Chapter 179 - 177: Everything is Ready
There was nothing inherently wrong with Wen Cangyuan’s plan.
Could a Grandmaster of the Primordial Pill Realm not guide a mere Martial Artist at the Sea of Reincarnation Realm?
But the crux of the matter was that Chen Yuan was no longer in the Sea of Reincarnation Realm. He was a prodigy of the Condensing Truth Realm, listed on the Hidden Dragon Rankings!
Those who reached the Condensing Truth Realm while on the Hidden Dragon Rankings were more than a match for many in the Primordial Pill Realm. And that was to say nothing of Chen Yuan, whose talent was exceptional; he had even comprehended the existence of ’Intent’.
After all, some Grandmasters who had just entered the Primordial Pill Realm might not have a comprehension as profound as Chen Yuan’s.
For Wen Cangyuan to still want to play the part of a senior, offering Chen Yuan guidance and encouragement, was simply a joke.
It was no longer guidance. It was an insult.
’Wen Cangyuan has gotten addicted to playing the senior, has he? He still wants to "guide" me?’
A strange smile touched Chen Yuan’s lips. "In a few days, I’ll pay a personal visit to the Thunder Shock Sect and ask him for some of that ’guidance.’
Sect Leader Du, you and your son should return for now. Don’t reveal the news that the poison has been cleared from his body. For the time being, just act as if nothing has happened."
Du Xiaochen nodded, then cupped his fist in a salute before leaving with Du Guangnian.
Yu Yousong hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly either. It hadn’t taken much time at all to persuade the Flying Shadow Sword Pavilion to switch sides.
Still, he was worried.
"Lord Chen, even with the Flying Shadow Sword Pavilion on our side, our forces are still insufficient.
The Yangshan Inspectorate Office has so few people. To be frank, most of them are the old, weak, or infirm—the bottom of the barrel. Their combat strength is limited; they’re not even a match for the White Tiger Guards in some of the smaller cities.
If we rely on them to take on the Yangshan Four Sects, I’m afraid we won’t stand a chance."
Chen Yuan said, "Don’t worry. I’ll find another group of men in the next few days."
Liu Suifeng had previously used the Shadow Guard to train a batch of Martial Artists. Cui Guan and his men were just a small fraction of them.
Kaiping Prefecture was already populous enough; stationing a large number of Martial Artists there would be too conspicuous and make its strength seem excessive.
But Yangshan Prefecture didn’t have many White Tiger Guards to begin with, giving him free rein. It was the perfect place to station the men Liu Suifeng had trained.
’The only question is how many men Suifeng has trained. If there are too few, I still won’t have enough.’
So, after securing Du Xiaochen’s allegiance, Chen Yuan immediately used an Array to send a message to Liu Suifeng, informing him of the situation in Yangshan Prefecture.
「Meanwhile, at the eastern foot of Yangshan Mountain, within the Thunder Shock Sect.」
Wen Cangyuan was reclining on a divan, his eyes half-closed as if he were about to drift off to sleep.
The Thunder Shock Sect’s Leader, Wen Chong, and his son, Wen Chengze, were attending to him at his side.
Wen Chengze was preparing tea, while Wen Chong read intelligence reports about the Yangshan Four Sects and the Yangshan Prefecture Jianghu aloud to Wen Cangyuan.
Although Wen Cangyuan had stepped down as Sect Leader long ago, in reality, every Sect Leader of the Thunder Shock Sect had merely been an obedient puppet.
All matters, great and small, concerning the Thunder Shock Sect and even the Yangshan Four Sects required Wen Cangyuan’s decision.
"Du Xiaochen took Du Guangnian on a trip to Yangshan Prefecture. I heard some so-called Divine Doctor showed up to try and cure the poison.
But they returned quickly. It seems they failed, just like all the others."
Wen Chong paused, then said, "Ancestor, so many years have passed. Is it still necessary to monitor Du Xiaochen’s movements so closely?
If he wanted revenge, he would have acted long ago; he wouldn’t have endured patiently until now. He has been very compliant all these years, always following your every word, Ancestor.
Du Xiaochen is an expert at the Peak of the Condensing Truth Realm, after all. We can’t get too close when monitoring him in secret, and it consumes too much manpower."
Wen Chengze, standing to the side, nodded repeatedly. "Exactly! The Du father and son are just a pair of cowards. With your might, Ancestor, would they dare make the slightest move?
Besides, that wretch Du Guangnian still relies on you to stay alive. They’re all wishing you live to be a hundred, Ancestor! How could they possibly dare to cause trouble?"
Wen Chong shot his son a fierce glare.
’Does he even know how to talk?’
’Is wishing someone to "live to be a hundred" something you say to the Ancestor?’
The next moment, Wen Cangyuan shot to his feet and sent Wen Chengze flying with a single slap. Tea splashed across the floor.
"Ancestor, calm your anger!"
Terror filled Wen Chong’s face as he hastily dropped to his knees to plead for mercy.
Wen Chengze clutched his face, utterly bewildered. He had no idea what he’d said to displease the Ancestor.
"If it weren’t for the trouble you stirred up all those years ago, would I need to go to such lengths to monitor Du Xiaochen?"
Wen Cangyuan stared coldly at Wen Chengze. "I have told you countless times: some things are better left undone, but if you’re going to do something, see it through to the end!
If you had just killed Du Guangnian, done it cleanly and quickly, that would have been the end of it.
But no, you had to have him crippled and leave him alive. You’ve created endless trouble for the future!
Du Xiaochen and his son know you were behind it.
They also know that I know you were behind it.
Yet they’ve played dumb this whole time, pretending to know nothing, swallowing that bitter hatred. Do you think ordinary men are capable of such a thing?
I can still suppress Du Xiaochen while I’m alive. But if one day I die and he breaks through to the Primordial Pill Realm, the first thing he’ll destroy is our Thunder Shock Sect!"
Wen Chengze said hastily, "Ancestor, calm your anger! This disciple knows he was wrong!"
Wen Cangyuan looked at him and knew. He didn’t know he was wrong; he was just afraid.
Seeing this, Wen Cangyuan shook his head in disappointment. "The Wen Family has not been blessed with many children. If you weren’t my only descendant in the Direct Lineage, why would I have expended so much effort to protect you?
Otherwise, I could have just killed you back then to give Du Xiaochen an explanation. It would have saved me all this trouble, and I would have even earned a reputation for being impartial.
Leave. Do not cease monitoring Du Xiaochen and weakening the Flying Shadow Sword Pavilion for even a moment. Try to eliminate this hidden threat before I die."
The father and son pair, Wen Chong and Wen Chengze, nodded repeatedly.
They quietly exchanged a glance, a trace of lingering fear in their eyes.
The older the Ancestor became, the more mercurial his moods.
In front of outsiders, he maintained the gentle and respected demeanor of a senior, but in front of them, he showed his true colors, often frightening them to their very core.
「Five days later, inside the Yangshan Inspectorate’s Mansion.」
Chen Yuan stared, stunned, at Liu Feiyan. She stood before him dressed in the Armor of a White Tiger Guard, her body surging with a powerful Qi and Blood Power. Her cultivation had already reached the Sea of Reincarnation Realm.
"What are you doing here?"
Chen Yuan had asked Liu Suifeng to send some of the men he had secretly trained to be stationed in Yangshan Prefecture. Who would have thought Suifeng would send his own daughter instead?
The last time Chen Yuan had returned to the Main Hall from Medicine King Valley, he hadn’t seen Liu Feiyan.
Liu Suifeng had said she was in closed-door special training, though Chen Yuan hadn’t known what for.
But now it seemed her special training had been quite effective. Not only had she broken through to the Sea of Reincarnation Realm, but her Qi Blood was also astonishingly powerful, not even inferior to that of the monks from the Vajra Prajna Temple.
She still had the appearance of a valiant young woman, which made her immense Qi and Blood Power seem somewhat out of place.
"Why can’t I come? Are you not happy to see me, Brother Chen?"
Before Chen Yuan could answer, Liu Feiyan smiled. "My father said I can’t just train behind closed doors. A Realm is one thing, but to stabilize it, one needs to experience real combat.
He also said that even if I see combat, I’ll be safer under your command than anyone else’s.
Also, you asked for a lot of people this time. Having someone else lead them would be too conspicuous, and he was worried they wouldn’t be able to keep them in line.
My status is unique. I can keep them in line and make sure they obey your every command."
Chen Yuan nodded. That did make sense.
Last time, Liu Suifeng had probably sent Cui Guan because he was very obedient and would execute orders perfectly.
But not everyone under Liu Suifeng’s command could be a Cui Guan, so this time, they needed a leader who could keep the other Martial Artists in check.
As Liu Suifeng’s only daughter, Liu Feiyan was indeed a suitable choice.
Chen Yuan asked, "How many men did Military Advisor Liu give me this time?"
Liu Feiyan held up three fingers.
"Thirty men again? Well, if their combat strength is similar to Cui Guan’s group, thirty should be fine."
"Not thirty. Three hundred!"
Chen Yuan was stunned once more.
’Liu Suifeng really is generous. But hasn’t he trained a few too many men in secret?’
’Is he preparing to rebel at a moment’s notice? To overthrow Chao Hongtu and start his own faction?’
"And among these three hundred men, over a hundred have reached the Qi Casting or Sea of Reincarnation Realms. The rest are in the Blood Movement Realm.
My father said these are all elites he specially selected. It’s the perfect opportunity for them to see some action with you."
When Liu Feiyan mentioned the words "draw blood," she actually seemed slightly excited. "Who are we fighting this time?"
Chen Yuan rubbed his temples. "Let’s not worry about who we’re fighting just yet. The shock of three hundred men joining the Yangshan Prefecture forces all at once would be too great. We’ll integrate them little by little each day."
With that, Chen Yuan summoned Yu Yousong and told him he had found the manpower, asking for his help in integrating them into the Yangshan Prefecture forces.
Having spent half his life in Zhenwu Hall, Yu Yousong was naturally very familiar with such matters.
Although he was shocked that Chen Yuan had managed to recruit so many well-trained Martial Artists for Zhenwu Hall, Yu Yousong didn’t ask any questions.
He wasn’t a tactless man; he knew what to ask and what not to ask.
Strictly speaking, he was already retired. Although he was still a member of Zhenwu Hall, he no longer held any official post.
He was only sticking by Chen Yuan’s side to vent his frustrations. In the eyes of Zheng Qu’an and the other White Tiger Guards of Yangshan Prefecture, Yu Yousong was now practically Chen Yuan’s second-in-command.
It took five days for Chen Yuan to fully integrate the three hundred-odd men into the Yangshan Prefecture forces.
Zheng Qu’an and the original White Tiger Guards of Yangshan Prefecture were all rather intimidated.
Compared to the old, weak, and infirm, this batch of newcomers were true elites. None of them were old, yet their strength was immense, and even their auras were ferocious.
They weren’t resentful, however. As long as the Yangshan Prefecture’s Zhenwu Hall became prominent, they would naturally get to live better lives as well.
Otherwise, they would all remain downtrodden. Even with no competition, their lives would be stifling.
In the main hall of the Inspectorate’s Mansion, a cold glint appeared in Chen Yuan’s eyes as he looked over the roster Yu Yousong had handed him.
’The men are in place. It’s time to pay Wen Cangyuan a visit on Yangshan Mountain.
Isn’t he waiting for me to come calling so he can "guide" me? Well then, I’ll let him give me all the guidance he wants!’