Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The outer edge of the vast mountain range.

Halfway up an unnamed mountain, there was a flat area carved out by human hands. Seven or eight rough wooden houses sat on the flat area, surrounded by a wooden fence about two people high, which still smelled of freshly cut pine wood.

The gate of the village was made of a single log and was wide open at the moment. Several ragged men were carrying supplies at the gate.

Chen Jialuo stood on a rock at the highest point of the mountain stronghold, his hands behind his back, gazing at the rolling forest below. The mountain wind made his moon-white robe flutter loudly.

It's been three days.

It has been three full days since I parted from the Lord.

During those three days, he and Wen Tailai barely slept a wink.

On their first day in the mountains, the two encountered a red-maned wild boar at the early stage of the Acquired Realm. The beast had thick, tough hide; ordinary swords and blades couldn't even break its skin. Its two tusks were more than half a man's length, and its charge was like a thunderbolt. Without a word, Wen Tailai charged forward, meeting the attack head-on with his Thunderclap Palm. Three blows later, he shattered the beast's head.

The pig demon's inner core and all its materials are now piled up in the mountain stronghold's warehouse.

The next day, they encountered their first band of bandits.

The bandits were entrenched in a mountain valley. Their leader was a rogue cultivator at the Acquired Blood Transformation Realm, wielding a pair of iron hammers and calling himself "Iron Hammer Zhang." He had fifty or sixty men under his command, and they made a living by robbing passing demon-hunting teams and merchant caravans.

Chen Jialuo hadn't planned to act so quickly, but Iron Hammer Zhang somehow learned that two strangers had come to the mountains and actually brought people to his door, threatening to collect "tolls".

Chen Jialuo didn't waste any words with him.

With the Hundred Flowers Fist unleashed, his figure weaved through the crowd like a butterfly flitting among flowers, each punch landing a blow that fell a person to the ground. Iron Hammer Zhang's pair of iron hammers came crashing down, but he used the soft force of the Butcher's Kung Fu to deflect them, causing the two-hundred-pound hammers to veer off course and smash into the rocks beside him, scattering gravel everywhere.

Wen Tailai struck from the side with a palm. Iron Hammer Zhang hurriedly raised his hammer to block, but the palm strike caused his tiger's mouth to split open, and the iron hammer flew out of his hand.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Iron Hammer Zhang's head was smashed by Wen Tailai with a single palm strike.

With the bandit leader dead, the remaining henchmen scattered like birds and beasts. Chen Jialuo did not exterminate them all, but spared the ordinary gang members who had been coerced by the bandits to come up the mountain and had no blood on their hands. He gave these people two choices—go down the mountain and go home, or stay and work for him.

A dozen or so people chose to stay.

Most of these people were rogue cultivators. The one with the highest cultivation level was called Sun Laosi, who was at the Tendon Refining Realm. He had spent seven or eight years traversing the outer reaches of the Cangmang Mountains and knew the terrain and the distribution of demonic beasts in the area like the back of his hand. The others were all at the Flesh Refining Realm. Although their foundations were not solid, they had the advantage of being familiar with the mountains and forests and being agile.

On the third day, Chen Jialuo led his dozen or so men to occupy Iron Hammer Zhang's stronghold.

The village was built at the foot of a recessed cliff halfway up the mountain. It was surrounded by steep slopes on three sides, with only a narrow path leading up the mountain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Iron Hammer Zhang had been operating here for over two years, and the village had everything it needed—wooden houses, a storeroom, a training ground, and even a mountain spring. Although rudimentary, it was more than sufficient as an initial stronghold.

"Brother Chen."

Wen Tailai's voice came from behind. This burly man carried a pine log thicker than his waist up the mountain, not even a drop of sweat on his forehead. He threw the log on the ground and dusted off the sawdust from his hands: "The village gate is reinforced. Sun Laosi's gang cut down a batch of hardwood down the mountain, and they can replace the entire eastern fence tomorrow."

Chen Jialuo nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

"This little bit of work is nothing," Wen Tailai grinned, then lowered his voice and said, "Brother Chen, what's next? Our master ordered us to kill monsters, wipe out bandits, and gather energy. In these three days, we've killed about forty monsters and wiped out a band of bandits. But there are only so many monsters and bandits on the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains. What do we do after we've killed them all?"

Chen Jialuo turned around and looked at him calmly.

"No rush."

"Not in a hurry?"

"Yes, no rush."

Chen Jialuo sat down on the rock and gestured for Wen Tailai to sit down as well.

"Brother Wen, let me ask you. How many years did it take the Red Flower Society to rise from its humble beginnings in Jiangnan to become the largest gang in the land?"

Wen Tailai thought for a moment: "From the time the old leader founded the Red Flower Society to our generation, it has been three generations and more than forty years."

"More than forty years."

Chen Jialuo repeated the number.

"Have we had more than forty years? No. The task the Lord has given us is to establish a power base in the shortest possible time. But the faster we want to go, the less we can afford to be hasty."

He held up one finger.

"First, this mountain stronghold is our first base in the Cangmang Mountains. If the stronghold isn't stable, there's nothing to talk about. So these past few days, I've been focusing on fortifying the stronghold and familiarizing ourselves with the surrounding terrain. Although Sun Laosi and his men aren't highly skilled, they're local experts. They know where to get food, which roads are safe, and which mountains have monsters. These may seem like small things, but they can be life-saving in a critical moment."

He extended his second finger.

"Secondly, there's more than just Iron Hammer Zhang's bandits outside the Cangmang Mountains. Old Sun told me there are at least three or four other groups within a two-hundred-mile radius. The largest of these is led by a bandit chief nicknamed 'Black Wind Demon,' who is at the peak of the Acquired Blood Exchange Realm and has over two hundred men under his command. With your and my strength, taking him down wouldn't be difficult. But what happens after we do? Can we manage over two hundred prisoners?"

Wen Tailai fell silent.

"So the issue right now isn't about fighting, it's about managing."

Chen Jialuo spoke calmly and unhurriedly.

"The dozen or so people under our command are a mixed bag, with varying motivations. We need to spend some time integrating them—establishing rules, assigning responsibilities, and training a few capable individuals. Once these dozen or so people are truly on our side, then we can take over another batch. We'll digest one batch, then bring in another. We'll take it one step at a time."

After listening, Wen Tailai remained silent for a long while, then suddenly smiled.

"Brother Chen, no wonder you're the leader. I, Wen Tailai, will never understand these intricate matters in my entire life. Fine, I'll do whatever you say. I'll handle the fighting, you handle the thinking."

Chen Jialuo smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"There's one more thing."

He stopped smiling and his expression became more serious.

"Our lord instructed us to pay attention to any unusual occurrences in the Cangmang Mountains, especially those related to the death of Zhou, the garrison commander of Qinghe Town."

Wen Tailai frowned: "Commander Zhou? Is that the Commander Zhou the one the Lord mentioned who died under mysterious circumstances?"

"right."

Chen Jialuo nodded.

"A commander at the Acquired Divine Strength Realm led five men into the mountains to chase a few bandits, only to be wiped out completely, with not even all the bodies recovered. This whole affair is suspicious. We might run into something while we're in the mountains. Tell Old Man Sun to keep a close eye on things. He's been around these mountains for seven or eight years; he should be able to spot anything amiss."

"clear."

Qinghe City.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, Dongfang Weiwo spent his days showing Liu Tie around every street and alley in the city, and every stronghold of any faction. In the evenings, back in the branch office's backyard, he would quietly open the system panel to check the changes in his energy points.

On the first day, the energy points jumped from 100 to 350.

The next day, I jumped from 350 to 1200.

On the evening of the third day, when he returned from inspecting the Iron Fist Guild's territory in the north of the city and opened the system panel again—

The number of energy points has now reached a full five thousand.

Five thousand points.

He looked at the numbers on the screen and took a deep breath.

This means that in these three days, Chen Jialuo and Wen Tailai have killed at least dozens of demonic beasts, plus Iron Hammer Zhang's bandits. With Chen Jialuo's cultivation at the peak of the Acquired Divine Power Realm, dealing with the demonic beasts and bandit leaders on the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains, who were at most at the Acquired Blood Exchange Realm, was indeed more than enough.

But he knew this was just the beginning.

The number of monsters and bandits on the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains is limited. Once they are all killed, the growth of energy points will stagnate. At that point, we will either have to venture deeper into the more dangerous areas of the mountains or find a new source of energy.

But that's for later.

Right now, five thousand energy points are enough for him to do one thing.

In addition to the ability to summon characters, the system also has a lottery function.

Dongfang Weiwo sat cross-legged on the bed, his consciousness sinking into the system's light screen.

[Energy Points: 5000]

[Lottery Redemption]

[Black Iron Draw: 1000 Energy Points/Draw]

[Bronze Draw: 10000 Energy Points/Draw]

[Silver Draw: 50000 Energy Points/Draw]

"System, redeem one Black Iron lottery draw."

[Ding—1000 Energy Points consumed to exchange for one Black Iron-level lottery draw. Remaining Energy Points: 4000.]

[Giveaway in progress...]

A bronze-colored roulette wheel appeared on the light screen, slowly rotating. The roulette wheel was divided into dozens of areas, each marked with a different reward—cultivation techniques, elixirs, weapons, and rare and precious materials.

The roulette wheel spun faster and faster, then gradually slowed down.

The pointer swept across the "Techniques" area, then across the "Weapons" area...

Finally, it stopped on a square marked with a "medicine" icon.

[Ding—Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Blood Exchange Pill x1]

[Blood Exchange Pill: Grade Two Pill. Suitable for use when breaking through from the peak of the Body Refinement Realm to the Acquired Realm. It can greatly increase the success rate of blood exchange and accelerate the transformation of qi and blood.]

His pupils dilated slightly as he looked at the new pill in his inventory.

Blood-changing pill.