Chapter 155: Nalan Feng
"Have you interrogated those cultivators in purple from yesterday?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"I did. They were the ones who attacked my friends and relatives. Even though I set up a patrol, I still couldn't stop them from sneaking onto the island," Zheng Qian replied, sighing.
"There's too big of a difference in cultivation between your lot and those guards, and there aren't any wards on the island. It's only natural that you wouldn't be able to stop them."
"Not only that, some of the refugees on the island have turned against us and become their spies. If not for the fact that we ferreted them out during this interrogation, the outcome could have been disastrous. This is my failing," Zheng Qian reported.
"It's enough that you were able to identify this information. Don't worry and take it slow. It's already amazing that you were able to do so much in just half a year," Xiao Nanfeng consoled.
Zheng Qian could sense the magnanimity in Xiao Nanfeng's tone. Touched, he nodded gratefully.
Just then, the two of them arrived at a large field. They could hear shouts coming from the distance.
"Kill!" thousands of fighters shouted as one, so loud it seemed to shake their very souls. Xiao Nanfeng and Zheng Qian perked up subconsciously.
"Do you feel it? By howling in conjunction like this, you'll be able to raise your morale while lowering the enemy's. Once you advance your spiritual cultivation, you'll be able to scare any opponent to no end just by shouting. They'd be dead meat then!" Ye Dafu explained proudly.
Around three thousand fighters were gathered around Ye Dafu, heeding his every word. They were all excited after having learned to howl in synchrony.
"That's not enough! If you want to fight, you'll have to get into formation. Come, I'll teach you about my clan's formations!"
"No, no, his clan's formations are useless! Learn from my clan's."
Ye Dafu's lackeys were eagerly teaching the gathered fighters.
As Xiao Nanfeng and Zheng Qian approached, the rambunctious fighters quieted down and rushed toward them.
"Mr. Zheng, where did you find all these talented instructors? This is the first time I'm learning about these military formations, military tactics, and military howls! They're amazing!" one fighter shouted.
As they were heaped with praise by the enthusiastic fighters, Ye Dafu and his lackeys quickly grew vain. They reveled in the praise.
"Everyone, this is your benefactor," Zheng Qian introduced.
The fighters immediately bowed toward Xiao Nanfeng. "We greet our benefactor!"
These fighters were all refugees who had learned of their benefactor's largesse in saving them all from Marquis Wu's territory. Everyone was immensely grateful to Xiao Nanfeng.
"Keep working hard. The island's safety will depend on all your hard work," Xiao Nanfeng replied, smiling.
"Yes, Benefactor!" the fighters replied.
Ye Dafu and his lackeys walked over.
"Senior Brother Nanfeng, these fighters would all make amazing soldiers!"
"They must have great insight to have identified how talented we are."
"They have amazing intuition! The veterans in my estate are all blind—they don't understand how skilled I am at military leadership."
Ye Dafu and his lackeys were directly praising the fighters but, more importantly, obliquely praising themselves. They were all from martial households and had been taught the art of war, but their knowledge was superficial and patchy considering their lack of actual experience. As a result, they could hardly compare to the more established members of their households, but what they knew was completely foreign to the fighters, who were in awe of their knowledge. Their vanity was assuaged.
"If you think well of these fighters, would you be willing to help me train them?" Xiao Nanfeng offered, smiling.
Zheng Qian had intimated to him just how little training these fighters had, and it would surely be a mess if they were to train themselves. Although Ye Dafu and his lackeys were hardly skilled, they surely knew more than the fighters themselves did.
"Train them? Us?" Ye Dafu's lackeys were astounded.
"That's right. Their original generals will become your deputies, and you'll be in charge of their training. Help me create a powerful fighting force. You don't have to oversee their day-to-day training; just assign that to your deputies. Check up on them from time to time and examine their progress. Of course, I won't ask that you do it for free. I'll provide ample remuneration," Xiao Nanfeng promised.
"Do you really think we can?" Ye Dafu's tone was rather strange.
He clearly knew that he wasn't as experienced as he professed, and he was worried that failure would make him a laughingstock.
"I'm sure that there are only a few people with such insight into the art of war within the Taiqing sect. Don't be modest—I trust that you'll do a better job than anyone else." Xiao Nanfeng praised Ye Dafu and his lackeys, ignoring his throbbing conscience.
He had no choice; they were the only cultivators from military households that he knew. He wouldn't have been able to find better candidates.
Ye Dafu and his lackeys glanced at each other. They thought highly of themselves, and Xiao Nanfeng's praise quickly went to their head.
"Senior Brother Xiao's correct. In the Taiqing sect, whose understanding of military tactics could surpass us?"
"That's right, that's right! No one could hardly claim to be superior to us. Even our elders haven't uncovered our talent. Why don't we demonstrate it to them by training a strong force?"
"Boss, we can't waste our top-tier talent! It's a gift from the gods that we can't squander!"
Ye Dafu's lackeys pleaded with him to support them.
Zheng Qian, beside them, widened his eyes. Didn't they realize that Xiao Nanfeng was just praising them to be polite? Were they so conceited as to take him at his word?
"Alright, we'll do it. These fighters should consider themselves lucky that we're willing to give them pointers. We'd only do so for you, Senior Brother Xiao—no one else would be worth our time!" In the end, Ye Dafu accepted the offer.
Xiao Nanfeng glanced at him strangely. Had they really taken his praise seriously? They weren't going to make a mess of his fighters, were they?
"I'll thank you in advance, then," Xiao Nanfeng replied, nodding his head with some regret.
"Leave it to us, Senior Brother Xiao!" Ye Dafu and his lackeys promised.
Xiao Nanfeng turned to the gathered fighters. "Starting tomorrow, I'll be passing on some cultivation techniques at the Xiao Academy. I expect to see all you fighters there."
"Yessir!" The fighters' eyes lit up.
"Senior Brother, we can't pass on sect techniques at will!" Ye Dafu whispered worriedly. "It's a mandate of the Taiqing sect."
"Don't worry. The techniques I'll be passing them aren't from the sect, but rather the hidden realm."
His offer was meant to confer the fighters with his favor. It would be a waste of talent for Zheng Qian to establish a strong foundation, only to have the scholars and fighters eventually leave his employ. He wanted all these fighters for himself.
A haze of smoke hung over the Isle of Nalan.
A cultivator in purple sat by the edge of a large plaza, playing the guqin at a frenetic pace and summoning countless cranes composed of spiritual power. The cranes were particularly fierce. They flew toward a youth in yellow, seated at the middle of the plaza. A red line marked the youth's forehead as his aura manifested around him. With will alone, he resisted the cranes' incursion.
The guqin grew more and more frenzied. The cranes merged together into a huge white crane that shot at the youth's forehead. A gust of energy erupted around the youth's body as he spat out a mouthful of blood, his face flushing red.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" The guqin player rushed forward in worry.
The youth forcibly mastered his body and wiped at the blood seeping from his lips. His face contorted in a frown. "Mr. Qin, I'm still not quite there yet."
The cultivator in purple, Mr. Qin, gave his liege a wry smile. "Your Highness, it's not so easy to break through to Spiritsong. It's best to take it slowly."
"Zhao Yuanjiao was able to advance, so I have to do the same. Or must I bow to him if I see him? Take a break. We'll continue momentarily," the third prince Nalan Feng commanded.
"Just ignore him. He has plenty of enemies, doesn't he? He almost perished at sea. Were your men responsible, Your Highness?" Mr. Qin asked curiously.
The third prince narrowed his eyes. "There are plenty of people who want him dead. If not for Elder Ku's protection, he would hardly have lived until now. There's no need for me to strike."
"I heard that he was only able to come back safe and sound because Nanfeng rescued him?"
"Nanfeng? That's Xiao Hongye's son, Xiao Nanfeng. So he actually managed to escape from the Xiao lands and apprenticed under Elder Ku? How lucky," Nalan Feng commented.
"Xiao Nanfeng? I heard he even slaughtered a Spiritsong-realm sea serpent," Mr. Qin added.
"Don't get fooled. He obtained a treasure from a hidden realm known as the Immortal's Destruction, which he used to kill the golden serpent. He's only been in the Taiqing sect for a year, and his foundations are hardly firm. He won't be a threat," Nalan Feng critiqued disdainfully.
"But I heard that he's already at Ascension, and is particularly strong even among Ascension-realm cultivators as well."
"So what if he's at Ascension? He only got there because few knew of his identity. He's all but exposed now, and his father had quite a few enemies in the past. Those enemies will surely seek him out. He's even planning to develop a group of skilled workforce on the Isle of Xiao to reclaim his territory—ha! Who knows how long he'll even survive? It's just a pity that Zheng Qian's stubbornly continuing to help him out."
"Your Highness, my subordinates had a conflict with Xiao Nanfeng on Taiqing Island, and their whereabouts are currently unknown," Mr. Qin reminded him.
"Isn't it obvious? Xiao Nanfeng must have kidnapped or killed them. All our spies on the Isle of Xiao have been removed. There could hardly be any doubt."
"But we have no proof."
"What proof do we need? If I say he's responsible, then he is. If he seizes my cultivators, then I'll do the same to his. Find an opportunity to seize Zheng Qian. I'll give him one final chance. If he continues to refuse stubbornly, kill him. Better that than to have him continue helping Xiao Nanfeng," Nalan Feng commanded, smiling coldly.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Mr. Qin replied.
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