Chapter 536 - 323: Tiger’s Head, Snake’s Tail (Part 2)

Chapter 536: Chapter 323: Tiger’s Head, Snake’s Tail (Part 2)

Gao Yang then recounted the whole story in detail.

"Xv Mu is a Grade B corps commander under me. After his men were attacked, it was reported to me as a matter of routine. I didn’t pay it much mind at first, but then..."

"What happened then?"

A sharp glint seemed to flash in Luo Guan’s eyes, but when Gao Yang looked again, it was gone.

"Later, someone came to me. He said the one who hurt my men, Yan Sea, was from the Shenxiao Corps, and that Honglian would step in to protect him. I was indignant, and then the man said that if I just delayed Zhuo Feiming a little, he would get me into the Divine Guard Corps..."

Gao Yang’s voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, until it was nearly inaudible.

"Sigh..."

Luo Guan let out a long sigh, a look of sorrow appearing in his eyes.

Gao Yang was stirred and couldn’t help but explain, "Mr. Luo, we’re Martial Saints too. Why should we be stuck on this border realm battlefield? Why do those other people get to live free and easy! I was just thinking, the Divine Guard Corps is a super corps too. If I could join them, our lives wouldn’t be so hard!"

"Hard?"

Luo Guan shot to his feet, his eyes filled with anguish!

"Hard?"

Veins bulged on his hands.

"Say that to me again! Is it hard?"

"You’re a Martial Saint! They built you a personal palace in this grand camp!"

"You’re a Martial Saint, and millions of soldiers in the army follow your command!"

"You’re a Martial Saint! Your every need is magnified countless times over! You eat exotic delicacies, enjoy tributes from all realms, and all they ask is for you to fight one battle you’re guaranteed to win every month or so!"

"And you’re telling me it’s hard? What about your brothers-in-arms beneath you? Is it hard for them?"

"You absolute idiot. Why did I ever acknowledge you as my brother?"

Gao Yang covered his face in shame, apologizing profusely. "Brother, I was wrong... Please, stop..."

"Sigh... Let me ask you, did that person who offered to get you into the Divine Guard Corps show you any proof?"

"No..."

"Do you know anything about him? His name? His background?"

"I don’t know. He concealed himself. I couldn’t get a clear look..."

"What was his realm?"

"He seemed to be in the eighth realm..."

At this, Luo Guan’s finger trembled as he pointed at Gao Yang, finally unable to hold back his furious tirade:

"You absolute idiot! Don’t you even think? What kind of eighth-realm cultivator could conceal himself so well that even a Martial Saint like you couldn’t see through him?"

Gao Yang replied without thinking, "It must be one of the prodigies from the Seven Greats."

"Then let me ask you, in all your years of cultivation, have you ever been friends with a prodigy?"

"No..."

"Then what makes you think one would give you the time of day!"

"And how much do you know about the Honglian Martial Saint, Zhuo Feiming?"

"They say she’s a master blacksmith..."

"Heh..."

Luo Guan laughed in exasperation. "Zhuo Feiming is the direct disciple of the Shenhan Headmaster! Do you have any idea how much weight that title carries? In ancient times, that would be like being the direct heir of a great sect’s leader! You, an idiot from a common background, what gives you the right to provoke someone like her?"

"And what about that guy? Xv Mu, right? He doesn’t even know the backgrounds of his own men! That old man was clearly a spy for someone else. Why would someone from the Shenxiao Corps go all the way to Tianxiang to beat someone up? This is their own fucking internal business, you get it?"

"And another thing—the Divine Guard Corps. Do you know who controls it?"

Gao Yang fell silent. He had been on the battlefield ever since ascending to Martial Saint and was indeed unaware of such inside information.

Luo Guan gritted his teeth. "That fucking super corps was also founded by a disciple of the Shenhan Headmaster! It’s full of prodigies who graduated from the Seven Greats. You idiot, you think you’re qualified to play in their league?"

"Huh?"

Gao Yang exclaimed in surprise, "So they’re from the same master?"

"Obviously! To make an analogy, this is like princes fighting for the throne in an ancient dynasty! What qualifications do you have to get involved? If Jiang Yuan hadn’t tipped me off so I could get here in time to save you, I’d be collecting your corpse today!"

Luo Guan’s expression grew grim. "Gao Yang, remember this. You are only a Martial Saint; you are not invincible. Our foundations are too weak. Even after becoming Martial Saints, we are still at the bottom of this tier. If the real players get serious, our lives are as fragile as duckweed on water.

Now that you’ve reached this level, don’t think you can stand on your own or that your wings have hardened. I’m telling you, from now on, you need to tuck your tail between your legs and be even more careful.

Before you were a Martial Saint, you could talk about rules, about right and wrong, because you didn’t even have a seat at the table. But now, everything comes down to strength."

Gao Yang was stunned. "Then what’s the point of me working so hard to become a Martial Saint?"

Luo Guan slapped him on the back of the head. "What do you mean, ’what’s the point?’ Think about it another way. If we don’t fight, don’t snatch, and don’t cause trouble—if we just follow orders, guard the border realm, and fight the foreign races with all our hearts, who can say anything against us?

Anytime you have a request, the Seven Greats will do their best to fulfill it. If you think your compensation is poor, you can go straight to the headmasters of the Seven Greats and complain. They’ll have to smile and give you a raise. If someone bullies us, all we have to do is send a note to the High Council, and they’ll immediately form a committee to investigate. They have to give us brothers an explanation, no matter what. Why? Because we’re the ones getting things done, and you can’t mistreat the people who do the actual work.

But if you want to get involved and play the game of power, I’m telling you, even if you had ten heads, it wouldn’t be enough for you to lose."

Seeing that Gao Yang seemed to be taking some of it in, Luo Guan’s expression softened slightly. ’The guy’s a bit stupid, but he listens to advice.’

"You’ve exchanged a couple of moves with Honglian. How did it feel?"

Gao Yang said, still shaken, "I thought since we were all Martial Saints, the difference wouldn’t be that big, but... she’s too vicious!"

Luo Guan chuckled. "You were lucky, in a way. In terms of combat power, among the thousands of Martial Saints in our Yu Kingdom, Honglian ranks in the top ten, at least. Forget you—even if the three of us today attacked together, we wouldn’t be her match. You remember this: from now on, if you run into a Titled Martial Saint, you run as far away as you can."

"But aren’t the differences in strength supposed to be largely evened out by the realm once you become a Martial Saint?"

Gao Yang’s eyes were clear and filled with confusion.

"That’s right. Back when Honglian was a Grandmaster, she could fight more than ten of her peers at once and even hold her own against a Martial Saint. After she became a Martial Saint, her best record was defeating five opponents at once. See? The difference in strength has been evened out a bit, hasn’t it?"

"One against five... no wonder you gave up the fight right away today, Mr. Luo."

"Heh... When I said one against five, I meant Honglian defeating five *Titled* Martial Saints by herself."

Seeing Gao Yang fall silent, Luo Guan continued, "Let me tell you something else that will blow your mind. Did you see that handsome, clean-faced young man in the fiery red battle armor when you went there today?"

Gao Yang lowered his head in thought. "I remember him. He was remarkably good-looking, with an extraordinary aura. Easy to remember."

Luo Guan went ahead and sat down, his voice low. "That young man’s name is Yu Fei. In the battle of Celestial Sword Gorge, he killed six 8th-rank Yuan Demons and hundreds of 7th-rank Yuan Demons. What’s more, he defeated Yu Wen Baji in just a few moves!"

Gao Yang froze. "Yu Wen Baji was defeated? How is that possible? He was the strongest combat class leader in recent years!"

"Hah..."

Luo Guan said mockingly, "Strongest? You really haven’t seen the world. What if I told you that this Yu Fei isn’t even a Grandmaster, that he’s only in the Gang Qi Realm?"

Gao Yang’s pupils contracted. "How is that possible?"

Luo Guan then dropped another bombshell. "Latest news: a while ago, when Yu Fei was sneaking through the Black Water Realm, he ran into the Flower Rakshasa’s unit, which was coming as reinforcements for the Yuan Demons. And then, while surrounded by thousands of 7th-rank and hundreds of 8th-rank Yuan Demons protecting her, he killed Flower Rakshasa and most of the 7th-rank demons, then retreated completely unscathed."

"Impossible!" Gao Yang shot to his feet, his face a mask of disbelief.

’How is that possible?’ Even if he had to face a force of that magnitude alone, it would be a tricky fight. Even if he could kill Flower Rakshasa, he would have to gradually whittle down her guards. A one-hit kill would be impossible.

But Luo Guan just tossed out a stack of documents. "See for yourself!"

Gao Yang scanned ten lines at a glance, finding it harder and harder to accept what he was reading. "Innumerable Sword Qi?... Teleportation? A spirit weapon that passes through space?"

"This... how is this possible?"

Luo Guan ignored the shocked Gao Yang and continued his questioning:

"Before I arrived, if you had found the person who forced their way into the barracks and beat up Zhou Xing, what would you have done?"