Nine-Five Island, inside a large hall in the Clear River Sect:
The Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, Li Haoran, looked at a large map depicting mountains, rivers, and forests. He took in the information at a glance but felt it insufficient, so he looked through it over and over again.
“Battalion Commander, you have already studied this map of Nine-Five Island for more than a month. This subordinate has sent people to check on the terrain from one century ago. It seems like there were some slight changes to the flow of the mountain rivers,” a Divine Strategy Battalion disciple said respectfully.
“Quickly bring it over!” Li Haoran immediately said.
“Yes!”
Just at this moment, another Divine Strategy Battalion disciple rushed into the hall.
“Battalion Commander, there is news from the west of the island that the baxia sea beast appeared again. This time, it brought a large number of animal spirits from the sea, and they looked like they were heading for dry land,” that Divine Strategy Battalion disciple reported respectfully.
“Oh? The baxia reappeared? Heading for dry land?” Li Haoran’s expression turned stern.
“Yes! When the baxia appeared, dark clouds covered the sea to the west of the island. Torrential rain followed wherever the baxia went,” the Divine Strategy Battalion disciple said respectfully.
Li Haoran narrowed his eyes. “Baxia? Humph! A reckless fool!”
“Battalion Commander, the sea beasts move on instinct. Rather than trying to figure things out from the map, how about considering what the sea beasts are sensing? Perhaps we can find what Battalion Commander is searching for there,” that Divine Strategy Battalion disciple said.
“Not bad!” Li Haoran suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“Inform the Divine Strategy Battalion disciples. We will immediately head for the west of the island!” Li Haoran instructed.
“Yes!”
——
Above the sea to the west of Nine-Five Island:
Rumble…!
Dark clouds churned in the sky as torrential rain poured down. Huge waves soared up from the sea, horrifying the residents at the shore. The waves smashed the ships at sea.
Then, a huge dragon head slowly emerged from the sea. A dragon’s head, but a tortoise’s body. This was the baxia that Gu Hai encountered previously.
An army of prawns and crabs of various sizes stood around the baxia.
With three thousand prawn and crab soldiers paving the way, the baxia slowly lumbered towards the shore.
As the baxia moved, the dark clouds accompanied it to the island.
Whoosh!
The dark clouds immediately advanced five hundred kilometers, pouring torrential rain on the west of the island.
Everywhere the baxia went, the storm followed.
“The oceanic animal spirits are coming ashore! Quickly run! The oceanic animal spirits are coming ashore!”
“What a heavy rain!”
“My farm and crops! My farm and crops!”
Shouts rang out everywhere as the baxia came ashore, moving step by step along with the storm.
Then, the baxia reared its head to the sky and roared.
The storm intensified as the dark clouds advanced another five hundred kilometers. Torrential rain fell in countless places in the west of the island, appearing like the end of the world.
——
Evil Men Valley, Great Feng Mafia Family:
After an entire night of intense battle—Gu Hai fighting against thousands alone—everything turned peaceful again when morning arrived.
The evil men in the valley painfully got to their feet; many of them had sustained fractures. When morning arrived, all of them worked on some first-aid, setting their broken bones.
After experiencing a hellish battle the entire night, everyone felt a chill in their hearts as they looked in Gu Hai’s direction.
That evil man also had his cultivation sealed. When he fought through the night, he had not used any Veritable Energy at all.
This seemed like a dream. How could it be like this? Previously, they were the ones to beat people up, never the other way around.
No matter how strong-willed or unyielding the evil men were, they did not kick up a big fuss. Instead, they returned to their corners and nursed their wounds. As they did so, they looked in Gu Hai’s direction, looking at the evilest of evil men, the king of the evil men.
Some people were afraid, some people felt helpless, but more refused to submit.
——
Outside Evil Men Valley:
A group of Great Feng Mafia Family disciples carried a few large boxes as they walked to the summit of a mountain. Then, they looked down at Evil Men Valley below.
“You arrived. Rats again?” One of the guards there smiled.
“Giving them rats is already pretty good. Death cannot pay for the crimes of these evil men. To think that we still have to get food for them!” the people carrying the boxes said with a smile.
“Toss them down, then!” The guard nodded.
The boxes immediately opened, and countless rats fell toward Evil Men Valley.
The Great Feng Mafia Family disciples watched with interest. Watching the evil men fight for the rats every time was very amusing.
However, Evil Men Valley remained quiet when the rats rained down today. All the evil men suddenly seemed to have turned civilized. No one rushed to snatch from others.
“Hey? Are they on a hunger strike?” one of the rat-catchers said with a frown.
After a while, they saw the evil men coming out in groups of twos or threes to pick up some rats. However, no snatching took place this time.
“What’s going on? They seem very lethargic today. Did anything happen over the past few days?” a rat-catcher asked with a frown.
“No, we heard fighting after midnight last night. However, isn’t that normal? There would always be some fighting every now and then. We usually just leave them be. There’s nothing to fear anyway; they can’t run.”
“Indeed, they are just exhausting themselves, and they’ll die in the beast arena. That is just seeking death, so they normally do not dare to fight.”
“Alright. In any case, it’s not my responsibility.”
The Great Feng Mafia Family disciples discussed this for a while before scattering. No one knew what happened the previous night.
——
The evil men suffered from inhumane treatment, so all of them hated the Great Feng Mafia Family and would not tattle to the Great Feng Mafia Family.
Gu Hai consumed a treatment medicinal pill and looked at the evil men in Evil Men Valley.
Chen Tianshan and Scar respectfully stood at the side.
After the previous night’s fight, the two no longer underestimated Gu Hai.
Inside the valley, the evil men picked up the dead rats in groups of twos and threes. They gorged themselves on the rats to replenish their strength as they looked maliciously in Gu Hai’s direction.
Soon, the day passed, and night arrived.
Gu Hai cricked his neck and stood up slowly.
In Evil Men Valley, the evil men rested during the day. Those unwilling to submit gathered together and organized themselves. This time, it was not a chaotic attack but a well-coordinated effort.
“The previous night was the first time. Tonight will be the second time. I will give you this one final chance. If there is anyone unwilling to submit when morning arrives, that person can only die!” A cold light flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.
“Attack!”
“Attack!”
The group of evil men charged at Gu Hai once more.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Just like the previous night, a large-scale battle started again.
——
At the same time, a few guards embraced beautiful women outside of Evil Men Valley. As they drank, they spoke about things unsuitable for children’s ears.
“Screaming is coming from there again. Is something happening over there?” one of the beautiful women asked as she sat on a guard’s lap.
“Don’t bother about them. As long as those evil men don’t escape, what they do is none of our business,” the guard said as he caressed that beautiful woman’s leg.
“How naughty of you!” the beautiful woman said, playing hard to get.
——
The night passed wordlessly; the battle continued until morning.
This time, Gu Hai thoroughly pummeled the evil men into submission.
While Gu Hai’s face was swollen as he looked at the three thousand-odd evil men on one knee, his eyes blazed with battle hunger.
“Greetings, Milord!” the three thousand-odd evil men saluted respectfully.
“I know that some of you are still unwilling to submit. I can see that. However, it does not matter. Beating you up over the past two nights is just to make an impression on you. Remember, I will be your boss for the next twenty years. After twenty years, you can stay if you want, or you can leave if you want. However, if anyone dares to flee during these twenty years, I will take your life!” Gu Hai glared at the three thousand-odd evil men.
“Huh?” The three thousand-odd evil men raised their heads and looked at Gu Hai, appearing somewhat confused.
Gu Hai swept his gaze through all the evil men. Then, he said, “If we remain here, we will just be waiting for death. We will be eating rats and helplessly hating our enemies. One day, we will appear in the beast arena and die before our enemies as they laugh. We will have to swallow our anger for the rest of our lives. Is this the life you want?”
“However…however, what can we do about this?” an evil man asked through clenched teeth.
“I will think of a way to bring you out. You only have to work for me for twenty years. Are you still not convinced?” Gu Hai said.
“Bring us out? How?” the group of evil men asked as they stared at Gu Hai.
“If you want to leave, you will have to listen to me. However, this is not the best time since we still have two problems!” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Our sealed cultivation and the mask we wear? Unsealing our cultivation requires a strong electrical discharge, something available only in the beast arena. Furthermore, I heard that the electrical current in the beast arena needs to be recharged every day,” Scar said.
“I have a way to get the electricity without going to the beast arena. Right now, the most important thing is the mask,” Gu Hai said.
“Really? You can undo the seal?!” everyone exclaimed joyfully.
“Yes!” Gu Hai’s face suddenly turned serious.
The noisy evil men immediately fell silent.
“Alright. Let’s not bother with the useless chatter. We should be quieter during the day. I will give you a brush and paper after this. Write down your names, your abilities, your fortes, and why you were captured. Just give me a simple summary, limited to two hundred words. Not a word more!” Gu Hai ordered coldly.
“Yes!” all the evil men answered.
Gu Hai took out many brushes and paper before everyone’s shocked eyes and handed them out to the evil men.
While it was just two hundred words, there were more than three thousand evil men, making for hundreds of thousands of words. The evil men quickly handed their completed profiles to Gu Hai. Gu Hai’s cognitive abilities were incredibly strong. By evening, he had read through everything and quickly sorted the evil men.
“In the future, you are all my subordinates. You will split into four legions: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Regal. Each legion will have nine hundred men. Every one hundred men will have a centurion, and every ten men will have a decanus. I will decide the centurions, but you can decide the decani yourselves. As for the four legates, the Heaven Legate is Gao Xianzhi; the Earth Legate, Chen Tianshan; the Profound Legate, Scar; and the Regal Legate, Shangguan Hen!” Gu Hai instructed.
[TL Note: The various ranks used here were taken from the Roman legions. The numbers just happened to fit very well, there being commanders for one hundred men and for ten men.]
“Yes!” all the evil men answered.
Gao Xianzhi had yet to return. However, Gu Hai already designated him as the Heaven Legate. Even so, no one dared to say anything about it. Chen Tianshan and Scar each led a legion. As they were both Golden Core Realm cultivators, they had the prestige. However, he did not appoint them for their capabilities. When he organized these evil men, he prioritized the ability to control these evil men and did not play favorites.
As for the final Shangguan Hen, this was the first time Gu Hai saw that person. Gu Hai did not have much impression of him during the battle. However, this person’s injuries were the lightest. More importantly, he had been in Evil Men Valley for thirty years already. During this time, Evil Men Valley had gone through several batches of evil men, yet he survived up to now.
Shangguan Hen looked like a middle-aged man. His stubble made him look haggard, but his eyes appeared incredibly sharp. His profile did not mention his situation. He only wrote his name and that he had stayed at Evil Men Valley for thirty years.
This simple profile provided Gu Hai with a sufficient understanding of this person. He believed that those that could survive for so long would be among the most outstanding. As for character and attitude, he would figure those out later. After all, a simple profile would not clearly explain those.
Gu Hai continued making arrangements until the sun set.
Boom!
Suddenly, dark clouds covered the sky, following a loud sound.
“A storm? Why did a storm suddenly appear?” The group of evil men looked at the sky in shock.
However, Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. This scene reminded him of the disaster at sea a month or so ago. Was the sudden change in weather a sign of the sea beasts appearing?
