood, allowing both the people and their mounts to evolve in a direction more suitable for naval combat charges.

Such a method, if placed outside, would be enough to make countless factions fight tooth and nail for it.

Yet the price was also terrifyingly dangerous.

After the first wave of Sword Intent pressed down, three Qi Refining Late Stage Sea Cavalry Battalion Cultivators spat out blood and nearly fainted on the spot.

Lu Changyuan frowned slightly, and just as he was about to speak, Luo Qingcheng said faintly: "As long as they haven't stopped breathing, it does not count as losing."

Sure enough.

Those three relied on biting their tongues and holding on, crawling back onto their horses.

And as the second and third waves of Sword Intent were poured down, the real changes began to appear.

The first to change were the mounts.

The edges of the dorsal and lateral fins of the Purple Lightning Seahorses, which were originally smooth, actually grew sharp, silver-white patterns like blades. Their eyes also shifted from their original beast-like deep blue, gradually tinged with a colder metallic luster.

By the time the fourth wave of Sword Intent washed over them, a seahorse in the front row suddenly raised its head and neighed, and the main fin on its back actually expanded with a "chi" sound, like a long blade standing obliquely.

It took half a step forward, treading the waves, and the sea surface was directly sliced open by that fin blade, leaving a trail of white marks.

Immediately after, it was the second, third, and fourth.

A dense sound of swords erupted from the entire fifty riders.

A layer of faint frost patterns appeared on the Cold Iron armor worn by the men.

The electric patterns and fin blades on the horses were fully formed.

The fierce, "sea cavalry" aura of the entire Dao soldier unit was elevated even higher at this moment, like a blade forged from the waves, finally truly sharpened.

Luo Qingcheng retracted her sleeve.

The waterfall of Sword Intent dispersed along with it.

There was silence in the field for a few breaths, followed by a series of gasps.

No one died.

But everyone looked as if they had just crawled back from the gates of hell.

Lu Hu hurried forward and pressed his hand on the shoulder armor of the rider in the front row, and his eyes lit up.

"My Lord!"

His voice was a few degrees rougher with excitement: "The bone structure, fascia, and True Qi flow have all changed! The speed at which these lads charge on the water now will at least increase by another thirty percent!"

Su Qingli had also arrived at the side at some point.

She looked at the sharp sword-fins newly grown on the backs of those mounts and slowly spat out four words: "Specialized troop type."

"Sword Ray Cavalry."

Luo Qingcheng gave the name casually.

She looked at Lu Changyuan: "The Sword Intent marrow cleansing is complete. Later, they only need to use your military formation methods to slowly hone it, and within three months, they will be able to fully stabilize."

Lu Changyuan bowed solemnly: "Thank you, Senior."

"This is a matter within the contract, no need to thank me."

After Luo Qingcheng finished speaking, her fingertips flicked suddenly.

A tiny jade light broke through the air and hung in front of Lu Changyuan.

It was a white jade sword about an inch long.

Sealed within the sword body were three wisps of barely visible frosty white Sword Qi.

Just taking one look, the hair on the back of Lu Changyuan's neck stood up slightly.

"This sword contains three of my full-strength strikes."

Luo Qingcheng said faintly: "Below the Golden Core, one touch means death. Above the Golden Core, it is enough to give them a headache. Since you dared to bet your last lotus seed on me, I will not let you suffer a loss."

Lu Changyuan did not stand on ceremony and accepted it directly.

This was a true life-saving trump card.

From today on, even if Luo Qingcheng did not personally go out, Blue Moon Island would no longer just be a new offshore island that "might have a Golden Core Guest Elder."

In its hands, it truly gripped a trump card of three sword strikes capable of making anyone shut up.

At noon, the meeting hall of the Lords Mansion opened again.

This time, it was not just Lu Hu, Leng Feng, Su Qingli, and Shi Jian who came; the core layer of Blue Moon Island who had a say today had almost all arrived.

After everyone sat down, their eyes first landed on the fifty new Sea Cavalry Battalion records sent to the center of the hall.

The "Sword Ray Cavalry" that had just finished marrow cleansing was already enough to make their hearts burn.

And the two jade boxes that Lu Changyuan slapped onto the table the next moment made the entire meeting hall quiet down.

The jade boxes opened.

Two top-grade foundation establishment pills lay quietly inside.

The pill Qi was rounded, and medicinal patterns formed naturally.

Even from a distance, one could smell the thick spiritual energy rushing straight into the Meridians.

The breathing in the hall stalled in unison.

Lu Changyuan scanned the crowd, his tone neither fast nor slow.

"From today on, Blue Moon Island will no longer just endure and wait for the beast tide."

"We have money, we have troops, we have a Guest Elder, and next, we must turn these dead things into living water."

"So I am setting a new rule."

"Dual-track, internal and external."

"Su Qingli, you will be in charge of internal affairs, formation matters, agriculture, the Workshop, mineral affairs, and population resettlement."

"Leng Feng, you will be in charge of military affairs, external patrols, troop expansion, training, naval battles, and external expansion."

"You two lines will each have a budget, each have personnel, and each be credited for merits."

"One year later, I will check the accounts myself."

He raised his hand and pushed the two top-grade foundation establishment pills to the center of the table respectively.

"Whoever does better gets the pill first."

"The one who loses will not get nothing."

"But they will have to wait until later."

For a moment, everyone's eyes in the hall were completely captivated by the two Medicinal Pills.

Su Qingli's originally cold eyes ignited with fire for the first time.

She understood very well what this meant.

It meant that Lu Changyuan no longer just treated her as someone for setting up formations and calculating accounts, but had directly given her a path of upward mobility that could parallel and even compete head-on with the military merit system.

Leng Feng raised his eyes slightly.

His expression remained cold, but the hand resting on his knee was already quietly tightened.

He had walked all the way from the underground black market to today, and the thing he lacked least was the ruthlessness to trade his life for merit.

Now that his Lord had laid the path on the table, he naturally would not retreat.

Lu Hu looked to the left and then to the right, only feeling that the fire in the hall was about to burn.

"My Lord, what about me?"

Lu Changyuan glanced at him: "You belong to the military line, but if you dare to slack off, I will be the first to take a knife to you next year."

A burst of suppressed low laughter immediately rang out in the hall.

Yet the atmosphere did not dissipate because of this, but was instead completely ignited by this laughter.

Because everyone knew this was not a joke.

Before the meeting dispersed, Lu Changyuan tapped the table one last time.

"There is one more thing."

Everyone quieted down again.

He scanned everyone in the hall, the corners of his lips slightly raised.

"Now that our foundation is thick, we cannot just guard the island and live off our savings."

"These dead things must be turned into more living water."

"Lu Hu."

"Here!"

"Go and prepare."

Lu Changyuan stood up, his gaze passing over the hall door, looking at the sea surface outside shining brightly under the sunlight.

"It is time for us to go out and do business."