Vassals' First Expedition (Seeking Support)

Liang Ji examined the information displayed on the 'Starlight Treasure Mirror.'

Star Lord: Liang Ji.

Cultivation: Nine-Rank Body Refining (Skin-and-Flesh Refining 100%).

Natal Star: Dragon Soul Star.

Star diameter: 1,086 kilometers.

Star composition: Earth (41%), Metal (15%), Water (22%), Wood (12%), Fire (5%), Air (5%).

Spirit Vein: First Rank (1%).

Vassals: Half-Demon Dragonfolk.

Dao Fruit: 0.05%.

Vassals: Half-Demon Dragonfolk.

Rank: First Rank.

Number: 8,682 (First Rank: 909, Zero Rank: 7,773)

Religion: Heavenly Emperor Faith (Priest: Xi).

Politics: Small Tribe (Chief: King).

Economy: Farming, Animal Husbandry (Leader: Farmer).

Military: Hunting Team (Commander: Chi).

Skills: None.

There had not been much overall change. Aside from his completion of Nine-Rank Body Refining's Skin-and-Flesh Refining stage, the number of Half-Dragonfolk vassals had increased roughly threefold, the result of the Half-Dragonfolk race's natural reproduction.

Although several thousand years had already passed on his Natal Star, the Half-Dragonfolk's rate of reproduction and growth was not particularly fast. On one hand, this was limited by the race itself; on the other, it was constrained by Dragon Soul Star's size, resources, origin, and other factors.

As for the Cuscuta Spirit Root he had obtained earlier, which could accelerate the reproduction of half-demon vassals, Liang Ji had already confirmed that the Demonic Soul infecting it had been digested by the Dragon Soul. However, he had not yet planted it into his Natal Star.

To be safe, he planned to wait until after this trial. Once he had dealt with it together with the various materials obtained during the trial and ensured that nothing could go wrong, he would plant it in Dragon Soul Star.

Then there were the four Half-Dragonfolk leaders, Xi, King, Farmer, and Chi. They had long since ceased to be the original four. Over the course of thousands of years of development, the first generation of Half-Dragonfolk who had awakened their bloodlines and intelligence and advanced to First Rank had basically all died of old age.

Yet Liang Ji had preserved and passed down these four names as titles exclusive to the leaders of the Half-Dragonfolk vassals.

Perhaps the current four leaders of the Half-Dragonfolk could be called Xi the Sixth, King the Sixth, Nong the Sixth, and Chi the Sixth.

After reviewing his vassals' current situation, Liang Ji issued an order, and the entire Half-Demon Dragonfolk tribe mobilized.

King the Sixth gave the order to gather all Half-Demon Dragonfolk. Xi the Sixth led everyone in a grand war ritual, praying for the Heavenly Emperor's protection and victory in battle. Nong the Sixth led others in preparing supplies and weapons for the expedition. Chi the Sixth organized the troops and made ready to depart.

At that moment, starlight fell from the heavens and transformed into a Starlight Portal before the tribe. It was the passage leading to the Trial Grounds.

Upon seeing it, the tribal priest Xi the Sixth immediately led everyone in kneeling before the Starlight Portal, crying out in a rhythmic, mysterious voice:

"This is a miracle of the Heavenly Emperor!"

"The enemy is on the other side!"

"The Heavenly Emperor has opened the gate of victory for us! He will surely bless us with triumph after triumph!"

"Warriors of the tribe! March forth! Use the great axes in your hands to hew down the enemy's heads, bring victory home, and offer it to the Heavenly Emperor!"

Chi the Sixth stood at the very front of the expeditionary force. Nearly two meters tall, he wore iron armor, held a great axe in one hand and an iron shield in the other. Raising his battle axe high, he threw back his head and roared, "Triumph after triumph!"

"Triumph after triumph!" "Triumph after triumph!" "Triumph after triumph!"

Behind Chi the Sixth stood more than six hundred First-Rank Half-Demon Dragonfolk. All were over 1.8 meters tall, clad in iron armor, with great axes in one hand and large shields in the other. They likewise raised their battle axes and shouted as one.

Liang Ji's Natal Star now held more than eight thousand Half-Demon Dragonfolk vassals. Over nine hundred of them had awakened their bloodlines and intelligence and advanced to First Rank, while the remaining seven thousand or so had yet to awaken.

This trial was meant for the school to assess the students' vassals and formulate the most suitable cultivation plans. Naturally, it focused on First-Rank vassals that had awakened intelligence and bloodlines. Only vassals that had awakened and advanced could undergo further cultivation and improvement.

Therefore, all the Half-Demon Dragonfolk Liang Ji sent out this time were First Rank. Of the more than nine hundred, he had dispatched over six hundred directly, accounting for two-thirds of them.

"March forth!"

With a single command, Chi the Sixth led the troops through the Starlight Portal and into an entirely new world.

Here, the sky seemed veiled by a layer of black mist, the light dim. The earth was cracked, the rivers dried up, and the vegetation withered. Rotting carcasses of birds, beasts, and insects lay everywhere. The entire world seemed to be walking toward death.

Not far away, two more Starlight Portals opened, and two Half-Demon Snake People forces emerged from them.

These two Half-Demon Snake People forces had strikingly distinct characteristics.

The Snake People in one force were slender, generally around 1.7 meters tall. Their scales and skin carried the hue of ice and snow, and merely standing there, they gave off a bone-piercing chill.

More importantly, this Snake People force numbered a full thousand. They all wore exquisite scale armor, carried longbows and quivers, and had slender twin blades at their waists.

They were clearly all First-Rank Half-Demon Snake People who had awakened their bloodlines and intelligence. They had likely even studied and mastered some bloodline inheritances and skills.

These were Peng Yue's Natal Star vassals, the Ice Soul Serpentfolk born after refining the Ice Soul Demon Serpent's Demon Core.

The other Half-Demon Snake People force was generally shorter, around 1.5 meters tall. Their scales and skin bore a grayish-black hue that blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

They numbered over eight hundred. All wore leather armor suited for movement and concealment, and wielded dull, lightless daggers and spike blades. Most also had concealed crossbows, blow darts, and other deadly tools of ambush and assassination hanging from their waists.

Clearly, this Half-Demon Snake People force had likewise all awakened their bloodlines and intelligence, and cultivated bloodline inheritances and skills in concealment, stealth, infiltration, and assassination.

These were Fang Xiaohan's vassals, the Shadow Serpentfolk born after refining the Shadow Serpent Demon Core.

This trial allowed teams, and at Fang Xiaohan's suggestion, the three of them had formed a team.

At this moment, they were all sizing up one another's vassals.

Peng Yue came from a powerful family, while Fang Xiaohan came from a wealthy one. The Void Demon Cores they had refined back then had clearly been deliberately chosen special Demon Cores, so the vassals born from their Natal Stars each possessed unique bloodlines and abilities.

Looking at their vassals, Liang Ji nearly could not stop himself from quipping, What a black-and-white pairing.

At the same time, Peng Yue and Fang Xiaohan were also examining Liang Ji's vassals.

"Liang Ji, though I already knew your vassals had undergone a beneficial mutation, this is simply too tall and brawny."

Fang Xiaohan sounded both amazed and depressed. Her Shadow Serpentfolk vassals excelled at stealth and assassination, but were consequently generally short. Standing beside Liang Ji's vassals, the contrast was far too stark.

However, she soon smiled and said, "Sure enough, the three of our vassals are best suited to acting as a team. Mine will scout the way and assassinate targets, Liang Ji's will handle frontal assaults, and Peng Yue's will provide long-range support."

"We'll surely be unbeatable in the trial!"

Earlier, some readers suggested changing Dao Arts to Star Arts. I'd like to ask everyone's opinion. Which one do you support?