Three growth cycles, the Fire Demon Tribe, and the Earth Fire Lotus! (6k)

Zhao Xing wandered aimlessly on the ground, occasionally plucking a blade of grass and tasting it, sometimes lying down in a patch of grass, and then suddenly running away.

The flying boat above followed slowly, neither disturbing Zhao Xing nor waking him.

The reason why Long Xiao was assigned as Zhao Xing's protector was also to prevent Zhao Xing from exhibiting any abnormal behavior.

It hadn't come in handy before, but now it has.

"He's been walking for a day and a night, and he's almost out of our defense zone," Liao Rulong said. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"No problem." Chen Shijie's tone remained confident.

Liao Rulong didn't know where Chen Shijie got such confidence, but Chen Shijie still had a lot of influence with him.

"He's about to reach the defense zone of the Eighty-Eighth City of the Blazing Sun Army. I'll go and tell him."

"Thank you," Chen Shijie said.

Liao Rulong nodded, took off, and rode the Celestial Qi downwards.

The defense zone of the Eighty-Eighth City of the Blazing Sun Army.

At this moment, a small team came out to check the situation.

And the team was led by an Agricultural Official.

The commotion Zhao Xing caused was not considered significant by other professions.

But in the eyes of the Military Sima Nong, he was like a beacon in the darkness.

Sun He, the Military Sima Nong, had already reached the Seventh Grade Earthly Fiend Realm. In his perception, there was a region in the world where plants were withering and flourishing in an extremely abnormal way.

"Brother Sun, shall we go take a look?" a Seventh Grade martial artist asked Sun He. "He doesn't seem to be from the Great Zhou; he looks like a savage."

Yes, Zhao Xing is like a wild man now.

His hair was almost dragging on the ground, his shoes were off, and he was covered in dirt.

"Don't go over there yet." Sun He said seriously, "It doesn't seem like an alien race. Aliens wouldn't dare to do something like this in our defense zone."

"That's not how you pretend."

"What happened?" the Seventh Grade martial artist asked, puzzled. "This person is also a Seventh Grade Going Berserk?"

"It could also be the legendary enlightenment." Sun He activated his Bright Eyes to observe. "Enlightenment and Going Berserk are both just a thought away."

"If it's the former, this person should have a protector with them. We'll just wait here."

Sun He was a seasoned veteran; he didn't make any rash moves, but simply kept a close watch from a distance.

Of course, if Zhao Xing has no protectors, or is still approaching and cannot be communicated with, then Sun He will have no choice but to take him down.

But his judgment was correct. Soon, a man in blue armor flew down from the sky. He was tall and strong, with a full beard, a high nose, and prominent cheekbones, making him very recognizable.

Sun He a closer look and was immediately surprised, and hurriedly went to greet him.

"Captain Liao?"

"Sun He of the Blazing Sun Army greets Captain Liao." Sun He bowed. Liao Rulong was now a formidable figure among the top 300 on the Sixth Rank list.

The Divine Might Army performed Divine Valor this time, with Liao Rulong's and Wen Shaoyang's units being the most outstanding.

Originally, the Divine Might Army was at the bottom of the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, but since the opening of the Pacifying Barbarians Merit List, the Divine Might Army has jumped to the second tier, and its war merits are second only to the Tigron Army and the Black Armor Army.

The number of the Divine Might Army soldiers was far less than those of these two armies.

On the battlefield, the strong will always be respected.

"Sun He." Liao Rulong's voice boomed like a bell. "Could you please make way? I have a brother in my army who is currently comprehending an advanced technique."

Sun He glanced at Zhao Xing's figure and thought to himself, "Dao Fruit."

He was very curious: who was so important that Liao Rulong would personally clear the way for them?

Could it be Chen Shijie?

"With Captain Liao vouching for me, there's nothing wrong with it," Sun He quickly said. "Does this humble official know which brother from the Divine Might Army is comprehending the Dao? If it needs to be kept secret, Captain Liao, please pretend I didn't say anything."

Liao Rulong laughed and said, "It's not a secret. He is Zhao Xing, the Seventh Grade Military Sima Nong in my Divine Might Army, who Equitable Transport Magistrate."

"Zhao Xing?" Sun He vaguely remembered hearing this name somewhere, but couldn't recall it at the moment. He didn't want to ask too much right now, so he had to go back and inquire.

He complimented, "So you are Brother Zhao from the Divine Might Army. I've long heard of his great name, but I never expected to meet you today."

Liao Rulong smiled but remained silent.

"Captain Liao, we won't disturb you any longer. We'll leave now." Seeing this, Sun He cupped his hands in greeting and led his men back.

Time passed, and Zhao Xing traveled for another thirteen days. It was now August 13th.

Liao Rulong's troops originally planned to only return for ten days of rest, but seeing Zhao Xing's situation, they had no choice but to stay for two more days.

Zhao Xing ran aimlessly, passing through many cities.

Occasionally, when squads from other armies discovered the situation and came to investigate, they were all stopped by Liao Rulong and his men.

A path lined with flowers and grass emerged behind him.

From a high altitude, one can see that Zhao Xing has actually walked out of a strange tree-like shape.

"Um?"

Looking down, Chen Shijie couldn't help but be drawn to the scene.

"He's about to walk back to the starting point, this pattern..."

Chen Shijie was deeply moved when he saw it, as if he were looking at Preaching Painting!

More and more people are aware that a strange man named Zhao Xing has appeared in the southeastern war zone. The traces he left behind, including weeds, are all of the first or second rank!

Nowadays, many Military Sima Nong who are resting have come to watch the path Zhao Xing has taken from the sky.

However, most people just returned empty-handed and couldn't figure out anything.

Because Zhao Xing Xingwu's method is a high-level method of the True Self Faction.

The True Self Faction is not a popular school of thought in the present day, mainly because it is difficult and too difficult. At the current level of the battlefield, not counting the Sixth Rank, there might not be one out of ten thousand Military Sima Nong who can comprehend the advanced techniques of the True Self Faction.

When Zhao Xing walked back to Ninety-Second City, he suddenly stopped at the city gate and didn't move.

Everyone watched silently, holding their breath, afraid of disturbing this genius.

Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Liao Rulong looked at Zhao Xing expectantly.

Suddenly, Zhao Xing squatted down and revealed a smile.

"I get it, hehehehehe!"

"I'm awesome!"

"Hehehe!"

The sudden burst of laughter stunned everyone, and they all looked at Zhao Xing with a strange expression.

What exactly have you figured out? Your laughter is kind of creepy!

"He..." Liao Rulong looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Chen Shijie's gaze also wavered somewhat.

Has Zhao Xing really gone mad?

"Old Chen!"

Just then, Zhao Xing suddenly turned around and waved to Chen Shijie, who was in mid-air.

"Come and see!"

Liao Rulong wanted to stop him because he felt that Zhao Xing was in some danger at that moment.

Before he could even finish speaking, Chen Shijie jumped down without hesitation.

Seeing this, Liao Rulong and Long Xiao immediately jumped down as well.

"Huh? Everyone jumped down, so no one's piloting the airship anymore!"

Liao Rulong was speechless. He immediately returned to the flying boat and controlled the tilting boat to descend.

"They're here."

Chen Shijie ran to Zhao Xing's side, "What are you going to show me?"

Zhao Xing pointed to a vine at his feet. "What's this?"

"First Tier, Resilient Vine, Vines System".

"Look again." Zhao Xing pointed, and specks of Golden Light fell on the Resilient Vine.

"Second-tier, Resilient Vine, possessing double resilience."

Zhao Xing unleashed another Golden Light, which landed on the vines. The Resilient Vine climbed up Chen Shijie's ankles and quickly covered his waist.

"How are things now?" Zhao Xing asked with a smile.

Chen Shijie asked in surprise, "Third rank?"

He tried to break free, but found the Resilient Vine unbreakable.

"It has grown to the third-tier top-grade level? Triple Resilience, what amazing toughness!"

Chen Shijie was somewhat shocked.

The Resilient Vine is just the most common type of vine plant, and its growth limit is only First Tier.

However, now, a third-tier Resilient Vine has appeared!

No, this one is simply the Vine King!

"Hehe, isn't that amazing?" Zhao Xing boasted, like a child who had discovered a treasure.

Chen Shijie smiled and praised, "Impressive."

He felt that this time, Zhao Xing's smile was the most genuine, and his demeanor was the most relaxed, without the prematurely mature air that often accompanies young men.

At this moment, Chen Shijie could feel that Zhao Xing's trust in him had reached its peak, because he had let down his guard and revealed his truest self.

"Old Chen, want to learn? I'll teach you," Zhao Xing said.

"Maybe next time," Chen Shijie laughed. "You're all dirty and stinky."

"Well?"

Zhao Xing suddenly realized something.

Looking around, he saw many eyes staring at him.

Although he had felt many gazes before, he had now completely withdrawn his attention from 'enlightenment'.

"That's true." Zhao Xing's smile faded, and as he did, Chen Shijie could no longer sense Zhao Xing's presence. His demeanor suddenly changed, as if he had put on a veil, making him impossible to see clearly.

"The wind is blowing!"

An Astral Wind blew past Zhao Xing.

Astral Wind swirled around Zhao Xing, and the next moment, Zhao Xing's hair returned to its previous length, and the dust on his face and body disappeared.

"Rain is coming!"

Whoosh~

A basin of water poured down from above.

However, it did not become completely soaked.

However, the stains on his clothes had completely disappeared.

"Alright."

Zhao Xing cupped his hands in greeting to those around him and said, "I'm all done now, brothers, please disperse."

Seeing this, Han Bing and Wang Ji also dispersed the onlookers.

Wang Ji thoughtfully sent Zhao Xing the Cloud Stepping Boots.

It had been lost before, so Wang Ji cleaned it and kept it on hand.

"Boss, put on your shoes."

Wang Ji squatted down.

"Wang the Engineer, you're too Guest Qi." Zhao Xing smiled and went to help him. "I can dress myself."

"It's alright, I'll do it." Wang Ji insisted on putting shoes on Zhao Xing without thinking twice.

Liao Rulong watched this scene and nodded to himself.

He also knew Wang Ji; he was a top-tier genius from the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven.

He is now Seventh Grade official.

Such a genius, how could he be willing to do such a thing for Zhao Xing?

He didn't need to put on a show at all; he genuinely felt there was nothing wrong with doing so.

This is enough to show Zhao Xing's status in his heart.

"In just two months, he has united the Ninety-Second City and even made it to the top of the battle merit list. No wonder the Marquis and the Military Advisor value him so much and have instructed me to take good care of him," Liao Rulong thought to himself.

Geniuses are common, but genius-level commanders are rare.

Take Shi Yong, the top genius of the Tiger Flood Dragon Military Sima Nong, for example. If he were left in the army, he wouldn't make a splash at all. His performance could only be described as meeting the level of Seventh Grade Military Sima Nong. Perhaps he could be called excellent, but there are plenty of excellent people out there. It doesn't make a difference if he's one more.

However, no matter where Zhao Xing moves to, whether it's Cloud City or the current Ninety-Second City, he can adapt quickly and dominate the situation.

"Your humble servant greets Captain Liao." After putting on his shoes, Zhao Xing immediately came to pay his respects to Liao Rulong.

In name, Liao Rulong was his superior, and since this was the first time they met after he woke up, he naturally had to pay his respects immediately.

In addition, this Sixth Rank martial artist had always protected me, so he deserves my respect both personally and in public.

"Don't be so Guest Qi." Liao Rulong chuckled and extended his hand, his protective aura manifesting as two qi palms that held Zhao Xing in place, preventing him from bowing. "We're all brothers. In my camp, Liao Rulong's camp, as long as there's no war, there's no distinction between superiors and inferiors!"

You can call me Lao Liao, it's fine! Hahahaha.

Zhao Xing smiled as well. Every general has his own style of leading troops. Some are strict and have a clear distinction between superiors and subordinates, while others are approachable and often treat their lower-ranking soldiers like brothers, eating and living together.

Liao Rulong possesses a bold and forthright sense of "brotherhood and loyalty."

"Come on, let's not stand here anymore, let's talk inside town!"

Liao Rulong hooked his left arm around Long Xiao's neck and his right hand around Chen Shijie's shoulder, then tilted his head towards Zhao Xing: "Let's go into town, drink and chat!"

"I heard a lot of interesting stories about you in Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven from them, especially about the origins of Ge Wuzhu and Cheng the Blind. How did two perfectly good Fifth Grade Agricultural Official get such nicknames? Hahaha, let's go, let's go back to the city and talk about it in detail."

On the evening of August 13th, Liao Rulong originally planned to summon his other three Sixth Rank deputy generals to Ninety-Second City for a reunion.

However, after thinking about Li Que's example (Chen Lu's boss), he gave up the idea.

Therefore, among the Sixth Rank in Ninety-Second City, only Chen Shijie and he were qualified.

After so long, Chen Shijie has also reached the Sixth-Rank Heavenly Dipper Realm, while Long Xiao, the sword cultivator, has progressed much more slowly.

During the conversation with Liao Rulong and others, Zhao Xing also obtained more detailed information.

Liao Rulong's troops initially numbered 12,000 men, divided into eight battalions: the Five Elements Battalion, the Divine Mechanism Battalion, the Nine Section Battalion, and the Dragon March Battalion.

The Five Elements Battalion consists of sorcerers specializing in the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These sorcerers also practice Daoist magic and are recruited from the Seventy-Two Dao Academies and three hundred and sixty academies of the Great Zhou.

The Divine Mechanism Battalion was composed of Mechanism Master; the Nine Section Battalion consisted entirely of Agricultural Official; Dragon March Battalion was entirely composed of martial artists.

They always work together when taking action.

"By now, my force has grown to over 23,000 men."

"The main problem is that we are constantly replenishing our manpower, and the number of brothers who have died or been injured is not large."

"It is estimated that about 7,000 more people will be added later, but the total number will not exceed 50,000."

After a hearty meal, Liao Rulong and Zhao Xing discussed the current state of the military.

"So I've been resting here for a while now. It's been almost a month since I came back, just waiting for the general to send people over."

"The more commanders the troops, the better; even more wouldn't hurt," Zhao Xing said with a smile.

Liao Rulong said there was no distinction between superiors and inferiors, but when it came to serious matters, Zhao Xing would address him as Lord Liao or Captain Liao.

"That's not true," Liao Rulong shook his head. "Fifty thousand men is the limit of my command capacity. Any more than that, and I won't be able to manage them."

"The Military Advisor trained me many times and finally concluded that I am suited to the path of elite troops and generals."

"30,000 people is ideal, 50,000 is the limit."

"If there are too many, we won't be able to command them all, and we won't be able to unleash the full potential of the army."

Zhao Xing remained silent, for not everyone is like Han Xin, and the more the merrier.

The battlefield is ever-changing. In the heat of battle, the commander has to process countless pieces of information in a single second. Among these information streams are truths and falsehoods, some important and some not.

Once a certain threshold is crossed, the brain can no longer process the information.

Just like the Straw Man Art, some people can create one straw doll with high combat power. But if they can create more than ten, the combat power of the straw dolls actually weakens.

"After defeating the Wolf God Tribe, the Marquis and the Military Advisor both said that Wen Shaoyang and I were advancing too fast, and ordered us to slow down our vertical advance. So I plan to advance horizontally to the southeast to fight the Fire Demon Tribe."

"This was my plan when I traveled from Machang City to Zhiyou City."

Hearing Liao Rulong speak, Han Bing and Wang Ji exchanged a strange glance.

"Huh? What's wrong with you two? But is there something wrong with what I said?" Liao Rulong asked, puzzled.

"Captain, that's not the case," Han Bing and Wang Ji shook their heads. "We were just thinking about something."

"You don't seem surprised that I'm going to the Fire Demon Tribe?" Liao Rulong said. "I heard that your various departments are preparing equipment, medicines, and other military supplies to deal with the Fire Demon Tribe?"

Back in the supply city, Liao Rulong naturally had Chen Shijie check the inner treasury as well.

He could tell at a glance that the quantities were wrong.

There's too much, we've prepared far too much!

It couldn't have been the volume produced in the last few days.

He had wanted to ask for a long time, but he was preoccupied with Zhao Xing's matter, and only today did he suddenly remember to ask.

"Reporting to the Commandant," Wang Ji said, "About two months ago, when Lord Zhao first arrived here, they had the Agricultural Supervisorate and the Engineering Office change the direction of military supplies manufacturing, and they also said that you would Fire Demon Tribe sooner or later."

Liao Rulong looked at Zhao Xing with some surprise. "Two months ago? I was still Wolf God Tribe back then, and you figured it out already?"

Zhao Xing humbly replied, "It's not as mysterious as they make it out to be. Even a fool can have a brilliant idea. In short, our Agricultural Supervisorate has an excess of planting capacity, so there's no harm in planting more crops here."

"Oh?" Liao Rulong's interest was piqued. "Then what suggestions do you have?"

Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then decided to drop the pretense and waved for a map to unfold. "Captain, please take a look. Currently, the Fire Demon Tribe's territory is being approached by troops from the east, west, and north."

"Because the Golden Feather Royal Court is to guard the Qinggang Mining Area, which is one of the few treasure lands in the Southern Barbarians Lands, comparable to the Cave Heaven Blessed Land of our Great Zhou."

"The strongest of them is Lu Yuanwei's Divine Thunder Army in the west, which has 500,000 men. He has a large number of men and his operations have already been established. No one in the west can compete with him; he is the only one with an army."

"To the north, there are the Tigron Army, the Black Armor Army, the Beginning Origin Army, and the Red Cloud Army. These four powerful armies are stationed on the northern defense line of the Fire Demon Tribe, with their vanguard forces totaling over a million men."

"To the east are eighteen armies, including the Divine Might Army, the Sea Pacifying Army, and the Blazing Sun Army. However, although there are many armies, there are fewer people, only two hundred thousand. This is because the eastern side of the Fire Demon Tribe is an extremely harsh environment, with the 'Flame Mountain Range' stretching across the ground."

"There is another layer of Astral Wind ten thousand meters above us, and the only passable section is the Fire Dragon Pass."

"This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Just a small number of barbarian soldiers and generals can hold off a million-strong army."

"The chances of getting through here are very slim."

"But if we can get through, we can then advance straight into the Qinggang Mining Area. This is because the main force of the Southern Barbarians is in the west and north."

Liao Rulong asked, "How should we get through this?"

Zhao Xing said, "Cross the mountain."

Liao Rulong frowned and said, "That's probably difficult. Our army can't widely distribute fifth-tier magic robes. Without top-grade Fifth-Tier Premium -Fire-Warding Robe, the soldiers simply can't get through."

"Even the Tower Ship can't get through. The Astral Wind in that area are too strong. It's too difficult to control the Tower Ship to fly at a height of a thousand meters. If we force our way through, it's like making the people of Fire Dragon Pass look like sitting ducks."

"They also have large-scale mechanized Divine Soldier."

Zhao Xing said, "Yes, the Fifth-Tier Premium Fire-Warding Robe are needed to equip the entire army of 40,000 to 50,000 people. With such a luxurious resource, we can directly attack Fire Dragon Pass."

"However, there are many wonders in the world. The Fire Demon Tribe's Flame Mountain Range does not require Fifth-Tier Premium Fire-Warding Robe to pass through; a fifth-grade low-quality one can also do it."

"Oh?" Liao Rulong looked at Chen Shijie.

The latter pondered for a moment and asked, "I really don't remember any plant that could be made into a robe that would have this effect."

Zhao Xing said, "Earth Fire Lotus."

"Earth Fire Lotus?" Chen Shijie was taken aback. "Does such a thing really exist? I've only ever seen it in books."

"Yes," Zhao Xing said confidently. "It is recorded in the 'Southern Barbarian Rare Item Records' that it grows in the lava river beneath the Flame Mountain."

"Are there any seeds of it in the Military Realm?" Liao Rulong asked.

"I don't know, maybe there are, maybe there aren't," Zhao Xing said. "But even if Military Realm are, there certainly aren't many, and the price certainly won't be low. When they first come out, the price will definitely be very high, and they will be prioritized for supplying strong armies."

"Because the environment of the Fire Demon Tribe is quite harsh, two branches of the Flame Mountain were artificially created to protect the western and northern sides of the Qinggang Mining Area. This is a major project created by the Heavenly Witch of the Golden Feather Royal Court."

Long Xiao asked, "So, if the Divine Might Army can buy it, then the other powerful armies already have it?"

"If we wait until the armies from the west and north reach the Qinggang Mining Area, we won't even get a sip of soup."

"Buying is very expensive, but if we have our own raw materials, the cost will be much lower," Zhao Xing said. "Therefore, we must seize this time difference as soon as possible."

Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Xing: "Don't tell me you've already prepared Earth Fire Lotus seeds; they're not available for exchange in the Military Realm."

"You overestimate me. I really don't have that," Zhao Xing laughed. "But you do."

"I have it?" Chen Shijie was taken aback. "How come I didn't know?"

Zhao Xing said, "Why don't you go to Fire Dragon Pass and steal some from the Earth Vein? You're skilled in the Fire Hell Earth Palace, and you know fire escape techniques, right?"

"However, this is a bit dangerous; there must be someone guarding the place."

"If the difficulty is too high, we can also wait for the Military Realm to release the seeds or seedlings of the Earth Fire Lotus."

Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Xing: "How do we plant it after we steal it? Its growing conditions must be very demanding, right?"

Zhao Xing said, "I can plant. I know advanced Volcano Art. My [Instant Primordial] has now reached its fifth stage, allowing it to grow three times and be applied to fifth-tier plants."

"If you can get it, I can grow it!"

"You... you also know the Volcano Art?" Chen Shijie suddenly recalled Zhao Xing's enlightenment these past few days, and his heart skipped a beat. "You've been planning to take advantage of the Earth Fire Lotus all along?"

There's one more chapter, but the release date is yet to be determined. Check it out tomorrow!

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