First Success in Training Troops

"Still a long way to go."

Qi Fei let out a sigh.

"Why does Zihong say that?"

Liu Bei looked at Qi Fei with a puzzled expression.

The formation of Cloud Qi is simple with large numbers, but the conditions become harsh as the number of people decreases.

If there were a scale of nearly ten thousand people, even if they were all untrained civilians, they could still form a sparse layer of Cloud Qi.

However, if the number drops to two hundred, they must at least be veterans who have experienced one or two battles to form the kind of Cloud Qi Qi Fei has cultivated.

Yet now, in less than a day, Qi Fei had enabled two hundred ordinary people to manifest Cloud Qi.

In Liu Bei's eyes, this ability was simply off the charts.

One must know that having Cloud Qi means one will not be unilaterally slaughtered by the enemy; in other words, they are capable of taking the battlefield.

"Right now, they are just for show; they are completely incapable of fighting on a battlefield."

Qi Fei answered casually.

To transform ordinary people into soldiers capable of fighting in just one day, relying solely on training without combat experience—even Han Xin could not achieve this, let alone Qi Fei, who was not even on par with Huangfu Song.

The meager organizational strength of these two hundred men would crumble the moment they were charged by veterans, and the thick-looking Cloud Qi above their heads would vanish along with it.

"Zihong's requirements are too strict."

Liu Bei advised.

In the past, the training methods he knew involved using the old to lead the new, having veterans guide the recruits.

Under such circumstances, it would take one or two months to see initial results.

Yet here with Qi Fei, he could turn untrained laborers into an army in less than half a day.

If he were to further demand that they immediately participate in combat, it would be simply unreasonable.

"It is not that I am being strict, but merely making an objective assessment."

Qi Fei said while drilling the soldiers.

Seeing this, Liu Bei wanted to comfort Qi Fei a few words, but he was pulled away by Chen Xi.

"Lord Xuande, professional matters should be left to professionals. Let us not add to Zihong's troubles."

It was not just Liu Bei; the others were also dragged away by Chen Xi.

The man was doing serious work; not only were these idle people watching, but they were also trying to chat with him.

How is this any different from asking a primary school student to play games while they are doing their homework?

After they left, Qi Fei continued to research his training methods while silently cultivating his mental power.

Liu Bei had originally intended to stay in Yingchuan for a longer period, fearing that marching would affect Qi Fei's training.

But he was stopped by Qi Fei.

He was not someone who could not distinguish between what was urgent and what was not.

Compared to the development of the entire Mount Tai, a mere two hundred new soldiers were not worth mentioning.

Thus, on the fourth day after Qi Fei joined them, Chen Xi and the others made a trip to Xu Family Village and brought Xu Chu into the ranks.

To be honest, watching the pure muscle collision between Xu Chu and Zhang Fei made Qi Fei truly envious.

If he could have that kind of physical constitution, perhaps the Coiling Dragon Qi Fei on the other side could ascend directly to a Level 9 Warrior.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he envied that physique, it could never become his own.

Qi Fei could only sigh and focus on cultivating his mental power.

Subsequently, Liu Bei reorganized the main army and led everyone toward Mount Tai.

During the march, Qi Fei specifically arranged for these two hundred men to stay together, continuing to strengthen their organization.

On the fifth day of the march.

Qi Fei estimated that the timing was about right, so he picked twenty Danyang Soldiers from under Liu Bei's command and inserted them into the group.

After two days of mutual adaptation, these two hundred men displayed a momentum completely different from before.

"Now they can clash with regular soldiers."

Qi Fei said to Liu Bei.

Although they would certainly lose against Regular Soldiers with innate talents, they could at least hold their own against ordinary miscellaneous troops.

"To have Zihong's assistance is truly the greatest fortune of my life."

Liu Bei said with an excited expression.

Although he had not interacted much with Qi Fei over the past few days, he had been silently observing from afar the entire time.

The speed of that visible change truly left him in awe.

"I dare not accept such praise; I merely understand a little about drilling troops."

Qi Fei was not being modest.

Having witnessed the legions in the latter parts of the novels, he genuinely did not feel that his motley crew, who lacked even a single Legion Talent, had anything to be proud of.

"Alas... it is my incompetence."

Liu Bei said, filled with guilt.

Seeing how strict Qi Fei was with himself, he could not help but think of Chen Xi, who had been equally busy of late.

If he had not been utterly devoid of a foundation, why would he need two such brilliant talents to toil so hard?

"Lord Xuande, if you claim to be incompetent, are you not implying that I, Zichuan, the Second Master, and the Third Master are all incapable of judging character?"

Qi Fei countered with a question.

Liu Bei currently faced a critical issue: the inferiority complex stemming from his low-born status.

This was especially true now, just as the Campaign Against Dong had concluded.

Looking at the Eighteen Route Feudal Lords, they were essentially all provincial governors or commandery administrators.

Even Cao Cao, who had issued the call to arms, held the rank of Colonel in the Central Army.

Compared to them, calling Liu Bei a commoner was an understatement, so it was no wonder he felt inferior.

But this was something that had to be corrected, no matter what.

If a monarch felt inferior, how was he to unite his subjects?

"I had no such intention."

Liu Bei said hurriedly.

"Then please, hold your head high."

Qi Fei said earnestly.

"Not just for your own sake, but also for those of us who believe in you."

After hearing Qi Fei's words, Liu Bei fell into silence.

"That is true."

After a long while, Qi Fei finally heard Liu Bei's voice.

"Thank you for the reminder, Zihong."

Liu Bei bowed deeply toward Qi Fei.

"This is what I ought to do."

Qi Fei quickly reached out to help Liu Bei up.

Honestly, this was the one thing he disliked about this era; they would bow at the drop of a hat.

But there was no helping it; the trend of showing respect to the virtuous was the standard, and for them, it was simply a habit.

After demonstrating his methods to Liu Bei, Qi Fei returned to drilling his troops.

And Liu Bei, having finished drinking Qi Fei's "chicken soup for the soul," felt his entire being ignited, determined to do something to help the two men who were working so hard for his sake.

However, after much fussing, Liu Bei discovered that he couldn't actually do anything.

He could only imitate Qi Fei, quietly organizing his own soldiers.

Once Liu Bei began doing this, the Second Master also started studying his own Legion Talent and his soldiers.

After all, whenever they were on the march, aside from studying the Spring and Autumn Annals, there was nothing else he could do.

With both his eldest and second brothers starting to study their troops, Zhang Fei had no choice but to follow suit.

Since Zhang Fei had started putting in the effort, Zhao Yun, that good child, naturally began his own studies early on.

He had a portion of White Horse cavalry under his command—originally from Gongsun Zan—whose speed was the best in the world, making them perfect for scouts.

Thus, every day after eating his fill, they would race out dozens of miles at light speed to digest their meal.

Once their stomachs were nearly empty again, they would race back to the main camp at light speed to eat.

Such cool, high-speed cavalry made the eyes of the Second and Third Masters glow with envy, and they became even more diligent with their own cavalry.

Unfortunately, no matter what they did, they could not match the speed of the White Horse.

They could only ply Zhao Yun with wine whenever they had the chance, hoping to glean some experience from him.

Hua Xiong, for his part, thought, Good grief, to show off cavalry in front of our Iron Cavalry? Don't you know that our Iron Cavalry are the best fighters right now?

So, he decisively joined the training.

Naturally, as a bizarre type of cavalry that viewed their warhorses as mere equipment, their speed was not even as good as ordinary cavalry. Naturally, they were whipped and beaten by the faster White Horse.

After being toyed with and outmaneuvered by the White Horse several times, Hua Xiong finally abandoned the idea of competing with them.

Following Qi Fei's suggestion, he adjusted his focus and honestly went off to build his muscles.

Even the newly joined Xu Chu was dragged by Qi Fei to start leading troops.

Twenty of the Huangfu Personal Guards, along with over thirty newly selected muscular men, were added to Xu Chu's command.

Qi Fei did not expect Xu Chu to achieve any major results in such a short time; he simply wanted him to get accustomed to his future soldiers.

And so, in an atmosphere that could only be described as bizarre, the group arrived at Mount Tai.

"Perfect, I've succeeded as well."

Qi Fei looked at the new recruits before him, who had undergone a significant transformation.

At this moment, the two hundred and twenty soldiers under his command finally manifested their first Mental Talent.

The effect of the talent was a speed boost, which could be applied to movement or attacks.

Qi Fei tentatively called it Swiftness.

"Impressive, truly impressive."

Chen Xi clapped his hands in approval from the side.

In Liu Bei's estimation, the standard of these soldiers was already approaching that of ordinary Veterans.

Yet, Qi Fei had managed to train them into this state in less than a month; his ability was clearly no exaggeration.

"It's alright, I suppose."

Though satisfied with his results, Qi Fei was not arrogant enough to be proud.

Back in the day, when Huangfu Song fought, he could take Danyang Soldiers and raw peasants, reinforce them for half a month, and mold them into an effective force.

Not only that, but he could make those men understand military orders and execute complex formations according to his command.

On his end, Qi Fei had strictly followed the rigid, collegiate-style military training to cultivate collective spirit, while constantly guiding them with his mental energy throughout the process.

Under such conditions, it had taken nearly a month to produce an Elite Talent.

The result could only be called mediocre, hardly worthy of pride.

"Zihong is always so humble."

Liu Bei looked at Qi Fei with the expression of someone watching a master gamer at an internet cafe.

The others felt the same.

After all, in the minds of these people who had seen so little of the world, a single talent usually required months of training and several small-scale skirmishes to manifest.

Someone like Qi Fei was already bordering on godlike.

"It's fine. Lord Xuande, remember to equip them with Command Flags and teach them military formations later, otherwise, they won't be able to coordinate with other armies."

Qi Fei handed the soldiers back to Liu Bei while offering this reminder.

The group he had trained had reached the necessary strength, but in other aspects, they were so rigid they resembled zombies more than soldiers.

They would require further drilling.

Of course, handing them over to Liu Bei was not just for that reason.

Chen Xi had previously taught Liu Bei the legendary divine skill: Face Recognition.

He was currently in the midst of studying this skill.

Qi Fei handing the soldiers back to Liu Bei was also to facilitate this.

"Very well, leave it to me."

Liu Bei accepted Qi Fei's goodwill and decisively took on the responsibility.

At the same time, he also hoped to take some work off Qi Fei's hands so that Qi Fei could have a little more leisure.

Unfortunately, Qi Fei was completely oblivious to this.

At this moment, he was still immersed in the excitement of seeing his theories validated, preparing to build on his success and continue practicing his original theoretical framework.

"Second Master, bring your soldiers over; I'll take this opportunity to help you adjust your talent."

Qi Fei said to Guan Yu.

"This talent can actually be adjusted?"

Chen Xi asked the question that was on everyone else's mind.

"As long as it's within the scope of basic talents and there is only one, adjusting it isn't an issue."

Qi Fei replied.

Having observed the process of talent formation firsthand, he found making adjustments among a few basic talents to be quite straightforward.

For instance, common ones like Strength Enhancement, Physical Defense, or Willpower Buff.

The group, having received the answer, stared at Qi Fei with the expression of people observing a Great Immortal.

"This is basic knowledge. Once you get the hang of it, you'll naturally be able to do it too."

Qi Fei felt the way these people were looking at him was a bit unsettling.

"I've read what you wrote before, but I don't think I'll ever be able to learn it."

Chen Xi continued to speak up for the others.

Qi Fei hadn't tried to hide anything over the past few days, answering directly whenever someone asked him a question.

He even let others look at the military manual he had written himself.

The problem, however, was that the eyes of most people were filled with confusion after reading it.

"That thing is useless to read; it's full of errors and omissions. I'll let you see it again once I've finished revising it."

Qi Fei waved his hand dismissively.

Now that he had put his ideas into practice, he realized that what he had written back then was riddled with loopholes.

If a true military expert were to see it, they would likely treat it as a joke.

"Then I shall wait to read your magnum opus."

Chen Xi wore an expectant expression.

What boy didn't harbor a dream of becoming a great general?

Although he found the military manuals written by these ancients to be an absolute mess, perhaps the one written by his fellow countryman would be different?

"...Alright."

Qi Fei suddenly felt a wave of pressure.

As far as he knew, because Chen Xi had invested so many points into his talent for governance, he had almost zero points in command.

If he wanted to write a military manual that even Chen Xi could understand...

"Yunchang, let's talk about your legion instead."

Qi Fei immediately steered the conversation elsewhere.

"Do you have any thoughts on your legion?"

"I have none. I ask that Zihong offer his guidance."

Guan Yu answered earnestly.

"Hmm... I observe that the General has quite the achievement in the Divine Path; would it not be better to focus primarily on willpower-based talents?"

Qi Fei asked.

Guan Yu's own talents in Essence and Qi were not particularly high, but his talent in Spirit was ridiculously strong.

This was likely because he enjoyed studying the Spring and Autumn Annals in his spare time, which exercised his mind, coupled with the fact that his own willpower was exceptionally firm.

In the original timeline, Guan Yu also relied on his Spirit to step into the realm beyond Internal Qi Separation.

His personal Blade-Schooling Guards were also a result of an Idealistic Talent extending from the realm of willpower.

Therefore, Qi Fei had always felt that Guan Yu was also a prime candidate for leading the Fifth Generation Garrison Cavalry.

The Fifth Generation Garrison Cavalry Battalion, much like the Huangfu Personal Guards, was another masterpiece created by Huangfu Song when he was short on funds.

Its three-talent architecture consisted of Willpower Enhancement, Willpower Limit Break, and Willpower Transcendence (which had never fully manifested).

Because it lacked foundational physical-stat talents and there was no money to buy armor, the two-talent Fifth Generation Garrison Cavalry possessed the power of both gods and ghosts.

A commander lacking sufficient courage might even be killed by his own troops after they unlocked their first talent.

But if it were a select few, they could fight Imperial Guards while only at the two-talent stage, and even killing a three-talent legion would not be out of the question.

In Qi Fei's view, Guan Yu was one of those few people.

His cultivation in the Divine Path was sufficient to support this legion, allowing it to unleash power that surpassed conventional legions.

In this way, he could also help Guan Yu avoid some of the detours he took in the original timeline.

In the original story, Guan Yu had spent an unknown amount of time agonizing over the Blade-Schooling Guards before they finally managed to crawl their way up to the three-talent rank.

Switching to the pure willpower-based Fifth Generation Garrison Cavalry would likely be much simpler.