Preparations Before the Plan and Bad News

Zhao Xing said, "As I just said, our Agricultural Supervisorate capacity is overflowing, so I just glanced at the others. It was purely coincidental."

Nobody would believe that.

You're so well-prepared, you're practically shoving a gun right into the Fire Demon Tribe's nose and then claiming it wasn't intentional... Who would believe that?!

You clearly had your eye on the Fire Demon Tribe Clan a long time ago!

Zhao Xing, on the other hand, was tactically drinking water.

Whether you believe it or not, I believe it.

Liao Rulong gleaned some meaning from the conversation between Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie.

The Fire Demon Tribe are strong fighters, and they can be defeated relatively easily.

The prerequisite is to obtain a fifth-tier Earth Fire Lotus from the bottom of the Flame Mountain Range. Mature plants are not required; seeds and seedlings are both acceptable.

If we can get our hands on it, then the Flame Mountain Range will no longer be an insurmountable barrier.

The difficulty of attacking Fire Dragon Pass from the inside is significantly reduced.

The strategist behind Liao Rulong, Pu Zhong, was quoting the latter half of Zhao Xing's words.

Zhao Xing knows all these things so well; he probably already has a plan for how to steal the Earth Fire Lotus.

There might still be some reservations, a sense that something is left unsaid.

After Zhao Xing said that...

Liao Rulong and the others lost their appetite for drinking and immediately took Pu Zhong and the other commanders to discuss the attack on Fire Dragon Pass.

"Captain, let Chen Shijie stay behind. We'll call them when the main army moves out." Just as they were about to leave Ninety-Second City, Pu Zhong suddenly whispered to Liao Rulong.

"Hmm? Why?" Liao Rulong looked at Pu Zhong in confusion.

"The two Military Sima Nong may also have some specific discussions about planting," Pu Zhong said.

Pu Zhong could tell that Zhao Xing still had something to say.

He guessed that this was something he might only want to tell Chen Shijie.

Perhaps they wanted to leave the credit to Chen Shijie?

Ultimately, Chen Shijie was the one he trusted and was closest to.

Liao Rulong, the commander, was someone I had only known for a short time, so there were some things I couldn't say.

"Old Chen," Zhao Xing called Chen Shijie to a private room in the outer city. "This time, I'm going with you to steal the Earth Fire Lotus from Fire Dragon Pass."

"Are you going too?" Chen Shijie asked. "There's no need. I'll take some men to steal it."

"No, I want to go," Zhao Xing said. "Fire Dragon Pass is no simple place. The Earth Fire Lotus is a treasure that the Fire Demon Tribe values highly. There are many traps and complex terrain along the way."

"With me around, things will go more smoothly for you."

Chen Shijie had no idea where Zhao Xing got his confidence from.

Seeing Zhao Xing's insistence, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll talk to Liao Rulong and have him transfer you to the front line."

"The operation team must be led by you," Zhao Xing said. "Don't let an amateur take command."

"Why do I feel like you're emphasizing this point because you want to take command?" Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Xing with a half-smile.

"Is it that obvious?" Zhao Xing looked up.

"I'm confident I'll get command of the operation," Chen Shijie said. "Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"Go to the Military Realm and find the book 'Southern Barbarian Rare Item Records,' and find its author," Zhao Xing said. "His name is Zhang Chunfang."

"During the reign of Wen Emperor, he was sent as an envoy to Southern Barbarians tribes."

"He wrote 'The Southern Barbarian Rare Item Records,' so he must have seen the Earth Fire Lotus. I guess he was very knowledgeable about the Fire Demon Tribe, and there should be archives of geographical information about the Fire Demon Tribe recorded by him in the Military Realm."

Chen Shijie nodded. "Okay."

The information in the Military Realm is vast and boundless. If Zhao Xing hadn't reminded him, Chen Shijie wouldn't have known where to begin if he wanted to learn about the Fire Demon Tribe.

"Prepare some more traps. This list is what I came up with after reading that book; it might come in handy."

Chen Shijie looked at the list, unsure what to say, "You still say you didn't have any designs on the Fire Demon Tribe?"

"Okay, that's all for now. Call me when we set off," Zhao Xing said.

"You don't necessarily have to go," Chen Shijie reiterated. "There's still some danger."

"I also know advanced escape techniques, so you don't need to worry about me," Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"..." Chen Shijie always felt that Zhao Xing was a monster.

If someone at the Seventh Grade rank can comprehend a high-level technique, they can be called a genius.

But for Zhao Xing, it was as natural as eating and drinking.

"How many advanced spells do you actually know?"

"Not many, only nine kinds."

"That 'also' you used makes me want to punch someone." Chen Shijie's lips twitched. "Fine, then you come with me."

After parting ways with Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing returned to his room.

In fact, if it were someone else, he certainly wouldn't have personally gone to risk his life at Fire Dragon Pass.

Why did Zhao Xing do that?

There are two reasons. First, destroying the Fire Dragon Pass would indeed bring huge benefits. As long as they could get a share of the profits in the Qinggang Mining Area, he, Long Xiao, Chen Shijie, and even many others could be ennobled.

He might be able to leapfrog through more than a dozen ranks across four Nobility Title —Baron, Viscount, Earl, and Marquis—in one go.

This is because it's the biggest source of battle achievements in the early stages.

Secondly, Zhao Xing had a detailed military strategy map of Fire Dragon Pass in his mind.

Only Zhao Xing knew the strategies for navigating the underground lava river, harvesting the Earth Fire Lotus, and assessing the defensive strength during Emperor Jing's reign.

If he doesn't go in person, Old Chen and his team will definitely face many setbacks, or at least things won't go smoothly.

If he goes along, even a slight reminder, without saying much, can make the plan go much more smoothly.

The last reason was that Zhao Xing wanted to try and change Chen Shijie's fate.

Mention the Earth Fire Lotus and appoint Chen Shijie as the planner and person in charge of the operation.

Therefore, Old Chen's contribution to taking down Fire Dragon Pass must have been significant.

He wanted to push Chen Shijie's war merits to over a million as soon as possible!

In this way, even if Old Chen dies, he can be transformed into Yin God Body, which is like buying insurance.

It's even possible that Chen Shijie could reach the Sixth Rank or even Fifth Grade much faster.

Those with high Official Rank and great military achievements are actually less likely to die.

If Chen Shijie's fate could be changed and he didn't die in the end, then Zhao Xing could make more adjustments to his plans for the future.

If Chen Shijie's fate is unchangeable, Zhao Xing will be even more cautious afterward.

Of course, Zhao Xing wouldn't tell Chen Shijie these thoughts, and even Pu Zhong just assumed that Zhao Xing wanted Chen Shijie to make a contribution.

Who would have thought that Zhao Xing knew so much about the Fire Dragon Pass? And that he had so many schemes up his sleeve.

Life went on as usual, just like any other day.

The difference is that many more people have gradually arrived at the military city on the front line.

The Divine Might Army added a large number of fire-elemental sorcerers to his and Wen Shaoyang's troops.

Liao Rulong's troops expanded to 38,000 men on August 20th.

August 21st.

Liao Rulong's troops, carrying a batch of equipment and supplies, set off for Zhiyou City aboard the Dragon Head Tower Ship.

Zhao Xing, on the other hand, continued to complete his regular duties and advancement tasks in Ninety-Second City.

"On the 4th of last month, my [Instant Primordial] progress reached the advanced Third-Turn."

"His battle merits exceeded 250,000, and he also broke into the top 1,000."

"On July 20th, although I didn't focus on the mission, I still achieved 430,000 battle merits, ranking 431st."

"After that, I didn't do any missions. Instead, I was studying the True Self Faction and the Yin Yang True Self Scripture, which caused me to drop out of the top 500 again when the rankings were settled on August 1st."

"On August 13th, I started doing the mission again."

"As of today, August 21, the number of battle merits has increased by 50,000, reaching 480,000."

"Now my ranking has once again entered the top 500 of the Seventh Grade list."

"However, the speed at which I gain battle merits has obviously slowed down." Zhao Xing looked at the battle merits and rankings in the Earth Realm.

Because Liao Rulong's unit decided to take a break, the merit points awarded for his duties were reduced to the minimum.

If there is no war, there is naturally no need for so many military supplies, and the rewards for military merits are also lower.

Although there were advanced tasks, Zhao Xing didn't follow up immediately, so there wasn't a particularly dramatic increase.

Of course, gaining 50,000 battle merits in 8 Heavenly Timing is still a very fast pace.

Because at this time, many troops in the Southern Theater Command had their eyes on the "Fire Demon Tribe Clan Territory," a lucrative prize.

Preparations are underway for a major war.

The Southern Wilderness fought and retreated for more than two months, but was pushed back more than 10,000 li by the Great Zhou. Finally, it couldn't help but want to launch a counterattack.

Both the Golden Feather Royal Court and the Sacred Spirit Royal Court have transferred a significant number of troops to the Fire Demon Tribe Clan's territory.

This marks the first time that the Southern Wilderness has mobilized more than three million troops for a confrontation.

The Southern Wilderness also needs a victory to stop the momentum of the Great Zhou.

Otherwise, if we keep retreating, the fighting will eventually turn into a real rout.

With the two royal courts of the Southern Wilderness making a move, the Great Zhou naturally had to pay attention as well. Most of its troops withdrew their forces and began to reinforce and regroup in preparation for a major battle.

Therefore, for the past month, it has been small-scale scout teams of about 100 people conducting small-scale operations.

No one had much merit to gain from the battles; it wasn't just Zhao Xing who was in this situation.

On August 22, Wen Shaoyang's and Liao Rulong's troops of the Divine Might Army began to send out vanguard forces to search eastward from the Wolf God Tribe.

Meanwhile, Chen Shijie's action plan for Fire Dragon Pass is also being continuously improved.

With Zhao Xing's reminder, Liao Rulong purchased a lot of Engineer School equipment from the Military Realm.

Liao Rulong bought a lot of things according to the list Zhao Xing gave him, which would cost a lot of money, but he still bought them without hesitation. He trusted Chen Shijie, and Chen Shijie trusted Zhao Xing.

That would mean he could also trust Zhao Xing's judgment.

The list contains some useless items and some useful ones, a mix of truth and falsehood.

But once Zhao Xing joins the action team, he will definitely be able to use these useful equipment.

In addition, Zhao Xing himself is also making preparations.

"Infiltrating into the enemy's territory, the Straw Man Art and the Transformation of Seasons Art are both useful spells."

"Now I can achieve the unity of the three methods. If I can achieve the Five Arts Unity, then I can comprehend the True Self Straw Man Art."

"The Invisibility Straw Figure in the straw Invisibility Straw Man Art is also an advanced spell, and an essential spell for stealth."

"Through internal training Transformation of Seasons Art, one can directly transform into the appearance of a barbarian."

"Unfortunately, I'm not ready for any of these things yet."

"You only realize how little law you have when you need it."

"Right now, we still have to rely on external means to disguise ourselves."

Zhao Xing looked at the boxes, which were filled with colorful Divine Soldier weapons, all of which Chen Shijie had ordered.

He was inspecting the quality of these treasures at that moment.

But Long Xiao couldn't stand it anymore. "That's enough! You're never going to stop showing off."

Even if Zhao Xing didn't think that way, in Long Xiao's eyes, this kid was just showing off!

Wang Ji immediately defended himself, saying, "If I knew nine advanced techniques, I would talk about them every day too."

Long Xiao was speechless. He rummaged through the box and pulled out something that looked like a mask. "How do you use this?"

Zhao Xing glanced at it and said, "Wang the Engineer, teach him how to use it."

Wang Ji nodded, ran over, took the mask, and placed it on Long Xiao's head. "Thousand Transformations Headgear, Fifth-Tier Premium."

"The head Divine Soldier of the Thousand Transformations Set".

"Once you put it on, your head will transform into the appearance of an alien race."

Buzz~

When Long Xiao put it on, the mask immediately covered his entire head and extended all the way to his neck.

After that, two demon horns grew on Long Xiao's head, his cheeks turned crimson, and his eyes became twice as big as before, as if he had undergone canthoplasty.

It has no hair on its head, only layers of wrinkles, as if its brain is exposed.

"Wow~" Long Xiao glanced at the bronze mirror, "It's just like the real thing! I can even feel the blood flowing under my cheeks."

"If you can tell it's fake, every single one of the Mechanism Master and weavers who made the Thousand Transformations Set —every single person on that production line—would be in jail," Wang Ji said proudly. "Usually only Fifth Grade can spot its flaws."

"Amazing!" Long Xiao touched his cheek and then the horn on his head, having a great time. "By the way, wasn't it supposed to be a thousand transformations? Does it mean I can only transform into the Fire Demon Tribe?"

Wang Ji handed over the instruction manual. "Touch your earlobe and it will transform. There are a total of eighteen transformations. Memorize the order before using it, and be careful not to transform it into the wrong one."

"Otherwise, your infiltration will turn into a full-scale assault."

Long Xiao nodded and went to the side to familiarize himself with the controls.

Turning my head, I saw Zhao Xing walking out with two devil horns on his head.

He was also equipped with the Thousand Transformations.

"Huh?" Long Xiao looked Zhao Xing up and down. "Wang Ji, why does he look more handsome in this form?"

Wang Ji explained, "The Thousand Transformations headgear is adjusted according to the user's face, perfectly fitting the facial meridians and blood circulation."

"What's the meaning?"

"It means Zhao Xing is more handsome than you, even with the hood on."

"..."

Long Xiao was silent for a moment, then angrily ran to the side.

With the equipment in place, I spent a day getting familiar with it.

On August 23, Liao Rulong's troops had arrived in Zhiyou City.

Zhao Xing received the transfer order and also prepared to leave Ninety-Second City.

With his departure, the position of chief official fell to Wang Ji.

However, no one wanted Zhao Xing to leave.

The farewell ceremony lasted for a full hour.

"He's really popular." Long Xiao curled his lip. "Song Fang, that Seventh Grade, can't bear to part with him."

"Don't you even see what Zhao Xing brought them?" Chen Shijie smiled. "In the two months he's been in Ninety-Second City, everyone's battle merits have doubled."

"The number of people in the Agricultural Supervisorate has more than doubled."

"Agricultural Official is the source of industry. As the efficiency of Agricultural Supervisorate increases, the tasks of the other departments also increase accordingly."

"Zhao Xing adjusted the direction of the tasks of each department, and everyone benefited. It would not be surprising to kneel down to see off such a superior."

What are military achievements? They mean future prospects, land grants, titles, and glory for one's ancestors.

"Phew~"

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief after boarding the Dragon Head Tower Ship.

Everyone was so enthusiastic that he was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"Set off," Chen Shijie ordered.

Boom!

The Dragon Head Tower Ship rose from the ground and disappeared into the layer of Astral Wind, heading towards Zhiyou City.

The Dragon Head Tower Ship is faster than the Swordfish Flying Boat and the Netherflame Warship.

It only took three hours to fly over Zhiyou City.

"Boom!"

The Tower Ship landed inside Zhiyou City.

At this moment, Liao Rulong was also standing on the landing plaza in Zhiyou City to welcome them.

As soon as they met, Liao Rulong delivered some bad news.

I was stuck in sleep yesterday and didn't fall asleep until 4 a. m.

I didn't sleep well during the day because I was struggling with the plot.

After I got up, I deleted all four thousand words I had written and rewrote them. Now I'm posting them.

I'll probably have to wait until I wake up to update today.

Please forgive me, brothers.