After a Pyrrhic Victory

While he was in an Orthodox God, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the charming smile on Hundred Charm Demoness's face. Yue Qianchou immediately coughed, withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and pretended not to have seen anything. While using his Divine Sense to check the contents of the jade tablet, he casually asked to cover up his embarrassment, "Master's wife, besides these, has anything else happened in the Cultivation World recently?"

Hundred Charm Demoness pretended not to notice his lewd gaze, lay down on her side and smiled calmly, "There are a lot of trivial matters that you're definitely not interested in. The bigger commotion, however, is caused by the Wu family, one of the Four Great Families you're on good terms with. A while ago, the Wu family's auction house sold two Seven Star Blood Orchid within a few days of each other, worth tens of millions of high-grade Spirit Stones. I don't know who the sellers were. It's strange, really. Seven Star Blood Orchid are such rare treasures that we haven't seen them for countless years, yet three have appeared recently. It's quite unbelievable."

"Oh! That does seem a bit strange." Yue Qianchou feigned surprise, though he actually knew the seller was himself. If Hundred Charm Demoness hadn't reminded him, he would have almost forgotten he'd taken two Blood Orchids to bid. Speaking of the Four Great Families, he couldn't help but recall how those four old geezers had so disloyally left him alone in the Demon Ghost Domain. Although he understood they had no choice, he still felt a burning resentment, thinking, "Damn it! I can't vent my anger without taking advantage of them."

"It's a bit strange that the Seven Star Blood Orchid all appeared at once." Hundred Charm Demoness shifted her body to make herself more comfortable, staring at him and laughing, "Anyway, you're Divine Ability resourceful. Last time, I only gave you the address of a cave, and you were able to find the fake Black Society's hideout. Why don't you investigate who the owner of those Blood Orchids is this time? The Seven Star Blood Orchid are valuable; you might find something big!"

Damn it! No need to investigate, the mastermind behind this is me. Yue Qianchou nodded solemnly and said, "What Master's wife says is right. This matter is a bit strange. It seems I need to go to the Wu family. Um..." He changed the subject and stood up, saying, "If Master's wife has nothing else, this disciple will take his leave."

The Hundred Charm Demoness glanced at him, and unusually, did not make things difficult for him. She waved her hand weakly and said, "I won't see you off."

After Yue Qianchou respectfully withdrew, she leisurely rose, her bare feet slowly pacing to the window. Watching the servant's retreating figure disappear, she sighed softly. She knew that although she cultivated seductive arts, and her every move possessed a captivating power to allure men, her deliberate attempts to seduce Yue Qianchou were intentional. She didn't understand why; it was as if she genuinely hoped he would do something inappropriate to her—a feeling she had never experienced with any other man.

Could it be that she'd fallen for him? The Hundred Charm Demoness was startled by her own sudden thought, leaning gently against the window, lost in thought. She recalled the first time she saw this young man; he was being held by the neck by Lu Wanqian, yet his eyes showed no panic. Even in that adversity, his eyes were still full of hope. And every time they met since, that hope had never faded. No matter how many hardships he endured, even being expelled from his sect twice and hunted by the entire Cultivation World, he had always strived to turn the tide, doing what he wanted to do.

"A man who is always full of hope, always striving, always sticking to his ideals, unafraid of failure, and always moving forward—that kind of man is indeed very attractive to women. Could it be that I'm attracted to him too? No way." Hundred Charm Demoness murmured to herself, her gaze towards the window somewhat lost.

As night deepened, on a mountaintop, the wind howled, whipping at Yue Qianchou, who was clad in black. Guan Yu, standing nearby, gazed down at the brightly lit area below, where the faint sound of clinking wine cups could be heard. There, a small demonic sect was holding a grand feast, drinking and eating heartily.

"I envy the unrestrained and hedonistic lifestyle of the demonic path. Almost every household I've visited does the same," Guan Yu said, shaking his head. Seeing the signal that the encirclement was complete, he turned and asked, "Boss, is it the same as before—kill without mercy?"

Yue Qianchou said in a deep voice, "Kill without mercy, leave no one alive!"

The reason he didn't recruit from Utopia but instead ordered a merciless massacre was to leave the horrific scene for the various factions of the demonic path to witness, thus putting pressure on the Myriad Demon Palace. Having painstakingly created this situation to expose the Yan family father and son's true colors, how could he possibly let the Palace of the Myriad Demon Palace reap the rewards? How could he allow the Myriad Demon Palace to ruin his plans? This was absolutely unacceptable.

Without hesitation, Guan Yu sent a signal downwards. Outside the courtyard of the temple built against the mountain, figures rose and fell and light flashed. A regiment of men quickly launched a fierce attack, and the sounds of intense fighting immediately rang out.

Yue Qianchou stared coldly at the scene below. This small demonic sect actually only had a few hundred people, but Yue Qianchou mobilized a regiment of more than a thousand people to besiege it. Although it was to achieve a complete massacre without any survivors, it was also a last resort.

Seven demonic sects had already been wiped out, all minor ones, but each battle had resulted in nearly a third of their forces being killed or wounded. This disproportionately high casualty rate weighed heavily on Yue Qianchou's mind. While the Black Society's forces were growing, they were nowhere near the level of the several hundred men he had recruited in the Demon Ghost Domain. Those few hundred were elites from their respective sects, and their experience in the Demon Ghost Domain had honed them to a considerable degree. The newcomers, however, were simply not up to par in terms of both cultivation and experience.

This force needs constant combat to hone its skills; otherwise, even with improved cultivation, it will be of little use! After one battle, Yue Qianchou immediately made a decision: the next few battles would be fought in rotation, with one regiment fighting each location and then another, regardless of casualties. Only those who survived each battle would become the future elites. Originally, he had scouted ten locations, intending to target five sects, but upon seeing the situation, he immediately decided to fight three more battles. Utopia's existing eight regiments must fight each of them at least once.

Under the overwhelming force of their superior numbers, the battle ended quickly. After the well-trained soldiers cleaned up the battlefield, the regimental Regiment Commander rushed over, beaming with joy, to report the victory to Guan Yu. Yue Qianchou, however, looked at the Regiment Commander and asked, "How many of our men died?"

The Regiment Commander was taken aback, and hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. Seeing Yue Qianchou's eyes turn cold, he immediately straightened his chest and said, "Reporting to the leader, our regiment suffered 277 casualties."

"So that means, including the wounded, your regiment has suffered at least three hundred casualties?" Yue Qianchou's tone revealed neither joy nor displeasure.

The Regiment Commander gritted his teeth and reported again, "Reporting to the leader! A total of 105 people were wounded, both lightly and seriously, and a total of 382 people were killed or wounded."

"Do you mean I can understand it this way: if I make your regiment participate in four more battles, your entire regiment will be wiped out, and your regiment's designation and organization can be canceled? Is that what you mean?" Yue Qianchou's tone began to darken.

"I..." The Regiment Commander was so anxious that he could hardly speak. His forehead, covered by the black cloth, was already drenched in sweat. He had never heard his leader speak so sharply to his subordinates before.

Yue Qianchou immediately glared at him and shouted, "What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you think you are?' What are you good for as the Regiment Commander? More than a thousand people wiped out a small demonic sect of a few hundred people and you still lost nearly four hundred men in the battle? Do you think you won a battle? Humph! If you are not capable of being the Regiment Commander, I can consider replacing you with someone who can fight a good battle for me."

The Regiment Commander lowered his head in silence. Guan Yu said awkwardly, "Boss, let's talk about this back home! Staying too long might cause trouble!"

"And you!" Yue Qianchou pointed a finger at Guan Yu and roared, "What are you good for as the Chief Instructor? You've caused me to lose nearly two regiments in eight battles. If I send you guys to fight a tough battle, are you going to wipe you all out and then make me rebuild the army from scratch?"

"It's just that some of the team members' cultivation levels are too low, I..." Guan Yu wanted to explain further, but Yue Qianchou immediately waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Don't give me that useless advice." He threw down those words and then gracefully flew down to where the troops were assembled.

Guan Yu shook his head helplessly, patted the Regiment Commander's shoulder, and said with a wry smile, "The leader is really angry this time. Go down, we'll talk about it when we get back!" The two followed him down.

Down the mountain, Yue Qianchou looked at the group of people in front of him, a group of people carrying the corpses of their comrades. He suppressed his anger and did not explode. After Guan Yu and the other two arrived, he released his Divine Sense, and everyone disappeared from the spot.

Upon returning to Utopia, Yue Qianchou paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, shouting, "Guan Yun Chang, gather all the troops for me!"

A resounding bugle call rang out, and everyone quickly assembled on the parade ground. Yue Qianchou leaped onto the command platform, his gaze sweeping over the remaining seven thousand-plus men. He felt a pang of heartache; of the nearly ten thousand men in the eight regiments, only a little over six remained. The atmosphere was heavy, especially among the eight Regiment Commander standing at the front, who seemed unable to even lift their heads.

"We've lost nearly two regiments!" Yue Qianchou waved two fingers at the crowd, looking utterly disappointed. He suddenly pointed at Guan Yu below the stage and said, "Your Chief Instructor said some of the team members' skills were too poor. Yes, that's undeniable, but what is the purpose of our army? Collective warfare always requires strategy and tactics! Your commanders, however, didn't care about the strength of the team members, didn't differentiate between attack phases, and all eight regiments were the same—just relying on numbers to charge in a swarm. Is this warfare? What's the difference between this and street thugs fighting? I'm telling you, brothers, warfare isn't just about bravery and brute force; you need to use your brains! You need to use your brains to think about how to achieve the greatest victory with the least cost!"

Because there were many people, he deliberately circulated his True Essence and spoke loudly, his voice echoing across the playground. It was just his voice, and everyone else was completely silent.

Yue Qianchou grew increasingly angry as he spoke. He had witnessed eight battles today; their bravery was undeniable, everyone charging forward fearlessly and recklessly—their spirit was commendable, but arrogance was not what he intended. After circling the stage twice to calm his anger, he continued, "I won't say more. From today onwards, everyone's monthly Spirit Stone ration will be increased fivefold, enough for you to absorb and refine Spiritual Qi energy each month. Anyone who reaches a critical moment in their cultivation breakthrough should report what kind of elixirs they need; I'll provide as many as they require, plenty! In short, Utopia has no shortage of Spirit Stone or elixirs. Don't give me that nonsense about your cultivation being too low anymore. We're all at the late Tribulation Transcendence stage realm; what kind of army am I supposed to build? I have only one request: all the army's training must be as close to real combat as possible, and more real combat training. Commanders, use your brains to think about the most effective strategies and tactics. Don't just rush in like madmen in every situation. Anyone can die! What's the point of my training then?"

Just as he finished speaking and was about to step down, he suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around and looked at the eight Regiment Commander below, and said to Guan Yu in a deep voice, "Yun Chang, there are only six regimental forces here, and we no longer need eight Regiment Commander. Immediately summarize this battle, reorganize the eight regiments into six, and dismiss the Regiment Commander of the two regiments that performed the worst. Send them to the other two best regiments to learn. If they learn well, they will have opportunities to lead troops in the future. If they don't learn well, the combat troops don't need such commanders. I don't want to waste the lives of my men on such brainless commanders. If they can't do it, they can work as Chen Feng's assistants."

He finished speaking and walked away with a stern face. The entire audience fell silent, no one daring to utter a sound. It was the first time anyone had ever seen their leader so angry. Yue Changgui and his wife were taking a walk nearby when they heard the bugle call and, out of curiosity, went to watch from outside the military camp. To their surprise, they saw their son angrily reprimanding people. The couple looked at each other, both astonished that their son had this side to him. It was quite frightening, and for a long time after he left, the thousands of people didn't dare to move or utter a sound.

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