Jian Yi held the long sword and slowly walked onto the ring. The first match of the second stage was his match.

When he walked onto the ring, Jian Yi stood still.

A man followed him onto the stage.

"It's a member of the Mahakala family, Blood Sword Stranger."

"I heard that he was just recruited by Mahakala. He is in the late Jindan stage and his swordsmanship is invincible."

"Who is his opponent?"

"I don't know him. He seems like a pretender."

"Jian Yi, it seems like he was the sword cultivator who eliminated Boss Zhou with one sword strike at the very beginning."

"Do you know how strong he is?"

“No one knows!”

“…”

There was a lot of discussion below, but Jian Yi remained unmoved and looked calmly at the person who stepped onto the stage.

"Blood Sword Stranger!"

"Sword One."

After both sides exchanged greetings calmly, the referee announced the start and quickly retreated. The moment the referee withdrew from the ring, a blood-red sword energy rose from the ring and surged towards Jian Yi.

“So strong.”

"As expected of a swordsman favored by Mahakala, your sword energy is so strong."

"Only a Yuanying master can take this move, right?"

"He used his ultimate moves right from the start, without any contempt for his opponent."

“…”

The audience at the edge of the ring were shocked by the violent sword energy.

In the first stage, those expert players were hiding their abilities. Now in the second stage, only the best players who can enter are selected from hundreds, so there is no need to hide their abilities anymore.

The blood-red sword energy was so violent that the arena seemed to be shrouded in red mist.

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled, a tiny sword mark cut the red mist in half.

In an instant, the red mist formed by the sword energy dissipated.

In the middle of the ring, the long sword in Jian Yi's hand was just an inch away from Blood Sword Stranger's neck. Cold sweat flowed from Blood Sword Stranger's temple and his eyelids were twitching wildly.

"You lose."

"I give up."

Blood Sword Stranger seemed to exhaust all his strength to utter those three words, and the next moment he collapsed to the ground. This was a game, yet he truly felt the oppressive feeling of death.

"In the first group, Jian Yi wins." The referee quickly announced the result.

When the result came out, the audience outside the venue was in an uproar.

They thought that the Blood Sword Stranger, who was so powerful, actually lost, and lost so completely.

What is the origin of this man? A huge question appeared in everyone's mind.

Amidst everyone's confusion, Jian Yi put away his sword and slowly walked down the stage.

Almost the moment he stepped off the stage, the recruiters from the major guilds who were waiting nearby immediately surrounded him.

"Nice talent." Shangguan Wan'er appeared beside Diao Chan and glanced at Jian Yi as he walked off the stage. "Should we try to recruit him?"

"I don't think it's necessary." Diao Chan shook her head and said, "Sword cultivators who specialize in swords are all extremely Dao-oriented, have eccentric personalities, and are difficult to communicate with."

"Forget it then." Shangguan Wan'er looked at Yang Zhu beside Diao Chan and asked, "Is this the member we just recruited?"

"Yes, her name is Yang Zhu."

"Hello, I'm Jinghongke, the deputy palace master of the Human Emperor Palace." Shangguan Wan'er said.

"Hello." Yang Zhu shyly replied to Shangguan Wan'er, "I'm Yang Zhu, a newbie who only knows a few skills in raising spirit beasts."

"As long as you have talent."

Shangguan Wan'er didn't care about anything else.

"Let's go meet up with Sister Ying'er first?"

"good."

…

Imperial capital, Grand Council.

This is the highest military power institution of the Great Xia Empire, headed by Lin Han, assisted by other counselors and generals. All military affairs are reported to the Grand Council instead of the Cabinet, and the military and politics are separated.

Military generals such as Bai Qi, Li Jing, Yue Fei, Han Xin, and Wei Qing were among them, and counselors such as Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Tian Feng, and Xi Zhicai were also among his advisors.

The two columns form the General Staff and the War Generals Department of the Grand Council.

The General Staff is responsible for military affairs and military strategy, while the Generals Department is responsible for training troops and leading them into battle.

The two departments are under the management of the Strategic Department of the Grand Council, which is currently composed of nine people, including Lin Han, Bai Qi, Li Jing, Yue Fei, Han Xin, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Tian Feng and Xi Zhicai. The Strategic Department is headed by Lin Han.

Many generals and counselors in the field sat upright, without saying a word, and were all focusing on the matters in their hands.

Because this matter is a bit serious and is something Lin Han is about to announce, they need to know about it in advance.

Suddenly, the door of the Grand Council opened and Lin Han appeared at the door. Behind Lin Han followed Zhang Liang, Dian Wei and Cao Zhengchun.

Everyone inside stood up and looked in the direction of Lin Han. Only after Lin Han sat down in the first seat did everyone else sit down.

"Have you all read the information mentioned?"

Lin Han looked around and spoke slowly.

"The establishment of the [Military Division] allows righteous armies throughout the world to form guilds, creating a certain level of military power. While not significant, it is still a threat. Regulation will be necessary in the future to prevent the unbridled expansion of civilian guilds."

Hearing this, everyone nodded, but did not speak.

"In the future, these guilds will build villages and towns to serve as their gathering places. Guilds are complex, and oversight is a heavy task. They also require the use of force to deter 'heroes from violating the law through force.'

I have decided to place the [Military Affairs Division] under the direct management of the Military Affairs Council. Personnel will be dispatched from the military headquarters to oversee the various guild bases. Guilds violating registration regulations will be punished by the military headquarters. Guild registration fees, the sale of city orders, and guild taxes and fines will all be added to the military budget as military expenses.

Upon hearing this, everyone on the field showed joy.

The income of [Wu Si] is not low. If this money and resources enter the military, it will definitely significantly enhance the strength of the Daxia Legion.

"Will the cabinet have any objections?" Tian Feng asked.

"Opinion?"

Lin Han shook his head.

"They won't have any objections. The major guilds rely on the military for deterrence, so naturally, the money must go to the military. In the Great Xia Empire, all affairs must give way to military affairs, and military affairs come first. If we have money but don't use it for military expenses, are we going to keep it and wait for the country to be destroyed and become someone else's spoils of war?"

Many generals and counselors on the scene silently gave a thumbs up.

Yes, if you have money but don't develop your army, will it be left as spoils for others? Everyone on the field has a say in the matter of spoils.

"[Military Division] Yu Du will serve as Director, with Gong Ming, Jun Yi, and Bo Cai serving as Deputy Directors. You will select personnel from the military to form a management team and dispatch personnel to oversee the various guild headquarters. All matters concerning the Military Division will report directly to the Strategic Department of the Military Affairs Council."

"yes."

Inside the Grand Council, Yu Du, Xu Huang, Zhang He and Bo Cai stood up to accept the order.

"Also, some of the legions will be reorganized to form national defense guards, dispersed across the states and counties. This will allow them to be deployed at any time to suppress any guild rebellion. The Military Affairs Council's Strategic Department will issue specific orders regarding the reorganization of these legions soon."

"Zhong Kang will be the commander-in-chief of the Zhenguo Guard, Shu Zhi will be the deputy commander-in-chief, and Yuan Zhi will be the staff officer. Major matters will be reported directly to the Strategic Affairs Department of the Grand Council."

"yes."

Xu Chu, Chen Dao and Xu Shu stood up and saluted together to accept the order and transfer.

"There is one more thing. In the future, the best cultivation resources of the Great Xia Empire will be tilted towards the military. I need you to build an invincible army that can defeat immortals and Buddhas in the sky, slay ghosts and gods on the earth, and guard the human world." Lin Han said seriously.

"yes."

Inside the Grand Council, everyone stood up at once, their expressions solemn.