The Pieces Are in Place

"Greetings, Dao Lord!" Zhang Meng, leading the two men, bowed deeply to Lin Xu, his expression filled with joy and excitement. "Congratulations, Dao Lord, on winning the position of Chief of the Night Watchers of Qimeng City! I never imagined that I, Zhang Meng, would be able to serve a hero in this lifetime. This is truly a blessing from my past life!"

Lin Xu glanced at them; the two young men in front of him had expressions of admiration and respect on their faces, but their punk-style hair and tattered jackets made it obvious that they were small-time thugs who frequented gangs.

What's special is that both of them are skilled in martial arts, and their physical attributes far exceed those of ordinary people who lack exercise.

He frowned slightly. "You plan to recruit these two into Daoist priests?"

"Yes, sir." Zhang Meng glanced down and, seeing the displeasure on his face, quickly explained, "Sir, don't let their unreliability fool you; they're energetic young men, generous, kind, and grateful. Especially since they practice diligently and are hardworking, they're excellent prospects."

Lin Xu nodded, understanding. These two were still hot-blooded young people who hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society.

"Then let's give it a try. Tidy up your hair properly. If you're going to be a Daoist, you have to follow the standards of a Daoist. Your hairstyle, clothing, and behavior all have to be like those of a proper Daoist..." He said casually, but it scared the two thugs so much that they broke out in a cold sweat and wished they could shave their punk hairs off immediately.

"Yes, Lord! I'll make the necessary changes as soon as I get back!" Zhang Meng quickly agreed, secretly blaming himself for neglecting these things after being in the gang for so long.

Lin Xu glanced at Zhang Meng: "How's the Black Tiger Gang doing now? Are they still usable?"

"Please rest assured, sir! Since I switched to the Daoist profession, the morale of the brothers in the gang has been greatly boosted, and they are eager to follow me and make a big splash."

"Before we even took any action, you kicked Chen Lingfeng out and took the position of Night Watchers Chief yourself!" Zhang Meng patted his chest and vociferously guaranteed, "Now the brothers in the gang have heard that you are a hero of the Spirit Realm, and they are all eager to follow you and make a name for yourselves! People are loyal, sir! Just give the order!"

Lin Xu nodded. "Two things. First, the Spirit Realm resource trading market. This is related to my future plans. Your Black Tiger Gang must take responsibility and keep a close eye on it!"

"Don't worry, sir, not a single hair will fall into the hands of outsiders!" Zhang Meng understood immediately and quickly assured him, "I will have someone keep an eye on the market. Just give me a heads-up about what you need, and I'll arrange everything perfectly!"

Lin Xu was pleased. No wonder he was a gangster; his insight was beyond ordinary people. "Secondly, the Black Tiger Gang isn't strong enough. Besides your direct subordinates—"

He glanced at the two respectful underlings. "The other gang members also need training. Starting today, I will open a Spirit Realm Passage in the center of Qimeng City. I'm giving the Black Tiger Gang one hundred slots. You need to quickly select a group of trustworthy gang members and give them special training."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Meng was overjoyed and clasped his hands in a salute. "I'll go back to the gang right away and bring the person to you today!"

"Now, it's time to open the Spirit Realm Passage." Lin Xu calmly watched Zhang Meng and his group leave.

After learning of the nation's stance, he did not intend to publicize the opening of the Spirit Realm Passage in a grand manner, and in the early stages, he only opened it to his own people, in order to cultivate a capable team as soon as possible.

Once Spirit Realm Passage is established, it is best not to move it, because over time, the passage will become more stable and expand, making it easier for the exchange of resources and people within the territory.

After discussing with Elder Jiang, the Spirit Realm Passage was fixed in the Jiang Clan.

It's close to the city center, with bus and train stations nearby, making transportation convenient.

The Jiang Clan is an exclusive courtyard that the Jiang Clan acquired before their decline, covering an area of approximately two acres.

The space isn't large, but it's sufficient for the initial stage, and the surrounding buildings can be demolished and expanded later.

As Lin Xu reached out and made a gesture, ripples spread through the space like water, and a crack resembling a convex mirror quietly appeared in the villa's hall.

"Alright—" He looked at the distorted spatial mirror in front of him, which was two or three meters high and about half a meter wide, "Let them in."

He had barely finished speaking when he stepped into the territory.

There's no need to worry about the Spirit Realm Passage being leaked. Even if the information has already spread, he only needs to perform a large-scale hypnosis spell to completely block the information.

"Yes, sir!" came Zhang Meng's respectful voice from behind.

Hundreds of Black Tiger Gang stood before the passageway, gazing in awe at the distorted mirrored spacetime.

People in front entered the passage one by one, while those behind moved slowly.

Wang Lei looked tense, his heart pounding as he stared at the supernatural, distorted spacetime.

A bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, but he didn't bother to wipe it away, his hands remaining on the backpack at his waist.

During the closed-door training, the participants prepared changes of clothes and brought them into the Spirit Realm in bags.

Upon opening the linen bundle, one discovers that these garments are made of rough linen, a stark contrast to modern clothing materials.

These clothes were specially purchased by Zhang Meng from the Spirit Realm market. They were rough and easily worn out, but their advantage lay in their large quantity and low price.

"Xiao Lei, why are you sweating? Are you feeling unwell?" someone asked, puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Meng frowned and looked over, causing Wang Lei's heart to almost stop.

He forced a smile, "I'm a little nervous. That passageway ahead looks awful, like it's going to twist you into a pretzel—"

"What's there to be afraid of? Everyone else has made it through, right?" The man casually patted him on the shoulder, clearly not taking his words to heart.

Zhang Meng turned his head and saw the gang members filing in one after another. After the last person entered the passage, he followed closely behind and passed through the spatial rift. In a flash, he found himself in a dark space.

In the underground city, a large natural cave has been transformed into a training ground. In the space of over a thousand square meters, dozens of militiamen with blank expressions are training with weapons in their hands on rotating wooden dummies.

The weapons in their hands clashed with the incoming wooden stakes, the clanging sound of metal against wood echoing through the cave.

The arrows pierced the air and struck the swaying target, while the archers meticulously drew their bows and released their arrows.

Lin Xu's gaze swept across the noisy cave, and he saw the militiamen who had completed a round of training fast asleep in the rest room near the training ground.

Next to the rest room, in a room that was originally empty, a group of militiamen were mechanically repeating basic physical training, over and over again, until they were exhausted and went back to bed to rest.

These basic training techniques, promoted by real-world countries, can maximize the development of human potential. Their biggest drawback is that they are time-consuming, and sufficient food is needed to replenish energy consumed during training.

In the nearby mess hall, the cooks had already prepared the meals, waiting for the soldiers to wake up and eat.

Eating, sleeping, and training form a complete cycle. From the restaurant to the training field and then to the rest room, people come and go in the small space.

Lin Xu opened the personal panel of an archer, and in just two days of training, the proficiency of the "archery" skill had improved significantly.

"At the current pace, we can raise their main combat skills to expert level in a month." He did a quick calculation, a smile appearing on his face. "Perhaps in a year or two, we can train elite soldiers who have mastered master-level combat skills!"

These soldiers, currently undergoing closed training, come from a recently upgraded fortress.

This fortress, located between Azure Cloud Mountain and Xuanwei Monastery, could not only recruit soldiers but also train militiamen in basic combat skills.

Once the militia members' combat skills meet the relevant professional requirements, they can be promoted to professional soldiers.

For example, militia members who train with archery instructors have the opportunity to master archery skills.

Once a militia member's archery skills reach the intermediate level, they can be promoted to a professional archer.

Although the professional soldiers trained in the fortress only possess basic combat skills and are ordinary professionals who have not awakened their Source Power, they play an irreplaceable role in the territory.

"The territory has no shortage of extraordinary professionals. Daoists can fight, heal, and cast powerful spells, making them far superior to ordinary extraordinary professionals. The downside is that they are too few in number and have too long a training period. In terms of patrolling and defending the territory, they are not as useful as these ordinary soldiers."

He looked at the militiamen and soldiers training diligently and nodded to himself.

Normal people would find it hard to accept such tedious and repetitive training, but the NPCs do not have negative emotions such as irritability or laziness. They are like hardworking bio-machines, obeying the commander's orders without any compromise.

"The training room has enough space; the next step should be to expand the number of soldiers being trained to one hundred."

Lin Xu "looked" at another training ground, which covered only a few hundred square meters. This was what he had prepared for the members of the Black Tiger Gang.

It also has a training ground, a chicken farm, a canteen, and a rest room, forming a complete closed loop.

Having been reminded of this, Zhang Meng personally led his gang members in repeating the training, but judging from their crooked and awkward movements, one could tell how inefficient they were.

Lin Xu shook his head inwardly. "These people won't be of any use in the short term. It's a pity that I've only been in charge of the Night Watchers for a short time, and I lack available manpower—"

People reborn from the Source Fire in reality can be trusted, but their numbers are too small, and the planning and construction of the territory cannot do without them.

His gaze fell upon an unassuming linen bundle in the lounge, where an ancient copper plate was slowly activating—

"That was quite a calculated move," Lin Xu said, a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked at the familiar-looking bronze plate.

These veteran lords have endless tricks up their sleeves. Take this positioning bronze plate, for example. If he hadn't anticipated it and secretly checked it carefully, he would have missed it if he hadn't been careful.

"The Jiang Lineage of Lei City..." He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering.

Before his territory was even on the right track, he had to face a veteran lord, which put him under immense pressure.

But Lin Xu knew even better that things in this world rarely wait until you are fully prepared before they happen; more often than not, they happen unexpectedly.

"The military construction of the territory shall begin now!"

The thousand Daoist practitioners in the territory can be transformed into a powerful mage group in an instant by forging a batch of magical artifacts for combat.

As long as the number of enemies isn't too outrageous, this group of Daoist priests alone can annihilate tens of thousands of enemies!

He casually sent the information about the traitor to Zhang Meng, then dropped the beacon; there was no point in keeping the man around.