Chapter 193: Cannot Be Accomplished in One Go

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Cannot Be Accomplished in One Go

After giving instructions to Chen Qi’an, Chu Fan and Yun Xi left Yunzhou City that very same day.

They no longer had the leisure for sightseeing, rushing to Shuoyue City with all possible speed.

If not for having to accommodate Yun Xi, Chu Fan could have reached Shuoyue City even faster.

It took them a full two days to reach Shuoyue City.

However, Shuoyue City was now in an even greater state of turmoil.

The reason was simple: the Sovereigns of several Vassal States had arrived with their retinues of officials to surrender and receive their new titles.

On top of that, many far-sighted merchants, knowing that Great Xia’s march toward unification was unstoppable, took the opportunity before the Eastern Domain was fully consolidated to move their entire families to this future capital city.

It had been just over two months since the Empress’s ascension and coronation, but so much had happened in that short time. Many Vassal States had surrendered, and the Great Xia Army had conquered several more.

Manpower is always finite, so it was only natural that many things were not fully thought through.

There’s a saying: heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Those were by no means empty words.

This was exactly the situation Great Xia now faced.

Chu Fan first went to Celestial Heart Hall, where Jing’an was so busy he was practically running off his feet.

The phrase "unification of the Eastern Domain" was easy enough for Chu Fan to say.

But the manpower, resources, and wealth required to make those words a reality were absolutely immense.

Although Chu Fan had long laid the groundwork for this and had already cleared the major obstacles, getting the Great Xia Kingdom to run at full capacity and ensuring the entire Eastern Domain operated smoothly required considering things from every possible angle.

After all, Chu Fan had no experience in administration. He had been too idealistic.

Only now did he finally understand.

But the gears of the Eastern Domain’s unification were already in motion and could not be stopped. If they were, the entire domain would pay an even heavier price, perhaps even descending into greater chaos.

So for now, the only choice was to let the gears keep turning.

The only thing to do now was to fill in the gaps and fix the oversights, to bring stability to the Eastern Domain as quickly as possible.

"Master! Mistress!"

Just as they entered the main gate of Celestial Heart Hall, two clever little ones ran up to greet them.

Wen Ang was dressed in a simple cyan tunic and still looked as earnest as ever, while Ni Cailing wore a colorful long dress, looking just like an Elf.

"Let’s see if you two have been slacking off lately," Chu Fan said, feigning a serious tone.

Wen Ang stood there stock-still, awaiting his master’s inspection.

But Ni Cailing giggled and said, "Ling’er hasn’t been slacking at all! While Master was away, Ling’Er got up to practice Cultivation every morning before dawn and didn’t go to sleep until she’d practiced late into the night! And Ling’Er even practiced her Sword Technique!"

"Is that so? Then why don’t you show Master the Sword Technique you’ve been practicing, Ling’Er!" Chu Fan said with a smile.

’In truth, Chu Fan was quite surprised. He had been gone for less than half a month, yet the Cultivation progress these two little ones had made was astonishing.’

When he left, they had only just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm. Now, they were both at Tier Six, meaning they had advanced a tier every two days on average.

What’s more, their Realms had advanced at the exact same pace. This was likely related to the day Wen Ang secretly drank the Drunken Immortal Brew, and Ni Cailing, by a strange twist of fate, saved him and entered Foundation Establishment at the same time.

At this moment, Ni Cailing took out the Sword Chu Fan had given her on the day she became his disciple and began to swing it.

She was performing the Basic Thirteen Techniques, and with her twists and turns, it actually looked quite impressive.

From just those few moves, Chu Fan could tell that the girl had considerable talent for the Sword Dao.

After performing all thirteen techniques, the little girl sheathed her sword. Then, like she was presenting a treasure, she asked Chu Fan, "Master, how was Ling’Er’s Sword Technique?"

"Mm, not bad. It shows you really haven’t been slacking off," Chu Fan said, patting the back of her head in praise.

He then turned his gaze to Wen Ang. "And you? Your senior sister has been practicing her Sword Technique. What have you been practicing?"

"Ma-Master... I wanted to practice the Spear Technique, but no one in the Sect knows it."

"Alright. Starting tomorrow, I will personally teach you the Spear Technique."

"Really?" Wen Ang’s face lit up instantly.

"Silly boy, would I, your master, lie to you?" Chu Fan laughed.

"Master, that’s not fair! You’re personally teaching him the Spear Technique, but you won’t teach Ling’Er the Sword Technique," Ni Cailing immediately protested, pouting.

"You mischievous little girl. Tomorrow, I’ll have your Mistress start teaching you the Sword Technique."

"Master, you’re the best!" Ni Cailing beamed, then skipped over to Yun Xi, grabbed her hand, and said, "Mistress, I want to learn the most, most, most, most powerful Sword Technique in the entire world!"

Yun Xi copied Chu Fan’s gesture, patting the back of the girl’s head. "Alright," she said with a gentle smile.

"Your Mistress is tired from the journey. You two take her to the rear courtyard to rest. I’m going to find Sect Leader Jing to discuss some things."

After Chu Fan gave the instruction, the two little ones flanked Yun Xi, each taking one of her hands, and led her toward the rear courtyard.

After asking a disciple for directions, Chu Fan found the incredibly busy Jing’an in one of the side halls.

"Greetings, milord!"

Jing’an hurried to bow the moment he saw Chu Fan, but Chu Fan stopped him.

"You must have been swamped since you got back."

"Yes!"

"It was my mistake; I didn’t think things through properly. Notify Che Dagui, Ji Bufan, Lan Bing, and Liu Yicai to come see me here tonight. Then, tomorrow, we will go see your wife together."

"Milord, they’re all incredibly busy. I’m afraid..."

"That’s precisely why I’m gathering them. I wouldn’t have rushed back to Shuoyue City otherwise."

"Understood!" Jing’an acknowledged, immediately taking out his Communication Jade Scroll to send messages to the men Chu Fan had named.

’Thinking back, when I first met those eight at Dingfeng Slope, every single one of them was a selfish, reckless rogue. Yet in just a few years, they’ve become my indispensable right-hand men. In fact, if I had to do their jobs myself, I probably couldn’t do them as well. In that respect, Xiezhi had a much better eye for talent than I did. If Xiezhi hadn’t helped me recruit those eight, destroying Red Blood Mansion to avenge my master and senior brother would have been a hundred times harder. It probably would have been delayed for countless years. Let alone trying to unify the Eastern Domain. That would have been next to impossible. Everyone has their specialty. The ancients were right about that.’

While Chu Fan was lost in thought, Jing’an finished contacting the others.

"Milord, the others are fine to meet. However, Bufan is still on the eastern shore of Celestial Wave Lake. The earliest he can make it back is midnight, I’m afraid."

"That’s fine. We’ll discuss things with the others when they arrive. I’ll speak with Bufan separately when he gets back. You’ve been in Shuoyue City for two days now. Have you noticed anything amiss?"

"Milord, that’s exactly what I’ve been busy with. We’ve sent everyone from Celestial Heart Hall and Earth Universe Pavilion at the Heartbeat Realm or above—disciples and Elders alike—to the various counties. We only left two Elders behind to guard the Sect. After all, we moved too quickly, and there were many things we couldn’t account for. Even if we dispatch officials to take over, the journey itself takes considerable time, leaving a power vacuum."

"Some of the Vassal States are being particularly difficult. They surrender, but then they dismiss all the officials in their subordinate counties. They’re just trying to spite Great Xia and create chaos for us."