I Have Medicine

Chapter 539 - (Heading to Eight Desolations City) Two Thousand Troops

By this time, the Blood Transformation Palace Master had finished giving instructions, and since Gongyi Tianheng had advanced to the Ascendant Realm, he assigned him the corresponding benefits. The most important of these was three powerful battle slaves who had reached the Noble Realm. Additionally, there were three thousand-strong slave clans for Gongyi Tianheng to choose from.

However, this time, Gongyi Tianheng chose not auxiliary-type battle slaves but three combat-type slave clans. These three clans had long been providing battle slaves for the Ten Ultimates Sect. Once they arrived, the young and strong members of these clans could undergo training and then become part of Gongyi Tianheng’s Blood Dragon Camp.

There were also some other resource-related matters and industries, which Gongyi Tianheng managed to take over very smoothly. In a short time, he registered all of them and assigned them to experienced clan elders from the subordinate slave clans for management.

Afterward, Gongyi Tianheng and Gu Zuo bid farewell to the Blood Transformation Palace Master and returned to the manor.

This trip to Eight Desolations City would last for three years, and the personnel to be taken along had to be carefully selected, especially the number of battle slaves, which could not be lacking. Otherwise, if Gongyi Tianheng could not gain a certain amount of power in the city, he would be restricted in many ways, making it very difficult to act.

Gu Zuo followed closely behind Gongyi Tianheng as they walked back and forth at the peak.

As they walked, Gongyi Tianheng said, “The Blood Dragon Camp now has over a thousand battle slaves, many of whom are elites. We should be able to extract eight hundred of them, divided into four teams, ready to follow my orders. Among these battle slaves, the leaders must be at least in the Atomic Realm, with one in the Noble Realm as the main commander and two in the Celestial Realm as deputies…”

“The Tianlong Guards have accompanied me for a long time, but they have not yet been trained to act independently. This is the perfect opportunity to hone them, and they must all be brought along, which gives us a thousand troops in total.”

“There are also capable individuals among the slave clans; we can select four hundred young and strong members to serve as irregular troops. These young members possess special abilities due to their different clans, allowing us to utilize them in various ways without wasting manpower.”

“As for the other allied forces that are following us, each family must also contribute some personnel. However, since their original clan members are not many, extracting dozens from each family will suffice, yielding three to four hundred in total.”

“The Shadow Cat clan excels at assassination, so we can draw two hundred from them to serve as both assassins and scouts.”

“At this point, the total number we can take with us has reached two thousand…”

Listening to this, Gu Zuo finally couldn’t help but speak up: “Big Brother, don’t you think you’ve forgotten someone?”

Gongyi Tianheng paused for a moment.

Then he turned around and smiled gently at Gu Zuo: “Of course, by my side, Ah Zuo’s presence is always indispensable… Ah Zuo is an essential support for me.”

Gu Zuo beamed back with a bright smile: “Big Brother, don’t worry. This time when we go, I definitely won’t let you down!”

After that, the two of them each got busy.

Gongyi Tianheng naturally went to the Blood Dragon Camp to select battle slaves. Since he would be gone for three years, he also needed to make arrangements regarding matters involving his and Gu Zuo’s friends and family. However, with a strong member of the Shadow Cat clan secretly protecting both sides, there was no need to worry too much—he just needed to inform them to avoid any concern from being apart for so long.

In addition, he needed to take inventory of the resources in the public treasury, organizing what needed to be taken along for operations in Eight Desolations City. Otherwise, if they were to face the foreign tribes and find themselves short on supplies, getting bogged down in logistics would be a significant problem.

While Gongyi Tianheng was busy, Gu Zuo was also occupied, but his tasks were relatively simple. He mainly focused on checking the various medicinal materials in the Medicine Heaven Great Hall. If he found any shortages, he immediately requested the clan elders in charge of managing the resources to expedite their transfer, bringing in batches of materials for storage in the Medicine Heaven Great Hall.

Wu Xing, the manager of the Ten Thousand Medicines Manor, was of great help in this regard. Since they needed to supply numerous alchemists for practice, he had long been converting the resources from the manor into stored medicinal materials. Thus, when Gu Zuo issued his orders, Wu Xing quickly provided a large batch, offering substantial assistance to Gu Zuo.

Gu Zuo was always generous in his dealings. Knowing that Wu Xing had this capability, he rewarded him with plenty of flawless pills. These flawless pills would belong to the Wu family privately, strengthening their power.

Seeing this, Wu Xing was, of course, very pleased and became even more diligent and meticulous in his work afterward.

At the same time, after Gu Zuo finished his tasks, he went to visit his father and his dad again.

They had been apart for just a few days, but Zhao Ji was deeply immersed in understanding the inscriptions, while Gu Qi was focused on comprehending the inheritance he had received. They were so engrossed that they barely noticed the passage of time. When they saw Gu Zuo come in, they were somewhat surprised.

However, upon learning that Gu Zuo was about to accompany Gongyi Tianheng on his departure, the two of them put aside their work and spent a good hour with him, giving him some advice regarding safety.

Regarding his parents’ “loving nagging,” Gu Zuo naturally listened attentively and accepted everything they said.

Finally, Zhao Ji said, “If your dad and I can achieve some minor accomplishments within a year, we might just go to Eight Desolations City to join you.”

Gu Zuo felt a bit worried and opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji said, “There’s no need to worry. Whether it’s your dad’s cultivation method or my inscriptions, both require a lot of practical experience. You know our background; when facing our own kind, we might hesitate to act decisively. So it’s better to confront the foreign tribes directly. Not only can we relieve some pressure on the human race, but it will also serve as a trial for us.”

Gu Qi put his arm around Gu Zuo’s shoulders and nodded in agreement: “You should listen to your old man about this.”

Gu Zuo thought it over and had to admit that his father’s reasoning made sense.

When he first arrived, he was barely fifteen years old, still in a critical period for establishing his worldview. It had been quite difficult for him to adapt at first, and it was only with his big brother’s guidance that he gradually completed that process. His dad and father, on the other hand, had long since established their perspectives; they were certainly more difficult to convince, yet they couldn’t ignore it either… His father’s plan was undoubtedly a gradual approach.

With this in mind, Gu Zuo didn’t oppose it any longer: “That’s fine, but you both have to promise me that if you feel your strength isn’t sufficient, you won’t go recklessly.”

A hint of a smile flashed across Zhao Ji’s lips as he nodded.

Gu Qi patted him on the shoulder: “You don’t need to remind me of such things, you brat!”

After chatting for a while longer, Gu Zuo finally took his leave.

Before he left, he glanced at the two of them one last time and said seriously, “Father, Dad, don’t worry about me. I’ll cooperate well with my brother and do my best to keep my life safe.”

…

Once everything was in order, Gongyi Tianheng and Gu Zuo assembled the men, and a formidable group of two thousand marched toward the outer reaches of the Ten Ultimates Sect in a grand procession.

The momentum was immense, and Gongyi Tianheng sat atop a towering super spiritual-level wild beast, exuding a calm and composed demeanor that attracted the attention of many.

Soon, someone recognized Gongyi Tianheng’s identity and began to discuss among themselves:

“Isn’t that the all-star prodigy we took in a few years ago at the Ten Ultimates Sect?”

“Judging by his level, he’s already reached the Ascendant Realm!”

“He fought for hundreds of Qi veins and topped the leaderboard in the Prodigy Monument battle. This kid is extraordinary!”

“Indeed, our Ten Ultimates Sect hasn’t had such a peerless prodigy in tens of thousands of years. Prodigies like this used to be snatched up by those established golden-ranked forces…”

“If he continues to grow, he should be comparable to those few.”

“Perhaps that’s truly feasible.”

Then someone else, curious, asked:

“Is he leading such a large group because he’s found some resources and is about to tackle a tough challenge?”

“You don’t know this. This all-star prodigy has just broken through to the Ascendant Realm, so he naturally needs to take on a compulsory task. He’s probably on his way to do just that.”

“Oh? Which city is he going to guard that requires so many people?”

“Hey, you don’t know this? The place Gongyi Tianheng is heading to is the Eight Desolations City!”

Immediately, there were gasps of amazement:

“It’s actually the Eight Desolations City!”

“He just entered the Ascendant Realm, right? They’re sending him there now—aren’t they treating this like a joke?”

“No one from the previous group of travelers returned after three years; they all perished in battles against the other races. Why would the Blood Transformation Palace Master send an all-star prodigy there? Even with his extraordinary talent, he still needs more time to grow!”

“The sect pours resources into its prodigies to prepare them for adversity. And with the recent death of the guardian in Eight Desolations City, it’s the perfect opportunity for Gongyi Tianheng, who has just reached a new level of cultivation, to step up and take on the challenge.”

“If the all-star prodigy falls, what a waste that would be…”

“What’s there to regret? I’ve heard that those with great fortune can turn every challenge into an opportunity for growth. If he falls, it means he lacks fortune—having talent but no luck is of no great use to the sect!”

“It can be seen as a trial…”

“Let’s hope he can return safely!”

The chatter continued on like this.

—-

What kind of hearing did Gongyi Tianheng and Gu Zuo possess? Naturally, they could hear every word clearly, but neither of their expressions changed, and they didn’t feel any fear about the road ahead due to the discussions.

The group maintained their formation, crossing numerous streets and traversing the enormous teleportation array without pause, heading straight for the Eight Desolations City.