Heavenly Jewel Change

However, it wasn’t long before Long Shiya and Duan Tianlang were given the surprise. The first was the sheer offensive capabilities and killing strength of the Peerless Battalion archers.

Seeing row after row of Consolidated Bows shooting out arrows at lightning speed, how could Long Shiya not understand that almost the entire force of thousand soldiers of the Peerless Battalion were all Jewel Masters!

To a Heavenly Emperor powerhouse like him, an ordinary Jewel Master was almost nothing, pretty much like an ordinary person, a mere ant when compare to him. However, with over a thousand ordinary Jewel Masters gathered together, the sheer combined forces they could bring into play was definitely startling. The rain of arrows they were showering upon the Swift Wolf Regiment was indeed proof of that.

The next surprise that came to them was the tactics used. The trench of fire that had been prepared, able to efficiently block the enemy’s charge while taking down the officers’ mounts. Zhou Weiqing’s ferocity and how he had actually managed to block a nine-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master… all of that was totally out of Long Shiya’s expectations. Originally, he did not really like the fact that Zhou Weiqing had Stored so many Skills, but when he truly saw Zhou Weiqing in action with his full power, only then did he realise that with the help of the Demonic Change State and his own proper usage and compatible integration, Zhou Weiqing was able to make full use of the advantage of his many Attributes. Making use of his opponent underestimating him, he was able to bring the surprise and unleash his greatest power in a short period of time.

Even at that point, Long Shiya still did not believe that the Peerless Battalion would succeed to the end. After all, the Wolf Cavalry Soldiers still numbered more than eight thousand and were starting to route around the fire trenches. Once they reached melee range, even if all the Peerless Battalion soldiers were Jewel Masters, they were mostly at a single Jeweled cultivation, with maybe a few at two-Jeweled. Facing the charge of the powerful Wolf Cavalry soldiers, it was doubtful they could hold their ground.

Yet, once again, Long Shiya was quickly proven wrong. When he saw the three hundred Peerless Battalion Air Force soldiers appear in the skies, there was only shock and admiration left in his eyes. What kind of unique thinking that was to bring out the latent potential in such an army troop! Instantly, Long Shiya knew that Zhou Weiqing definitely had the support of some Consolidating Equipment Masters, otherwise how could he possibly get so many Consolidating Equipment Scrolls to create such an army.

The Peerless Battalion Air Force, their arrows and the javelins, not only were they extremely efficient in killing, they were also able to buy enough time for their allies to retreat safely. In the end, the Swift Wolf Regiment did not dare to pursue them and had to retreat, licking their wounds with a terrifying forty percent loss.

Total Victory. No other term could describe it. This was a true victory belonging to an unheard of, fully ranged army troop. Tactics, Strategy, Personal Strength. In this entire fight, it could be said that all three had played their own major roles, and the Peerless Battalion had made use of their strengths to perfection, defeating their opponents in a crushing fashion.

Long Shiya knew from Zhou Weiqing that he had only been in the northern borders for about half year. In half a year, being able to form such an army and having them grow to such a height… if he was really given sufficient time, what would this Peerless Battalion end up becoming? Would they become even more disgusting? All of a sudden, Long Shiya felt as if he had a fresh feeling of anticipation, something that he had not felt in over several dozen years. More importantly, this Peerless Battalion Battalion Commander was his own disciple!

All his life, Long Shiya had been a lone ranger, learning, fighting and living on his own out in the world. Yet, when he witnessed Zhou Weiqing’s Peerless Battalion fighting together on the battlefield, he suddenly felt as if commanding a troop in battle was actually an interesting thing after all. As such, he did not mind aiding his disciple in improving the Peerless Battalion and making them stronger.

“With only five to six thousand men, will it be too few? After all, you will be facing one of the first rate Empires in the entire Mainland. Although the Bai Da Empire is not comparable to the top end Empires like the ZhongTian Empire, its army still numbers at least five hundred thousand or more, and the amount of powerhouses they have cannot be underestimated. With just the few thousand men you plan to have, I’m afraid it’s not enough to fight against an entire Empire like that.” Long Shiya said.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “If my aim was to conquer them, it is naturally not enough. However, if we are just trying to damage and hurt them, I feel it is more than sufficient. Indeed, they have many men, but what use is a ragtag band no matter how much they number? No matter how many rabbits swarm an adult male lion in his prime, they cannot kill it. The greatest advantage of our small numbers is our speed and flexible movements. You have already seen for yourself how my Peerless Battalion is mainly ranged combat… and the true reason I plan to give them all the Consolidated Wings is just so that in case we meet any foes we cannot fight, we can easily run away. At the same time, we can easily choose where we want to fight, able to switch battlegrounds at our will. In a single day, we can appear in various different places to fight just from our sheer mobility. In such a case, as long as the Bai Da Empire does not have any troop like us, it will be impossible for them to stop us and wipe us out.”

Long Shiya said: “So… how do you plan to continue training these men in the future?”

Zhou Weiqing replied: “That Legion Commander Shen Ji already promised to send me the rest of the northern army Ruffian Battalions, and I estimate that it will bring our total numbers up to more than four thousand, maybe five thousand. That is a sufficient number, just right by my calculations. What comes next will be to go all out in forging them into not individual fighters, but a great unit. I need to ensure that all their interests are linked to mine, and also to constantly improve their personal strength. Once their teamwork and morale is up to speed, and they are able to fight together, then our main focus will be to improve everyone’s personal strength. If one day, all my Peerless Battalion soldiers can reach the pinnacle of their Physical or Elemental Jewels, then I can easily sweep through any Empire.”

Long Shiya examined Zhou Weiqing closely for a moment, but in his eyes, Long Shiya did not see any vast ambition, just a strong fighting spirit. Indeed, Zhou Weiqing was not a man with much ambition, but all he wanted to do was to revive him Empire. Yet, someone like him, if he truly accomplished what he had just set out to achieve, then perhaps he would become a Legend and a Myth in his own right…”

“Little Fatty, just go ahead according to your plan, teacher will support you. In this world, as long as you dare to think and try, there will always be opportunity and chances that arise. Who knows… perhaps in a few dozen years time, you will create the Sixth Great Saint Land in the mainland.”

Great Saint Land? Upon hearing those words, Zhou Weiqing started. He had not expected that his teacher would look so highly upon him. Seeing Long Shiya’s smiling face, he couldn’t help but grin and say: “Heh heh, Master, if I were to really create a new Great Saint Lands, then you would become the Grand Founding Forefather!”

“Hahaha!” Long Shiya might not have spent a lot of time with Zhou Weiqing, but compared to many of those who had been with him for a long time, he actually understood this little rascal very well.

“Buttering me up like that, are you trying to con me again? Don’t even think about it! When I said I will support you, it is morally and spiritually, not materially. Little brat, I have already given you my entire life fortune, you better not splurge it all at once. Upkeeping a huge army with that may be impossible, but to sustain your five thousand men for a few dozen years should not be a problem.”

Zhou Weiqing was slightly embarrassed, saying in an abashed tone: “Teacher, I’m not asking you for money, you have already given me more than enough. However, as you see, though my Peerless Battalion’s overall strength is still alright, but we just lack true powerhouses. Now, I have a few Heavenly Jewel Masters who have just Awakened, but they are still at the single-Jeweled stage. However, their latent potential would be the highest amongst the entire Battalion… if Teacher can give them a few pointers, then they would benefit greatly from it for life.”

Long Shiya said exasperatedly: “I just knew you little brat would not be so good. Still, although those men are Heavenly Jewel Masters, they are much older than you, and their Heavenly Jewels are only just Awakened. There is definitely no hope for them to break through the Heavenly King Stage. Are you trying to make me waste my effort?”

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “Just some simple pointers… even if you really wanted to teach them seriously, I would be the one who would be unwilling! I can be a jealous disciple!”

Long Shiya couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Alright alright, I get it. Simple pointers, do you really need me? What are you for then? Also, there is that Heaven’s Expanse Palace little girl, you two are more than enough to teach them.”

As he spoke up to that point, Long Shiya suddenly grew very serious and he said solemnly: “Weiqing, there is one thing I have to warn you. By creating such an army, you will definitely run into problems… that is jealousy.”

“Jealousy?” Zhou Weiqing started. “What do you mean, teacher? Why jealousy?”

Long Shiya said solemnly: “Do you know the true reason why the Heavenly Demon Sect has always been discriminated against and suppressed so hard by the other Great Saint Lands? Do you really think it is because they are unable to control their Demonic Change State or are inherently evil? In this world, there is one rule that always remains constant. The victors are the good guys, and the losers are always the evil side. So what if a power tends to the evil side? Does it mean a person with the Evil Attribute cannot do good? Or vice versa? The true reason why the Heavenly Demon Sect has always been suppressed to such a degree, that they have become the weakest of the Great Saint Lands, and never been able to grow past that…… it is because the Demonic Change State is just too powerful, so powerful that all the other four Great Saint Lands were jealous of it. Not just jealous, but also afraid that if the Heavenly Demon Sect would grow to surpass them and stomp them below their feet.”

“This same principle can apply to your current position. By forming an entire army of several thousand Jewel Masters… do you really think you will not strike fear and jealousy into others’ hearts? As soon as your men grow past a certain strength, it will be certain to invoke jealousy in some others’ hearts, and it will only grow stronger and stronger. In fact, there is only one single way to solve this problem.”

“What method?” Hearing Long Shiya’s words, fear gripped Zhou Weiqing’s heart. His teacher’s words struck true to the heart, and he knew that this was the voice of experience speaking, and this was something very real that he had not thought about previously.

A bright light gleamed in Long Shiya’s eyes and he said: “As the saying goes, only a useless person will never evoke jealousy from others. That solution is simple, but not easy. You, as the leader and main dominant force of the Peerless Battalion… must be powerful, sufficiently powerful enough. Only when one day your personal power reaches my level or beyond, then can your Peerless Battalion truly become a Great Saint Lands.”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Why not Master takes the lead then, and be our figurehead and powerhouse, and you can be the leader of the Great Saint Lands too!”

Long Shiya looked at his little disciple with a bit of a headache. “You think too much. I have already seen through you, little brat, you do not have any whit of ambition in you. If not for the fact that your home, your Empire, and your family had such a terrible thing happen to them, I would guess that at most you would only cultivate and train by yourself, and not attempt to build up such a force.”

Zhou Weiqing scratched his head sheepishly and said: “It is as teacher said… though I do hope that I can strengthen my homeland Empire to a sufficient degree.”

Long Shiya said: “Alright, you already understand all the underlying principles and dangers, and I do not need to talk too much anymore. The reason why I mention all this to you is to let you work harder, and improve as fast as you can. Before the age of thirty, you must definitely break through the Heavenly King Stage. Only then do you have enough time to handle to difficulty of cultivation which you will face after reaching the Heavenly King Stage.”

Zhou Weiqing quickly agreed.

Long Shiya continued: “From now on, you will train under me for sixteen hours, and the remaining eight hours will be for you to rest or handle your Peerless Battalion matters.”

“Sixteen hours!?” Zhou Weiqing stared at Long Shiya with his jaw agape, thinking to himself that it was absolutely too much. After all, it was not just simple meditation and cultivation if he was learning from his master. Although he already had previous experience in such tough training methods when he went through the Three-Thousand Tempering Training, that previous time was because his hand was forced. Yet, it seemed like his teacher was saying that he would have to do this from now on for the foreseeable future.

——

Highest Level of the Demonic Change State! (2)

Long Shiya totally ignored his protests, saying passively: “We will start now. Today, let’s first talk about your Demonic Change State.”

Zhou Weiqing started once more, this time more in curiosity. His teacher was not focusing on the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, instead focusing on the Demonic Change State?”

Long Shiya said: “Do you think that your current manipulation of your Stored Skills is not bad?”

Zhou Weiqing scratched his head and grinned: “It is alright, right?”

Long Shiya said passively: “Little brat, remember my words clearly: Pride will cause one to stop improving, to even deteriorate. Remember this, as long as you have the will, there is no limit to improving any ability. Watch this.”

As he said that, Long Shiya flicked his wrist, and a Wind Blade appeared on his palm, consolidated and solid almost like a real blade. At the same time, his own Heavenly Skill Image appeared.

“What do you think about this Wind Blade of mine? Is it already at the maximum that the Wind Blade can reach?”

Zhou Weiqing nodded without hesitation and said: “Of course, this is a Wind Blade that can be favourably compared to a Heavenly God Tier Skill.”

Long Shiya smiled faintly and said: “Look again.”

As he said that, Zhou Weiqing was shocked to see green light shimmer around Long Shiya’s surface skin, staining his entire body with the green, mixed with several flickers of a metallic glow. The Heavenly Skill Image above his head also shimmered slightly and seemed to grow clearer, more solid.

Along with the changes in his body, the Wind Blade in Long Shiya’s palm also started to change. It was still as well formed and solid as ever, but it rapidly grew larger. In a moment, it had almost doubled in size.

“What about now? How would this Wind Blade compare to the one before?” Long Shiya looked at Zhou Weiqing and asked.

By this moment, how could Zhou Weiqing not understand what his teacher was trying to convey. Respectfully, he said: “I understand the lesson now. As long as we keep on training, practicing and improving, with greater Heavenly Energy backing it up and improvement in technique, there is no limit to any Skill. The so-called limit is just the limit of our own cognition and perception, or perhaps preconceived notions.”

Long Shiya nodded in satisfaction. Teaching an intelligent disciple was definitely an enjoyable task.

“Very good. Alright then, now tell me about your experience and understanding of this Demonic Change State Skill.” The Wind Blade in Long Shiya’s palm disappeared at once, as if that little object that held the terrifying power to level an entire hill never existed in the first place.

Zhou Weiqing nodded his head and said: “The Demonic Change State arises from the union of a bloodline power and the Demonic Attribute, the body is stimulated by the Demonic Attribute Heavenly Energy, evoking and triggering some unknown power in my bloodline… from there it instantly boosts the user’s body. Strength, defense, offense… almost every single attribute is raised substantially, even my senses become far more acute. Also, I am able to use the bloodline aura to frighten some weaker Heavenly Beasts. Once in the Demonic Change State, I am able to always unleashed a hundred twenty percent of my power in combat; at the same time all my Demonic Attribute and Darkness Attribute Skills seem to have some additive power to them. For example, my Dark Demon God Lightning… with my current cultivation level, I can only actually use it to its full effect when I am in the Demonic Change State.”

Long Shiya did not even bat an eyelid as he continued: “Alright, then of all of the powers you mentioned the Demonic Change State provides, which is the most important one?”

Zhou Weiqing started in surprise, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. From his perspective, every single one of the powers the Demonic Change State granted him was extremely important. When he used the Demonic Change State in actual combat, even without considering his powerful Skills and his own powerful physique, it already enabled him to fight equally against an opponent with one more Heavenly Jewel. That was to say, the Demonic Change State could be said to be ‘giving him’ an extra Heavenly Jewel worth of power, just without the extra Skill. In complement to his six Attributes, his vast array of powerful Skills and Legendary Set Consolidated Equipment… that was the reason why he was able to defeat so many enemies of much higher level than himself. Of course, a lot of it was also due to luck and being underestimated, it was without question that his unique, strange Skills and the Demonic Change State had all been a major factor in those victories.

However, if he really had to rate all the various powers the Demonic Change State granted him, and to state which was the most useful, he was truly unable to do so. Even the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Demonic Manual did not mention anything about such a thing.

“You’re unable to pinpoint it right?” Long Shiya continued solemnly after a pause. “Remember this carefully. The most important boost that the Demonic Change State grants you is not the obvious power, defense, or even what it grants to your Demonic or Darkness Skills. It is the perception and sensory boost.”

“Perception?” Zhou Weiqing was rather surprised. He had truly not expected the answer to be along this line of thinking.

Long Shiya nodded and said seriously: “That’s right. Perception, or your senses. Think back in detail, whenever you enter the Demonic Change State, when you are facing your enemies, aren’t you able to better focus and easily sense the changes in your enemy’s attack patterns and movements? Also, your control over your body, your Energy and your Skills, it is much clearer. Lastly, you are much better able to find any weak points in your enemies, especially in between their Skill usage and compatibility.”

Zhou Weiqing thought for a moment, before realising that it was all true.

Long Shiya gave a cold laugh and said: “The true reason why the Four Great Saint Lands discriminate against the Heavenly Demon Sect is because of that ice cold perception. All those that I mention will allow a person to always be able to use his capabilities at a hundred and twenty percent, to reduce the chances of mistakes and yet capitalize on your enemies’ ones. This is not something that just strength, defense, offense, or Skills can bring to you. And this is what we term the ‘Ice Cold Perception’, and the true strength it brings…

In this state of ‘Ice Cold Perception’, not only will your judgement of both sides’ strength will improve, it will help you in choosing and using what Skills to use, judgement of the battleground and clarity in your surroundings and everything happening at once. Even if you lapse in consciousness, your personal strength can still be subconsciously brought into play at full power. However, in your previous usage of the Demonic Change State, it can be said that you have slightly neglected this most important tool it has provided, and as such you have not fully made use of the Demonic Change State.”

Zhou Weiqing’s heart was struck by a thought, and he said: “The Heavenly Demon Sect had once let me read their Demonic Manual to try and get me on their side… however, there was no mention of this at all in that Demonic Manual.”

Long Shiya laughed heartily and said: “The true power of the ‘Ice Cold Perception’, and how to improve it… that is the absolute core secret of the entire Heavenly Demon Sect. Unless you actually join them and become part of their core members, how could they possibly reveal it to you? Although the Heavenly Demon Sect is the weakest of the Five Great Saint Lands, none of the other four would underestimate them. In the Heavenly Demon Sect, there may not be many members who actually have the ability to use the Demonic Change State, at most over twenty people. Out of those, there are probably only six or seven who have reached the Heavenly King Stage or higher. Even so, with just these few powerhouses who are able to enter the Demonic Change State, even if they face off against ordinary Heavenly Emperors, they can still hold their own. According to conventional thinking, a Great Saint Lands requires at least one Heavenly Emperor Stage powerhouse to hold the fort, yet the Heavenly Demonly Sect does not have a single one, and even their Sect Master is at the Max Level of the Heavenly King Stage. Yet, even if I were to face off against him, if he went all out without caring about his own life, although he will not be able to defeat me easily, if I wanted to kill him, he would have a forty percent chance of dragging me into hell along with him… Do you know how terrifying that is… how massive the gap between the max level Heavenly King Stage and max level Heavenly Emperor Stage is? I can tell you accurately that the difference between the two is just like the gap between you currently with a Heavenly King Stage powerhouse. From the Heavenly King Stage onwards, each small stage is a major power increase, let alone the large stage. In such a circumstance, for the Demonic Change State to enable him to somewhat close that gap, you can imagine how terrifying that is… and why the other Four Great Saint Lands are so afraid of the Heavenly Demon Sect.”

At this moment, Zhou Weiqing felt unbelievably lucky in his heart, not because he had the Demonic Change State, but because he had a teacher like Long Shiya. It just felt so good to have a teacher to teach him and guide him on to the right path, allowing him to refrain from making wrong turns and mistakes.

“Master, then how should I practice this ‘Ice Cold Perception’? How do I bring the Demonic Change State to the maximum?”

Long Shiya fell silent for a moment as he lapsed into thought, before he said: “I once duelled with the Heavenly Demon Sect Sect Master and defeated him. However, it gave me the chance to witness the maximum power of the Demonic Change State… which is not having Demonic Change State…”

“Wha–?!” Zhou Weiqing’s eyes widened, his jaw agape. That answer had truly stunned him.

Long Shiya said: “What I mean by not having the Demonic Change State, could also be called a permanent-state Demonic Change State. That is to say, when one has trained the Demonic Change State to the maximum, on the surface you do not have any change, but your body is already permanently in the Demonic Change State.” “This is the true maximum level of the Demonic Change State, but as for how to reach it, I’m afraid that only the core members of the Heavenly Demon Sect would know this. Perhaps, this is something you have to fumble your way around to figure out… or maybe when you reach the Heavenly King Stage, you will be able to sense some clues and traces on how this will come to be. However, the link between the maximum level of the Demonic Change State and the ‘Ice Cold Perception’ is only in the sustaining of it forever, but the true profound secret in actually improving ‘Ice Cold Perception’ is in the training your mental and spiritual force.”

“What determines the strength of our perception and senses is actually our mental and spiritual force. The ‘Ice Cold Perception’ of the Demonic Change State is actually just using your body to consolidate your spirit and increase your sensory perceptions. As such, to improve the ‘Ice Cold Perception’, the main focus is to increase your spiritual energy. Out of the four Saint Attributes, Time, Spirit, Divine and Demonic, I do not even have one, but you actually have two of them! The best way to train your spiritual energy will be to to stay in the center of a spiritual force field, constantly being battered by outside spiritual energy forces, from weak to strong, constantly using that external stimulation to let your own spiritual energy grow.”

At this point, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but ask: “Master, in that case, the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers of the Heavenly Snow Mountain two Saint Attributes, the Divine and Spirit Attributes. Doesn’t that mean their sensory perception is also extremely strong? They would not be weaker than the Demonic Change State in that case right?”

Long Shiya said with a hint of surprise in his voice. “Not bad, you little rascal, you even know about the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tiger, you know quite a lot for your level! Actually, I was just about to say that if you want to improve your spiritual energy, you will actually need to ascend the Heavenly Snow Mountain. I have fought a few times with that old fellow on the Heavenly Snow Mountain, and have grown to have a slight friendship from that. As for your question, that is a good question indeed. Your guess is right, the Divine Heavenly Spirit Tigers of the Heavenly Snow Mountain also have extremely strong perceptions. However, their perception is improved through a spiritual force field, and they can use that extended senses to activate their attacks. On the other hand, the ‘Ice Cold Perception’ of the Demonic Change State is more towards a supportive role that is like a passive effect than an active one. The key phrase are the words ‘Ice Cold’, to be in the calmest coldest state to utilise one’s senses. It can be said that both have their own benefits and advantages compared to the other. After all, the Divine Attribute is also a Saint Attribute.”

Zhou Weiqing had a bitter look on his face: “I doubt I can actually ascend the Heavenly Snow Mountain to train right…” As he spoke those words, he suddenly thought of Tian’er, about that night, and his heart fluttered. However, he knew very clearly that with his current power, he did not have the qualification to ascend the Heavenly Snow Mountain to look for Tian’er.”

Long Shiya laughed heartily and said: “Well, there is another simpler method to train the ‘Ice Cold Perception’, but at the same time it is much less efficient and a lot slower. That is, you constantly maintain the Demonic Change State, to constantly feel and experience the ‘Ice Cold Perception’ while in that state and all the various intricacies, learning all you can about it. At the same time, when you are cultivating and training normally, you can do so while in the Demonic Change State, for as long as you can.”

…

—————

Highest Level of the Demonic Change State! (3)

“My Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts is split into several large attainment states. The first is mimicking, that is the one you have barely stepped into. The second state is compression, for this you have also started learning the basis. However, your learning was not in an orderly, gradual and structured manner, and this is not a good thing. As such, I need you to focus on training on the mimicking stage to the maximum in the following time when you are training with me. Your first step is to bring your mimicking to the absolute max. That is to say, whatever your cultivation stage is at, you must be able to mimic all the Skills of your Attributes that your cultivation stage can handle, and be able to swap around freely.”

Zhou Weiqing said: “Master, what other attainment states are behind then?”

Long Shiya said: “Mimic, compress, next up is control. Once those Skills you mimic are compressed, their power is naturally increased exponentially, and their Star Rating is also increased. By this point, it will be the main test of your control over your Skills. As compared to Stored Skills, mimicking Skills have a much greater requirement on your control, not just while mimicking, but also the fact that when you are attacking, you need to make those Skills become an extension of your body. If you are able to reach this third attainment stage, then you will be considered having the first step of success in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts. The next will be the fourth attainment stage, sublimation and evolving, and this much more intricate and involves many profound mysteries. On the surface level, it is about letting a Skill evolve constantly, and at this point, you need to make some difficult choices.”

“For those of us at the Heavenly Emperor Stage, in truth we do not use many Skills, just a few. However, each and every one of those thoroughly tempered and well-seasoned, with countless of possibilities and myriad changes. After all, no matter how many Skills you have, if you are facing a powerhouse, what is the point if you do not have the chance to use them all? As such, when it comes to the Heavenly King Stage and beyond, the greatest aspiration of all Skills is to be instant-cast. Simply put, let’s say we are at equal levels and you have a Heavenly God Tier Skill, but I only have a mere five Star Rated Skill. However, when we fight, I use my Skill to instantly kill you, what is the point of your Heavenly God Tier Skill then? That is the reason why up to a certain power level, the true powerhouses will be pursuing the increase of power of Skills with the premise that they have to be instant-cast. In a fight against such equals, not only is the control of your own Skills of utmost importance, the control of the battlefield and control of your opponents in not allowing them to gather power and unleash spells. All of that is necessary.”

Without question, all that Long Shiya was describing was opening a whole new world to Zhou Weiqing, giving him a sudden enlightenment towards his future, to know the path towards being a true powerhouse in the future and the direction his cultivation and training had to take.

“Teacher, what are we waiting for then? Please start guiding me now. How about this, I will learn and practice your Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts under your guidance while still maintaining the Demonic Change State. In this way, not only can I gain experience in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts, the increase in senses will also help in that factor. At the same time, I can also train in my Demonic Change State and the ‘Ice Cold Perception’. As long as I keep in mind and remember all the various changes of the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts while in the Demonic Change State, it will also help me improve in my normal usage outside of it.”

Long Shiya laughed heartily and said: “Very good, you are indeed a promising student. That is exactly what I was about to ask you to do. Your resting time will be when your Heavenly Energy is not enough to maintain the Demonic Change State, and you can meditate and recover during that period.”

“Yes!”

…

Long Shiya began to officially start teaching and guiding Zhou Weiqing in his cultivation. As for the training of the Peerless Battalion soldiers, it was still left to Shangguan Fei’er, Wei Feng and the seven god archers of the Heavenly Bow Unit.

The more he personally taught Zhou Weiqing, the more Long Shiya realised how terrifying his young disciple’s innate talent was. Perhaps, in terms of his self coordination and control, Zhou Weiqing was not the greatest. However, his mind was his greatest weapon. As long as Long Shiya gave some simple pointers, he was almost always able to comprehend it and draw inferences to many future steps ahead, and more importantly, able to make use of it in actual practice, finding the simplest method to implement the lessons into his cultivation.

The next surprising thing for Long Shiya was the sheer speed of Zhou Weiqing’s recovery. By this time, his Immortal Deity Technique had reached the nineteenth stage, with nineteen energy whirlpools of the respective Death Acupuncture Points whirling and drawing in energy at full power, causing his Heavenly Energy to recover at insane speeds far beyond any Heavenly Jewel Master of equal power, or even beyond. After all his Heavenly Energy was expended, it barely took him fifteen minutes to fully recover once more. At the same time, he was starting to practice in limiting his Demonic Change State, to maintain the ‘Ice Cold Perception’ while cutting down on other energy expenses conservatively.

It might sound complicated, but in truth, what Zhou Weiqing did was to reduce the physical boost that the Demonic Change State brought to his body. With that reduction, it also greatly reduced the toll it took upon his Heavenly Energy.

Such an innovation allowed him to maintain his ‘new’ Demonic Change State for almost an hour, even at his mere nineteenth stage of Heavenly Energy. Such a feat was truly out of Long Shiya’s original expectations.

At the same time, with Long Shiya’s personal tutelage and the aid of the ‘Ice Cold Perception’ of the Demonic Change State, Zhou Weiqing’s training in the Six Ultimate Skill Manipulation Arts also improved by leaps and bounds, taking great strides in it every single day.

…

In the twinkling of an eye, a week had passed.

Just as Zhou Weiqing was immersed in the joy of continuous improvement, he was surprised by yet another good news passed down to him. The other Ruffian Battalions from the other northern armies had been sent to him, with Shen Ji personally leading men to escort them to the Peerless Battalion. The total number of them was about three thousand seven hundred men, of which the Central Northern Command had sent almost two thousand men. After all, the Central Northern Command was the biggest army in the entire north, almost the equal of the North West and North Eastern Armies combined.

With the arrival of the new batch of Ruffian soldiers, Shangguan Fei’er came to ask Zhou Weiqing how they were to deal with them.

Three thousand seven hundred men had already surpassed Zhou Weiqing’s original expectations, and he immediately called a meeting of the upper echelons of the Peerless Battalion to discuss their further plans.

The upper echelon of the Peerless Battalion was still the original few, though of the seven Heavenly Bow Unit archers, only Hua Feng attended. Besides that, there was Lin TianAo, Shangguan Fei’er, Wei Feng and the other ten Company Leaders. Currently, they were all gathered in Zhou Weiqing’s large Battalion Commander tent.

Currently, all of them had overjoyed expressions on their faces. After all, the Peerless Battalion could now hold their heads up high after the previous chasing away of the Sixteenth Regiment. Ever since that incident, no one had dared to come to cause trouble to them, and even all their requests for supplies had easily been green lit without any problems.

Now that another three thousand seven hundred fresh blood was incoming to their ranks, it would undoubtedly be a great boost to the Peerless Battalion.

…

That day, Shen Ji had brought Shen Bu to see their Master and adoptive father, the Vice Commander of the entire North-West Armies. However, that wise and farsighted old man did not bring them to offer an apology or attempt to smooth things over. He knew such belated actions would not have any great effect. Instead, he pushed for the North-East and Central North armies to hasten the process in sending their Ruffian Battalions over with a strong escort. Indeed, a strong escort was required to do so; otherwise what if those ruffians started causing trouble or run amuck?

Without question, this was what the Peerless Battalion most required now, and putting more effort in accomplishing those tasks was far more useful than just a mere apology. Actions spoke louder than words, and this was further represented by specially sending over pay and provisions. As for whatever supplies the Peerless Battalion required and requested for, as long as the North West Army Command had sufficient supplies, they would approve and send it without delay.

Indeed, given Zhou Weiqing’s description of the battle, the remaining corpses of the Swift Wolf Regiment had been quickly found, further ‘proving’ to Shen Ji and the others about Long Shiya’s power. At the same time, it had also given them the false impression that the Heaven’s Expanse Palace was planning to make a move in the border wars, and as a result they did not hesitate to give their full support to the Peerless Battalion.

…

“Battalion Commander, once our Peerless Battalion gains these new men, we will have the strength of almost half an entire Regiment already. Hahaha.” One of the stronger Company Leaders, an Eight-Jeweled Physical Jewel Master known as ‘Mammoth’ exclaimed excitedly.

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: “You must be planning how much bigger your Company will grow right?”

Mammoth grinned and said: “Heh heh, Boss, as you know, as our First Company is primarily made up of the Air Force Troops, we are the elite amongst even our Peerless Battalion. If there are any top quality fellows, you must give us the priority to grab them up!”

Naturally, the other Company Leaders would not take that lying down, and the tent burst out in arguments as they all tried to ‘snatch’ the top talents incoming.

“Alright, enough, everyone keep quiet. First, Second and Third Company, you all already have so many Air Force soldiers, it can be said that all my finest warriors are with you three, why are you still trying snatch from others? My goal is to let the entire Peerless Battalion be powerful, without any weak. Vice Commander Wei Feng, you record this and take note, there are a few things that I need to trouble you to coordinate and arrange.”

“Yes sir.” Wei Feng glared slightly at the noisy Company Leaders before giving a proper army salute towards Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing said solemnly: “The first thing is to get an accurate census of the men, and get all the details of all the new three thousand seven hundred of them. How many are Jewel Masters, Physical, Elemental or Heavenly Jewels, what their cultivation level is, how many have Heavenly Energy, what all their Heavenly Energy stages are, down to their Attributes etc… All of it in detail and recorded down. If they do not even have Heavenly Energy, reject them back for Legion Commander Shen Ji to handle.”

Wei Feng nodded and said: “Those who are totally without any Heavenly Energy at all are likely to be a minority. After all, in the northern borders, no matter which army’s Ruffian Battalion should be in a similar circumstance. Those without confidence in themselves would never dare to cause trouble in the army, and correspondingly would not end up in the Ruffian Battalion. Our registration and recording process has already started.”

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: “If we run into any trouble, let Chief Instructor Fei’er accompany you. Absolute strength is absolute truth. Fei’er, is that okay with you?”

Shangguan Fei’er glanced at him, then said passively: “It will be good to see some new blood with itchy skins, I really enjoy treating such ‘illnesses’.”

Upon hearing this, the entire tent gave a collective shudder involuntarily, with the exception of Hua Feng and Lin TianAo. The Company Leaders all suddenly fell quiet. It was clear all of them had been ‘treated’ such before.

Wei Feng continued: “Now, the biggest problem is that with those over three thousand men here, there are definitely a lot of new troublemakers with attitude problems. More importantly, some of them have pretty decent strength as well… if not for the fact that the Seventh Legion has stationed two Regiments around their temporary camp to guard them, perhaps some serious trouble would have already arisen. We need to be able to deal with that as soon as possible.”