This was Hou Yuxiao''s instruction from long before; once the army arrived, Hou Yucheng would first come back to inform Hou Yuxiao and take the opportunity to see his newborn nephew Hou Wuji.

    Hou Yuxiao didn''t linger in this leisure time. With Hou Yucheng leading the army back, he would have to start being busy, and could only reluctantly bid farewell to Zhao Qingxue, then he took the Second Elder, the Third Elder, and the Fourth Elder to Baiye Camp.

    With multiple expansions and the continuous funding from the Hou Clan, Baiye Camp''s scale reached unprecedented grandeur, able to accommodate a training of three hundred thousand troops simultaneously. Essentially accommodating so many, it should no longer be considered a camp but rather a city; however, under Hou Yuxiao''s deliberate maintenance, Baiye Camp still only retained the functions of a military camp.

    On usual days, when there are no trainings, only a part of the soldiers is left for maintenance. Once training commences, all necessary supplies within the camp, including clothing, food, shelter, war horses, grain, and essential staff, are supplied by specially assigned people from the Prefectural City.

    Previously, Hou Yuduan suggested converting Baiye Camp into a military city, allowing others to come and do business, not only solving supply issues but also providing more convenience to soldiers. However, after several discussions, Hou Yuxiao ultimately rejected it.

    Transforming a camp into a city seems a mere change of a word, but the two are worlds apart. Once it''s changed to a city, all sorts of people would mix in, and then it would be chaotic; even the Hou Clan''s assets could be exposed thoroughly. Of course, complete confidentiality at the moment is impossible, but at least, with supplies managed by designated personnel and following camp regulations, unnecessary prying could be avoided, and that''s enough.

    Above Baiye Camp, Hou Yuxiao looked at the dense tents of soldiers below, and turning back, he asked, "Apart from the 1.28 million troops brought back from Nanping, how many troops from Hexi are here this time?"

    Hou Yucheng cupped his hands and said, "I have left only one hundred thousand troops each in Jiujun and Longxiang Counties; the remaining four hundred thousand Hexi soldiers have all been transferred here."

    Jiujun County guards against the western Leiyin Temple, and Longxiang County guards against the eastern Wuwei King. These are currently the two greatest threats to the Hou Clan. Even though no problems are expected at either location at present, being prepared is certainly beneficial. Upon hearing Hou Yucheng''s arrangement, Hou Yuxiao nodded, looked at the camp below, and softly asked:

    "Zhaoyang Army with 180,000, Hexi Army with 400,000, Annan Army has a million troops, with 1.58 million soldiers in total. How many can you estimate to supplement the Red Flame Army, and can we quickly restore to the level before we went to Nanjiang?"

    To become a Red Flame Army soldier, the minimum cultivation requirement is the Tenth Level of Body Opening, as only then can the Holy Army Code be imparted; secondly, loyalty is essential. Baiye Camp has long established a comprehensive selection mechanism. These matters Hou Yucheng has already calculated beforehand; when Hou Yuxiao asked, he only pondered for a moment before shaking his head and answering:

    "Before going to Nanjiang, the Red Flame Army was fully staffed with three hundred thousand; this time, we left two thousand for Old Fifth, now there''s only a hundred thousand, meaning it''s unrealistic to fill twenty thousand in a short time!"

    Hou Yucheng paused, continuing: "Before coming to Baiye Camp, I roughly figured it out; those with Tenth Level of Body Opening cultivation, Zhaoyang Army has the highest proportion with 34,217 people; Hexi Army has 41,217; the worst is the Annan Army, with a million troops only having 8,721. Even combining all, it''s less than eighty thousand, which still falls short by more than half from twenty thousand, let alone, these people can''t all be selected into the Red Flame Army."

    These data actually don''t have much of an issue.

    The Red Flame Army is the clan''s strongest elite, and the soldiers'' cultivation talents are inherently the best among the three armies. The low proportion of soldiers with Tenth Level of Body Opening cultivation in Zhaoyang and Hexi Armies is quite normal.

    As for the Annan Army composed entirely of Martial Artists from Nanping Prefecture, their quality is even worse. Initially, Tenth Level of Body Opening was just over ten thousand; before returning to Hexi, Hou Yuxiao left fifty thousand to Old Fifth, so those meeting cultivation standards are fewer, merely over eight thousand.

    The key is, the battle in Nanjiang caused severe damage to the clan''s army, causing the Yuan Qi to not have recovered even after half a year.

    Martial Artists'' cultivation doesn''t advance quickly without adequate time to mature; even with Hou Clan''s current financial abundance, it''s impossible to mass-produce warriors of the Tenth Level of Body Opening—unless...…

    Hou Yucheng thought of something, lifted his head to look at Hou Yuxiao.

    Surely knowing what he was thinking, Hou Yuxiao asked softly, "If there were ample Primordial Blood, how long would you estimate it would take to fully restore the Red Flame Army''s structure?"

    Hou Yucheng shuddered, bowing his head in contemplation briefly.

    "With sufficient Primordial Blood, within two years, the Red Flame Army could definitely be restored to its pre-battle structure. We already have many soldiers whose cultivation couldn''t reach the Tenth Level of Body Opening due to innate talent and constitution limits. As long as this issue is resolved, everything else would be solvable!"

    In these twenty-odd days, Hou Yuxiao had stayed in the Prefectural City; Hou Yuling and Hou Yujie had already experienced Primordial Blood. Upon hearing Hou Yucheng''s words at this moment, they both nodded affirmatively.

    "Two years is too slow, won''t do...…" S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    This sentence from Hou Yuxiao left the trio stunned.

    Two years for twenty thousand Red Flame Army troops—is that still slow?

    Just as they were about to inquire, Hou Yuxiao suddenly gestured, enveloping the trio with an aura. As they were all at the Full Completion of Yuandan Level and couldn''t resist Hou Yuxiao''s aura, coupled with their lack of vigilance against Hou Yuxiao, they were instantly controlled by him. Then, a flash of brilliance enveloped them, and all disappeared from the sky.

    The trio reappeared in a vast space. Before they could inquire from Hou Yuxiao standing before them, they were surrounded by a rich aura of Five Elements Spiritual Power. Observing the sky above, the ground below, and the peaks of surrounding mountains, feeling the tranquility and peculiarity of this space, their faces filled instantly with curiosity.

    "Try cultivating."

    Hearing Hou Yuxiao''s words, they harbored no suspicions and began meditating, sitting cross-legged in mid-air. After just a dozen breaths, all three simultaneously opened their eyes, faces flooded with ecstatic expressions.

    "This Five Elements Spiritual Power can aid cultivation!"

    "This is an exceptional cultivation treasure ground...!"

    "Wait, why do I feel as if time seems to be passing slowly?"

    Upon Hou Yujie''s last question, Hou Yucheng and Hou Yuling froze simultaneously, hurriedly closing their eyes to perceive the surrounding flow of time. Subsequently, all three''s pupils trembled simultaneously, raising their heads to look at Hou Yuxiao, eyes full of astonishment and elation.

    "Hundredfold!"

    Upon hearing Hou Yuxiao utter these two words, their breathing momentarily ceased, Hou Yucheng''s voice, slightly trembling, spoke up.

    "Big brother, are you saying the flow of time in this place is a hundred times slower than outside, meaning when a day passes outside, a hundred days pass in here...?"

    After questioning, his gaze fixated firmly on Hou Yuxiao, with Hou Yujie and Hou Yuling reacting identically, all their pupils filled with anticipation, wanting a definitive answer from Hou Yuxiao.

    Without speaking, Hou Yuxiao merely nodded lightly with a smile on his lips.

    Upon seeing him confirm with a nod, originally seated cross-legged, the trio instantly rose with exuberance and heartfelt excitement on their faces.

    What is the Hou Clan lacking up to present?

    Not money, not people, not cultivation techniques nor martial arts, not treasures—any tangible or intangible resources. Over these ten years, the Hou Clan has acquired nearly everything needed, currently ruling over three prefectures and one path with more than fifty million subjects under their governance. The daily tax revenue alone amounts to a staggering figure, lacking virtually nothing.

    What is solely missing is time!

    The Hou Clan''s rise has been extraordinarily swift; ten years of time—even certain fledgling factions might have a longer legacy than the Hou Clan. This brief period reveals the shortage of foundation, increasingly evident as their territory expands.

    But now, Hou Yuxiao has found a way to address this shortcoming...

    "Big brother, provided there''s ample Primordial Blood, given a month—no, merely half a month—the Red Flame Army can assuredly be restored to its pre-battle structure, possibly even stronger, and as time continues, half a year or even a year—the clan''s strength will absolutely reach a qualitative leap!"

    Hou Yucheng''s voice spilled with excitement; although he wasn''t sure what this space essentially was or what restrictions its use might entail, given that big brother showed it to the three of them, it''s certainly intended for use.