Way of the Knights

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"Ah! So that's how it goes..."

"The unique strength ranking of the Soldiers are really different. The strength chart goes something like Mortal, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Black Gold, Platinum and Legendary ranked Soldiers."

"In order to for them to get stronger, their current Lords must bestow them a name and a portion of his strength. Their potential will be the same as the Lord but their strength will never be able to reach the level of their Lord. I see. So they're really connected to me like that."

Raven murmured as he reviewed the information about the peculiar way of cultivation for his soldiers. Granted that he hadn't been with his soldiers for long, he's seriously considering their well beings as he closely studied the information available for them. 

"A soldier with; say a Gold-ranked potential, will easily be able to reach the Gold Rank Soldier Stage within a short period of time. If this soldier wanted to reach the stage beyond that, then they have to practice a lot and put in the effort. This will also depend on how much resources their Lord is willing to give to them."

"The way the Soldiers practice is practically the same as how the Orthodox Cultivation Followers do it. They have cultivation techniques, battle arts and etc. The only difference is that, since these soldiers are virtually Immortal, they can be resurrected immediately at the cost of at least two realms of strength."

"Meaning that if a Black Gold ranked Soldier dies, resurrecting him immediately will cause his realm to drop at Bronze rank. They have to start all over again and that'll take time and even more resources. This gives the Lords an difficult choice which tests their insights and their leadership skills."

Raven was silent for a bit. He the released a long sigh and stared at the ceiling.

"The other Chosen should have at least 80 Soldiers. Naming every single one of them is not only a pain in the ass but also risky..."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to test their soldiers and evaluate them based on the results. The one's who won would be named while the rest will be reduced to a mere follower status or like a house keeper of some sorts."

This was just Raven thinking out loud but what he didn't know, is that he unknowingly hit the nail right on the head.

It was precisely as he said. The other chosen did create some sort of tests to find out who they think have the highest potential amongst their soldiers. The ones who gets a good result will be named and will be allowed to cultivate, the rest will either become lackeys or; just like what Raven said, house keepers. 

"The whole army will be divided into smaller groups, lead by the named soldiers. Based on the potential of the named soldier, their status will differ and the task given to them won't be equal." Raven followed up his conjecture with another logical analysis. 

"I mean...I get why you would do something like that but...my situation is very different." 

Exactly. It is indeed as Raven says. His situation is indeed very different from the other Chosen. 

Unlike them, Raven only had 25 Soldiers remaining. The rest left and were living peaceful lives back at their original homes. 

"Hmm..." Raven was locked in a deep thought. All of a sudden, his face lit up as a great idea popped up on his mind. "That might work! Let's see..."

---action

"Alright people, listen up. We're going to do something different today." Raven announced within the Central Hall with his Soldiers lined up in front of him. 

He called all of his soldiers today for a special announcement that will decide how Raven's going to move forward with this path in the future. 

Raven took out an array disc from his spatial ring and activated it. He then said:

"From left to right, step up one by one and place a drop of your blood in this array." Raven ordered. 

The soldiers were confused but none of them raised a word. The first one from the left stepped forward without any hesitation and nicked his finger using his sharpest teeth. He then smeared his blood on the array and waited. 

Everyone stared at the array, wondering what's going to happen now. It didn't take long before the array released a flash of light that illuminated the central hall. Raven watched with rapt attention and when he saw the final results, he announced:

"Black-Gold Potential. Pretty good." Raven nodded. "Go there and wait until everyone's done. Next one!"

The soldier was a bit surprised and confused, however he didn't say a word and merely followed Raven's orders.

Just like this, the soldiers potential were revealed one by one, and to his and their surprise, the results were splendid. 

The lowest potential they had was Gold and there were ten of them here. There were five soldiers who had Black Gold potential, another five that has Platinum ranked potential and the remaining five had Legendary ranked potential. 

This results were astonishing. In fact, it was downright absurd. If any of the other Chosen were to see this, they'd probably die in envy. They'd probably amount it to luck or Raven being heavily favored by the sect but it's none of the above. 

Raven's surprisingly simple method of testing one's potential is the key. Their methods of choosing who's worthy to be named and who isn't aren't exactly wrong but it's bound to be extremely unstable. Raven merely had a way to measure someone's potential. This allows him to get a clearer understanding for his soldiers and also allows him to build more solid foundations. 

Forget about him though, his soldiers found this downright unbelievable. 

It was true that they didn't understand what's happening at first, however when Raven made the announcement, everything became clear. That being said, it didn't change the fact that they were still surprised. 

None of them experienced this kind of tests before. They were used to the usual methods that other chosen does. 

Had Raven asked them about this. They would've easily pointed fingers as to who was the best fighter amongst them, they could even tell him confidently what potential they have. Had that happened, then it would've been such a waste. Thankfully, their Lord is smart and extremely capable. 

"It's one thing for me to be surprised, but even you people?" Raven raised a brow. 

The soldiers couldn't help but to smile wryly at his comment.

"Either way, I can more or less understand why you guys are surprised too." He said, "In hindsight, you should've known. After all, you were handpicked by the sect to be soldiers so how can your potentials be weak? Well, enough about that."

"Now, I want you guys to group yourselves according to your potential." Raven ordered. 

The soldiers then moved, forming groups according to his arrangement. Once that's done, Raven continued:

"I'll be naming you guys right now." Raven stated which caused an uproar to his soldiers. "Alright calm down you people. I'm not done yet."

The soldiers ceased their jubilant moods and allowed Raven to continue speaking. 

"Just a heads-up, I'll be naming every single one of you." Raven stated, gasps could be heard from the soldiers. "You heard me right. I'll name every single one of you. Although we are small in numbers, that doesn't mean that we should be weak. Specially after knowing that you guys have this much potential with you."

"Just a heads up, I might not be able to name all of you at once within this day. If I do run out of energies, then we'll continue next time. Got it?"

"Yes, Young Lord!"

"Good!" Raven nodded, "My naming sense is bad. Thinking of 25 unique names at once is just something I can't do. Since there are four groups here, I gave me an idea."

"Four groups will be named after the Four Divine Beasts. Snake-tailed Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Azure Dragon."

"I'll start with those who had Gold Ranked potentials. Step forward."

The group of ten people stepped forward stepped forward. Raven stood up from his throne and walked close to them. 

"Let's not make things complicated." He said, he then held out his hand and the soldier in front of him held it. "From now on, you'll be called as Vermillion Bird One."

"Thank you, Milord!" The soldier kissed the back of Raven's hand, a sign of him accepting his new name whole-heartedly. 

A curtain of white light covered his body. After that, everyone in the hall could feel that this person changed. 

Vermillion Bird One looked incredibly agitated from some reason. Raven could more or less understand why he's acting this way. 

"You are excused." Raven told him. Vermillion Bird One nodded his hand and bowed to him before rushing out of the central hall. 

Raven then went towards the second person. After naming him Vermillion Bird Two, he similarly looked agitated and were similarly excused. 

The session lasted until Raven named all of those who had Gold Ranked and Black Gold Ranked potential. Vermillion Bird for the Gold ranks and the Black Turtle for the Black Golds. 

After that, he dismissed the soldiers first since his energy reserves were emptied.. He entered the Crown Space in order to seclude himself once more and recover his energies.