Drums of War

by Tinalynge

  “Hah, that kid needs to learn his limits! He will be knocked flying by those Emperors. Dying is too easy a way out for someone that arrogant!”

  “Haha, who does he think he is? A useless early stage King, who would allow him to stand on a stage together with this many experts of our forest?”

  Snickering the whole audience watched him as they were greatly interested in how this young man was going to be punished, all of them feeling gleeful. Knowing that everyone was looking at him with such hostility, Hui Yue could do nothing but sigh. He climbed another step and was still not stopped by these experts. Step after step, the tension was getting so thick that one could cut it with a knife, everyone was unexpectedly holding their breath. They did not understand what was going on, nor when this young man was going to be hauled off.

  Finally, Hui Yue stepped onto to the arena floor, and as he did everyone leaned forward. Now had to be the final moment for him to be punished, but a collective gasp of air could be heard as the commanders on stage made no sign of removing him, instead they all bowed their heads slightly and made space for him to move towards the podium.

  Reaching the podium everyone in the audience were filled with surprise, shock, and disbelief. Their murmurs were heard throughout the surrounding areas. A few broken sentences could be heard as well. “What is he doing up there?” “Who is this person?” “Why is he such a weak looking guy?” “Is this for real?”

  The questions rained down upon the young man as Hui Yue stood on the podium and cleared his throat. This action caused the many experts to become quiet and look at the young man in front of them, incredulously. The young man who was supposedly weaker than them and at the same time far younger. Some of the experts recognized him from the training grounds while others had never seen him before.

  “Good day,” Hui Yue said with a loud, clear voice, a voice so loud that it could be heard from every corner of the surrounding area, every single expert heard his voice crystal clear. All of them focused on him, some narrowed their eyes filled with disbelief, others had eyes widened from shock. No one seemed to truly listen to what he was saying.

  “I am Hui Yue; the one who has been granted the rank of Grand Marshall,” Once more his voice boomed out as every word was heard by these experts, but they had a hard time truly understanding what he was saying.

  Seeing that no one was truly listening to him, Hui Yue sighed once again as he said nothing but just looked at the many experts in front of him. Thinking for some time, he wondered how to make them all interested in what he was saying, or at least make them forget the rank of Hui Yue so that they could function properly. Suddenly an idea came to mind.

  “I am here on behalf of your lords,” His voice once more sounded out. As soon as lords were mentioned, it was as though the many cultivators in front of Hui Yue suddenly woke up from their trance. Their eyes all open and they straightened their backs.

  “The lords have all decided for me to become the Grand Marshall of this war. Although I might not be as strong as you. Although I might not be a veteran when it comes to duels, and I am too young to truly understand the honor of a cultivator, despite this there is one thing I know a good deal about, and that is War!”

  “What we are setting out to do is not a tournament, we are not going to find the strongest amongst the cultivators. This is not a sparring match against another kingdom; we are going to war! A war which will be filled with blood, desperation, and death! In a war you do not have only one opponent to battle, you use all your strength to kill anything which comes your way who is not your allies.”

  “If you want to gain fame for your lord then you have to win this war!”

  “We will form forty armies. Each army is going to be controlled by your Lords! So if one army fails well, that would be a tremendous loss to your lord. Survive for your own sake, but more importantly, survive so that your lord can gain face!”

  “I need each and every one of you to gather into forty groups. Gather in groups of your respective lords!” Hui Yue finally yelled out after which he just stood there, looking at the many experts and crossing his arms over his chest. Impatience was visible in his eyes as he was staring at the many cultivators in front of him. His finger tapping on his arm showing his impatience

  Seeing his impatience the experts behind him felt a sudden danger, and the ten thousand man commanders instantly jumped off the stage and positioned themselves in a large line. The ten commanders formed the start of forty straight lines in front of them, forty lines with ten thousand experts on each line. Looking at all the cultivators in front of him, Hui Yue felt excited and a smile appeared on his face.

  “These forty armies will be given individual tasks,” Hui Yue continued, “But before that, I need every single one of you to become a part of a five man group. Create a five man group and listen to what your commanders teach you. I will need to remake some arrangements and tactics.”

  Finishing this, Hui Yue stepped off the podium and moved towards the stair once more. He knew that the commanders would be better suited for the job of convincing these experts about the benefits of working in groups.

  Leaving the arena, Hui Yue had a smile on his face as he saw how the many guards were being made into groups of five by their commanders. The faces of these commanders were stern and serious as they looked at the many experts below their command. Although they had never commanded anyone before, it came to them naturally as they repeated Hui Yue’s words from the day before. His words which convinced them that although they were cultivators, this was not their forte and they had to behave like soldiers. Here and there the commanders had stern looks on their faces as they were explaining exactly why this was important to the lower ranked experts. Seeing this, Hui Yue could not help but feel satisfied.

  Once more, the man moved through the tent camp, but this time, it felt completely different. The first time, Hui Yue’s surroundings were filled with people rushing back and forth, yet now it was completely empty. The tents were all standing there, swaying in the wind but no one was close by to see it.

  Hui Yue once more made his way through the city gates and entered the bustling city. Everything was the same as it had been in the morning, and a feeling of expectation and excitement filled the air making it feel as though a festival was going on.

  Making his way to the castle, Hui Yue greeted the guards and servants he came across on his way back to his room, but the closer he got to his room, the more Saints started appearing. One after another, they all wished to know how the speech had gone. All of them asked questions about his performance and the way he was greeted.

  Hui Yue knew that he could not just rush through these encounters, and once again sighed internally he smiled on the outside. He told one Saint after another about the experiences he went through that morning. Repeating it again and again Hui Yue slowly made his way towards the door behind which was his sanctum. When he finally reached his room, Hui Yue clutched the handle with trembling hands before he rushed inside. Finally relieved that he did not have to explain what had happened one more time.

  The reason that these experts were so curious was quite simple. The day before they were capable of overhearing what happened at the meeting with the commanders and this genius in front of them; however, this time they had not been able to follow it. Although they were experts, so many experts like them hiding together would definitely be noticed, and it would be undignifying if they were noticed. But now that Hui Yue appeared, it was a simple matter to just ask him how it went.

  Chapter 51 – The Blue Cloud

  Heaving a heavy sigh of relief, Hui Yue closed the door to his room behind him and slowly made his way to the bathroom. Having spoken to the many experts was nerve-wracking, but he was certain that no one noticed his discomfort. Thinking back to the meeting with the army, Hui Yue had positive feelings. He was also confident that the Emperors would deal with the groups the same way he dealt with them. The only difference was that the army would look at the E
mperors with admiration while the Emperors had looked at Hui Yue with doubt.

  Having finally started working with the army, Hui Yue was excited. He finally understood what an army truly was. Although this was a small army, seeing the four hundred thousand experts standing in front of him, Hui Yue felt drunk on excitement. To control that many humans, Hui Yue had to admit that he felt adrenaline rushing through his veins. But he also understood that these Kings and Emperors from the army were not listening to him because they respected him, they listened to him because he had almost a thousand Emperors standing behind him supporting his decisions. Grumbling about this, Hui Yue decided that he needed to prove that he was not just some weak young man. He sat down on the floor facing the window so that when the moon would rise in the sky its rays would shine down upon him as he was training on the hard stone floor.

  Hui Yue entered his lower dantian and went towards the blue cloud which billowed out of the dantian cave in which it had previously rested calmly. Moments afterwards the blue cloud left the cave and shrouded the entire body in a massive blue cloud. The density of the essence of the heavens and the earth became heavy. A smile appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he allowed for the cloud to enter his body, and rush through his meridians while slowly being refined into Qi. The Yin and Yang energy was being sifted from the rest, as it passed through the meridians into the upper dantian where it slowly merged with each other, creating Wu Wei.

  The refinement of Wu Wei was far slower than the rest of the energies within Hui Yue’s body. Qi and spiritual energy were constantly in movement. Both energies were surging through his body, but no matter how much he refined Wu Wei was a type of energy which could not be rushed. It only allowed for so much energy to be created at a time.

  Hui Yue was already fully aware of this, and he was never impatient as he sat there. His body was completely still, and the smile on his face widened as the moon rose in the sky. The higher it rose, the more Yin energy he was able to harvest from the essence of the heavens and the earth.

  His upper dantian was filled with Yang energy, however as the moon was high in the sky Yin energy started flooding in and ever so slowly the two energies merged together as they created Wu Wei. This golden energy flooded into the upper dantian.

  Hui Yue had a great smile on his face as the sun rose over the horizon and poured through the window. The young man felt how his entire body was filled with energy. Slowly standing up, Hui Yue felt the bustling energies within his body, but suddenly the world started to spin around him. A dizzy spell descended, and Hui Yue plummeted to the ground; the world turned black as he wondered what was happening.

  Hui Yue laid on the floor for hours on end, while the blue cloud billowed outwards once again. As morning turned to noon, Wan Qiao wondered where the young man was, and as she knocked on his door, she noticed it was open. She instantly entered, and a bad premonition appeared in her heart. Her eyes were filled with worry.

  As soon as she entered the room, she instantly felt the heavy atmosphere. The density of the essence of the heavens and the earth was so thick that she had never felt anything like it before. As she moved further and further into his chambers, she saw the blue cloud enveloping the young man. As soon as she entered inside the blue cloud, she felt nauseated and weak. The blue cloud latched onto her and sucked energy out of her body making her legs weak. Her eyes were filled with astonishment as she saw how the blue cloud instantly delivered the energy it absorbed to Hui Yue. The energy rushed straight to his forehead, and it penetrated into the skull of the body on the floor. The young man on the floor gritted his teeth in pain, yet no matter how much pain he seemed to be in, his eyes never once opened. His body stayed still.

  “Attend me,” Wan Qiao said as she staggered backwards. She was trying to exit the blue cloud which was stuck onto her sucking energy from her until she finally managed to separate herself from it. Stumbling backwards, her face was ashen and her eyes widened in surprise.

  “This has to be the monk he spoke about,” Wan Qiao mumbled to herself as she looked at the young man who was still unconscious just laying on the floor. The blue cloud seemed to act as a barrier around him, not allowing anyone close.

  Three shadows appeared by Wan Qiao’s side. As she waved her hand, another two experts appeared from near Hui Yue, both of them seemed confused and uncertain.

  “Tell me what happened,” Wan Qiao ordered. Her voice was cold and her eyes sharp. She had personally ordered these two shadows to follow Hui Yue and protect him, yet now the young man was unconscious on the floor. His entire body twisted in pain.

  “He cultivated all night,” The voice which sounded was hoarse. One of the shadows kneeling on the ground was say what transpired, “When he finished cultivating he collapsed. We tried closing in on him, but the closer we came the stronger the suction force. The closer we got to him the more pain he seemed to be in. If we left him alone, he looked better off. We could not leave his side to warn you.” The shadow continued, and his words were clear and honest. Wan Qiao nodded her head. She leaned back as she heaved a heavy sigh after the feeling of having her energy sucked from her.

  “We cannot move him, but this can also be a good chance to give him extra energy.” She said with a smile sneaking onto her lips. “Although this is not going to be a comfortable feeling for him, we can assist him. Pick up all the female Kings we have in the army,” Wan Qiao ordered, and the five shadows around her nodded before they vanished into the shadows, following Wan Qiao’s order.

  Seated within the chambers, Wan Qiao looked at the unconscious young man. A smile was on her face as she leaned against the wall. “Sorry,” She murmured as she looked at him, “This is going to be painful for you, but I need you to get stronger.”

  It did not take long before a knock was heard on the door, and as Wan Qiao opened it a King ranked expert stepped inside. It was a woman and her face was filled with surprise as she was unaware of what was expected from her.

  “Come here,” Wan Qiao said and lifted her hand to lead the woman towards Hui Yue. As soon as she was grabbed by the blue cloud her eyes filled with fear, however the fear quickly changed to pain as energy gushed out from her forehead, and she collapsed to her knees. Her power constantly flowed into Hui Yue. Soon the sound of screaming could be heard from both the woman and the young man on the floor, and after having witnessed this for ten minutes, Wan Qiao pulled the woman back. She severed the blue cloud which was latched onto the woman.

  As she was removed her, the woman slowly regained her strength, and her eyes were filled with questions as she looked at Wan Qiao. Seeing the discomfort and questioning gaze of the young woman, Wan Qiao decided to answer.

  “I am sure you recognize this young man,” She started, and the woman nodded her head. The day before she had seen this young man standing on the podium as the Grand Marshall of their army. About what she saw now, the young woman was in deep shock. The blue cloud clearly took her energy, and had she stayed within it any longer she feared that her cultivation base would have been damaged. However, she was dragged out just in the nick of time. Because of this, all she lost was some Yin energy which she could easily reabsorbed from the world around her.

  “Don’t worry,” Wan Qiao said to the woman, “Sit down and relax until you feel better. We will need other people to do the same as you. So when you feel better, you are welcome to leave.” As soon as Wan Qiao stopped speaking another knock was heard on the door, and a new woman stepped inside. Wan Qiao once again led a woman towards this blue cloud, and much like earlier her face grew ashen as her energy was forcefully sucked out of her body and delivered to the young man who was unconscious and twisting in pain.

  Just like before, Wan Qiao grabbed the woman and severed the blue cloud after which she placed the woman on the ground and once more waited for her to sober up. Just as the first woman was about to leave, yet another one appeared. Wan Qiao kept repeating this gesture over and over again as more and more energy entered Hui Yue. After a few
times of this, his body slowly started glowing. The more energy which entered, the more and more pain to appear on the young man, and finally, after the twenty-fourth woman had been introduced to the blue cloud, the cloud itself seemed to thicken. The density was now so thick that one could touch it but no longer enter. It gathered itself as it reached the young man who was lifted from the floor and ever so slowly golden light started to shine from his forehead. The light shone strongly through the entire room. The women and Wan Qiao were all deeply shocked upon seeing what was happening, and ever so slowly the blue cloud vanished into his upper dantian.

  While the cloud was entering his upper dantian, the young man rose higher and higher into the air, until it was all gone and he plummeted to the ground. But even so, the young man showed no signs of waking up, and the golden light showed no signs of dimming.

  Wan Qiao quickly ordered all the women to leave, and as they left they all felt that this Grand Marshall was very different from what they had expected. The young man seemed to have many secrets which they knew nothing about and although they felt uncomfortable having their energy drained, they were all shocked that this young man was even capable of this feat.