Chapter 713: The Rise of the Military Forces

Ling Xiaozui sighed.

This matter had caused a huge headache to the two experts.

After a few rounds of reconnaissance... nothing was discovered.

The only thing confirmed was that the other party had other intentions in mind.

However, what was their true objective?

The situation was still a blur, and there were still no leads. Everything was still the same, as though they had never encountered the Four Seasons Tower in the first place.

Ling Xiaozui sighed, and spoke, "After a few days, when everything has returned to normal... one of us shall stay, while the other leaves alone to assess the situation. We're being overly passive in a situation like this - we need to try our best to change our fate."

Dugu Chou remained silent and only nodded his head gently as a form of response.

Ling Xiaozui continued, "This plan by the Four Seasons Tower is completely void of logic, but within this lies an even more terrifying goal! I fear that this matter might be linked to even more terrible things..."

Dugu Chou raised his head slowly, with a gaze as sharp as daggers. "No matter what their goal is, they will never succeed!"

...

Compared to the dire atrocities faced by Ling Xiaozui and his party, the Yutang empire, on the other hand, did not encounter anything of significance. The internal troubles and external aggressions had all been taken care of, and no active threats loomed before them.

The defensive frontiers on all four sides were equipped with strong, capable military might, held by men of integrity and exalted morale. They trained their troops incessantly, and the strength of their forces was astounding. Fang Qingtian's state of decline was a thing of the past as he glowed with vigor, his entire being brimming with the essence of life as if he was reborn anew. Even if he kept watch within the military department without saying or doing anything, that was all it took to reassure one of his or her safety.

The two old men - Qiu Jianhan and Leng Daoyin - had always been full of vigor, and their physique was always kept in tip-top shape; yet, they had aged inevitably along time, and could no longer depend on their muscles. However, after undergoing Yun Yang's little modifications, they did not age any further, and their bodies looked as good as new, functioning just like they had aged backward for a good decade or so. These two elderly chaps were brimming with vitality, and were willing to take on just about anything; they had even offered their lives to be at the frontlines, ever willing to trade places with the respective marshals for another chance to bask in glory - another chance to create fresh, new chronicles of battle.

However, His Majesty himself, the Emperor of Yutang, and all beneath his Excellency - be it the military or the government - were completely speechless towards this matter. They did not know how to respond for the longest time.

What kind of crazy idea are you two old blokes thinking of?

Do you even realize what you two are even talking about? What are you going to do?

If the two of you are so durable, why don't you just ascend straight to the heavens?

As of now, there was Tie Zheng at the north and Leng Shan at the south; Fu Baoguo at the East and Wang Yunzhu at the West - all of them were experienced, renowned leaders of the battlefield! Not forgetting Sun Zihu and the rest beneath them - these were also warriors who could take charge of a situation all by themselves.

Under their command were troops and troops of soldiers with countless years of combat experience - an army of fearless warriors and gallant knights.

However, the stronger one's army is, the stronger the attitude they tended to display. They were getting increasingly difficult to manage and were only devoted to their own superiors. Take a normal situation - the western front, for example. Sun Zihu would only listen to Wang Yunzhu's command. If Leng Daoyin and Wang Yunzhu gave out commands at the same time, Sun Zihu would most likely choose to comply with those issued by the latter.

However, apart from the little digression, it would not be much of a slip-up if the two old blokes were really transferred over. The same applied to the western front - as long as it was Qiu Jianhan who was transferred over, Wang Yunzhu, who was his apprentice, would not even utter a single word - perhaps he might even cry, "Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on now!"

Similarly, if it had been Leng Daoyin who went to the southern front, there would not be any problems. The reasons behind it would be brutally simple - the current marshal of the southern front, Leng Shan, was his son, and the title that he held was actually inherited from his father!

However, the question now was this; how could the two of you white-haired elderly blokes intend to show-off now, when you looked as though you had one foot in the grave just yesterday? What are you planning to flaunt? Your gallantry?

Speaking from the bottom of his heart, Leng Daoyin, who was younger by Qiu Jianhan by five or six years, really did intend to get out there to oversee the southern front. Fang Qingtian's health had been deteriorating in recent years, and had lacked the strength and vigor that he had before to face the troops; if battles arose before them, Leng Daoyin could oversee the military. He was truly bored to the bone.

Leng Shan, the chief marshal of the southern front, was the best leader of defense amongst the four marshals of Yutang's four fronts. His methods of defense were second to none in the world, but his attack strategies were clearly lacking. At present, Yutang was rid off any internal conflicts, and had even broken through the threat of a siege by the surrounding countries from all four sides... the bordering frontiers had blatantly become a scene of change. Should Leng Daoyin makes his way towards the southern front, the lack of offense of the southern front could be filled in perfectly!

However, Qiu Jianhan's plan was only to escape the never-ending questions from His Majesty.

Now, the emperor would always ask Old Qiu without fail, 'Any news about Supreme Cloud?'

'Have you come into contact with Supreme Cloud yet?'

'Who in the world is this Supreme Cloud?'

Qiu Jianhan was extremely miserable regarding this aspect of his life. His every waking moment was plagued with the thought to deal with these questions, and suddenly an idea popped up in his mind.

If I can't fight them, I can still avoid them, right?

Can I go to the front lines, away from all of this?

If he were to coincidentally travel to the western front, he would chance upon Wang Yunzhu, the little rascal, and have a look at the amazing forces of the northern front which he always bragged about... let's see if it's as interesting as his own legacy. He was especially keen on seeking out young novices there; after all, he possessed the ultimate legacy on the art of war!

However beautiful one's ideas could be, they still had to be realized eventually - are the frontlines really as good as they sound?

His Majesty disagreed with total resolution. You wish to go to the frontlines? You aspire to have countless adherents and disciples at your beck and call? You want to be off the grid, don't you? Why, isn't that a pretty idea, you old little bastard! You stay right here in the capital until you find Supreme Cloud, before even thinking about the rest!

Qiu Jianhan had tried everything he could think of, yet he still could not shake himself off this situation. Hence, he finally retorted with a huff, "If I'm not allowed to go, then... Leng Daoyin shall not be allowed to as well. Or else, I'll think that it's pretty unfair..."

It was just exactly as what His Majesty wished. He pointed directly at Old Qiu's nose, roaring, "You two elderly junks are not going anywhere! At this age, if you two are caught up in some fatal tragedy, I wouldn't be able to hold off the torrent of tears from both your families!"

In truth, His Majesty was genuinely heartbroken to the core the last time Qiu Jianhan got into harm's way.

Hence, Leng Daoyin was also cooped up within his own home.

When Leng Daoyin knew about this, he was enraged to the point of vomiting blood. He went to seek Qiu Jianhan to pick a fight on this, yet the latter was avoiding him all the time, occupying himself with the task of seeking out a disciple for Wuying; on one hand, he knew he was in the wrong and had since hidden himself as far away as possible; on the other hand, this matter itself was dubbed as Yutang's biggest secret by the Qius, the Lengs, the Fangs, the Ties, the Shangguans... and everyone else!

It was a matter of top priority.

The level of confidentiality seemed to have the tendency to surpass even the Nine Supremes!

Well, nobody would get hurt as long as comparisons are not drawn. As far as Yutang was aware of, the Nine Supremes still remained irreplaceable. The Nine Supremes were known to be too elegant, too exalted, too unattainable; they were levels above, too difficult to grasp and gauge.

Wu Ying's search for a successor was truly a feasible matter. As a few people started to study Wuying's works in detail, they could not help but acknowledge Wu Ying's peerless talent with no small sense of awe. If they were worthy enough to be a disciple of his, they need not worry about learning nothing.

The few big bosses had a good eye - they were all aware that this was a good opportunity.

They all wanted to ride on this opportunity by selecting a representative from their own families to be chosen as Wu Ying's in-house apprentice.

However, the few batches that had been sent over were all promptly rejected by Wu Ying. "They do not fulfill my requirements!"

Seeing how the young men of their own families were eliminated one by one, the few big bosses felt a little heartbroken. These youngsters were already the cream of the crop - what else do you want, if you're not satisfied with them? What are you being fussy about?

After a few days of selection, Wu Ying had only chosen one out of the many candidates that the Qiu family had sent. This particular person was only a distant kin of the Qiu family - not even from a direct line of descent. He did not give the rest a single glance.

Leng Daoyin was enraged over this. He was overwhelmed with wrath, almost at the brink of prompting his eldest son Leng Shan, the southern general of the empire, to participate in this selection!

However, in the next selection, unexpectedly, the son of the Wu Lie, the President of the Board of Punishments, was chosen - to the surprise of many.

This outcome had caused the people who were in the know to be in a total state of shock; they were simply flabbergasted at the oddities of the whole affair!