Archfiend

Chapter 127: Preparations (1)

Translator: XTB

Not one person knew that Xu Yangyi held the sheepskin scroll and the Animus Armament in his hands. Moreover, no one was aware... that he’d once gone to the lotus sea himself! He’d walked across that enormous thousand-meter-long demon! And even returned alive!

Myriad streams returned to the ocean. Presently, all clues pointed towards the lotus sea, yet it was possible that the sea was located in Longsu Province’s Danxia Temple Colonnades, within one of the Eight Great Deadlands! Over yonder, there was a secret buried below and hidden by an emperor in the past. This deadland concealed the Millennium Grudge which Ming Guangzong wanted to tell him about.

Xu Yangyi gazed coolly at Zhao Wuye. The Eight Great Deadlands were shockingly terrible and awesome, but they could never curb cultivators’ explorations. Until now, it was unknown how many geniuses were buried in these eight territories. Nonetheless, each year there were numerous cultivators that came to fill the void left by their comrades as usual.

Going there would be an unparalleled danger, so one couldn’t rashly set out without careful consideration.

“I’ll give you a mailbox.” After a long moment, Xu Yangyi said indifferently, “Tonight, I hope to see all details related to the Zhao Clan’s operations in this mailbox. That includes squadron personnel, configurations, equipment, and so on. Should you contact me later on, do it through this mailbox.”

Zhao Wuye took a deep breath. “Sure, regardless of whether our collaboration succeeds or falls through, I won’t speak a word about you having this item.” He understood this was the prerequisite of him leaving this place alive today.

Concerning Zhao Wuye’s discreteness, Xu Yangyi nodded, and the corner of his mouth soon curved up imperceptibly. Right now... the Zhao Clan didn’t know who he was... If a true decision was to be settled on and Danxia Temple conquered, what kind of face would Zhao Wuye have upon seeing the Xingtian Legion when the time came?

Who Zhao Wuye wanted to cooperate with was behind Xu Yangyi, the Xingtian Legion! Only as this legion truly became powerful would it then become something that Xu Yangyi could truly rely on!

In this twinkling, Xu Yangyi made a firm resolution without the slightest hesitation. Now was the time for the Xingtian Legion to bare its fangs towards the cultivation world.

“Mr. Gao, may I take my leave first?” Zhao Wuye probed.

“Alright.” Xu Yangyi nodded noncommittally.

Zhao Wuye left swiftly, and Xu Yangyi stood in place for a brief spell. He then departed the small house.

Even now, Peony was standing where she was originally, anxiety coloring her entire face. Just as she saw Xu Yangyi, she hastily bee-lined to him. “Commander, are you okay? Wasn’t there just an explosion? What happened?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Xu Yangyi shut his eyes and rested. “Li Zongyuan, drive the car back to Panshan City at once. Peony, notify Mao Ba’er, Cheng Jianfeng, and Zhou Tingting to enter the conference room immediately and prepare.”

“Yes!”

Silent, after several seconds passed, Xu Yangyi’s voice quietly rang out, “The Xingtian Legion is ready to convene our Legion Inauguration Meeting.”

Peony’s gaze twinkled again, and her heart’s blood boiled hot. Her face even started to flush. In the same vein, Li Zongyuan’s gaze flashed, and his hands fiercely gripped the steering wheel!

Two years... Two whole years! The Xingtian Legion was at long last planning to get ready and set out! Legion inauguration was a rather complicated task mired in many details. There were all kinds of registrations, form replies to subordinates, legion insignia establishment, and the creation of a team objective. In no way could an A-rank legion band together a few so-called “experts” and say they were established. Perhaps they had no sense of shame, but Xu Yangyi still wanted to save face and honor.

“Is there a chief objective? Commander?” Peony’s ample bosom faintly heaved up and down, and she pursed her lips as she looked at Xu Yangyi. “I-I can make the preparations at once!”

Of course there’s an objective... Xu Yangyi wore a faint smile on his face as he closed his eyes in rest. I just don’t want to scare you guys too badly with this goal...

With a resolution determined, just do it.

The Eternal Alchemy Canon was his greatest trump. In order to completely unveil this card, Xu Yangyi was willing to brave the danger of conducting the first probe. After several hours, he appeared in the legion conference room for the first time. The location was within the Featherwood Guard branch. Several major A-rank legions had their own meeting rooms. Naturally, it wasn’t that these rooms couldn’t be set up in other places. Xu Yangyi just didn’t find this need to be essential right now.

As he walked into the meeting room, everyone was sitting there within. Mao Ba’er, Peony, Zhou Tingting, Cheng Jianfeng, and Li Zongyuan. This was all the Xingtian Legion’s current personnel.

Assistant: Peony. Financial Coordinator: Mao Ba’er. Legionnaires: the remaining three people.

Xu Yangyi’s expression was as usual, but he didn’t speak straightaway. His gaze swept through everyone, and in his heart he inwardly nodded. Although not a single one of them were at the middle stage of Qi Condensation, their cultivations had grown. This demonstrated that in these two years, they hadn’t lazed around whatsoever.

Presently, everyone’s gazes were akin to torches, brightly burning on him. The two words “legion inauguration” were spoken easily, but Xu Yangyi would truly have his own power after this founding! A banner to be pulled, belonging to himself! A voice to make the cultivation world listen to him!

A legion was the aggregate of cultivators contesting for resources. The greater the fame, the greater the number of media interviews, investment endorsements from each major corporation in the cultivation world, and an unending stream of resources to support each person’s cultivation!

“I think everyone already knows,” Xu Yangyi laughed, “Starting from today, the Xingtian Legion will be joining the recruitment process of legion inauguration.”

As far as the eyes could reach, Zhou Tingting and Cheng Jianfeng’s breathing began to turn rough and heavy.

“C-Commander!” Cheng Jianfeng’s excited voice somewhat trembled. “We’re finally starting to formally recruit?”

“The legion...” Zhou Tingting was also excited, a tad unable to control herself. “Maybe... Maybe we’ll be able to act like the other legions. Everyone’s going to want to answer our call! How many people will there be that’ll ask us to take missions...”

The crook of Xu Yangyi’s mouth faintly perked up. Maybe? No. Definitely! With the support of the Eternal Alchemy Canon, I’m the last pill master in the End of Days! Since no one else can do this, the spirit stones are going to come crashing down!In that case... even if I reveal the Emperor Armament someday, who would even dare raise a hand against me?

His heart grew staunch again. The legion was capital that he could firmly speak of!

“Commander!” Peony was evidently quite sensible, yet faint crimson had likewise graced her face. Pushing on her glasses as she stood up, she bowed respectfully. “As your assistant, once the legion inauguration process has begun, you don’t need to concern yourself with anything else. However, there are two matters of business that I am compelled to remind you of.”

Xu Yangyi nodded and pursed a teacup to his lips. “Please.”

Peony was unrestricted and looked at everyone, her voice bright. “Originally, each province’s paragon joins an A-rank legion as an A-rank legion seed. In themselves, they can enlist students of the same graduation. The Heavens Law Qualifier isn’t only a competition, but also a process to make the paragon aware of who’s worth recruiting and who isn’t. But...”

“But my situation is special, so I have to do the recruiting myself?” Xu Yangyi laughed.

“That’s right,” Mao Ba’er followed up, “Spud, I wanted to remind you of this, too. It’s really expensive for a legion to nurture people! Especially all kinds of advanced equipment purchases for awesome legions. For example, Beijing’s Soaring Serpent; not only do they have various types of state-of-the-art devices, but they also have their own R&D team. I roughly planned—granted with your starting capital—enough to outfit ten senior legionnaires to the teeth. As for these so-called senior legionnaires... like me for example?”

This was truly an unbelievable twist!

Xu Yangyi paid no heed to Mao Ba’er. “That’s to say, my current funding can only recruit ten fully armed legionnaires?”

“Yes, this is related to the second issue I wanted to talk about.” Peony pursed her lips. “Before the legion starts recruitment, there has to be a formal inauguration ceremony according to process. Sir, your participation is compulsory. The judgement of the outside world’s various units concerning the Xingtian Legion’s evaluation will also begin here. In this field, you can still request me to handle things. Sir, although your situation is special, you executed a God Ming successor and were the Nantong Province paragon five years ago...”

“I’ll do it myself,” Xu Yangyi indifferently cut her off before she even finished speaking.

“Alright, I have faith that our Xingtian Legion will be booming with business...” Peony spoke halfway through and suddenly stopped, looking at Xu Yangyi in shock. “Commander... you just said...”

“I will personally campaign for the legion.” Xu Yangyi seemed as natural as if he was talking about just eating breakfast in the morning.

Gosh, a proper appearance and adorable... No! Adorable aside, this isn’t your area of expertise! Isn’t it fine if you just act as the Xingtian Legion’s core and stay on the hotness scale? Why the heck are you fighting over my job? Peony was speechless, unable to find the right words.

“Is there a problem?” Xu Yangyi asked.

“Of course... there’s no problem...” Peony said, tongue in cheek. “But, Commander, I think that maybe... with regards to contacting all the cultivation world’s parties, I’m a bit more familiar... What’s up with you guys?”

She still hadn’t finished speaking, but at this instant Mao Ba’er and Li Zongyuan both looked like they’d eaten the wrong medicine. The light of their eyes was scarlet-red and their breathing was heavy. They stared unwaveringly at Xu Yangyi.

Xu Yangyi had a hidden ace! Both of them knew! In this wink of time, the duo understood why Xu Yangyi wanted to do it himself! Because he had the certainty to do things a hundred times better than Peony! No... Ten thousand times! This was fundamentally un-fucking-related to familiarity or unfamiliarity!

“I...”

Xu Yangyi fiddled with a cigarette. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a voice interrupt him and shout, “Don’t you talk!”

“Don’t talk! Don’t open your mouth!” Mao Ba’er pressed down on his temples with his paws as if he was saying: I want peace. I only wish for peace. Don’t ask who Peace is!She’s just an eskimo dog!

“What?” Peony said suspiciously. Zhou Tingting and Cheng Jianfeng were also stunned. What on earth had happened?

“Commander has to do it! He HAS to!” Li Zongyuan was already standing at his seat, rigidly clenching his teeth as he looked at Xu Yangyi, his lips somewhat chapped. “A massive opportunity... A massive opportunity!”

“You guys...” Zhou Tingting looked oddly at them, unable to make heads or tails of what was going on. “What the heck...?”

Xu Yangyi naturally understood what they were talking about. An auction... The Xingtian Legion’s auction! An auction to bellow towards all of China’s cultivation world: My Xingtian Legion has come! The legion of I, Xu Yangyi, has come! There could be no better way!

Indeed... this was an opportunity seldom come across once in a thousand records! In the End of Days, the Dao of Pills had come into being again! Just this headline was enough to give rise to countless sensations and stirrings!

“I have my own plan,” Xu Yangyi said, not batting an eye. “First go do the stats. Peony, I need you and Mao Ba’er to consider the legion inauguration budget in detail.”

Peony didn’t answer straightaway. Instead she looked at Mao Ba’er and then Li Zongyuan and blurted out all of a sudden, “Something happened and I don’t know?”

Of course something has!!! Inwardly, Li Zongyuan was holding in his breath until his face turned blue! Commander! Wealth and honor won’t come like in ‘Braveness of the Ming’! There’s no point in playing being awesome! What are you hesitating for? What are you worried about? Pick up the pace and use the medicinal pill to beat these country bumpkins black and blue! When the Xingtian Legion holds the auction, there’ll be no need to think about reputation at all!

Mao Ba’er was quiet and narrowed his crafty canine eyes. After he got over his excitement, he understood the reason why Xu Yangyi had pushed matters back. Pills were important, but in the End of Days the last pill master was even more important! In a situation that couldn’t guarantee absolute security, and given Spud’s cautious nature, Xu Yangyi absolutely wouldn’t make a hasty move.

“Of course something happened.” Xu Yangyi smiled and switched to another topic. “Before you do the budget, I must tell everyone our primary objective this time.”

At the mention of objective, everyone zipped their mouths. Even Li Zongyuan who was scratching the wall at this moment settled down. Xu Yangyi looked at everyone, and the paper-thin smile at the corner of his mouth slowly vanished bit by bit.

“This time, we’ll be engaged with the worst plan.” He watched the bamboo in his teacup. “The Xingtian Legion’s first objective: Longsu Province’s Danxia Temple Colonnades.”

“It’ll be done with the best standard criteria and the budget of ten legionnaires.”

The conference room suddenly fell into a lull of deathly silence, devoid of a single sound.

1. Unbelievable twist. This is actually a net slang for Chinese internet users. The actual wording here can be translated as “Godly Twist”.

2. So, I’m not exactly sure what Mao Ba’er is going on about here, but there is a play on words. In Chinese, the word for “peace/calm” is 静静 or phonetically “jing2jing2”. It just so happens that this kinda sounds like a pet name? A little on the feminine side? Maybe this is one of Mao Ba’er’s girlfriends. LOL

3. Braveness of the Ming is a Chinese drama. It is based off a book by an author named Yue Guan. Literal title in Chinese is “brocaded clothes night walk”.