"Don't mind our small numbers; our composition is quite balanced," the old warrior said with a smile, looking at Qian Jin. "We have veterans with extensive combat experience, as well as fresh, vibrant recruits."

"Vibrant recruits, you say?" Qian Jin asked subconsciously. "You don't mean those who just graduated from the Warrior Academy, do you?"

"Exactly! Although they only graduated from the basic academy and haven't moved on to the advanced War College, but..."

Qian Jin sighed. It turned out that besides the old men who struggled just to lift a sword and wear armor, they only had a bunch of kids—truly a fortress boasting a fine mix of old and new.

Pan Yun watched Qian Jin's conversation with confusion. What exactly was he here for? Wasn't he supposed to take a gamble? Was this the gamble?

Sensing Pan Yun's bewilderment, Qian Jin turned back with a smile. "Wait a moment; I've run into a small snag."

"Elder," Qian Jin turned back to the old man decisively. "If His Majesty the Emperor issues a general war mobilization, does the Infinite Fortress have to send people?"

"Naturally."

"A warrior with your level of combat experience seems to be slightly over the age standard." Qian Jin tapped lightly on the counter that was nearly an antique. "The army likely won't invite you to serve as a general or staff officer in command, will they?"

Qian Jin looked at the silent old man. "Then you'll only be sending those kids, right? Do they even possess their own armor?"

"The army will provide them with..."

"You plan to send them into battle against the Demon Race or the Barbarians wearing military gear? You must know the capabilities of the standard military protective gear. A batch of graduates from the basic warrior academy, donning simple military leather armor on the battlefield. Of course, maybe they'll just wear the uniform, without even the leather armor..."

Qian Jin paused, then stared coldly into the old man's eyes. "What chance do you think they have of surviving?"

"Elder, you must be quite good at business?" Qian Jin looked around the fortress, left and right. "With this much ground, the annual taxes must be considerable, right? It must be hard to keep this going."

The old man stared at Qian Jin in surprise. Most warriors were completely unaware that the fortress incurred taxes; they only focused on improving their combat ability to kill more demons on the battlefield. Supporting such a large facade was indeed exhausting.

However, if the facade wasn't grand enough, others would see it as an even greater sign of decline, leading to fewer people coming to ask for work. That vicious cycle would eventually cause the fortress to vanish completely. Such things weren't unheard of.

Qian City was a place that never had a fortress! It wasn't that it never existed; it was squeezed out of existence by the massive influence of the Qian Family, unable to survive even with the subsidy provided by the Warrior Union.

Qian Jin watched the old man's silence and sighed softly. It seemed his guess was correct! This fortress had survived to this day largely due to the old man's financial management skills! Although he didn't know just how strong his business acumen was, it must be significant.

The Luo Family's foundation was slowly shifting toward Eternal Flow City, the economic center of the Eternal Flow Province. There were many opportunities there, but the competition would be fierce. Qingqing had good business instincts, but expecting a young girl to fight all those battles alone?

Qian Jin genuinely feared that if Fatty Luo from the Starry Sky saw this, he'd come down that night to drink with him. Finding help, if possible, would certainly be beneficial.

"Elder, those young kids are warriors too," Qian Jin stared into the old man's eyes, saying no more.

Among warriors, sometimes little needs to be said; everything important had already been articulated.

Those young people were the future of the Infinite Fortress, the future of the entire warrior community, representing the future glory and dignity of warriors.

To abandon personal glory for the sake of warrior dignity and honor... the old man's narrowed eyes gradually flashed with a piercing brilliance. "Young man, how much money can you give me?"

Qian Jin shrugged his shoulders. "That depends on how capable you are, Elder. I have an emerging merchant guild, backed by the Torrent Fortress, which is supported by the Eight Great Powers of Eternal Flow. If you join, you get thirty percent of the profit from every deal you close."

"Thirty percent?" The old man's eyes shone like the sun, his wrinkles spreading out with his smile, instantly smoothing away five-tenths of their depth. "Kid, do you have enough capital? You only make real profit on big deals."

"Capital?" Qian Jin frowned and thought for a moment. The gold coins he picked up in the Ancient Barren Sand Sea amounted to around ten million. While it couldn't compare to established noble families like the Qian or Luo families, this amount of cash could rival almost any of the Eight Great Powers of Eternal Flow.

"Ten thousand gold coins?" The old man looked at the single finger Qian Jin held up and shook his head with disappointment. "Too little."

"Ten thousand?" Qian Jin smiled and shook his head. Seeing the old man's expression, he didn't dare speak the truth directly. Jumping from ten thousand gold coins to ten million without any buffer—if he said it all at once, he feared the old man's heart wouldn't handle it and he might faint on the spot.

"One hundred thousand?"

"It's not... it can't be... ten million gold coins, can it?" A flush of excited surprise spread across the old man's face, which resembled aged tree bark.

"This... is it..." The old man looked at Qian Jin still shaking his head, his voice filled with trembling awe. "Is it ten million gold coins?"

Qian Jin gently nodded at the old man's trembling body. "Elder, please hold on. Don't faint right away; I can't afford to lose you. What I know for certain is that I have ten million gold coins in hand. As for how much the guild possesses in total, that's beyond my knowledge."

The old man's chest heaved violently, up and down, and up again! Ten million, ten million gold coins! Was this kid the illegitimate son of the Torrent Fortress Guild Master? No! While the total assets of the Torrent Fortress might exceed ten million gold coins, pulling out ten million in cash immediately was likely impossible.

The old man slowly nodded. "Today, I, Lin Amou, will trust you once. Being able to become an officer of the Torrent Fortress at such a young age suggests you have some capability, right?"

Qian Jin reached out and lightly slapped palms with Lin Amou, whispering softly, "I apologize, forcing you to engage in business instead of protecting the honor of your warriors."

A flicker of melancholy crossed Lin Amou's eyes, but the corners of his lips lifted into a faint smile of contentment. "It's alright. At my age, there's no chance of going to the battlefield anyway. Being able to offer one last bit of effort for the young warriors is good enough."

"Kid, didn't you need to borrow a place?" Lin Amou looked at Qian Jin. "This place is mostly empty; use whatever you need. If you trust me, advance me a thousand or so gold coins first." Qian Jin blinked—a thousand or so gold coins?

"Heh heh." Lin Amou chuckled. "To work for you, you'll probably need to leave here, right? Before you go, I still hope to buy some gifts for the kids here."

A gold brick. Lin Amou stared blankly at Qian Jin, murmuring instinctively in surprise, "Dou... Dou Realm..."

It was impossible to pull a gold brick from one's pocket! If he could pull one out, there was only one possibility! Lin Amou looked dumbly at Qian Jin. What was the background of this young man? In all his years at the Infinite Fortress, he had only seen the Dou Realm once, and that was on Pan Hongji. He never expected this young man to possess... Ten million gold coins, a Dou Realm artifact on his person, and an officer in the Torrent Fortress... Lin Amou watched Qian Jin's retreating back as he walked into the room, filled with question marks. How many secrets did this young man hold? Wait! Isn't that Pan Yun, the gatekeeper of the Pan Family? Why is he trailing behind him? And he looks like... an underling! Lin Amou rubbed his eyes hard, looking again at Pan Yun's retreating figure. "I'm not seeing things; this is real... Even though Pan Yun hasn't awakened his bloodline power, he is still a Pan Family member, possessing the pride of the Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline. How could he follow behind these people? Who exactly is this kid?"

Ten million gold coins? Pan Yun followed behind Qian Jin, repeatedly scrutinizing him. Could this person really produce ten million gold coins? Who was he, and why was he coming to this Warrior Union training ground?

The warrior training ground was clean. The bluestone-paved floor barely showed any dust.

Qian Jin lightly swung his ankle and swept his gaze across the surroundings. Although this place was dilapidated, it was meticulously cleaned. This Warrior Union had fallen, but the warriors here had not. They still kept their training area spotless.

"Bu'er," Qian Jin pointed to the waterskin at Duanfeng Bu'er's waist. "Give him a taste."

"Kid, you have good luck," Duanfeng Bu'er said with a grin, untying the cowhide waterskin from his waist. "Have a sip."

A sip? Pan Yun looked suspiciously at Duanfeng Bu'er as he twisted open the stopper on the waterskin. I don't even know you people, and you're offering me a bag of water to drink? Who knows if there's anything strange mixed in?

"What? Afraid to drink?" Duanfeng Bu'er chuckled, shaking the waterskin in his hand. "This contains a poison concocted by a mysterious apothecary. If it doesn't kill you, it might awaken your bloodline power."

Demon Subduing Warrior! The Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline power unleashed! Instantly, Duanfeng Bu'er's body was covered in smooth, black scales, as if forged from exquisite metal. His two eyes resembled the most perfect black gemstones, and claws as sharp as blades extended one by one from his fingers.

Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Warrior! Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Warrior! Pan Yun shouted wildly in his heart, staring fixedly at Duanfeng Bu'er's Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline battle form, his body trembling involuntarily.

Who was this person? Why did he possess the power of the Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline? Wasn't his name Bu'er? The Pan Family didn't have a generation designated 'Bu'!

Qian Jin listened to Duanfeng Bu'er's clumsy lie and noticed that most of the suspicion in Pan Yun's eyes had vanished, replaced by an eager look, as if he completely believed Duanfeng Bu'er's words.

"A mysterious potion... that can awaken bloodline power?" Pan Yun reached out with trembling hands, taking mechanical steps toward Duanfeng Bu'er, his vision fixed only on the cowhide waterskin containing clear water.