The Green Flood Dragon Army!

Jade Dragon City spanned nearly a hundred li and was divided into the outer city and the inner city.

The inner city was only ten li long and wide. The City Lord's Mansion, the Green Flood Dragon Army headquarters, and the army barracks were all located there.

The inner city had been built back when the Great Xia Dynasty was frantically constructing countless Vassal Cities throughout the Endless Territories. As for the outer city, it had gradually expanded over the long years.

Compared to the outer city, the inner city was far more heavily guarded. A squad of burly soldiers clad in black armor stood guard at the city gate, led by a Xiantian Lifeform wearing the same green armor as Cao Rong and the others.

"Commander Cao, just get back? How come you're heading to headquarters without taking some time to unwind?" The Xiantian Lifeform smiled as he greeted them, his assessing gaze moving up and down Zhou Hao, who was following beside the four men.

"I just met a new brother and brought him to join our Xiantian Battalion. Old Hu, how about we go have some fun at the Emerald Cloud Pavilion tonight? We've been cooped up on that island for a whole month. I was going stir-crazy." Cao Rong replied with a laugh.

"Haha, I'm on guard duty today, so I'll have to pass." The Xiantian Lifeform waved a hand. "Since he's Commander Cao's brother, go on in."

"That man's Hu Yong. He's one of the top figures in our Xiantian Battalion. Even Boss Cao says Hu Yong's strength is no less than his own."

As they entered the inner city, Yang Qiong explained to Zhou Hao.

Along the way, Zhou Hao had also grown familiar with the four of them.

Though Cao Rong was a commander in the Xiantian Battalion, he was a hearty, straightforward man who treated his subordinates warmly. When there was no military business to attend to, they all got along without any airs of rank or status.

Yang Qiong seemed the gentlest, and he was also the most talkative.

Miao Ying rarely spoke and seemed a little withdrawn, but Yang Qiong said he was the most devious of them all, a real wolf in sheep's clothing.

Since Zhou Hao had beaten Zhao Hu, Zhao Hu kept his distance. It seemed the fight had left him quite shaken.

With Cao Rong and the others leading the way, Zhou Hao passed through the inner city without any trouble. They soon reached the highest point in the center, where the Green Flood Dragon Army headquarters stood.

The entire headquarters was green, built from enormous blocks of stone, each two zhang across.

A lifelike flood dragon was carved along the building, winding from its very base all the way to the top. The two huge eyes on its head, like red crystals, made it seem as though a real flood dragon were surveying the whole of Jade Dragon City, guarding the ancient city at every moment.

Zhou Hao stood in front of the headquarters and gazed into the distance.

To the east stretched a vast sea, its surface glittering with waves. To the west lay a broad, flat grassland. The City Lord's Mansion occupied nearly half of the inner city to the south, while the Green Flood Dragon Army barracks stretched across the north, along with a large Drill Ground.

"Let's go, Brother Zhou Hao. There's not much to see in the inner city. It's just the City Lord's Mansion and the barracks. All the fun is in the outer city." Cao Rong spoke up. "We'll register you at headquarters first, then take you to the Xiantian Battalion. No matter how urgent anything is today, we'll make sure you're properly settled first."

"Exactly. Leave it to us."

Yang Qiong thumped his chest.

"Sorry for the trouble." Zhou Hao nodded, his impression of Cao Rong and the others improving considerably.

At least they were all warmhearted and worth befriending.

But that good impression lasted less than the time it took to burn a single incense stick.

Now wearing the standard green armor and holding the token that marked him as a member of the Xiantian Battalion, Zhou Hao stood in silence. The only one left beside him was Zhao Hu, who had also received a new set of armor.

So this was what they meant by taking care of his business first, no matter how urgent anything else was?

Had the few female soldiers handling registration made them forget every last word they'd just said?

"B-Brother Zhou Hao, don't take it the wrong way. We'd just come back from guarding an island overseas, and when we suddenly saw... well, you know." Zhao Hu rubbed his nose, doing his best to cover for Cao Rong and the other two.

When Zhou Hao didn't answer, Zhao Hu grew even more uneasy.

"Neither of the two deputy generals is at headquarters today. How about I take you to the barracks to learn a Qi-cultivation method first?"

Even though Zhou Hao seemed much more even-tempered now, Zhao Hu still felt a little nervous being alone with the man who had just beaten him in two with a single staff strike.

"Let's go." Zhou Hao sighed softly and headed toward the barracks to the north.

He understood that without Cao Rong and the others, there was no way he could have registered, completed his identity records, and obtained a Tribe Decree so quickly.

Besides, the most important things had already been taken care of. There was no need for all of them to accompany him.

It was just that the sudden change in their attitude had left him speechless.

As the garrison of Jade Dragon City, the Green Flood Dragon Army had fifty thousand soldiers, along with the Xiantian Battalion, made up of five hundred Xiantian Lifeforms. The battalion was the strongest fighting force across the ten-thousand-li sphere of influence around Jade Dragon City.

The Green Flood Dragon Army soldiers, who were at the Post-Heaven peak, guarded the city and strategic locations throughout its sphere of influence. At other times, unless they received military orders, they were not allowed to leave the barracks.

The Xiantian Lifeforms in the battalion had far more freedom. When they had no missions, they could spend their time however they liked. After all, it was perfectly normal for a Xiantian Lifeform to spend months in seclusion cultivating.

However, Xiantian Lifeforms were not allowed to leave the area within ten thousand li of Jade Dragon City. Once they received military orders, they had to return to the barracks immediately.

That was because their identity tokens were also magical communication and tracking devices, with a maximum transmission range of ten thousand li. Once someone went beyond that range on their own, they could no longer receive orders from headquarters and would be punished under military law.

However, Zhou Hao had yet to cultivate Qi. With not a trace of true essence in his body, he couldn't refine even a low-grade magical item like the identity token.

So, as far as he was concerned, the token could only passively receive orders from headquarters; he couldn't use it to contact them. This left the female soldiers who registered his identity utterly astonished.

After all, few people who reached the Xiantian Realm through body cultivation didn't also cultivate Qi.

Fortunately, identity tokens weren't exclusive to the Xiantian Battalion. Even the Post-Heaven soldiers had them, and they only needed to drip blood on the token to activate it, even if they couldn't refine it.

"The army's cultivation manuals are all in the Martial Repository. I'll take you there." Zhao Hu led the way, saying nothing unless he had to.

Zhou Hao was happy to have some peace and quiet, and followed him into the barracks.

As soon as they entered the barracks, Zhao Hu's bearing changed.

The Green Flood Dragon Army soldiers they passed, whether marching in formation or walking alone in pairs and threes, all carried a heavy aura of slaughter. They were clearly battle-hardened warriors.

The barracks should have held over ten thousand soldiers, yet as Zhou Hao walked through, he found it completely silent, without a single noisy sound.

Even the air inside the barracks seemed heavier than outside.

The two followed a smooth Qingshi path to a secluded corner of the barracks.

A small, two-story wooden building stood before Zhou Hao.

The silent, blood-chilling atmosphere of the barracks seemed not to have reached this place at all. Zhao Hu, who had been standing ramrod straight, relaxed as soon as he arrived.

"Master Jingzhi! Master Jingzhi!" Zhao Hu's booming voice made the entire two-story building vibrate.

"I heard you, I heard you. I'm not deaf." A clear voice came from an open space beside the entrance. A wicker lounge chair sat there.

From where Zhou Hao stood, he could only see someone lying in the chair.

"Master Jingzhi, this is Brother Zhou Hao. He just joined our Xiantian Battalion today." Zhao Hu lowered his voice slightly as he introduced the person in the chair. "Brother Zhou Hao has never cultivated Qi before, so I brought him here to pick out a Qi-cultivation method."

"Never cultivated Qi?" The man called Master Jingzhi seemed intrigued. He sat up in the lounge chair and turned to look at them.

He was a middle-aged man with graying hair. Unlike the other Green Flood Dragon Army soldiers, who all wore armor, he was dressed in a simple gray robe, washed so many times it had faded nearly white.

"This is Master Jingzhi. He's been watching over the Martial Repository ever since I joined the Green Flood Dragon Army. No one knows where he came from, but even the deputy generals address him as 'Master' and never slight him. Brother Zhou Hao, be respectful, too." Zhao Hu sent the reminder through a secret voice transmission, afraid Zhou Hao might offend him by accident.

Unable to transmit his voice with true essence, Zhou Hao could only nod.

On the way here, he had already learned about the Green Flood Dragon Army from Yang Qiong.

The highest-ranking figure in the entire Green Flood Dragon Army was the general, who was also the lord of Jade Dragon City. He was a powerful Myriad Phenomena True Person. He usually stayed at the City Lord's Mansion and only occasionally visited headquarters; unless something major happened, he wouldn't come to the barracks.

Below the general were two deputy generals at the Purple Mansion peak. They handled the Green Flood Dragon Army's day-to-day affairs.

Below them were four commanders at the Xiantian peak, including Cao Rong.

As for why the Green Flood Dragon Army had no cultivators at the early or middle Purple Mansion stages, only Xiantian Lifeforms and deputy generals at the Purple Mansion peak, it was because anyone in the army who broke through the Xiantian Realm and entered the Purple Mansion Realm would be sent to the East Sea Sect. They wouldn't remain in Jade Dragon City.

That was also why the tribes around Jade Dragon City sent so many Xiantian Lifeforms here to join the Green Flood Dragon Army each year, seeing it as a stepping-stone to joining an immortal sect.

Yang Qiong had also told Zhou Hao that the so-called East Sea Sect did not refer to a single sect. It was a collective name for several cultivation sects scattered across the vast East Sea.

Their Jade Dragon City belonged to one such cultivation sect, called the Jade Dragon Sect.

"Hmm, it seems the body-cultivation method you practice is quite good. Your transformed Xiantian divine body has vigorous qi and blood, and its divine radiance is restrained." Master Jingzhi looked Zhou Hao over as he walked toward him. "What body-cultivation method do you practice? I'll find you a suitable Qi-cultivation manual."

"The Chiming Nine Heavens Map," Zhou Hao replied.

"The foremost method of divine-demon body cultivation?" Master Jingzhi looked at Zhou Hao in surprise. "And you've already reached the Xiantian Realm?"

Zhao Hu, standing beside them, was startled too.

No wonder he was so fierce. He was another prodigy cultivating the Chiming Nine Heavens Map.

First update.

My daughter was just discharged from the hospital, and now my wife has come down with a bad fever. I'm exhausted. I promise to update twice a day, but the word count will be at the minimum.