Chapter 104: Pain in the Necks Everywhere!
The Fang Manor had a total of over sixty guards, and they were divided over two shifts. Half of them were in charge of the daytime patrol, and the other half, the night time patrol.
Despite them being on the older side—with the youngest being over thirty and the oldest over fifty—their backgrounds were rather extraordinary. All of them were seasoned veterans who had fought on the battlefield alongside the Fang Family in multiple campaigns. They practiced the Fang Family’s Profound Heaven Manual, and the average cultivation level of the group was the early Qi Detonation Stage.
In the training grounds, all the guards stood neatly in front of Fang Chen, heads held high. They had a fierce fighting spirit in their eyes.
"What do you think would happen if you faced the Nightmare Knights?" Fang Chen’s voice filled the training grounds, a smile on his face.
One of the older guards chuckled, then said, "We’re definitely going to die. But, my lord, even if we die, we're confident we can take a few down with us."
"Hehehe. We managed to keep our lives back then. If we can trade it for a few lives of the Nightmare Knights, it’s definitely going to be worth it.”
"The Frost Water Empire is really bold. How dare they try and capture the lord? We cannot allow them to do as they wish! Even if all we have is a piece of tofu, we’ll smash it at them the hardest we can!”
The guards bantered with each other, their tone light and cheerful, without a hint of solemness. It was as though they weren’t about to face the Nightmare Knights of the Frost Water Empire but a few salted fish from some nameless army.
Li Daoye couldn’t believe his eyes, and he muttered to himself, "They’re crazy... All of them are insane!” If these troublemakers were to become cultivators, they’d probably be frightening experts who triumphed against those with stronger cultivation levels. Such temperament was rarely seen among cultivators!
"Well, you guys will be fighting, that’s for sure, but you won’t be using tofu. Neither will you be useless.” Fang Chen smiled faintly and turned to Xu Ge. "Distribute the Vajra Talismans, Divine Movement Talismans, Strength Talismans, and Purple Lightning Talismans."
"Yes." Xu Ge took out stack after stack of talismans then went around distributing them, giving ten of each to each guard.
Li Daoye stared at what was going on with wide eyes before turning to Fang Chen.
"Lord Fang, do you know the value of these talismans in the cultivation world?" Li Daoye asked in disbelief.
Fang Chen chuckled. "Heh. they’re only useful if they’re used in battle. If you don’t use them, they’re just a bunch of waste paper.”
Li Daoye sucked in a cold breath. "Sssss! Waste paper?!” he repeated. “My great brother, they are definitely not some waste paper! Do you know how many spirit stones you can sell these for? There’s no need for you to pay such a huge price to deal with a mere eighth-tier empire! I’ll just use the Flame Empire to suppress them all! You just have to give me half of those talismans...!”
Fang Chen snubbed that line of thought Li Daoye had presented and instead asked with a smile, "If more than sixty veterans use Vajra Talismans, Divine Movement Talismans, and Strength Talismans, and Purple Lightning Talismans, how far do you reckon they’ll be able to go on the battlefield?”
Li Daoye felt a little exasperated at having his words ignored, but he thought about it seriously nonetheless, then said, "If their opponent is a cultivator at the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm, he’ll be suppressed in every possible way. There’s no way he’d be able to defend against sixty Purple Lightning Talismans as they rained down on him unless he had a defensive-type magical artifact. Even if he’s at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm, he’ll still be pushed back.
“If their opponent manages to hold out until the effects of the talismans wear out, he’ll be able to turn the tide, and a one-sided slaughter will ensue. But, well, you’re just dealing with the Nightmare Knights, who are just a hundred peak Qi Manipulation Stage martial artists at the end. They can’t even compare to a fifth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator—” Suddenly, Li Daoye's face froze, and he scrutinized the group of guards before him seriously, a trace of shock flashing through his eyes; mortal warriors—equipped with various talismans—unexpectedly possessed the strength to contend with an eighth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator when working together! They could even confront a cultivator at the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm. He didn’t actually think of that before as he didn’t expect anyone to be able to provide so many talismans to mere mortals.
It was as if Fang Chen had organized a special team capable of resisting Qi Refining Realm cultivators. If Fang Chen's supply of talismans was constant and the team expanded further...
"My goodness! As long as he doesn't run into someone at the Foundation Establishment Realm, he can use his talismans to smash a Qi Refining Realm cultivator to death! It wouldn’t even matter if they’re in the twelfth level of the Qi Refining Realm...” Li Daoye sucked in multiple breaths as the look in his eyes changed when he stared at Fang Chen again. He still didn’t know that Fang Chen also controlled the Grand Xia Hidden Guards. If they worked together, fighting a twelfth level Qi Refining Realm cultivator wouldn’t be much of a problem!
That was truly a case of crushing quality with sheer quantity! Using a few Purple Lightning Talismans to fight was a bit crude, and cultivators could generally brush off a dozen of them if they were strong enough. But a hundred Purple Lighting talismans? No chance. Even if a single round of bombardment was not enough, a second will do, and if not, a third surely will....
No one would be able to withstand it! Even Fang Chen himself wasn’t confident of holding out past one round of Purple Lightning Talismans.
"Lord, what are these..." A guard looked at the various talismans in his hand, somewhat puzzled and amazed.
"You've seen this person before in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, right?" said Fang Chen, pointing at Li Daoye. "These talismans were created by cultivators and contain the power of cultivators. The Divine Movement Talisman can make you as agile as a swallow, the Vajra Talisman can make you impervious to blades and spears, the Strength Talisman can make you as strong as an ox. As for the Purple Lightning Talisman; it is what you will be using to confront the Nightmare Knights. All of you have ten of each talismans with you, and in the upcoming battle, you should be able to kill at least two Nightmare Knights each with those ten talismans you have. But, you guys better aim well. Don’t miss, and hit your targets.”
"The power of cultivators!"
The guards' spirits were lifted, and they showed faces full of glee. No wonder Fang Chen wanted them to test themselves against the Nightmare Knight. As it turned out, he was prepared!
"Let's practice for the next few days so you can get used to using the talismans, everyone," announced Xu Ge.
Li Daoye instantly felt pained at those words. "Practice? Isn't that a bit of a waste..."
"Spend a little to gain a lot." Fang Chen patted Li Daoye on the shoulder. "I want to practice using the Fireball Technique and Ice Arrow Technique. You can be my target. Let me see what the cultivators of the Eight Trigrams Sect can do other than divination!”
In the following days, the martial arts arena was completely closed off. The servants in the Fang Manor occasionally heard rumbling coming from inside. Fang Cangyou passed by once and took a look inside before turning around with a strange expression and never came back.
The martial arts arena had been scorched completely black! It was as though heavenly lightning ravaged the place for several days straight.
The guards of the Fang mansion gradually grew accustomed to using the talismans. Fang Chen also became increasingly proficient at the Fireball Technique and Ice Arrow Technique. He could now instantly release them with a thought.
"Lord Fang, just how much spiritual energy do you have?! Are you already at the twelfth level of the Qi Refining Realm?" Li Daoye touched his charred eyebrows as he gave up. “I won't be your target anymore! If this keeps up, I'll be left with only a few strands of hair on my body!"
He was truly shocked.
While the Fireball Technique was just a basic technique, only Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would be able to use those techniques effortlessly without worrying about depleting their spiritual energy. For ordinary Qi Refining Realm cultivators, the consumption of Fireball Technique and Ice Arrow Technique was significant. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so enthusiastic about using talismans.
"Even a cultivator at the twelfth level of the Qi Refining Realm can't continuously cast Fireball Technique. They can at most release it a hundred times before their spiritual energy is completely depleted," grunted Li Daoye.
He had personally witnessed Fang Chen effortlessly cast a Fireball with his left hand and an Ice Arrow with his right hand dozens of times in a row, showing no signs of exhaustion.
Fang Chen smiled and let Li Daoye go. After a few days of training, he had mastered the essence of both techniques. Although he hadn't been making talismans those days, he had depleted his spiritual energy several times. As a result, his cultivation was rising by the day, and he wasn’t too far from condensing his sixth immortal vein!
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