Yang Potian glanced at him and laughed, "That old lady always operates in a complex and strategic manner. Since she dares to plant her people under that boy’s command, she must be confident in her ability to control him... Even if she cannot win the boy over to her side, she can certainly ensure that he will not oppose the White Lotus Sect in the future!"
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Upon hearing this, Yang Yinghao’s interest was immediately piqued, "Oh? How about we make a bet?"
Yang Potian answered with interest, "How shall we bet?"
Yang Yinghao said, "Let’s bet on whether that old witch can handle the boy. I bet that the boy will definitely not be swayed by the White Lotus Sect!"
Yang Potian pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly, "What shall we bet?"
Yang Yinghao rubbed his hands excitedly and grinned, "How about your self-created ’Iron Refining Hand’ first five moves against the first five levels of my Yang Family’s ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’? How does that sound?"
Yang Potian smiled nonchalantly, "You’re still not giving up, young man?"
Yang Yinghao chuckled and said, "Indeed, the ’Iron Refining Hand’ is very compatible with our Yang Family’s hereditary ’Fiery Sun Divine Skill’, it’s why I’m so envious."
Yang Potian picked up his teacup, "Agreed!"
Yang Yinghao lifted his teacup to clink it with Yang Potian’s, "Agreed!"
After taking a sip from their teacups, both men placed them back down simultaneously.
Yang Potian turned his head to look at the storyteller on the stage vividly narrating how Yang Erlang tricked and killed the Japanese pirates and sighed softly, "To miss such an opportunity, isn’t it regrettable..."
Yang Yinghao followed his gaze to the stage and murmured in agreement, "I do think Yang Erlang makes sense..."
He could understand the difference in their ways of thinking.
In the same chaotic situation...
Some people see trouble, see hardships.
Others see opportunities, see benefits.
Yang Erlang is of the former kind, hence his focus on avoidance.
But their Sect Hierarch and that old witch of the White Lotus Sect are of the latter kind, so they are focused on competition.
After a while, Yang Potian finally withdrew his gaze with a lack of interest and said softly, "That old lady has been scrounging for most of her life, but now she’s being so generous. Of course, we can’t act petty... I will later arrange for the eight Vajra of the Ming Sect to come down from the headquarters and submit to your lad to take to Dongying together."
Yang Yinghao hastily said, "How can this be acceptable? The eight Vajra are tasked with the duty of protecting the holy flame, they cannot be moved lightly!"
Yang Potian glanced at him and teased with a smile, "You are younger than me, how come you are more conservative than I am?"
Yang Yinghao shook his head repeatedly, "No, no, if the younger generation is acting recklessly, should we elders join them in their folly?"
Yang Potian pointed at the spitting storyteller on stage and laughed, "Compared to them, we are the ones truly acting foolishly."
Yang Yinghao was stunned and fell silent.
Yang Potian stood up and gently patted his shoulder, speaking earnestly, "It’s a good thing for the young ones to be ambitious. Even if we old folks can’t help much, we shouldn’t hold them back..."
After speaking, he turned and walked out of the tea house with light steps.
Yang Yinghao snapped back to reality, drained the teacup in front of him, stood up, and quickly followed.
...
While the Jianghu was still in a heated dispute over the conflict between the north and the south, on the verge of escalating from verbal clashes to physical confrontations...
The news that "Manifest Sage" Yang Erlang was taking a group of skilled fighters to Dongying to avenge Nansha Bay somehow leaked out.
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Similar to the bizarre and inexplicable spread of the debate over who was stronger between Yang Erlang and Li Qing across the north and south of the Yangtze River as soon as it started,
the whispers of Yang Erlang’s plan to lead a group of formidable fighters to Dongying to avenge the Nansha Bay massacre spread swiftly throughout the region. In an incredibly short span of time, several "Expedition to Dongying Rosters" appeared in the martial arts community, each meticulously detailing backgrounds and names.
Some lists highlighted the six fort masters of Lianhuan Fort.
Some highlighted the twelve zodiac guardians of the White Lotus Sect’s main temple.
Others focused on the Ming Sect’s eight Diamond Kings or the four top fighters of Qingmu Hall...
Anyone in the martial arts world with eyes could see that various powers were promoting their expedition warriors, looking to add glory to their own names through their achievements.
And this self-promotion was so effective that no one in the martial arts community had anything to say...
So much so that the previous North-South dispute, which had been a raging controversy, screeched to a halt like a speeding vehicle suddenly hitting the brakes, and instantly fell silent.
The martial artists from the north and south unanimously stopped mentioning the matter as if the dispute had never happened.
The martial artists of the northern jianghu naturally felt they had lost,
but those from the southern jianghu didn’t feel victorious either.
Such a figurative beating on this grand scale left all who had talked big feeling intensely embarrassed, particularly those who had been loudest in public. Each wished they could find a hole to crawl into, never to be seen by others again...
This collective emotion of embarrassment, shared by most in the martial arts world, led them to stir up the "Expedition to Dongying" with remarkable consensus, as a way to cover up their past blunders.
In no time, martial artists from every corner of the land, regardless of allegiance or morality, were abuzz about the "Expedition to Dongying." Numerous martial practitioners brimming with valor, swords and sabers in hand, rushed to Jiangzhe, all hoping to secure a spot on the expedition.
But this time, the few major forces that had already booked passage for the expedition kept their lips sealed, unwilling to reveal "Nansha Bay" as the rally point. After all, if everyone got a piece of it, where would their honor be?
Unfortunately, while they could keep their own mouths shut, they couldn’t silence the imperial court’s.
The imperial agencies that interfaced with the martial arts community not only disclosed "Nansha Bay" as the gathering place but also set the record straight regarding this event!
An imperial envoy, with colorful banners and beating drums, made a grand entrance into Luting County from the capital. In Lu Ting, they posted a proclamation stating: "The former Embroidered Uniform Guard impersonator, Yang Erlang, who has shown loyalty, filial piety, righteousness, and selflessness, is hereby pardoned for his overzealous enforcement of the law by royal decree, reinstated to his post, with his son and father granted royal favor, and posthumously awarded his foster father Zhang a fourth-grade title..."
The manipulator Shen Fa,"You want to play the public opinion game when you feel like it and stop when you don’t? Don’t even think about leaving through the door, I’ll seal the windows too!"
He had thrown caution to the wind, swinging Yang Erlang around like a tool, ready to sicken those plotters who thrived in chaos... So what if it meant getting a good beating? He was prepared to take it!
The court’s entrance into the fray set the martial arts community’s enthusiasm for the "Expedition to Dongying" through the roof!
An opportunity like this, famed throughout the land and rare in a decade, was golden!
Thus, every official road, horse trail, and waterway leading to Jiangzhe became dotted with people carrying swords and sabers.
They summoned friends, made merry with wine, heading south along divergent paths, converging from small groups of acquaintances into parties of dozens.
Many female adventurers, well aware they couldn’t make the voyage, gladly joined the procession heading south.
All harbored the thought that even if they ultimately couldn’t board the ship for the expedition, years later they’d still boast to their friends and descendants, "Have you heard of the Expedition to Dongying? I went on that journey too. It’s just that the ship was too crowded for me to join Yang Erlang in his fight against the pirates in Dongying..."
And there were those who, seizing the moment, put pen to paper, poetically recording: "Hail the Expedition to Dongying, the first martial venture of the Central Plains to exact revenge abroad..."
This was an expedition.
It was also a grand affair.
A place for a million unfocused passions to reside!
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