Chapter 490: Apology Gift

“Go and purchase Golden Fiend Crystals and Ashen Demon Bones for me,” Dongbo Xueying instructed. “For now, I need thirty-eight Golden Fiend Crystals. The one hundred million divine crystals I gave you earlier should suffice. As for the Ashen Demon Bones, start searching for them first. If you find any leads, I’ll personally negotiate.”

“Yes,” Xi Wei replied with a smile. Having followed the Red Dust Sage for so long, she had been confined within the Redstone Mountain for ages and was thoroughly stifled. Even before leaving the mountain, her true self had already provided her with one hundred million divine crystals.

Dongbo Xueying nodded.

Golden Fiend Crystals and Ashen Demon Bones were rare treasures required for his cultivation of the *Taihao* technique. His master had only bestowed the resources needed for the first two chapters. From the third to the sixth chapter, he had to gather the materials himself. Cultivating the third chapter alone demanded thirty-eight Golden Fiend Crystals and eight jin of Ashen Demon Bones.

Golden Fiend Crystals, though valuable, paled in comparison to Ashen Demon Bones.

A single jin of Ashen Demon Bones was worth over fifty million divine crystals! Of course, as the master of Redstone Mountain, he could afford it—but the real issue was their extreme rarity.

“Handing out a hundred million divine crystals just like that—what extravagance!” The thick-robed youth Ge Bai chuckled. “In all my years, I’ve never even seen that much money!”

Dongbo Xueying grinned. “Senior Brother Ge Bai, how about I give you a hundred million divine crystals, and you handle the purchases?”

“No, no! I still have to study formations!” Ge Bai hastily shook his head.

“If you don’t want to do it, then stop complaining,” He Feiyun scoffed.

“You willing to take on the task?” Ge Bai teased.

He Feiyun snorted coldly.

The two senior brothers shared a deep bond, and ribbing each other was second nature. Observing this, Dongbo Xueying asked, “Senior Brother Ge Bai, Senior Brother Feiyun, the recruits for my personal guard will likely be a mixed bag. Those at the peak of the Deity level are manageable—they can’t cause much trouble. But for the World Gods who come seeking refuge, I’ll need your help to keep an eye on them and investigate their backgrounds.”

“Leave it to us,” Ge Bai said with a smile.

There wouldn’t be many World Gods seeking refuge, so the task was trivial.

“Would you two be willing to serve as commanders of my personal guard?” Dongbo Xueying inquired.

“Second Senior Brother needs to focus on comprehending formations, and I dislike being tied down,” the crimson-cloaked youth He Feiyun replied. “We’ll just be idle retainers.”

Ge Bai nodded in agreement.

“Very well,” Dongbo Xueying didn’t press further.

—

The Inspector’s estate was vast. Every soldier was to be assigned a cave abode, and those for World Gods were even larger.

“Whoosh—”

Within the estate lay a sprawling lake.

Dongbo Xueying stood by the railing, gazing down at the expansive waters where strange beasts occasionally surfaced.

“Father, Father! It’s bustling outside—aren’t you going to take a look?” A figure streaked across the sky in a curved arc of light, landing gracefully by the railing. It was Dongbo Yu, clad in handsome blue robes. Inheriting the best traits of Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu, his looks surpassed even his father’s.

“Bustling?” Dongbo Xueying smiled.

“Everyone’s here to join, hoping to become part of the personal guard,” Dongbo Yu said excitedly, his eyes gleaming. “The personal guard is a second-class legion! Even the lowest-ranked soldiers hold the tenth rank—their benefits match those of ordinary third-class legion commanders!”

Dongbo Xueying nodded.

In terms of rank, the highest commander of a third-class legion—typically a general—was only at the ninth or tenth rank, though they wielded considerable authority. But in a second-class legion, even the lowest soldier held the tenth rank.

This illustrated the vast disparity in status!

And the gap in strength was just as immense.

A thousand-strong unit of a third-class legion could contend with a single-layered World God, while a thousand from a second-class legion could challenge a triple-layered World God! Such power naturally dictated their standing.

“Any World Gods among them?” Dongbo Xueying asked.

“Over a dozen single-layered World Gods so far, and even a double-layered one has come seeking refuge,” Dongbo Yu reported eagerly.

Dongbo Xueying was surprised. That was fast—today was only the first day of recruitment, and word hadn’t even spread fully. A double-layered World God joining already exceeded expectations.

“Swish—”

A figure approached from afar—a gray-robed World God, who bowed respectfully. “Your Highness, Army Commander Mo and World God Ying request an audience.” This gray-robed man was part of the Inspector’s original retinue. The personal guard was a private force, accompanying Dongbo Xueying regardless of his official post. The estate’s original inspection legion, however, remained stationed here.

The inspection legion was small, just a thousand strong, but still second-class—sufficient for oversight.

“World God Ying? Which one?” Dongbo Xueying asked.

“World God Ying Guliang, brother of Venomous Ying and a close guard of His Majesty,” the gray-robed World God replied.

Dongbo Xueying smiled faintly. “Have them wait in the side hall. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes.” The gray-robed man departed respectfully.

“Father, that’s Venomous Ying’s brother? Are they here to apologize?” Dongbo Yu’s eyes sparkled. “Don’t let them off easy! They gave you no quarter back then. Now that they’re here to make amends, it’s too late!”

Dongbo Xueying waved him off. “Stay out of this. Go attend to your own affairs. You haven’t even reached the peak of the Deity level yet. If I were you, I’d be in seclusion training.”

Dongbo Yu chuckled. “Father, not everyone can be like you—a double-layered World God in five thousand years? Becoming a Great Elder’s disciple within ten thousand years as a single-layered World God is already incredible. I feel I’m close to the peak of the Deity level. With effort, I might reach World God within a million years!”

“Go on, then. Work hard.” Dongbo Xueying shook his head.

His children—his son was carefree and easygoing, while his daughter was far more driven.

But he didn’t force anything. Let nature take its course.

—

In the reception hall.

Dongbo Xueying entered to find two figures rising from behind a long table—Army Commander Mo and the silver-robed World God Ying. The latter bore strange markings on his face and wore a genial smile, a stark contrast to his sister, Venomous Ying, whose aura was far more sinister.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” Ying Guliang bowed.

“Your Highness, this is World God Ying. Aware of the matter between you and Venomous Ying, he refrained from attending yesterday’s welcoming banquet but came first thing this morning,” Army Commander Mo explained, showing due respect to Ying Guliang.

In truth, Venomous Ying’s influence largely stemmed from her brother’s backing.

“World God Ying Guliang, I’ve heard of you since my time at Yin Stone Villa,” Dongbo Xueying said calmly. “Please, be seated.”

He then took his place behind the long table.

Ying Guliang sat as well and spoke earnestly. “I’ve come to offer my apologies, Your Highness. My sister is too ruthless and arrogant. I’ve reviewed the incident carefully—my son was indeed utterly out of line, but he was on the verge of his divine heart collapsing, driven to madness. He has since perished from that collapse. Blaming him now is pointless. The fault lies with me and my sister for failing to restrain him. Once he began losing control, he should never have been allowed outside.”

Dongbo Xueying listened.

This Ying Guliang at least seemed reasonable.

Indeed, when that General Ying had reached such a state, allowing him to roam freely was tantamount to disregarding others’ lives. Those who died unjustly—where could they seek justice?

Back then, when he had been cornered, Venomous Ying had only escalated the oppression, bullying him precisely because he was weak.