The Banquet

The Flying Bear Army was the Imperial Will army born from Dong Zhuo's personal forces, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

Their special ability was to freely manipulate gravity.

They could make heavy cavalry charge at light cavalry speeds, then turn back into heavy cavalry when they struck their enemies.

That wasn't all. This cavalry could also take flight with its special ability.

It was the perfect unit Chen Xi had dreamed of in the original story.

And yet this mighty army was wiped out by the Trapping Vanguard when Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu turned against each other.

This was mainly because the Flying Bear Army had come from the Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

In the Xiliang Iron Cavalry's system, warhorses weren't mounts. They were equipment that provided attributes.

Cavalrymen with horses gained a great deal of additional attributes, including even style points.

The Trapping Vanguard, on the other hand, had come from the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry. They were regular cavalry who rode their horses as mounts.

At the same time, the Wolf Cavalry's Decathlon talent, developed to its full potential, meant they had far less need for warhorses.

Aside from the issue of horses, the two sides' special abilities also had their respective strengths and weaknesses.

The Trapping Vanguard's special ability forcibly raised the level of every soldier by one.

Internal Qi Condensation became Qi Solidification, while Qi Solidification rose straight to Internal Qi Separation.

In foot combat, this was far more convenient than the Flying Bear Army's gravity manipulation.

Thus, when neither side had horses, the Trapping Vanguard could beat the Flying Bear Army to a pulp.

And so, on the day Dong Zhuo fell, the Trapping Vanguard wiped out the Flying Bear Army too.

Qi Fei brought this up with Chen Xi now because he wanted to preserve the only special unit that could fly, at least for the time being.

And he wouldn't just do his best to preserve the Flying Bear Army. He would try to save the other Army Soul armies as well.

Normally, an Army Soul army needed a steady supply of will to take shape.

That will usually came from the Imperial Will.

--Imperial Will was the culmination of the spirit of an entire empire. It took shape through the people's unity of heart and mind, and would fall apart if that unity dissolved.

It was precisely because Army Soul armies had such unusual requirements that a normal empire usually had room for only two of them.

But if there were normal cases, there were abnormal ones too.

The Parthian Divine Cavalry from the original story, for example.

When the Parthian Empire fell, the Parthian Divine Cavalry forcibly attained Army Soul status despite the absence of Imperial Will.

Then the Divine Cavalry forcibly condensed Imperial Will and instantly wiped out a Three Talents army.

Even most Miracles couldn't do that. Its strength was absurd.

But when Qi Fei had read the book, he'd noticed something.

At the point when the story began, the Han Empire's Imperial Will had already collapsed.

The Yellow Turbans' Embryonic Imperial Will had already emerged, and an empire couldn't have two Imperial Wills.

(Though Huangfu Song had beaten the Yellow Turbans' Imperial Will to pieces.)

So, the Great Han's current Army Soul armies had all forcibly attained their status without Imperial Will.

The Flying Bear Army (Dong Zhuo), the Trapping Vanguard (Lu Bu), and the First Ascender (Yuan Shao) had all done so.

The flashy armies that only appeared later in the book had already existed in the Great Han's early days.

But no one had realized it.

That was why two of its Army Soul armies, the Flying Bear Army and the First Ascender, had been killed by their own side.

Only the Trapping Vanguard remained, eventually climbing to the rank of a Miracle all alone.

Although Hua Xiong had brought forth the Divine Iron Cavalry from the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and they had stumbled their way to Miracle status,

Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou had also joined forces to bring forth a Miracle-level Xiliang Iron Cavalry.

But they were no longer the Flying Bear Army.

So sometimes Qi Fei wondered if the Great Han could originally have had four Miracle armies, or even more.

Their Army Souls had already forcibly attained their status against all odds.

Wasn't it only natural that they had the potential to become Miracles?

But for now, he couldn't tell Chen Xi any of that.

Qi Fei simply had no way to explain where he'd gotten his information.

"The Flying Bear Army... I'll have Zijian see if he can salvage it later."

Chen Xi stroked his chin as he considered it.

It really wasn't easy to get at Dong Zhuo's guards right now, but it would be much easier once Dong Zhuo fell.

"Zijian? Hua Xiong's here too? How come I didn't see him earlier?"

Qi Fei asked, puzzled.

Chen Xi's mention of him reminded him that in this world, Second Master hadn't killed Hua Xiong. He'd captured him instead.

Hua Xiong should be with Liu Bei now.

"He's training the troops," Chen Xi replied.

"Lu Bu made a disgraceful mess of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, so Zijian's been putting them through extra drills lately. I simply sent him out to suppress bandits."

"You're suppressing bandits in Yingchuan? Aren't you worried the governor will fall out with you?"

Qi Fei's mouth twitched.

Even in modern times, how many people would dare let an unfamiliar army roam around on their land?

"It can't be helped. These days, if you don't show off your military might, people keep sticking their hands where they don't belong."

Chen Xi spread his hands. He didn't really want to do this either.

If Liu Bei's men weren't so disciplined, there'd be fewer horses in the camp by now.

"Besides, when I say they're suppressing bandits, all they really do is leave camp and run a couple of laps every day."

No matter how he looked at it, Chen Xi couldn't actually let them fight.

Not unless he wanted to go to war with Yingchuan.

"Come to think of it, they should be back soon, right? They can join your welcome banquet."

Chen Xi estimated the time.

"Oh, then should we head out?"

Qi Fei said, about to withdraw his mental power.

"Wait. Have you thought of what to tell them about our relationship?"

Chen Xi stopped Qi Fei.

Lord Xuande and the others had seen their reactions just now, clear as day.

They needed at least some plausible excuse to fob them off, didn't they?

"We're fellow townsmen, aren't we? Just say I was your childhood friend, and that we lost touch at some point."

Qi Fei asked, confused.

Wasn't it perfectly normal for two friends from the same hometown to recognize each other through a line of poetry?

Besides, they had a ready-made reason for losing touch.

That's right, I'm looking at you, the Chen Clan of Yingchuan, who tore us apart... Wait, that doesn't sound right. Anyway, you'll do.

"Don't you think that sounds a little ridiculous, given our ages?"

Chen Xi looked at Qi Fei, then pointed at himself.

One of them was just over ten, and the other wasn't even twenty.

A story about them being close friends who'd lost touch seemed a bit too far-fetched, didn't it?

"I think it's perfectly normal for two child prodigies to be friends."

Qi Fei retorted.

"And though neither of us is old, we're not that far apart in age. It's a good excuse."

If the age gap were any bigger, it'd be harder to make up a story.

"That actually makes sense."

Chen Xi stroked his chin.

Thinking it over, he realized the excuse could pass.

The two of them then rehearsed their story to make sure they wouldn't slip up if anyone asked.

"Anything else? If not, I'll take down the mental barrier."

After they'd gone over their story, Qi Fei asked again.

"Yes. Are there many people like us?"

Chen Xi asked, his expression serious.

"I wouldn't know. I only realized I wasn't the only one in this world when I saw you bring Lord Xuande here."

Qi Fei had actually wanted to say no, that there hadn't been any other transmigrators in the original book.

But he had no way to explain that either.

"I see."

Chen Xi had a feeling he was in trouble.

If there could be a second, there could be a third. And once there was a third, a fourth, fifth, and sixth would naturally follow.

The world would be in trouble then.

"There's no point thinking too much about it."

Seeing Chen Xi's expression change, Qi Fei could more or less guess what was on his mind.

"What we need to do now is develop as quickly as we can. Once we've grown strong and have the course of events in our hands, the others won't matter."

Since he couldn't say the truth outright, Qi Fei could only try to reassure Chen Xi this way.

"You're right."

A spark ignited in Chen Xi's eyes.

Even if there were other transmigrators, was he supposed to just surrender?

He had no intention of handing the future over to someone else without a fight.

"Zihong, I'll be counting on you to handle military affairs from now on."

Chen Xi asked solemnly.

"Lord Xuande has excellent generals under him, but they lack a commander who understands warfare. That'll have to be you."

The difference between them and Qi Fei was clear from their most basic understanding.

They knew only that soldiers had special abilities. They didn't know where those abilities came from or where they might lead.

Qi Fei, on the other hand, could explain it all in detail.

The gap between them was obviously enormous.

"Of course."

Qi Fei nodded.

That was exactly why he'd come.

"Then should I explain things to Second Master and the others?"

Chen Xi asked.

After all, Qi Fei was still young, and Second Master and the others had never seen what he could do.

It would be hard for them to trust him.

"No need."

Qi Fei shook his head.

It was better to demonstrate his abilities and establish his reputation himself.

"If Lord Xuande recruits some ordinary people and lets me train them for a while, the results will speak for themselves."

If they took troops away from someone else, that would inevitably breed resentment.

But recruiting new people and training them from scratch was different.

At least in the beginning, the generals wouldn't have any reason to object to Qi Fei.

Unless he proved himself to be a complete good-for-nothing.

"How many men do you need?"

Chen Xi asked readily.

"Two hundred."

Qi Fei estimated.

Anything beyond that would be too much for him to whip into shape quickly at his current level.

"Good. I'll ask Lord Xuande for approval later. Then we'll see what you can do."

Chen Xi said.

He could arrange it himself, but they still had to follow the proper procedure.

Qi Fei then lowered the mental barrier, and the two of them walked out of the tent together.

The first thing they saw as they stepped outside was Liu Bei pacing anxiously nearby.

He spotted them the moment they emerged.

When he saw that there was no obvious tension between them, Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he hurried over to them.

"How did it go?"

Liu Bei asked, watching their expressions carefully as he spoke.

"Very well."

Chen Xi and Qi Fei exchanged glances, then answered with a smile in unison.

"Good."

Liu Bei watched the two men's reactions and laughed along with them.

As long as there was no conflict, that was all that mattered.

Next, Chen Xi told Liu Bei about Qi Fei's request.

After hearing him out, Liu Bei immediately sent someone to take care of it, without asking Qi Fei what he intended to do.

Clearly, he trusted both Chen Xi and Qi Fei deeply.

Afterward, Liu Bei led the two of them to another tent. A tripod had already been set up inside, with mutton simmering in it.

"The conditions in the army are harsh, so this banquet is rather simple. I hope you won't mind, Zihong."

Liu Bei bowed to Qi Fei in apology.

"Please, there's no need."

Qi Fei caught Liu Bei and stopped him from completing the bow.

To people in modern times, stewing a pot of mutton was nothing special, aside from the odd choice of using a tripod.

But in this era, a feast of bells and tripods was the highest form of hospitality.

In fact, using a tripod at all was already a breach of protocol for the few of them.

Still, when Qi Fei thought about how Liu Bei would one day use bronze tripods to stew mutton for even more guests, and how it would even influence Fa Zheng's tastes in food, he couldn't help finding it oddly amusing.

"Zihong, please."

Liu Bei invited Qi Fei to take a seat.

"Please, Lord Xuande."

Qi Fei fell a little behind and replied courteously.

Liu Bei took two steps, then invited Qi Fei again.

By now, Qi Fei was in a playful mood, so he simply kept letting Liu Bei go first. It felt a bit like acting out a scene from an old Three Kingdoms drama.

Back and forth they went. The two of them seemed not to mind at all, while Chen Xi, standing to the side, was getting exasperated.

Neither of them cared about these empty courtesies, yet they kept being polite to each other.

Honestly.

"You two can stop being so polite and take your seats already."

Chen Xi reached out, grabbed them both, and pulled them straight into the tent.

"If we don't go in soon, Second Master and the others will probably start getting impatient."

Liu Bei was slightly surprised by Chen Xi's actions.

Chen Xi had never been so familiar with him before. It seemed that his claim that he and Zihong had gotten along splendidly today was no empty boast.

Liu Bei reached back, grabbed Chen Xi, and took the lead in pulling him forward.

Qi Fei regretted that their little role-playing game had ended so soon, but he followed the pull and entered the tent.

Four people were already seated inside.

Besides Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, there was an unfamiliar man, who must have been Hua Xiong.

After Liu Bei introduced them, Qi Fei and Hua Xiong got to know each other.

As someone who had only recently broken through to Internal Qi Separation, Hua Xiong looked at Qi Fei with deep emotion.

If he hadn't broken through after beheading Pan Feng, he'd be at the same level as this young fellow now.

After the emotion came warmth.

By the time old fellows like them could no longer keep going, Qi Fei might still be in his prime.

If he befriended him now, it might open another path for their descendants in the future.

Thanks to that, the two quickly grew close.

Before the banquet had even ended, they were already calling each other dear brother.

Chen Xi could barely contain his urge to complain.

The welcoming feast lasted until midnight. Everyone had a wonderful time, and even Qi Fei got to thoroughly enjoy himself for once.

It was a chance to take a break after several busy days.

The next day.

The men Liu Bei had recruited for Qi Fei had all arrived.

Qi Fei began his first proper round of training.

He started with the simplest college-style military drills, using them to give the two hundred men a rudimentary sense of organization.

With that foundation in place, Qi Fei began to further standardize their movements.

Throughout the process, he continually used his mental power to guide their wills.

Then, a layer of cloud qi successfully appeared above the two hundred men.

It was no match for the regular troops under Liu Bei, but it was still far superior to ordinary rabble.

"Zihong is truly gifted."

Liu Bei, watching from the side, was amazed.

It wasn't just Liu Bei. The other four generals were equally astonished.

If they had befriended Qi Fei before because they valued his talent, now they were impressed by his personal ability.