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"Indeed... we can hold them off!"

In the night, the two city gates of Chishui County were firmly guarded by two gatekeeper soldiers, a dozen or so fighters, and hundreds of villagers.

The main reason was that they were not facing many undead; only occasionally groups of a few hundred undead passed by.

The group of fighters, while clearing out the undead, were also able to encourage and teach the villagers, urging them to actively engage in combat.

The more they overcame their fears, the greater their confidence grew, and with confidence, their trust in the Combat God spoken of by Chen Qing and his associates increased.

Unbeknownst to them, they hadn’t realized that their own physical strength was growing larger, their bodies becoming more agile.

Although they had not yet attained supernatural abilities like proper fighters, many villagers had gained the physical strength to confront the undead directly over just one night.

Chen Qing watched these changes, and his heart was finally put at ease.

A virtuous cycle was starting from now!

Level-two believers were not only independently strong but also had the ability to preach.

As long as they could guide common people to believe in them, slowly, they could start sharing their own power with those around them.

Though they shared little, it was enough to drive faith; and as more people joined, the power of deities would be directed here.

Chen Qing glanced at the city gate, where a faint wolf’s head was beginning to appear.

Given Old Wolf’s potential, spreading influence across two provinces should have been his limit; it was time to look for a new Gate Deity.

As time ticked away, the number of undead below decreased more and more, and they were cleared out within less than a quarter of an hour. Such efficiency further bolstered the villagers’ confidence!

This was also in line with Chen Qing’s forecast. The rules of the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley dictated that the slower the clearing speed, the fewer undead would be allowed shore.

Yangzhou City was breached at the first instance, turning its million inhabitants into new undead.

By those rules, the Nine Heavens Mirror would ascertain that Yangzhou lacked the capacity to eliminate the undead, thus cutting off new undead from reaching shore.

Even if some did make it, different factions of the undead would be sent to encourage infighting among them.

This was why the followers of The Seventh Ancient Worm were still able to dispatch a small number of undead into the city.

However, their numbers would not increase any further, and the undead that entered Yangzhou City would immediately use the large increase in basic followers to internally devour and evolve through sorcery.

Only a small number of undead would seep out, which gave enormous room for the counties and the countryside outside Yangzhou City.

Now, using the county as a base and dispersing aid to the surrounding countryside, Chen Qing calculated that within a maximum of one month, they could clear out the scattered undead hordes around the county and consolidate the population within the county.

Then, as long as they patrolled regularly to clear out the undead and prevented any fog-born undead from entering their domain, and by establishing points of mountain and river spirits through enfeoffment aided by formations for defense, they could be quick enough to encircle Yangzhou City before the undead within had fully evolved.

Once the time was right and enough formations were set up, they could take control of Yangzhou. As long as the number of undead did not sharply decline, no new massive horde of undead would reach shore, and Chen Qing would be able to continuously develop his military forces in secret.

He speculated that if such a situation could be maintained for half a year, spreading faith throughout Jiangnan without the Imperial Court’s knowledge was not impossible!

But this was an ideal scenario. To achieve it, several conditions had to be met.

First: He had to act quickly enough to occupy every provincial government office in Jiangnan, except for Nanming Prefecture and Nanyang City, before the Imperial Court and Nine Heavens Mirror Valley could react.

Second: The channel had to be stable; it was essential to ensure that the fighters and gatekeeper soldiers from Lyuzhou could be continuously sent out to the seven provinces to speed up the process.

Third: Duke of Qin had to be careful enough; if he sent a large army to Jiangnan too soon, then once discovered, Chen Qing could even be regarded as a threat on the same level as the undead or potentially even more dangerous.

Chen Qing didn’t yet have the capital to face Great Jin’s foremost duke, who was so capable that he made the mighty Emperor wary of acting rashly. Indeed, the prowess of Duke of Qin was absolutely the pinnacle of the human race at present!

Last... the unstable factor was the Shen Family!

Chen Qing looked towards the river. According to Wang Ye’s intelligence, Duke of Qin was sufficiently prudent to not act rashly. In contrast, those from the Shen Family were currently the most troublesome beings...

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In Lyuzhou City, today was a particularly bustling day.

For the Tiger Guard Army announced that they would start expanding recruitment starting today!

This news had reached many people two to three days ago. Numerous young men were eager and ready to seize this opportunity!

Joining the Tiger Guard Army not only offered good treatment but also property ownership in Lyuzhou, and most importantly, the chance to become stronger.

These days, with demons and monsters rampant everywhere, the fear they brought also gave rise to the hot blood of young men.

After the panic and unease, the pursuit of strength became the longing in the hearts of many of the youth.

Watching neighbors like Second Dog and Big Bull, who only a few days ago were like any other, become impressive fighters within a mere fortnight, there was scarcely anyone who didn’t envy them.

This led to overcrowding during the registration, with almost everyone wanting to join, but the recruitment slots were limited. The Tiger Guard Army decided to hold a public selection process!

The selection methods were varied, with tests on basic qualities like strength, endurance, and speed. Those who excelled would be chosen.

Of course, special talents were also worth extra points!

For example, those skilled with weapons, combat, or archery received higher scores, which is why various places in Lyuzhou that day saw archery competitions, weapon drills and fights, and hand-to-hand combat contests.

This was far more interesting than watching literary examinations. Even those who weren’t participating gathered in large crowds to enjoy the spectacle, and a commendable performance from a contestant would evoke cheers and applause!

"Ten rings, three arrows each hitting the bull’s-eye, what a fine fellow, what archery!" A fighter in charge of the archery site gave a thumbs up to the man who had just been shooting: "Brother, that was some great archery!"

The man grinned with pride. He was formerly a squad leader of the Black Dragon Guard. As a bona fide archer who had served for many years, his shooting skills were not something rural hunters could match, and he was confident about joining the Tiger Guard Army!

Seeing even the fighters with supernatural abilities praising his archery, the man’s excitement was palpable.

This place was indeed different from the army he had been in before.

There, even if you were an excellent shot, those soldiers with bloodline powers wouldn’t look favorably upon you, but here. .. everyone was treated the same!

"Good!" A cheer erupted from the crowd, thunderous applause broke out, sending the man’s face into an excited, fiery red.

Ordinary soldiers often found themselves in an awkward position, inferior to soldiers of noble blood in the military, and looked down upon by the scholarly citizens of Jiangnan who valued culture over might.

Scenes like this, with so many cheering for them, was a first in his years of military service. ..

And scenes like today were unfolding throughout Lyuzhou.

An exceptional display of archery, an exciting duel, a strongman capable of lifting dozens of pounds of iron locks, all could draw copious amounts of cheers.

These cheers were not just for entertainment; they were also heartfelt respect, coming from men and women, young and old alike.

At this moment, they admired the martial force in these men from the bottom of their hearts, because they knew that these heroes, after joining the Tiger Guard Army, would be the first to go to the countryside to rescue more of their kin.

The spirit of martial valor was unwittingly igniting in Lyuzhou, and it was burning hot!

Yet, amidst the crowd, not everyone shared in this cheerful cheering. Some faces were tinged with worry.

Indeed, it was those scholars, who once donned long robes, had achieved some fame, or had spent over a decade in study. Of course, this included those esteemed Masters as well.

They were feeling quite conflicted.

On one hand, the increasing number of Tiger Guard soldiers gave them a greater sense of security. After all, many scholars had been rescued by the Tiger Guard Army and had long developed a reliance on them.

But on the other hand, the prevalence of such a military ethos was not good news for them.

Many enlightened individuals worried that if this trend spread throughout Jiangnan, or even across Great Jin, what would become of their status as scholars?

Would the thousand-year-old scholarly tradition of Jiangnan be lost?

This was not an unfounded fear; it was truly happening around them...

"Grandpa, I want to join the army!" Next to an old Master, a boy of about ten, dressed in a scholar’s robe, watched the competing strongmen with envy. His fists were clenched tightly, his eyes filled with desire.

Hearing this, the old Master sighed softly...

More than ten days had passed since his grandson expressed a desire to enlist. Despite his stern reprimands over many days, it had been ineffective.

He was at a loss for whether to scold or to strike!

Looking at his grandson’s eyes filled with such envy, his heart was troubled. In earlier times, other children envied his grandson, for not all children in Lyuzhou City had the means to afford a schoolbag and attend school.

But now, his grandson could no longer settle down to study, yet the idea of him enlisting was something the Master was extremely reluctant to accept.

He had cultivated his grandson through years of hardship; the boy had a gift for learning, and he had high hopes of passing the exams next year. But now, the boy wanted to compete with brutes in feats of strength – how could he possibly surpass in that?

If this were to continue, with the scholarly tradition of Lyuzhou disappearing, where would Masters like him stand?

And so, in a daze, a group of Masters wandered the streets aimlessly with their children, following the excitement but unable to blend into the laughter around them.

They were not like those commoners; they... could not shed their scholar’s robes...

"Master Liu, Master Qin, what are you still doing here?"

As a few Masters gathered together, sitting in a tea house contemplating how to scold their children into focusing on their studies, a familiar, portly figure rushed over.

"Oh, it’s Governor Zhou..." the Master accompanying his grandson looked up and managed a strained smile, "Does Governor Zhou have some business with us?"

"The academy is opening today!" Zhou Haitao panted heavily, "Why aren’t you Masters at the academy, instead loafing around the streets? Don’t you want to teach anymore?"

"Teach?" The Masters responded with bitter smiles and gestured around them, "Look around, Governor. How many children in Lyuzhou nowadays still want to study?"

"Indeed, Governor Zhou..." Another Master, Master Liu, smacked his grandson’s head, "Not to mention other people’s children, even my grandson here wants to join the army behind my back..."

The boy hung his head low, not daring to meet his grandfather’s gaze, evidently feeling guilty.

"This is..." Faced with a group of Masters disheartened, the fat man merely chuckled, "Masters, please come with me to the academy. The Prefectural Governor has said that scholars in Lyuzhou will not lack a place of their own."

"How could we have a place of our own?" Master Liu looked skeptically at him, "Forget about these young kids; if I were a few decades younger, I’d join the army myself!"

"The Master jests..." the fat man chuckled, "The Governor has said that he wants to open a Yin Yang Academy in Lyuzhou that will belong to Jiangnan!"

Upon these words, all the Masters were so shocked they stood up instantly!