However, letting a group of people have it too easy wasn't quite fitting either. Shi Chun was certainly going to decline at first, immediately raising his hand to signal a stop, "Everyone, don't get the wrong idea, I don't plan on just coasting until the end of the conference. I really intend to do my utmost for Xuan State's victory, so this leader, don't look to me."

A stance clearly drawing the line.

The crowd was dumbfounded by his statement, their gazes filled with skepticism. Could it really be true?

Master Mai's eyes spun around before he loudly exclaimed, "We're all here to do our utmost for Xuan State, no one plans on coasting until the end."

His shout snapped everyone to attention and they quickly chimed in.

"Right, we're all here to do our utmost for Xuan State, no loitering around."

"Brother Wang, absolutely no loafing."

"Brother Wang, you're overthinking it, who here hasn't been trying their hardest for Xuan State?"

"You don't believe it? Just look at the knife and sword wounds on me, which of them could have come from loafing around?"

The louder and more boisterous the group's cries became, the more it seemed they were looking down on Wang Sheng and the others.

Now that everyone had caught on, what big talk or big claims could Wang Sheng have left to make? If he wasn't planning on loafing, why would they have shown up here? The whole situation had arisen from Wang Sheng being caught loafing.

You say you're not loafing now, who would believe such a thing unless their brains weren't functioning? You think you can just muddle through with that?

In short, this mess was caused by you, and given your identity as Mulan Qingqing's fiancé, there's no one more suitable than you to be at the forefront.

Surrounded by the clamoring crowd, Shi Chun remained silent, hands folded across his abdomen, his face expressionless, waiting, letting them rave to their heart's content.

Finally, after quite a while, Master Mai couldn't stand the endless noise and loudly called for silence. Then, turning to Shi Chun with a playful smile, he said, "Brother Wang, look, you can't violate the will of the people, overwhelming kindness is hard to turn down. Just stop declining."

Shi Chun, with an impassive face, said, "If I take on this role, will my words count for anything?"

Hearing this, Master Mai immediately perked up, pounding his chest and proclaiming, "They'll count, absolutely they will. Right, everyone?"

"Right, they'll count."

"We follow only Brother Wang's lead."

"Brother Wang says one, and I'll never say two."

"Starting today, Brother Wang is our leader."

Seeing the lively shouting, Wu Jinliang, standing outside the crowd, was somewhat moved by their "sincerity" and raised his voice to shout, "You're our Master, our Master!"

Chu Jingtang beside him gave a peculiar look and thought how the two brothers, Wang Sheng and Shi Chun, sometimes worked with rather rough methods, but they definitely had guts.

Yet, no one really turned around to look, and those who did look didn't see any issue. Instead, others joined in the shouting, "Right, the Master."

"Master, Master, Master…"

Words like "leader" or "commander" just didn't have the same appeal as "Master," and soon the wilderness echoed with the unified chanting of the group.

With so many shouting and surrounding him, Shi Chun felt slightly dazed, looking around at everyone as if he had returned to the past.

Amidst the chanting, Master Mai gestured for his disciples to bring the black bag containing the Insect Extreme Crystal to Shi Chun.

"Alright, I understand everyone's feelings," Shi Chun suddenly let out a spell-powered shout, drowning out the raucous uproar, and then spoke calmly, "Since you all insist, I can only accept your overwhelming kindness. But let me be clear up front, I'm not as dirty-minded as you think. I'm here to strive for victory for Xuan State, and if any of you dare to go back on your word, loiter aimlessly, or disobey commands, don't blame me for not being polite then."

There was no point in being too prim and proper; he wasn't about to keep pushing back and forth with these people. A mere verbal promise would do, whether they were sincere or not didn't matter to him. In Life Prison, his subordinates from East Nine Plain would do anything to survive, far more shameless than any here. If he had to rely on personal integrity for everything, he wouldn't be able to achieve anything. What mattered was how he would control them.

However, this speech weighed heavily on everyone's hearts, giving a vague sense of something being amiss.

After a moment of quiet, Master Mai responded, "As long as it's for striving for victory for Xuan State, we are willing to follow the Master's orders."

The implication was clear, and nobody was fooled. Many immediately sensed the underlying message, "We won't listen if you just meddle with us for no reason."

And as for striving for Xuan State's victory, anyone who took that seriously was a fool. If they were truly committed, would they all be gathered here?

There were two kinds of striving: striving that led to success and striving that amounted to nothing. Everyone took Shi Chun's words about striving as just a formality.

"Willing to follow the Master's orders!"

"Willing to follow the Master's orders!"

"I will follow Master's orders..."

One after another, people echoed, and the tone finally became unified in the wilderness.

The matter was thus settled. They then went into the cave to formally hand over the Insect Extreme Crystals, the quantity of which definitely needed to be checked. After an even distribution, there were one thousand eight hundred thirty-seven crystals.

Before, Shi Chun had blindly believed the news from Chu Jingtang and others, thinking that Xuan State actually obtained more than sixty thousand Insect Extreme Crystals. At the time, he found it odd, recalling what Guan Wen had said before entering Moon Sea—that there were only about three thousand crystals. How could it have increased to over sixty thousand after just a few days in Moon Sea?

It was only after Mulan Qingqing's explanation that he understood what was happening. It was deliberate misinformation released by Xuan State to paralyze the people from other states. They wanted the Extreme Crystals in everyone's possession to be maximally centralized, thereby reducing the frequency at which Xuan State's forces would need to act.

After receiving the Insect Extreme Crystals, Shi Chun immediately took five sect's members and started to sort through the more than three thousand troops that had arrived, identifying strengths and weaknesses.

More than three thousand eight hundred people were divided into ten groups.

After completing this task without a moment's pause, Shi Chun handed over all the troops to Wu Jinliang for drilling.

Time was running out. The end of the grand assembly was near, and there was no time to waste.

The drilling was simple, focusing on the gathering and circulating of the teams. Once disbanded, at a single command, each team's members should at least be able to determine which group they belonged to, avoiding confusion and running off to join another group by mistake.

Dispersion and assembly, dispersal and reassembly, they roamed around in circles nearby. Wu Jinliang would randomly point to places, expecting the appointed group to promptly and fully reach the location.

Then, there were hand signals signals or voice and light signals that needed to be understood.

These tasks might seem simple, but by repeatedly drilling these basic exercises, everyone was starting to wonder—are they really planning to make this unruly mob snatch up Insect Extreme Crystals?

What made them more apprehensive was that the tall man in charge of the drills seemed adept at moving people around. His words were coarse but sensible, his actions fluent, as though he were someone accustomed to leading brawls. The combination of hand signals, voice signals, and light signals didn't seem random; there was method to the madness.

Some began with reluctant cooperation, but as the drills dragged on, impatience set in, with complaints and grumbling emerging.

Wu Jinliang didn't argue. He would just respond with a grin, asking one to rest aside. Afterward, it would be "Master requests your presence," and Chu Jingtang and others would escort the person away for a talk in a secluded place.

A few sect members would take someone aside for a talk in a remote corner.

One person grumbling would be taken away for a talk; a group grumbling would still be taken away one by one.

What was discussed was unknown, but those who had gone for these talks never returned. Sometimes, the sounds of fighting could be faintly heard.

There were rumors of the stronger individuals being taken away for talks. Instead of risking discussions with these people, as per Shi Chun's instructions, Chu Jingtang and others would soothe them aside, simply making sure they did not return, waiting for Shi Chun to come back and handle each case personally.

After more than twenty people were taken away for talks and never returned, those simple drills finally started running smoother, and even though some still had objections, they complied.

At this time, Shi Chun wasn't present; such simple tasks didn't require his attention, he felt Wu Jinliang was sufficient.

In a valley, Shi Chun met with Xiang Laner again.

Xiang Laner handed over a black bag containing Insect Extreme Crystals, "All four hundred seventy-seven crystals found in Moon Sea are here."

This batch of Insect Extreme Crystals had been concealed, but now Shi Chun needed to borrow them. After the terms were agreed upon, there was no reason not to lend them, and so they were dug out.

After Shi Chun had checked them, the count was correct. He then took off a black cloth bag he had prepared earlier from his waist, which also contained Insect Extreme Crystals. These were from Guan Wen's previous foray into Moon Sea to collect Insect Extreme Crystals. After Yan Ji had collected them, they had ended up in his hands, leaving only seventy-three crystals remaining.

He picked thirty crystals from the batch Xiang Laner had given him, and tossed them into the bag with the seventy-three, making a total of one hundred and three crystals in one bag, which he then handed over to her.

Holding the bag of Insect Extreme Crystals, Xiang Laner was puzzled, "What does this mean?"

Shi Chun remained silent and pulled another pre-prepared empty black cloth bag from his waist. He counted out one hundred fifty-four crystals from the batch brought by Xiang Laner and filled the empty bag, then tied it and handed it back to her.

Xiang Laner was completely confused.

With the remaining two hundred ninety-three crystals, Shi Chun secured the bag and handed it to her.

Holding three bags of Insect Extreme Crystals of varying amounts, Xiang Laner was utterly at a loss. Weren't her crystals being borrowed? Why did she suddenly have them returned—and with an extra seventy-three crystals, no less? She couldn't help but inquire, "What does this mean? What exactly are you trying to do?"

Shi Chun replied calmly, "Don't worry, I'll tell you. Your twelve groups infiltrated into the different states' troops—are you still able to keep tabs on them without issues?"

Xiang Laner replied, "That depends on what kind of information you wish to control. It's not possible to know everything. They've reached the final stages of integrating, and it's difficult to learn any core information now."

Shi Chun said, "I just want to know three simple things: the exact positions of their troops, the exact numbers of their troops, and the condition of their troops' strength. Can you provide this information to me at any time?"

Xiang Laner assured him, "No problem."

Shi Chun stated, "Good, contact them now. I want a preliminary understanding right away."

Xiang Laner rolled her eyes at him and piled the three black cloth bags back into his arms before taking out a set of mother-and-child talismans to make contact one by one.

After gradually receiving responses, Shi Chun discarded the three black cloth bags, took out a map, and started marking it according to the information from the talismans.

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