The Edict of Recruiting the Virtuous Pays Off

"Zihong, I heard another challenger has come to try pulling the sword. Are you going to take a look?"

A voice came from the courtyard.

Needless to say, it could only be Chen Xi.

At present, the only people in Liu Bei's faction who could finish their work early and clock out were Qi Fei and Chen Xi.

"Maybe I'll think about it once they manage to pull my sword."

Qi Fei replied without turning around.

They were talking about selecting military officers.

After issuing the Edict of Recruiting the Virtuous, Chen Xi had the craftsmen start building a place to show their sincerity.

Back in the day, King Zhao of Yan had built a platform five zhang and nine chi tall to recruit the virtuous, and it had been celebrated by later generations.

For now, Liu Bei's faction didn't have the spare funds to put on such a grand display, so they planned to build only two Library Pavilions.

The one facing south would be the Art of War Pavilion, and it would be somewhat smaller. The larger one, facing north, would house every kind of book besides military texts.

Between the two Library Pavilions stood an Altar for selecting military officers.

Chen Xi thought it would be a little dull to simply have challengers defend a platform, so after confirming that Qi Fei rarely used his sword, he borrowed the Nine Phoenix Sword and planted it in the Altar.

Then he spread the word: anyone who could pull out this sword would get to witness the bearing of the greatest expert of the age.

Chen Xi's claim wasn't exactly wrong.

With Qi Fei constantly pouring power into it, the Nine Phoenix Sword could easily unleash strength far beyond that of an ordinary Boundary Breaker, even on its own.

Leaving Qi Fei aside, that more or less counted as being the greatest expert of the age.

"I heard a strong fighter comparable to Second Master has come this time. Maybe he really can pull it out."

Chen Xi answered as he entered the courtyard.

Then he saw a very bizarre sight.

A large flock of poultry had lined up in neat formations before Qi Fei. Like elite soldiers, they were drilling various Battle Formations on their own.

At the same time, the gray Cloud Qi above their heads was even denser than that of ordinary conscripts.

"How did you do that?"

Chen Xi stared, stunned.

Anyone with sufficient spiritual cultivation could control small animals and gather a little Cloud Qi around them.

But this scale was another matter entirely.

"Their foundations are just good. It wasn't difficult."

Qi Fei replied casually.

The chickens had high Internal Qi cultivation. Once the sliver of spiritual power he had shared with them brought them together, the Cloud Qi formed naturally.

Only after hearing this did Chen Xi notice that every chicken in front of him possessed Internal Qi at the Internal Qi Condensation level.

"What kind of heavenly treasure did you feed them?"

Chen Xi asked, utterly astonished.

One of these things could probably peck an adult to death without much trouble.

And if they formed a military formation like they had now, even a regular army of talented soldiers in Leather Armor might not be able to beat them.

"I didn't use anything. It's the effect of my Mental Talent."

Qi Fei withdrew the power he had shared with the chickens, then shared the realm of Internal Qi Separation with Chen Xi.

The next moment, Heaven and Earth Essence poured into Chen Xi's body, rapidly transforming him.

"You actually have a Mental Talent? And its effect is to raise other people's Internal Qi realm?"

Chen Xi watched his body change in surprise.

When Qi Fei had discussed this with them before, he had mentioned in passing that Mental Talents were abilities that emerged once one's spiritual power reached a certain level of cultivation.

Anyone with such an ability could at least be counted among the great ministers of their generation.

But Qi Fei's Mental Talent was absurdly powerful, wasn't it?

"It only just took shape. It lets me share my own abilities. In theory, you might even be able to share your abilities with me."

Qi Fei said, guessing at its limits.

In the original story, the regent, Eldest Princess Liu Tong, had the Mental Talent Puppet Strings.

In her hands, others held the strings while she became the puppet, controlled by whoever held them, and gained some of their power.

But in Zhuge Liang's hands, the ability became a way for him to hold the strings and control others.

That had even led Zhuge Liang to believe for a time that Liu Tong only seemed frail on the surface, while deep down she was actually a domineering queen.

So Qi Fei guessed that his ability could probably be developed in the opposite direction, too.

"Then what's the effective range? Could you turn the whole army into Internal Qi Separation experts?"

Chen Xi asked, letting his imagination run wild.

Before he crossed over, he had heard people talk about Guan Yu commanding seventy thousand troops against Cao Cao. Could they really do that now?

"I don't know the effective range, but that idea of yours definitely won't work."

Qi Fei shot down Chen Xi's fanciful idea.

"First, I don't have enough Internal Qi for that. You could drain me dry and I still couldn't do it. Second, once someone's Internal Qi cultivation passes Qi Solidification, their Essence, Qi, and Spirit undergo an elevation. If everyone had Internal Qi Separation, there'd be no way to unify their wills into an army."

He was a God Boundary Breaker, not a Qi Boundary Breaker known for the sheer scale of his Internal Qi.

Besides, even a Qi Boundary Breaker couldn't provide that much Internal Qi.

"Then what if you share your power with others in turn? I mean, after sharing it, you recover and then share it again."

Chen Xi immediately came up with another idea.

"I can't recover it. Once shared, the Internal Qi isn't being stored in me anymore, but it hasn't been used up."

Qi Fei spread his hands.

"Unless they completely refine that portion of my Internal Qi, but that would take too much out of me."

The Internal Qi used to improve someone's cultivation was different from the Internal Qi expended in battle.

The Internal Qi that improved cultivation contained a vital force: Life Energy.

A large loss of Life Energy would not only hinder one's own progress, but could even cause one's realm to regress.

In the original story, Huang Zhong had consumed a large amount of Life Energy to prolong his son's life, which made breaking through to Boundary Breaker exceptionally difficult for him.

And Huang Zhong had originally been a mighty general on Lu Bu's level.

So in battle, no one would use this portion of their power unless they were truly at the end of their strength.

Qi Fei guessed he would only be able to expend and recover it freely after making progress in the Life Law.

Unfortunately, the Life Attribute of the four Qi Feis came from the Sovereign's Might.

Even with their talents combined, their progress in comprehending the laws was still painfully slow.

Unless another Qi Fei with talent in the Life Attribute joined them, they would probably have to borrow Elder Shennong's Heavenly Flame, the Life Spirit Flame, to comprehend the law in the future.

"I see."

After hearing Qi Fei explain the difference between the two kinds of Internal Qi, Chen Xi felt a little disappointed.

"In any case, I think the best use of my Mental Talent is sharing realms."

Qi Fei explained what he considered the best solution.

If he shared it with the army, his Internal Qi would be split into too many portions to support even one person's Internal Qi Separation.

But sharing a realm was different.

No matter how weak the shared realm was, its essence would still be Internal Qi Separation, which meant they could refine the Heaven and Earth Essence around them for their own use.

They would only need a little more time to cultivate Internal Qi from nothing.

And they wouldn't have to consume nearly as much food as they would through normal cultivation.

A huge bargain.

Moreover, sharing a realm wouldn't risk contaminating their Essence, Qi, and Spirit. It was also suitable for military officers to use to experience the next realm and help them break through.

"But why don't I feel like I'm close to breaking through?"

Chen Xi asked as he continued absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence.

"You haven't even reached Qi Solidification. Your foundation is much too weak."

Qi Fei looked at Chen Xi's physique and couldn't help shaking his head.

Chen Xi was near the bottom even among those at the Internal Qi Condensation level, and he thought he could talk about breaking through to Internal Qi Separation?

"So if I keep this going a little longer, can I reach Internal Qi Separation?"

Chen Xi asked, curious and a little excited.

"If you cultivate on your own and fully master this realm, you should be able to. Otherwise, even if you reach Internal Qi Separation, I reckon that as soon as I stop sharing it, you'll fall straight back to Qi Solidification."

Qi Fei said, estimating the odds.

In the original story, someone had broken through only to fall back again.

That person was Li Tiao, one of Zhao Yun's subordinates.

Brother Tiao was famous for three things: being the strongest Qi Solidification expert, having broken through to Internal Qi Separation more times than anyone else, and having a cultivation talent so poor it had made history.

Because he had such poor affinity with Heaven and Earth Essence, Brother Tiao had broken through to Internal Qi Separation countless times, only to fall back again.

Chen Xi would probably be similar.

The difference was that Heaven and Earth Essence rejected Brother Tiao, while Chen Xi couldn't control the Heaven and Earth Essence entering his body.

Of course, Chen Xi was still in a better position than Brother Tiao.

After falling back a dozen times or so, he should be able to stabilize at Internal Qi Separation.

Chen Xi did have an opportunity later on that would let him leap straight to Boundary Breaker in one go. The trouble was that even after breaking through, his combat strength was still pretty poor...

Just as Qi Fei was thinking about these odds and ends, he suddenly sensed a stir from the Nine Phoenix Sword.

"Looks like the news you heard earlier was right."

A faint smile appeared on Qi Fei's face.

"What?"

Chen Xi was confused by Qi Fei's cryptic remark.

"An expert at the peak of Internal Qi Separation has arrived. He almost pulled out the Nine Phoenix Sword."

Qi Fei wondered who this expert at the peak of Internal Qi Separation could be.

At this point in time, apart from a few famous military officers serving the various lords, only the older generation of Internal Qi Separation experts could have reached this level.

So who was it?

Tong Yuan? Huang Zhong? Or someone else?

"Should we go take a look?"

Chen Xi asked a question whose answer was obvious.

Then the two of them immediately took a carriage to the scene.

When they arrived, Qi Fei found that they weren't the only ones watching. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Hua Xiong, and several others were there too.

Only, the person on the platform now didn't seem to be the one Qi Fei had sensed earlier.

The one trying to draw the sword was a young man, dashing and imposing, with handsome looks almost on par with Yunmei.

No wonder Liu Bei and the others had gathered to watch.

"Lord Xuande, who is this young man?"

Chen Xi asked, putting an arm around Liu Bei's shoulder.

"I don't know either, but judging by his accent, he seems to be from Fufeng."

Liu Bei replied.

He had also hurried over after hearing that someone had almost pulled out the Nine Phoenix Sword.

If he hadn't been nearby, he probably would have arrived even later than Qi Fei.

"Oh? He's from Fufeng and so handsome. Could he be Ma Yuan's descendant, the son of Xiliang's governor Ma Teng—Ma Chao, Ma Mengqi?"

Chen Xi and Qi Fei thought of the same person.

With his Xiliang background and such good looks, Ma Chao was practically the only possibility.

A voice that suddenly rang out confirmed their guess.

"Mengqi, can you actually do it or not?"

A young man dressed only slightly better than a beggar lay on the ground below the platform, calling out lazily.

"Xiaozhi, shut up!"

Ma Chao's face was bright red on the platform. It was hard to tell whether he was straining or just furious.

"Even if I shut up, you still won't be able to pull it out."

Fa Zheng, Fa Xiaozhi, rolled over and changed position so he could keep watching Ma Chao.

"Aaah—Xiaozhi, just you wait! I'll beat you up one of these days!"

Ma Chao roared.

But no matter how furious he got, the Nine Phoenix Sword remained completely motionless, showing no sign of being pulled out.

After several failed attempts, Ma Chao finally gave up.

"I went to all that trouble to provoke you, and you still couldn't do it. Looks like your actual strength really is a long way off."

Fa Zheng got up from the ground and said this to Ma Chao as he climbed down, looking perfectly serious.

"So you're saying you said all that just to help me?"

Ma Chao asked with a friendly smile.

"Of course. After traveling all this way together, you should know what I'm like by now."

Fa Zheng casually brushed the dust off his clothes.

Ma Chao fell silent for a moment. He realized that, apart from this, Fa Zheng really had no reason to act that way.

But he was still so angry.

And when he thought about how Fa Zheng had gone so far as to lie down in public just to help him out, Ma Chao couldn't even bring himself to get mad at Fa Zheng.

That made him even angrier.

Just as Ma Chao was sulking, that man appeared.

"I wonder if I might be so fortunate as to learn the names of the two young heroes?"

That's right. The newcomer was Liu Bei.

With Liu Bei stepping in, those two youngsters were as good as safe, so Qi Fei stopped paying attention to them.

Qi Fei found Zang Ba nearby. He was on arena duty today, so he would surely know who had nearly drawn the Nine Phoenix.

"The man called himself Tong Yuan, courtesy name Xiongfu. He should be General Zhao's master. He even gave me a few pointers just now."

As he answered, Zang Ba led Qi Fei a little away from the crowd.

There was a carriage here. A young child lay inside, with two old men standing beside him. One of them was carefully examining the child.

"I'm afraid there's nothing this old man can do for your son's illness," the old man said after finishing his examination.

"It's all right. We came here hoping to try our luck, so don't take it to heart, Xiongfu." The other old man forced a strained smile.

"Don't worry too much. Perhaps the one who has surpassed internal qi separation will be able to help," Tong Yuan said, comforting him.

Seeing the two men, Qi Fei was delighted.

Well, he'd thought only one of them had come, but Tong Yuan and Huang Zhong had both shown up. What a pleasant surprise.

"Master Tong, I'm here," Zang Ba greeted him.

He first introduced Tong Yuan to Qi Fei, then introduced Qi Fei to Tong Yuan.

"This is Qi Fei, courtesy name Zihong, the foremost figure in the Martial Dao in the world today, and a master of training troops."

"I hadn't expected the famed Qi Zihong to be so young. We truly are old," Tong Yuan said with a sigh, stroking his beard.

"I'm merely a step ahead in the Martial Dao. You're too modest, senior."

Qi Fei knew that Tong Yuan could use a secret technique to reclaim the strength he'd had in his youth whenever he wished.

And once Tong Yuan broke through to Boundary Breaker, only his outer shell would be old. Inside, he'd be no different from a young man.

"May I ask who this gentleman is?"

After meeting Tong Yuan, Qi Fei turned to look at the other old man.

"I am Cai Yang. Greetings, General Qi," the old man said humbly.

"?"

Qi Fei's mind was almost entirely filled with question marks.

Cai Yang?

Who?

Where was my Huang Zhong?