Chapter 128 - 127: Celestial Sword Alliance and Chengyang Marquis’s Mansion
"Hmph, it’s all because of Shen Minghe,"
Ling Jing said angrily, "That useless guy couldn’t even handle a mere Gu Zhan, and we’ve lost the entire Inspection Team because of him!"
Taking a deep breath, Ling Jing asked, "Can we make something out of this incident?"
"I’m afraid not,"
The elderly man shook his head, "Gu Zhan’s influence in Linjiang City runs deep. This time, we planned to catch him off guard, but we failed. He will surely be cautious now. Shen Minghe can fabricate collusion among Gu Zhan’s subordinates, so can Gu Zhan.
Moreover, with his influence in Linjiang City, he can make the fake seem real. Trying to capitalize on this incident is nearly impossible, and we don’t have the time to waste. Shen Minghe is dead, and our plan targeting logistics has also failed. Continuing would be meaningless!"
Ling Jing said unwillingly, "Are we just going to let this slide?"
The elderly man pondered for a moment, then said, "We definitely can’t let it slide. Keeping this boy alive is a big problem. We can’t control the logistics authority..."
Just then,
A middle-aged man carrying two short rifles entered the room and bowed, "Crown Prince, there’s trouble. After slaughtering the Inspection Team, Gu Zhan went straight to Mist Rain Manor. Looks like he’s going to target Young Hero Qi!"
The elderly man suddenly panicked, "Oh no, we were so focused on Shen Minghe’s issue, we forgot about this. Crown Prince, we must hurry there, or something terrible will happen!"
Ling Jing furrowed his brow, saying, "It can’t be that serious, can it? Qi Qianyu is said to be invincible below the Dao Realm. How can Gu Zhan defeat him?"
The elderly man twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Crown Prince, you don’t pay much attention to the Martial World affairs, so you might not be aware that sometimes the Martial World isn’t just about fighting and killing; sometimes it’s about human relationships. As for the name of Qi Qianyu, ’Little Sword Spirit’... hmm, the wider the spread, the more human connections involved."
Ling Jing raised an eyebrow and said, "Because of Qi Baiyu?"
The elderly man nodded, saying, "Yes, Qi Baiyu earned his fame sword by sword. If nothing unexpected happens, he is sure to become a Grandmaster-level figure. Who in the Martial World wouldn’t give him some face, hence the name Little Sword Spirit for Qi Qianyu."
After saying that, the old man looked at the middle-aged man with short rifles and said, "Both of us have Innate Ninth Layer cultivation, and both have sparred with Qi Qianyu. Don’t be fooled by Qi Qianyu’s Innate Ninth Layer strength; he defeated both of us, but if it were real combat, he wouldn’t withstand one move from us."
Ling Jing, surprised, said, "Really?"
The middle-aged man with short rifles said, "It’s true. I’ve sparred with Qi Qianyu. His realm is falsely elevated, his foundation unstable, and his True Qi is very mixed, clearly forced up by consuming Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. His swordsmanship is just superficial, lacking real combat experience and adaptability.
If Gu Zhan could kill Shen Minghe, killing Qi Qianyu wouldn’t be too difficult. Although Shen Minghe’s cultivation isn’t as high as Qi Qianyu’s, his foundation is stable, his combat experience rich, far stronger than Qi Qianyu!"
Ling Jing furrowed his brows, saying, "Another useless person, yet my father wants me to befriend him..."
"Crown Prince," the elderly man said, "The Marquis asked you to make friends with Qi Qianyu not because he values Qi Qianyu, but to use Qi Qianyu to win over Qi Baiyu. Qi Baiyu truly dotes on his younger brother and reportedly intends to make him the Vice Alliance Leader of the Celestial Sword Alliance.
Our Chengyang Marquis’s Mansion already has deep cooperation with Qi Baiyu, but Qi Baiyu always acts as he pleases. He may cooperate with us today but could decide not to cooperate at any moment, completely uncontrollable.
For the Marquis to completely win over Qi Baiyu, he specially sent you to Linjiang City with Qi Qianyu, just to involve Qi Qianyu. As long as Qi Qianyu is involved, Qi Baiyu won’t be an unstable factor any longer?"
Ling Jing nodded, saying, "So Qi Qianyu must not get into trouble?"
"He absolutely cannot be harmed," the elderly man said, "If anything happens to Qi Qianyu, Qi Baiyu might go crazy, let alone cooperate. He might directly become a sworn enemy of our Chengyang Marquis’s Mansion. Crown Prince, you know the Marquis’s plans,
and Qi Baiyu’s Celestial Sword Alliance controls Eight Hundred Li of Wei River Land, a crucial waterway controlling Yunzhou’s north-south resources. We must win this over!"
Ling Jing immediately nodded and said, "I understand. Whether my plan in Linjiang City with the White Lotus Sect fails or not, I must ensure Qi Qianyu’s safety for sure!"
The elderly man nodded and said, "Crown Prince, the Marquis sent you to Linjiang City publicly to start handling cooperation with the White Lotus Sect, secretly aiding in successfully breaking the city. But in fact, the Marquis’s real purpose is to completely bind Qi Qianyu to us through this incident.
Our cooperation with the White Lotus Sect has been very thorough. We don’t lack just this insignificant Linjiang City; it would be great if it succeeds, but it won’t matter even if it doesn’t, not affecting the greater picture considerably,
but the Celestial Sword Alliance is different. Qi Qianyu is the only breakthrough to bring the whole Celestial Sword Alliance to our side. Given how much Qi Baiyu dotes on his younger brother, if Qi Qianyu joins us, it equals Qi Baiyu’s Celestial Sword Alliance joining us!"
Ling Jing slowly nodded, his expression becoming very serious, and said softly, "I never expected Father to have this layer of arrangements. In that case, we can go a little later. It’s like a hero saving the damsel in distress; you must appear at the right time to leave a lasting impression."
After saying that, a smile slowly appeared on Ling Jing’s face, and he said softly, "If necessary, we can directly kill Gu Zhan. At worst, the collaboration with the White Lotus Sect might fail, but it’s just a Thousand Households, and there won’t be too much of a follow-up problem!"
...
South City, Mist Rain Manor.
Since the great battle at Jiming Posthouse, Linjiang City has become lifeless. Mist Rain Manor is the top gathering place in the city, where in the past, the sons of wealthy families liked to gather, but it has been quiet during this period.
Today is rare, Mist Rain Manor has become lively again.
Many Martial World leaders in Linjiang City attended, and naturally, they brought personalized attendants and guards, making it very lively.
However, in stark contrast to the outside excitement was a hall inside the manor, where a group of Martial World leaders took their seats one by one, yet the atmosphere was very dull and oppressive.
Those Martial World leaders who usually wield wind and rain in Linjiang City appeared very restrained here, while a group of young people on the other side were talking and laughing freely.
On the main seat sat Little Sword Spirit Qi Qianyu.
He looked at those Martial World leaders below with undisguised disdain in his eyes and slowly said, "Gentlemen, regarding my proposal to form a Martial Arts Alliance to jointly resist the White Lotus Sect and guard Linjiang City, does anyone have any objections?
If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to speak. I’m easygoing and respectful!"