Chapter 153: Peak Martial Master

　　Yunxiao asked, “How many people have signed up? What are their strengths like respectively?”

　　Meng Wu quickly reported the numbers, “So far, we have one Martial King, four Martial Lords, one hundred and twenty Great Martial Masters, and one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two Martial Masters.”

　　Then, she took out a storage bag from her ring and handed it to Yunxiao. “Young Master Yun, when you were away, Miss Ding of Tianyuan Trading Company had asked someone to bring this to you. Also, our lower-tier resources have almost run out.”

　　Yunxiao’s eyes flickered as he took over the bag and sensed a restrictive spell on it. He smiled, and the spell was removed with a swipe of his hand. Ding Ling’er must have put the spell to prevent others from finding out the contents in the bag.

　　Sure enough, inside the bag were many chariots and fourth-tier items, as well as many fourth-tier materials. Their value was so great that it was hard for Yunxiao to measure.

　　Delighted, he chuckled and said, “Stop letting people sign up when the remaining resources run out. This is the end of recruitment. Ask someone to inform those warriors who joined us to come to the square at noon tomorrow, and those who do not come will be treated as deserters.”

　　Upon hearing that, the nearby warriors quickly rushed up to fight for the sign-up forms as this was their last chance. The crowd, which had been sparse, suddenly went berserk again.

　　Meanwhile, Yunxiao went directly into the Divine Realm Tablet, then grabbed Jia Rong out and praised, “The arrays are good. I’ve got another task for you now.”

　　Jia Rong said with a bitter face, “Young Master Yun, my cultivation base…”

　　“Hmph!” Yunxiao snorted coldly. “Don’t forget who you are. You are still my servant, and you have no right to negotiate with me. If you perform well, you will have your reward! So, do you want to do it or not?”

　　“Yes! Of course, I want to do it!” Jia Rong’s face beamed as soon as he heard that there would be a reward.

　　Yunxiao took out a writing brush and paper to write two letters, and put them into different envelopes. “I want you to bring these letters to Tianyuan Trading Company’s Ding Ling’er and Myriad Treasures Store’s Yin Zhaoyang. Tell them that Yanwu is in urgent need of resources, and we want to borrow two hundred thousand superior-grade Primordial Stones from them.”

　　Jia Rong was shocked. “Two hundred thousand superior-grade Primordial Stones? Would they really lend them to us?”

　　Yunxiao laughed. “They will, but not necessarily the amount I have asked. In any case, the more the better.”

　　Jia Rong was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something. While frowning, he said, “Young Master Yun, there is one thing I don’t know whether to say or not.”

　　That took Yunxiao aback, but he smiled and said, “Just say what you want to say. Do I look that hard to talk to?”

　　“All two thousand members of Dubhe had suffered a lot while constructing the three arrays,” Jia Rong said. “They followed you here from Tianshui, so their loyalty is stronger than those newly recruited warriors. However, their equipment and cultivation base are far inferior to those warriors, especially their equipment. Among the two thousand people, less than ten have mystic weapons, and tjose are all the ones those close to you like Chen Zhen. Not to mention second or third-tier mystic weapons and a large quantity of supplementary medicinal pills…”

　　He had been hanging out with those young people these days and become friends with them, and he felt that they were poorly treated.

　　Yunxiao had a pondering look on his face as he said, “The reason I asked Master Zhang Qingfan here with a group of alchemists is to get their help to refine a large quantity of lower-tier medicinal pills and mystic weapons, which I will use to improve their strength. But, two thousand people are just too many, and it is very difficult for me to fulfill their requirements in a short time. Moreover, the lower-tier resources provided by Tianyuan Trading Company and Myriad Treasures Store had all been given out to those warriors… Well, I will think of a way to solve this. Dubhe is the first force under me, and those young people are all gifted with huge potential. I will not mistreat them.”

　　Only then did Jia Rong breathe a sigh of relief and went ahead to deliver the letters. However, at the thought of the contents of the letters and the amount of the Primordial Stones he would ask them to lend, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He feared that those people would rip him into pieces in a fit of anger.

　　After Jia Rong left, Yunxiao pondered a moment as he turned around and disappeared from the hall, entering the Divine Realm Tablet. Although Mount Inch was the heart of Primordial Qi, as the energy-absorbing array was constantly draining natural Primordial Qi from the outside world, the other area would soon be filled with energy that overflowed from the mountain.

　　He picked a random place and sat cross-legged down, then took out another Nine Orifices pill and swallowed it.

　　He was only a Martial Master, so the improvement brought by the drug was significant. Although he had said that the third pill no longer had any effect, he could still feel his strength growing as he took it. However, the pain was not as bearable as the first one. Under the tremendous pain, he began to roar and scream like a madman.

　　Several hours later, Yunxiao fell to the ground, covered in blood and fainted from the pain. His strength had improved to the peak of a nine-stars Martial Master, but he was unable to break through the barrier into the next major realm.

　　At noon the next day, in the city square of Yanwu…

　　It was packed with people, who stood on both sides of the square. The newly recruited warriors were on one side, scattered in small groups, talking and laughing among themselves. Meanwhile, the student army stood orderly on the other side, armored and armed, well-disciplined and not making a sound.

　　Although there was a surprised look in the eyes of those newly recruited warriors, they could easily tell the students’ cultivation base and ages. So, they all had a hint of a contemptuous look on their faces after the initial surprise. After all, most of the students were just warriors, and less than ten were Martial Masters.

　　“Shut your mouth and be quiet!” Yunxiao’s voice rang out suddenly. At some point, he had appeared on the empty chair placed at the head of the square. That startled everyone, because none of the few thousand people present saw him arrive.

　　To either side of him stood Chen Dasheng, Hong Bing, and Meng Wu. Standing there, the four of them glanced coldly at the few thousand people down below like generals inspecting their army before the war.

　　At Yunxiao’s loud cry, the voices grew lower. However, there was a defiant look on every face. These people were all lone warriors and were used to freedom, so they did not like to be controlled. Had it not been because of the lucrative remuneration, they would not have joined the city.

　　Yunxiao sneered as his eyes swept past all the faces one after another, which startled everyone. Although it was only a brief glance, they felt like he had gazed deep into their hearts and found out all their secrets. For a moment, everyone’s face fell in horror.

　　“Since you’ve taken my money, you are my men now, and you will have to listen to my orders! If you take my money and refuse to work for me, you are cheating me. And for those who dare to cheat me, I will not only take my money back, I will take his life as well!”

　　He spoke like a ruffian, but his words rang directly in every person’s head and went deep into the soul, as if they had a kind of mysterious power. That further terrified the crowd. Only then did they feel that this City Lord, who was just fifteen years old, was not as simple as his apparent strength, a mere peak nine-stars Martial Master.

　　Wait? A peak nine-stars Martial Master!

　　Those who were Great Martial Masters or above were shocked, their eyes growing wide in horror.

　　‘He was only a five-stars Martial Master a few days ago, so how did he become a peak nine-stars Martial Master now? How many days has it been? How is that possible?’

　　‘Impossible! I must have seen it wrongly a few days ago.’ They all tried to convince themselves in their minds, and the more they thought, the surer they were that it was like that.

　　Only Qian Duoduo had a look of horror in his eyes. He was sure that he did not see it wrongly a few days ago: The young man was only a five-stars Martial Master, and there was nothing on him that had hidden his actual cultivation. Otherwise, he would have detected it with his strength of a nine-stars Martial King.

　　‘If that is the case, there is only one explanation left…This lad advanced four stars in the last few days!’ He sucked in a cold breath at the thought of the conclusion. ‘This is absolutely impossible! I think I must have seen it wrongly the other day. Yes, it must be!’

　　“Come forward, Qian Duoduo.” Yunxiao said in a soft voice, as if he had just given an order, and he looked at Qian Duoduo with a hint of a smile on his face.

　　All eyes turned to Qian Duoduo in an instant. ‘He’s a nine-stars Martial King! Even though he’s now your man, he’s still a mighty existence who cannot be ordered at will like a servant!’ Everyone was very nervous. ‘Should I rush forward to stop him if he flies into a rage?’

　　‘But I will be no different from cannon fodder in front of him!’

　　The crowd was extremely anxious, and they all scolded the boy City Lord in their hearts for his ignorance and his lack of courtesy.

　　Qian Duoduo’s face turned slightly blue. ‘I’m a nine-stars Martial King. Wherever I go, I am treated as a distinguished guest, and even the sovereign of a state will have to show me some respect. And yet, this lad is…’

　　He struggled a moment. But, when he saw the confident smile on the corner of Yunxiao’s lips, he sighed in his heart for no reason. And when he thought of the Broken Moon Scroll, his attitude softened completely in an instant. Reluctantly, he snorted and said, “What do you want of me?”

　　As he said that, he stepped forward.

　　Everyone sucked in a cold breath in their hearts, aghast, and the four Martial Lords looked shocked. ‘He is a nine-stars Martial King! Does it mean that I also have to bow my head and walk up like him if this lad calls me up later?’

　　These people used to be alone, and there was an air of defiance in their bones. Otherwise, with their strength, they could easily get a good life by joining any power, and did not have to wait until now to join Yanwu, tempted by the lucrative remuneration.

　　“This is what I had promised to give you.” Yunxiao took out a jade slip and a small box and handed them to him. With a smile, he said, “With this, the medicinal pill in the box, and an excellent place I’ve picked for you to meditate in seclusion, I hope you will have broken through and become a Martial Grandmaster when I see you the next time.”

　　A Martial Grandmaster?

　　The people down below were shocked. ‘He’s really an ignorant kid who doesn’t know anything. Even though Qian Duoduo is a nine-stars Martial King, it is still extremely difficult for him to break through and become a Martial Grandmaster. In fact, it is impossible for him to achieve that without a few, or even tens of years of accumulation.’