That day, Xia Dong slowly finished his cultivation in the Well-Bottom Secret Chamber beneath the city. After calculating how much time had passed, he thought to himself, It's nearly time to deliver the Mysterious Yin Qi-Gathering Pills I promised the Great Serpent.
This exotic serpent's strength was comparable to that of a Late Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
At this stage, when Xia Dong's own strength was still nowhere near enough to face the cultivators of the immortal sects head-on, the Great Serpent was the strongest trump card in his hand.
Such formidable fighting strength had to be carefully maintained with a full supply of Qi-Gathering Pills and ample sincerity. He couldn't afford the slightest misstep.
Xia Dong pushed open the door and walked to the expanded training ground next door.
His newly recruited subordinates were inside.
Xiao Hong was leading them through their drills.
During this time, he had quietly brought the ranks under his command up to thirty, recruiting from among the medical hall apprentices and his own tenant farmers.
He had divided the thirty men into three squads. They were all medical hall apprentices who had received his kindness, or sons of tenant farmers who had placed their land under the protection of his name as a tribute student.
He knew full well that if he wanted to put down roots in this world and establish his own cultivation lineage, these thirty men would be the very first members of his foundation.
Given enough time to raise families and multiply, they would become the hereditary retainers and bondsmen of the Xia Family for generations to come.
The main household gave them protection and wealth, while they gave their lives in service to it. Their interests were bound together so deeply that when one prospered, all prospered, and when