Chapter 51

Indeed, coming to the border to fight was a wise choice. Not only did my martial arts improve greatly, but I also made a fortune. A preliminary estimate suggests I have over five or six million, enough to build a mansion and an estate, recruit experts, and expand my influence without any worries.

As a prince, setting up a household and establishing a military presence means that even a slight move can result in mountains of gold and silver. Even the most frugal prince spends hundreds of thousands each year, and if one wants luxury and enjoyment, to cultivate talent and loyalists, and to form alliances, it’s like a bottomless pit. Millions can be spent, let alone on constructing formations and purchasing treasures.

After searching the Poison Daoist, I found that he only had the Poison Canon and some poisons. There was nothing else, suggesting that his wealth was stored elsewhere and not carried on his person.

After tidying everything up, Guchen Sha had no interest in quibbling over these matters and immediately emerged from the space, heading back to the main road.

The barbarian general and soldiers had all disappeared, and the hoof prints on the main road indicated a retreat rather than an advance.

"The barbarians actually retreated?" Guchen Sha was overjoyed: "It seems the barbarian general couldn’t find me, nor the Blood Soul Sect leader and the Poison Daoist, so he panicked. He must know that the two are likely dead and fears there might be experts lying in wait."

Two great demons of the Second Transformation of the Dao Realm vanished, and even if the barbarian general’s martial arts were strong, he was still wary. It was only natural for him to retreat, and with the town’s crisis resolved, Guchen Sha naturally wanted to return and check on things.

When he returned to the town, he found that there had been a battle. The ground was stained with blood, and bodies were scattered everywhere, both barbarian soldiers and cultists.

"Nineteenth Young Master, you’re back?" Liu Yu and the other five were covered in blood, with wounds all over their bodies, but their spirits were still high as they flew over: "Right after you left, barbarian soldiers and cultists attacked. Fortunately, there weren’t many, and we managed to repel them."

"It seems many groups of barbarian soldiers are roaming around, making the town unsafe." Guchen Sha looked around: "On the main road, I saw thousands of barbarian cavalry. I killed a few hundred and led them away, but it won’t delay them for long. You need to pack up immediately and escort the townspeople to Xian Capital. Here are 200,000 money tickets, enough to settle the townspeople and clans in Xian Capital temporarily. Once the war is over, you can return."

"Thank you, Nineteenth Young Master, for your great kindness." The five were almost moved to tears. Even if the tens of thousands of townspeople went to Xian Capital, they would be strangers there, and most had left in a hurry without their belongings, making it difficult to eat. With 200,000, they could alleviate a significant part of their困境.

At that moment, the five knelt down: "Nineteenth Young Master, you have saved our town. From now on, we will do anything for you, even in the wind and rain, and we swear to serve you to the death."

"Get up, this is all about doing good and accumulating virtue, which will bring good fortune." Guchen Sha signaled for them to rise: "You five have had great encounters, and I intend to cultivate you into pillars of the state. Do not waste this opportunity."

"Yes!"

"How many able-bodied young men are there in the town now?"

"Two hundred and forty-three," Jia Liang reported: "They are all strong and enjoy practicing martial arts and hunting. They have some skills and are not necessarily worse than ordinary soldiers in one-on-one combat."

"Good, gather them and train them into soldiers. Strip the barbarian soldiers of their armor and weapons and equip yourselves with them." Guchen Sha said: "From now on, we will enforce military discipline."

"Yes!"

The five hurried off to get to work.

Guchen Sha returned to the courtyard and took out some of the Blood Strengthening Pills from the barbarian temple’s treasury, preparing to use them as military rations.

These Blood Strengthening Pills are valuable elixirs that only the children of the barbarian nobility can obtain. One pill is enough for three days, and with these strong young men, the daily food problem is solved with the Blood Strengthening Pills.

Another point is that his household lacks true helpers, and he dare not recruit randomly, as that would bring countless spies. Now, with over two hundred people here with clear backgrounds, why not cultivate them? Bringing them back later would also strengthen his position.

Xian Capital.

The capital of the entire Xian Dynasty and the largest city on the border.

Lou Baoyue and the Third Prince were both here, issuing orders and closely monitoring the situation in Bannan Province.

"How has the Nineteenth Prince been lately?" Lou Baoyue listened to the intelligence from her subordinates. Her cultivation had deepened recently, and after taking the Hundred Tribulations Golden Pill, she seemed to have experienced the vicissitudes of a thousand lifetimes, making it impossible for anyone to gauge her true strength.

The longer she lived, the stronger she became.

"Reporting to the Lady, the Nineteenth Prince saved the town, and over ten thousand townspeople have moved to the vicinity of Xian Capital. He has also selected the able-bodied from the townspeople and is intensively training them, seemingly preparing to resist the cult and the barbarians on the front lines." Yu Xiang reported: "As for the Bannan Governor, he is urgently requesting aid from the Third Prince to protect the provincial capital. The Third Prince has already sent several experts, and there are signs of action."

"The Third Prince has his usual tricks." Lou Baoyue tapped her fingers on the table: "But the Nineteenth Prince is starting to cultivate his own loyalists, and he cannot be underestimated."

"Can he really cultivate loyalists by hastily gathering able-bodied men? Isn’t that a joke?" Yu Xiang expressed her opinion.

"No, he has the Tiger Wolf Pill. Even a coward can become a fierce warrior after taking it." Lou Baoyue frowned: "I can’t figure out where he got these pills, but I want to obtain more from him to cultivate my Lou family disciples."

"Last month, the Lady ordered the Nineteenth Prince and the Bannan Governor to eliminate the cult within a month. The month is almost over, and the cult is far from being eradicated. Should we punish them?" Yu Xiang asked again.

"I set the deadline to force the remnants of the Xian Dynasty to show themselves. I didn’t expect the Nineteenth Prince to not collude with them. His actions are impeccable, and he has already killed the Black Bat and the Yin-Yang Scholar, earning him great merit." Lou Baoyue pondered: "If I push too hard, there might be objections from the court. But I want to see his true capabilities and will still put some pressure on him."

"Lady!"

Just as Lou Baoyue was about to take action, Miaoxiang rushed in: "The Nineteenth Prince has killed two more great demons, the Blood Soul Sect leader and the Poison Daoist. Their bodies have been transported to the palace by the Bannan Governor. Additionally, he has beheaded four hundred barbarian cavalry and several hundred cultists."

"What?" Lou Baoyue slammed her hand on the table: "The Black Bat, the Yin-Yang Scholar, the Blood Soul Sect leader, and the Poison Daoist have all been killed by him. All the cult demons have died at his hands. Such great merit leaves me with no reason to pressure him. In a sense, he has already eradicated the cult. Moreover, he is still training soldiers on the front lines, and there is no fault to find. There’s nothing I can do."

"Yes, his reputation is excellent. He saved over ten thousand people in the town, and now those people are praising him everywhere, making him seem like a savior. It’s clear he is very skilled at managing public opinion." Miaoxiang reminded Lou Baoyue to be cautious.

"I knew he was no ordinary person, but I still underestimated him. Once he left the capital, he became like a dragon returning to the sea, performing one incredible feat after another. His actions are methodical, winning the hearts of the people, assassinating demons, and training soldiers strongly. These are things the Emperor did many years ago." Lou Baoyue looked into the distance, seemingly deep in thought.

The maids did not dare to disturb her.

After a long while, she spoke: "What about the Tenth Prince? He brought so many troops and made such a show, but has he achieved anything?"

"The Tenth Prince went to Chaxian County and fought the barbarian troops several times, beheading four to five hundred, but losing fifty-three soldiers." Miaoxiang took out an intelligence report: "This is a copy of the Tenth Prince’s own memorial."

"The Tenth Prince is truly useless. He only beheaded a few, lost many of his own, and now he wants rewards." Lou Baoyue almost laughed: "Write a summary of Guchen Sha’s achievements and send it to him via eagle. I want to see where he will put his face."

In a county a hundred miles from Chaxian County, called Huixian County, the town was empty and bloodstained, clearly the site of a fierce battle.

On the city walls, there were warriors in full black armor, exuding a powerful aura, each one fierce and ready to tear apart tigers and leopards.

The Tenth Prince, Guzhen Sha, sat in the county office, which was already damaged. The county magistrate and various officials had been captured and sacrificed by the cult, and the entire town had been bloodied. When he arrived, it was an empty city, but he had stationed his troops here to strike against the barbarians and the cult.

"The court’s armor and fire talisman guns have not been allocated yet. What’s the Seventh Prince saying? Is he deliberately holding me back?" Guzhen Sha asked the family general beside him.

"The court says there aren’t enough armor and fire talisman guns, but the Heavenly Craft Academy is working on it. Additionally, our achievements in beheading barbarian soldiers have been reported." The family general spoke respectfully.

"I don’t believe the Heavenly Craft Academy has no stock! The Seventh Prince is in charge while the Emperor is in seclusion, and he dares to offend me but not Lou Baoyue." Guzhen Sha snorted: "You are a prince and have the right to compete for the throne."

"Of course, you are a prince and have the right to compete for the throne." A voice came from behind, and it was the mysterious Chi Mr.: "Lou Baoyue is just a woman, though favored, she is no real threat to the Seventh Prince. It’s natural for him to ally with her and suppress you."

"Chi Mr., I didn’t expect the barbarian army to be so strong. There was even a barbarian general in the temple in Chaxian County. If you hadn’t secretly protected me, I would have been in great danger." Guzhen Sha was secretly alarmed.

"I can only do so much. The rest of the journey is up to you. Otherwise, you will never gain the favor of the ancient witchcraft. Now that you have entered the Dao Realm, I won’t be around much longer. I need to cultivate other successors." Chi Mr. spoke bluntly, but ancient witchcraft was inherently about the survival of the fittest.

Guzhen Sha’s eyelids twitched, and his killing intent rose, but he restrained himself: "If so, when will you leave, Mr.?"

"It’s not urgent. I’ll leave when the time is right." Chi Mr. suddenly stepped back and disappeared into the darkness, vanishing.

"I have beheaded hundreds of barbarian soldiers, a significant achievement. If the court doesn’t reward me, it won’t be right. They must send me the fire talisman guns." Guzhen Sha stood up, stomping his foot, causing cracks to appear in the ground, revealing his inner anger.

At that moment, a hunting eagle flew down and landed in the hands of a family general, who took the letter and handed it to him.

After reading it, his face turned purple with anger.

"Damn it, damn it! Guchen Sha, I will make you die without a burial place!"

He roared to the sky.