18: Decentralization

Xu City, east of the city!

Military camp!

Ten thousand soldiers were drilling on the training ground. Xu Qing patrolled through and was quite satisfied!

"How strong are the soldiers?" Xu Qing asked!

"Reporting to the City Lord, as you instructed, the lowest cultivation level of the soldiers we recruited is Body Tempering Realm Fifth Layer. There are 8,928 Body Tempering Realm soldiers, 1,053 Tongmai Realm, and 19 Zhenyuan Realm!"

Hai Dagui had long memorized it perfectly, so he quickly gave a reply!

Zhu Yuan, the City West Official, and Zhu Haibo, the City South Official, heard this and couldn't help but feel annoyed!

"Let's go! To the tent!"

"City Lord, this way please!"

The two officials quickly stepped forward eagerly to lead the way!

Hai Dagui saw this and was quite disdainful. However, upon entering the tent, he suddenly showed a fawning smile, wiggled his obese body forward, and wiped the main seat until it was sparkling with his sleeve!

"City Lord, please sit!"

"Mm!"

Xu Qing nodded!

This made Zhu Yuan and the other man furious, their beards bristling and eyes wide!

Xu Qing felt a little amused, but didn't show it!

"I don't like the old military system. From today onwards, the military will be reformed!" Xu Qing said with a serious expression!

"City Lord, please enlighten us!"

Hearing Xu Qing's words, the three of them couldn't help but become nervous!

Xu Qing said, "From today onwards, the military will only have five ranks: Squad Leader, Team Leader, Commander, Colonel, and General! Ten people form a squad; one hundred people form a team with a Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader; five hundred people form a command with a Commander and Deputy Commander; one thousand people form a battalion with a Colonel and Deputy Colonel, and the entire army is led by a General and Deputy General!"

"All Body Tempering Realm cultivators are soldiers. Tongmai Realm Third Layer and below are Squad Leaders. Tongmai Realm Fourth Layer to Eighth Layer are Team Leaders. Ninth Layer and above are Commanders. Zhenyuan Realm are Colonels!"

Hai Dagui and the other two breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this!

This way, their positions were secured!

Xu Qing saw this and smiled slightly, "Now is not the time to relax. Today, you can still be in these positions based on the overall strength of the army. But with the Medicinal Pills I provide, strong cultivators will continuously emerge in the military in the future. At that time, whether you can keep your current positions is hard to say!"

Hai Dagui and the other two's expressions changed instantly upon hearing this!

Xu Qing ignored their expressions and continued, "From today onwards, Hai Dagui will be the Colonel of the First Battalion, Zhu Yuan will be the Colonel of the Second Battalion, and Zhu Haibo will be the Colonel of the Third Battalion!"

"The remaining appointments will be arranged by the three of you. Oh! Right, leave two Deputy Colonels for the Huang Family and Qing Si Workshop!"

Just a few days after the invitations were sent out, the Huang Family and Qing Si Workshop both came to deliver nearly 300,000 hu of spirit rice. In addition, each family prepared 100,000 Low Grade Yuan Stones!

With such understanding, Xu Qing naturally wouldn't treat them unfairly and reserved two Deputy Colonels for them!

"Yes, City Lord!"

The three of them were delighted; they hadn't expected Xu Qing to actually give them the power of appointment!

"I've delegated power to you, but if you mess up the military, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

A Yuan Ling Realm pressure pressed down on the three of them, combined with the pressure of a superior, causing their pupils to shrink and their minds to tremble wildly, as if facing an abyss!

That powerful and suffocating pressure made their legs go soft and their minds blank!

This pressure quickly disappeared!

The three of them looked at Xu Qing with eyes full of fear and reverence!

"This is three months' worth of military Medicinal Pills! It's in your hands now. Don't disappoint me!"

Xu Qing's voice echoed in the tent, and he had already appeared outside the tent!

This strange speed made the three of them shrink their pupils again!

"Farewell, City Lord!"

Hai Dagui was the first to react, quickly bowing!

Zhu Yuan and the other man also came back to their senses!

After Xu Qing's figure completely disappeared, the expressions of the three finally relaxed a lot!

"What Realm has our City Lord's cultivation reached?" Zhu Yuan's expression was solemn!

"Unfathomable!" Zhu Haibo wiped the sweat from his forehead!

Hai Dagui didn't speak, but a shrewd glint flashed in his eyes. Zhu Yuan and the other man's cultivation was only at the Middle Stage of Zhenyuan Realm, so they didn't feel it as deeply!

But he knew that this young City Lord's strength was definitely not Yuanhai Realm, because even his father, Xu Chu, had never given him such a powerful pressure!

Thinking of this, his eyes suddenly lit up!

This City Lord, at such a young age, possessed such immense strength. Didn't this present him with an opportunity?

As long as he wholeheartedly flattered him, he would surely rise to prominence in the future, and it wouldn't even be impossible to advance further!

Looking at the two fools beside him, Hai Dagui felt disdain!

Hmph!

Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. How can these two fools compare to me?

"Gentlemen, the City Lord trusts us so much; the three of us have no way to repay him. We should cooperate sincerely and manage the military affairs well for the City Lord..."

Zhu Yuan and the other man were confused, but Hai Dagui's words were indeed reasonable, so the three began to discuss in the tent!

On the other side, Xu Qing naturally didn't know Hai Dagui's thoughts!

He had already returned to the clan. Passing by the training ground, he looked at the clan Disciples diligently Cultivating and nodded with satisfaction!

"Greetings, Young Lord!"

"Hello, Young Lord!"

"..."

Xu Qing smiled in response, occasionally offering a few words of encouragement!

Most of these branch clan members had green Luck, and the return on investment was not significant. However, based on the principle that even a mosquito's leg is meat, Xu Qing had invested in all the branch clan members a while ago!

This triggered a ten to hundred-fold return. Now, the clan's treasure hall was stacked with a pile of Common Grade to Profound Grade Medicinal Pills, Yuan artifacts, and medicinal ingredients, enough for clan members below the Yuanhai Realm to Cultivate for about ten years!

As for the Genius with yellow Luck, belonging to the Qingyang Lineage, he had already been driven out of Xu City territory. Xu Qing didn't care about this!

And in the past half-month, the clan's strength had greatly increased!

As soon as Wang Dong and the others left, he enveloped the entire City Lord's Mansion with a Marquis Grade top-tier Spirit Gathering Array!

Combined with various Medicinal Pills, the strength of the clan Disciples soared!

This also allowed the main lineage to quickly integrate all the branch clan members!

Currently, the Xu Family has 227 clan members, 34 ordinary clan members who cannot Cultivate, 121 Body Tempering Realm, 57 Tongmai Realm, 11 Zhenyuan Realm, 3 Yuanhai Realm, and 1 Yuan Ling Realm!

Among them, the strongest in terms of strength were undoubtedly from the main lineage. Not to mention him and the three Xu Mings, in terms of Zhenyuan Realm, four belonged to the main lineage: his paternal uncle Xu Jie, paternal uncle Xu Lin of Scripture Depository Hall, Xu Bai of Treasure Depository Hall, and his second aunt. The lowest cultivation of the fifth-generation clan members was also at the Peak of Body Tempering Realm!

Next was the Luoyan Lineage. Although the resources of the Heilin Lineage and Sifang Lineage clan members were halved, the Luoyan Lineage was not affected. In the past half-month, there were two newly promoted Zhenyuan Realm cultivators, and while four belonged to the main lineage, two came from the Luoyan Lineage!

The remaining five were the old clan members like Xu Lou, who, although removed from their positions, had not had their clan registration revoked!

Under such circumstances, the clan only needed to add nine more Zhenyuan Realm cultivators to complete the initial stage's reward!

Currently, among the main lineage, there were no members who could Breakthrough to Zhenyuan Realm for the time being. However, more than a dozen Branch Leaders and Elders from the three lineages had been supported, and with resource support, these people would all Breakthrough in the coming half-month!

Once this group of people grew stronger, the main lineage would be able to completely control the three lineages!

And this was also the reason why Xu Qing set the banquet at the end of the month, so that all the forces could see the Xu Family's Legacy at that time!

It could be said without exaggeration that in the Xu City territory, in the absence of Yuanhai Realm cultivators, Zhenyuan Realm cultivators were the backbone. Even in the county City, Zhenyuan Realm cultivators were the foundation of the various forces' structures!

"However, what is that kid Xiaoyuan doing? He hasn't returned to the clan for so long!"

Xu Qing looked at the younger generation of the clan and couldn't help but think of his younger brother, Xu Yuan!

If it weren't for the fact that the communication Jade Slip still received replies, Xu Qing would have suspected that the kid had encountered trouble!

Xu Yuan and Xu Qing had previously joined a Sect called Qingjian Sect. The Sect had one Yuan Ling Realm Old Ancestor and seven Yuanhai Realm cultivators, making its strength much greater than the original Xu Family's!

After the Xu Family underwent changes, he withdrew from the Sect, leaving his younger brother behind. In case something happened to him, he could at least leave a Bloodline for the family!

His younger brother's Aptitude was better than his, being Profound Grade High-Grade. This Aptitude allowed him to join under a Yuanhai Realm Elder!

With this Elder there, plus the Qingjian Sect having some ties with the Xu Family, he thought there shouldn't be any problems!

And from the messages transmitted by the kid, he had received the recognition of a Spirit Treasure from the Qingjian Sect's Ancestral Master and was currently undergoing a Legacy!

Listening to the excited tone in the communication Jade Slip, Xu Qing didn't want to dampen his spirits. The highest Legacy of the Qingjian Sect was merely the Legacy of a Late Stage Spirit Yuan Realm powerhouse!

If he returned to the clan, let alone Spirit Grade, he could even produce Marquis Grade and King Grade items!

However, seeing his younger brother's excited demeanor, he still offered his support, planning to properly Cultivate him once he returned to the clan!