Chapter Thirty-Nine: Jiang Yue in Disarray

In less than a quarter of an hour, more than five hundred cultivators at the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment or higher had gathered around Wang Li. This formidable force gave him ample confidence. In addition, he now had by his side a cultivator at the third stage of the Golden Core realm and more than a dozen cultivators equipped with powerful spiritual weapons. With these people, plus over six hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators below the fourth stage and several thousand Qi Refining cultivators, they were more than capable of dealing with the remaining Earth Howlers—unless their leader was at the Nascent Soul level, they were confident they could stand against them.

With such a strong martial force as their guarantee, Wang Li's commands became far more organized. He addressed the cultivators beside him: “We’ve just arrived and know little about the situation within the ruins, nor are the rules of Heaven’s Selection clear to us, so we can’t act rashly. Even if we do decide to strike proactively, it must wait until everyone has rested and recovered.”

“As the saying goes, the general is the soul of the army. We must remain calm first; our unity and strength must reassure the others and dispel their fear.”

“There are two things I need you to set about immediately. First, stabilize morale. Adjust the defensive lines we’ve already set up, and establish a proper camp. Having a camp will give everyone a sense of security. Second, we need clear leadership. I don’t want orders coming from all directions, so I plan to divide those present into twenty squads of twenty-five each. Every squad will have a leader and a deputy, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators in each squad will be responsible for defending the camp. The camp will be divided into five zones: front, rear, left, right, and center. Each zone will be garrisoned by four squads. The squads in the four outer zones will be responsible for supporting the defensive line as needed.”

“In addition, I’ll assign Foundation Establishment cultivators below the fourth stage to man the defensive line. All arrangements there will follow the commands of Jiang Yu from the Five Elements Pavilion and Luo Heng from the Pure Yang Monastery. Jiang Yu is adept at military formations, and Luo Heng is at the third stage of the Golden Core realm. I expect no resistance from any of you—if anyone is dissatisfied, you’re free to leave once the danger has passed.”

“Luo Heng, Jiang Yu, if anyone refuses your orders, seal their cultivation and throw them out of the camp!”

“Yes, sir!” Luo Heng and Jiang Yu nodded in agreement.

Wang Li looked over the others and said sternly, “Form your squads and select your leaders and deputies within half a quarter of an hour, then assign your defense zones. The situation is urgent—I don’t want any dissent, nor any troublemakers endangering the camp. Huang Tao, Jin Lan, you two are responsible for the disciples from other sects. Bring them to the central zone to help build the camp; your positions will be handed over to the rear squad for defense.”

“Does anyone have objections? If so, speak now. If not, start forming squads!”

Most people nodded silently. Only a few showed signs of discontent, but none dared speak out under Wang Li’s imposing presence.

Wang Li pretended not to notice the reactions, paused for five breaths, then said, “Since there are no objections, let’s begin the squad formation.”

“Luo Heng, Jiang Yu, go ahead and reinforce the defensive line. Assign any excess disciples to Hong Luanfeng and Ling Xiao.”

“Hong Luanfeng, Ling Xiao, select disciples from the ranks—preferably those cultivating wood and earth techniques—to begin constructing the camp. The outer walls must be at least twenty feet high and ten feet thick, with no gaps or slopes on the outside. If there are any disciples with metal-element techniques, have them reinforce the ground around the walls to prevent enemies from tunneling in. The walls can be made from earth, stone, or timber, using whatever materials are at hand. I recall many disciples have portable huts or tents from their travels—tell them not to be stingy. Once the walls are up, each sector will have houses for them to rest in.”

“Yes, we’ll see to it at once!” The four of them accepted their orders and left.

The others continued selecting their squad leaders—a process that went smoothly, as those with the greatest strength and prestige naturally took the lead, and most squads were quickly formed.

Wang Li looked around, feeling something was missing.

“Oh dear, how could I have forgotten that girl?”

Earlier, he’d been focused on escaping, and then, almost by accident, he’d become the backbone of this gathering of ten thousand. He’d been busy from the moment they landed and only just realized the little girl was nowhere to be seen.

To be honest, she was of special status. If something happened to her here, he feared Master Liuguang would lose his mind.

Unable to find Jiang Yue, Wang Li grew anxious. But some people are simply summoned by thought—just as he was about to send someone to search for her after finishing his arrangements, she appeared.

“Wah... you horrible Wang Li, why did you run so fast? Wah...”

Jiang Yue looked quite pitiful: her pink dress was torn in several places, as if by the claws of some beast, her face was dirty, and two blades of grass were stuck in her hair.

The moment she saw Wang Li, she couldn’t wait to pour out her tale of peril.

It turned out she had followed Jiang Yu in pursuit of Wang Li. When the ground shook, she’d tripped over a vine and fallen headfirst into a pit. Before she could climb out, an Earth Howler also fell in, landing right on top of her tiny frame.

That beast had probably been startled too, for it took several breaths before it realized it had caught prey and swiped at her with its claw.

But the girl was, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator; she wouldn’t be killed in an instant by an ordinary Earth Howler. As the claw came down, she drew her short-handled hammer and smashed the beast dead, though her dress was still torn in several places.

After that, more and more Earth Howlers poured out of the city. Terrified, the girl tried to escape underground with an earth-burrowing technique, but just as she was halfway down, her spirit was struck by a mental attack, and she fainted on the spot.

At this point, the girl was still shaken. “You know... if it weren’t for the spiritual weapon protecting my soul, I’d have died right there...”

“When I woke up, I saw so many beast corpses... I couldn’t find Sister Yu, or you... I was so scared!”

She was in tears, her face streaked as if washed by rain. Having just survived a deadly ordeal, she seemed half out of her senses.

“She’s truly frightened—after all, she’s just a child,” Wang Li thought to himself, intending to offer some words of comfort. But before he could, she wailed, “You awful Wang Li, why did you all run so far? I had to run and run for so long...”

“Because it’s safer here...” Wang Li began to explain, but then realized something was off. He asked, “Did you run here on foot?”

“Is... is there a problem?” she asked, sniffling.

Wang Li almost laughed. “You could have flown—it would have taken just a few seconds.”

“Flown? I can’t do that!” she exclaimed in utter disbelief. “You all flew here?”

Wang Li nodded, speechless.

The girl looked a bit embarrassed, glancing around with narrowed eyes and shrinking her neck. “I was having too much fun in the secret realm and forgot to learn sword flight...”