Chapter 225: Raising Troops

Zhao Ti ordered Tong Guan to prepare the carriage, then stepped out of the Wang Fu gate and headed straight for the imperial palace.

Entering the palace grounds and arriving at the Imperial Study, he found numerous ministers already gathered inside.

Zhang Dun, Cai Bian, Zeng Bu, Lin Xi, Huang Lu, Xu Jiang, He Zhizhong, Xie Jingwen, Deng Runfu, Fan Tang, Zhu Chen, Cai Jing, Zhao Tingzhi, Miao Shou—over a dozen of them, nearly all the chief ministers and heads of the ministries were present.

Zhao Ti bowed respectfully: “Your Majesty, I apologize for my tardiness; I beg Your Majesty’s pardon.”

This time, Qin Yang humiliated Sun Yi severely, venting all their long-held grudges.

One of their strengths is the industry under the Simu family, which has drawn widespread attention; Ma Dingxuefeng was also aware of this.

The so-called spiritual field is invisible and intangible, yet those who possess it can sense its presence.

Back in his room, Qin Yang took a bath, changed into a snug nightgown, leaned back against the bedhead, and picked up his phone to study several financial tycoons in Mingyang City.

As he thought this, Ye Ling’s expression slowly darkened—it was now urgent to go to the Alchemy Guild.

This was a tunnel with no visible end; half an hour passed, yet still, nothing but tunnel stretched ahead.

“Your servant obeys!” Zheng Jinguang said, stepped out of the Yi Mansion, mounted his steed, and rode toward the imperial capital of the Xihuo Empire.

Yu Xi froze on the other end of the call, staring blankly at the disconnected phone, blinking her beautiful big eyes—this was the first time Nian Nian had ever hung up on her.

As if Jingguo long years of Chendian , her temperament had grown calm and unhurried, especially those eyes, utterly still and revealing nothing of her worry for Lin Jiahao.

Yang Yi thought it over and agreed. Abroad he knew little, but in Huaxia, there were countless celestial treasures capable of reversing aging. If, as Xu Shengyue claimed, this old man wielded immense power, finding one would be easy—only time-consuming.

Old Ma snorted loudly, half-asleep, yet suddenly sensed impending danger. When Shi Yuanji appeared, Old Ma exhaled in relief—but when Qingyang Cang stepped out from behind him, Old Ma knew exactly where the danger came from.

Li Yunlong suddenly spoke up, feigning a conciliatory tone: “Uncle Chen, Ruobing, stop arguing. We’re family—don’t let outsiders ruin our harmony. Uncle Chen, I’m fine, please sit down.” His use of “outsider” clearly referred to Li Suqiu.

As the vast soul force surged in, the root system underwent a dramatic transformation—previously spread outward, it now retracted.

The patient’s ward was filled with chaotic noise; to Yang Yi’s surprise, a journalist had somehow slipped in and was interviewing the patient’s family. Yang Yi’s face darkened; he walked silently to the patient’s bedside.

After these days, Lin Jiahao had grown somewhat more trusting of Lin Luo—in some ways, he believed Lin Luo would help him now.

“I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to try—who knew it would actually work!” Shi Sheng grinned mischievously, leaving Liu Sheng speechless with anger.

Upon hearing this, the princes of the Wu clan in the hall visibly brightened. Li Tong, however, sighed inwardly—no matter how things were normally, at this critical, sensitive moment, his grandmother still favored her Wu nephews.

Because Liu Qi’s ability to use two different Star Patterns simultaneously with both hands was common knowledge, the man named Xiao Ming now revealed, before the match officially began, a hidden special Star Pattern skill of his own.

Being scratched by his wife was indeed vile—but Biqi not being able to drink, he’d rather be scratched. Still, the cost and ordeal were too torturous.

He recalled Gible, then watched Du hesitate as he approached, as if drawing near Yan would bring misfortune. Yan smiled broadly.

“No problem—superficial wound, and thankfully no poison,” Wu Sheng said, staring at the blood oozing from his wound.

As soon as he entered the house, Zhou Ning received a message on her phone; she opened it to find it was from Xiao Kuangshen.

Logically, the entrance to the underground cave should have been exposed only after the ruins collapsed.

Su Tingting, seeing even Master Chen say Wang Lao’s illness was untreatable, felt inexplicably worried for Shen Erbai.

Yun Ting walked onto the road, looked up at the starry sky, and for an instant felt one of those stars was his family—watching him with wide, fixed eyes.

Liu Zhilin grew angrier the more he thought, frantically searching for solutions while continuing to scroll through online content.

Since Li Changyao was nearly beaten to death by his father-in-law two years ago, he reacted to his father-in-law like a mouse seeing a cat—not from fear, but from instinct.

She rose slowly, hand on her knee, sighed lightly, lifted her arm to rest weakly on Xu Zhuxian’s shoulder, and used her fingers to gently push her cheek, halting her from turning further.

In the end, Qian Shi made the decision: apart from Chen Ying, everyone else’s food, clothing, and daily needs were identical, with equal status.

Linking these four geographic regions was a long, narrow inland sea—the Saihai, meaning “narrow strait.”

The setting sun glowed like blood; besides the dried bloodstains on the grass, discarded weapons lay scattered—no one knew a brutal battle had just taken place here.

In humanity’s process of altering and adapting to its environment, rivers rank among the most critical geographical factors.

One bandit, seeing Wu Li crushed into pulp, trembled with fear, dropped his weapon, and crouched with his hands over his head. One by one, others followed—seeing someone lead the surrender, they too threw down their arms and crouched in submission.

Watching his troops and Shuirou Bing gradually pull away, Xiahou Lie grew frantic; he pulled fifty mounted officers from his ranks, personally leading them forward to chase after the Shui forces.

Although the war’s outcome did not affect Mian’s independence, only establishing a tributary relationship, the first dynasty of Mian, having been attacked, plunged into major fragmentation.

Thus, after careful deliberation, our empire decided to expel these Portuguese entirely, restoring our southeastern coast to a controllable state.