Chapter 67

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Chen Lie, not wanting to embarrass Xie Quan Ting too much, remained silent and did not say much. After Xie Quan Ting, Xie Wen Chan, and Xie Wen Zhuo left in embarrassment, he spoke to everyone with deep concern:

"Hai taught Wen Chan a lesson today, saying he had five failures in the battle. You should also take this to heart and think about it. Wen Chan, at such a young age, has achieved a lot, which is indeed remarkable. However, it is precisely because of this that he fell into Hai's trap from the moment he was provoked to fight. Even at the end, if he had just slightly put aside his proud heart and dropped his sword, he would not have been without a chance to turn the tide. A duel is like a battle, it's all about momentum. Don't let your pride blind you..."

Sun Gan, Su Yuan, Xie Quan, and Chen Yu were ashamed. They had initially believed that Chen Hai had no chance of winning, but reality had slapped them hard in the face.

Chen Lie's words now were clearly a response to their various expressions and reactions, expressing his dissatisfaction with their inherent bias and unwarranted pride.

"Chen Hai just used tricks, how can that be considered a fair means? Wen Chan must be不服气 (unconvinced) in his heart," Chen Qing rebutted, unconvinced.

"Think about the battle at Yulong Mountain, why did you lose so badly?" Chen Lie, surprised that Qing was still so stubborn, scolded sternly, "Today, Hai and Wen Chan were in a duel. If it had been a life-or-death struggle, would Wen Chan still have a chance to be不服气 (unconvinced)? If you can't see this, you will never achieve anything in your life."

Seeing his father truly angry, Chen Qing pouted and dared not act out, sitting there sullenly without a word.

"Warfare is about deception," Chen Hai laughed and said, "The children of noble families are raised in a greenhouse, unaware of the bloodshed and cruelty of the battlefield. If I hadn't suffered great setbacks, I wouldn't understand the subtleties of this phrase."

"Warfare is about deception..." As the chief of staff in Chen Lie's camp, Sun Gan was mainly responsible for assisting Chen Lie in military affairs and was most familiar with warfare. Hearing Chen Hai say this, he was deeply moved, never expecting that the Chen family's outcast, Chen Hai, could speak such profound words.

Sun Gan's face brightened, and he turned to look at Chen Hai. This was even more shocking to him than seeing Chen Hai defeat Xie Wen Chan, thinking, could it be that this outcast of the Yao family has truly reformed and gained a more resolute heart from his previous setbacks?

Others still had some resentment in their hearts, but today's events were enough to make them look at Chen Hai with new eyes...

Next, Chen Hai formally mentioned the allegiance of Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, and others to the Zhaoyang Pavilion and Zhou Jun's entry into Chen Lie's disciples.

As a third-generation true disciple of Taowei Sect and the newly enfeoffed Zhaoyang Pavilion, Chen Lie could be considered a rising star in the Wuwei Army and the most likely to achieve the Dao Pill. In recent years, disciples who wanted to study under him were as numerous as fish crossing a river.

Master-disciple relationships and marriage alliances are the main means of maintaining factional relations within the sect and the Wuwei Army.

In recent years, the disciples of noble families have mainly recruited children of noble families, while children of humble origins can only serve as vassals, joining under a noble family.

Zhao Ruhui, who has a close relationship with Zhou Jun and is essentially a master-disciple relationship, is a late-stage Ming Qiao realm strongman worth rallying, but Zhao Ruhui is already old, his cultivation has long passed its peak, and as an important figure of the humble origin faction, he is also marginalized within the sect.

Previously, Sun Gan, Su Yuan, and others had different opinions on whether Chen Lie should break the old rules and directly take Zhou Jun as a disciple.

Of course, since Chen Lie has decided to take Zhou Jun as a disciple, Sun Gan, Su Yuan, and others would not oppose it. However, after seeing Chen Hai's duel with Xie Wen Chan, they all had different feelings.

Sun Gan thought, perhaps some ideas really need to change.

At the banquet, Chen Lie formally confirmed that he would take Zhou Jun as a disciple, but Zhou Jun first needed to be admitted to the Inner Gate of the Upper Seven Peaks before a formal ceremony could be held.

As for the allegiance of Ge Tong and others, it was relatively simple. Chen Lie, as the enfeoffed Zhaoyang Pavilion, could officially recruit subordinates and guest scholars.

Chen Lie immediately rewarded Ge Tong with a set of snake scale armor and taught him the Qingyuan Sword Technique, officially listing him in the roster of the Zhaoyang Pavilion.

In the future, Ge Tong and others would still be under Chen Hai's command in the Medicine Garden.

Chen Hai and Zhou Jun would go to the Upper Seven Peaks to formally join the Inner Gate for cultivation, which would take several months before they could return to Yulong Mountain under the pretext of training. In the meantime, the Medicine Garden and the Disciple Camp would be temporarily managed by Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, Zhao Shan, Qian Wenyi, and others.

The Medicine Garden and the Disciple Camp can be considered a formal force of the Zhaoyang Pavilion in the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy, and one of the "core battlefields" to counter the Chai family.

Although the Medicine Garden and the Disciple Camp were established by Chen Hai, Sun Gan, Su Yuan, and others previously did not agree to entrust such important matters to Chen Hai.

After all, the hundreds of Dao soldiers and disciples in the Medicine Garden and the Disciple Camp are the children and nephews of Sun Gan, Su Yuan, Xie Quan, and Chen Yu. The Zhaoyang Pavilion needs to allocate a large amount of resources each year to support the cultivation of these Dao soldiers and disciples; the many affairs of the Medicine Garden should also be decided by the Zhaoyang Pavilion.

Previously, Sun Gan and Su Yuan did not think Chen Hai had the ability to control the situation in the Medicine Garden, and Chen Zhang knew that the Dao soldiers and disciples who entered the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy for cultivation were mostly around 14-15 years old, with some even as young as 11-12. If these people grew up under Chen Hai, they would easily be cultivated into his direct subordinates, which he absolutely did not want to see happen.

Chen Zhang had originally discussed with Sun Gan, Su Yuan, Xie Quan, and Chen Yu to directly propose at this celebration banquet to send more important people to the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy to take over the Medicine Garden from Chen Hai.

However, seeing the current situation, Sun Gan, Su Yuan, and others clearly would not bring up this matter again, and Chen Zhang was depressed but knew he could not bring it up at this time.

What qualifications do they have to determine that Chen Hai cannot handle the affairs of the Medicine Garden and the Disciple Camp? What excuse do they have to send someone to replace Chen Hai?

Whether it is the Medicine Garden or the new model of the Disciple Camp, they were all established by Chen Hai.

Now that Ge Tong, Zhou Jingyuan, and others have directly pledged allegiance to the Zhaoyang Pavilion, and their abilities are not weak, and as the supervisor of the Huanglong Abyss Dao Academy, Zhao Ruhui, has become the Zhaoyang Pavilion's most steadfast ally due to his relationship with Zhou Jun, they do not even have an excuse to plant people in the Medicine Garden, let alone replace Chen Hai.

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After the night banquet, Chen Lie called Chen Hai, Wu Meng, Zhou Jun, and Ge Tong to the study in the back garden to talk.

In the study, Chen Hai took out the shield-shaped spirit ring and the Nine Flame Dragon Seal from his chest and handed them to his uncle Chen Lie:

"These two items make me uncomfortable to hold, so I will hand them over to you, Uncle."

"These are things you won fairly, how can they make you uncomfortable?" Chen Lie laughed.

Chen Hai then realized that his uncle Chen Lie had not intended to show any favor to Xie Quan Ting and Xie Wen Chan, and with his uncle's support, he did not fear what Xie Quan Ting and Xie Wen Chan could say about keeping these two magical treasures.

Chen Hai continued, "I have not yet opened my Spirit Sea, and I cannot continuously use magical treasures in battle. No matter how many magical treasures I have, they are of little use. The Qingyuan Spirit Armor and the Golden Sharp Ring given by Uncle are enough to protect me..."

Seeing that Chen Hai did not covet more treasures, Chen Lie nodded in approval and said, "Keep the Nine Flame Dragon Seal with you, and give the shield ring to Wu Meng..."

Wu Meng was slightly surprised, not expecting the head of the family, Chen Lie, to have Chen Hai give him the Yellow-grade mid-level Qing Shield Spirit Ring to use.

Wu Meng quickly understood and knelt on one knee, saying, "Thank you, Lord and Young Lord, for the treasure!" before taking the shield ring from Chen Hai.

Seeing this, Chen Lie nodded slightly, recognizing that Wu Meng was willing to become a direct subordinate under Chen Hai. No matter what means Chen Hai used, being able to make the proud Wu Meng truly submit was a capability...

"Wu Brother, you are too much," Chen Hai hurriedly helped Wu Meng up and pushed the shield ring into his hand, then said to Chen Lie, "The Qingyuan Spirit Armor given by Uncle, I won't need for a while. Since Zhou Senior Brother and I will be cultivating in the Upper Seven Peaks, we don't know when we will return to Yulong Mountain. The affairs of the Medicine Garden will need you, Ge Tong, to handle. Yulong Mountain is at the forefront of the conflict between the Hegexiang Army and the Wuwei Army. Not to mention the Chai family might plot against the Medicine Garden, the Hegexiang Army will certainly send people to Yulong Mountain to investigate the situation. I want to give the Qingyuan Spirit Armor to Ge Tong for protection, please allow it, Uncle..."

Ge Tong staying behind to manage the affairs of the Medicine Garden made his position relatively sensitive. Chen Hai wanted to prevent anyone from harming Ge Tong.

The reason Chen Hai gave the spirit ring and spirit armor to Ge Tong but not to Zhou Jun was that Ge Tong had formally pledged allegiance to the Zhaoyang Pavilion and would be considered a direct subordinate and official under Chen Hai.

Zhou Jun, on the other hand, had entered Chen Lie's disciples, making him Chen Hai's equal as a fellow disciple. He could not be considered a subordinate, so Chen Hai did not need to give him any additional treasures; any rewards would be directly given by Chen Lie.

Zhou Jun understood this, but he was still envious of the shield ring.

Without 40,000 to 50,000 points of sect merit, one could not exchange for a Yellow-grade mid-level magical treasure from the Dao Academy, and a Yellow-grade low-level spirit armor required 10,000 to 20,000 points of sect merit.

At this moment, Su Yuan walked in and reported, "Someone says they are the main manager of the Medicine Garden's armory in Yulong City, coming to pay respects to the Young Lord..."

Such a small matter did not need Su Yuan to report personally, but as a direct subordinate of Chen Lie, he had been guarding outside the yard, ready to be summoned at any time.

"Did you open an armory in Yulong City?" Chen Lie asked with a smile.

"The managers of the armory, although they do not have high cultivation and cannot forge magical treasures, are skilled in casting armor," Chen Hai said, "After I entered the city, I sent a message for the manager of the armory to come and see me, hoping that Uncle could also meet them..."