The Situation

Almost overnight, Xiao Ming had essentially settled on his plans for the future.

The next day, when the east had only just begun to show a pale sliver of dawn, Xiao Ming had already risen early and left his room.

It had to be said that the air and environment of the Battle Qi Continent were truly excellent.

He recalled how, back when he had still been on Earth, humanity's endless exploitation of nature had given rise to all manner of environmental problems.

And at that time, Xiao Ming himself had been nothing more than a wage slave rushing about day and night. Now, blessed by the heavens, he had somehow successfully transmigrated to the Battle Qi Continent and even obtained the heaven-defying system that only protagonists could possess.

Moreover, he had now successfully become the stockade chief of the Black Demon Stockade.

From here on, he would surely make a great display of his ambitions and make up for the things he had never been able to accomplish in his previous life.

Are kings and nobles born that way?

At that thought, Xiao Ming suddenly felt himself brimming with fighting spirit.

With the arrival of a new day, Xiao Ming immediately began preparing for the actions ahead.

After having breakfast delivered to Little Peach and her mother's room, Xiao Ming turned and headed to the main hall.

Xiao Ming had only been seated for a short while when Seven Baleful Intents and the others arrived early as well.

Looking at the group before him, Xiao Ming felt somewhat surprised. He had not expected his subordinates to be this proactive toward him.

"You lot, did you stay up all night?" Xiao Ming asked, looking at the dark circles beneath Seven Baleful Intents and the others' eyes.

"Yes, Stockade Chief. We did not sleep all night. Those people are scattered far too chaotically. If they want to escape our grasp, it would be far too easy," Seven Baleful Intents said with concern.

Rather than feeling anxious upon hearing this news, Xiao Ming's lips curled into a faint smile.

"You needn't worry about that. So long as we can find them, even if they flee to the ends of the earth, I am fully confident that I can keep them all here. None of them will be going anywhere."

Upon hearing Xiao Ming's words, Seven Baleful Intents and the others' eyes instantly lit up.

As though they had remembered something, they silently moved to stand on both sides of the main hall.

Not long afterward, everyone from the Black Demon Stockade gathered in the main hall, quietly awaiting Xiao Ming, seated in the chief's seat, to issue their next orders.

Seeing that nearly everyone had arrived, Xiao Ming roused himself from his feigned nap, rose from his chair, and called out loudly to the crowd below, "Everyone,"

He paused there.

Everyone pricked up their ears, wanting to hear what Xiao Ming would say next.

Once he saw that everyone in the hall had focused their attention on him, Xiao Ming continued.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. From this day onward, I will lead you to establish a force belonging to our Black Demon Stockade in Wu Tan City. Our foremost objective now is to defeat those disobedient small forces around us and make them submit to us!"

"Long live the Stockade Chief!" everyone shouted in unison.

Looking at the many bandits below, Xiao Ming spoke solemnly. "The reason our Black Demon Stockade has been able to grow strong in these mountains is entirely thanks to everyone. Therefore, the Black Demon Stockade cannot betray your expectations. I leave this matter to all of you. Within half a year, you must make the Black Demon Stockade truly grow!"

"Yes! Rest assured, Stockade Chief! We guarantee that we will complete the mission!" a bandit shouted loudly. His voice was thunderous, echoing endlessly through the mountains.

"Good. Go and prepare as soon as possible. Tonight, we act!" Xiao Ming said, waving his hand.

The group then withdrew one after another, returning to their respective rooms to rest and recuperate.

Xiao Ming also rose from his chair at this time. Walking to the doorway, he gazed into the distance and said, "Seven Baleful Intents, do you think that with the Black Demon Stockade's current overall strength, we can secure a place in Wu Tan City?"

Hearing this, Seven Baleful Intents pondered for quite some time before slowly answering.

"Reporting to the Stockade Chief, in this subordinate's view, with the Black Demon Stockade's current overall strength, we need not fear even the Xiao Clan, Jialie Clan, or Oba Clan. With several of us at the Grand Battle Master realm, we can already contend with the patriarchs of the three clans. However, the Black Demon Stockade has survived through robbery and plunder. Therefore, if we wish to truly confront the three great clans head-on, what we lack is not merely strength, but even more so logistical support."

"Furthermore, most of the brothers in the Black Demon Stockade have never undergone formal, unified training. If we face the armies of the three great clans, we may fight without any coordination and be defeated one by one."

After hearing Seven Baleful Intents' words, Xiao Ming fell into thought.

"If that is the case, then even if our strength still falls somewhat short of the three clans, we should not be suppressed by other clans, should we? After all, the number of Grand Battle Master experts in the Black Demon Stockade far exceeds that of those three clans."

After hearing Seven Baleful Intents' comprehensive analysis, Xiao Ming realized that he had still been somewhat too hasty.

After all, before his arrival, apart from the previous stockade chief, the Black Demon Stockade had not possessed a single Grand Battle Master expert.

Even though Ya Fei's heaven-defying empowerment had now produced seven Grand Battle Masters such as Seven Baleful Intents, the Black Demon Stockade's lower-level strength was still not worth mentioning.

However, Xiao Ming quickly cleared these chaotic thoughts from his mind.

Since he currently possessed such uniquely favorable advantages, Xiao Ming could simply lie low and develop.

After all, given his current circumstances, he was not short on time at all.

There was no need to rush into directly opposing the three great clans now.

Wu Tan City's three great clans had stood here for an unknown number of years, and during that time, they had long since built an intricate web of influence.

For the current Black Demon Stockade to uproot all three great clans in one stroke was simply impossible.

For both the entire Black Demon Stockade and Xiao Ming himself, what they lacked most right now was merely the tempering of time.

And tonight's operation against the bandits on the other hills would be the first step for the Black Demon Stockade to accumulate strength.