Yue Fuguang didn’t want to wet her shoes, so she instantly switched into the Lotus-Birthing Boots. Everyone saw that wherever the Grand Preceptor stepped, translucent lotuses bloomed one after another in the puddles.
“This… this…” The guards were somewhat used to it, having seen it before, but Bao Qianjun, Yu Boming, and the others had never witnessed such a thing.
“So the rumors are true!” the crowd murmured behind her, barely above a whisper.
Though they had already seen the Grand Preceptor summon wind and rain at will and conjure objects out of thin air, was walking through the air and birthing lotuses with every step not a bit too incredible?
They saw clearly that although it looked like she was treading on lotuses growing from the ground, those with sharp eyes realized she was actually stepping on empty air!
Could it be that the Grand Preceptor had truly already restored her divine soul and immortal body?
Bao Qianjun’s eyes were too easy to read. He stared openly at Yu Boming, hoping for an answer.
Yu Boming thought: Is it possible that I know no more than you do?
Except for returning home once in the first year, he hadn’t been back in nearly two years. All communication with his family had been through radio or letters.
No one in the family had ever mentioned that his younger sister had become so powerful! Was the whole family treating him as an outsider, keeping it all from him alone?
The Yu family thought: Is it possible that we’ve seen even less than you?
Bao Qianjun looked at Yu Boming, and Yu Boming looked at Yu Mochun and Yu Huaixian, the two family members.
Yu Mochun and Yu Huaixian silently turned their heads away—they, too, had only learned how formidable Yue Fuguang was during this trip.
As for whether she had regained her immortal body, they shook their heads inwardly. No, she was still the same Yue Fuguang connected to them by blood.
While the people behind exchanged glances, Yue Fuguang was walking and inspecting the Yue Army camp at the same time.
Earlier, in haste to reach the drill ground, they had taken the outer route. Now, heading toward the guest resting area, they began to slowly see the full layout of the camp.
The Yue Army camp was built on a small hill. Below was the drill ground, and further up lay the meeting hall, behind which were various offices, warehouses, kitchens, and mess halls.
Behind these two rows of buildings was a medium-sized courtyard, flanked on left and right by continuous rows of barracks.
Further back stood a courtyard with a small garden, enclosed separately. It had been specially prepared for Yue Fuguang when the camp was first built.
Yue Fuguang walked a full circle around the small garden, which only had a few bare saplings. There was also a small pond, previously dry but now filled halfway with water.
Shen Jian and others inspected the area carefully. Strictly speaking, this was Yue Fuguang’s territory, so hiding anyone here should have been impossible. But after the incident with those people from Chengping Mountain, they had to be thorough before allowing her to take residence.
[Master, the medicine has taken effect. Beili and Xiqiang almost started fighting just now!]
"Oh? Does the medicine taking effect have anything to do with them fighting?" She had calculated the timing earlier and thought that, given the ‘efficacy’ of the elixirs from the cultivation world, the enemy should have been incapacitated during their midday meal.
"Little Zhu, is it that your elixir isn’t good enough? They should have been unable to get up long ago—how do they still have strength to fight?"
[Master, it’s not that my medicine isn’t good; it’s just starting to work. They haven’t been fully debilitated yet! Just wait—by the latest tonight, I guarantee they’ll all be down!]
The system spoke with conviction, fully confident in the elixirs sold in its shop.
[Master, aren’t you curious about who commands the Beili and Xiqiang armies this time?]
"What, does the commander this time have some special background?"
She sensed a juicy story from the system’s words and couldn’t help but focus her mind, pulling up the system panel to check the mission information.
Sure enough, another mission had just been triggered. It seemed impossible to settle this matter without a few deaths.
Capture the chieftain to subdue his followers first. Though she couldn’t yet rip off the heads of Bei Ji and Xi Yan this time, dealing with their dispatched men and teaching them a lesson would be fine.
[Master, the leader of Beili this time is Zhuang Xiu, the elder brother of the Eighth Prince’s prospective consort—the future brother-in-law of the emperor. The leader of Xiqiang is Feng Wuhuan, the brother-in-law of Xi Xiang.]
"That Feng Wuhuan is a member of the Feng family? What’s his connection to Feng Xiao and Feng Wuchang?"
If this Xi Xiang’s brother-in-law was from the Feng family, then he was inevitably linked to the Fengyu Pavilion.
Although two years ago the Fengyu Pavilion appeared to have been uprooted in Dayan, its foundation remained. Without severing its extending tentacles, it couldn’t truly be destroyed.
Within Dayan, the Fengyu Pavilion had merely changed its skin like Xueshan, behaving more cautiously to avoid being caught red-handed.
It was like running a company in later ages—Dayan was a vast market, and the Fengyu Pavilion couldn’t really withdraw. They would just change their name and re-enter.
Like grass in the wild, they would grow again with the spring breeze!
[Feng Wuhuan is of the Feng family’s direct bloodline. He is Feng Xiao’s nephew and Feng Wuchang’s clan brother. However, since Feng Wuchang’s family was a collateral branch, he climbed up by latching onto the Marquis of Changxin and then stepping over him, gradually gaining status in the Feng family.
Both brothers played a significant role in Dayan’s fall.]
Mentioning Dayan’s fall—though there was no longer any danger of national subjugation—being ministers of Dayan, Feng Tang, Wei Shouyi, and Shen Jian couldn’t help but glance toward Chengping Mountain.
If possible, they would love to crush this Feng Wuhuan before he fully matured.
And that Feng Wuchang too—not one of them should escape.
The Grand Preceptor had said, "A gentleman takes revenge from morning till night." They intended to carry that principle through to the end.
[Master, don’t focus only on Feng Wuhuan. That Zhuang Xiu is a ruthless character.]
"Oh? Tell me, what has he done?"
[Master, after Dayan fell, several countries carved up its lands and wealth. But instead of becoming stronger and more stable, these states were torn apart by internal strife and endless conflict.
That’s why the realm descended into three hundred years of chaos. By then, it wasn’t about one country or one region—the whole world changed, fighting endlessly, like singers on a stage rising and falling in turns.]
"This turmoil was the pain of an era’s backwardness and also the pain of progress. Without dragging down those old aristocratic families, how could society move forward?"
[But because of your appearance, Master, this pain might turn out differently.]
Let the nobles of the five kingdoms suffer a little—they and their ancestors had enjoyed good times for generations. It was time their descendants tasted some hardship.
[Master, Zhuang Xiu, as the Eighth Prince’s prospective brother-in-law, was deliberately groomed by the emperor. He was given military power, and whenever the chance arose, the emperor burnedished his credentials.
This time, his appointment as the general commanding Beili’s seven thousand troops was the Northern Ji emperor’s way of building his resume.
In the future, as one of the vanguard commanders attacking Dayan, he would risk his life for military merit and for every city.
Whenever there was a battle, he led the charge. Slight wounds wouldn’t make him leave the line. He had personally captured banners and led the first assault. His military achievements and injuries were countless. His personal valor rivaled that of Ling Yuanhang.]
"So, this Zhuang Xiu is a talent after all?" Too bad talent on the enemy’s side could not be spared.