40: Level 2 Shrimp Soldiers

Gao De weighed the risks of his plan in his heart.

First, the timing had to be precise, acting when the two families were in the fiercest conflict, their attention fully drawn to each other.

Second, the action had to be clean and swift, leaving no traces pointing back to him.

Finally, he had to ensure he could quickly take down the target. Snatching chestnuts from the fire right under the Lin Family Old Ancestor's nose was no easy feat; a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator's strength should not be underestimated. If the entanglement lasted too long, variables would increase significantly.

More crucially, he had to consider whether the Lin family's Foundation Establishment would truly succeed, and the specific time and scale of the conflict's outbreak.

"I must plan ahead and make thorough preparations, taking precautions," Gao De suppressed the stirrings in his heart and regained his composure.

He immediately used the tianji mirror to send new instructions to Lin Xiaofan, ordering him to closely monitor the progress of the Lin family's Foundation Establishment and any potential moves the Lin family might make against the Zhu family, reporting any disturbance promptly.

At the same time, he began secretly adjusting the deployment of his Water Mansion:

He ordered Turtle Three Thousand to use his network to discreetly inquire about the recent activity patterns of the two Pig Dragons of the Zhu family and the security of their habitats.

He increased the intensity of battle Formation training for his Demon Soldiers, especially the ten First-Tier Peak core members, and began to deduce siege tactics targeting large, thick-skinned opponents.

He himself Cultivated the Dragon Transformation Merit and Body Tempering techniques even more diligently, while also attempting to combine that trace of Power of Thunder with his Unicorn Law-Breaking talent, hoping to develop more lethal attack methods. The dragon pearl fossil slowly rotated within his Dantian, continuously nourishing his Bloodline and Demonic Power, solidifying his foundation for a potential battle.

Gao De was like a slowly drawn bow, patiently accumulating strength, adjusting his aim, waiting for the arrival of that arrow destined to be shot—the optimal moment.

He was entrenched in the deep Water Mansion, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of Lake water, falling upon the riverside area that was about to become turbulent.

The Lin family's foundation establishment pill, the Zhu family's Pig Dragons... this game of chess seemed to be getting more and more interesting.

And he, this Dragon Fish lurking in the deep pool, was about to leverage this favorable wind, to snatch chestnuts from the fire, adding another solid stepping stone to his path to dragon transformation!

...

With Turtle Three Thousand's allegiance and the undercurrents of the Lin and Zhu families' situation, Gao De's gaze was not merely confined to the corner of Eight Hundred Li Dongting Lake.

Through examining ancient texts and Incomplete Manuals with the tianji mirror, and the fragmented rumors brought by Turtle Three Thousand, a grander, more ancient, and dangerous world map gradually became clear in his mind—

The Yunmeng Great Marsh has existed since ancient times, stretching for tens of thousands of li. Its vast expanse is filled with misty waves, scattered islands, intricate water systems, and countless treacherous swamps, poisonous miasmas, and spatial rifts.

Legend has it that in the pre-Qin era and even more distant times, the Dragon King of Yunmeng, who ruled all aquatic creatures, established a Dragon Palace here, shaking the entire world.

That ancient Dragon King of Yunmeng once enfeoffed his sons, and today's Eight Hundred Li Dongting Lake was once the fiefdom of one of his descendants—the Dongting Dragon King.

This explains why the Dongtian ruins of the "Seventh Garrison Military City" exist at the bottom of Dongting Lake. It was merely a frontier outpost of the once glorious Dragon Court.

"If that's the case, there are at least seven other Dongtian similar to the Dongting Military City in the vast Yunmeng Great Marsh!" Gao De was shocked.

Each Military City implied an independent Dongtian world, which might contain the secrets, Cultivation Techniques, and Treasure Troves of the Dragon Palace.

And the core of all this, naturally, was the legendary main palace of the Dragon King of Yunmeng, located in the deepest part of the Yunmeng Great Marsh!

That was the true Dragon Clan Legacy, the ultimate Secret Realm that could drive any aquatic creature, or even Human Race mighty figures, to madness!

However, Opportunity always coexists with risk.

The area of the Yunmeng Great Marsh far exceeded imagination; Eight Hundred Li Dongting Lake, in comparison, was merely a slightly larger water body connected to it.

The environment within the Marsh was far more perilous than Dongting Lake: year-round lingering bewildering miasma, quicksand swamps that devour all things, bizarre and unpredictable spatial turbulences... and countless powerful Yao Beasts entrenched within!

Fourth-Tier existences were by no means rare in the Marsh, and it was even rumored that more terrifying ancient beings of the Fifth-Tier or higher slumbered in its depths.

It was truly a place where the strong preyed on the weak, and the Law was primitive and cruel.

But precisely because of this, the number and variety of Dragon-Blooded Creatures in the Yunmeng Great Marsh were far beyond what Dongting Lake could compare to.

After all, this was once the Dragon King's center of rule, where Dragon Clan aura had permeated for eons.

Besides Dragon Tortoise Bloodlines like Demon King Fushui, there might also be various aquatic creatures and Yao Beasts possessing Chi Dragon, Hornless Dragon, Flood Dragon, or even purer dragon blood.

For Gao De, who urgently needed high-tier Dragon-Blooded Creatures to Break through his Bottleneck, the Yunmeng Great Marsh was undoubtedly the ultimate hunting ground and a trial ground that must be experienced on his path to dragon transformation.

"Dongting Lake is, after all, too small," Gao De was entrenched on the Spiritual Vein, feeling the 86% Bloodline concentration within him and its slow growth rate, his heart already clear.

"Once these matters are settled, whether it's the changes in the Lin and Zhu families, or anything else... this Dongting Lake will ultimately be insufficient to support me in reaching the Dragon Transformation step."

The Yunmeng Great Marsh was his inevitable future path.

But that was a dangerous place that required at least Third-Tier strength to even tentatively explore.

With his current Second-Tier Middle Stage cultivation, rashly venturing deep would be no different from seeking death.

"The top priority is still to improve strength. Those two Pig Dragons of the Zhu family are the first stepping stones to the Yunmeng Great Marsh," Gao De composed himself, pulling his thoughts of gazing towards Yunmeng back to reality.

He needed to use the potential conflict between the Lin and Zhu families to hunt the Pig Dragons, absorb their dragon blood, push his Bloodline to a higher Realm as much as possible, and even attempt to charge towards the Third-Tier Demonic Core Realm.

Only by forming a Demonic Core and initially achieving Dragon Transformation would he gain the qualification to struggle for survival and seek Opportunity in the peripheral areas of the Yunmeng Great Marsh.

The road ahead was long, and the dangers unknown, but the goal was clearer than ever.

Gao De slowly closed his vertical pupils, his entire body's Demonic Power intermingling with the aura of the dragon pearl fossil, and faint electric light flickered on the unicorn horn atop his head.

He was like a patient diver, arming himself as much as possible in the relatively safe shallow waters, accumulating every bit of strength, before delving into the endless abyss.

The shifting tides of Dongting Lake were the prelude to his Dragon Transformation dance, while the vast, boundless, and perilous Yunmeng Great Marsh was the stage where he would truly unleash himself.

...

Turtle Three Thousand, the newly appointed Water Mansion steward, indeed demonstrated "professional capabilities" matching his cultivation.

He was quick-witted and good at coordination, managing the daily chores of the Water Mansion—material allocation, patrol arrangements, information organization—in an orderly manner, saving Gao De considerable worry and allowing him to devote more energy to his own Cultivation and strategic planning.

And in this increasingly standardized environment with relatively stable resource supply, the growth of Gao De's Demon Soldiers finally bore fruit.

One day, Gao De was in quiet meditation when he suddenly felt a distinct Demonic Power fluctuation from the outer perimeter of the Water Mansion. Its intensity had clearly surpassed a critical point, reaching the Second-Tier level!

Although the aura was still somewhat unstable, the pressure belonging to a Second-Tier Yao Beast had already formed.

His Divine Sense swept over, discovering that the source of the fluctuation was one of the ten core Demon Soldiers—a Green Shell Shrimp Soldier with the best Aptitude and the most diligent daily training!

At this moment, it was suspended within the designated Cultivation area, its body surging with Demonic Qi. Its originally green carapace had become deeper in color, faintly shimmering with a metallic luster, and its body had grown a size larger, its two shrimp claws appearing more ferocious and powerful.

It had successfully Broken through!

"Very good!" A hint of satisfaction flashed in Gao De's eyes. This was the first Demon Soldier under his command to successfully advance to the Second-Tier through its own Cultivation and resource supply, a significant achievement.

This not only meant he had an additional usable Second-Tier combatant, but also proved that his model for cultivating Demon Soldiers was feasible.

With the first one, as long as resources kept up, there would be a second, a third...

He immediately sent a voice transmission, briefly encouraging the Green Shell Shrimp Soldier, ordering it to stabilize its Realm, and bestowed some food rich in water spiritual Qi to help it solidify its cultivation.

Turtle Three Thousand also rushed over upon hearing the news, his face beaming with smiles, repeatedly congratulating, "Congratulations, Master! Heartfelt congratulations, Master! Another general has been added to your command! This is a sign of great prosperity for our Water Mansion!"

Gao De nodded slightly and instructed, "It has just entered the Second-Tier, and its Realm is not yet stable. You are to draw some materials suitable for aquatic creatures to stabilize their cultivation from the treasury and prioritize supplying it. Additionally, it should receive a reward for its promotion to the Second-Tier. You will draft the specific regulations and report them to me."

Additionally, it should receive a reward for its promotion to the Second-Tier. You will draft the specific regulations and report them to me.

"Yes, Master! This subordinate understands and will handle it perfectly!" Turtle Three Thousand quickly agreed, his heart even more invigorated.

The stronger the Master's forces, the higher his status as a steward would naturally rise, sharing in the glory.

With Steward Gui in place and the birth of the first Second-Tier Demon Soldier, Gao De's power beneath the deep water seemed to have been injected with new vitality.

The organizational structure was more complete, and the grassroots forces began to show signs of emerging high-end combat power.

Although its overall strength was still weak compared to the established powers of Dongting Lake, it had already broken free from the initial situation of relying purely on Gao De's personal martial prowess, beginning to show a trend of healthy development.

Gao De calculated: one Second-Tier Demon Soldier, combined with nine other First-Tier Peak, well-trained Demon Soldiers who had mastered simple combined attack Formation, plus himself and Turtle Three Thousand, this force might play an unexpected role in the impending changes between the Lin and Zhu families.

"Strength is the foundation of everything," Gao De felt the vibrant aura in the Water Mansion, his belief in Dragon Transformation growing even firmer.

He continued to immerse himself in Cultivation, guiding the dragon pearl fossil within his Dantian, impacting the Bloodline Bottleneck, while also constantly refining his hunting plan for the two Pig Dragons.

Above the Water Mansion, undercurrents surged; beneath the Water Mansion, a latent Dragon lurked in the abyss.