"What is this?"
"A list." Ye Changqing slapped the stack of papers onto the table. "During tonight's release of the vow power torrent, a total of twelve thousand four hundred and seventy-three mortals in the city broke through their mental thresholds."
Yang Wudi did not understand. "What does that mean?"
"It means they can sense vow power."
Ye Changqing spoke faster.
“They aren't just passively supplying vow power. They can actively sense it, touch it, and even exert rudimentary control over it. By Kindling Academy's standards, these people already meet the basic requirements to become vow power Cultivators.”
"Twelve thousand?" Yang Wudi shot to his feet.
"Four hundred and seventy-three," Ye Changqing corrected. "Not a single person overcounted."
Yang Wudi paced back and forth through the hall, his steps growing quicker.
Twelve thousand people who could cultivate.
They needed neither spirit roots nor meridians, only a heart resilient enough.
What did that number mean?
It meant that overnight, Jade Dragon City had gained twelve thousand potential fighters.
Even if these people were still weak, even if they needed time to grow, that vast base was already there.
Twelve thousand out of three million mortals—a proportion approaching four in a thousand.
What if they expanded this to both regions in their entirety?
Yang Wudi did not dare follow that thought any further.
"What condition are these people in now?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"Most are still unconscious."
Ye Changqing leafed through the list.
"Over three hundred have woken up. I sent the Academy's Fire Sowers to make initial contact, and the feedback has been excellent. These people have far greater affinity for vow power than ordinary students. They pick it up extremely quickly."
"Any exceptional standouts?"
"Yes." Ye Changqing pulled out the last page of the list. "A blacksmith named Wang Tiezhu