Immortal after a Hundred Reincarnations

These soldiers wouldn't be involved in the research and manufacturing of the firearms.

Their main duty was to guard these people, preventing them from leaving and ensuring no secrets were leaked.

After that, Xu Lei naturally took out some of his own schematics.

He had the artisans begin building and researching.

Then, step by step, they began experimenting and solving the various problems that arose.

Xu Lei, for his part, laid out the requirements for them, acting just like a product manager.

「Another half-month later.」

The families of these artisans were also brought to the Capital City.

Xu Lei even arranged for them to see each other through a window, though it was only the artisans who could see their families outside.

For security reasons, they were not allowed to communicate.

Because Xu Lei couldn't rest easy, he remained on-site, monitoring their progress and making sure no one leaked any secrets.

Since Qing Lian couldn't be too far from Xu Lei, she also had to stay with him at the manor.

The two of them took turns keeping watch.

They wouldn't allow anyone to get any ideas about the fruits of their research.

However, the newly enthroned Emperor was worried that the former Empress, the Demon Consort, would come looking for trouble again.

So, Xu Lei gave Emperor Yu some of the Talismans he had obtained from the Underground Palace for protection. Their power wasn't extraordinary, but they would do.

They could still sense and defend against some Magical Power attacks.

As long as Emperor Yu brought a large contingent of troops with him wherever he went, he would be fine.

If that Demoness dared to show herself, the Talismans would be enough to protect Emperor Yu.

His army could handle the rest by surrounding and eliminating her.

Emperor Yu accepted this arrangement.

After all, he couldn't possibly expect two reclusive masters like Xu Lei and Qing Lian to be his constant bodyguards.

In addition, Emperor Yu also asked for Xu Lei's advice on how to deal with the other Vassal Princes.

Xu Lei didn't beat around the bush and told him to just forcibly strip them of their power.

He gave him some advice based on how such matters were handled in the history of Earth.

After all, Emperor Yu's faction was now the most powerful.

The other Vassal Princes certainly wouldn't dare to oppose him.

Offer them a small incentive, and then they could be brought to heel.

With that, Emperor Yu began to attend to his own affairs.

「Another ten years passed in the blink of an eye.」

On this day, Xu Lei was sitting cross-legged in meditation.

BOOM.

The aura of Magical Power around his body surged and twisted.

'Ninth Tier of the Bodhisattva Pattern Realm!'

Xu Lei opened his eyes, a smile gracing his lips.

That's right. Over the past ten years, he had advanced another five Small Realms in a row!

He had improved by that much!

This was, of course, thanks to the help of the Demon Cores from the Eastern Wilderness Marsh of his past life.

And that special Spiritual Liquid he had obtained before.

Plus, his cultivation aptitude in this life was a bit better than in his last.

So his Cultivation was still proceeding quite smoothly!

All these years, he had just been cultivating and improving, never going anywhere to show off or act pretentious after his Cultivation increased.

Still, the feeling of his Cultivation improving step by step was quite nice.

During this time, Xu Lei's body had also grown to that of a fifteen-year-old.

At first, Xu Lei didn't suppress his body's growth, but once he reached the physical age of thirteen, he began to slow the process down.

Of course, Xu Lei still exercised his body diligently.

After all, Magical Power was just a form of Telekinesis.

His physical body still had to be trained separately.

Thanks to Xu Lei's diligent training…

...Xu Lei had developed quite well.

He had already grown taller than Qing Lian.

She only came up to his chest.

He had become a handsome, tall, and dashing young man!

"Senior, how did you suddenly grow so tall? It feels like I just blinked."

When Xu Lei stepped outside, Qing Lian couldn't help but blush. She exclaimed in a delicate voice, "Back then, you only came up to my belly button!"

Qing Lian herself now looked like a young woman of seventeen or eighteen.

The past ten years had changed her as well.

But she was slender, so she still looked petite and innocent.

The skin on her face was still incredibly delicate.

The injured area on her chest had improved somewhat over the years from Xu Lei's handling.

'But it was still incredibly soft!'

"Is it hurting again?"

Xu Lei said, "Come here. I'll help treat your injury."

In the end, the Phoenix True Flame couldn't completely eliminate those energies.

He would just have to think of another way in the future.

But at the very least, it was being kept in check.

"Thank you, Senior."

Qing Lian stepped forward and obediently accepted his treatment. "But... now that you're grown up, does it get... uncomfortable for you? How about... I help you too?"

Xu Lei froze.

"I feel bad that you've had to endure this whole time."

But Qing Lian bit her lip and said, "It's only right to give and take. Isn't it?

"However, this doesn't mean I want to become your Dao Companion.

"It's just... to repay you!

"But... only with my mouth!

"Also, I've... I've never done this before, so please bear with me if I'm not very good at it.

"But I... I learned a little from watching those Jade Scrolls."

She finished in a near-inaudible whisper, her head lowered.

Xu Lei looked at the girl before him, feeling a wave of complicated emotions.

'The Qing Lian of the past would burst into tears at the slightest touch.'

'But now, she was actually making such an offer on her own initiative.'

'But thinking about it, it made sense. Circumstances had shaped her.'

'It was mainly because of what happened in the Underground Palace.'

'The Demon Empress's scheme.'

'It had forced Qing Lian to let him caress the injured area every day for all these years.'

'That was what had led to this change in her.'

'Perhaps if things continued like this...'

'...one day in the future, Qing Lian would indeed become his woman.'

'Of course, it would have to be of her own free will.'

'For now, she wasn't willing to go that far.'

Right now, Xu Lei was young and full of vigor.

Since Qing Lian had offered, Xu Lei wasn't about to refuse.

But just as Qing Lian knelt down and slightly parted her cherry-like lips...

...before she could even do anything...

"Success!"

Suddenly, an artisan came running and reported from outside the door, "Young Master, Young Miss, the Shotgun! Its production was a complete success!

"The test results are in, and all the problems have been solved!"