What she exchanged for the extra protagonist's halo was not just the method to make a sound transmission talisman, but also a control tool similar to a dandelion.

Xu Jinhuan held the dandelion root in his hand, which was the main prop, while the scattered dandelions were the auxiliary props, which could split and facilitate human-to-human transmission.

Once Xu Jinhuan gives the order, all those who have been sheltered by dandelions will stop what they are doing and obey Xu Jinhuan's command.

However, although this prop is very powerful, it has a limit on the number of people it can hold, with a maximum capacity of five thousand.

This is why Xu Jinhuan waited until these people were about to go to the military camp before preparing to put the dandelion on them.

Xu Jinhuan snapped out of his reverie and smiled as he addressed the group, "Eat this Body Tempering Pill, and I wish you all the best!"

Everyone nodded respectfully and solemnly swallowed the Body Tempering Pill. After a short while, they all cried out in pain.

"ah!"

"It feels like someone is pulling out my tendons!"

"I'm even worse off; it feels like someone is hitting my bones hard."

Xu Jinhuan calmly instructed, "You all need to hold back. As long as you can get through this, everyone will have unexpected gains."

After about fifteen minutes, people gradually regained consciousness.

"Hey, my arms seem to have gotten thicker!"

"Me too, me too, I feel like my legs have gotten a lot thicker too."

"I feel full of energy right now and want to find someone to fight."

Xu Jinhuan interrupted the chattering crowd with a smile, "Alright, there's not much time left, everyone hurry back and say goodbye to your families."

Her words instantly snapped everyone out of their fighting spirit. Yes, the fight could take place anytime, but the only time to say goodbye was now.

Soon, the once bustling ancestral hall returned to tranquility, with only Xu Jinhuan and Ma Wencai remaining inside.

"Wencai, here's a communication talisman for you. If anything happens, burn this talisman and I'll know immediately." Xu Jinhuan handed the communication talisman to Ma Wencai.

Ma Wencai happily accepted the communication talisman, and his little mouth immediately started chattering non-stop.

"I knew the boss wouldn't forget me. Humph, that guy Li Yichang was bragging to me last night, and now I have one too!"

Li Yichang was surprised that Ma Wencai had made his childish behavior public, and he coughed awkwardly twice.

"Ahem, boss, it's getting late. Ma Wencai and I still have some things to pack. We'll go pack our luggage first."

After saying that, disregarding Ma Wencai's wishes, he grabbed Ma Wencai by the collar and dragged him outside.

Ma Wencai looked at Li Yichang with a blank expression and muttered, "Luggage? Wasn't it packed last night?"

Hey, wait, why are you pulling my collar? I'm about to leave, and you won't let me spend more time with the boss? Are you worried that I'll steal your place in the boss's heart?

I knew you were up to no good!

As Xu Jinhuan listened to Ma Wencai's voice fading into the distance, he shook his head helplessly. That loudmouth was finally gone.

She turned to Xie Datou beside her and handed him the sound transmission talismans, but this time she handed him ten, not just one.

"Big Head, I made all of these last night. You can choose to keep them with you or give them to others, just make sure they can contact me in an emergency."

Xie Datou respectfully accepted the communication talismans with both hands. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Boss, I plan to select a few loyal and clever team leaders and have them equipped with them as well."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "Okay, we'll do it your way. Be careful in the military camp."

After giving a few more instructions, Xu Jinhuan and the others left the ancestral hall and went back to their rooms to have breakfast.

After breakfast, more than fifty people gathered at the village entrance at the call of the village head.

"Fifty-two people in total, not bad, two more than expected. Blackfish Village is doing well this year."

The armored soldier looked at the conscription list in surprise, then at the new recruits dressed in animal skins, and then smiled as he spoke to Lin Lizheng.

Lin Lizheng smiled awkwardly upon hearing this. If he could, he would rather not accept such praise and instead keep these able-bodied men in the village.

"Alright, all of you, stay close behind my horse and move quickly. We need to get back to the city before dark."

After saying that, the soldier spurred his horse, making it run fast.

The sound of horses' hooves soon rang out.

"Stand firm, all of you! Anyone who falls behind will be punished according to military law!" the soldier shouted as he turned around.

He thought this would be a show of force to the new recruits of Blackfish Village, but when he turned around, he found that the recruits had already followed behind the horses without saying a word, and even though the horses were running very fast, they were not far behind.

"They're in good shape. If they can keep going like this until they reach the county town, I'll report them to the commander. Maybe I'll even get a reward," the soldier muttered to himself with a smile.

The Blackfish Village people following behind the horse rolled their eyes silently upon hearing this.

In their hearts, however, they were filled with admiration for their leader's uncanny foresight, truly thanks to the body-strengthening pills he bestowed upon them before his departure!

Otherwise, even if their physical condition had improved after being exiled, they wouldn't be able to easily keep up with the horses.

Xu Jinhuan, who was being thanked by everyone, was lazily stretching when he sneezed.

"Who's talking about me?" Xu Jinhuan muttered to himself.

After saying that, she looked south, a glimmer of hope in her eyes, "Logically, it should be time, why hasn't there been any response yet..."

Li Xiaoxiao looked at Xu Jinhuan with a puzzled expression and asked curiously, "Sister Xu, what are you looking at? There's nothing there."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and patted Li Xiaoxiao's head, saying softly, "Sister is looking for hope."

"Hope?" Li Xiaoxiao looked in the direction Xu Jinhuan had been looking, and looked again and again, but still did not see the hope Xu Jinhuan had mentioned.

Xu Jinhuan explained with a smile, "It's not a concrete hope, but..."

Before Xu Jinhuan could finish speaking, she felt a surge of immense power flow into her body.

"Click"

"Click"

It sounded like the body's barrier breaking.

Xu Jinhuan immediately said seriously, "Xiaoxiao, your sister is about to break through, I don't know if it will affect the people around her, you go and stay with Zhiying for now."

After saying that, she used her lightness skill to quickly fly back to her residence.

Back in his room, Xu Jinhuan sat back on the kang (a heated brick bed), relaxing his mind and body, feeling the immense power within him.

[Host, this energy... how... how did you manage to do that?]

System Xiao Wang was utterly shocked. Was this a level that a human could achieve?

Xu Jinhuan quickly calmed the surging power, slowly repairing his damaged meridians and accumulating strength for another breakthrough, all the while thinking to himself.

"Back then, I used points to buy several Dream-Making Talismans and Location Talismans, didn't I?"

System Xiao Wang asked, puzzled.

[Host, I know all this, but what does it have to do with this surge in power?]