229: Chapter 229 New Source of Underlings

There was still some time before dawn.

Chen Hu decided to go and retrieve everything from the treasure hunting spots.

With the Divine Ability, Near and Far, at his disposal,

he could move around the city at will.

It didn't take long for him to retrieve everything that had accumulated at the treasure hunting spots over the past few days.

The result left him very disappointed.

Everything from these treasure hunting spots combined amounted to a mere hundred taels or so.

"Huh!"

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Hu. Since he had Near and Far, he could simply go somewhere else to activate the treasure hunting card next time.

In this way, ownerless items from other places would fall into his hands.

Taking advantage of the remaining time, he decided to get some sleep.

Soon.

Morning arrived.

After eating, Chen Hu took out the Flying Dragon that had evolved into a magical beast and handed it to Liu Xiangyue.

"Wife, this magical beast called a Flying Dragon tastes excellent. We shall eat it tonight!"

"Alright, Husband!"

Liu Xiangyue reached out and took it; with her cultivation, she could easily suppress a small, first-tier magical beast.

Leaving the Chen residence.

Chen Hu did not go directly to the Fierce Tiger Gang General Hall, but instead headed toward the Prefect's Office.

Arriving in front of the Prefect's Office.

Chen Hu swept it with his Spiritual Sense.

He discovered the heavily injured Prefect Yang Ze lying on the bed with his eyes wide open.

Around his eyes were two large, dark circles.

Because Prefect Yang Ze dared not sleep; once he fell asleep, he would have that disgusting nightmare.

Therefore, after having several nightmares in a row, he could only force his eyes open to keep himself awake.

"Serves you right!"

Withdrawing his Spiritual Sense, Chen Hu headed straight to the backyard of the Prefect's Office.

Because Princess Anping had already made arrangements, someone led him over without the need for an announcement.

After meeting Princess Anping.

Chen Hu handed the transcribed Wuliang Martial Scripture directly to her.

Princess Anping also gave Chen Hu the Divine Grade high-tier Cultivation Technique she had obtained at Wudao Peak.

"Princess, I would like to ask you a question!"

Chen Hu said suddenly after putting away the Cultivation Technique.

"Please go ahead, Young Master Chen!" Princess Anping said with a smile, her attitude appearing very intimate.

Princess Anping's friendliness toward Chen Hu had now reached 80 points.

As long as the information wasn't too secretive, she didn't mind telling Chen Hu.

"I wonder how much the Princess knows about the Buddhist and Daoist forces in the world?" Chen Hu asked.

Princess Anping pondered and said, "I know something, but not much. I only know that among the ten major Sects of our Great Yong Kingdom, three belong to Buddhist and Daoist forces. Moreover, these three Buddhist and Daoist forces are very united. If you provoke one of them, you will face joint suppression and attacks from all three!"

At this moment, Guard Huang, who was standing nearby, interjected, "Actually, it's not just these three Buddhist and Daoist forces that are extremely united; the Buddhist and Daoist forces throughout the world are very united. 'The world' refers not only to our Great Yong Kingdom, but also to the Great Qin, Great Zhou, and Great Xia Kingdoms. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, never provoke the Buddhist and Daoist forces!"

Having said this, Guard Huang gave Chen Hu a meaningful look.

After returning yesterday, he had sent people to investigate Chen Hu thoroughly and learned that he had a conflict with Jingang Temple.

"Young Master Chen, have you had a conflict with the Buddhist and Daoist forces?"

Princess Anping asked with concern, "If so, Young Master Chen, perhaps you should take a step back. When the time comes, I can come forward to resolve the grievances between both parties!"

Hearing this, Chen Hu smiled and continued to ask, "Princess, just how strong are those three major Buddhist and Daoist forces?"

Princess Anping said, "All three of those Buddhist and Daoist forces have Gang Refining Martial Artists stationed there. Among them, the Wanfo Temple is the strongest, possessing an expert at the Middle Stage of Gang Refining. The others, the Thousand-Hand Monastery and the Jianglong Temple, only have experts at the Early Stage of Gang Refining. However, the three families have mastered a combined attack technique; if the three Gang Refining experts join forces, they can contend against an expert at the Late Stage of Qi Refining."

"Thank you for informing me, Princess. I shall take my leave now!"

Chen Hu stood up.

"Wait!" Princess Anping called out, then gave Guard Huang a look, signaling him to leave first.

"Young Master Chen, could you accompany me to the Qingshan Secret Realm again after some time?" Princess Anping looked at Chen Hu and said, "According to the information transmitted in the token, one can visit the Secret Realm every time one breaks through a major Realm. I am now at the Late-stage Bone Refining; once I reach the Marrow Refining Realm, I can go again!"

"I can!"

Chen Hu said, "Just notify me when the time comes, Your Highness."

Seeing Chen Hu agree so readily, the number above Princess Anping's head couldn't help but jump twice, reaching 82 points.

"Then I will have to trouble you, Young Master Chen. If you return empty-handed at that time, I will not compensate you!" Princess Anping said.

If one cannot achieve a Breakthrough in a major Realm, one will gain nothing even if one goes.

Therefore, she believed it was impossible for Chen Hu to achieve a Breakthrough in a short period.

Since that was the case, if Chen Hu went again, he naturally wouldn't get anything.

Leaving the Prefect's Office.

Chen Hu went to the Fierce Tiger Gang General Hall.

After first handling the official business within the gang.

He then directly used Near and Far to leave.

Soon.

Chen Hu scouted twenty-two locations within a three-hundred-mile radius that could be used to build mountain strongholds.

Some places were unoccupied.

Some places were already occupied by bandits.

For those occupied by bandits, if they had not done much evil, he simply subdued them.

If they had committed many evil deeds, he simply dealt with them.

Therefore, after this trip, Chen Hu recruited another four hundred and twenty-two bandit underlings.

At the same time, Chen Hu deployed a fourth-tier soldier at each of these twenty-two locations and left behind a considerable amount of food.

Next.

He arrived near the outskirts of the Prefecture City.

With a wave of his hand.

There were 264 more people.

These 264 people were divided into 22 groups.

Each group had 12 people, two of whom were fourth-tier soldiers in the Bone Refining Realm.

As for the remaining 10, they were composed of third-tier soldiers.

Subsequently, Chen Hu took out a significant amount of food and had these soldiers take it to recruit people.

Anyone willing to go to the mountain stronghold to work would be given 10 catties of food as a settlement allowance.

Food was becoming more expensive by the day.

If utilized well, 10 catties of food could allow a refugee to survive for a month.

Soon.

These 22 groups escorted the food to the refugee area and began calling out to recruit people.

Hearing that as long as they were selected, they would receive 10 catties of food as a settlement allowance.

These refugees all swarmed forward.

Fortunately, the third-tier soldiers maintained order, so no trouble occurred.

In less than an hour.

The food brought by the 22 groups had all been distributed.

Then, the 22 groups took these selected refugees toward the mountain strongholds.

However, these refugees were so hungry they had no strength, so naturally, they couldn't walk fast.

Therefore.

Chen Hu returned to the city.

He arranged for the Fierce Tiger Gang underlings to go out into the streets to purchase flatbreads—the more, the better—and have them delivered to his office.

It didn't take long.

Thousands of flatbreads purchased by the underlings were piled up in Chen Hu's office.

Moreover, other underlings were still purchasing them continuously.

After receiving over twenty thousand flatbreads.

Chen Hu once again used Near and Far to appear outside the city.

He summoned the soldiers, gave them the flatbreads, and had them distribute them to the refugees who were following them to the mountain strongholds.

Near evening.

Eight teams had already arrived at the nearby mountain strongholds.

After Chen Hu changed his appearance and went through the process of accepting underlings.

He had gained another two thousand three hundred and fifty-seven people under his command.

Including the 422 bandit underlings, his underlings had increased by 2,779 today.