"Where have you been these past few days? Our celebration banquet would be incomplete without you."
Sitting in Old Tang's office, Li Xingkong touched his nose.
He was so focused on improving his Spiritual Root that he didn't pay any attention to things like the post-war banquets and events.
Only after Old Tang mentioned it did he remember that such a thing had happened.
"Oh dear, I'd completely forgotten about that..."
"You little rascal, you're always the first to step up when it comes to doing the work, but when it comes to claiming credit, you're nowhere to be found. In the old days, you'd be a complete traitor!"
Old Tang knew Li Xingkong's temperament well; that was just the kind of person he was.
Although Li Xingkong didn't show up, he absolutely had to have what was due to him. Li Xingkong himself might not care about these things, but Divine Land couldn't afford to be indifferent.
After all, his strength speaks for itself; even if he doesn't compete or fight for anything, no one dares to touch his possessions.
"Hehe, isn't that what you're here for? I don't believe Uncle Tang would let me suffer a loss."
Li Xingkong laughed.
"Forget it, you can't force these things. Those who are supposed to know already know. You're just pretending not to understand. But then again, there's really nothing worth going to this celebration banquet. It's just a bunch of old guys making a fuss. If I were young, I wouldn't have wanted to go either."
Old Tang laughed too, saying that while others were called old guys, he himself was no longer a young man.
Even Li Xingkong himself, according to what he said before he started cultivating, was no longer a young man. After so many years of cultivation, he was almost at retirement age.
Of course, given the current prevalence of spiritual practice, retiring at 60 is wishful thinking.
For cultivators, 60 years old is equivalent to only seventeen or eighteen years old before they began their cultivation—the prime of their lives.
"I knew it. You never come here unless you have something to say. So tell me, what kind of nonsense have you come up with this time?"
After chatting for a few minutes, Old Tang asked a question directly.
After all, given Li Xingkong's personality, he would never come to the capital Earthly Capital unless there was something important to do.
"Oh, Uncle Tang was right! I really do have something I need your help Earthly Capital."
Li Xingkong took out the Spiritual Root Seed he had refined from his Space Bag, loosened his grip, and slowly pushed it in front of Old Tang.
"What's this?"
Old Tang reached out and pinched the Spiritual Root Seed, controlling his Spiritual Qi to examine it, but he couldn't find anything special about it.
"This is a little gadget I just crafted. It can be used to aid in cultivation; I call it Spiritual Root."
Li Xingkong gave a brief introduction.
" Spiritual Root? Goodness, I've read cultivation novels too, and you actually managed to create this thing?"
Old Tang held the Spiritual Root Seed and examined it a few more times, but still couldn't find anything special about it.
"How do you intend to use this Spiritual Root? In those novels, it's an essential foundation for cultivation; without Spiritual Root, you can't cultivate. What, are you planning to put a lock on your cultivation path?"
"Where would I put that? We're too busy promoting cultivation to bother with locking it up. My Spiritual Root has a different function."
Li Xingkong shook his head. Locking down the path of cultivation, allowing only those with the aptitude to cultivate, wouldn't that forcibly create classes among people? Over time, without the guidance of the Divine Land, people with and without Spiritual Root would naturally diverge into two classes, leading to a series of conflicts.
Only a fool would do that. Divine Land's fundamental goal has never changed: a world of great harmony where everyone can thrive like a dragon. That is the goal that Divine Land pursues.
"We just repelled the Snail People's attack, and I'm worried Snail People won't give up so easily. With our current overall strength, we should have no problem fighting their regular fleet, but we'd be outmatched by star destroyers. So I'm wondering if we could speed up our training even further."
Li Xingkong briefly explained the reason for creating this thing.
Old Tang squeezed the Spiritual Root Seed. They had also considered the same things Li Xingkong had thought of. Although they couldn't openly say anything that would demoralize the enemy because they had just won a battle, it was indeed true that there was still a considerable gap between the combat power of Earth Star and the Snail People.
Although with Li Xingkong in charge, he could handle even if the Snail People sent another Star Destroyer, it wasn't the right solution.
Li Xingkong is strong, but first and foremost, he is a human being, a cultivator, and his actions are free. It's impossible to expect Li Xingkong to save them every time something happens.
We still need to toughen up our own fists.
Only when the backbone of the Divine Land rises up can Divine Land have a stronger foundation to deal with the Snail People.
"I must say, you're on the same page as us. Although our development speed is already fast enough, with external enemies at hand, even a fast horse needs to be whipped a few more times."
"That makes sense. This thing hasn't been tested yet. I figured there are more researchers here in the Imperial Capital, so I was thinking of bringing it here to test it out."
" Xingkong, you're good at everything, but you're a little too cautious in this area."
Old Tang stood up and walked to the telephone in the office.
"It's true that results require multiple trials, but it also depends on when. We now have cultivators and spells, so even if problems arise, we can handle them. Besides, if your thing can really accelerate cultivation, then it's far more important than you imagine."
After saying that, Old Tang picked up the phone and made a call.
" Old Wang, recruit a few soldiers from your ranks, the elite ones, and spare a few for each cultivation stage."
After saying that, Old Tang turned around and asked Li Xingkong a question.
"How many of these Spiritual Root have you prepared? I'll get you a few people."
There are ten in total.
Old Tang gave an OK sign and continued speaking into the phone.
"Bring me 30 people, quickly, get them here this afternoon."
"What are you doing? Of course I thought of you when I found something good. Do you want it? If not, I'll go find Old Zhang."
The person on the other end of the phone quickly answered. Before he could hang up, Li Xingkong heard a noise coming from the other end of the line.
"The guard battalion is assembling. The first 50 to arrive will receive some goodies..."
Old Tang laughed and hung up the phone.
"Alright, just you wait, the person you asked for will be here before noon."
"Um, but I only have ten Spiritual Root Seed here, why did I call so many people here..."
"The experimental personnel should naturally be selected from the best of the best. Having more people gives you more options, doesn't it?"
Old Tang shook his head. Li Xingkong still didn't understand the process of doing things very well. But that wasn't his fault. Without experiencing something like this, it was indeed difficult to understand why they were doing it.
Even the ratio of applicants to positions for civil service exams is 1:3; this is experience accumulated over many years of work.
Having more backup options is always better than not having enough people when the time comes.