"Of course."
"We're not just sitting around doing nothing."
"Look at the official notices pinned to the top."
Zhao Dingbang pointed to a corner of the screen.
Lin Yuan followed the direction of his finger.
On every platform, several prominent official notices remained pinned at the very top.
[Dragon Country Emergency Protocol: If you discover a pet that has grown abnormally large or become aggressive, call the special hotline immediately. Do not approach it yourself!] [Preliminary Explanation and Safety Guidelines Regarding Recent "Changes in Air Composition"] [Military and civilians stand united to overcome this crisis. All citizens are asked to stay home and secure their doors and windows.]
The authorities had avoided alarming terms like "Spiritual Energy Revival" and "Ferocious Beasts."
Instead, they were guiding the public to accept that the world was changing, with a gentle but firm hand.
Smart.
Lin Yuan was impressed.
First, they had used the exercise as a pretext to keep everything steady.
Then they had let people vent their panic bit by bit online.
At the same time, the authorities had stepped in with basic safety guidance.
They were easing the public into it, giving people time to build the resilience they needed.
Those people ranting online were, in fact, coming to terms with what had happened.
Once they had worn themselves out cursing and finished discussing it,
they would have accepted the truth without even realizing it.
"Commander!"
"The central command in the Imperial Capital has sent a top-priority directive."
The adjutant spoke again, interrupting Lin Yuan's thoughts.
His expression turned grave, and he stood ramrod straight.
Everyone in the command room, including Wang Lie and the other seven elite soldiers, held their breath.
"Read it!"
Zhao Dingbang gave the order in a low voice.
"Central command directive!"
"The Spiritual Energy Tide has passed its peak. All military regions are to compile army-wide figures immediately."
"First, count the soldiers who sensed aura during the tide and successfully drew it into their bodies."
"Second, count those who broke through the limits of the human body and reached the First-Tier Early-Stage Martial Artist realm."
"Detailed figures must be submitted to central command within three hours!"
When the adjutant finished reading, he handed the document to Zhao Dingbang with both hands.
Zhao Dingbang took it, scanned it quickly, and turned to issue orders.
"All units, listen up!"
"Activate every Psionic Energy Detector in the military region immediately!"
"Have every company organize its soldiers for testing at once!"
"Move!"
"I want the final results within two hours!"
With that order,
the entire Southwest Military Region roared into motion like an immense, finely tuned machine.
Lin Yuan stepped aside and watched in silence.
He knew exactly what these figures would mean.
The Basic Breathing Technique Su Qingxue had provided had long since been taught throughout the army.
Most soldiers had been unable to cultivate before the Spiritual Energy Revival.
But the technique's breathing pattern had already been drilled into their muscle memory.
That hour-long Spiritual Energy Tide had been an army-wide awakening ceremony.
These figures would reveal just how much potential Dragon Country had.
Time ticked by.
The atmosphere in the command room grew so tense it was hard to breathe.
Telephones rang and keyboards clattered.
Wang Lie and the other seven martial artists stood in a corner, their palms slick with sweat.
They were geniuses, but they hoped Dragon Country would have countless more like them.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and waited there with them.
Two hours later,
the adjutant approached the sand table with a freshly printed report, his hands trembling slightly.
"Commander... the results are in."
His voice sounded dry, with a tremor of disbelief.
"Read them."
Zhao Dingbang planted both hands on the sand table, his knuckles turning white.
"During this Spiritual Energy Tide,"
"soldiers who successfully sensed aura and formed a Qi Vortex..."
"two hundred and three!"
A wave of sharp breaths swept through the command room.
After all,
Dragon Country had begun training martial artists in the Northwest Military Region six months before the Spiritual Energy Revival.
Yet in that entire half year,
the Northwest Military Region had trained only a little over a hundred martial artists.
And now,
on the very day of the Spiritual Energy Revival,
the Southwest Military Region alone had gained two hundred and three.
"In addition,"
"soldiers who sensed aura and experienced a substantial improvement in physical ability..."
"twelve thousand three hundred and fifty!"
The adjutant's voice rang out again.
"Good!"
"Excellent!"
"With twelve thousand promising recruits, the southwest's defenses will be rock solid!"
Zhao Dingbang slammed a hand onto the sand table, his eyes shining.
Twelve thousand!
And that was just one military region!
Across the whole country, it could mean hundreds of thousands of potential martial artists!
"Encrypt the figures and report them immediately."
After a moment,
Zhao Dingbang regained his composure and gave the adjutant his orders.
"Yes, sir!"
The adjutant ran toward the cipher machine.
"Wang Lie!"
Zhao Dingbang's voice rang out.
"Sir!"
The eight elite soldiers snapped to attention.
"You eight!"
"Take your newly issued alloy sabers."
"Split into four teams and deploy to the city centers of Jincheng, Yuzhou, and the other two major cities."
"Remember your mission."
"Work with the local garrisons to eliminate any mutated creature showing signs of aggression."
"Whether it's a mutated rat or a mutated Tibetan mastiff,"
"if it bares its teeth at a civilian, kill it!"
"Understood!"
The eight men accepted their orders and left the command room.
The desire to fight ran in their blood, too.
The command room grew a little quieter.
"Commander!"
"What about my assignment?"
Lin Yuan stepped forward and asked with a serious expression.
He was part of the Southwest Military Region, and he wanted to do his part.
"Lin Yuan."
"Keep cultivating."
"I've read your entire file."
"Your combat ability is on par with Instructor Su, even though she's a regressor."
"Clearing out these First-Order mutated animals would only waste your time."
"Your real battlefield is the Beast Tide a week from now!"
"Until then,"
"you must stay in peak condition at all times!"
"..."
Zhao Dingbang knew all too well.
The mutated animals appearing now were only scattered sparks.
In a week,
the behemoths hidden deep in the forests would become a blaze capable of destroying human civilization.
Meanwhile,
a thousand miles away in the Imperial Capital,
four elderly men sat around a long table, studying the figures submitted by the military regions.
"The military regions nationwide have produced a total of one thousand eight hundred and forty-two First-Tier Early-Stage Martial Artists."
"That's far more than we expected!"
Elder Long smiled as he looked at the report in his hand.
"Eighteen hundred First-Order Martial Artists."
"With our mechs and heavy artillery backing them up, those beasts are in for a nasty surprise!"
Elder Zhan snorted, radiating the air of a hardened soldier.
"Take a look at this separate encrypted message from the Southwest Military Region."
Elder Yu adjusted his glasses and turned to the last page of the report.
He pointed to a name printed in bold red.
"Lin Yuan."
"Peak Second-Order Martial Artist."
In that instant,
all four elderly men drew a heavier breath.
"That girl Su Qingxue was right."
"This Lin Yuan truly is a sword sent from heaven to defend Dragon Country."
"Tell Zhao Dingbang that no matter what it costs,"
"he must hold the Peak Second-Order Stage Beast King about to appear near Shu Capital in place!"
"Lin Yuan is the key to breaking this deadlock!"
Before you continue