With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Two nights later, Lin Ye sat alone in his study, the candlelight flickering on his desk.

Suddenly, his brow twitched, and a familiar strange sensation resurfaced deep within his mind.

He took a deep breath and immersed himself in it.

Upon entering the mind, one sees two new, small nests floating in the center of the family's lair.

The nest on the left is located in a dark forest. The tree trunks are thick, the branches and leaves are intertwined, and the light is dim.

Lin Ye looked closely and realized that the branches were not still, but were slowly wriggling, stretching out like living snakes.

Even more unsettling is that on the bark of some large trees, the faint outlines of human faces appear, as if they are asleep or watching the outside world.

The nest on the right is a grassland, with lush green grass. A gentle breeze blows, and you can almost smell the fragrance of soil and grass.

On the grassland, several lion-like soldiers were playing and frolicking. Their manes were not golden like those of ordinary lions, but crimson like burning flames, and when they ran, they seemed to be trailing flowing fire tails.

Lin Ye tried touching the two nests separately.

As soon as he connected with the information, it was exactly as he had expected. These were the two types of second-rate Daoist soldier nests that the family nest had nurtured.

The deep forest nest on the left breeds second-rate management-type Taoist soldiers and tree spirit guardians.

Similar to the Rotten Soil Ant Servant, it belongs to the planting type of Dao Soldier and can take care of spiritual plants.

The difference is that the Rotten Soil Ants can only care for third-rate spiritual plants, while the Tree Spirit Guardians can cultivate and protect second-rate spiritual plants, making them far superior in both growth rate and quality.

What's even more remarkable is that the Treant Guardians are not purely support characters; their bodies are extremely tough, impervious to swords and blades, and they can directly engage in combat.

At the same time, they can also buff contractors with "tree armor," forming a tough wooden defense that greatly enhances their survivability.

On the other side, the strange movements in the dark forest nest gradually subsided, and Lin Ye shifted his consciousness to the grassland nest on his right.

Unlike the tree spirit guard on the left, this nest is bred with a second-rate riding combat soldier, the Flaming Lion.

On the grassland, the lion warriors with their crimson manes were still running and playing, but Lin Ye could clearly sense that they possessed an extremely strong fighting spirit.

Once controlled by a contractor, the Fiery Lion can unleash astonishing power. Its mane burns like a real fire during battle, scorching any approaching enemy until their skin is charred and their flesh is mangled.

The advantages of this type of cavalry are extremely obvious: they are good at fighting, riding, fast, and have strong bursts of speed. They can become a powerful tool to change the course of battle in plains, hills, and even city defense.

However, Lin Ye also noticed its flaw: the flames of the Fiery Lion would harm all life except the contractors, including his own soldiers.

If not properly controlled during a chaotic battle, friendly forces could easily be injured.

Despite this, Lin Ye's lips still curled up in a smile.

What he really wanted was a mountable flying soldier, but he also knew that second-rate flying soldiers were generally small in size and could hardly carry adult martial artists for long periods of time, let alone charge into battle.

Although the Flaming Lion cannot fly, it can fight and ride, making it an extremely useful fighting force for the Lin family at present.

Especially suitable for officers.

Liu Yun once described in detail to him the scene of clashing with the Northern Xiongnu cavalry.

"If we hadn't been riding the Wilderness Wolf Guard, we would have fallen off during each charge. In that situation, once you fell off your mount, you would have been trampled underfoot and turned into mincemeat."

The Flaming Lion's stability and impact are far greater than the Wasteland Wolf Guard's, and its flames can suppress enemies during the charge, making allied knights safer in the melee.

Lin Ye's mind raced, and he couldn't wait to test the combat power of the new Dao soldiers.

He started by challenging the tree spirit guardians, beginning with just one.

The soldier appeared to be about ten feet tall, with a thick tree trunk forming his body, two arm-like branches hanging down on either side, and four branches supporting him as he walked.

On the tree trunk, a blurry human face vaguely appeared, seemingly asleep, yet also scrutinizing the newcomer.

Lin Ye, holding a long spear, tentatively thrust it towards that face.

The tree spirit guard reacted extremely quickly, swinging out two branches that struck the spear with astonishing force, deflecting the spear off course.

Lin Ye chuckled, then moved swiftly, activating his lightness skill, and circled around the tree spirit guard.

It was difficult for it to turn around, so Lin Ye seized the opportunity, circled around behind it, and thrust out with his spear. He poured his inner force into the spear tip, and the power was as strong as a cone.

The spear tip pierced the tree trunk, but it felt as if it had been driven into ironwood, which was extremely hard. It got stuck after only one-third of the way in.

The tree spirit guard had already turned around, its branches sweeping across.

Lin Ye dodged the attack, then drew his spear, circled around Lin Ye's back again, and thrust it into the same spot with all his might.

This time, the spear tip pierced its chest. The tree spirit guardian emitted a low hum, its body turning to fragments and vanishing on the spot.

After all, he was only a second-rate Dao soldier, equivalent to a third-rate martial artist, and moreover, a support-type with a focus on management, so his combat power was inherently limited. Facing Lin Ye, a second-rate martial artist, he was killed in just two rounds.

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes, summoned three tree spirit guards, and tried to use the same trick again, using his speed to circle around their backs, avoid their arms, and attack their backs.

However, as soon as the three Taoist soldiers appeared, they stood back to back in a circular formation, protecting each other.

Immediately afterwards, a green light flashed across their bodies, and a thin, pale green protective film covered their entire bodies, like armor made of tree bark and spiritual light.

Lin Ye circled around, but couldn't find any flaws.

As soon as he thrusts at one of them head-on, the branches of the other two will lash out at the spear, while two more branches will strike him directly.

The branches whistled through the air, sending chills down Lin Ye's spine. If he were hit by one, he would not be spared.

He immediately abandoned the offensive, retreated with his gun, and kept moving around to probe and find gaps in the protective barrier and formation.

After several maneuvers, he finally seized a moment of opening, braving the lashes of the branches, and forcefully shattered the protective membrane, piercing the ironwood-like trunk with his spear, killing the three tree spirit guards one by one.

However, he himself was also struck by the branches many times, his clothes were torn, his skin was covered in bruises, his internal energy was almost exhausted, he staggered a few steps and sat down on the ground.

The challenge failed.

After a short rest, Lin Ye turned his attention to the grassland nest on his right and summoned the Fiery Lion.

Upon its appearance, its crimson mane danced like a living fire, and the Fiery Lion was more agile than the Tree Spirit Guardian, with its limbs bulging with muscles.

Lin Ye knew that the Flaming Lion was not only good at fighting, but also at running, and its speed was no less than his own. What was more troublesome was that its flames would burn indiscriminately.

He thrust his spear straight forward, attempting to outrun the opponent.

The Fiery Lion roared, its mane suddenly swelled, and flames spread along the gun barrel, scalding Lin Ye's palms until they went numb.

He endured the burns, used the momentum to flip backward, avoiding the oncoming bite, and at the same time swept the tip of his spear to force the lion's head back.

The first Fiery Lion was repeatedly stabbed in vital areas by him. Under the intense heat, many parts of its body were charred black, and it moved slowly, so it was considered to be seriously injured.

The second one seized the opportunity to pounce, its sharp claws and flames striking simultaneously. Although Lin Ye dodged in time, he was still hit on the side by the flames, leaving a scorch mark. In the end, he forced the second one back until it was exhausted, and it was seriously injured.

However, a third fiery lion had already silently circled around behind him.

Lin Ye realized it was too late; he only felt a burst of heat behind him as the lion's jaws were already biting at his neck.

In his mind, he seemed to hear the cracking sound of his throat bones breaking, and then the world went dark.

The challenge has failed once again.

Lin Ye left the nest, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He was not surprised by his two failed attempts.

He had only broken through to the second-rate martial artist level a little over a year ago. Although he had made significant progress in resources and actual combat, he was still far from being able to fight and kill five second-rate Dao soldiers in one go.

Moreover, the Dao soldiers nurtured in the family's nest seem to generally have a combat strength higher than the standard of the same level.