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This time alone, more than 35,000 people were killed on both sides, bringing Geng Xuan a total of nearly 1.2 million points of good fortune.

During a brief rest at the military camp, Geng Xuan distributed nearly 630,000 points of good fortune as a blessing, almost in a "wholesale" manner.

Such behavior undoubtedly further solidified the fanatical faith of those "Canglang believers" in him, their "divine son."

Even after such a generous blessing, there are still nearly 570,000 points of good fortune remaining.

After this stroke of good fortune, the power structure of the "Black Wind Army" has been further improved and solidified.

Liu Mu, Song Mingzhu, and Tie Lang, who were originally at the fourth level of perfection, were all "promoted" and appointed, and were all forcibly pushed by Geng Xuan to the fifth level of perfection.

And with this massive amount of good fortune of nearly 630,000 points being distributed, those who were "promoted" and whose cultivation levels broke through their original realms were not limited to these three people.

When the blessing of good fortune ended, the "Black Wind Army" set off to leave the military camp.

Besides Geng Xuan, the "Black Wind Army" already has three people at the fifth level of perfection, six people at the fourth level, ten people at the third level, eighteen people at the second level, and thirty-four people at the first level.

There were as many as sixty-three people at the peak of the Marrow Refinement stage.

In addition, there are 206 people in the late stage of Marrow Refinement, 598 people in the middle stage, and 2462 people in the early stage.

Except for a very small number who were added from the more than 20,000 new recruits this time, the vast majority of them were nurtured and promoted by Geng Xuan's repeated good fortune.

This only includes those who have survived to this point. If we include the Marrow Refining warriors who died in battles, the numbers would be even more staggering.

With the "structural optimization" brought about by deaths, recruitment, and blessings, the combat power below the Marrow Refinement level is much better than when the "Black Wind Army" first came out of Xuanqing Sea.

There are over 11,241,600 people in the Bone Refining Realm and over 14,300 people in the Blood Refining Realm.

There are over 48,000 people in the Flesh Refining Realm and less than 41,100 people in the Skin Refining Realm.

This is the current troop composition of the "Black Wind Army".

Although the total size of the "Black Wind Army" only increased by less than 5,000, the Baiyun Points were still automatically allocated to Geng Xuan based on the additional 20,000 points added during recruitment.

This gave Geng Xuan 330 points of luck.

That's nothing compared to what Geng Xuan cares about most. When he recruited over 60,000 "Canglang believers" into the "Black Wind Army" system last time, he received 4650 points of luck in one go.

It far exceeded the number of White Luck Points that the more than 60,000 "Canglang Followers" could provide for him.

Geng Xuan was puzzled by this for a long time.

"Could it be that these people, due to their excessively fanatical faith, provide an average of far more White Luck Points than other members of the 'Black Wind Army'?"

That was the first thought that arose in Geng Xuan's mind.

If that's the case, it's really bad news for him.

This shows that these "Canglang believers" are much less cost-effective than the normal "Black Wind Army" members.

Because so far, the biggest impact of Bai Yun on him has been the equally significant amount of black luck and calamity that comes with him.

As these thoughts raced through Geng Xuan's mind, he also learned through the "Earth Listening Spider Web" that a large enemy cavalry force was rushing in from the north like a flood.

In fact, he had already sensed the movement of this cavalry unit long before he led his troops away from the camp.

Because the noise they generated was too great and the vibrations to the ground were too obvious, they easily exceeded the limits that the "earth-listening spider web" could normally detect.

When the cavalry was still more than a hundred miles away from the camp, he noticed their presence and immediately led his troops westward to avoid direct contact with them.

Logically speaking, at this time, Geng Xuan had just completed the blessing ceremony, and morale was high, making the army's morale highly effective.

He could have stayed in the camp, waited for the enemy to tire themselves out, and wiped out this cavalry force as well.

But after some consideration, he gave up on this tempting offer.

For no other reason than that he was afraid of frightening Dong Guan.

Now, Dong Guan should have a better understanding of the "Black Wind Army" and his own situation.

Geng Xuan had no intention of delving into how much this shook his soul.

But he was worried that this guy might suddenly "get tired of playing" and stop following his plan.

If this guy suddenly makes a large-scale retreat, or even a large-scale disbandment, and disperses his troops back to Xuanyou and Erzhou, that would be the situation that would give him the biggest headache.

Currently, in terms of troop strength alone, Dong Guan still holds the advantage.

But it has also basically reached a fragile critical point.

In the short term, Geng Xuan did not want to give Dong Guan any more provocation.

For a while, he might even slow down the pace, giving Dong Guan a chance to rebuild his confidence.

After gaining a general understanding of the situation in the rear military camp through "listening to the spider web,"

Geng Xuan said to Song Mingzhu:
"No enemy cavalry will be chasing us for the time being... Well, a hundred or so riders have been assigned to spy on our movements, but you don't need to be too nervous. Just deal with it normally."

Just make sure they don't get too close; as for the rest, there's no need to worry too much.

If they want to see it, just show it to them.

Upon hearing this arrangement, Song Mingzhu paused for a moment before responding and going to make the arrangements.

Then, while everyone was on their way, Geng Xuan took the opportunity to do another thing that had been on his mind.

Reorganization.

Compared to the previous naval battles with the enemy in Xuanqinghai, the "Black Wind Army" has undergone significant changes in size, strength structure, and mission objectives.

The original staffing structure is no longer adequate for current needs.

It could even be said that this was the first battle after landing.

Despite having an overwhelming advantage in infantry strength, our side ultimately paid the price of over 10,000 dead, more than double the number of the enemy. This was partly due to the relatively low strength of the "Crimson Wolf Cultists".

The lack of proper team organization, which prevented them from fully leveraging the advantages of small-team operations, was also a significant reason.

However, compared to recruitment and blessing, which can be processed in batches, a complete reorganization would take far too much time.

Furthermore, the larger the army, the longer a complete reorganization takes.

Having no opportunity before, now that he finally has a brief respite, Geng Xuan naturally wants to seize the time to get this matter done.

It is no exaggeration to say that after a comprehensive reorganization using the "troop deployment technique".

With the size and individual cultivation strength of the "Black Wind Army" remaining unchanged, the overall combat power of the army jumps from the spot, increasing by several times, or even directly doubling!
At first, only Geng Xuan led Liu Mu and his group, riding back and forth in the procession.

Gradually, people began to leave their original groups.

Like a flowing river, it gradually branches out into thin streams that follow the original "river" and eventually merge into a completely new "river".

This change did not affect the speed of the march.

It maintained a speed of nearly 30 kilometers per hour, heading west and quickly moving away from the coast of Xuanqinghai.

……

West shore of Xuanqinghai.

Location of the military camp.

Shortly after General Tian Liang led 20,000 cavalry to the scene and took the time to make a rough confirmation of the "burial site of 35,867 corpses".

The once calm and boundless azure sea suddenly became dotted with countless black dots.

Soon, these black dots gradually grew larger, turning into ships that rapidly approached the western shore of Xuanqing Sea where the military camp was located.

As these ships drew closer and gradually approached the shore, their sheer size and presence became increasingly overwhelming.

Before long, the group disembarked from the ship in a grand procession.

Leading the way was the imposing and powerful Commander Dong Guan.

He was accompanied by a group of trusted advisors, and Tian Liang carefully followed beside him. Instead of going directly into the military camp, they went to the side of the huge burial pit.

It's not for remembrance, but for confirmation.

He first looked at the newly dug trenches, which were densely packed with corpses.

He then looked up and stared at the number of buried bodies, which was specified down to the single digit.

He remained silent for only a moment before asking, "Has everything been confirmed?"

Tian Liang lowered his head slightly and said, "Yes... Although we didn't have time to count them all, based on the depth and size of this mass grave, the number of more than 35,000 people should be accurate."

Dong Guan nodded slightly, then turned and walked towards the military camp.

His expression showed no sign of gloom or resentment; it was as if he were conducting a routine inspection.

As he passed a ditch where many corpses were exposed, he finally stopped again and explained:

"Let's fill in all these holes."

"Fill it all in?" Tian Liang looked up slightly.

"Yes, fill them all in... We can't let our soldiers be haunted by those sand wolves and vultures even after they die," Dong Guan said calmly.

Tian Liang was finally somewhat surprised. When did his lord become so considerate?

However, he quickly dismissed the thought of courting death and immediately replied "Yes" before making the arrangements.

Upon entering the military camp, Dong Guan went directly to the central main tent and sat down in the main seat without hesitation.

Immediately, people inquired about the next steps.

This time, Dong Guan didn't make the decision himself. Instead, he looked at everyone and asked in a questioning tone:
"What are your opinions?"

His behavior made more people realize something, and they all had some subtle feelings.

In the past, Dong Guan was not only stubborn and self-willed, but also a man of great influence.

Such a courteous and amiable attitude was something many of those who had served under Dong Guan for many years had never seen before.

However, these thoughts were quickly banished from everyone's minds.

Under Dong Guan's watchful eye, people began to speak up, offering their suggestions one after another.

First, it was only natural for Anju to investigate the "stubborn bandits" who were leading their people to flee into the depths of the wilderness.

However, they should not advance further until they have amassed a larger army and learned more about the enemy.

They stayed in the military camp for the time being, resting and planning while waiting for the other troops to arrive and return.

Second, he arranged for people to observe the movements of other military camps and urgently ordered them to come here as quickly as possible to join him.

If it's time to ship, then ship; if it's time to ride the Xuan You horse, then ride the Xuan You horse.

Go as fast as you can, no need to worry about horsepower anymore.

Even if it kills some Xuanyou horses, it's worth it.

Third, arrangements were made for people to make further contact with and confirm the identities of the alien tribes that were widely distributed in the Xuanyou and You states.

The more than 60,000 "auxiliary soldiers" who were abducted did not come from a particular region or state.

Behind them are almost all the alien tribes.

Now, they have all silently betrayed their cause, which likely means that the tribes behind them have already changed sides and have long been involved in this operation.

Compared to the visible enemy mentioned earlier, this is the real threat to our core.

Because before today, these groups were already part of Dong Guan's "body".

"..."

Suggestions were constantly being offered.

After a brief inquiry to confirm the rationality of the suggestion, Dong Guan immediately assigned it to others.

The efficiency was so high that it appeared as if there was no delay at all.

With everyone's collective wisdom and efforts, all aspects of the problem were quickly considered and reasonable solutions were developed.

Finally, seeing that no one spoke, one person paused for a moment, then respectfully stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said:
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Dong Guan stared at the man for a moment and said, "Speak."

"This gang of 'stubborn thieves' certainly has some cunning methods, but looking at what they have done since the uprising at 'Wild Wolf Gorge', it can be seen that those methods have actually had very limited effectiveness."

The improvement of its military strength is also within a certain limit.

This was more often used as a means to boost morale and unite people.

Furthermore, both the sand bandits and those 'filthy bastards' harbored a deep-seated hatred for us due to their long-standing circumstances, which allowed them to take advantage of the situation!

"Such a formidable enemy should certainly be taken seriously, but we shouldn't overestimate its strength."

We all know that the so-called "child of the gods" is a lie; it's just a trick to win over those "filthy bastards."

"By now, we should be able to see this clearly."

After winning over the bandits, the 'Filthy Blood Bastard' became another target for them.

"The enemy's entry into the Xuanqing Sea, and all their maneuvering and countermeasures, were merely a smokescreen!"

"Now that we've seen through this, we can no longer let it lead us by the nose."

Having said this, the man bowed respectfully again and said:
"Up until now, our repeated defeats have all been due to the enemy being in the dark while we are in the light, allowing them to take advantage of us and exploit our weaknesses."

Even now, in terms of raw power, we are still far superior to them.

"Through this series of actions, the other party's intentions and style of doing things were gradually revealed."

Moreover, we successfully forced it out of the Xuanqing Sea and made it flee into the depths of the wilderness.

...From any perspective, the advantage is gradually shifting back towards us.

"At this time, what Your Majesty needs to do most is to keep your composure."

Do not let the other party's actions provoke your emotions and lead you astray.

...He does his thing, we'll do ours!

In this way, the situation will naturally gradually return to our control.

Dong Guan sat upright and solemnly. After a while, he bowed respectfully and replied, "I have learned a great deal!" (End of Chapter)