Chapter 212: Sympathy! The R&D Team of the Qi Family Army!

Eat as many pills as there are—Zhuge Zhengwo had a nice thought, but Chu Yang didn't have that many pills on hand. Including the one originally intended for Guo Bujing, there were only two pills in total.

He had originally concocted the Demon King pills with an experimental attitude; he just hadn't expected to succeed by luck. In fact, given his level of alchemy, not blowing up the furnace was already a pleasant surprise.

Speaking of which, it was also thanks to the magical Chu Yang for providing many ideas on potion-making.

Chu Yang handed the two Demon King pills to Zhuge Zhengwo and exhorted, "The Divine Marquis is getting on in years, and unlike Gu Santong, you don't have the foundation of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art. It is best to take them separately; otherwise, the surge of Qi and blood might be too much for your body to bear, and it could prove counterproductive."

"This old subject understands." Zhuge Zhengwo stared at the pills in his hands with burning eyes. To others, he was like a banished immortal, but at this moment, he found it difficult to maintain his usual transcendent demeanor.

Ever since the division of realms was established, there had always been warriors who wanted to know what the scenery beyond the Grandmaster realm was like. Even if it were just a single glance, some were willing to pay everything for it.

Zhuge Zhengwo was not too worried about the surge of Qi and blood Chu Yang mentioned. The Zizai Gate possessed countless miraculous arts; even if they were not as profound as the 【Vajra Indestructible Divine Art】, there were alternative methods that could serve as substitutes.

He possessed a technique called 【Half-Broken Brocade】, which could be used to heal his own injuries—both internal and external. The more severe the injury, the faster it healed; it had miraculous effects when used during combat.

Having spent so many years maneuvering between the Demon Race and demons, those who survived in the Divine Marquis Mansion relied on this miraculous healing art, not on meticulously forged weapons.

Therefore, Zhuge Zhengwo did not fear the backlash of the Demon King pills, but he still took Chu Yang's well-intentioned reminder to heart. After all, Chu Yang's realm was far higher than his own, and he would not speak without reason.

While the two were chatting, Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian were staring at the pills in Zhuge Zhengwo's hands with envious eyes. Connecting this to Gu Santong's effortless breakthrough to Grandmaster earlier, they were almost losing their sanity, harboring thoughts of snatching the pills.

If not for Chu Yang being present, even if Zhuge Zhengwo were a Grandmaster, the two would have fought to the death.

People die for wealth, and birds die for food; it was understandable.

In contrast, Lu Xiaofeng appeared unusually indifferent. He did not harbor much greed for pills that could break through realms; his eyes were clear and he remained unmoved.

He had never had much pursuit for the ultimate realm of martial arts. He practiced martial arts only to solve troubles that came knocking when he walked the jianghu, until he later discovered that making friends was more convenient than practicing martial arts himself.

With many friends, the road is easy to walk. As long as he didn't die, there would always be friends coming to save him.

It was precisely because of this mindset that Lu Xiaofeng, who was not diligent in practicing martial arts, progressed so slowly. His good friend Ximen Chuixue had been a Grandmaster for many years and was on the verge of taking another step forward, while he wasn't even a Grandmaster.

With his martial arts talent, it shouldn't have been like this.

Of course, everyone has their own aspirations, and Lu Xiaofeng had his own way of living. As a friend, Chu Yang had no right to interfere, so he could only give him a Great Demon pill and let him be.

Lu Xiaofeng scratched his head and giggled as he took the pill from Chu Yang's hand, saying somewhat coyly, "This isn't good, is it? The pill is so precious, how could you just give it to me so casually?"

Chu Yang laughed, "You've been running around for me; a pill is nothing. If it weren't for that Ten Thousand People Umbrella, I would have had to deal with a lot of trouble."

"We're all friends, why be so polite!" Lu Xiaofeng coughed dryly and whispered, "Since that's the case, why not give me two more."

Tsk tsk tsk.

This was Lu Xiaofeng—he couldn't be polite for long, but he was fast at climbing up the pole!

Chu Yang was used to his thick skin and said irritably, "Your martial arts cultivation has been stuck for so many years; this pill is just the final push. More would be a waste. Once you reach the Grandmaster realm, you still have to rely on your own accumulation. Just popping pills will lead to Qi deviation sooner or later!"

"Ah?" After hearing this, Lu Xiaofeng said with great regret, "I thought I could just lie at home in the future and my martial arts would naturally rise. I didn't expect I'd still have to practice hard. In that case, this pill doesn't have much use."

Chu Yang glared at him and said, "If you don't want it, give it back!"

Cao Zhengchun, who was listening on the side, scrambled to Chu Yang's feet and shouted, "Your Majesty, for the sake of this servant's loyalty, since Hero Lu doesn't want it, why not bestow this pill upon this servant!"

Lu Xiaofeng, who had just said the pill was useless, suddenly revealed an unkind smile on his face, "Oh my, Eunuch Cao, what are you doing? I was just joking. Why are you so unable to take a joke?"

"Such a miraculous pill, only a fool would refuse it!"

"You... you..." Cao Zhengchun was trembling with anger, pointing at Lu Xiaofeng for a long time without being able to speak, the veins on his temples about to burst.

Yu Huatian seemed to have guessed this scene long ago, looking at Cao Zhengchun with disdain, a cold sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Hahaha, you kid are really interesting. I didn't even know a character like you had emerged in the jianghu. What a pity!" Gu Santong looked at Lu Xiaofeng with a sense of sympathy.

In a sense, their personalities were quite similar, both equally unrestrained and free-spirited toward everything, only Lu Xiaofeng had a bit more sense of responsibility and chivalry than Gu Santong.

"Many thanks for the senior's praise. I have heard of the name 'Invincible Urchin' like thunder since I entered the jianghu. When I have time, I must invite you for a drink!" Lu Xiaofeng immediately began to flatter him.

His mouth was such that when it was good, it made you feel ecstatic, and when it was poisonous, it made you fume with rage.

Gu Santong nodded with a smile, "Next time, definitely."

Chu Yang kindly reminded, "I've been drinking with Lu Xiaofeng for many years, and I've never seen him pay. Senior Gu, you'd better be careful."

Gu Santong looked at Lu Xiaofeng in surprise, his eyes seeming to say, "You kid are something."

Lu Xiaofeng was not ashamed but proud, his face full of smugness.

I am the only one in the world who can stiff the Emperor on a bar tab!

With the Emperor fine and the pills in hand, the two naturally wouldn't stay long, and under the guidance of a eunuch, they left the Imperial Palace.

"Please, Divine Marquis, after you return, select a group of trustworthy Array Masters in the Divine Marquis Mansion. Once I have organized things, I will teach them the method of alchemy."

"This old subject obeys."

Zhuge Zhengwo then left the palace.

Chu Yang turned to look at the pitiful-looking Cao Zhengchun and the respectful Yu Huatian, saying indifferently, "Over the past few years, how many enemies the East and West Depots have made, and how many unspeakable things you have done in private, you know in your own hearts."

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you want pills, you have to fight for them, gamble with your lives. The Northern Frontier or the three Mongol tribes—choose a place yourselves and achieve something."

"If you can't do it, don't even think about the pills."

……………………

Jinling City.

General Qi's residence.

The craftsmen and Array Masters had always lived and eaten with Qi Jiguang. Firstly, it was to protect them, and secondly, it was to know the R&D results of the firearms at the first opportunity.

Ever since Qi Jiguang got the weapon blueprints from Chu Yang, the work intensity of the entire Firearm Battalion had been maxed out.

They had gained great inspiration from the blueprints; those precise parts and stable mechanisms were like opening another door.

The craftsmen were addicted to it, trying to combine two firearms of vastly different styles. Not long after, the Firearm Battalion manufactured the first new firearm with a brand-new architecture. If Chu Yang were here, he would recognize it as a revolver.

But it wasn't the revolver in his impression.

The punk revolver produced by the Qi Family Army was three times larger than a normal revolver, almost catching up to a shotgun, only the barrel was shorter, and it had an extra cylinder.

It was embedded with a full six demon cores!

Qi Jiguang, with his heart surging, held the new revolver in his hands, always wanting to blow something up to test its power.

So he took a team of personal guards to the wilderness to clear out spirit demons, wanting to test it on them, but after circling the vicinity several times, he couldn't find a shadow of a spirit demon.

Qi Jiguang couldn't help but regret that he had let his troops operate too frequently in the past, causing the surrounding demon beasts to not dare to linger and leave one after another.

Now he couldn't even find a target to test it on.

Helplessly, Qi Jiguang could only expand the search range by dozens of miles, operating almost under the noses of other generals.

Heaven rewards the diligent; they finally found a spirit demon and successfully completed the test. The result was terrifying.

Most spirit demons died with one shot if hit in a vital point, and if hit in other parts, they would also suffer mutilation due to the powerful destructive force, then die from excessive blood loss. Under normal circumstances, it took at most two shots to kill a spirit demon.

This was equivalent to saying that a commoner holding a punk revolver had roughly the same lethality as a warrior who had practiced hard for ten years.

Not to mention that if it were in the hands of a warrior, the power of the weapon could continue to increase.

Qi Jiguang was beaming.

A single revolver could bring about such a huge change; there were even more powerful things waiting to be unlocked later.

However, good times didn't last long.

The Firearm Battalion discovered a major problem after a long time.

The precision of the firearm parts on the blueprints was too high—the more powerful the firearm, the higher the precision. With their current level of craftsmanship, they could not mass-produce them. Purely manual manufacturing was time-consuming and laborious, making it difficult to equip the troops in large numbers in a short time.

On the battlefield where two armies faced off, firearms were all about suppression. If they couldn't be mass-produced, they were completely useless.

Firearms in small numbers were easily submerged in the beast tide of the Demon Race during battle.

Qi Jiguang, upon learning of this, felt very uncomfortable, like a eunuch in a brothel—pants were off, but then told it wouldn't work. Who could stand this? The Firearm Battalion racked their brains, wanting to break through the obstacle of precise parts, but limited by their knowledge, they couldn't think of any suitable method and could only worry.

"It seems we can only ask for help from His Majesty. The blueprints were brought out by His Majesty, so he should be able to think of a solution."

After consulting with the craftsmen, Qi Jiguang decided to go to the capital secretly again. This trip was extremely risky, as forces from all sides were eyeing Jinling City.

Not only was he likely to encounter ambushes on the way, but Jinling City could also become a target of public criticism if he wasn't careful.

The mass production of new firearms was imperative, and Qi Jiguang couldn't afford to consider too many gains and losses, but before leaving, he still had to arrange some necessary measures.

The South was very important and could not be lost.

Entering the capital again, to avoid the embarrassment of not understanding the blueprints last time, Qi Jiguang also prepared to bring along some craftsmen and Array Masters.

At the same time.

Zhuge Zhengwo carefully selected a group of trustworthy Array Masters to enter the palace secretly.

Cao Zhengchun didn't dare to be negligent, fearing that a leak of information would ruin His Majesty's major affairs, so he swept the inside and outside of the Imperial Palace.

Yu Huatian was responsible for personally protecting the safety of this group of Array Masters.

After this matter, neither of them would continue to stay in the capital, but would each head to distant places to gamble on a chance to step to the peak of martial arts.

The Array Masters were also exposed to alchemy for the first time, and it was taught by the Emperor himself, so they were inevitably a bit panicked and uneasy, so the effect at the beginning was very poor.

In the alchemy room newly opened by Chu Yang, the sound of exploding furnaces was endless, making him have to go into the Soul Palace every night to get a batch of new alchemy furnaces.

Fortunately, Chu Yang in the Xianxia world was the Sect Leader of Shushan, with a large family and business to withstand the tossing; otherwise, with such a wasteful way, an ordinary person couldn't afford it.

Fortunately, as they exploded, the Array Masters became familiar with the points to note in alchemy, the probability of furnace explosions dropped linearly, and the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace could finally sleep well.

As time went on, some Array Masters gradually showed talent in alchemy, not only rapidly increasing the success rate of pill formation but also improving the quality of the pills.

And some other Array Masters with mediocre aptitude in alchemy were also playing a role. After everyone brainstormed together, they further improved the arrays of the alchemy furnaces and the alchemy room.

Chu Yang was very gratified by this.

Time flew by, and more than half a month passed, with both the North and South being peaceful.

The memorial submitted by Li Chengliang said that the defense of the Ten Thousand Mile Profound Ice City had been completed, and the 500,000-strong army, plus the Qi Family Army's firearms, had armed the entire ice city to the teeth.

He also confidently said in the memorial, "If the Demon Race attacks, this subordinate will definitely annihilate them outside the border!"

I don't know how much confidence the Qi Family Army's new firearms gave him, but anyway, in Chu Yang's view, the young man had already inflated to an outrageous degree, so he wrote a long paragraph of scolding on the memorial without hesitation.

It was all modern vocabulary, scolding without using dirty words; it was estimated that Li Chengliang would have to ponder for a long while after reading it.

There were not many memorials submitted to Chu Yang's desk. Besides Li Chengliang's, there was one from Qi Jiguang, who was already on his way to the capital.

Besides that, everyone else's memorials were in the Cabinet, handled by Zhang Juzheng and others, because Chu Yang had said before that all future government affairs would be handled by the Cabinet.

It wasn't entirely because he was lazy, but because he needed to share some power with the civil official group; after all, they were the key to the operation of the dynasty. If you want the horse to run, you have to feed the horse some grass.

Precisely because of this, Chu Yang had time to teach many alchemists.

Most of them could use the flesh and blood of demon beasts that had demonic power but had not yet opened their spiritual wisdom to refine pills, a small number could use the flesh and blood of spirit demons to refine pills, and only one Array Master with the most outstanding talent in alchemy could refine Demon pills.

There were none who could refine Demon King pills; for the time being, they could only be refined by Chu Yang himself. Anyway, there were not many people who needed Demon King pills.

These newly promoted "alchemists" would head to major prefectural cities under the protection of the Divine Marquis Mansion and the Six Doors to refine pills for jianghu warriors, with raw materials provided by the warriors themselves.

I believe it won't be long before those warriors hiding in the sects will emerge like bamboo shoots after rain, one after another, appearing in every corner of the Ming Empire to hunt the Demon Race.

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 213 =====