: : Conquering the General Star

“Lu Liang.” Tang Luo, who had dismissed his Undying Battle Body, softly began.

“Present.” The former chief constable of Xiling stepped forward with respect, bowing his head. Catching sight of the scattered limbs across the ground, a chill ran through his heart.

“From today forth,” Tang Luo’s face remained calm as he addressed the submissive middle-aged man, “gather all the cannibals in Red Cloud Mountain. Can you handle that?”

Without thinking, he knew that these remaining people were not only twisted in nature but also stupid. However, the majority of cannibals must have already hidden among the crowds. The thought of living alongside them on the same mountain made Tang Luo sick to his stomach.

Red Cloud Mountain’s conditions had never been so dire that cannibalism was required. Even before he managed to procure ten million kilograms of relief grain, the respected citizens of Xiling distributed warmth worldwide. Starvation was out of the question, thus when Lu Liang informed Tang Luo of the existence of Can Lao forest, a horrific place on Red Cloud Mountain where children were traded for consumption, Tang Luo’s fury was understandable.

“I will not let you down, master.”

Tang Luo glanced at the confident Lu Liang and instructed, “First, let’s clean up the platform so as not to alarm the people gathering here tomorrow.”

“As commanded.”

With Lu Liang’s instructions concluded, Tang Luo headed towards the camel hump in the west of the main peak. The Can Lao forest issue was a minor matter as every large group inevitably harbored a dark side.

A lord’s duty is to safeguard the rights of the law-abiding majority and severely punish those who overstep their bounds.

After a while, Tang Luo arrived at the camel hump on the western foothill. The practitioners waiting there, under the control of the members of the Righteous Gang, had obediently stationed themselves on the summit platform, yet each of them was walking back and forth anxiously, seemingly impatient.

As a city that had enjoyed peace for centuries besides the noble families, the proportion of commoner practitioners was not as high as in other chaotic cities. This wasn’t because the citizens of Xiling lacked ambition, but because in other chaotic cities, the commoners who did not practice martial arts and had no backing, were often killed. They did not have the chance to multiply.

However, even at a lower ratio, out of several hundred thousand people, there were a few tens of thousands of practitioners. Among these, only half of them had completed foundation building and reached the peak of the Mortal Realm.

This wasn’t an exaggeration. It should be noted that most noble children, even with proper nutrition and guidance from a young age, only managed to complete the cultivation of the Mortal Realm by the age of eleven or twelve.

In comparison, commoner disciples from martial arts schools, who didn’t push themselves, usually completed foundation building at the same age, even if they began training in their childhood. Some gave up altogether under the hardship of bridging the heaven and earth.

Observing the gathering of over twenty thousand people on the camel hump, Tang Luo felt content. Not that he didn’t want more martial practitioners, but if there were too many, he feared Hua Ji might not be able to keep track of them all.

Walking to the frontline, Hua Ji had already been quietly waiting. The shopkeeper, who had resumed his martial path, had now elevated his aura to another level. It has obvious that during Tang Luo’s absence, he had not been negligent and had resumed his foundation building phase at the age of twenty plus.

“Well done.” Tang Luo, satisfied, patted the shopkeeper’s shoulder and asked with a smile, “Can you memorize more than twenty thousand faces at once?”

Hua Ji, receiving Tang Luo’s praise, trembled with excitement and loudly replied: “Yes, young master, I won’t let you down!” (C) content.

“Don’t be so nervous.” Tang Luo smiled and said, “Your task isn’t that complicated. I’ll have every practitioner here step forward one by one. You’ll then note down their names, faces and the code I give them. Understand?”

“Yes, master. I understand,” Hua Ji pondered before asking, “What does ‘code’ mean, young master?”

Some things are complex to explain but become clear once demonstrated.

Tang Luo randomly pointed at a practitioner in the front line and said to him, “You, come forward.”

The targeted man pointed at himself in disbelief, asking, “Me?”

“Yes, you. Come forward.” Tang Luo watched as the man timidly stepped forward and asked directly, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Ye Daniu!” The man, excited at being singled out, could hardly contain his excitement and thought that the promising young master might be going to use him.

“Step down.” Tang Luo glanced at Ye Daniu, then turned to Hua Ji, “His code is five three four, got it?”

“I got it!” Hua Ji had an enlightened look on his face. “So, I just need to remember their looks, names and the code you give them, just like a flyer.”

“Exactly,” Tang Luo replied. “There will be repetitions in codes. You don’t need to be confused. Just remember them. Can you do that?”

“I can!”

“Then let’s begin.” Tang Luo finished explaining his instructions to Hua Ji, then turned to face the crowd of martial practitioners. He announced, “Everyone, split into two groups. Those who have not practiced today, stand on the east side. Those who have practiced, stand on the west side.”

The thunderous divine sound clearly conveyed Tang Luo’s words into every individual’s ears at the top of the western foothill. Even though they were confused about Tang Luo’s intentions, they obediently dispersed.

As they were practiced individuals, they were far superior to ordinary people in terms of receiving instructions and taking action. If they were a group of ordinary people who had never practiced, it would have taken them at least half an hour to split into groups. However, this crowd took no more than a quarter of an hour to successfully split into two columns of over twenty thousand people.

The division revealed many interesting things to Tang Luo. The practitioners standing on the east side made up the vast majority, with the west side only comprising a quarter of the east side’s group.

Although there were many practitioners on the east side, the numbers above their heads mostly did not reach the peak of the Mortal Realm. Very few had completed the accumulation of the Mortal Realm to reach the peak limit of 39. Compared to the practitioners on the west side, the ones on the east side had a significantly lower level of spiritual power.

Many on the west side were not only at the peak of the Mortal Realm, they also had a good number of practitioners at post-Mortal stage, which was thought – provoking.

Commoner martial practitioners usually practiced sporadically. The usual excuses from them were lack of time or the need to work. During a famine, it becomes more so. With the lack of food, practicing would only make them feel hungrier. This is because, after the physical body is tempered and enhanced by spiritual power, it requires supplementary nutrition. In times of famine, practicing was like a torment.

Yet, there was this group of people who, despite being skinny, still seized every opportunity to practice. If it were said that the group on the west side could produce a few practitioners reaching Fierce Realm in the future, Tang Luo would not be surprised.

But for now, he needed to deal with the group on the east side. Tang Luo addressed Gong Zheng, who was next to him, “First, distribute food to the martial practitioners on the west side. Let them eat to their full..”