Ningguang

"It's all right. I'm also full of curiosity about this brand-new world. I eagerly look forward to the day when the Qunyu Pavilion can stand high above this world, shining with a brilliance all its own."

Ningguang's platinum blonde hair was swept high and secured by an exquisite black-and-gold hairpin, making her appear noble and elegant.

She wore a delicate qipao skillfully woven from gold, white, and black, perfectly accentuating her graceful figure.

At that moment, a confident and elegant smile rested on her face, as though everything was firmly within her grasp.

For Ningguang, she now had ample manpower at her disposal, Lu Jingming's network of connections to support her, and no shortage of funds to invest.

In her view, if she still could not gain a foothold in Shrek City under such conditions, then she would be unworthy of the name Ningguang of Tianquan.

"Mm, if you're handling this, I'm completely at ease." Lu Jingming had full confidence in Ningguang's abilities.

From what he knew of her, with Ningguang's exceptional business acumen and extraordinary intelligence, establishing herself in Shrek City was only a matter of time.

In time, the chamber of commerce belonging to Haiyuan City would surely flourish and shine brilliantly across this land.

Next, Ningguang would lead part of the Golden Guard and travel to Shrek City together with Zhang Lexuan and Keqing.

Considering the possible dangers along the way, Jing Liu decided to personally escort them to Shrek Academy.

Jing Liu would also remain in Shrek City for the time being, returning together with Zhang Lexuan and Keqing a year later.

"Xiaoming, you must take good care of yourself. Your sister won't be by your side this year, so watch your health. Don't overdo your training either, and don't exhaust yourself." Zhang Lexuan's eyes were filled with reluctance as she gently took Lu Jingming's hand, repeatedly reminding him with concern and worry in her gaze.

"I know, Sister Lexuan. I'm not a child anymore." Lu Jingming said with a faint smile, looking slightly amused.

Zhang Lexuan had carefully looked after him since childhood. Her care had been so meticulous that she sometimes worried too much, forgetting that he was now already a Second Ring Soul Grandmaster.

Although Lu Jingming was still young, Soul Masters were vastly different from ordinary people.

Nourished by Soul Power, his body had developed far beyond that of children his age.

At least in terms of height, he did not look like an eight-year-old child at all. Only his somewhat youthful face still retained a hint of childishness, revealing his true age.

This was one of the most obvious differences between Soul Masters and ordinary people. In the wondrous world of Douluo Continent, increasing Soul Power could greatly accelerate a Soul Master's physical development.

After comforting Zhang Lexuan, Lu Jingming turned his gaze toward a tall, burly middle-aged man.

The man wore a set of uniquely designed black Soul Guiding Armor, exuding a steady and resolute aura.

"Lu Wu, from now on, you will follow Ningguang's commands. Her orders are equivalent to mine. Do you understand?" Lu Jingming said solemnly.

This middle-aged man was named Lu Wu. He had once been nothing more than an ordinary guard in the City Lord's Mansion, not even having crossed the threshold into becoming a Soul Master.

Eight years ago, the City Lord's Mansion had suffered a fierce attack from rebellious nobles, and the situation had been perilous.

Many people chose to flee when faced with the choice between life and death, but Lu Wu had remained at his post without abandoning them, resolutely choosing to live and die alongside the Lu Family.

His sincere loyalty to the Lu Family was as unwavering as a rock.

Later, when Lu Jingming began forming the Golden Guard, he needed a group of utterly loyal people unafraid of death to undergo an extremely challenging experiment under The Great Black Tower.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Wu was the first to step forward and volunteer.

After The Great Black Tower's miraculous and complex surgery, he successfully fused with the genes of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Winged Black Tiger. From then on, his life changed completely, and he became a Fusion Warrior.

This choice not only granted Lu Wu the powerful high-grade martial soul, the Winged Black Tiger, but also elevated him in a single leap into a remarkable Soul King-level powerhouse.

Although special reasons prevented him from cultivating and raising his Soul Power as ordinary Soul Masters could, leaving his Soul Power Level permanently at Soul King, Lu Wu was already deeply satisfied.

After all, his former martial soul had merely been an ordinary wooden stick, and he did not even possess Innate Soul Power. Becoming a Soul Master had once been an unattainable dream for him.

Now, however, Lu Jingming had given him this opportunity, allowing him to transform from ordinary to extraordinary and become someone admired by other ordinary people. How could he have any reason to be dissatisfied?

Moreover, Fusion Warriors had their own unique path of advancement.

As long as they continued undergoing The Great Black Tower's Fusion Surgery and acquired stronger Soul Beast genes, they would have the chance to grow ever stronger.

For this reason, Lu Wu, who had already been unwaveringly loyal, became one of the current Five Great Commanders of the Golden Guard through his outstanding performance and absolute loyalty to Lu Jingming.

Most of the other Golden Guard members had similar backgrounds.

They were either former guards of the Lu Family who had received the Lu Family's kindness and were willing to follow Lu Jingming, or fishermen carefully selected by Chang Li, or Low-Level Soul Masters with bleak prospects on the path of cultivation.

For them, joining the Golden Guard and becoming Fusion Warriors was undoubtedly a brand-new path of hope.

However, this path also meant binding their futures tightly to Lu Jingming's.

Their advancement depended entirely on The Great Black Tower's technical support. Once they left The Great Black Tower, it would be difficult for them to achieve any further breakthroughs in this lifetime.

Yet all those selected by Lu Jingming understood gratitude and repayment. Every member of the Golden Guard was utterly loyal to him, making betrayal unlikely.

In fact, if The Great Black Tower had not devoted so much energy to other fields of research and been unable to focus fully on Fusion Surgery, the Golden Guard's upper limit would have been far beyond the Soul King level.

Furthermore, cultivating Fusion Warriors not only required The Great Black Tower to personally perform the procedures, but also demanded an enormous amount of resources.

Obtaining large quantities of suitable Soul Beast genes was already extremely difficult. Furthermore, if ordinary people wanted to become Soul Masters in one step, they needed to consume massive amounts of nutrients after surgery to sustain the Soul Beast genes within their bodies. Only after the Soul Beast genes had completely fused with them would they begin independently absorbing the ambient energy of heaven and earth to replenish what they consumed.

Otherwise, the powerful Soul Beast genes inside them would mercilessly drain away their Life Force, causing them to die.

Every one of these precious nutrients had to be purchased with enormous sums of money.

Restricted by these many factors, Lu Jingming had no choice but to temporarily stop recruiting new members after successfully establishing a Golden Guard of Five Hundred people.

At the current stage, a force of Five Hundred was already enough to meet Haiyuan City's needs.