Chapter 70: Countermeasure

　　An eerie silence reigned over the council hall. After Yunxiao had finished speaking, everyone’s jaw dropped and their eyes were as wide as copper bells. They were all completely stupefied.

　　‘Heavens! Is his mind full of intrigues? Even if he really doesn’t want to become a sworn brother with His Highness, he doesn’t need to refute a prince like this, does he?’

　　‘After all, there is a distinction between monarchs and courtiers. His Highness is the monarch, and he is the courtier. The courtier should carry out his duty as a subject. How is His Highness going to extricate himself from this awkward position when he has spoken so?’

　　Even Bai Mou was dumbstruck, and did not know how to ease the situation…

　　“Cough! Cough!”

　　With a black face, Li Chunyang coughed a few times and then shouted, “Luckily, you boy have a clear estimation of yourself and know that you are not qualified to become a sworn brother of the monarch as a courtier! Although His Highness thinks highly of you, you just have to carry out your duty as a courtier. You’ve not wasted my time spent on teaching you the way of a monarch and courtier when you were young!”

　　Qin Yue laughed awkwardly and said, “Young Master Yun is indeed special, worthy of being the heir of Duke Jingguo.”

　　As he said so, a shadow flashed quickly through his eyes. Everyone present was an expert, and even Jia Rong—who had the weakest strength—had an extraordinary divine sense, so they all saw it.

　　Both Li Chunyang and Ji Meng were a little worried about Yunxiao in their hearts.

　　Bai Mou was worried too, but it was Qin Yue she was worried about. After all, her divination showed that Yunxiao’s destiny was extremely complicated, and even her mystic technique could not find out anything. On the other hand, although Qin Yue had the fate of an emperor, he must meet Yunxiao to make it a reality. If he bore a grudge for what happened today, he would certainly bring misfortune to himself in the future!

　　Meanwhile, Jia Rong kept laughing in his heart. His admiration for Yunxiao was like a surging river, endless and out of control…

　　Of course, Yunxiao’s thoughts were much simpler. Who was he? He was the Vanquisher Martial Sovereign, Gu Feiyang! In today’s world, the number of people who were qualified to become sworn brothers with him could not even be counted on one hand! Even the emperors of the super empires were not included in this list, let alone the princes of some states!

　　Helping Qin Yue ascend to the throne was just something he would do conveniently in the course of his cultivation. If he were not in a good mood, he could always change sides to support Qin Yang. To him, the national fortune of a small state was nothing at all.

　　When he reigned supreme over the world in his previous life, if it were not for his disciple, Yang Di, who was from Tianshui, he probably would not have known there was such a state on the continent.

　　Yunxiao naturally knew what everyone was thinking, but his heart for the martial arts was strong. He swept the crowd with his eyes and said, “The honor and disgrace of the floating life are all dust. Life is like a fog…only martial arts are eternal!”

　　His remark was brilliant in every word, like a hammer blowing into the hearts of everyone present! Everyone seemed to have caught something from his words, but they could not fathom it. Even Qin Yue and Jia Rong, who had the weakest strength, felt their blood rushing and their hearts pounding, and the way they looked at Yunxiao changed once more.

　　At this moment, Qin Yue suddenly felt that his struggle for the throne was totally insignificant.

　　With his pupils growing wide and his expression looking a little blank, Ji Meng muttered to himself over and over again, “The honor and disgrace of the floating life are all dust. Life is like a fog…only martial arts are eternal.”

　　Suddenly, an epiphany poured into his head, bursting like a light in his mind. Then, four different powers began to gush out of his dantian and flowed along the four main meridians in his body. The powers—blue, red, white, and black—each represented a quadrant, washing every inch of meridians inside him before finally forming a brand-new energy and then returning to his dantian again.

　　Everyone in the council hall noticed the unusual phenomenon happening to Ji Meng. Four shafts of light, each of different color, were shooting out of his head, and the natural Primordial Qi around him was also affected, reflecting different colors. A few moments later, all of them were drawn into his body, and only then did the phenomenon disappear.

　　“Martial Lord!”

　　Bai Mou’s pupils constricted as she cried out in shock, “Commander Ji has become a Martial Lord!” A huge wave surged up in her heart, and she turned to look at Yunxiao in horror. Half a month ago when Ji Meng submitted to Yunxiao, he was just a seven-stars Martial Master. How did he manage to break through to the realm of Martial Lords in such a short period of time?

　　The utterly incomprehensible and unbelievable speed made Bai Mou’s mouth drop open, standing there at a loss.

　　Li Chunyang did not know this, but he was also surprised as he said, “When I broke through to the realm of Martial Lords, I spent six months in seclusion and it had taken me thousands of medial-grade Primordial Stones, as well as countless medicinal pills to succeed. I can’t believe you boy can break through the bottleneck in an instant because of an epiphany! Your luck is really amazing!”

　　Luck? Ji Meng smiled faintly in his heart. The brand-new realm strengthened his heart of martial arts. He gave Yunxiao a grateful look and then bowed to him deeply.

　　Yunxiao calmly accepted his bow and said with a smile, “This is your destiny. I’ll get Jia Rong to refine you ten Thousand Birds pills so you can break through to the realm of Martial Kings as soon as possible. Your current cultivation base is barely enough for you to be my right-hand man.”

　　Ji Meng paused for a moment and then answered seriously, “Yes, Young Master Yun!”

　　It was barely enough for a Martial Lord to be his right-hand man? Everyone’s face grew dark…

　　Although they did not know the real situation of Yunxiao, only Ji Meng and Jia Rong had no doubt about his words.

　　Qin Yue was shocked, and at the same time, a trace of envy flashed in his eyes. As a prince, Bai Mou was the only Martial Lord who followed him, and even she was not his subordinate. In any case, he was also overjoyed and said, “Now that we have another Martial Lord in our camp, our chances of winning are even better! I will go to Jialan Academy to see my teacher now!”

　　Yunxiao nodded and said, “Let’s not delay any more. I’ll go home with my grandfather now. Ji Meng, go and bring Xiao Qingwang to me. Jia Rong, go and bring Luo Yunshang. I don’t care what you do, you must invite her over.”

　　Li Chunyang smashed his fists together and said excitedly, “I will request to send the Central Army to rescue Kunjin in court tomorrow. Let’s see His Majesty’s attitude. Even if he refuses, I will get a deployment order from him at the very least! With Dasheng and Qingwang leading the army, even if Baizhan sends Yi Xiaoshan to fight us, they will have to suffer a great loss!”

　　After the discussion, everyone went on to carry out their tasks, and Yunxiao followed Li Chunyang back to the Li Family.

　　In a secret council chamber at Qin Yang’s residence…

　　In a fit of rage, Qin Yang smashed a priceless dragon chair to pieces with a palm and roared, “You had three Martial Lords while they only had one! You had thirty Martial Masters while they only had twenty! And you had more than fifty of the best crossbowmen from the army! However, only four of you have come back to see me!”

　　Trembling with anger, he pointed to Li Yi, who had a pale face, and bellowed, “How do you want to explain this to me, you damn slave!”

　　Gao Feng’s face was also very unsightly as he said coldly with a gloomy expression, “The men of my First Unit are almost completely wiped out! They were my best warriors! It was you who said that this mission was foolproof, and it could not only damage Qin Yue’s morale, but also eliminate a large number of experts around him. That was why I agreed to cooperate with you! Look at the result now! I managed to keep Bai Mou in check, but what have you done? How do you want to pay for the lives of more than thirty of my warriors and more than fifty of our best crossbowmen?”

　　Li Yi was filled with shame and indignation. Looking at his wound, he gnashed his teeth and said, “This was all caused by Li Yunxiao and Ji Meng! Ji Meng had tangled my two senior brothers, and that Li Yunxiao cut off one of my arms! Had it not been for them, my plan would have been successful!”

　　“Did I hear that right?” Qin Yang said angrily, “Ji Meng is just a seven-stars Great Martial Master while your two senior brothers are both Martial Lords! How could he possibly fight two Martial Lords at the same time? That Li Yunxiao is merely a warrior, and you are a Great Martial Master. How could he have the ability to cut off your arm? Can’t you make up a reasonable excuse?”

　　Li Yi and his two senior brothers were flushed with shame, and they bowed their heads with their eyes full of resentment. Suppressing his anger, Li Yi said, “I’m telling the truth! That Ji Meng had taken some kind of medicinal pill, which instantly gave him the strength of a Martial Lord. As for that Li Yunxiao… that Li Yunxiao…”

　　At the mention of this name, Li Yi felt a stream of blood about to gush out of his throat. He gasped and then said in a resentful voice, “That Li Yunxiao is even craftier, as he had hidden his strength so deeply! Not only does he possess a third-grade mystic weapon, but he also knows some mystic arts. When I was still in the Li Family, I had already investigated him and the results showed that he was a complete good-for-nothing. Who knew he would hide so deeply? With his crafty mind and strength, he will definitely be a major threat to Your Highness!”

　　Gao Feng, too, said darkly, “There’s something odd about this guy. That night, the mission of assassinating Qin Yue was supposed to be foolproof. But in the end, not only did we fail, but he had used some trick to turn Ji Meng over to his side! He is really a very strange guy!”

　　Qin Yang looked tired as he waved and said, “I don’t want to listen to your explanation any more. How do we deal with this situation now? Give me a solution.”

　　“Your Highness need not worry. Although our operation failed this time, it doesn’t matter at all,” Li Yi said. “Isn’t our plan well underway? When the Golden Lion Army Your Highness has called back from Whitehead Town returns to the capital and joins the forces of the Central Army that have submitted to Your Highness, we will be able to fully control the Central Army. At that time, the whole capital will be under Your Highness’s control.”

　　Qin Yue said in a low voice, “I’m not worried about this. But what about Xiao Qingwang? I think it is really possible that Li Yunxiao can cure his injury. At that time, when he chooses to support Qin Yue, who among us can deal with him? Moreover, another Martial King in our state is Qin Yue’s teacher, which is the biggest headache for me!”

　　There was a grim smile on Li Yi’s face as he said, “Your Highness can rest assured about this matter. When the time comes, my Master will send an expert to assist us. This Xiao Qingwang is bound to die!”

　　Qin Yang nodded and said, “If so, that would be great. I hope you don’t make any mistakes again.”

　　Li Yi swore he would make things right, but there was a trace of sarcasm in his eyes. After that, he left with Guang Yuanjia and Yu Yuanwen.

　　After a moment of silence, Qin Yang asked, “Commander Gao, do you think these people from Baizhan are reliable?”

　　Gao Feng’s eyes flashed with a murderous look as he said coldly, “If they are reliable, sows can climb trees! I really feel unworthy for my thirty best warriors!”

　　Qin Yang nodded. “I think so too. It seems that we still have to rely on ourselves. The matter has to be implemented more quickly, and it is also time to force the other three units of State Guardians to declare their stance.”

　　“I understand!” Gao Feng said, his eyes flashing.