Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

After returning from Chipingpo, Cao Xiong went to the county government office again, but failed to obtain any information about the appearance of demons and ghosts.

Cao Xiong even checked the wanted posters issued by the Guobei County government and found that there wasn't a single martial artist at the Bone Tempering Realm.

Cao Xiong had to temporarily put aside his progress in acquiring fragments and focus on practicing martial arts.

Time quickly came to the day when the Guobei County Hundred Household Office officially began recruiting soldiers.

Cao Xiong arrived at the garrison barracks early.

"Bang bang~"

"Come in."

Cao Xiong had barely sat down when there was a knock on the door.

The one who came in was Yu Tong, a junior officer under Cao Xiong.

"Commander, Li Cheng is here."

Cao Xiong's eyes flashed.

"Let him in."

After Cao Xiong replied, Yu Tong went to the door and beckoned Li Cheng to come in.

"Li Cheng pays his respects to the Commander-in-Chief."

Cao Xiong looked at the other person; he had an ordinary appearance and dark skin, and looked like someone who had worked hard all year round.

"Not bad, your fingers have noticeable calluses. You really enjoy practicing boxing?"

Upon hearing these words, Li Cheng, who had been somewhat nervous, instantly relaxed a lot.

"Yes, I've been practicing boxing with my father since I was a child, but I've fallen behind in the Tiger Stance."

Li Cheng pouted a little embarrassedly.

"Haha, looks like you're very confident in your boxing skills. Come on, let's spar a couple of times."

"what?"

Li Cheng opened his mouth in surprise; he had inquired about Cao Xiong before coming.

I heard that this captain had no outstanding talent, but he studied and practiced diligently every day. At the age of sixty, he made a name for himself and broke through to the Bone Forging Realm.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?"

Cao Xiong was speechless upon seeing Li Cheng's expression.

"I dare!"

Li Cheng has enjoyed sparring with others since he was a child, especially with martial artists stronger than himself.

At this moment, Li Cheng no longer cared that Cao Xiong was his future boss; all he could think about was sparring.

Cao Xiong led Yu Tong and Li Cheng to the courtyard behind the barracks.

"Come on, throw a punch at me."

Cao Xiong and Li Cheng stood facing each other.

"Well then, Commander, I'm about to make my move."

Li Cheng flexed his wrists with both hands.

"Take this!"

The moment Li Cheng made his move, his eyes sharpened like an eagle's.

The fist, accompanied by a gust of wind, created an explosive sound as it rubbed against the air.

In Cao Xiong's eyes, Li Cheng's fist technique was powerful and fierce, but lacked agility. Moreover, due to the difference in their cultivation levels, Li Cheng's attacks seemed too slow to him.

After exchanging blows with Li Cheng for several rounds, Cao Xiong gained a general understanding of Li Cheng's combat abilities.

He stopped dodging, clenched his fist into a claw, grabbed Li Cheng's fist, and shoved Li Cheng off balance.

"Your skills are quite good. From today onwards, you will be a junior officer."

Cao Xiong then looked at Yu Tong, who was watching the show from the side, and said, "Take Li Cheng to collect the equipment for the junior officer. We'll meet at the drill ground later."

"Yes, sir!"

Li Cheng was a little confused, but he didn't dare to ask too many questions. He had only come here today to enlist, but he never expected to become a junior officer.

So Li Cheng quickly followed Yu Tong in clasping his hands in greeting.

After the two left, Cao Xiong went to the training ground.

Now, including Li Cheng, he has three junior officers under his command.

There are still too few capable people. Hopefully, this recruitment will produce some Bone Tempering Realm warriors.

When Cao Xiong arrived at the drill ground, he found it already packed with people.

A rough estimate suggests there are at least six or seven hundred people.

He hadn't expected so many people to participate in the recruitment. After all, it was no secret that demons were rampant everywhere and the Hundred Households had suffered heavy casualties in their extermination of the corpse monsters.

Enlisting in the military is no longer a desirable thing for ordinary people; on the contrary, it's something to be avoided at all costs.

Those who participated in the recruitment could not possibly be unaware of this.

Moreover, when the health department was compiling the registration statistics, the initial screening required applicants to be between sixteen and thirty-five years old.

People of this age are the pillars of their families.

His gaze swept across the crowd on the training ground; most of them were dressed in shabby clothes.

They looked like refugees fleeing a disaster.

A small group of neatly dressed young people gathered in a corner, not talking to anyone, and holding various weapons in their hands.

Then, Cao Xiong walked straight to the stage, where Fang Zheng and Xue Ding had already arrived.

Cao Xiong was seated at the very front, next to Xue Ding.

"Commander Cao, come quick, we have some good prospects today."

Upon meeting Cao Xiong, Xue Ding acted very warmly.

"Commander Xue seems to be in a good mood."

Cao Xiong responded with a smile that his relationship with Xue Ding was not particularly good, but there were no conflicts either.

However, in Cao Xiong's memory, this Commander Xue was very low-key.

After exchanging brief pleasantries with Xue Ding, Cao Xiong turned his attention to Fang Zheng standing to the side.

Today, Fangzheng gave Cao Xiong a very strange feeling, as if it carried the smell of death.

Although Fang Zheng had always been expressionless, his face always carried an air of arrogance.

Today, Fang's face is stiff, with a sickly pallor.

His eyes were fixed on the crowd on the training ground, a greedy glint in them.

"interesting."

Cao Xiong smiled.

"Knock knock knock~"

When Wei Qiang arrived at the training ground and sat in the main seat, the drums sounded, and the noise on the training ground instantly stopped.

"Today, the Hundred-Household Office of Guobei County is recruiting soldiers. The competition is divided into two rounds. The first round is the test of strength."

"Ahead of you are twenty stone weights, each weighing fifty kilograms. Whoever lifts a stone weight will pass the test."

"The second round is a martial arts test, with two people fighting against each other, and the winners advance."

"The final selection will be determined based on the number of shortlisted candidates."

"I hereby declare the trial commence."

……

The recruitment competition lasted for most of the day, ending only in the evening.

A total of 121 soldiers were recruited in this recruitment drive.

Cao Xiong's troops finally reached full strength.

Including him, there were fifty-one people.

However, only three Bone Tempering Realm warriors participated in the recruitment today, and one of them was assigned to Xue Ding's command.

The two were assigned to work under Fang Zheng.

Because of Li Cheng's addition, Cao Xiong's First Banner was not assigned to a Bone Tempering Warrior.

During this period, influenced by Cao Xiong, Wang Er became much more enthusiastic about practicing martial arts.

With Cao Xiong's occasional guidance, Wang Er is now only one step away from the Bone Tempering Realm.

Therefore, Cao Xiong promoted Wang Er to the rank of junior officer. Cao Xiong had to take charge of the remaining junior officer himself.

We'll make arrangements when someone breaks through to the Bone Tempering Realm in the future.

In addition to recruiting a large number of soldiers, the centurion also equipped each squad leader with ten muskets, forming a small musket flag.

After annihilating the ancient tomb monster, Wei Qiang went to the county seat. When he returned to Guobei County, he brought back ten muskets, which, together with the twenty muskets already in the Hundred Household Office, made a total of thirty muskets.

In the days that followed, Cao Xiong was extremely busy.

He devoted most of his energy to training new recruits.

He also put the matter of forging the scabbard out of his mind.

In the end, it was Lu Qing's apprentice who delivered the scabbard to the garrison camp, because Cao Xiong had told Lu Qing to notify him as soon as it was finished.

After receiving the new scabbard for the Sniffing Demon Blade, Cao Xiong was delighted with it. The scabbard was grayish-black in color and covered with wolf demon skin. It felt rough like sand, but was surprisingly comfortable to the touch.