Chapter 212

Office of the Li Canjun, main hall.

"Li Laoge, I never expected this either."

Jiang Linxian rarely showed a bitter smile.

"It's the Duke of Wei."

He said.

Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian both frowned upon hearing this name.

Ning Zhongtian had sought out Li Rui today, saying that Jiang Linxian had called them both over.

They hadn't expected that the matter of the Trade Captain would actually be connected to the Duke of Wei.

Jiang Linxian: "Originally, Li Laoge's appointment had already been approved by Regional Commander Xue, and we were just waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to finish the process. I didn't expect the Duke of Wei to take the initiative to submit a petition to His Majesty, requesting that his grandson, Qi Ze, be made this Trade Captain."

"The Duke of Wei represents the former dynasty, and many people from the former Xuan Kingdom fled to the Wu Kingdom back then, so His Majesty is wavering."

Li Rui looked at his nose and his nose at his heart.

He just listened quietly.

What kind of person is the Duke of Wei?

He is the leader of the former dynasty's remnants. Don't look at how the power of the former Xuan Kingdom has completely declined; a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, and he is still not someone a small official like him can compare to.

Let alone a Sixth-Rank Captain, even for a Fifth-Rank official, as long as the Duke of Wei speaks, the Emperor would agree without blinking.

In the eyes of those big figures, Fifth or Sixth Rank doesn't really matter; it's the same whoever does the work.

Not being able to serve as Trade Captain this time is a significant loss, after all, his strength has been made public, and exposing a portion of it isn't a big deal, but not getting promoted this time means waiting at least another seven or eight years.

But... compared to offending the Duke of Wei, it's nothing.

Li Rui has always taken gains and losses lightly.

He has waited seventy years, so he's not in a hurry for this moment.

Jiang Linxian looked at Li Rui: "Li Laoge, I know what you are thinking, but this time, we must fight for it."

Li Rui hadn't spoken yet.

Ning Zhongtian was the first to raise a question: "Chief Jiang, the Duke of Wei has a large family and great power; I'm afraid we can't afford to provoke him."

Jiang Linxian narrowed his eyes slightly and took a piece of calligraphy from his sleeve.

Li Rui and Ning Zhongtian looked closely.

It was just one character: "Victory."

The calligraphy was written very poorly, with no brushwork at all.

Li Rui looked at this character and found it more and more familiar; soon, he remembered where he had seen this handwriting.

"I am very pleased."

That's right.

It was exactly the same handwriting he had seen on an imperial decree.

Li Rui's pupils widened slightly.

It was actually an imperial handwritten note!

Although it was only one character, its weight was extremely heavy.

The key was that this imperial note in Jiang Linxian's hand clearly hadn't passed through Annan Town, meaning Jiang Linxian could communicate directly with the Lord of the Dragon Court.

This was extraordinary.

"It seems the rumors from the outside are true; Jiang Linxian really has a deep relationship with the Emperor."

Otherwise, this handwritten note couldn't have appeared in Jiang Linxian's hands.

It should have been sent by fast horse to Annan Town first, and then Regional Commander Xue Gui would have issued the order.

Li Rui understood clearly.

But Ning Zhongtian was full of question marks.

Victory?

Victory over whom, who wins?

Jiang Linxian said: "This is His Majesty's handwritten note. His Majesty probably couldn't bring himself to refuse the Duke of Wei, so he intends to hold a martial arts competition; the winner will be the Trade Captain."

"His Majesty's intention is for you to defeat the Duke of Wei's grandson."

"Us?"

Ning Zhongtian was not a stupid person.

The previous confusion was just due to unequal information; now that Jiang Linxian had said this, he understood instantly.

No wonder he was called over this time too.

It turned out he was also to participate in the competition.

Clearly, Jiang Linxian was worried that Li Rui might not necessarily be a match for the Duke of Wei's grandson, which is why he called Ning Zhongtian along.

As for Lu Jun, he was dispensable.

After all, Lu Jun's strength was far inferior to Ning Zhongtian's; if even Ning Zhongtian lost, Lu Jun would be useless, and he would also be branded by the Duke of Wei with the bad name of intentionally making things difficult, which wasn't worth it.

Jiang Linxian's eyes became sharp:

"I will give each of you fourteen great merits; you can exchange them for whatever you want, but remember one thing: this battle must be won!"

The Emperor had agreed to the Duke of Wei's request on the surface, then left a loophole, sending a private message to him; the intention couldn't be more obvious.

It was that he didn't want to give the Trade Captain position to someone from the Duke of Wei's lineage, although he didn't understand why the Emperor was so fixated on a small Sixth-Rank official.

But since it was the Emperor's will, it must be completed.

Ning Zhongtian and Li Rui both narrowed their eyes.

They knew that Jiang Linxian had given a death order.

And rightly so.

After all, this was an order personally issued by the Emperor; if it were botched, Jiang Linxian would certainly be punished as well.

Fighting spirit surged in Ning Zhongtian's eyes:

"Chief Jiang, rest assured!"

Li Rui also nodded: "Understood."

He didn't say anything about giving his all; that would be asking for a scolding. Jiang Linxian just wanted to hear affirmation now.

Seeing that both were full of confidence, Jiang Linxian nodded with satisfaction:

"The competition is set for ten days from now; you should go and prepare first."

After speaking.

He waved his hand.

"Li Laoge, do you know what kind of strength that grandson has?"

Ning Zhongtian asked impatiently as soon as they walked out.

"..."

Li Rui felt that Ning Zhongtian was cursing, but he had no evidence.

He pondered for a moment:

"I heard he just broke through to the Sixth Rank two years ago; Qi Ze is a grandson highly valued by the Duke of Wei."

The first Duke of Wei was an uncle of the former dynasty's Emperor and should have originally had the surname Qi.

But after surrendering, he took the initiative to change his surname from Qi to Qi.

Regarding this, the founding Emperor was overjoyed back then.

It was precisely because of the Duke of Wei's good performance that he could remain until now, and his power was still extremely formidable.

Ning Zhongtian stroked his chin.

"Sixth Rank..."

And it was a Sixth Rank that had just broken through two years ago; looking at it this way, it seemed like a sure thing? He had agreed fully to Jiang Linxian just now; that was a required skill for a subordinate.

In reality, he didn't even know who Qi Ze was.

Now that he knew Qi Ze's realm, he was even less panicked.

Ning Zhongtian grinned: "Li Laoge, rest assured, that grandson will definitely not be our match."

Li Rui chuckled: "Little Brother Ning, don't let your guard down."

Ning Zhongtian nodded solemnly: "Li Laoge's words are reasonable."

Although this Qi Ze's realm isn't high, he is, after all, a genius from the Duke of Wei's mansion, with a deep family heritage, and cannot be underestimated.

You must know, the first Duke of Wei was the military god of the Xuan Kingdom, which refers not only to his ability to lead troops but also to the fact that he was a grandmaster of the martial path himself.

Very quickly.

A smile appeared on Ning Zhongtian's face: "Fourteen great merits; Chief Jiang has really spent a fortune this time."

=9+Shu_ba

The value of one great merit is already huge.

Jiang Linxian gave Ning Zhongtian and Li Rui fourteen great merits each in one go; the gesture was not small.

Of course.

The superior's sincerity has been shown; if Ning Zhongtian and Li Rui botch the matter... they definitely won't be able to stay in the Anning Guard, and perhaps not even in Yunzhou.

The greater the benefit, the greater the pressure one naturally has to bear.

Ning Zhongtian is the type who can handle pressure and showed no anxiety at all.

After chatting with Li Rui for a few sentences with a smile, he excitedly went to the military supplies department.

Li Rui went straight to the armory.

Ding-type armory.

A familiar place.

It's just a pity that the man of few words is no longer seen on the third floor.

Li Rui found the current person in charge of grain, Zhao.

"Officer Zhao, do you have the latest list?"

"Yes, yes."

When Zhao saw it was Li Rui, he immediately beamed with joy, his face full of flattery.

How could he not treat him with respect?

Although Li Rui's document hadn't come down yet, the news of his promotion to Sixth-Rank Captain had long since spread throughout the Anning Guard.

As a small Eighth-Rank official, he naturally had to curry favor with this superior who was two ranks higher than him.

While speaking.

He gave a wink to his subordinate, and soon, a thick booklet was brought out.

The armory always had a booklet recording the current supplies of the Anning Guard.

It was updated every day.

Li Rui used to be in charge of grain and understood this matter clearly.

Calculating the days, these two days were about the time for the supplies to be updated, which is why he came to the armory to request the new list.

He flipped through the booklet skillfully.

He read very quickly.

He quickly skipped over things of low value or no use.

A moment later.

The movement of flipping the book paused, and Li Rui's gaze rested on a line of small characters.

"One drop of Fourth-Rank flood dragon blood; this flood dragon carries a trace of Chi dragon bloodline, excellent quality, an item from the Wu Kingdom, valued at sixteen great merits."

Fourth-Rank flood dragon blood!

Li Rui immediately became interested.

He had long known the benefits of flood dragon blood.

If he hadn't obtained flood dragon blood before, he might not have been able to comprehend the dragon form for several more years.

This item is a supreme medicine for those who carry the dragon form.

Compared to the previous flood dragon blood, this flood dragon blood was even more domineering.

Fourth-Rank, that is a demonic beast comparable to a Primordial martial artist; its strength is undoubtedly formidable.

And carrying a trace of Chi dragon, that is even rarer.

"Those with scales are called flood dragons, those with wings are called Ying dragons, those with horns are called Qiu dragons, and those without horns are called Chi dragons."

The Chi dragon is a proper dragon.

The dragon has nine sons, the second of which is called Chiwen, which refers to the Chi dragon.

Li Rui couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had the habit of flipping through the supply list; otherwise, he would have missed this item.

This unique drop of flood dragon blood was part of the trade between the Wu Kingdom and the Yu Kingdom.

The Wu Kingdom's Imperial Court specially sent it to the Annan Army.

Regional Commander Xue distributed two drops to each guard station.

Yes, you heard that right, two drops.

And each drop costs sixteen great merits!

Perhaps this was the reason why it hadn't been snatched up.

There were very few people in the world with the dragon form, and although flood dragon blood also had excellent effects for ordinary martial artists, there was only one drop, and the quantity was too small, so the effect was limited.

In comparison, spending sixteen great merits seemed extremely not worth it.

But...

These shortcomings became unimportant to Li Rui.

He originally had three great merits, plus the fourteen great merits given by Jiang Linxian, which made seventeen great merits.

Unprecedentedly wealthy.

If it were yesterday, he wouldn't even dare to look at it.

This kind of thing was clearly prepared for very senior Garrison Commanders or Military Advisors and Assistant Regional Commanders.

A newly promoted Sixth-Rank official like Li Rui simply couldn't afford it.

But now... he was terrifyingly rich!

"This is it."

Li Rui didn't hesitate at all and went straight to the military supplies department.

When the military supplies department heard that Li Rui wanted to exchange sixteen great merits for flood dragon blood, they couldn't help but sigh at Li Rui's wealth.

And deeply condemned it in their hearts, thinking if they had sixteen great merits, they would definitely not spend them like this.

Having obtained the flood dragon blood as he wished.

Li Rui returned home.

He looked at the small jade bottle in his hand with burning eyes and gently pulled out the wooden stopper.

A wild, domineering bloody aura surged up.

The Ying dragon inside his body slowly opened its dragon eyes.

(End of chapter)