94 Carrot and the Stick.

The intensity of the fire within the furnace increased, along with the flicking of his sleeves, the pills that surrounded him numbered at least a hundred, "Prepare some porcelain bottles!" Khan glanced at Old Snake and shouted.

The latter startled for a moment, "Porcelain bottles? Can we use plastic bottles?" He replied, but hearing his reply, the former became infuriated and said, "These are freshly made pills, you donkey! Do you want them to burn through the plastic?!"

Old Azure's expression became weird, staring at Old Snake who was harshly berated, yet cannot make a retort, gave him a feeling of schadenfreude as he stood there, hiding his snicker.

But the latter noticed this, turning to stare at him with a stern glare, the latter ignored him and hurriedly walked towards the manor. Within just two minutes, he retrieved fifty porcelain bottles the size of a cola can.

He laid them on the ground according to Khan's instructions and retreated, observing the youth who started flicking his wrist towards the bottles. With a single flick, the pills that encircled him flew like a beam of light towards the porcelain bottles, and after all of them entered, Khan formed a mudra and said. "SARADO!"

His Divine Emperor Aura descended, thoroughly sealing the medicinal efficacy within the porcelain bottles. A satisfied smile suffused on his face as he crossed his arms together.

"Okay, everyone, gather around and listen." Khan walked towards the men in black and stood before them. Feeling the glare of the youth, the men in black became somewhat apprehensive, due to the might that the former displayed that didn't match his age.

Even Old Snake that stood at the side deeply pondered about the former's real age, let alone them.

"All of these pills that I concocted before you, is something that is exceedingly rare, and because of that, I will have all of you guys, take an oath with your cultivation as the stake, that you will not leak any information regarding these pills or the events that transpired today, nor the previous times where I went here." The men in black froze, taking an oath with your cultivation as the stake was a particularly vicious oath that can immediately cripple you once broken. All of them looked hesitant, but under the young man's nonchalant expression and their boss' solemn gaze, they solemnly raised their right hand and promised.

After confirming that all of them took the oath, Khan nodded his head and said, "This pill can guarantee you a breakthrough by a single stage. However, this pill can only be taken once, or else, you will thoroughly destroy your foundation."

The surrounding people stared at the porcelain bottles with greed in their eyes, for making a breakthrough in such a place with low Spiritual Qi concentration was harder than walking on glass. But after they listened to the latter part of his sentence, their excitement decreased, thinking that what a pity it was, that they could only consume it once in a lifetime.

However, one of the smartest bunch of them all, didn't look excited, instead, he looked somewhat nervous as he spoke in a small and serious tone.

"Ermm, young master... Pardon me but, why are you giving us, such a precious pill? Could it be that there's something that we're gonna do that needs us to increase our strength, as much as possible?"

Khan's eyes shone in an amused light, he stared at the man who spoke, and there, he found that the latter looked the youngest amongst them, sending his Qi to probe, he found that his skeletal age was just thirty and his cultivation, at the peak of Organ Tempering Realm.

Seeing that Khan didn't reply and just stood there, silently with his arms crossed, the men became even more anxious as they whispered towards each other.

"Hey, bro, just what does he wants us to do? Could it be that he's sending us to some kind of a battlefield or something?"

"I'm also wondering about that bro, but man, if he's gonna send us to die then I'm outta here..."

Their murmurs echoed across the courtyard. Old Snake frowned and shouted, "Silence!" His gaze also landed at Khan, his expression uncertain and his eyes, shining in an apprehensive light. Old Azure stood there, falling into deep contemplation.

'Just what is the reason why he's trying to increase the strength of the three factions for as soon as possible...'

'Something that needs strength...'

'War...'

'Battles...'

'Ah!'

Old Azure's expression flickered as he exclaimed, "Ahh!" His scream garnered the attention of everyone, including Khan who stared at him in amusement. The former stared at the latter, and since the latter didn't say anything, he decided to speak, "It seems like the young master, wants us to attack the Fourth Faction."

"What...?"

"Attacking the fourth faction...?" All of them stared agape, although the young master was powerful, the might of the fourth faction was even stronger than the three factions combined. Rumors say that the fourth faction ancestor had a cultivation of a peak Divine Ascendance Realm and paired with Heaven Grade Artifacts, his total combat prowess can even surmount that of a Divine Emperor.

Old Snake connected the dots together and found that other than attacking the fourth faction, they didn't find any reason as to why the young man wanted to raise their strength as soon as possible.

"I still have some matters that I need to complete before we start assimilating the Fourth Faction before that happens, I want each and every one of you here to be at least at the peak of Spirit Tempering Realm, or else, I would truly be disappointed." He shook his head, his words gave them relief, yet at the same time, they felt somewhat nervous about what he would do when he was disappointed.

"That's all that I wanted to say, and hopefully, the three of you will remain neutral until we launch our offensive, maybe in the next year or two." Khan nodded his head towards the three leaders. His eyes then became somewhat weird as he pointed at one of the smartest of the bunch among the men in black and beckoned for him to come.

The pointed man, even though he was startled about why he was being summoned, when he remembered the time where the young man induced a breakthrough to someone whom he beckoned, he felt somewhat excited and thrilled, but on the outside, his expression remained indifferent as he walked with firm steps before the youth.

Khan stared at him and thoroughly inspected his body with his probing Qi, 'Hmm, he's a good seedling, judging from the firmness of his muscles and the strength of his core, he seemed to have trained his body when he was just young...' Khan inwardly thought, 'He's also smart and quite attentive, the only problem is if he truly is loyal towards the faction.'

With a slight smile on his face, Khan flicked his sleeve, sending a porcelain bottle filled with the pills that Khan just concocted. The man received it with an awkward smile on his face, especially when he felt the piercing gazes of his companions that were filled with envy.

"That pill is yours, however, before you consume it, I have a task that I will assign to you, that needs to be completed in the shortest amount of time..." Khan revealed a slight smile, but inside, he was already cringing, for the fact that he's ordering such a grim and solemn man to buy these kinds of things that youngsters would like, feels quite odd.

The atmosphere inside the courtyard turned solemn, everyone's eyes gathered on the two who stood there in the center, beaded sweats formed on their forehead when they heard the words 'to be completed in the shortest amount of time' Earlier, they felt jealous about how he was chosen, but hearing the young man's words, they felt relieved and the eyes that they used to stare at the man became filled with sympathy.

The man gulped a mouthful of saliva, his solemn expression intensified, along with the three leaders who focused, solely on the scene. Khan repeatedly coughed, 'Just how did everyone become this tense? I'm just gonna ask him to buy some toys, some toys, you know?!' He inwardly cursed. But since he was afraid that he would dampen the atmosphere, he went along with the flow and said.

"Take this," He took a folded paper from his pockets and handed it over him. The latter nervously received it, but when he was about to open it, he was sternly scolded, "Don't open it, yet! Only read it when I'm gone, and also, I want you to complete the task by yourself and remember not to tell anyone else!" Khan hurriedly spoke and didn't bother about him anymore as he turned towards Old Snake and said, "Old Snake, take these papers and gather the drawn herbs there," He took several folded papers stained with ink.

Old Snake confusedly took the paper, but he didn't open it, lest he would be scolded.

"Prioritize gathering those herbs, after all. If you found them all and in huge quantities at that, I can guarantee that each and everyone in here, will ascend into the realm of the Divine Soul, without any problems." His words reverberated across the courtyard, sending everyone in a clamor. Old Snake and Old Azure's expression changed, their figures faintly trembled upon imagining the might that they could muster when their forces were filled with Divine Soul Practitioners, paired with their might as Magicians, they could well dominate the entire Muspelheim.

"Don't worry, the three of you got plenty of time, I will be back here next year and will take a look at your progress, well then, I'll be off." Khan's figure abruptly disappeared, moments later, a deafening boom echoed, sending everyone backward as the sonic boom of Khan's movements startled them, the light within their eyes, shone in deep admiration.