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Qianye paid him no more heed. He turned back to the soldiers and said, “The entire unit will assemble. Those who fail to arrive on time will be punished according to military law.”

Once the order was issued, an officer blew two short and one long bursts from his whistle, a sign of urgency. The camp was aboil as the warriors rushed out from their respective barracks and poured into the drill grounds, instantly forming two neat square formations. The quality of the Zhao clan’s private army could be seen from the speed of their assembly—they were even faster than the imperial regular army.

Qianye nodded when the troops had assembled and casually picked a young soldier to lead him to the main tent, leaving the two battalions on the drill grounds with no orders.

According to military law, these soldier’s couldn’t leave without any order, and neither could they move about. All they could do was to stand silently in the drill grounds.

Qianye seemed to have forgotten the two battalions after going into the tent and did not issue any order thereafter.

It was soon late in the night, and the soldiers had stood there for nearly ten hours. Although the strong Zhao clan warriors were far from tired, it was inevitable that their hearts would be filled with frustration and restlessness. However, they knew that this was Qianye’s punishment for defying orders. It was quite possible that they would have to stand until dawn.

It was at this time that several of Zhao Xuanji’s personal guards entered the camp and came straight into the main tent. “Duke You orders you to meet him immediately.”

Qianye put down the map in his hand and followed the soldiers to meet Zhao Xuanji.

At this moment, the duke wasn’t working on military affairs as usual but fiddling with a set of complicated tea instruments. He gestured for Qianye to sit down upon his arrival and placed a cup of tea before him. Then, he himself picked up a cup of tea and began tasting it in earnest.

The tent was so quiet that one could hear the drop of a needle. Duke You did not speak, and neither did Qianye. The two of them just sat there in silence.

Zhao Xuanji took an entire half an hour to finish this cup of tea. Then, he put the cup down lightly and looked up at Qianye. “Guanwei is a fierce general who’s joined the battlefield since his adulthood. He’s remained on the Western Continent frontlines for ten years, killed countless enemies, and accumulated many contributions. Many of the vanguard battalion soldiers are his old subordinates. It’s normal for you to be at odds with him, but why the need to beat him up so badly and kick him out of the vanguard battalion?”

Qianye replied indifferently, “I wouldn’t have been wounded any less had I lost, nor would I be able to remain in the vanguard battalion. The war is right in front of our eyes. I hate people like him who try to take advantage of the times to pick fights. Since he proactively sought trouble, I have no reason to show mercy. I don’t care who the mastermind is.”

Zhao Xuanji laughed. “You don’t think it’s Duke Yan’s idea, do you?”

Qianye replied, “There’s really no need for this if it were you or Duke Yan. You could have just blocked me from leading the troops.”

Zhao Xuanji hadn’t expected Qianye to be so direct. He looked on blankly but then shook his head with a laugh. Then, he heard Qianye continue, “I only want to accumulate military contributions, I have no interest in knowing who the orchestrator is.”

Zhao Xuanji pondered for a while before saying with a smile, “Fine then, this matter shall end here. I’ll have some men teach those little fellows from Duke Yan’s residence a lesson. Things won’t end so easily if they stir up trouble again. As for Guanwei, he perhaps does have some selfish motives, but he certainly won’t make mistakes regarding important matters. If this duke’s guess is correct, it should be due to some past favors.”

“That will be for the best.” Qianye’s tone was indifferent, neither angry nor thankful.

Zhao Xuanji said, “The current Zhao clan descendants don’t know your identity. It\'s inevitable that they would be resentful after seeing the preferential treatment you\'re receiving. But not knowing has its advantages since it can lessen other untoward matters. Qianye, this duke has something on his mind. I hope you can tell me the truth.”

“Please ask, Duke.”

Zhao Xuanji spoke, “What exactly are you pursuing with the Zhao clan?”

Qianye responded with a question. “What is the purpose of the duke’s question?”

Zhao Xuanji didn’t pretend, either. “Our Zhao clan grooms its disciples according to their abilities and aspirations, both in the choice of secret arts and the direction of their development. On one hand, it serves to prevent one from walking down the wrong path, while on the other, it avoids wasting clan resources. You’ve missed the best period to build a foundation, but with your talents and Zhao Jundu’s care for you, you will definitely play a role in the Zhao clan’s future. Your ambitions for the future are related to how we nurture you today.”

Qianye couldn’t help but feel moved after hearing this. Zhao Xuanji’s intentions were more sincere than simply piling up resources on him.

At this point, the duke poured himself another cup to allow Qianye time to think. “Our Zhao clan youths are full of heroic talents, but only Zhao Jundu and you are a cut above the rest. Even Yuying is slightly inferior. The Zhao clan will likely belong to you two brothers ten years down the road. This duke must mention, however, that due to your birth status, the clan lord’s position will surely fall to Zhao Jundu.”

Qianye’s brows twitched. “Truth be told, I have never thought that far, and neither do I seek power within the Zhao clan. For now, all I want is to accumulate military contribution.”

Zhao Xuanji found this fairly surprising and said with raised eyebrows, “Contributions? It seems you seek a reward from the empire. No matter what it is, why not tell me right now? There isn’t a lot this duke can’t do.”

Qianye laughed wryly. “That’s for the future, and it might not actually happen. So, it’s a bit too early to speak of it at the moment.

Zhao Xuanji didn’t force the matter. “Fine then, make sure you know your own limits. Feel free to speak your thoughts regarding the war, I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“Many thanks for the duke’s kind intentions.”

Qianye excused himself after performing a salute.

A middle-aged man walked out from the curtain behind Zhao Xuanji. His face was fair, well-groomed, and appeared rather scholarly. Zhao Xuanji, however, stood up respectfully to welcome him. “Teacher Yan, what do you think of this child?”

This Teacher Yan said contemplatively, “This child is calm in the face of events and remains composed even before you. He’s really not simple both in terms of strength and temperament; he’ll surely become an outstanding character in the future. However, there are too many secrets on him, and he must be used with caution before knowing more.”

Zhao Xuanji shook his head. “It’s not completely so, I feel that this child is someone who cares about relationships. The first time he fought for the Zhao clan was because of his friendship with Zhao Yuying. All this time, he has sought neither status nor power from the Zhao clan.”

Teacher Yan replied, “That is the main reason why the clan’s restraints on him are weak. One has to know that, since antiquity, only blood relationship is the key to loyalty.”

Zhao Xuanji sighed. “This matter can’t be forced. Let us see as we go. Oh right, how goes the situation on that side?”

Teacher Yan said with an embarrassed sigh, “I feel ashamed, but that side refuses to leak anything at all. I schemed for many days but found no opportunity to plant any spies or gain any information. That brother of mine is so much more capable in this aspect. I’m sorry to say that I’ve failed the duke’s request.”

Zhao Xuanji didn’t seem to mind. “This is nothing, Teacher Yan is a genius in other areas. This duke still has much to rely on you in the future!”

Teacher Yan was both regretful and touched. He sighed deeply and said, “My little brother betrayed our ancestral teachings and submitted to the other side. I’m also partially responsible for this, sigh! I can only hope he’ll see the light soon and not fall deeper in.”

Zhao Xuanji nodded. “This matter can’t be rushed. We can only make gradual plans and hope he returns quickly. How about the military strategy in the past couple of days?”

“A general outline has been formed and only some finer details remain to be hammered out within Marshal Boqian’s office. I’ll let you see it early tomorrow morning.”

“Good, then I’ll leave Teacher Yan to your business.”

Zhao Xuanji returned to his desk after the man excused himself. He casually picked up a document and began reading it in detail. He looked as though he was fully concentrated on his work, but in truth, there was a small voice ringing in his ears.

“Reporting to the Duke, the younger Mister Yan is under heavy guard on the other side, and recently, they dispatched twice the number of men to protect him. We simply couldn’t find the chance to take action. I suspect someone from our side has leaked information. It can’t be that coincidental otherwise.”

This voice was actually a wisp of origin power sent directly into Zhao Xuanji’s ears. Even someone sitting directly across from him wouldn’t be able to hear.

The duke flipped through the documents and issued an order without a single movement of his lips. “Continue scouting. Take immediate action once there’s an opportunity. Kill him without fail!”

After that, Zhao Xuanji added coldly, “At all costs!”

“This subordinate understands!”

The origin power fluctuation gradually faded away, along with the voice hidden within. The tent grew silent once more as though nothing had happened.

At this moment, Qianye had returned to the vanguard battalion where he finally issued an order for the soldiers to return to their quarters and rest. With the great battle before them, it was fairly important to keep the soldiers in top shape. The disciplinary action would stop here.

It was already close to midnight by the time Qianye issued this order. At this time, two visitors arrived at the vanguard battalion. Apparently, most of the Zhao clan soldiers recognized these two, and even several of the officers were visibly moved.

One of them was Zhao Jundu’s aide who had brought Qianye a chest full of both common and secret medicines, while the other was Zhao Junhong himself. He didn’t seem to have any business in particular. He merely sat for a while in Qianye’s tent and chatted with him over a cup of tea before taking his leave.

Qianye still wasn’t sure of their purpose up to this point, but he felt a warmth in his heart amidst the wry laughter. Duke You naturally learned of this matter soon afterward, but the guard withdrew quietly after seeing no reaction from Zhao Xuanji.

The imperial main camp grew quiet in the days that followed and no more airship fleets arrived.

The storm was soon to arrive.