Chapter 194 - Recruitment

“Not bad.” Xu Yuan answered softly, a trace of approval in his eyes. “A man should know what he will do and what he will not. In this world, someone has to do certain things.”

When General Wang heard that, he grinned.

But in the very next moment, he heard Xu Yuan’s calm voice drift over. “But it is meaningless.”

The air froze.

General Wang had no idea how to answer that.

Xu Yuan turned the book in his hand to the final page and looked at the sharp strokes of the name written there, the ink still not quite dry.

“Your handwriting is good. Wang Jiadian. That should be your courtesy name, yes? Were you from a great household before?”

General Wang hesitated slightly, but still followed the thread of Xu Yuan’s question. “It is a long story. My father once served as an official in Great Marsh Province. Around 28 years ago, he was exiled here and sentenced to military service.”

“I see. Political struggle? Framed? Backed the wrong side?” Xu Yuan asked.

General Wang’s eyes flickered with hesitation, but remembering the debt he owed the other man, he answered honestly. “My father was convicted of corruption.”

Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised that the man had told the truth. At least his background was clean enough. Then he shook his head lightly and said, “You wrote your own name in this book because you intend to confront the Myriad Manifestations Sect alone?”

“Mhm.”

“You cultivate a military art. In single combat, you would not be a match for any fourth rank Body Integration cultivator. Have you thought about what will happen to you?”

“I have.”

“And you still mean to go?”

“Mhm.”

“Does that have any meaning?”

“...”

Xu Yuan looked at the burly man standing there without a word and shook his head.

“General Wang, you are not the first, and you will not be the last. There are many, many people who think like you do. From Origin Awakeners at the top to common folk at the bottom, they do meaningless things for the sake of one breath of pride.”

As he spoke, Xu Yuan glanced outside the main hall.

“Well, perhaps not entirely meaningless. Your comrades will likely record what you did. If someone manages to wipe out the sects within the next hundred years, and if you are lucky enough, you may become a small note in the histories, remembered for your integrity. But if no one does, then you will sink without a trace, just like all those people who came before you.”

“At least my conscience will be clear,” General Wang said, each word ringing like iron on stone.

“Having a clear conscience for yourself is also the most powerless kind of excuse.” Xu Yuan looked at him and said in a low voice, “You die, then leave everything that remains to someone else...”

“Young Master Zhou.” General Wang cut him off in a heavy voice and asked, blunt as a hammer, “You may speak plainly.”

Xu Yuan smiled faintly. “Do you want revenge?”

“Revenge?” A flicker passed through General Wang’s brown eyes. His fist clenched on instinct, then slowly loosened. “Of course I do.”

“Then live.” Xu Yuan interrupted him. “Only while you are alive will you have a chance to take revenge.”

At those words, General Wang’s gaze softened. He laughed, open and hearty, then cupped his fist toward Xu Yuan and bowed deeply.

“Young Master Zhou, I understand your kindness. But there are some matters I have already thought through. As for the great debt I owe you, I will not be able to repay it in this life. In the next, I will be your ox or horse, yours to command.”

Xu Yuan sighed and held up two fingers. “Give me 20 days. Once this matter is settled, I also have business at the Myriad Manifestations Sect. General Wang, you may travel with me.”

General Wang raised his head slightly, a trace of confusion in his eyes, but he still said, “If Young Master Zhou accompanies me for the last stretch of the road, then I will have no regrets in this life.”

“Don’t.” Xu Yuan waved a hand and smiled. “I am not going there to die.”

General Wang personally escorted Xu Yuan and the two women waiting by the door to a guest courtyard within the county office. After giving another solemn bow, he did not return to the main hall to rest. Instead, he headed straight for the heart of the town.

The town was still too chaotic. A Body Integration expert like him had to oversee and coordinate matters in person.

Watching him disappear beyond the courtyard gate, Xu Xinyao suddenly asked in a low voice, “Third Brother, are you trying to recruit him?”

“Of course.” Xu Yuan glanced at her and smiled. After a brief pause, he looked at Xu Xinyao and said with a smile, “If you truly want to keep walking your own path, do not make too many friends among those second-generation heirs. Make more friends with people born from the grassroots. People like... mhm, people like Qin Mo.”

Having been to Stillwater, Xu Xinyao naturally knew about the conflict between that old friend and her third brother. She lowered her voice. “Third Brother... I’m sorry.”

“I am not blaming you. What are you apologizing for?” Xu Yuan raised a hand and pinched her cheek. It was soft beneath his fingers. “Of course, do not make friends who are too much like Qin Mo either. A man like him has far too strong a mind of his own. He might drag you off the proper path.”

Ran Qingmo, who had been following behind them, raised her eyes and glanced at Xu Yuan’s hand, then lowered them again.

Xu Yuan did not notice. He only asked softly, “Do you know why I want to recruit General Wang?”

Xu Xinyao shook her head and pulled free of his hand. A red mark had been left on her cheek, but she was not angry. She thought for a moment, then said softly, “Because of his ability?”

“If he had no ability, why would I recruit him?” Xu Yuan smiled and said in a low voice, “His character is good, and as a commander, General Wang has all the most important qualities. Decisiveness, the ability to coordinate and command, and the heart to be ruthless when he must. Do not look at how he was willing to give up tens of thousands of demonic beast cores just now and burn the town to save the people. When the crucial moment comes, he can still harden his heart. During the earlier refugee riot, when they attacked the town, he directly ordered the killing to continue until those refugees finally settled down.”

At this point, Xu Yuan looked at Xu Xinyao and asked, “But that is not the most important part. Can you guess what is?”

Xu Xinyao lowered her beautiful eyes and pondered for a while before saying quietly, “A clean background?”

Xu Yuan flicked her forehead and smiled. “Correct. General Wang has stayed in this godforsaken county for decades, yet with these meager resources, he still managed to cultivate to the Body Integration Realm. That shows his talent. If he had even a little backing, he probably would have been transferred away long ago. That is what makes him so rare.”

Xu Xinyao held her forehead and looked at Xu Yuan. “Third Brother, are you saying I should befriend those geniuses in the sects who come from common backgrounds?”

“They are more or less the same, because the path you want to continue down is basically impossible.” Xu Yuan shrugged helplessly. “It is only that compared to those wastrel sect disciples you currently call friends, grassroots cultivators tend to have fewer entanglements of interest and less attachment to the sect itself. It is easier for them to preserve their original purity.”

Xu Xinyao pressed her lips together. “Third Brother... is there truly no chance?”

Xu Yuan nodded without the slightest hesitation. “Your path is far too difficult. Even if you somehow succeeded by luck, at most it would bring peace for one or two generations. If you want lasting peace, it can on be maintained by a strong central authority.”

Xu Xinyao fell silent.

Xu Yuan patted the brocade fur cloak draped over her shoulders. “Honestly, Little Fourth, if you truly want to know where the way forward lies, then obediently return to the Imperial Capital and go to the Institute of Applied Research. That place suits you best. Compared to what Father is doing now, formation arrays are what can truly change the world.”