Justin Ankar

Chapter 261 - Formation Armor

After a thorough search, he picked out formations that could be formed with the least number of array symbols. Then he cut it down again to formations with the most symbols in common. From there he created a list of the twenty symbols required and found every formation he could that used only those symbols. Then he added and removed a few formations from his list based on their effectiveness. Specifically, there was a fifth rank formation that he made an exception for. The other ...

Chapter 260 - Formation Reformation

With the help from Tao Ba, Sage had a perfected version of the spear ready. He immediately rounded up all the Hoplites that had been refining bricks and started training them to form different array symbols. While he had wanted the concept to remain a secret of the Holy Flame Sect, Sage stretched the rules and put into use some mass production techniques. The Hoplites were quite simple creatures and if he wanted to make them into Refiners there was no telling how long it would ta...

Chapter 259 - Study Break

Sage broke his research into two stages. First, the upgrade of the basic soldiers equipment. Second, the improvements tailored for the Seven Stars. The research and development of powerful new equipment for the Seven Stars would take much longer than the improvements for the basic soldiers. On the other hand, the basic equipment would have to be produced in great numbers. The faster he could perfect the designs the sooner he could get others to help produce them. 

Afte...

Chapter 258 - Consolidation

With the crisis averted, Sage could only reflect upon the fact that the Hoplites had only fought on equal ground with the Fierce Tigers. If the provincial rulers were first rate powers, and county level figures were second rate powers, then the Fierce Tigers could be considered a high level third rate power. They could easily control a city or more than one if they wanted to. That meant the Jade Horde was only a third rate power. While impressive for being established only a few ...

Chapter 257 - Reaching an Agreement

One of Mao Rong’s eyebrows seemed to climb up his forehead. Then it slowly came back down again and the man knocked his knuckles against the armrest of his seat. After pondering and continuing the idle knuckle knocking he leaned over towards his assistant, Zhu Jin, and seemed to have a short conversation with her. They used some sort of methods to ensure secrecy, but Sage didn’t mind. The fact that they didn’t immediately dismiss his demand was promising. Sage could have ma...

Chapter 256 - Cloudmetal Consortium

Sage maintained his infirm appearance and a large number of Hoplites acted as a guard, escorting him around camp as he installed a very powerful alarm formation. It was also quite expensive. One of the most foolproof methods, anything containing energy would also need to be carrying a token keyed to them or the formation would sound an alert and point out the energy source. There was always a way to get around any defense or alarm, but this one was quite difficult to circumvent. ...

Chapter 255 - Fortified

With flying cavalry as backup, the whole force pulled to within the stone wall. Instead of a ring around the the mine, they only had to form a shield wall in the gate. Anyone that wanted to come over the wall would have to deal with the Vulture Geckos. The work picked back up again and the fortifications were completed without any further interruption. The wall rose higher and higher. Their makeshift quarry, a rocky hill, had already disappeared and now a squad of Vulture Geckos ...

Chapter 254 - Hundred Spike Tigers

Almost immediately after Sage started to act cocky, he had to dive aside. The two remaining men in the hallway both brought out a huge crossbow from their Storage Rings. They only fired once before Sage was out of view, but he still got grazed across the ankle. With Foresight, he’d seen that the third weapon he’d been trying to build already existed. He hadn’t had time to perfect the idea, but it seems he was behind the times. With a Storage Bag to hold ammo, he just had to...

Chapter 253 - Close Quarters

Around the single bend in the tunnel was a single chamber. The hallway was about an eight foot square, and the chamber was about four times that size. The room was about thirty feet long and wide, with a ten foot ceiling. For a mine it would be a massive chamber, but it was specifically excavated just for Sage to hide the Formation Machine, or to release secret troops. Sage thought about deactivating the Human Seal, but he wasn’t about to go that far yet. If anyone were to esca...

Chapter 252 - Battle

There was a thundering clash when thousand of pounds of flesh smashed into an interlocked wall of shields. The Hoplites shortened their line to match the size of the cavalry charge while the Fierce Tigers were trapped inside the array. The hundred hoplites in the front line met the charge of fifty horses and beasts. The numbers on both sides were almost even, and the initial array was focused upon reducing the effect of Qi based ranged techniques. It was a battle centered around ...

Chapter 251 - The Charge

The Fierce Tigers had a grudge with the Jade Horde, and the Cloudmetal Consortium had already paid them to seize the mine away. Even the leader was a little unsure of their chances, but it was too late for regrets. He focused the effect of his talisman and cleared a hundred foot gap in front of their charge. He wasn’t a fool, after hiding their vision the enemy would naturally want to interrupt their charge with obstructions. He let the mist close in on them from the back and s...

Chapter 250 - Riding a Tiger

While the Cloudmetal Consortium was plotting, Sage sent off a message and then returned to building defenses. With the time crunch they were facing he even diverted a few of the Hoplites and had them quickly start digging. It would look like they were just starting the mine in advance, but in actuality, Sage just wanted a private room where the Cloudmetal Consortium couldn’t spy on them. The human cultivators continued to carve stone blocks and Sage was refining them with simpl...

Chapter 249 - Negotiations

When he heard Sage’s words, Li Song frowned. While the man in front of him looked like he was fawning over him, in fact he’d already started to come up with ways to strengthen his bargaining position. Li Song suddenly felt a headache start. The man in front of him was acting like he was doing them a favor, when actually he was fortifying his position. 

“In that case, just tear it all down. We certainly wouldn’t want you to get a heart demon from unfinished work...

Chapter 248 - The Mine

They had hired a prospector to examine the territory surrounding each of their new villages. It was a profession he’d never studied back at the Holy Flame Sect and it had served them well so far. The problem was that as soon as the Cloudmetal Charcoal was found, the prospector immediately severed all ties with them, reporting the news to his superiors and then immediately going on the run. If he just disappeared without a trace then the organization he worked for, The Gold Ethe...

Chapter 247 - Diversifying

The gathering at the Kang Clan seemed to come to a close. The Kang Clan Patriarch had left the hall and some of the guests began to take their leave. Others left for rooms within the hall and Sage guessed it was the time for backroom deals and maneuvering. Since there was little chance of a bird flying around the hall unnoticed, Sage could only stay out of things for now. He gave the Seven Stars a bit more time to finish chatting with their newly made friends before leading the J...

Chapter 246 - Gifts

With the Husband Selection event finished, the newly formed couples were led out of the hall by the Elder who had presided over the ceremony. A moment later, some servants brought a few others out of the crowd. Those others being people from the same groups that the successful husbands to be had arrived with. 

Probably just arranging the future marriages.

The still single women of the Kang Clan left in their wedding dresses and a few minutes later they r...

Chapter 245 - Husband Selection

From a doorway deeper into the hall, behind the Kang Clan members, a small group walked out. At the lead of the group was a young girl, with a fresh face and a slim physique. She wore an elaborate red dress, the traditional wedding dress in this world. Her hair and makeup weren’t at all lacking in comparison to her dress. Her cheeks were flushed slightly with a blush. She had a shy and demure look on her face, though the thin veil she wore made it harder to see. 

It ...

Chapter 244 - The Event

The Jade Horde traveled around the outer edge of the hall with Gao Yahui and greeted those who wanted to meet them. Those that were being standoffish he ignored, they were either small and weak or fair weather friends. The small groups had to choose their friends wisely, because if they befriended the wrong group that groups enemies might use them as an example. Sage couldn’t really blame the small groups for protecting themselves and he didn’t really care much for the groups...

Chapter 243 - Disapproving Crowd

Disheveled, and a mess, Sage bowed his head to Kang Yung and then turned around. Walking back the way he’d came and turning to head into the outer crowd rather than the central area. He moved to join the crowd and as he moved to join them he realized the difference in treatment. It was like the Kang Clan were standing on a large well lit dance floor, separated from the crowd by many tables they weren’t even allowed to sit at. Further away, there were buffet tables, something ...

Chapter 242 - Frowned Upon

Whenever Sage was laying it on thick with his flattery and words of praise, he could get a read on the other party and tailor his further words to match. Usually, a frown meant that the person was pretending like they didn’t enjoy such flattery, but in most cases they just didn’t want to be seen as someone who did. In that case, Sage could just be less obvious with his compliments and weave them in among other more normal talk and not just outright praise a person endlessly. ...

Chapter 241 - The Kang Clan

Sage would have preferred not to make his public appearance as the leader the Jade Horde until after he’d formed his core. Having a leader in the fourth rank would not be nearly as prestigious as a Core Formation cultivator. When he arrived with subordinates that were more powerful than he was it would undermine his authority as a strong fighter. It sent the message that he was more of a figurehead or administrator and not a powerful backer for the team. They didn’t have time...

Chapter 240 - Bronze Tiger Province

Even when Sage had attended the Thunder Mountain Bridge competition, he had only learned superficial information about the major players in the Dou Kingdom. At the time he’d only been concerned about the people that would be showing up for the tournament and what he might have to run into. Now that he was in charge of building an intelligence network through the Kingdom, he put in a little more effort. In truth, it wasn’t that big of a deal to the Holy Flame Sect. Even when P...

Chapter 239 - Little Birds

The Jade Horde continued to expand its influence. Given that he was recruiting mercenaries to do work as mercenaries, all he did was supply them with equipment and cannon fodder troops in the form of the Hoplites. Their bravery and resilience were exemplary, and their commanders treated them well. Sage had already started selecting and training his agents, with their first tasks being to investigate the other members of the Jade Horde. Sage hadn’t had time to carefully check th...

Chapter 238 - Growth

Sage held back his laughter and rushed into action. Despite the purpose Ruanfu wanted the golden eagle for, Sage also found it to be an exceptional beast. Given the seemingly infinite number of beasts in the world, this wasn’t one he could immediately identify, but it was definitely exquisite. After the experience of battling King the first time, Sage had improved his methods. A large cannon like object appeared in his hands, the barrel of it was strangely shaped. Instead of a ...

Chapter 237 - Expansion

Sage felt a bit deficient as a leader, not even bothering to truly remember the names of the first Seven Stars. At least a few of them were very promising talents, but they still hadn’t ever joined a sect. That meant they either didn’t have the natural talent for cultivation, or they despised joining such rigid organizations. As such, it would be difficult to find the people that he truly envisioned as being the Seven Stars. If he could find seven truly powerful and skilled l...

Chapter 236 - Seven Stars

With many complaints, the 17 trainees worked on their papers, and none of them were able to finish before the time ran out. That was of course, part of the test. Sage made sure that there were more than a few time wasting questions on the test and even if they were skipped only the fastest would be able to finish the rest. The questions past the first quarter of the test weren’t really important, it was more of a psychological test to see how they handled the test they couldnâ€...

Chapter 235 - Jade Horde

Sage wasn’t stupid enough to think that the Emerald Hoplites could be left alone. He was conducting missions here in Bronze Tiger province for a few reasons. First, to test the capabilities of the Hoplites. Second, to raise the reputation of the Jade Horde. Third, and most importantly, he aimed to recruit talents. It would be far too suspicious to have only Emerald Hoplites in his mercenary company. While it wasn’t an unheard of thing for demi-humans to form their own groups,...

Chapter 234 - Dragon Heritage

While the experimentation with his third meridian system seemed to be successful, it was still untried and reliant on the new meridian system being tough enough to handle the energies he tried to channel through it. Even if the mouth structure of the Warp Worm could handle an attack, it didn’t mean that it wouldn’t destroy the meridians. 

I’ll need to figure out a way to strengthen the meridians without a cultivation technique.

The dragon bloodline...

Chapter 233 - Hoplites

The Hoplites had not let him down. Their memories were working perfectly and they could act in complete unified formations. The partial human seals were working quite well, looking like tattoos on their chests over their hearts. Their appearance was shocking enough that the little tattoo was barely noticeable. They looked very similar to humans except at their extremities. From the elbow and knee down they had insect exoskeletons. They also had a carapace on their heads with only...

Chapter 232 - Exercise

Bushes were crushed and branches were snapped. Something slid across the ground and gravel was kicked up, knocking against the nearby trees and rocks. The loud noises driving away everything in the area. A dull thump rung out in the newly created clearing, the sound of two powerful bodies crashing together. Hide and muscle smashing together, backed by bones that resisted the impact, neither side giving way. Two creatures circled each other, one of them a black wolf the size of a ...