Start with a red name

Geng Xuan first woke up more than 20 patients who had just undergone organ replacement and limb reattachment surgeries.

Take him out of the room and lead him to the platform.

In front of everyone's eyes, all the rewards were completed.

What is more special is that compared with other companions who joined the group at the same time, had similar cultivation strength and did similar things, each of them was credited with an extra "half merit".

At this moment, some people may still be confused.

But after a quick check of the accounts afterwards, everyone on and off the stage understood that this "half merit" was a reward for the serious injuries they had suffered, such as death and amputation.

The purpose of doing so is naturally to encourage everyone to fight bravely without too many reservations when fighting.

It can be said that as long as one does not die on the spot, even if one suffers fatal injuries or loses limbs, one can quickly recover and become full of life again.

Geng Xuan was not afraid that his intention would be known by others.

After the last person respectfully stepped down from the stage, the Black Wind Group, a total of 320 new and old members, all truly experienced the wonder of the blessing of good fortune.

However, those who really tasted the sweetness and had a significant improvement in their cultivation strength were basically concentrated in the first batch and the 72 people who joined the group in the second batch.

These seventy-two people alone consumed 1128 points of Geng Xuan's luck.

The 248 new members are more than three times their number, but the total good luck invested in them is only 1112 points.

Except for a small number of people who happened to be at critical points, there was no obvious improvement in their cultivation and strength.

"This is less than half of what has been consumed." Geng Xuan thought in his heart.

So far, since going north to Xuanzhou, under the banner of the Black Wind Group, Geng Xuan has gained a total of 4641 points of good luck.

According to his idea, he would basically devote all of this good fortune into the Black Wind Group without reservation.

This time, the reward for merit was also based on this principle, and was much more generous than the previous rewards for merit in Qingyuan Collection.

But even so, this reward only consumed a total of 2240 points of luck, with a surplus of 2401 points.

what is this?
You guys are not doing well!

Geng Xuan looked at the more than 300 pairs of eyes below the stage that seemed to be burning with flames, and said:
“Next, the Black Wind Group’s battles will become very frequent.

I can't guarantee that every one of you will survive.

There are only two things I can guarantee.”

As he spoke, Geng Xuan raised his right hand with his fingers clenched into a fist towards everyone.

He first raised his right index finger and said:
"First, as long as you don't die on the spot, you won't die!"

As he spoke, he raised his middle finger again and said:
“Second, after every battle, I will immediately bless you and reward you!

The more enemies you kill, the greater your contribution and the more merit you will receive."

Below the stage, in the eyes of the bandits, there were originally only small flames burning.

At this moment, with Geng Xuan's two guaranteed exits, it instantly turned into a raging flame.

Lu Dan said directly: "Captain, please give the order. Who should we kill next?"

As he spoke, he raised the axe in his hand, as if to say, my axe is thirsty!
Geng Xuan smiled and said, "No hurry, let's take a good rest first."

He could see that everyone's current condition was not very good.

Not only was it a fierce battle, it also brought huge consumption to everyone.

He used his extraordinary good fortune to bring about significant improvements for many people, and many people's body tempering realm was improved.

There were five people like Cao Ao and Hake who broke through from the senior bone refining level to the marrow refining level on the spot.

There are many people who advance from blood refining to bone refining, from flesh refining to blood refining, and from skin refining to flesh refining.

Such progress would take a huge toll on their bodies.

Even if the realm of others has not improved, their body-tempering techniques and skills have also been significantly improved, which also consumes a lot of the body.

Everyone is very hungry now.

Soon, under the arrangement of Cao Ao and others, the men and women of the Sand People were mobilized one by one.

Women cooked barley rice in big pots, or made mutton-oil cakes with barley powder.

The men dragged the short-wool and long-wool sheep out of the sheepfold one by one and started slaughtering them starting with the oldest ones.

Soon, the skinned and gutted sheep were propped up on iron racks and placed over burning bonfires.

This lively scene made the ignorant children of the Sand People run around everywhere.

The adult men and women of the Sand People were worried, but they did not slack off in their actions.

In fact, because Cao Ao promised that he would give them sheepskins and sheep offal as rewards based on their enthusiasm for work, they all worked very hard.

Soon, the rich fragrance spread throughout the courtyard.

None of the Black Wind Group members just sat there waiting for their meals.

Many new gang members gathered around Tao Bin, Bai Ma and others, showing off their skills, hoping to be selected to become a member of the "first aid team".

These people all thought they had some unique skills and were capable of competing for the qualification to be on the list of thirty people.

The other bandits gathered in another place, under the call of Zheng Liangcai, Shen Shangxian, and a group of "highly respected" new recruits.

They contributed their treasured blood-replenishing pills, essence pills and other cultivation resources.

And according to the different types, they are dissolved into water one by one, and then distributed one by one according to each person's actual situation.

——Because Dong Guan used too many drugs used to refine blood-replenishing pills and essence pills to refine Xuanyou pills, the cultivation resources in the two states of Xuanyou were generally in short supply.

The group of sand bandits who were hostile to Dong Guan's men were the biggest "victims" of this system.

Even if they have money, it is difficult for them to obtain a stable supply of such resources. Therefore, such resources are very scarce among the sand bandits, and they are basically kept close to their bodies for emergency use.

Now, in order to relieve the exhaustion of the bandits' bodies caused by the rapid increase in strength, the leaders had to semi-force the bandits to contribute their treasures.

In order to minimize the resistance from others, they all set an example and took the initiative to contribute their treasured blood-replenishing pills, essence pills and other items.

It is actually not a loss for them to do so.

Firstly, given their current condition, their needs are already quite large, and most of it will re-enter their bodies.

Secondly, they believed that with the team leader's "keen eyes", their generosity at this moment would surely return to them in another form when the next reward was given.

From a distance, Geng Xuan watched the bandits swallowing carefully, even licking the bottom of the bowl clean, and said to Cao Ao:

"If we want to get cultivation resources, where is the best place to go?"

Cao Ao thought for a moment and said:
"The garrison points of those Xuanyou Iron Cavalry are the most suitable. Not only are there blood-replenishing pills and essence pills, but there are also many Xuanyou pills."

Xuanyou Dan is specially designed for Xuanyou Horse, but it can also be used by practitioners.

The biggest disadvantage is that if taken in large quantities, there will be accumulation of "drug poison".

But the sand bandits don't care about this drawback at all.

What's more, the prerequisite for "drug poisoning" is taking large amounts of it.

Therefore, this drawback does not exist at all for the vast majority of sand bandits.

Geng Xuan shook his head and said, "Are there any other options?"

Cao Ao pondered it carefully and replied softly:
"In the two states of Xuanyou, cultivation resources have always been in short supply. Only the Xuanyou Iron Cavalry under Dong Guan's command have a little more ample resources in this regard..."

Having said that, he did not continue speaking, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

Geng Xuan's mind was moved, and he said, "If there are no finished products of blood-replenishing pills and essence-replenishing pills, as long as there are enough medicinal materials, it will be fine."

Cao Ao looked up in surprise and asked, "Do you have a way to refine it?"

Seeing that Geng Xuan smiled but said nothing, he did not ask any further questions. He thought that for a person like the captain, having such a channel did not seem to be something worth making a fuss about.

So he lowered his head and started thinking again.

Soon, he raised his head again, looked at Geng Xuan, and said:

"Wild Wolf Gorge."

Geng Xuan nodded and said, "I've heard you talk about this before. What exactly is this Wild Wolf Gorge?"

"It's about the same as Dicui Beach..."

As Cao Ao spoke, Geng Xuan gradually understood.

In fact, there is a difference.

Because Dicui Beach has a stronger "commercial atmosphere", it was first an important node on the trade route, and then with the establishment of its special "reputation", it gradually became a consumption center for the surrounding bandit gangs.

However, Yelang Gorge is not a node on any trade route. It is just that there are many oases and stone forests around it, where large-scale bandit gangs often appear and gather. In addition, the security and credibility they provide have gradually made it a gathering place for many bandit gangs.

Dicui Beach first had business and trade, and then attracted groups of sand bandits.

However, there was a group of sand bandits in Yelang Gorge first, and then the demand for business and trade gradually arose.

Following Cao Ao's explanation, Geng Xuan also learned that due to the "knowledge" of the sand bandit group and Dong Guan's deliberate restrictions, Yelangxia lacked the ability to carry out fine and deep processing of various materials.

Every year, a large amount of medicinal herbs and minerals are gathered in Wild Wolf Gorge through various bandit groups.

Finally, it flowed into Dong Guan's system through channels such as Tielang, a bandit broker.

Geng Xuan pondered the operating logic inside, and suddenly remembered something, and said:
"Didn't we just capture a spy from the Wild Wolf Village? Is there any connection between the Wild Wolf Village and the Wild Wolf Gorge?"

"related."

Cao Ao first gave a clear answer, and then explained carefully:

"The Wild Wolf Village built a mountain stronghold next to the Wild Wolf Gorge. Not only are there a large number of elite Wild Wolf Village soldiers stationed there, but there are also many elderly, weak, women and children living there all year round.

The order in Wild Wolf Gorge is mainly maintained by people from the Wild Wolf Village.

They will take a commission on all transactions in Wild Wolf Gorge.

Some people say that the Wild Wolf Camp had secretly joined Dong Guan’s army a long time ago.”

"How far is Wild Wolf Gorge from here?" Geng Xuan asked.

"From here, head north and west for about six hundred miles."

Geng Xuan thought for a moment and asked again:

"You also know about the incident at Dicui Beach. Do you think it is possible that Dong Guan's people have already taken action against Yelang Gorge?"

After hearing this, Cao Ao thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "I think this possibility is not high."

"Why?"

“First of all, in terms of prosperity and the various materials and money stored there, Yelang Gorge is far from being comparable to Dicui Beach.

Moreover, many materials in Wild Wolf Gorge, such as medicinal materials and minerals, cannot be used directly and must be transported far away to other places before they can be refined and converted into cash.

Secondly, from the actions at Dicui Beach, it can be seen that Dong Guan did not want to push the bandits too hard and was deliberately avoiding direct conflicts with too many groups of bandits.

There are just as many sand bandits in and around Yelang Gorge as there are at Dicui Beach.

In Dicui Beach, all kinds of resources taken over by Dong Guan's subordinates were basically owned by various chambers of commerce and businesses that had been operating there for a long time.

The sand bandits just go there to have fun and spend money, and Dicui Beach has no direct interest to them.

If Dong Guan's people go to rob, they can just walk away.

It’s different in Wild Wolf Gorge. There are basically no honest businessmen between the buyers and sellers. They are mostly bandits.

If Dong Guan's people go there to rob, it would be like cutting flesh from their bodies."

Listening to Cao Ao's explanation, Geng Xuan nodded slightly.

He fully agreed with Cao Ao's judgment.

Cao Ao still didn't know a key piece of information, that is, Dong Guan's current attention was basically outside the two states of Xuanyou.

He can squeeze the weak ones and increase his resource reserves at the same time.

But he would try his best to avoid the "cesspool" of Yelang Gorge. The harvest would not be great, but it would definitely attract a lot of flies and bedbugs.

Under normal circumstances, he would not be willing to do this because the input would be greater than the output.

Not to mention times like this.

As I thought this in my mind, my next move gradually became clear.

Seeing that the captain did not say any more on the matter, Cao Ao continued his unfinished report.

"...In addition to Hake and I, there are three other senior bone refiners who have advanced to the early stages of marrow refinement.

Now, our Black Wind Group has 13 people with marrow refining capabilities, two in the middle stage of marrow refining, and eleven in the early stage of marrow refining.

In addition, including Bai Ma, Mao Gou, Lu Dan and others, a total of eleven blood refining people advanced to the bone refining level.

Now, we have 68 people with bone refining combat power.

In addition, twenty people who were refining flesh were promoted to refining blood, and twenty-five people who were refining skin were promoted to refining flesh.

There are currently 113 blood refining warriors, 91 flesh refining warriors, and 35 skin refining warriors."

"In the battle just now, a total of 125 people from both sides were killed. However, if we take into account the increase in overall strength, the Black Wind Group is only stronger than before the battle."

At this point, Cao Ao paused and asked, "Captain, will the Black Wind Group continue to grow rapidly in the same way as today?"

"Yes." Geng Xuan did not hide anything about this.

Cao Ao nodded, gasping in his heart, but he managed to maintain a calm expression on his face and said:

"If that's the case, I suggest that we take this opportunity to finalize some rules."

He paused and explained, "Now is the best time. When the team grows rapidly, it will be more difficult to implement the same rules."

"What are the main aspects?"

Cao Ao said: "The most important thing is the distribution of the spoils."

Geng Xuan looked at him and asked, "You should have a more mature thinking in this regard, right?"

Cao Ao nodded and said, "Yes."

There is no doubt that as a man who has already embarked on the road of entrepreneurship and is determined to make it bigger and stronger, he has naturally given a lot of thought to these aspects.

Geng Xuan said: "Then let's do it according to your plan."

He actually doesn't care much about the spoils.

Because the biggest trophy was already in his pocket the moment the killing began.

But he had no intention of being innovative in this regard and could just do things according to the idea of the former leader of the Black Wind Group.

After hearing what he said, Cao Ao stood there in a daze.

It seemed that he had not expected that Geng Xuan would delegate power to him to this extent.

He hesitated, wondering if he should be modest, but Geng Xuan had already asked, "Anything else?"

"..."

Cao Ao was stunned for a moment and said, "There is also the distribution of food rations... This seems to be a trivial matter that is not worth mentioning.

Now we have harvested a lot of food and fodder in this villa, and if we divide it among everyone, we will have plenty of food.

But if the Black Wind Group really grows rapidly under your leadership, the daily consumption of people and horses will also increase sharply.

The more than 1,000 dan of grain and more than 1,000 sheep we have now won't last long, so we must be more careful with our budgeting."

At this moment, Geng Xuan's expression was much more serious than before.

This was not a "trivial matter", he attached much more importance to it than to the "distribution of spoils".

Cao Ao briefly described his idea.

The general principle is that all the food obtained from each battle, including barley and other crops, as well as livestock such as sheep and horses that can be used as meat, must be uniformly stored, managed, and distributed in a fixed quantity. It is strictly prohibited to kill or take them without authorization.

“According to my understanding, many sand bandit gangs are not doing well in this regard.

When food is plentiful, there are no restrictions and people can eat as much meat as they want and as much rice as they want.

If it were just that it would be fine, but the key is that it generates a lot of waste and no one from top to bottom takes it seriously.

Sometimes, because of the difficulty in transporting large amounts of materials, people even waste them intentionally.”

According to Cao Ao, most of the sand bandits do not make long-term plans.

When resources are abundant, people pick the most delicious and best-tasting ones and squander them lavishly, without knowing what it means to cherish them.

When money is tight, it is common to go hungry for nine meals out of three days.

This kind of sand bandit gang has only a few dozen or a hundred people at most and can never get big.

The Black Wind Group has obviously broken through this layer of shackles and is still sprinting towards a higher level, so we must use tough measures to correct these bad habits.

Otherwise, no matter how many resources we have, it will not be enough for these guys to build.

When Cao Ao was talking about the extravagance and wastefulness in the nature of some of the sand bandits, there was a hint of indignation in his expression.

Geng Xuan was satisfied when he saw this, and said directly: "I will leave this matter to you from now on."

"Yes."

This time, Cao Ao did not hesitate at all and agreed immediately, with a confidence that he could do it.

Afterwards, he reported to Geng Xuan on some more specific thoughts.

This includes more detailed considerations such as how to quantify, the ratio of food to meat for people with different levels of cultivation, and the ratio of horse meat to mutton.

Geng Xuan didn't pay much attention to these more detailed considerations and just listened casually.

At this moment, accompanied by a series of horse hooves sounds and the sound of wheels rolling over the ground, a convoy drove into the courtyard.

The team leaders Mao Gou and Lu Dan quickly got off the carriage and rushed to Geng Xuan to report.

"Captain, all the carriages have been retrieved." Mao Gou said.

These carriages were naturally the ones that were used to transport supplies and were left alone in the desert for convenience before the four bandit gangs attacked the villa.

Uneasy about letting the new member who just joined the Black Wind Group to get it, Geng Xuan arranged for Mao Gou and Lu Dan, who had both broken through to the Bone Refining level, to lead the team to do this.

Soon after they returned, the unique fragrance of barley and the aroma of roasted lamb spread inside and outside the courtyard.

More than 300 "new and old" members of the Black Wind Group gathered in twos and threes and began the "sweep" seriously and quickly.

Cao Ao and others stopped "harassing" Geng Xuan, allowing him to finally enjoy his food in peace.

However, Geng Xuan soon noticed something strange.

But there were two people who were looking at him again and again.

The key point is that the identities of these two people are very unusual.

A one-eyed man named Yue Yan, who is a senior marrow refining cultivator in the early stage.

One of them is named Kang Jun, and he is one of the only two people in the Black Wind Group who are in the middle stage of marrow refining.

Among the four bandit gangs that attacked this time, the two of them were the leaders of two of them.

Geng Xuan waved to them, and the two of them quickly trotted over to him.

"Captain."

"Captain."

The two of them hurriedly greeted him respectfully.

"Do you two have anything to say to me?" Geng Xuan asked directly.

Yue Yan said, "It wasn't me, it was Kang Jun... On the way to Tiejian Mountain Villa this time, I heard him tell me a piece of news. I thought it would be very valuable to you, the leader, so I asked him to report it to you."

"Oh, what news?" Geng Xuan looked at Kang Jun curiously.

Kang Jun said: "I have a sworn brother who is also a member of the gang. He sent me a message a few days ago..."

Geng Xuan suddenly said:
"Are there still people who are using muddy waters in the two states of Xuanyou?"

Although it has been less than a day since Geng Xuan entered Xuanzhou, he has already truly felt that the biggest characteristics of Xuanzhou and Youzhou are the extreme lack of water and extreme drought.

Tiejianshan Villa, a Feng Shui treasure land, is built on a small pond.

Kang Jun explained:
"The widest part of Xuanqinghai is more than 600 miles from east to west, more than 1,500 miles from north to south, and its southernmost end is connected to the Hang River.

It not only connects the two states of Xuan and You, but also has frequent merchant ships traveling back and forth.

There are many sand islands of various sizes in Xuanqing Sea, with many precious products, various precious medicinal materials, and magical objects such as Xuanqing Sea Sand Sculptures...

In addition, it is connected with the Hang River in the south, so going downstream you can go to Yuanzhou, and going upstream you can go directly to Haozhou.

Although the overall scale is not as large as the Sha Gang, there are still many people who make a living through this route.

Moreover, their lives are generally much better than ours.”

Geng Xuan nodded and thought, so, the two states of Xuanyou not only produce sand bandits, but also water bandits, right?
"What news did he bring you?"

Kang Jun said: “Some time ago, he took a few friends to Huangwei Island to collect pearls.

...They discovered this by accident many years ago, and since then they would go to the vicinity of Huangwei Island around the end of every year and dive into the water to collect clams and pearls.

Because of this secret, they have lived a very comfortable life these years.”

Kang Jun gave additional explanation to prove the rationality and secrecy of his sworn brother's trip to Huangwei Island.

“But this time, they failed to reach Huangwei Island.

When they were still more than ten miles away from Huangwei Island, they were blocked by three large ships.

The other party killed them without any explanation.

In the end, except for my sworn brother who escaped from the water with his extraordinary swimming ability, everyone who was with him was killed..."

After Kang Jun, his sworn brother, successfully escaped, he did not flee far away, but hid nearby.

Firstly, he was reluctant to give up the pearl-producing area.

This is a real treasure land for making money. As long as he doesn't over-exploit it, it can provide him with a huge fortune every year. How could he give up just because of an accident?

Secondly, it was the hatred deep in my heart that drove me.

The other party is strong and he cannot take revenge alone, but he must at least find out the origins of this group of enemies.

With confidence in his own swimming ability, after recovering from his injuries, he sneaked to the vicinity of Huangwei Island.

“…A huge pier suddenly appeared on Huangwei Island.

There are many huge ships and tall buildings moored at the dock.

Near the dock, there was a military camp that stretched as far as the eye could see, and many people were strolling around the island leading Xuanyou horses.

He exposed half of his head, took a look from a distance, and then he was so frightened that he shrank back into the water, not daring to show his head again.

He no longer dared to stay in that area of water and swam away immediately.

In fact, for safety reasons, he didn't even dare to return to his residence. He simply abandoned the foundation he had worked hard for all these years, left Xuanqinghai, and hid in the depths of the desert."

Geng Xuan thought for a moment and said, "Does he know who the force that appeared on Huangwei Island belongs to?"

Kang Jun heard this and said in a deep voice:

“Although there are no markings or flags, a force of this level and size can be stationed silently in Xuanqing Sea without causing any commotion.

There is no one else in the world who can do this except Dong Guan!"

Geng Xuan nodded slightly.

This is also what he thought in his heart. (End of this chapter)