Drums of War
Page 28
“Ahh, how comfortable!” Hui Yue exclaimed with an excited voice as he felt warmth surround and nourish him. This also caused an increase in the density of the essence of the heavens and the earth in the surrounding area.
Seated still Hui Yue refined thread after thread of Qi, and doing so he also created one portion of black mist after another. This energy was divided from the essence of the heavens, and the earth and it quickly headed to the upper dantian where it floated around the golden orb. Watching it, Hui Yue knew what he was refining was Yang energy, and the energy he was obtaining was vastly superior to the energy that he had absorbed at night. Refining Yin energy, although it felt like it made a big difference, truly was just a drop of water in a raging sea. It was nowhere enough to refine all the Yang energies within Hui Yue’s body.
‘Stop cultivating,’ Lan Feng said with a grumpy voice, instantly bringing Hui Yue’s activities to a stop. The young man was greatly confused, but he dared not go against the phoenix. Although the beast was not incredibly strong, he was still aware of many things.
‘If you keep refining Yang energy your Wu Wei will become unbalanced. As soon as you have unbalanced energies it will be much harder to balance them again. That is why Xu Piao and Xie Lan never spent all their time cultivating, unlike you youngsters back in the Dungeons of the Divine. What you need is enlightenment and Yin energy. You can get Yin energy many ways. I already explained training in the cold and at midnight, through using medicinal pills and herbs. Another way is to take the virginity of a woman. A way I, personally, think is the best, but there is sadly a lack of beautiful birds around here. If it was Sha Yun on the other hand…’ The bird’s voice trailed off as he embarrassingly cleared his throat. ‘As I said, there are a lot of ways to gain Yin energy, so if you truly want to train hard, the only thing you are allowed to train is your external strength. Train your body and absorb all the Yin energy you possibly can.’
Hui Yue could not help but sigh the moment he heard the phoenix mentioning Sha Yun, but he was somewhat used to the bird’s strange personality. Instead of thinking about it, he started running around the training ground. At first, he was moving slowly to allow for his muscles to warm up; then he picked up the pace until he ran so swiftly that one could really focus on him. His speed was astonishing, and this was his speed without relying on any of the three types of energy Qi, Spiritual Energy, or Wu Wei.
Running with weights on his body, Hui Yue felt himself getting closer and closer to his limits. His teeth were gnashed hard together, and his eyes were determined as he kept saying ‘one more step, just one more step.’ to himself. Something which seemed to push him further and further. His speed which had previously been a steady fast pace was dropping but no matter how much it dropped his wobbly legs kept moving. He never once stopping until a rush of strength surged through his entire body. It felt as though a refreshing energy appeared from somewhere deep within. As soon as this thread of energy emerged, Hui Yue stopped running. His hands rested on his thighs as he was gasping for air.
Although he had just gained extra energy, this energy was from breaking his own limit, and if he was to continue what he had been doing and spend the hard earned energy, then it was likely to have a detrimental effect rather than a positive one.
Having finished the run, Hui Yue did not stop training. After training his legs, he moved on to the rest of his body as soon as he had managed to catch his breath. The young man started other exercises which trained every muscle from his fingers to his feet.
Every time Hui Yue trained a specific kind of muscle, he would continue until this foreign energy appeared proving that he had broken through yet another limit for that specific muscle. This limit training was taught to him by Wan Qiao, and it was something which had already given him immense strength alongside a much greater defense. Building his body had helped him immensely on his path of cultivation.
Finishing the training, Hui Yue took a towel and wiped away the sweat which was running from his forehead, before he noticed that his training session had gathered quite an audience. The ones observing him were a mixture of the Lords of the Forest alongside high ranked Emperors. Looking at all these experts, at first Hui Yue was surprised, but after observing them, he instantly noticed that all the lords in front of him were the ones he had selected to participate in the war. The Emperors were the experts they had chosen as having the most potential to become commanders of the lower ranked soldiers.
Seeing the sight in front of him, Hui Yue could not help but smile. He stood in front of the most exalted experts within Shenyuan, all of them were waiting for him; someone who had just broken into the King rank. Here he was sweating profusely after having trained for the majority of the day. He had been so absorbed in his training that he had not noticed the many experts appearing around him.
“Excuse me,” He said with a clear voice. “I’m sorry to have kept you all waiting,” He continued. He did not seem truly sorry, but the pleasantry still caught favor with many of the experts. Some of them had waited hours for Hui Yue to finish training. Truth be told, although all these experts knew about limit training, there were only a selected few who had the perseverance to truly train to their limits, and to see someone who could overcome one limit after another caused everyone present to have a new impression of this young man.
“I am sorry to ask, but could all of you form a line. Lords at the front followed by their Emperors. I don’t mind what order you stand in; I just need to view all of you.” He spoke out loud, and his voice carried a certain degree of authority. Although the men in front of him were all far stronger than him, not to mention that they were exalted figures within the forest, Hui Yue still stood his ground and gave some simple orders to everyone present.
At first, the Emperors expected that these lords would refuse to follow orders from a meager King. From someone whom all of them could trample, but all of them were shocked when they saw their lords nod their heads and instantly follow the orders given to them moments before.
Looking at the many experts in front of him, Hui Yue was not the least bit intimidated. He knew that he was needed, and he knew that the lords valued him for his ability to wage war. What was in front of him was the keystone of his army. Looking at the men who stood in one long line, Hui Yue finally understood that his job was to build an army. His eyes grew serious, and his fist tightened as he took a few steps backwards.
“Lord Pan, please step forward,” Hui Yue called out, and as soon as his voice had sounded, the man whom Hui Yue had the privilege of meeting quite a few times stepped forward with four experts behind him. He moved towards the white-haired young man with his head held high and a smile on his face. He did not show the slightest bit of emotion as everything he thought was being kept inside. Even Hui Yue felt a chill going down his spine, and as soon as he felt the strength of the man in front of him, Hui Yue closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them, no sign of him being intimidated remained. The only thing found in those deep, ice-blue eyes of his was determination and authority. Authority to decide what happened with the many experts in front of him. Hui Yue was building an army and the lords had to follow his every command.
Chapter 46 – The Select Few
The number of Saints within Shenyuan was not known exactly. Although there were sixty-four Lords of the Forests, this was by no means stating that there were only sixty-four Saints. Around once a century a challenge would be issued. A challenge to take over the seat of a Lord of the Forest. Within the vast jungles of Shenyuan, many hidden experts lived. Experts who preferred to be secluded.
The only Saints Wan Qiao invited were the sixty-four lords, but unknown to both Hui Yue and Wan Qiao was that many of these hidden experts had sensed a change appear in Shenyuan and because of this, they made an appearance within the capital. They were picking up all the information they could get. As for what their opinions about this upcoming war with the humans were, that was something no one apart from them knew.
“Greetings Lord Pan,” Hui Yue said with a deep bow towards the expert in question. “I see you brought four experts with you. Please introduce them to me.”
Without waiting even the slightest bit, Lord Pan instantly started to answer the young man, “This is Hu Min,” He said gesturing for one of the experts to step forward. The expert in question instantly took a step forward and bowed deeply towards Hui Yue. Although he was uncertain who this youngster was, he saw that the Lords of the Forest were showing him great respect. A small Emperor like him dared not go against someone like this.
“Hu Min is the leader of my guard. He is a peak stage Emperor, and he is close to becoming a Saint. He is by far the strongest man in my army.” Lord Pan continued. Hearing this, Hui Yue nodded his head. He decided who was going to be the ten thousand man commander of Lord Pan’s men.
Lord Pan went through the four men he had in his group and introduced them all. There were four in total, and after they had all been introduced Hui Yue frowned.
“That is four experts, however each army needs to have five experts in command. We will split some of the armies into thousand man groups. These groups will have a thousand-man commander for each. Other armies will be split into two thousand man groups, and five thousand man groups. A few of them will stay ten thousand man groups. Each of these groups will be controlled by a commander. The stronger the commander the more troops he will lead. The reason we need armies of various sizes is because they are needed to take care of different tasks during the war. I’ll let you pick out the experts who will be the commanders on your own. Tomorrow make sure to each have five commanders show up here in the morning.”
“Next is Lord Jiang.” Hui Yue called out, and once more a lord stepped forward. This lord was followed by five experts. Looking at this small group of people, Hui Yue could not help but nod his head, all of them were clearly killing machines. They were all the same type of beast, large cat-like creatures with two large fangs, razor sharp claws, and a bloodthirsty expression in his eyes.
“Introduce yourself and your followers,” Hui Yue said and afterwards the cat-like lord did just that. After him was yet another expert who was called forth and after a couple of hours, all the lords had been introduced to Hui Yue.
The young man had given the same order to all of them; Make sure that the commanders appeared the following day at the training grounds. Doing some calculations, he asked for forty Lord of the Forest to participate in this war. Each of the lords had ten thousand guards which equalled four hundred thousand men. Each of the lords’ armies needed eighteen commanders which totalled seven hundred and twenty commanders. All of whom Hui Yue needed to train and get ready for war. A sigh escaped his lips as he saw how the experts left the training grounds, only one expert stayed behind.
Sighing deeply, Hui Yue suddenly knew that the task he had taken on was almost too big for him; however, after standing still and watching all the lords leave he once more sighed deeply before turning around. He was now face to face with Wan Qiao, who had been waiting behind.
“You’re doing a good job,” She said with a smile on her face. “I take it that you are just as excited as I am about this war, huh?” She asked curiously; a slim smile was visible on Hui Yue’s lips. Was he excited? Of course he was. This was a chance for him to show what he was capable of doing, but the sheer power that he was controlling and trying to train was enough to make him feel nauseous. He honestly doubted whether or not he truly had enough knowledge to be able to bring them all to victory.
“Wan Qiao, do we have magical beasts who are very small at our disposal? Maybe some from the rodent family, or something like bats?” Hui Yue suddenly asked the woman who was slightly taken aback, but as soon as she heard the question, the woman started pondering hard. She considered who fit the description and after some thought, she nodded.
“We have a few cultivators of the rat family,” She answered. “The strongest is an Emperor, and the other three are Kings. What do you need them for?”
“Although I expect the Siban Empire to act according to my plan, I have no idea if they will or not,” Hui Yue said with a sigh, “Having a few small beasts infiltrate the imperial castle will let us know what they plan on doing,” Hui Yue continued. His idea caused Wan Qiao to nod. It was true that they might act differently than expected.
“Don’t worry about this part,” Wan Qiao said after thinking about it for some time, “I’ll deal with this, all you have to do is focus on creating an army out of these guards. As long as we have an army, we will win the war. Intel is something I’ll work on. Any information I learn will be given straight to you,” She said seriously, and Hui Yue nodded gratefully as he knew that if he had to deal with gathering intel when he needed to prepare an army, then he would be doomed to fail.
“Thank you for the help,” Hui Yue said as he was about to leave. But before he could go anywhere, his hand was grasped by Wan Qiao and with a secretive smile, she started to drag the young man with her towards the castle. Being dragged like this, Hui Yue was quite confused about what was happening. He knew that Wan Qiao was many times stronger than him, so even if he did wish to break free of her grip, it was impossible.
Wan Qiao was not moving towards Hui Yue’s usual quarters, instead he was being dragged towards the wing where Wan Qiao’s chambers were located. The same place where all the lords were given residence.
Rushing into a wing with very elaborate rooms the direction they took was away from Wan Qiao’s chambers. After rushing for a few more minutes, they reached a door made of heavywood carved with elaborate works art, showing a various array of magical beasts.
“Who lives here?” Hui Yue wondered as he looked at the massive door in front of him. Against his expectations, Wan Qiao instantly opened the door not bothering to knock or in any way warn whoever was inside that they were entering. Although Hui Yue preferred announcing his arrival first, he had no other choice than to follow Wan Qiao inside as his eyes looked around the beautiful room.
What they entered seemed to be a living room. Elaborate furniture occupied the middle of the room: couches, chairs, and tables of the finest quality were placed within. In the corner, a desk and a comfortable chair were situated functioning as a small office.
Moving through the room, Hui Yue found that there was an adjoined bedroom and bathroom. Both of these rooms were large and filled with furniture. The bedroom had a bed which was three times as large as the bed he used. The bathroom had a large pool which could fit tens of people within. The water seemed to be heated up from a hot spring underneath the room somewhere.
Once more, Hui Yue wondered who lived here, but he said nothing. Instead he looked at Wan Qiao, silently awaiting an explanation. It did not take long before she opened her mouth and said, “You are the Grand Marshall of our war. You cannot live in such a small room like before,” She smiled as she picked up a memory stone which served as the key for the room which she was giving to the young man. “Welcome to the upper-class accommodations for Shenyuan’s experts.” She said with a smile on her face. Hui Yue could not help but show a wry smile as he heard what she said. Although he was not a Lord of the Forest, he was indeed a high profile figure of Shenyuan. With a grateful nod, he headed to the desk where he instantly started working. He had a lot to do before tomorrow where he was going to meet all the commanders for the first time. He could not help but wonder whether or not they would be able to live up to his expectations.
….
The trip through the Siban Empire was a trip which Li Meilin had trekked before. She had taken this path months before when she was a part of the delegation visiting Shenyuan, but now she was the only survivor. She was rushing back to the capital with information that she knew the Emperor needed to know. Her eyes were filled with determination. She had long since go
tten past her fear of acting according to the beasts’ wishes as she had no other way of going about this.
As an Emperor her speed was astonishingly fast; however, although she could run incredibly fast on the ground, her speed could not hold a candle to the One-Horned Eagle, who brought her to the border. Had he been with her, then she would have reached the capital within a day or two. Li Meilin was aware how absurd her thoughts were, and she kept running at her maximum speed rushing towards the capital not taking even the slightest break.
As Li Meilin rushed through the rural Siban, she felt a pain in her heart as she knew that if a war were to happen, then these small villages on the outskirts of Siban were highly likely to suffer terribly.
Seeing this, the chill in her otherwise beautiful eyes turned ice-cold. She was willing to help anyone around her, and she sped up rushing directly to the capital.
Arriving at the capital took her the better of a week running non-stop. The only thing which kept her nourished was the essence of the heavens and the earth. Her speed was as high as it could be while taking no breaks. As she arrived at the capital, many guards instantly recognized her, and they sent a message to the imperial palace that the Senior Observer Li had returned.
As Li Meilin made her way to the imperial palace, she was astonished to see that a group of guards came out to greet her and take her directly to see the Emperor, who was waiting to hear what she had to say.