Yellow Court Daoist

Compared to the former,

this latter was even more critical.

Thus,

very few True Immortals came forth upon hearing the news.

After meticulous selection, even with the Heavenly Army ranks filled with five thousand soldiers, only six True Immortals were recruited. Among them, three were stuck at the peak of the Sensing Realm, fearful of the perils of Heavenly Tribulation. They thought by joining the General Mansion and accumulating Merit and achievements, they could refine one or two magical artifacts, thereby safely transcending the tribulation.

The other three were brothers, all of whom had reached the True Miao Realm.

It was unclear whether they were speculating or had other plans in mind.

Nonetheless,

Lu Qingfeng saw no reason to turn them away.

...

Capturing God General Mansion.

"The first batch of five thousand Heavenly Soldiers has already set up camp outside the General Mansion and is ready to be put into training at any time. The recruitment for another ten thousand reservists has also started. However, there are still quite a few vacancies among the ranks of Heavenly Generals."

Mu Yunzhou, holding the recruitment register, reported to Lu Qingfeng.

The vast Dragon Mountain, with its many Primordial Spirit Loose Cultivators trapped in the Unification Realm, had already recruited five thousand Heavenly Soldiers after just three years. There are plans to recruit ten thousand more as reserves to replenish casualties as needed. The recruitment of reservists had consequently slowed down.

Firstly, five thousand of those in the Unification Realm had depleted many of the Loose Cultivators around Smoke Cloud Peak. The remaining ones were mostly unwilling to become Heavenly Soldiers.

Secondly, these reservist Heavenly Soldiers, despite receiving rations and salary, held no rank and thus, their treatment was significantly worse—making many Primordial Spirit Practitioners reluctant.

However, this reservist issue was not urgent.

Ten years.

A hundred years.

A full complement would be gathered one day.

As for the provisions for ten thousand reservists, Lu Qingfeng, relying on Yellow Wind Ridge, made a trip back and emptied ten mansion storehouses from his second brother, which was plenty for a good while. When the troops became strong and when fully assembled, further gains from battles, along with rewards and salaries from Heavenly Court, would ensure that even if he couldn't break even, the difference wouldn't be far off.

With a solid foothold in the future, he could also engage in businesses within Dragon Mountain. Backed by the Thunder Department and Yellow Wind Ridge, even if Celestials and Demons didn't give him face, they would not actively trouble him. Having ten thousand Heavenly Soldiers at his command, he needn't fear either the Buddhist or Demon Dao.

The prospects were promising.

The only issue at the moment was the deficit in the ranks of Heavenly Generals—

"How many Heavenly Generals do we have now, and how many are we lacking?"

Lu Qingfeng, looking at the spirited Mu Yunzhou in military attire, asked.

"Excluding the Second Brother and the five envoys, we currently have fifteen Heavenly Generals. Among them, twelve are Seventh Grade Heavenly Generals, and three are Eighth Grade. With a hundred people per general, even without mutual command, we need fifty Heavenly Generals. If they have inter-command, this number needs to be doubled."

Mu Yunzhou replied.

Those six newly recruited True Immortals—three brothers in the True Miao Realm were conferred as Seventh Grade Heavenly Generals, and the remaining three as Eighth Grade. It was a slight step up from the ordinary, naturally owing to the preferential treatment for the first batch of True Immortals who came forth.

Regrettably,

even so, the number of interested parties was still few, leading to many vacancies in the positions of Heavenly Generals.

Within the ranks of the Capturing God Army,

a hundred people per general.

Excluding the five thousand Heavenly Soldiers transferred from the Thunder Department, that's fifty Heavenly Generals. However, this discrete command was not feasible. For instance, the Five Demon Envoys, each commanding either three hundred or two hundred soldiers, would require additional slots for Heavenly Generals.

By this calculation,

the shortfall was even more significant.

"No matter,"

"First, let's see among the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals if there are those skilled in training troops. If someone can forge elite forces, they will be generously rewarded."

Training of the Heavenly Army differed from the mortal realm.

Practitioners of the Ten Thousand Laws only reach their full potential when top practitioners are involved. Therefore, although Lu Qingfeng had five thousand elite soldiers and capable generals ascended from the Lower Realm, they couldn't train his five thousand new recruits.

The reason was simple.

They simply did not understand.

It cannot be conducted like mundane military training.

"Yes."

Mu Yunzhou nodded his agreement and stepped down.

Lu Qingfeng leaned over the desk, continuing to sift through the archive of documents accumulated in the General Mansion about the Constant Sand Worlds. These documents were indeed valuable, containing detailed information about the Lower Realm, including meticulous records of the battles and listing which Evil Gods and evil spirits appeared in this realm.

For three long years, Lu Qingfeng had been reading without being able to finish.

Even more frustrating, he found no trace of information about the Immortal Qin Realm.

"It's no good to delay any longer."

Closing a volume, Lu Qingfeng called outside the hall, "Longevity, Lan Qing."

Before long, Law Enforcement Evil Admiral Immortal Daoist and Thunderbolt Documents Gong Cao Shen Lanqing arrived together.

"Teacher," the two saluted Lu Qingfeng.

Lu Qingfeng waved his hand and looked towards Shen Lanqing, "Have you made any progress in organizing the affairs of the General Mansion?"

"Back to teacher," Shen Lanqing replied. "The tasks of the General Mansion are numerous. I've only managed to compile a list of the Evil Gods and evil spirits that still need to be addressed."

This was Lu Qingfeng's directive.

Other affairs could temporarily be set aside, but the malevolence of the Evil Gods could not be left unchecked for a moment. If failings of duty were secondary, allowing countless innocents to suffer and die was what truly caused heartache.

Lu Qingfeng took the scrolls Shen Lanqing offered, browsing through them while listening to his summary.

"Fierce Gods and Ghosts, Mountain Spirits and Phantom Apparitions handled by the General Mansion, discovered monitoring various realms, are divided into five classes. The lowest class, being the regular True Immortal Realm. The Lower Realm is weak and incapable of handling them. They report to the Mountain God, the Earth God, further reported to the City God and superior officials and then assigned to the General Mansion. A mere Ninth Grade Heavenly General leading a team of Heavenly Soldiers can manage. This lowest class is the most common and numerous, with a total of 3082 cases."

The Capturing God General's position had been vacant for three thousand years. Though the other ten Divine Generals helped manage, each Divine General had their main duties, making it difficult to fully attend to everything. Over the years, this accumulated more than 3000 cases during the three years of Lu Qingfeng's term.

And that's just the lowest class.

"The highest class, before this just one case, was that of the Evil God who self-proclaimed as 'Emperor Duan Gu' in the Star Luo Realm, sweeping through a realm and establishing a rebellious Immortal Court. The former Capturing God General, leading all the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals under his command, fell into the trap set by Emperor Duan Gu and were all captured. It was extremely dangerous and required a Divine General to personally lead troops to manage."

"However, this Emperor Duan Gu and his Immortal Court were eradicated by the Heavenly Observation General leading troops three thousand years ago."

"There are currently no such cases."

The former Capturing God General perished, and Lu Qingfeng had heard about it.

Emperor Duan Gu truly had exceptional talents, independently establishing an Immortal Court for tens of thousands of years and accumulating unimaginable strength. But he couldn't escape the surveillance of the Capturing God General Mansion. When discovered, the Capturing God General, wise and swift, personally rushed there. Emperor Duan Gu cruelly trapped and killed the Capturing God General and all his subordinates.

His methods were indeed fierce.

It's a pity.

Had he held back slightly, reciprocated some interactions with the Capturing God Army, perhaps he could have struggled on a bit longer. But killing the upper echelons invited the wrath of Marshal Zhang, commanding the Heavenly Observation General to lead a hundred thousand troops, completely annihilating the rebellious Immortal Court. Emperor Duan Gu, along with the all Evil Gods and evil spirits within, were captured or killed.

They had no power to resist.

Of course.

This case was actually considered the strongest in the first class. Slightly careless, the entire General Mansion could be obliterated, it should not be handled recklessly.

"Second class cases involve Earth Immortal Level Fierce Gods and Ghosts and Mountain Spirits and Phantom Apparitions creating chaos, which require a general or the Capturing God General himself to personally handle, deploying troops ranging from five thousand to ten thousand."

"Third class cases have beings comparable to Earth Immortals, needing a general to step in, deploying from two thousand to five thousand troops."

"Fourth class cases involve top-tier True Immortals, needing a Second Grade Heavenly General to lead the troops, deploying from five hundred to a thousand."

These were just a general classification.

Each specific case requires a tailored analysis, all depending on the judgment of Lu Qingfeng, the Capturing God General. "Currently, there are one hundred and three fourth class cases, seventeen third class cases, and three second class cases."

Lu Qingfeng listened, slowly flipping through the scroll—

Case Name: Corpses Worshiping the Moon

Case Location: Nine Ring Realm

Case Description: 'Corpses worshiping the moon, unrelenting life and undead Immortals.' In the Nine Ring Realm, the Moon Worship Ancestor of the Moon Worship Sect practiced evil arts, allowing demons and evil spirits to invade, losing their minds and falling to the Demon Dao. Establishing the 'Moon Worship Sect', proclaimed as 'The Moon Worship Emperor', transforming a nation's land into Undead Evil Corpses, bringing about an apocalypse, with heavy sins. The Moon Worship Evil God, wielding the Moon Worship Sect's Supreme Treasure 'Moon Worship Treasure Fan', can conjure Yin Wind and Yin Fire, burning human souls. Within the Undead Country, the Evil God wields the Moon Worship Treasure Fan, comparable to an Earth Immortal.

Case Rating: Third Class

"Third class case."

"That's the one!"

Lu Qingfeng closed the scroll.