Founding Jixia Academy! Where's My Money?!

Xue Luochuan swept his gaze over the Chang'an soldiers standing atop the city wall with halberds in hand.

With the Great Wall's beacon towers, all they needed to do was light the signal fires to swiftly gather troops from every direction.

However, most of these soldiers were ordinary men.

The military funds had gone toward building the Great Wall, leaving no extra money for recruitment.

But there was no longer any need to recruit ordinary soldiers.

This was the Douluo world. Soul Masters were the true rulers here.

He needed to form an army of Soul Masters.

Just like Spirit Hall.

Spirit Hall's army was clearly far smaller than those of the two great empires, yet it could challenge both empires at once.

That was because Spirit Hall's army consisted entirely of Soul Masters!

Its strength surpassed the two empires' ordinary armies by far!

But building a Soul Master force would not be easy.

The Chang'an Empire did not have much of a foundation in Soul Masters.

That was why it needed a Soul Master Academy.

"I have decided to establish Jixia Academy and recruit Soul Masters from all across the continent. Age and origins will not matter. So long as they are willing to serve Chang'an, they may enroll!"

Xue Luochuan swept out his hand, his brows brimming with high spirits!

Spirit Hall was infamous now, while his Chang'an Empire had displayed enormous potential!

He believed that it would soon attract a group of Soul Masters!

"Your Majesty, we're out of money!" Hua Mulan blinked her large eyes and said earnestly.

"Out of money again?" Xue Luochuan's lips twitched. "Where's my money?"

It seemed that building the Great Wall truly was an enormous money pit!

Still, the wall beneath his feet was indeed exceptionally sturdy. Even a Third Ring Soul Master's full-force strike could not shake so much as a single brick of this Great Wall!

"Looks like I'll have to make more money again." Xue Luochuan furrowed his brow slightly and fell into thought.

He had already squeezed dry all the corrupt officials in Chang'an.

The wealthy had either fled or been arrested. There was no one left to squeeze!

Yet because of the Great Wall's construction, huge amounts of money had flowed into the hands of the people.

Every trade was flourishing, and Chang'an was now prospering in every respect!

The people were rich, but the state was weak.

"Should we raise the taxes?" Kai asked cautiously, watching Xue Luochuan's expression with unease.

"No. Only a steady stream can last."

Xue Luochuan's profound eyes shifted slightly.

He recalled several state documents he had read before.

"How did the anti-corruption campaign go?"

Li Xin answered fluently.

"During the last purge of corrupt officials, although much of the real estate owned locally by their families was detained and confiscated..."

"A great deal of money was still transferred elsewhere."

"Many officials were detained, but not a single coin of their money could be recovered!"

"They had been entrenched here for years and possessed extensive connections. It was entirely possible for them to take back routes around the guards or bribe the guards."

"This place was once under the Tian Dou Empire's jurisdiction. Most of their assets were likely transferred to the Tian Dou Empire."

Xue Luochuan looked toward the Tian Dou Empire beyond the Great Wall, battle intent slowly rising in his eyes.

"Chang'an's defenses have improved considerably. It's time to march out."

"Are we finally going to war again?" Baili Xuance excitedly licked his fang, and his pair of furry ears perked up as well.

Hua Mulan pulled a folded map from the cloth pouch at her waist and spread it across the battlements. Her finger traced the cities marked on the map as she laid out the situation.

"I have also mostly investigated the defensive deployments of the nearby Heaven Dou cities."

"Tensions between Heaven Dou and Spirit Hall have recently escalated, and both sides have deployed forces on a massive scale along the border."

"Since we had made no moves for a long time, the Tian Dou Empire withdrew part of the troops from nearby cities to confront Spirit Hall."

"These three cities to the north each have only twenty thousand defenders. They are close together and can quickly reinforce one another, but they are still the best targets to attack."

Xue Luochuan nodded slightly.

"Good. I have decided to deploy thirty thousand troops and divide them into three armies. Hua Mulan, Baili Xuance, and Kai, each of you will lead ten thousand men to capture a city."

He nodded toward Shui Yue'er behind him. Shui Yue'er took out three military seals from the box in her hands and passed them to the three of them.

The three respectfully accepted the military seals.

Qian Renxue, dressed in a golden gown, stood quietly behind Xue Luochuan and watched as he assigned his generals.

Ever since her identity had been exposed and she had witnessed the allied army retreat with her own eyes, her desire to leave Chang'an had diminished considerably.

Combined with the training she had received over the past several days, she had gradually developed a strange feeling toward Xue Luochuan.

It was the dependence of a victim upon her abuser, which had gradually turned into a certain fondness.

Xue Luochuan was satisfied with her service and permitted her to follow him outside.

Just like Shui Bing'er and the others.

"Ten thousand men attacking twenty thousand..." Qian Renxue murmured in astonishment.

She did not know much about military matters, but she knew that attackers were at a disadvantage in a siege.

Others attacked cities with greater numbers against fewer. Yet Xue Luochuan was using fewer against more. Could they really win?

The three armies set out from three sparsely manned passes along the Great Wall.

Before long, they vanished into the mountains.

Xue Luochuan remained atop the wall where the army had departed, ordering his men to set out a rocking chair and a rose-colored table. He sat down comfortably and sampled wine and pastries.

Shui Bing'er, the others, and Qian Renxue stood in a line behind him, quietly meditating and cultivating.

Li Xin and the others had no need to cultivate, so they sat around Xue Luochuan and enjoyed the pastries.

The Tian Dou Empire had gone to great lengths to defend against Chang'an's attacks.

But all of it was futile.

Before half a day had passed, three fast horses galloped into the Great Wall.

"Your Majesty, victory reports!"

Three sheets of snow-white paper were spread across the table.

All three cities had been captured successfully!

But the losses were also extremely severe.

Of the thirty thousand troops across the three armies, more than ten thousand had been killed or wounded!

For a siege battle report, this was already quite good!

After all, the defenders numbered sixty thousand in total.

To launch a rapid assault and seize the strongholds in such a short time, they had to pay some price.

But the spoils were plentiful as well.

Across the three cities, they had captured more than twenty thousand prisoners!

The more they fought, the more troops they had!

The Chang'an Empire's situation was looking excellent.

But the Tian Dou Empire's was another matter.

The stronger the Chang'an Empire became, the weaker the Tian Dou Empire would grow!

Heaven Dou Imperial Capital.

Xue Ye looked at the urgent battle report from the border and let out another heavy sigh.

"Three cities! Sixty thousand soldiers!"

"They couldn't even hold out for a single day!"

This was only the Chang'an Empire after two months of recovery, still not yet powerful.

Once the Chang'an Empire was allowed to develop...

He did not even dare imagine how quickly Chang'an would swallow Tian Dou territory!

Yet the Tian Dou people's attention had all been drawn to Spirit Hall.

They feared the justified and ferocious Chang'an Empire.

The plan to attack Chang'an could only be abandoned.

The Tian Dou Empire was now beset on all sides.

It was like a cake that everyone wanted to take a bite out of.

Once one of the two great empires, it had now nearly reached its most precarious hour.

"How am I supposed to break this deadlock?"

Xue Ye's already aged body suddenly seemed to stoop even further.

It was as though he could no longer support this crumbling empire.

Yet he was unwilling to simply hand the Tian Dou Empire over to Xue Luochuan.