The subterranean cavern smelled of stale water, crushed moss, and lingering despair. Dawn had arrived on the surface, but down here in the rebel hideout, the only light came from a few flickering spirit-fires scattered across the damp stone floor.
Gu Fan stood on a raised rock platform overlooking his new army. He crossed his arms and watched the female cultivators wake up from their thin bedrolls. They were tending to their wounds using inferior, dried herbs that barely possessed any spiritual efficacy.
He ran a quick calculation in his head and frowned. The troops were malnourished. Their swords were chipped and rusted near the hilts. Besides the crippled Elder Lan, there was not a single Origin Realm fighter among the dozens of women shivering in the cave. They were a pathetic fighting force.
