Chapter 227 - Two Hundred and Twenty-Three:
Translator: 549690339
-Why?” Xu Lao Ying was very confused. He had been with Tang Luo all this time, and he was unsure of what had caused the previous uncertainty to now become certainty.
What Tang Luo said might have been a revelation for Du Ziteng, but for the real helmsman of the Du Clan, it didn’t mean much.
Trying to win over a village possessing a Fierce Realm martial artist with just that speech was a bit absurd. But seeing Tang Luo’s confident look, not as if he was trying to deceive him, made Xu Lao Ying curious.
And Tang Luo didn’t plan to hide anything, smiling as he said, “Didn’t we just go up the Red Cloud Peak?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you notice that on that Red Cloud Peak, there were only Red Cloud crystals but no Red Cloud crystal marrow?
Since the Red Cloud Skill relies on Red Cloud crystal marrow for cultivation, it requires a large amount of Red Cloud crystal marrow. Even with the output of Red Cloud Mountain, the accumulative consumption over the years would be exhausted eventually.
Xu Lao Ying suddenly understood, but he had a new question: “Even if the Red Cloud crystal marrow runs out, are you sure they will definitely submit to you?” “Other than me, who would want a clan that has lost its martial arts?” Tang Luo asked with a smile. He had always found it strange that such a Red Cloud Village was just on the edge of Xiling, yet the major clans of Xiling turned a blind eye to this power.
Today, after a visit to Red Cloud Peak, he finally understood. This seemingly strong power was definitely heading towards decline because in Longzhou, it s hard to find another practice site as uniquely advantageous as Red Cloud Mountain. Even the great families cannot provide more Red Cloud essence for the Du Clan to practice.
But to win over the Du Clan was precisely for their unique Red Cloud Skill. If this martial art could not continue, the Du Clan would just be a depopulated village and had no value to be subjugated.
After all, for most people, changing a low-ranked mysterious martial art is not an easy task. Besides, which clan would help others modify a mysterious martial art? With that effort, they might as well study their own clan’s martial arts and make improvements.
Despite this, Xu Lao Ying was still very doubtful: “Would the Du Clan willingly submit to you?”
“What if they don’t willingly do so?”
“If they’re unwilling, how will you rule them?” Xu Lao Ying frowned. Such subjugated martial artists and clan martial artists were fundamentally different, especially when the subjugated clan was stronger than the mam family. There are numerous cases of the clan turning against its master. For example, last time when they went to rescue Gong Zheng’s wife and daughter, the young master of the Mi Family mentioned that Tang Luo had once been betrayed.
Tang Luo smiled at the worry in Xu Lao Ying’s eyes: “Don’t forget, I’m a martial arts researcher.”
The way to rule is simply to employ both kindness and power, which is something he has occasionally thought of in these two years.
One should always learn something from a failure, and he considered himself very kind and generous to Fang Han.
Maybe it was that kindness without power that made Fang Han a little less truly respectful. In the end, he chose to betray and escape because of the temptation of the star son.
This betrayal made Tang Luo understand a principle: to be kind without power is to show weakness, to have power without kindness makes people distant. Improving the Red Cloud Skill, helping it maintain its power while removing its dependence on essence and closing the backdoors left by the creator, was the kindness Tang Luo intended to show to the Du Clan.
If the Du Clan was grateful and obedient, they would not only receive a refined martial art, but also many benefits in the future.
If, after the martial art was modified, the Du Clan thought the cost of betraying and escaping was very low, Tang Luo wouldn’t mind showing them what it meant to be at someone else’s mercy.
Why could powerful sects control such vast territory? Isn’t it because they suppress lower-level martial arts? With this readily available method, Tang Luo had no psychological burden at all.
Even though Tang Luo only hinted at it, Xu Lao Ying understood his meticulousness. After improving the Red Cloud Skill, he would remove all its backdoors but leave new ones. With such a strategy, controlling a village or even a noble family would be more than enough.
After all, for a martial artist without a dedicated martial arts researcher, such a backdoor is a fatal weakness.
With this, all Xu Lao Ying could do was sigh: “It seems that this Red Cloud Village can’t escape your grasp.”
Tang Luo laughed again as he put another steamed bun into his mouth, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the compliments.
Wind Media Department of Tang Clan
As the most secretive agency of the Tang Clan, no one knows where the Wind Media Department is actually located.
If Tang Zhi hadn’t summoned him, Tang Sen could never have imagined that this most important intelligence base would be built underground of the Tianxiang Building, on the busiest nightlife street in Xiling.
In a hall that was as bright as daylight, Tang Zhi was standing in front of a huge map that detailed the distribution of various towns and powers along both banks of the Lingjiang River. Even the martial power situation in some small villages was extraordinarily clear.
Just this map alone could demonstrate how strong the intelligence of the Wind Media Department was.
Hearing the sound of Tang Sen’s footsteps, Tang Zhi turned his head and earnestly entreated: “This matter can only be solved by you, Sect Head.”
The Xiao Family’s Land
A flustered Xiao Qi hurried into the side hall of the main hall and saw Xiao jinlin steeping tea. He anxiously said, “Father, look!
He took out the challenge letter from his bosom and held it in front of him with both hands.
Xiao Qi’s frantic clumsiness made Xiao Jinlin somewhat unhappy, so he disregarded his respectful son, continued to leisurely rinse the tea leaves three times, and didn’t begin to attend to the matter at hand until he had taken a sip of the steeped tea.
Then he reached out to take the item from Xiao Qi’s hand. Although the letter was only a few hundred words long, the elder took a whole half hour to read through it.
Finally, he put the challenge letter aside and picked up the tea set again, only to find that the tea had grown cold.
Xiao Jinlin merely put the tea cup down indifferently and set his gaze upon Xiao Qi’s face, which seemed to have a thousand words to say.
Xiao Qi had originally gone to watch the battle at the Asura Martial Arena today, but unexpectedly he got this challenge letter. It bore the seal of the prince of the Holy Land, which could not be faked.
But unlike most noble families that were focusing on the conditions for defeating the prince, Xiao Qi saw that once this challenge letter was signed, it meant that the martial artist who represented the family had to fight. If they were defeated, the family had to publicly admit defeat.
This kind of wager, which put the Holy Land and ordinary aristocratic families on the same level, made him shudder with fear as soon as he saw it, which was why he had rushed back in such a hurry.
Unlike those confident famous figures in Xiling, Xiao Qi was clearly aware of the difference between local powers and the Holy Land.
The part about traveling the world implied that this twenty-two-year-old prince had already defeated all the fighters at the Holy Land. Even though he wanted to fight, he had no confidence of achieving victory.
If even he was like this, what to say of the rest of the families in Xiling? “Father, does this suddenly appearing challenge letter represent Xu Clan’s intention to make Xiling submit?” Xiao Qi frowned, squinting his eyes. Currently, the world is dominated by noble families, but the Xu Clan, as a Holy Land introduced to the world, appeared with such moves, making him suspicious.
But young people are after all young, they look at things too superficially. Xiao Jinlin explained, “They will make distant friends and attack nearby enemies. Even if the Xu Clan really intends to do this, they will not do it in Longzhou.
The old man pointed at the Heavenly Dao, “Even if they look down on us ordinary clans, they have to consider the attitude of Martial Saint Mountain.” One word woke up the dreamer. Xiao Qi realized it all at once. Even if the Xu Clan really wanted to attack the world, they should start in Yuanzhou instead of travelling thousands of miles to the territory of Longzhou.
But if it’s not for conquest, then the challenge on this stage, which risks the reputation of the Holy Land, is incomprehensible..