Chapter 771: Selecting Generals and Requesting Men

The Elixir of Immortality case, which once stirred up the winds and clouds of the Imperial Capital, ended so hastily, likely because the Lingxu City incident emerged out of nowhere, stealing all the attention of the city residents. The filth hidden in the shadows quietly covered up the truth once again.

From this point of view, He Lingchuan could be considered State Preceptor Qingyang's savior.

The world only envied Lingxu City's wealth and peace, only worshipped its unparalleled strength; in fact, from He Lingchuan's perspective, it was also riddled with holes.

From this point of view, Lingxu City and the Yuan Nation seemed to be no different.

"And on the eastern front, Beijia also suffered two defeats; I don't know if it was affected by the turmoil in Lingxu City."

"In any case, the changes caused by this tremor are profound, and I fear it will be a long time before they can be seen clearly." Elder Dao sighed, "Young Master He, you and Songyuan have truly performed an unparalleled feat."

He Lingchuan waved his hands repeatedly, his face humble: "Elder, you praise me too much; we don't have such great ability."

*Heh heh*, he also felt that pulling off that job hadn't been easy; he had been risking his neck the whole time.

He remembered another matter: "By the way, since State Preceptor Qingyang has been demoted to a commoner, who has taken over the position of State Preceptor of the Qinggong?"

The position of State Preceptor was of vital importance; Lingxu City could not leave it vacant for long.

"How could it be that fast?" Elder Dao smiled, "I heard that there are thirty or forty candidates pushed before the Demon Emperor... *cough*, that's an exaggeration, but every faction is strongly recommending their own, hoping their own people can get in."

"Lingxu City has a complete system; shouldn't the Master of the Qinggong have had a successor long ago?" State Preceptor Qingyang was of advanced age; hadn't Lingxu City planned for her successor? "They do, they are all high-talented scholars, but most of them had contact with State Preceptor Qingyang, and after this incident, none of them can be used." Elder Dao's one sentence laid bare the cruelty of power struggles. How many talents' futures were cut off because of a bit of unprovoked disaster. "They must re-select and re-examine."

"Regarding this matter, I heard that denunciations are emerging one after another. Not to mention other candidates, the Dean of Tongshan Academy, Nie Xiaolou, is venerable and respected, yet he was detained because of this and ate fifteen days of prison food. Students from several academies and the Imperial Academy jointly submitted a petition arguing for Nie Xiaolou's innocence, and students from Tongshan Academy even gathered before the court to beg the Demon Emperor to release him."

"Also, after the Lingxu incident, the Demon Emperor, wielding the power of thunder, ordered a purge of the Lingxu court and public, capturing spies and identifying evil, digging deep for hidden agents." Elder Dao clicked his tongue twice, "Once this order was issued, everyone felt endangered, and denunciation became the trend. It is said that for these past few months, the Heavenly Prison and the Yang Palace on Ru Mountain have been overflowing, unable to stuff in any more criminals. Lingxu City had to requisition the prisons in the Lower City."

"That's enough to keep them busy." He Lingchuan thought that the Heavenly Palace and the Demon Emperor were making such a big fuss just to catch Fang Canran and the other people from Spirit Mountain.

Little did he know that the Demon Emperor wanted to catch *him*, thinking that the mastermind who caused the chaos on Ru Mountain was hiding in the Lingxu City Royal Court, one of his own subordinates!

How could he not investigate to the death? Not a single clue, not a single sign of movement could be let go.

How many unjust, false, and wrong cases would be created in the process?

Elder Dao took out a jade slip: "The candidates that Sect Master Xue and I want to recommend to Young Master He are all here. Everyone has served in the military, has battle merits, and their character is solid; I have carefully selected them."

He Lingchuan took it, and his spiritual sense probed inside.

Inside was a roster containing the resumes of about sixty people, including each person's name, specialties, past qualifications, mastered supernatural powers, etc., all very detailed.

Most importantly, they had all been on the battlefield, killed people, and seen blood; they were not young disciples under the Other Rongshan Sect who only knew how to practice and cultivate.

Sect Master Xue and Elder Dao already regarded He Lingchuan as a "like-minded person" and knew that this path was difficult, so they wouldn't recommend newcomers who were ignorant of the world to him.

He Lingchuan selected slowly, and indeed there were quite a few he was satisfied with.

After a while, he put down the jade slip and asked the two: "Can I designate candidates?"

"Who else have you taken a fancy to?"

He Lingchuan pointed his chin outward: "Qiu Hu. He must have fought quite a few battles, right?"

This person's ferocity and ruthlessness left a deep impression on him. If Qiu Hu's past resume wasn't thick, then he was a natural-born killer general.

Elder Dao and Sect Master Xue looked at each other, seemingly not surprised: "You really want to choose him too."

*Really? * "It seems there are many factions that fancy him; then why is he still at Other Rongshan?"

"I've recommended him outward several times, and he's been fancied several times. He has performed many military merits and killed no fewer than a hundred people." After all, He Lingchuan wasn't the only one with an eye for talent; unpolished jade wouldn't just wait for him alone to discover it, "But he always returned in the end."

"Why?"

"He is eccentric by nature, dislikes taking orders, and looks down on his superiors; after all, most military generals can't fight as well as he can. Yet he is quite popular among the soldiers; every time he causes trouble, it ends up becoming a mass brawl, and the generals have no choice but to send him back to Other Rongshan." Elder Dao stroked his long beard, "After a few times like this, we had no choice but to let him stay at Other Rongshan and eat idle rice."

So he was a thorn in the side. Even so, He Lingchuan could still hear Elder Dao's fondness for Qiu Hu.

"Qiu Hu lost both parents when he was young and is a mute; Elder Zhao brought him back to Other Rongshan and cured his mute illness. By the time he could speak, he was already eleven years old." Sect Master Xue added, "His cultivation talent is very special; he was bonded with a demon spirit when he was born and can utilize a portion of the demon spirit's power."

"Demon spirit?" This was the first time He Lingchuan had heard this term.

"In ancient times, some great demons, unwilling to perish after being severely injured, would find ways to preserve their spirits and find humans willing to worship them. By transforming their spirits into souls this way, they could coexist with the descendants of humans, passed down from generation to generation."

"So Qiu Hu had a demon spirit accompanying him since birth?"

"Exactly, this should have been passed to him by his father before he died." Sect Master Xue sighed lightly, "The stronger the human bonded with the demon spirit, the more of the demon spirit's power they can utilize. Qiu Hu has excellent talent and bone structure, and his cultivation future is bright."

"So that's it; what is his demon spirit?"

Sect Master Xue smiled: "That will have to be told to you by him."

This was Qiu Hu's secret; if Qiu Hu didn't say it himself, Sect Master Xue couldn't easily leak it.

He Lingchuan said sternly: "I want this person."

Elder Dao replied: "We naturally agree to lend you Qiu Hu, but whether he is willing to follow you is for him to decide."

He Lingchuan coughed lightly: "I injured him, this..."

If Qiu Hu held a grudge, it would be human nature.

He also noticed that Elder Dao said "lend" rather than "give away," showing how much Other Rongshan valued Qiu Hu.

"On the contrary, only if you can beat him into submission will he be willing to follow you." Sect Master Xue waved his hand, "But at this time, I fear he is unwilling to leave Other Rongshan."

"Oh? Why?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 772 =====