Starting as a centurion, he fought his way through the chaos of the world.

Chapter 157 One Year

[Heavenly Martial Secret Realm, 300 million points (Ten days of cultivation inside equals one day outside; usable by anyone below the Purple Mansion level, best suited for breakthroughs; can accommodate ten thousand cultivators at a time)]

Lu Ming was immediately drawn to this secret realm after opening the shop.

It's simply a divine tool for training troops.

According to the introduction, this secret realm is connected to the outside world, so the spirit-gathering array also enhances it.

Just think about it, with the spiritual energy concentration dozens of times higher, plus the time flow enhancement, he could train an elite soldier in a short period of time.

What takes a century to accumulate, I may be able to accomplish in just a few years.

However, one thing is that this secret realm consumes a lot of spirit stones.

Maintaining it for a year would require approximately 15 million.

Although it's a large expense, it's well worth it considering how effective it is.

Thinking of this, a glint appeared in Lu Ming's eyes.

Without hesitation, I redeemed it immediately.

At this point, he only had a little over 30 million points left.

Lu Ming doesn't plan to use these points.

After all, he needs a lot of resources to cultivate himself.

By this time, it was already getting late.

Lu Ming stood up and walked towards the backyard.

Li Xirou must have been anxiously waiting after she found out she was back.

Sure enough, just as he arrived in the backyard, he saw his wife standing outside the door, gazing out into the yard.

A moon-white fitted long dress, and a pure white animal fur shawl.

When the moonlight shines on you.

He was like a banished immortal.

Lu Ming felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

When she saw him, Li Xirou smiled.

"Master."

"I had a lot of things to take care of up ahead, so I got back late," Lu Ming said with a smile.

Then, he accompanied Li Xirou into the house.

The food was already laid out, a variety of delicacies, emitting a fragrant aroma.

This made Lu Ming's mouth water.

Although his cultivation level has reached such a point that he doesn't care about not eating.

But I still can't change my old habits.

"Today was a bit rushed, so I just prepared some ordinary food. Please don't mind, my husband."

"I like anything you make." Lu Ming wasn't lying about this.

Li Xirou's skills have improved more and more in the past two years.

Lu Ming always felt something was missing when he couldn't eat the food cooked by the other person.

After the meal, the table was cleaned up by the maid.

When only two people remain in the room.

Lu Ming's passionate heart couldn't help but stir again.

Then, his gaze fell on Li Xirou.

"My wife, let's get some rest."

A blush appeared on the other person's face, but she did not refuse; instead, she nodded gently.

A moment later, the candlelight was extinguished.

The rest is self-explanatory.

The next morning, Lu Ming walked out of the house feeling refreshed.

They headed towards the front yard.

He planned to go into seclusion and cultivate for a period of time after settling the Tianwu Secret Realm.

Improve your cultivation level as quickly as possible.

Today, wars rage in various places.

Without strong capabilities, it's difficult to protect oneself.

In particular, his soldiers were capable of dealing with rebels, and they were no less capable than the imperial guards, and in some ways even better.

However, if placed outside the realm, they would be far inferior to sect disciples, let alone the Great Xia army.

Almost all of them were Qi cultivators, and some elite troops had even reached the Core Formation stage.

It is said that the Great Xia Dynasty has a 100,000-strong Imperial Guard, all of whom are at the Golden Core stage of cultivation.

The current Great Yu Dynasty is maintained by human fortune and has the advantage of favorable timing and location, which gives it a great restraining effect on the Great Xia Dynasty.

Therefore, the other side dared not be careless and did not send out their true elite troops, fearing that they would be annihilated by the Great Yu at all costs.

Otherwise, they would probably have already stormed in.

Not to mention the major sects.

Top-tier sects like the Tian Shu Sect have hundreds of thousands or even millions of disciples.

The power to indirectly manipulate things is far too small, even if it's only a few million.

Therefore, Lu Ming must seize the time before the power of humanity dissipates to improve his strength.

Otherwise, it will be too late once they break in.

As soon as they arrived at the drill ground in the front yard, they saw Zhang Meng rushing in from outside.

He was also holding a large stack of letters in his hand.

Upon seeing Lu Ming, he quickly approached and said, "My lord, this is information from various places."

"Move them all inside," Lu Ming said calmly.

Then, they walked towards the front hall.

As soon as he sat down, Zhang Meng placed the letter next to him.

Lu Ming opened and checked them one by one.

There was quite a bit of news, not only from the Marquis's residence but also from the imperial court.

Recently, members of the Kaiyang Sect have been patrolling the border area between the Langya Prince's and Marquis's residences, seemingly with provocative intentions.

The Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Imperial Court has acquired a huge spirit stone mine on the border of the Great Yu Kingdom. It seems that the Empress intends to increase the expenditure on spirit stones in the grain rations starting this year.

The battle in the northern frontier has now reached a stalemate. The humanistic power of the Great Yu is stable, and the Great Xia has no chance of winning, so it has stopped sending large numbers of troops, but the fighting continues every day.

Rebel kings across the land continued their attacks on the central government, putting immense pressure on the court, and numerous skilled members of the imperial family were killed in battle.

The major sects are currently in a frantic search for a genius who possesses the Xuanhuang Token.

Looking at the information above.

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow.

These people from various sects are really interesting.

It's like it's deliberately picking on itself, always trying to do something to itself.

However, this time he knew to be careful.

The Xuanhuang token in his hand was something he would never let anyone else discover.

After reviewing all the information, Lu Ming made a summary.

That is the present-day Great Yu. Although it has temporarily stabilized its dragon vein, it is still at an absolute disadvantage.

It has been completely suppressed by various rebel kings.

However, it seems that both the Great Xia Dynasty and these sects have something to fear besides the power of humanity.

Therefore, they dared not pressure Da Yu too much.

It's just slowly eroding things.

Lu Ming was unaware of these inside stories.

Therefore, he stopped thinking about it and focused on establishing the Heavenly Martial Secret Realm.

Then the soldiers can go inside to train.

Then, their gaze turned to Zhang Meng, who had been standing to the side.

Upon seeing Lu Ming's gaze fall upon him, the other party bowed slightly.

"During this time, find a suitable place in the city to build a Heavenly Martial Academy, with a Heavenly Martial Tower inside. I will have a great use for it."

"Yes, Lord Marquis," Zhang Meng replied hastily.

Although she was puzzled as to why Lu Ming would have such an idea, she didn't dare to ask any further questions.

"Alright, let's go and make preparations to establish the Heavenly Martial Academy as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Meng, having received the order, quickly withdrew.

As for Lu Ming, he prepared to return to the backyard to cultivate.

However, before he could leave, Guo Zhun walked in.

Upon seeing Lu Ming, he first bowed carefully and said, "Greetings, Lord Marquis."

Lu Ming looked at him and smiled, "Just say what's on your mind, no need to hide anything."

Guo Zhun is only enthusiastic when supplies arrive.

Normally, when they see me, they avoid me.

They were afraid of getting him to provide supplies.

"My lord, recently, several generals in the manor have come to me, hoping to distribute spirit stones to their soldiers. They say that the soldiers have all broken through to the Qi Refining Realm and cannot cultivate without spirit stones."

But as you know, in the past we didn't have spirit stones, so we couldn't distribute them at all.

Now that we have spirit stones, they're causing even more trouble. Do you think we should give them some?

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Ming raised an eyebrow.

He really didn't expect Guo Zhun to say such a thing. Has he changed his mind?

They actually took the initiative to offer to distribute spirit stones.

"Tell me the reason?"

In fact, Lu Ming had also thought of this.

After all, the elite troops under his command had already broken through to the Qi Refining stage.

Now is the time to use spirit stones for cultivation.

If the past wasn't enough, we'd have to make do.

Now that we have spirit stones, we certainly won't be stingy.

However, Guo Zhun was acting a bit strangely today.

He really couldn't just keep giving away these spirit stones without finding out the reason.

"My lord, you don't know, Wang Yue originally agreed to take my son as his apprentice, but who would have thought that he would change his mind yesterday, saying that his people don't even have spirit stones to cultivate yet, and he's too busy to handle anything else, so he'll have to postpone the apprenticeship."

But you said my son is about to turn another year older.

It is said that the younger you are, the better you can cultivate.

"Wang Yue's change of heart is harming my son."

When the voice rang out, a pleading look appeared in Lu Ming's eyes.

He really didn't dare touch the spirit stones in the warehouse without the other party's permission.

Moreover, this is a matter of principle.

But he also has to consider his son's future.

Seeing Guo Zhun's reaction, Lu Ming couldn't help but smirk. This wasn't really a big deal.

What's most valuable is that Guo Zhun would tell me everything.

Then, he picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"How about this, since all the soldiers in the Fifth Battalion have broken through to the Qi Refining Realm, each of them will be given ten spirit stones every month."

A low-level general in the Foundation Establishment stage receives twenty spirit stones per month.

Thirty pieces for Condensed Core, one hundred pieces for Golden Core, one thousand pieces for Purple Mansion, and ten thousand pieces for Deity Transformation.

From now on, we can distribute them according to this model.

Currently, Lu Ming has about ten million spirit stones at his disposal.

There shouldn't be any problem distributing the aid for over a year, and it will start next month.

The sea area then generated a continuous stream of income.

That's enough to distribute spirit stones to my subordinates.

"Yes, Your Excellency," Guo Zhun replied hastily.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he glanced at Lu Ming and said, "My lord, it seems that the imperial court is also preparing to pay salaries. It is said that your salary is calculated in spirit stones."

Sometimes, when the imperial court sent official documents concerning money, grain, and military pay, they would simply hand them over to Guo Zhun for review.

Lu Ming didn't seem to care much.

Since Guo Zhun said so, there shouldn't be any major problems.

"How much per year?" Lu Ming asked, blowing on the tea leaves in his cup.

A hint of curiosity appeared on his face.

He had not received any salary from the imperial court for many years, so he had given up hope. Now, hearing what Guo Zhun said...

I did become interested.

“The army’s annual pay is 55 million taels of silver, plus various supplies, equipment, and 300,000 pieces of armor, as well as 500,000 spirit stones. I heard that your annual spirit stone supply is 300,000,” Guo Zhun said with a smile.

Lu Ming raised an eyebrow; this was no small sum.

At the same time, no one expected the Empress to be so generous.

It seems that the return of the royal family has indeed brought back many good things.

Just think about how many troops the Great Yu had. Every year, the salary alone would be an astronomical figure.

At this point, it must be said that the Great Yu Dynasty still possesses considerable resources.

Otherwise, facing such targeting from so many sects, they probably wouldn't have lasted this long.

"My lord, it is said that our treatment is on par with that of the Imperial Guards, and even better. Your salary is on par with that of the top experts of the imperial clan, making you unique among the officials of the Great Yu Dynasty. It was personally awarded by His Majesty."

Everyone says you have won the Emperor's favor.

Guo Zhun said with a smile.

Lu Ming then realized that not everyone received such treatment.

He let out a long breath and said.

Do you know when these salaries will arrive?

"Before the end of the year," Guo Zhun quickly replied.

Lu Ming nodded.
With these supplies, I can be a little more financially secure.

In short, you can't improve your strength without resources.

"Alright, I understand. You can go now. The distribution of spirit stones will begin this month."

"Yes, Lord Marquis." After receiving the reply, Guo Zhun withdrew with a smile on his face.

After Lu Ming dismissed the other party,

They headed towards the backyard.

I'm getting ready to start my cultivation.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, the Empress, dressed in a thin black robe, sat in her bedchamber.

Her perfect figure, subtly revealed, is incredibly alluring.

Perhaps it is the inherited energy she received that is now beginning to unleash its full potential.

In a short period of time, his cultivation level increased dramatically once again.

He reached the Refining Spirit Realm.

It can be described as a leap forward.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, it's the energy left behind by the emperors of the Great Yu Dynasty, so it's naturally quite substantial.

At this moment, her demeanor became even more refined and otherworldly.

He frowned slightly as he looked at the battle report that had just arrived.

"The King of Langya has also sent troops towards the central region?"

It was already very difficult to deal with six rebel kings.

Now another Prince of Langya has appeared.

This gave the Empress even more of a headache.

"Perhaps they've found there's nowhere left to develop in the southern borderlands, so they're heading towards the central government. Yesterday they seized a prefectural city," the female official in blue said cautiously.

They were afraid of offending the Queen.

Although the King of Langya no longer had many elite troops.

However, the Kaiyang Sect sent the most experts.

Jin Poyue, in particular, had recently defeated five masters from the royal family in succession, and it was only when the Seventh Ancestor returned that he was stopped.

The Empress's expression darkened slightly.

"What about the other rebel kings?"

"Their offensive remains fierce, and large numbers of soldiers are dying on the front lines every day."

According to the Grand Master's prediction, if things continue like this...

Our first line of defense can only hold out for a year at most, especially with the support from the Prince of Langya, which caught us somewhat off guard.

"At that time, the dragon vein will surely tremble again." The female official in green said this.

A hint of worry crept onto his face.

The current situation is quite dangerous.

The Empress set the battle report aside and said slowly, "Train a group of experts as soon as possible. Tell the Grand Master of Ceremonies not to be stingy with resources and to supply as much material as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The female official quickly replied.

Then they prepared to leave, but just then, the Empress seemed to remember something and asked, "How is the situation with Marquis Zhige?"

"I heard that they are opening up maritime trade routes and building a lot of large ships."

"There's no need to pay too much attention to this matter. Also, keep the opening of the sea as a secret as possible, and don't let the officials know about it," the Empress said calmly.

Then he picked up a spirit fruit and put it in his mouth.

She said this because she was worried that if the opening of the sea was unsuccessful, the sects in the sea area might take the opportunity to cause trouble, which would escalate the situation.

At that point, even protecting Lu Ming might not be easy.

As long as no one else knows, I can still control this matter.

"Yes, ma'am," the female official in blue replied hastily.

At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh, wondering what had gotten into His Majesty lately.

They truly favored this Marquis of Zhige.

I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse.

Then, at the Queen's signal, he carefully withdrew.

After he left.

The palace fell silent.

The Empress then took out Lu Ming's portrait and examined it again.

Since the Dream Awakening Pill has given a hint.

She was absolutely certain that the current difficulties were only temporary.

At this time, Lu Ming was unaware of all this.

He has now exchanged a large number of Heavenly Spirit Fruits in the system shop. These are the spiritual fruits he needs to consume to cultivate the second volume of "The Primordial Scripture of Profound Yellow".

At this point, I'm going to give it a try and see if I can cultivate the Celestial Master's art to the basics.

As he swallowed a piece of fruit.

His divine sense slowly spread upwards toward the sky.

Expecting a response.

For the next period of time, Lu Ming cultivated almost every day.

Occasionally, he would also go out to spend time with his wife.

Time passes slowly.

The Heavenly Martial Tower was completed during Lu Ming's first month of seclusion.

Any soldier from the Marquis's mansion can enter to cultivate based on their military merits.

In the second month, news came from the border.

Besides the Great Xia, many sects from outside the region have also begun to launch provocative attacks against the Great Yu, seemingly wanting to tear a piece of flesh from the other side.

The entire border of the imperial court was engulfed in war.

In the following months, bad news came almost every day.

Today a prefecture is captured, tomorrow a general will fall.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that war raged everywhere.

Jin Poyue of the Kaiyang Sect, in particular, shone brightly.

On the battlefield attacking the central government, the members of the Great Yu imperial family were terrified.

The front lines they were attacking were already in grave danger.

Many people speculate that the army of the Prince of Langya will be the first force to break through the defenses of the Great Yu.

The Kaiyang Sect also strongly supported the Prince of Langya, providing him with various elixirs, which led to a visible increase in the strength of the elite troops under the Prince of Langya.

All in all.

All of this kept the imperial court extremely busy.

Some suggested that the Marquis of Zhige's mansion launch an attack on the rear of the Prince of Langya to hinder the enemy's advance.

However, Lu Ming was in seclusion and had not yet replied.

The Empress intended to protect the other party, but only made routine urgings without issuing any decree.

This led to many people in the court starting to have opinions about Lu Ming.

Some even claimed that Marquis Zhige was afraid of the King of Langya and had begun to retreat.

And these rumors have only intensified.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

On this day, when Lu Ming sat in the secret room and opened his eyes...

The dimly lit room was instantly illuminated as if it were daytime.

A smile appeared on his lips as he felt the surging energy emanating from his body.

He gained a lot during this year, and the Marquis's mansion also made great progress.

(End of this chapter)