Chapter 142: The Second Batch of Hong Sect Disciples

With the whole family moved to Qingxi County, the tension in Cheng Feng's heart finally eased.

Looking at the Fortune Points he had earned through his recent efforts, Cheng Feng poured them all into the Thunder Blood-Boiling Art.

His own strength calmly reached the realm of Blood Refining Late Stage.

Looking at the Panmian, Cheng Feng was sometimes curious about what kind of surprise there would be when the Thunder Blood-Boiling Art was upgraded to Master level.

Name: Cheng Feng

Lifespan: 17 (80)

Talent: More Children More Blessings

Skills: Fishing (Proficient 90/100)

Archery (Entry 12/100)

Basic Blade Technique (Master 4/200)

Thunder Blood-Boiling Art (Late Stage 380/500)

Swift Wind Blade Technique: (Entry 2/200)

Thunder Blade Technique: (Entry 2/200)

Mountain Crushing Fist: (Proficient 33/200)

Fortune Point: 0

Lucky Bag: 0

In any case, Cheng Feng was now pouring all his Fortune Points into improving his cultivation realms, and he practiced blade techniques during his daily training. Both the Swift Wind Blade Technique and the Thunder Blade Technique required a high number of points, and the progress of practicing alone was too slow.

On the contrary, the Master-level Basic Blade Technique that Cheng Feng usually used for exercise was arduously and slowly driving the progress of the other two blade techniques.

Cheng Feng seemed to see hope, and yet he didn't. That turtle-crawling progress made Cheng Feng almost go crazy; he wished he could just go into seclusion with his dozen Concubines, never stepping out the door, and keep adding points until the end of time.

However, it was a pity that as long as people were alive, they needed to eat, and eating required money. The facade of the Hong Sect still needed to continue to grow and strengthen.

Right now, the second batch of Hong Sect disciples was about to hold their initiation ceremony, and Cheng Feng needed to attend the ceremony again, at least to let them know who the Hong Sect Leader was.

Thus, Cheng Feng carefully confirmed the speech draft he might need to use and checked the future development direction of the Hong Sect with Wang Hu again before heading to the place where the initiation ceremony was held with peace of mind.

The previously dilapidated training ground had taken on a brand-new look under the repairs of the second batch of Hong Sect disciples.

The "Hong" flags outside the gate fluttered in the wind, and there were only fifty people for the initiation ceremony.

The old rules: martial arts competition, ranking, prize money.

When it was Cheng Feng's turn to speak, the whole audience instantly fell silent, all staring at Cheng Feng, this young Sect Master.

Cheng Feng had a draft in his heart, so naturally, he was not nervous.

With his hands hanging naturally and his posture upright, Cheng Feng's eyes were firm and sharp. His voice was sonorous and powerful, as if it could penetrate people's hearts: "I am Cheng Feng of the Hong Sect! I presume you all know the state of the world today. War rages in the east, yet it is we innocent commoners who suffer. There is no path for redress, the government is incompetent, and corrupt officials run rampant."

"Yesterday, I led a dozen brothers out of the city to patrol, and everywhere I saw were displaced refugees, among whom there were even children under ten years old."

"I know well that it is difficult to save everyone with my own strength, but I only want to protect those I can. The times are difficult, and everyone needs to strive for self-improvement. Join the Hong Sect, and food and clothing will no longer be a problem."

"In a few dozen days, I plan to recruit another batch of disciples. However, the Hong Sect is not a charity, and we will never take in useless people."

"We have clear goals and great ambitions, and we are unwilling to be subservient to others. If you want to stand out, you must show your strength under the banner of the Hong Sect to win respect. As the saying goes, the weak are prey to the strong, and only the fittest survive. How you choose is entirely up to you!"

Looking at the disciples off the stage, their eyes seemed to burn with the flames of ambition, and Cheng Feng showed a satisfied smile.

Next was the branding ceremony with the Human Cauldron. These fifty strong men were all elites strictly trained by Babai and Cheng Yi. Each of them carried a bite stick, standing straight, as tough and unyielding as steel.

As the first place in the martial arts competition stepped forward, he drank the wine in the cup without hesitation, then bit the wooden stick, and actively pressed his arm against the Human Cauldron, enduring the excruciating pain to let the brand be deeply seared onto his arm. In an instant, the scorching "Human" character was stamped onto the man's arm like a seal, announcing the birth of another Entry Disciple.

Although these disciples were all new recruits who had never experienced a killing field, this was the normal standard for entry. Just like the time they encountered that red-scaled giant snake, only after slaughtering it was there so much snake meat, and only then could they create the opportunity for fifty disciples to step into the Strength Refining Initial Stage at once; such an opportunity would likely be hard to replicate.

Cheng Feng understood that he could no longer blindly increase investment. So far, he had not seen any substantial returns, and if he just kept waiting, that would be the most unwise choice.

Cheng Feng had always liked to take the initiative, and now was the time to replenish manpower for the first batch of disciples. He wanted to find talents who truly had potential and strength and cultivate them into the backbone of the sect. Only in this way could the Hong Sect continue to grow and move toward glory.

The higher Cheng Feng stood, the broader his vision became, and the problems he saw became increasingly different.

He was shocked to realize that he was gradually becoming the person he once hated the most.

The Cheng Feng of the past was open, honest, and trustworthy, like a piece of fine, unpolished jade.

However, as time passed, he had changed quietly.

With the rise in his status, he gradually grasped the subtle technique of the leaders of his past life—painting a big picture.

At first, he only tried to use this method, but over time, he became proficient at it, and he found that the disciples quite liked this approach, so later he used it unconsciously.

When everything was ready and the initiation ceremony ended successfully, Cheng Feng handed the carefully selected next-stage goals to Wang Hu.

After all, since the Hong Sect had chosen this path, both the number of people and their strength were crucial.

The first batch of Strength Refining disciples would become the backbone, the second batch of disciples would serve as support, and they also needed to absorb some members from other gangs to ensure nothing went wrong.

Cheng Feng could not fathom the mind of the County Magistrate of Qingxi County, but he understood that he must first sort out the cards he currently held in order to deal with the potential crisis of refugees outside the city attacking the county at any time.

Deep down, Cheng Feng actually valued those refugees somewhat; after all, they were each a living life! Moreover, these people were ready-made labor that could create wealth for the Hong Sect. It was a pity that no one truly realized the immense labor value they contained.

Most people simply viewed these refugees as poor people with no land, no house, and not even a wife, who wasted food just by being alive, ignoring their potential abilities and possible contributions.

The reason these refugees became refugees was not because they were inherently bad, but due to various objective reasons: natural disasters, man-made disasters, mutinies, rebellions, and other external factors.

However, reality is often cruel. The subjects of the Great Zhou generally believed that these refugees were the root of social chaos and were full of prejudice and misunderstanding toward them. They even felt that they wasted food just by living.

If they had no food, they would even rob their own food.

The opposition of contradictions was unsolvable.

The Hong Sect still had too few people. It was a pity that there wasn't enough silver; otherwise, Cheng Feng would have really prepared to absorb the refugees and expand his Hong Sect.