Chapter 79 - Recruitment

The exchange of glances between the few men were all seen by Yunxiao. With a sneer, he stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, there’s one more thing. I hope Your Majesty can lend me the imperial sword, so that when someone does not obey the imperial edict, I can execute them on the spot!”

That instantly took the color out of the faces of Qin Yang and the few military chiefs, and filled their eyes with astonishment. Yunxiao’s unexpected move had thrown them into confusion. With the imperial sword, he could kill them without seeking permission if they disobeyed his orders, and they would die for nothing just like Kong Renyi.

Qin Zheng paused for a moment, then waved his sleeve and said, “The imperial sword is a murderous weapon, and it will be inauspicious to lend it to you. What you all should do is work closely with the Central Army and throw the enemy out of our territory. Don’t ever mention the imperial sword again!” He knew what Yunxiao’s intention was; therefore, he rejected the request swiftly. Fearing Yunxiao would keep on pestering him, he said hurriedly, “I’m tired. The court is dismissed!”

Upon hearing that, Qin Yang and the group of generals breathed a sigh of relief. Then, they turned to stare resentfully at the pair of grandfather and grandson.

Yunxiao kicked the unconscious courtier and woke him, then pulled him up like a chick. “When the army marches tomorrow, I’ll offer your blood to the banner!”

The courtier wailed and burst into tears, and when he saw Qin Yang, he quickly cried out, “Your Highness, please save me!”

Qin Yang’s face was gloomy. He knew it was impossible for him to save the man from the grandfather and grandson, so he only said, “I’ll take care of your family. Rest in peace!”

When he heard that, the courtier rolled his eyes and passed out once again.

“Your Highness is truly a man of benevolence!” Yunxiao burst into laughter. “I’ll take my leave now. See you all tomorrow at the muster roll platform!”

Together with Li Chunyang, he turned and walked away while dragging the courtier with him.

Qin Yang’s face turned extremely dark as the few generals of the Central Army gathered around him, their eyes flickering. At that moment, Qin Yue walked past them and asked with a look of concern, “Brother, are you hurt? I have a few bottles of excellent healing elixir, the quality of which is at the third grade. Why don’t I get someone to bring them to you later?”

With his face growing cold, Qin Yang smiled and said angrily, “Don’t celebrate too soon, Qin Yue! We don’t know yet who will be laughing in the end. When the time comes, I’ll definitely give you the best treatment.”

“Oh!” Qin Yue shook his head and sighed. With a trace of ridicule in his eyes, he said, “It hurts me when you reject my kindness. But never mind, just don’t be so reckless next time, will you? Duke Jingguo is a mighty man, and I’ll be very sad if he accidentally kills you. Haha!”

When he finished, he could not help but burst out laughing. He had never been so happy after fighting Qin Yang for so long. The group of courtiers behind him also laughed together as they took their leave.

Soon afterward, the great hall was left with only Qin Yang and those loyal to him.

After leaving the palace, Qin Yue mounted on a horse and rode toward Yunxiao and Li Chunyang. It took him only a brief while to catch up with them, then he ordered someone to bring the courtier away and lock him up for tomorrow’s ceremony. His face beamed with admiration as he smiled at Yunxiao and said, “Young Master Yun, what you’ve done today has awed the entire court! By the way, Jialan Academy is recruiting students for the army today. Do you want to join me and have a look?”

Yunxiao considered for a moment, then smiled and said, “Alright. Since this student army will be Your Highness’s most loyal troops in the future, I’ll go with you and have a look.”

Qin Yue was very excited. The formation of a student army suited his needs perfectly. Young as he was, he had little supporters in the court and not many trusted followers, so his priority now was to cultivate a force loyal to him. Those common students who were strong and had no backgrounds were the perfect candidates.

Hence, the group changed their course and rode toward Jialan Academy.

Although it was a semester break, the academy was still very lively. Every year during summer, the academy would list out some training missions for students to choose from. These missions were not only very intensive, but also came with handsome rewards, which were extremely attractive to students who were mostly poor.

Zhong Lishan was well aware of how important this was to Qin Yue, so he had excluded the teachers who were connected to the people in the court from the recruiting process, and only put those with clean backgrounds in charge. Qin Yue had also assigned Bai Mou to oversee the entire exercise. The students became extremely excited when they saw the commander of the State Guardians, resulting in a sharp spike in registration!

In front of a registration counter, Meng Wu was begging a teacher. “Please let my brother sign up. He is also a warrior and has met the conditions of registration.”

“I’ve told you, only students of the academy can sign up!” the teacher said impatiently. “And take a look at your brother! His face is pale green and he is so skinny. He is clearly malnourished! How can he fight the enemy? Now back off and don’t block the others behind!”

“Malnourished?” Meng Bai glared at the teacher and slapped the table with a hand. “I eat half a lamb every day! How could you say I’m malnourished?”

The students around them burst into laughter. “How could he eat half a lamb when he is not even taller than half a lamb!”

The teacher was angry, but then he found it funny as well. “I can tell your brother is gifted because he could become a warrior at such a young age, which is rare even in Jialan Academy,” he told Meng Wu seriously. “Why don’t you wait until the semester break is over, then bring him to sign up for the academy?”

Meng Wu looked resigned while Meng Bai shouted angrily, “You just wouldn’t let me sign up, would you? Fine! I’ll ask my Master to help! Master sure can help me!”

While smiling, the teacher asked, “Oh? You have a Master? Well, unless your Master is the Dean, he can’t do anything even if he’s here. Now tell me, who is your Master?”

All of a sudden, a calm voice rang out behind him, “I’m his Master.”

Everyone turned to where the voice had come and each of them looked surprised. Li Chunyang and Prince Qin Yue were not known to many, but Yunxiao and Bai Mou were already famous among students.

“What? Li Yunxiao is his Master?”

“He can’t be serious, can he? That Li Yunxiao had just become a warrior himself not long ago.”

“It’s hard to say. Li Yunxiao is quite strong. Have you forgotten that he is the one who had defeated Lan Xuan with one move?”

“Strong? Hah! That’s because his family is rich and powerful, so he can access plenty of resources and advance martial techniques! If I were the young master of the Li Family, I would have long become a Martial Lord!”

“You’re just jealous! For me, being rich and powerful is part of a man’s strength! Don’t let him hear what you said, or you’ll have to pay a serious price!”

As soon as Meng Bai saw Yunxiao, he ran over happily and cried out, “Master, I knew you will show up when I need you! This old man refuses to let me sign up!”

Meng Wu was happy to see him too, but there was a hint of nervousness on her face. “Young Master Yun!” She walked up to him and greeted in a low voice.

Li Chunyang said in amazement, “You…you have taken in a disciple?” He gave Meng Bai a few glances, then immediately exclaimed, “Aye, this boy is so young and yet he is already a warrior! Is he even fifteen years old? Why is his face so pale and malnourished? He is such an outstanding disciple! You should have fed him more! A boy in his age needs a lot of nutrition to grow his body! Come here, boy, let grandpa give you some money. Go and buy some meat!”

Meng Bai felt blood rushed up to his face. “Who are you, old man? You are very rude!” he said angrily. “I have plenty of money! And how could you say I’m malnourished?”

It was then that the teacher in charge of registration came back to senses. Unlike those students, he knew who these people were. Hastily, he ran over and greeted, “Rong Zhi offers greeting to Prince Qin Yue, Duke Jingguo, and Commander Bai!”

“What? This young man is Prince Qin Yue?”

“That old man is Duke Jingguo?”

The students around them exclaimed while Meng Bai’s face turned pale in an instant. ‘Duke Jingguo? Does that mean he is Master’s grandfather? But just now I…’

Pa!

As he stood there in a daze, Yunxiao slapped him in the face and knocked him flying away. “How dare you call my grandfather an old man! Lock yourself in the twenty-fold gravity chamber for a day and a night!”

There was a look of surprise in Bai Mou’s eyes when she saw Meng Bai. “Rong Zhi, let the boy sign up.”

“Understood!” Rong Zhi answered immediately.

Qin Yue smiled as he glanced at the students, whose eyes were filled with awe and respect. “Listen up! Those of you who render outstanding performance in this mission can join the State Guardians directly and become my personal guards, regardless of your background.”

The crowd boiled immediately. They could join the State Guardians and become Prince Qin Yue’s personal guards! For these poor warriors, such rewards were undoubtedly attractive. Moreover, everyone knew Qin Yue was one of the strongest contenders for the throne, and if he were to ascend the throne in the future, his personal guards would become the emperor’s trusted followers!

“Teacher Rong, I want to sign up!”

“Hey, don’t push!”

“Fu*k! Aren’t you done yet? Get out of here after you’ve signed up! It’s my turn!”

“Line up, people! Don’t push!”

“Fu*k! Who is poking at my ass? Don’t let me catch you, pervert!”

…

The students poured in frantically to sign up, seeing which, Qin Yue and Bai Mou exchanged a look with pleasant smiles in their eyes. “Duke Jingguo, Young Master Yun, let us wait over there. The list will be out soon,” said Bai Mou. “I estimate we will have over two thousand students signing up this time, and the weakest of them would be at least warriors.”

Qin Yue was very excited. He knew that an army of two thousand warriors could fight against one with twenty thousand soldiers or more. After all, warriors were stronger than ordinary soldiers, and it was very possible for one warrior to fight against hundred soldiers.

Yunxiao smiled at Meng Wu and said, “We’ll take a rest over there. Bring Meng Bai to me.”

Meng Wu blushed when she looked at Yunxiao and her heart raced. She did not know why her hatred for this man, who had intruded her life, had turned into longing. Recently, whenever she was free, her mind would fill with his face. However, when she finally saw him today, she felt blood rush up to her cheeks, and she did not dare to look him straight in the eye.

She nodded hurriedly and ran away to look for Meng Bai, who was thrown hundreds of meters away by Yunxiao’s slap.