Chapter 1829: Envy-Inducing

At this moment, Ye Liuyun also had the soldiers begin a real confrontation trial.

"Use the battle tactics I taught you before, two teams face off! You may use True Essence. No limit on casualties! Stop when I call out stop."

Those words instantly made all the soldiers gear up with full vigor.

During their fight, Ye Liuyun kept calling stop, pointing out their problems and having them correct them.

He only called stop when the first team member was outright killed.

But when he ordered them to regroup, a teammate from the same side turned to rejoin the line and was immediately called back by Ye Liuyun.

Pointing at the corpse on the ground, he lectured them: "This body on the ground is your life‑and‑death companion, a brother who could shield you from blades. You just leave him here?"

Moreover, he still carries supplies. As long as you're not in a life‑or‑death fight, you must retrieve your teammate's corpse when you have time. His resources should be shared so he can keep fighting.

The two soldiers immediately collected the corpse and divided the contents of the Storage Ring.

"Brothers of the Death Legion, remember that on the battlefield your life or death depends on how you cooperate with your comrades. Treat a comrade as your own brother; you must not leave his corpse for the enemy to trample! Retrieve his body and see to his affairs!"

"Yes!" all the soldiers replied in unison.

The fight continued, with deaths occurring frequently. After everyone had gone through a round of combat, the numbers swelled by more than three hundred.

Ye Liuyun re‑assigned them into squads again, appointing temporary captains according to the standard of one hundred per team.

By now they had been training together for five days.

"Everyone return to the city, cultivate, and receive new gear! We set out to suppress bandits in two days. From now on, as long as you obey the rules, I will not eliminate anyone," Ye Liuyun told the soldiers.

"Oh!" the remaining soldiers cheered.

"Ye Leader, the Imperial Guard has a rule: a team cannot exceed three thousand," Xiao Yunfang reminded Ye Liuyun.

"Rules are made by people. Isn't it fine that I set aside three hundred as a reserve? If someone falls in battle, I still have to recruit replacements!"

Ye Liuyun didn't care about the regulations at all and immediately led the soldiers back to the city. This time they used True Essence and rushed back at full speed.

On the road, without any orders from Ye Liuyun, not a single soldier uttered a word.

Even Xiao Yunfang found it strange that these usually unruly soldiers were so obedient without any commands from Ye Liuyun.

Moreover, their eyes showed determination, with a faint hint of killing intent.

One can't imagine what this squad would become after staying with Ye Liuyun for a while!

Even after Ye Liuyun brought the soldiers back to his camp, he didn't order a disbandment, and the soldiers stayed put.

"Disband, I'll go fetch your equipment!"

Only then did the soldiers scatter, each finding a place to rest.

Ye Liuyun asked Xiao Yunfang to bring over the gear, then he rushed to Xuan Yuan Hall.

Liao Steward had already prepared all the resources Ye Liuyun needed. After inventorying them, Ye Liuyun took out a golden card and paid for the Divine Crystal at half price.

At this moment, Xuan Yuan Ling suddenly stepped out and held her back.

After sending Liao Steward away, she asked, "Xuan Yuan Yu is dead—did you kill him?"

"What? Don't pin everything on me! I've been busy training troops these past days; I haven't had time to kill him. Besides, you never agreed to pay me! Am I just bored?" Ye Liuyun retorted.

In fact, he had already received Hua Xiangyuan's hundred Realm Crystal Stones. Hua Xiangyuan was surprised that Ye Liuyun had taken down Xuan Yuan Yu so quickly.

Xuan Yuan Ling thought it over and found Ye Liuyun's words reasonable. She had also investigated covertly and confirmed that Ye Liuyun had indeed been training troops recently. On the night of the incident, she hadn't seen him leave.

Moreover, many people saw the perpetrator and even have portraits of him; they just can't locate him.

"Alright then! For me and my brother, that's also good news," Xuan Yuan Ling whispered.

"That works! I have other matters, I must hurry back," Ye Liuyun said, hurrying to the camp.

Only then did Xuan Yuan Ling speak in a normal tone to Ye Liuyun: "I haven't congratulated you yet—you've been promoted to Vice‑Leader!"

"Then wait for me to return from the bandit suppression and treat me to a meal!" Ye Liuyun laughed.

"Hmph, you're so rich yet you keep picking on me. You even promised to take me out!" Xuan Yuan Ling cooed.

"Fine then, when I return from the bandit hunt, I'll gather resources, take you out, and you can treat me—everything's settled! But I must go now; a military order is hard to defy, and returning late means beheading!" Ye Liuyun laughed.

"Alright, I'll wait for you; when you come back, find me right away!" Xuan Yuan Ling agreed.

"Okay!" Ye Liuyun replied, and immediately left Xuan Yuan Hall.

After returning, he first went to President Helin Feng to inform him about the three‑hundred reserved slots.

"After the bandit suppression there may be personnel losses; we can use those slots to replenish then," Ye Liuyun explained.

"Fine, no problem! I wish you swift success!" President Helin Feng said without objection.

"Thank you, President!" Ye Liuyun replied cheerfully. After returning, he distributed all the resources.

Moreover, he did it publicly in front of the entire Imperial Guard, making everyone green with envy.

Those who hadn't persisted in training earlier now regretted deeply upon seeing others receive resources.

"Why make such a big show of distributing supplies?" Xiao Yunfang asked, puzzled.

"To make outsiders envious and give my soldiers a sense of achievement!" Ye Liuyun replied simply.

After the distribution, Ye Liuyun finally led the squad back to the camp.

"Before we set out, you've been resting here. If you're unfamiliar with formations or have questions, come find me anytime; I also live with you."

Ye Liuyun lives in the camp solely to keep Man Shu and the others company.

Some soldiers are cultivating, some are practicing coordination, and some are just chatting to get to know their teammates.

Ye Liuyun ignored them, gathered Lei Ming and others, and started a barbecue.

"These past few days have been tough on you!" Ye Liuyun thought to comfort them.

During training, he has always treated everyone equally.

"It's not hard; we all think a bit of practice like this is actually good!" Man Shu replied for the group.

"However, the few of you aren't suited for formations; it's a waste of combat power. Just experience it. I will adjust and assign you to reconnaissance and assault!"

"Hmm, I like this kind of mission!" Lei Ming nodded in agreement.

Before departing on the final day, Ye Liuyun again adjusted the formation, putting Lei Ming and the others in charge of reconnaissance and assault.