Inside a restaurant in the noble district, several noble gentlemen scoffed upon hearing the news that Yu Tianheng was recruiting commoners as soldiers.
" Yu Tianheng must be insane to recruit a bunch of useless people as his private army."
"Who says otherwise? They're just commoners, without even Martial Soul. No matter how much training they receive, they'll still just be ordinary people. Any Soul Master could easily defeat them. Why waste so much money recruiting them?"
"In my opinion, it would be better to use this money to recruit a few capable Soul Master to act as bodyguards."
"That's right..."
Almost all nobles were skeptical of Yu Tianheng's recruitment of commoners as soldiers, mainly due to the rules of this world.
In the world of the Douluo Continent, only those who possess Martial Soul can become Soul Master, and only by becoming Soul Master can one possess power. Even the lowest-ranking One-Ring Soul Master can easily defeat a strong adult man. If it is Power Attack System or Agility Attack System Soul Master, their combat power is even greater; even a one-ring Soul Master can easily defeat more than a dozen people.
Reaching the Seven-Ring Soul Sage realm grants the formidable combat power to rival a thousand armies. As for Titled Douluo, needless to say, they are capable of destroying cities and annihilating lands, their power comparable to nuclear weapons.
Therefore, when recruiting soldiers, the major noble families mainly recruited Soul Master, and only recruited ordinary people as soldiers when they had no other choice.
It is truly rare to find someone like Yu Tianheng who recruits only ordinary people.
Yu Tianheng was too lazy to explain further to them.
To outsiders, these commoners who cannot awaken their Martial Soul are just a burden, and no matter how much they train, they can never be a match for Soul Master. But Yu Tianheng doesn't think so. In his opinion, these people just lack an opportunity to become stronger.
And Yu Tianheng just happens to be able to give them this opportunity.
For example, teaching them Martial Dao.
Martial Dao are different from Martial Soul cultivation. Martial Dao only focus on the individual, meaning that anyone can cultivate it. Martial Soul, on the other hand, is different. Everything is determined by one's innate abilities. From the moment one's Martial Soul Awakening at the age of six, one's future achievements are predetermined and difficult to change.
In the Douluo Continent, only a very small number of people can successfully awaken Martial Soul, let alone a high-quality Martial Soul.
Therefore, Martial Dao have great potential for development on this continent.
Suddenly, a thunderous cheer erupted from the recruitment area. Yu Tianheng rode a silver-maned horse clad in full armor through the crowd, his black cloak sweeping across the raised arms of the people.
A gap-toothed child, carried on his father's shoulders, brandished a "sword" made of tree branches and shouted, " Earl lord! When I grow up, I want to be a soldier!"
Yu Tianheng offered encouragement!
This further fueled the common people's enthusiasm to join Yu Tianheng's ranks.
Three days later, inside the martial arts training ground.
Five thousand new recruits stood in neat square formations. Although most of them were civilians and showed no signs of Soul Power fluctuations, they were all ordinary people, yet each of them stood ramrod straight.
Yu Tianheng rode past on horseback, holding a long spear made of black iron. The snowflakes kicked up by the spear tip reflected a shimmering light in the sunlight.
He loudly proclaimed, "From this day forward, you are members of the Divine Martial Army, the backbone of Suotuo City!" His shouts nearly lifted the city walls, startling the crowd, but also filling them with unparalleled pride.
Yu Tianheng named the newly established army the Divine Martial Army. It was a private army under his command, and all the soldiers were required to practice Martial Dao.
However, this army has only just been established and needs rigorous training to transform into a powerful force.
The morning bell shattered the thin mist, and five thousand new recruits lined up in neat squares on the drill ground, their coarse linen clothes fluttering in the mountain wind.
Yu Tianheng leaped onto the three-zhang-high platform, his black martial arts uniform flowing like ink waves. Three hundred instructors from the Thunder and Lightning Martial Arts Hall had already dispersed around the formation, their silver-gray uniforms gleaming coldly in the morning sun.
These people were recruited by Yu Tianheng when he established the Thunder and Lightning Martial Arts Hall in Heaven Dou City. They later followed Yu Tianheng to Suotuo City. Despite their young age, their Martial Dao cultivation was all at or above the Bone Refining Realm, and their combat strength was no weaker than that of Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. They were cultivated by Yu Tianheng with great effort and resources, but their numbers were too small to play a significant role, so more people were needed.
Now I'm back as an instructor, training new recruits in Martial Dao.
"From this day forward, I, the Earl, will teach you Martial Dao, a method that can transform ordinary people into powerful ones."
Yu Tianheng's palm True Qi surged and blasted the boulder beside him into dust, demonstrating a mere glimpse of his Martial Dao prowess in front of the new recruits.
Three hundred instructors stomped their feet simultaneously, the energy emanating from their dantian creating ripples on the ground, startling the new recruits who involuntarily took a half-step back.
" Body Tempering Skill Sinew Refining, Innate Skill nourishes internal energy; these two techniques are the foundation of Martial Dao!"
"Watch closely!" Yu Tianheng shouted, his blood and qi boiling as he broke down the key points of the Body Tempering Skill Technique into distinct fist techniques, causing a series of deep pits to appear on the bluestone ground.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Tianheng began practicing the Innate Skill, circulating it throughout his body.
He then moved between the various squads, instructing the new recruits and instructors on their training.
Many new recruits, after practicing Body Tempering Skill or Innate Skill, could clearly feel their blood and qi surging within their bodies, and their strength greatly increased. They did indeed become stronger, which filled them with immense joy.
After all, no one wants to not have power and become strong, but they are unable to do so due to various reasons such as talent, and can only remain ordinary people. But now, the Martial Dao taught by Yu Tianheng have given them hope of becoming stronger, so how can they not cultivate diligently?
As dusk tinged the training ground with a blood-red hue, half of the new recruits were already able to generate internal heat, while the three hundred instructors continued to guide their training.
"One month from now, I hope everyone will be able to split rocks with their bare hands!" Yu Tianheng's voice, mingled with the rising wind, boomed in the recruits' ears. "Remember—every drop of sweat you shed right now will become your own power!"
As the last rays of sunlight faded, shouts still echoed across the training ground. The new recruits gritted their teeth and repeated the movements of the martial arts techniques. Little did they know that the True Qi flowing quietly within their bodies was rewriting their original destinies.
In order to quickly build an army under his own control, Yu Tianheng paid great attention to the Divine Martial Army, sparing no expense in cultivating it. For example, he exchanged a large amount of Body Tempering Liquid, Body Tempering Spirit Liquid and elixirs that could enhance Martial Dao cultivation from the System Shop, or took out various precious herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to refine pills for their cultivation.
In addition, they would occasionally go to the Star Dou Great Forest to kill powerful Soul Beast and bring them back to the military camp to cook and feed the soldiers, thereby increasing their Bloodline Power and accelerating their Martial Dao cultivation.
A month passed quickly, and all five thousand soldiers of the Divine Martial Army had entered the Skin Refining Realm. Most of them had reached the third or fourth level of the Skin Refining Realm. If this continued, they would be able to reach the Flesh Refining Realm in less than half a year.