Inside the Xia Lin Government Office, there was a hubbub.

The officers under Yang Minggui, wearing brocade robes they had looted from somewhere, appeared quite ill-fitted, baring their chests as they embraced the beauties Yang Minggui had rewarded them with, grinning with large yellow teeth, drinking wine, and staring disdainfully at the man in coarse clothing entering the office.

This group seemed more like mountain bandits than any military officers.

Yang Minggui held a wine cup made of gold, inlaid with gemstones, which he had found in the home of a wealthy family in Xia Lin. He had a fondness for these gold shiny objects.

Yang Minggui took a sip from the golden wine cup, then set it down with a composed posture, and said lightly, "Who goes there?"

The man in coarse clothing kneeled on one knee, cupped his hands in a salute, and said respectfully, "I am Hu Qiang, a native of Qingtian County."

"And who is your leader?" Yang Minggui glanced at the name card on the table, not bothering to look closely. To him, these pledges of allegiance were either petty troublemakers or mountain bandits.

"Our leader's name is Chen Mo, from Fu Ze Village in Pingting County, just past his coming-of-age ceremony a year ago..." Hu Qiang recited what Chen Mo had taught him, suppressing the anxiety in his heart, he spoke slowly.

However, before he finished speaking, the officers on both sides couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Even Yang Minggui smirked. Just past his coming-of-age, meaning he was only seventeen.

He said, "A snot-nosed kid can be your leader? What kind of cowards are you?"

As his words fell, the officers below joined in with ridiculing laughter.

Yang Minggui picked up the wine cup, drained it in one gulp, letting the wine dribble down to his bare chest, wiping it casually before reclining to the side. He took the name card from the table, examining it as he asked, "How many people are there in your group?"

"There are eight hundred young and strong men in the village," Hu Qiang replied respectfully, suppressing his emotions.

"Oh?" Hearing this, Yang Minggui finally took him seriously. If there were eight hundred strong men, then there would be two to three thousand people in the village. If they joined forces, that would be no small strength. He sat up straight again, "You know the consequences of deceiving me..."

With that, a platter in front of him burst with a bang but instead of shattering, it turned into powder.

Hu Qiang dropped to both knees, trembling, "I wouldn't dare."

"I thought not," Yang Minggui was very satisfied with Hu Qiang's reaction. Then he asked, "With so many people in your village, why do you follow a snot-nosed kid like him?"

Hu Qiang recounted the events of Chen Mo killing bears and wild boars.

"A young hero," Yang Minggui raised an eyebrow and then asked, "Is your leader a martial artist?"

Hu Qiang nodded.

Yang Minggui's interest was piqued, "The card says your leader is a Child Student, meaning a scholar and martial artist. Why not utilize such promising prospects under the Court instead of pledging allegiance to me?"

"We couldn't survive anymore," Hu Qiang shared his ordeal, then continued, "The corrupt officials were too oppressive, forcefully conscripting soldiers, leaving us with no way to live. Our leader heard the Celestial Master Army was a righteous force rescuing people from tyranny, so we came to join forces with the Commander to overthrow the Court's tyranny."

None of the people here had intended to rebel initially; they took up arms only after the Court and those corrupt officials oppressed them unbearably.

However, now, they all seemed to have forgotten their original intent, where the dragon slayer has turned into a dragon himself.

Nevertheless, Hu Qiang's words resonated with empathy.

"Indeed, those corrupt officials are nothing but snakes and rats together."

The officers on both sides spoke with indignation.

Yang Minggui lightly tapped his fingers on the table and then laughed heartily, "Since you are all diligent, oppressed people by the Court, how can my Celestial Master Army not come to the rescue? Someone, set the table for Brother Hu and serve the wine."

...

"Whiz!"

An arrow sliced through the air, embedding itself into the trunk of a pine tree, its fletching quivering slightly with a clear sound.

"Excellent."

"Immortal Master Chen is a divine shooter!"

"Immortal Master Chen is mighty."

A hundred steps away, the Divine Brave Guards clapped and praised, not just to flatter but out of genuine respect.

Especially for archers like Hu Zhiyong, who hailed from hunting backgrounds, knew how challenging it was to achieve this feat.

Su Wen, Su Wu, and Su Qi felt the same.

In recent days, they finally understood why the villagers called Chen Mo "Immortal Master Chen."

At first, they thought the villagers' talk of immortal techniques was just Chen Mo using some martial skills to fool the ignorant, but they didn't expect Chen Mo truly knew immortal techniques.

[Arrows shot +1, Wind-Chasing Arrow experience +1.]

A peculiar lightness spread over Chen Mo's body, and he set down the twelve-stone strong bow, pulling up the system interface.

[Name: Chen Mo.]

[Age: 17.]

[Cultivation Technique: Purple Sun Transformation Skill (Small Success 2123.4/5000).]

[Realm: Qi Refining (Sixth Grade).]

[Power: 280+21.]

[Skills: Great Sun Qi Slash (Basic 230123/5000000), Wind-Chasing Arrow (Advanced 0/2000).]

Chen Mo raised his eyebrows; even at just an intermediate proficiency level, the power of the Wind-Chasing Arrow matched the top-tier Celestial Harmony Saber Technique.

Of course, practicing it was more difficult than the Celestial Harmony Saber Technique.

After all, archery was much more challenging and time-consuming than wielding a saber.

What pleased him the most, however, was the Blood Ginseng.

A whole Blood Ginseng had increased his Purple Sun Transformation Skill experience by over 1000 points.

His own power also increased by 7 points.

What did this mean? Initially, a single Purple Sun Turtle only increased his Blood Nourishing Technique by over a hundred experience points.

If he had two more Blood Ginseng, he could directly advance to a Fifth-Grade Martial Artist.

He glanced at the crowd approaching, Chen Mo furrowed his brow and looked aside, "What are you looking at? The training is over, or do you want additional practice?"

Upon hearing this, the Divine Brave Guards quickly scattered and continued their training.

Chen Mo returned to the stronghold and had a drink of water.

Han Anniang brought a damp towel to wipe the sweat off Chen Mo's face.

These past few days, Chen Mo had moved all the elderly, women, and children from the village to live in the stronghold.

Money and food supplies were also transferred to the stronghold.

Not knowing if the name card would work, Chen Mo had to prepare just in case.

By moving these elderly, women, and children to the rear, he could allow the Divine Brave Guards to fight without worries.

...

The sun set in the west, and the Divine Brave Guards descended the mountain to return to the village.

Currently, the village had been transformed into a barracks for the Divine Brave Guards and the Reserve Team.

Wang Ping approached Chen Mo to report the number of refugees taken in today.

Lately, Chen Mo had been accepting only young and strong people and families that had young breadwinners. At present, the village's young and strong population had reached 2,500.

The Reserve Team alone had more than a thousand people.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.