Chapter 69: Three Men

　　Qin Yue was shocked, and asked hastily, “Three men? Which three?”

　　The rest of the people were also taken aback, and they pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

　　Yunxiao held out a finger and said, “The first man will be the commander of the troops. Naturally, I’m not qualified to awe those military big shots. But besides my grandfather, there is another man who can.” He paused for a brief moment and smiled, then continued, “Although I can’t completely cure him yet, as long as he stays with me and takes medicinal pills on time, he can definitely return to his peak!”

　　Shocked, Li Chunyang said in exultation, “You…you really found a solution?”

　　Yunxiao nodded and said, “I have refined some Mysterious Fire pills which can temporarily suppress the cold poison in his body. By using the pure Yang energy to heal his internal injury, he can completely return to his peak during ordinary times.”

　　Li Chunyang’s eyes were red as he said happily, “Great! Great!”

　　Qin Yue could not help but ask, “Who are you talking about?”

　　Yunxiao laughed, “He is Chen Dasheng, who followed my grandfather to open the frontier and set a land of three thousand miles in Baizhan afire, and was conferred as the Duke of Zhongyong after his ‘death’!”

　　“The Duke of Zhongyong, Chen Dasheng!” Surprised, Qin Yue said, “Wasn’t he dead? Didn’t he die in the last ranking battle?”

　　Li Chunyang’s eyes grew cold as he said, “To get rid of the people around me, His Majesty had sent Chen Dasheng to take part in that damned ranking battle. He returned to the capital after a narrow escape, but was ambushed on the night of his arrival. If I hadn’t found out in time, he would have died! Moreover, after conferring him Duke Zhongyong, His Majesty reduced the title of his family by one rank. Hehe…”

　　Qin Yue’s heart skipped a beat, and traces of cold sweat were oozing out of his forehead as he sensed the chill emanating from Li Chunyang’s body and heard the sinister laughter. “How silly of my father! How could he treat a loyal and important minister like this? When I ascend to the throne, I’ll definitely restore the Chen Family’s title!” He said in a hurry.

　　Li Chunyang gave a cold snort and said, “Later on, I replaced Dasheng with a death row prisoner and told the world that he was dead. In fact, he had been recuperating in the secret chamber within my residence. But over the years, he has become weaker and weaker…”

　　A glimmer of light flashed through Bai Mou’s eyes. “Is General Chen’s injury and Commander Xiao’s…”

　　“Yes!” Li Chunyang said in a low voice, “Their injuries were caused by that Yi Xiaoshan’s ice energy!”

　　Qin Yue wiped the sweat from his forehead and said happily, “Since Duke Zhongyong can come back, he must be the commander-in-chief!”

　　Yunxiao chuckled and said, “Commander Bai, since you know Xiao Qingwang also suffered internal injuries caused by ice energy, you should know who the second man I’m talking about is, right?”

　　“Young Master Yun, you are really a genius! I can’t believe you have a way to suppress the ice energy,” Bai Mou said softly. “With Commander Xiao following you, your rescue mission will naturally be unimpeded! But, I’m very curious now. With the help of General Chen and Commander Xiao, your rescue of Kunjin will certainly succeed. In this case, who will be the third man?”

　　Yunxiao said calmly, “This third man is naturally Prince Yue’s teacher, Martial King Zhong Lishan!”

　　Qin Yue shook his head and said, “Impossible! Although Teacher Zhong supports me, he will never take part in the affairs of the state. He is unlikely to come forward unless the army of Baizhan is at the gates of the capital.”

　　“I’m not asking him to come forward. Your Highness, have you forgotten the disaster in Tianshui sixty years ago?”

　　“You mean…”

　　Sixty years ago, Tianshui’s current king, Qin Zheng, was only a prince. At that time, there was a rebellion in the south. The rebels had already arrived at the gates of the capital, and the entire state army was routed, unable to put up an effective resistance.

　　At this critical juncture, the then dean of Jialan Academy encouraged the students to form a student army and fight the rebels. They not only saved the crisis in the capital, but also sent the rebellious troops back to the south and eventually wiped them out.

　　From that time onwards, Qin Zheng’s father, the then king, conferred the group of students the title of Guardians of the State’!

　　This was the origin of the Guardians of the State.

　　Yunxiao said, “It is the holiday season now, and the academy has already started to organize students to sign up for the holiday training mission. Your Highness should know that the academy’s past missions were no less dangerous than that of rescuing Kunjin. If this mission is changed to rescuing Kunjin and the reward is doubled…”

　　“Good idea!” Qin Yue was overjoyed. “Young Master Yun, you are indeed resourceful! If we can mobilize the students of the academy, we will have a large number of Martial Masters, warriors, and apprentice warriors! Such an army is enough to fight even a hundred times stronger enemy!”

　　“Almost all the experts in Tianshui over the years came from Jialan Academy. Your Highness can mobilize the students in person and bring all the warriors to you. They are the future pillars of the state. Not only that, they will be led by the teachers of the academy, and we all know that even the weakest teachers are Great Martial Masters. Moreover, if we want to suppress the ice energy in Xiao Qingwang and Chen Dasheng, Luo Yunshang must also go with the army. After all, she is a genuine Martial Lord.”

　　After hearing what Yunxiao said, everyone was stunned. This move of his was really genius! Through this method, he not only found them a strong army out of thin air, but also put all the future pillars of the state under Qin Yue’s command!

　　Bai Mou’s eyes sparkled as she said approvingly, “With Luo Yunshang as the commander of the student army, their strength is stronger than that of the First Unit of the State Guardians!”

　　Yunxiao narrowed his eyes and said, “Xiao Qingwang’s control of the State Guardians is almost non-existent because his injury is getting more and more serious. Gao Feng’s First Unit is now supporting Prince Qin Yang, Commander Bai’s Third Unit is supporting Your Highness, while the other three units have their own thoughts. But, as long as Xiao Qingwang returns, who among the five units would dare to disobey him? Your Highness, with the only three Martial Kings in Tianshui on your side, how could you fail?”

　　“Three Martial Kings?” Qin Yue’s eyes went wide as he asked, “Who is the third one?”

　　Bai Mou’s pupils constricted as she looked at Li Chunyang in horror and blurted out, “Is Duke Jingguo…”

　　“Haha!” Li Chunyang burst out laughing. “Yes, the third Martial King is me! I’ve already stepped into the Five Elements realm.” He looked at Yunxiao with a face full of admiration and a heart filled with great gratification. All the ideas put forward by this grandson of his were genius. It seemed to him that Qin Yue was bound to be the final winner of this game of the throne.

　　All the people present were shocked until Qin Yue hurriedly bowed down and said with great joy, “Congratulations, Duke Jingguo!”

　　The others did not dare to be disrespectful either as they all stood up and bowed to Li Chunyang, of course, except Yunxiao.

　　A Martial King of the Five Elements realm was a state’s supreme fighting force. He was above all, and did not even have to salute the king when they met. Instead, the king would have to be respectful toward every Martial King.

　　“Haha! Don’t stand on ceremony!”

　　Li Chunyang was delighted to see his grandson being so courageous and resourceful. He decided not to hide his strength anymore, and his aura exploded out in an instant. All the people present immediately felt a supreme aura like that of a guru pressing on their hearts. Except for Yunxiao, everyone’s mind was shaken.

　　Of all the people present, Bai Mou and Ji Meng’s cultivation base were the strongest, so their feelings were also the deepest. They had no doubt that Li Chunyang was a genuine Martial King!

　　Qin Yue felt as if a piece of pie had suddenly fallen from the sky and almost knocked him unconscious. He burst into laughter as he went up to Yunxiao and grabbed his hand. “Young Master Yun,” he said kindly, “you are indeed the benefactor of my life! If I can ascend to the throne in the future, it must be because of you. Today, I would like to become sworn brothers with you. From now on, we will share the good and bad together. What do you think?”

　　Li Chunyang’s eyes lit up. He knew that Qin Yue did so because he had become a Martial King. Nevertheless, if Yunxiao could become a sworn brother of the future king, the Li Family would naturally be bathed in glory in the future.

　　Bai Mou also nodded slightly. She agreed with Qin Yue’s approach, because Yunxiao was indeed a talent worth being courted.

　　Stunned, Yunxiao drew back his hand and said awkwardly, “This…this…We’d better wait until later…”

　　What!

　　Everyone thought they had heard wrong as their eyes grew wide and their ears pricked up.

　　Qin Yue froze on the spot. As a prince and the future monarch of a state, he wanted to become sworn brothers with a teenager, which was a great honor and something hundreds of millions of his subjects all over the world did not dare to dream of. But he was refused? He was totally unprepared for this and stood there stupidly.

　　A cold sweat broke out on Jia Rong’s forehead. His admiration for Yunxiao had reached its peak, and he was shouting in his mind, ‘Young Master Yun is truly my idol!’

　　Ji Meng’s eyes were full of admiration as well after a brief moment of confusion. As for Li Chunyang, the joy in his eyes deepened after a moment of absence. At this time, he finally knew that a small Tianshui could not keep his grandson.

　　‘This boy has been hiding so deeply before. I think he has already had the idea of leaving Tianshui, so he doesn’t take things here to heart. Now, because of the pressure of the situation, he is forced to show his true ability. Hmph! If it weren’t for such a major event as regime change, this boy would have been playing dumb all the time, wouldn’t he?’

　　Bai Mou swallowed and rushed to Qin Yue’s rescue. “Young Master Yun indeed has his heart set on the state affairs. Now is the time of internal and external troubles, and we should not consider personal honor and disgrace. No wonder His Highness wants to become sworn brothers with Young Master Yun! I think it is better for you to become sworn brothers after His Highness ascends the throne. Don’t you think so?”

　　Qin Yue’s face flickered as he said, “Commander Bai is right! Young Master Yun is indeed a rare genius, and I was too impatient. I will announce that we will become sworn brothers on the day of my accession!”

　　Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The situation was finally eased, and it was better for them to take it as if nothing had happened. In this way, Qin Yue would not feel too humiliated.

　　However, Yunxiao suddenly frowned at this moment and said, “The day of accession? I think it’s better to forget it!” He sighed and then said, “I’m used to being alone, and not used to being brothers with others. I have never thought of becoming sworn brothers with anyone, so don’t mention it again.”