I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 486 - 269: Divine Skills · Heart Demon Dao Soldiers

Chapter 486: Chapter 269: Divine Skills · Heart Demon Dao Soldiers

Another year had passed, and Wen’an City had developed rapidly yet peacefully.

The Wang and Xu families were eliminated on some pretext by Jiang Lu, and from that point on, the entire Wen’an City was dominated by Jiang Lu’s faction alone.

Accordingly, although the Wang and Xu families were gone, new noble families emerged. Jiang Lu’s three sworn brothers, including Li Yu and Jiang Lu himself, all became fresh foundations of noble families, establishing new powers that controlled Wen’an City.

However, because they all belonged to the first generation, no friction or other issues arose among the noble families.

Gu Shanhai was no stranger to this; many things were not up to their desire to avoid it—the surrounding environment propelled them forward.

The external world was also tumultuous. As Dalong’s vitality was greatly damaged, many noble families and military lords seized the opportunity to rise. During this period, there were several rebellions, all sparked by the "Dragon Tooth Military Technique," nearly becoming a specialist tool for rebellion.

It was said that Emperor Long had been sidelined and had completely lost his power, controlled by the subordinates vying for control below him. Whether this news was true or not, Gu Shanhai considered it 80% likely.

Other than that, various places struggled for power and profit. The weakening of Dalong seemed to be a prelude to the rise of warlords and military divisions. However, the scenario was just shy of manifesting, so everyone was still consuming with a shred of decency. Only when Dalong truly declined would they bare their fangs.

Now, reaching a situation of division needed only a little help; like lighting a keg of gunpowder, a bang would set it off.

How and when to ignite it was not up to Gu Shanhai to decide; it would be determined by when the higher-ups could no longer hold back.

To join this feast of chaos, Jiang Lu and Wen’an City’s strength was still insufficient. At the very least, the position of a state governor was needed to qualify; otherwise, they would just be cannon fodder.

Wen’an City now had two thousand Daoist Soldiers and eight thousand troops, and supporting them was already very strenuous.

That was with the help of Li Yu in making money and managing the economy; without it, let alone two thousand Daoist Soldiers, even one thousand would be unsustainable.

At the current stage, everything had reached Wen’an City’s limit. If they wanted to continue to develop their strength, the best approach was external expansion.

All the neighboring cities were not as powerful as Wen’an City. Unfortunately, order still existed. If Jiang Lu wanted to claim other cities, the first challenge he would face would be the state governor, who would never allow internal turmoil under his rule. The governor, too, was ambitious and had tried several times to win over Jiang Lu.

Jiang Lu, after hesitating for show several times, finally agreed, and then continually asked for things from the state governor, because it was foolish not to take what was offered freely.

Future matters would be dealt with in the future.

If he didn’t agree to the state governor, then they were likely to be targeted, and the advantages previously built could shatter in an instant.

To escape this situation, one either needed sufficient strength, which was unrealistic since Wen’an City was already at its limit supporting two thousand Daoist Soldiers and eight thousand troops, or a good opportunity was required. Thus, Jiang Lu had been lying in wait.

This opportunity was precisely what Gu Shanhai considered to be the fuse.

Li Yu’s business expansion had not been very smooth, primarily because of the low status of a merchant and the fact that most merchants were actually the tools of noble families and military lords. If he went to other cities to conduct business, he could easily be seen as an overseas dragon and be suppressed and driven out.

Therefore, he only established some sporadic business ventures, which brought in a small and dispensable amount of money.

During this year, Gu Shanhai had also made good progress; he cultivated the Five Grains Spiritual Plant: White Jade Rice, Green Jade Millet, Black Jade Millet, Red Jade Wheat, and Yellow Jade Millet. These plants forged a series of Divine Skills, like "Sowing Beans to Raise Soldiers," "Drinking Straw to Form Sword," and "Cutting Grass to Make Horses," creating the Daoist Soldier blueprint that he needed.

Their capability was not bad, especially in terms of yield. Unfortunately, this was merely a prototype. To truly realize the effect of a million soldiers concealed within, further development was needed.

Ultimately, these abilities were intended to develop Gu Shanhai’s third series of Heart Demon Divine Skills.

He named it Heart Demon Dao Soldiers. By using Heart Demon Substitutes and Guardian Demon abilities, combined with the Five Grains Spiritual Plant and native military techniques, he eventually formed a Divine Skill unique to Gu Shanhai, which he could carry with him and use without excessive consumption.

The current prototype indicated that the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers had been created, but they belonged to the lowest tier of Daoist Soldiers, with only one ability named Heart Demon Strike by Gu Shanhai. During an attack, it could stir up the enemy’s emotions and desires, causing damage. In the battle, soldiers and Daoist Soldiers all have emotions and desires, such as fear and the will to live, which would become additional damage during the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers’ attacks.

Moving further down, bloodthirst and greed were also types of emotions and desires, abilities that were effective on most.

As they didn’t quite match up, Gu Shanhai was still making adjustments, to the point that even achieving a certain number wouldn’t generate a collective synergy; it was a journey just beginning.

Yet, Gu Shanhai was fairly satisfied with this because these Heart Demon Dao Soldiers housed Guardian Demons, who possessed fierce combat strength and a certain level of immortality.

Even in death, with a bit of Mana, Gu Shanhai could resurrect them, and there was no need to worry about military armor or mounts, as these things were inherently derived from the Five Grains Spiritual Plant.