Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

A piercing scream echoed throughout the forest. Being slowly drained of his inner energy and the essence of his martial arts was like entering hell. The Holy Lord was experiencing this hell on earth.

He originally wanted to perish together with Zhang Shicheng, intending to drag Zhang Shicheng down with him by self-destructing. However, he did not expect that Zhang Shicheng would activate the Nine Li Demon Art and instantly begin to frantically absorb his Qi. His expansion speed was far slower than Zhang Shicheng's absorption speed.

Then they saw the Holy Lord's body, which had been propped up, begin to wither away rapidly. The rate of withering was so fast that the Holy Lord had no time to react. He could only watch himself grow thinner and thinner, without even having any means to retaliate.

How utterly miserable!

A powerful fourth-level Molten God, the strongest person in the Fusang Kingdom, ended up being drained dry. Anyone would feel a deep sense of pity about that.

At this moment, the Holy Lord rapidly weakened. In addition to his protective aura, even his life force was completely drained. In the end, he was like a zombie. He opened his mouth wide, wanting to beg for mercy, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Just then, Zhang Shicheng suddenly inhaled, and immediately the Dao Fruit within his body was drawn out in one breath and entered his body.

This is the power of the Nine Li Demonic Arts; it's all about taking advantage and leaving nothing behind. Once the Nine Li Demonic Arts has its sights set on you, not even a trace will be left.

Zhang Shicheng completely drained the Holy Lord's vital energy, including his Dao fruit. In the end, the Holy Lord, a man weighing 150 jin, was sucked into a few dozen jin of waste material, which Zhang Shicheng then threw on the ground like garbage.

Bang!
Amidst billowing smoke and dust, the Holy Lord was completely annihilated, his life force extinguished, leaving him a desiccated corpse.

"Whoosh..."

Zhang Shicheng's face was full of excitement, his complexion was rosy, and a powerful aura was rising wildly from his body. At this moment, his strength was rising at a terrifying speed, directly raising his cultivation level to the fourth stage of the Fusion God realm.

At this moment, Zhang Shicheng felt that he was terrifyingly strong.

In fact, his feeling was right. He was indeed terrifyingly strong, with the strength of a fourth-level Fusion God, in addition to cultivating the Nine Li Demon Art, one of the three divine arts of the Human Emperor. He even had a Tiger Soul Blade in his hand!

With the Nine Li Demon Art, the Tiger Soul Blade, and the strength of a fourth-level Melting God, Zhang Shicheng felt he could now go toe-to-toe with the arrogant Chen Jiu Si and Zhu Chong Ba.

stomping on...

Zhang Shicheng took two slow steps, looked at the boiling, blood-like fire-attribute qi on his body, and smiled broadly.

"Hahaha... It's done, it's done!"

"Hahaha... This abundant energy, hahaha, finally, finally I caught up!"

Zhang Shicheng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with excitement. It was truly destiny on his side.

quack quack...

At this moment, Zhang Shicheng clenched his fist tightly, and then suddenly drew the Tiger Soul Blade from behind him.

The next moment, a slash was delivered forward, and instantly space ripped open with a tearing sound, followed by a deafening boom. This terrifying blade light directly cracked a massive fissure in the ground in front of it, boom boom…

The terrifying force directly destroyed the forest in front of them, carving out a huge ravine that was no smaller than the Wild Wolf Ravine in Xiantao Village. It's likely that many years later, this place will also have a name similar to some kind of ravine.

Looking at his current astonishing destructive power, Zhang Shicheng's eyes were filled with ambition for the world. Hahaha, with this power, it's time for me to sit on the throne.

but!

Zhang Shicheng paused for a moment. If Chen Jiu Si, who had learned the "Four Seasons Celestial Phenomenon Technique" of the Human Emperor's Three Divine Skills, were to fight him, even if he could defeat him now, he would probably be crippled, or even die together. This was not appropriate.

Moreover, there's Zhu Chongba, whose strength seems to have increased significantly after returning from the dragon vein.

According to Jin Chan, the Xuanyuan Sword, which was left behind in the dragon vein, may be located within this dragon vein.

Back then, Sword Demon Jian Jiu and Sword Saint Wujiang once dueled in the Dragon Vein. Sword Demon Jian Jiu's sword was the invincible Xuanyuan Sword. Later, he died in the Dragon Vein along with Sword Saint.

Since Zhu Chongba emerged from the dragon vein, he has been staying in seclusion in Haozhou, but his strength has increased by leaps and bounds.

This aroused Zhang Shicheng's suspicion. He also received a message from Jin Chan: the Xuanyuan Sword is the supreme divine weapon of the world. Holding the Xuanyuan Sword allows one to rely on their own enlightenment to condense the Dao Fruit!
In other words, Zhu Chongba was not afraid of not having a Dao Fruit in his cultivation, because the function of the Xuanyuan Sword was to automatically condense a Dao Fruit.

When a powerful cultivator at the first level of the Fusion God realm dies, the Dao Fruit within their body will dissipate on its own and then slowly condense in a corner of the world.

As the supreme treasure of the human emperor and a symbol of power over the world, the Xuanyuan Sword is in harmony with the great Dao of this world. Therefore, it can automatically condense Dao Fruits. As long as the wielder of the Xuanyuan Sword comprehends it, the Xuanyuan Sword will draw upon the power of the world and automatically condense Dao Fruits.

This is the power of the Xuanyuan Sword, a supreme treasure of humanity; it's not as simple as it sounds.

It contains the essence of great fortune, so while others toil away searching for the Dao Fruit, those who possess the Xuanyuan Sword do not need to.

Zhu Chongba has hidden himself well; who knows, he might be the one who can fight me in the future.

Zhang Shicheng thought to himself, his eyes looking towards Huangzhou Prefecture. But before that, it seems there's another feast waiting for me: the Golden Demon Art!

Zhang Shicheng muttered to himself, "Golden Demon is one of the ten demon generals under Chi You, the Demon Lord of Jiuli back then. His nutritional status is probably no weaker than that of the Holy Lord. If I absorb Golden Demon's power, then I will truly be invincible."

What are Chen Jiu Si compared to Zhu Chong Ba?

However, he had just absorbed the power of the Holy Lord and had not yet fully digested it. If he were to fight Chen Jie, given his cunning nature, he would not gain any advantage.

It seems I need to find a way to capture that old bastard Jin Mogong without alerting Chen Jiu Si!

Thinking this, Zhang Shicheng chuckled, then turned around abruptly and disappeared from the spot in the blink of an eye, heading straight towards Huangzhou Prefecture.

That old man has a very volatile temper; that kind of person is the easiest to deal with, unlike Chen Jiu Si, who is both vicious and cunning.

Therefore, Zhang Shicheng was quite confident in capturing an old man like the Grand Elder. This was the current situation. Next, Huangzhou Prefecture should need to recuperate and restore order, so it would be very busy.

This is when it's easiest to take action.

Even if Chen Jiu Si took every precaution, it would be useless unless he could keep a close eye on that old man. Otherwise, given the old man's temperament, he would be easy to manipulate. Thinking this, Zhang Shi Cheng sped up and headed straight for Huangzhou Prefecture.

Meanwhile, in Huangzhou Prefecture, the great battle had ended. The battlefield was now filled with soldiers escorting prisoners, soldiers responsible for cleaning up the battlefield, and patrol officers from the city.

In this great battle, the death toll in Huangzhou Prefecture was no less than 100,000. The corpses of 100,000 people piled up outside the city of Huangzhou Prefecture. What a magnificent sight that was! Most importantly, if the situation was not dealt with in time, a plague would break out.

This is why major epidemics often follow major wars.

Therefore, after the war ended, what followed was a silent war.

The civil service group, the medical group, and the construction group all started working overtime.

First, the civil service must assess the living conditions of people affected by the disaster, provide subsidies, and reassure the public.

The sergeants in the army are responsible for recording the soldiers' battle achievements and reporting them to their superiors. The superiors verify the achievements and then report them to the city lord, Chen Jiu Si. Chen Jiu Si will then award honors, official positions, and financial rewards based on the achievements.

For example, Chen Jie designed a medal system for honors, which is divided into Class A Hero Medals, Class B Hero Medals, Class C Hero Medals, and Class A, B, and C Collective Hero Medals. In addition, there are four honor medals for those who have made special contributions: Azure Dragon Medal, White Tiger Medal, Vermilion Bird Medal, and Black Tortoise Medal.

The Azure Dragon Medal is usually awarded to commanders to reward their command abilities. For example, in this war, Zhang Dingbian was awarded the Azure Dragon Medal as a commendation recognizing him as the commander-in-chief of the entire army.

The White Tiger Medal is awarded to soldiers who have fought bravely, such as top combat heroes who have repeatedly distinguished themselves in battle.

The Suzaku Medal is awarded to logistics personnel, specifically military logistics personnel, who have provided outstanding logistical support. For example, when soldiers were trapped, lacking food and clothing, and on the verge of starvation, the logistics department did everything possible to deliver supplies, ensuring the soldiers' lives. Furthermore, they made a profound impact on subsequent wars and were awarded the Suzaku Medal.

Finally, the Xuanwu Medal is awarded to the defending legion, to senior generals who defended against a major crisis, or to those who held a place of extremely strategic value.

Chen Xiaohu, Shi Gengming, Jin Yanzi, Ding Pulang, and Ou Puxiang received the Xuanwu Medal in recognition of their outstanding contributions in protecting Huangzhou Prefecture.

These medals will be approved by the Military Alliance, which is composed of the corps commanders. They will conduct a preliminary review and then hand them over to the vice-chairmen of the Military Alliance, Ni Wenjun and Zhao Ya.

After reviewing the documents, the two handed them over to City Lord Chen Jiu for a final decision.

After all the rewards have been verified, the next step is to distribute the material rewards.

At this point, Chen Jiehui informed Hu Weiyong to deposit an extra bonus into the military account, and this bonus was quite substantial.

For example, the prize money for a Class C Individual Hero Medal is one hundred taels of silver, which is enough for the hero to buy a house and land.

For example, the prize money for a Class C group medal is much higher, but the amount distributed to individuals is relatively small, generally around ten taels per person.

Don't underestimate this sum of money. For example, if a centurion receives a Class C collective medal, that's ten taels for each of the one hundred people, which is a thousand taels of silver.

And so on, the higher the medal level, the greater the reward.

Then comes the promotion. Chen Jie has now won this crucial battle, and the next step will definitely be to expand the army. Expanding the army requires officers, and these meritorious soldiers are the easiest to promote.

They are also the ones most likely to be appreciated by their superiors.

Many people would have objected to his promotion in the past, but now that he has military merits, and he was promoted based on his military achievements, what is there for you to object to?

Therefore, this military merit was the first step in Chen Jie's standardization of the army, and it was very successful. After the war, all the armies began to frantically check military merits, and the soldiers were thinking about how to get promoted and make money. They were all extremely excited, and the war wounds after the war were basically invisible.

This saves Chen Jie from having to provide psychological counseling to many officials.

These officials could then be sent to prisoner-of-war camps to provide psychological counseling to the prisoners. These prisoners were quite useful, and Chen Jie planned to keep them to expand his army. Now, with such a large territory in the Northwest, including the three routes and Sichuan, Chen Jie was eager to devour it.

Otherwise, things might get complicated.

Therefore, the officials in Chen Jie were very busy. Civil officials had a lot of problems to solve, such as money and grain, public security, and all sorts of other issues.

The military needs to verify combat achievements, and sometimes they will argue fiercely over who deserves the credit.

Then there are the prisoner-of-war camps, where we need to provide psychological counseling to the prisoners and give them hope for survival. There's a lot to do.

Besides ensuring their own merits weren't claimed by others, top generals like Chen Xiaohu were primarily interested in dividing up the 120,000 prisoners of war. These prisoners could quickly be expanded into combat power, and the major legions had suffered significant casualties, so they were all eager to replenish their ranks.

The matter of Chen Jie was suppressed.

Outside the city, the health department was the busiest. As the top medical expert in Huangzhou Prefecture, Bai Wenjing directly mobilized all medical staff, including medical students, to devote themselves to the front line of treating the wounded.

Furthermore, the bodies outside the city needed to be disposed of to prevent the spread of the epidemic; at this time, lime was scattered all over the area outside the city.

Immediately following were the corpses, which were all burned, and then lime was sprinkled on them.

It can be said that for some time to come, the entire Huangzhou Prefecture will be shrouded in a gray sky.

Besides these, there is also the water source. These days, in addition to keeping an eye on the entire Huangzhou Prefecture to see if any thieves are taking advantage of the chaos, the patrolmen of Huangzhou Prefecture are also carrying iron buckets and loudspeakers, constantly shouting: "No one in the city is allowed to drink water from outside the city. All water must be boiled before drinking, and all diseases will be warded off."

These propaganda messages quickly spread throughout Huangzhou Prefecture. The basic organizational capacity of a regime is whether it can organize production as quickly as possible and get the entire city moving. Huangzhou Prefecture's mobilization capacity was quite strong.

Meanwhile, after a period of rest, the Huangzhou Prefecture army set off from Huangzhou Prefecture and began to recover the lost lands of Hubei Road, pacify the people, suppress bandits, and kill all those who took advantage of the chaos to start an uprising.

Then Chen Jie began to deploy a large army in the northwest and Shu. Once the matter in Huangzhou Prefecture was settled, he could then plan to attack Shu and the three routes in the northwest.

This is Chen Jie's strategic plan. After all, the struggle for the five routes and eighty-one prefectures in Jiangnan will inevitably be fierce. Chen Jie will not directly clash with them, but will only extend his reach to the periphery. It is not yet time to engage in armed conflict with Zhu Chongba and his forces.

Chen Jie plans to expand his territory significantly, then gather all his strength to crush all his competitors in one fell swoop, thus achieving final victory! (End of Chapter)