Supreme Emperor of Mist

Chapter 143: Qin Lan (4)

"Elder." the three Evil Infant Sect disciples kneeled before the elder with a crow.

"Humph! What a disappointing performance today. To think that the disciples from our Evil Infant Sect just amounts to this..." the elder threw the cup away as he harumph. Staring deep into the eyes of the three youths, he had the urge to give them a slap right on the spot.

"Especially you! What were you doing from the beginning of the battle? Losing five units in a blink of an eye... Did the Evil Infant Sect feed you with mud for you to perform this badly?" the elder throws a ball of Spiritual Energy to attack Xu Xin Cheng.

"Urgh!" the pitiful Xu Xin Cheng coughed a mouthful of blood out as he rolled on the ground after receiving the attack.

"El - Elder..." Xu Xin Cheng quickly kneeled as he worried about incurring more of his wrath.

"Get the hell out of my tent. You too, Wei-Er." the elder waved his hand and ordered both of them to get lost from his sight before they make his mood worst.

Like they were released from the prison, Xu Xin Cheng and the one surname Wei cupped their hands together and left the tent in a hurry.  From the look of it, they're afraid that the elder will change his mind if they were a second slower.

"Peng Yan... I'm very disappointed with what happened today. How am I going to tell your father and master when we get back?" the elder shook his head to show his disappointment in her performance today.

"Peng Yan will do better tomorrow. Please forgive this disciple for performing poorly today."

"You better be. Don't repeat what you've done today." the elder said.

"Also... Make sure you use those from the Hushan Bandits as the vanguard tomorrow. They're starting to lose their value for our Evil Infant Sect, so dispose of them if it's possible.

"Yan-Er understood. I shall not disappoint the elder's expectation tomorrow!" Peng Yan cupper her hand and left the tent to prepare herself for the battle tomorrow.

...

...

...

"Brother Qin, let's drink." the situation on the camp across the Evil Infant Sect is different. After attending the elders in their respective tents, those from the same generation gathered as they proposed a toast for today's victory.

The scene of Qin Lan slain three of his opponents effortlessly is still clearly glued in their minds. It was followed by the scenes of how his Slithering Snake Formation and Guilotoine Formation moves next.

Their drinking party went on for an hour, but after that, some people left the tent when it was time for them to speak about crucial matters.

Only Sun Wu Jian, accompanied by Huang Ping, Wang Xun, Qin Lan, and Shan Xiong Xin, was left in the tent after sending everyone else away.

"Let us get back to the topic. Brother Qin, I would like you to lead our remaining army for our final push tomorrow." Sun Wu Jian said. Based on the silent treatment shown by Huang Ping and Wang Xun, both of them had likely agreed on this proposal before bringing it up in front of everyone.

As he finished his sentence, Sun Wu Jian pushed a golden tiger tally over to Qin Lan. This tally was the holder of authority for all commanding rights of an army. Not even Huang Ping laid his hand on it before.

"Your highness, please forgive Qin Lan for saying this, but the final battle would have to be completed by your own hand. This is not my battle, but yours." Qin Lan said as he pushed the tally back to Sun Wu Jian.

"Brother Qin, the battle tomorrow is going to be the last. Without you, I'm afraid that..." Sun Wu Jian stopped the golden tiger tally from coming further back to his side.  But he eventually did not finish asking the question because Qin Lan is very firm when it comes to his decision.

"May I know why?" after considering all the possibilities, Sun Wun Jian asked.

"You're a ruler. I am just a general. This is not a battle for me to rose to fame. It is yours. I hope that you'll understand this simple fact." Qin Lan moved his hand away from the tally and went to grab the cup of wine before him.

The moment the cup of wine moistened his throat, Qin Lan sighed.

"Sun Wu Jian... You should stop caring about things that weren't in your control. This is not befitting a ruler that pursuing the path of virtue." Qin Lan said.

...

Unknown to the five of them, their conversation was actually monitored by the two elders.

'What a good word. You're a ruler. I am a general.' the elder with the golden peacock nodded after hearing Qin Lan's words.

Likewise, the elder with the white-feathered crane as well.

"Brother Yang, the Cloud Plucking Sect have found themselves a good seed. If he was groomed with all your resources, I'm sure that the Cloud Plucking Sect wouldn't lose in the three great sects selection when it's time for the gathering." said the elder in his royal robe.

"Let's not think too much for now. The Cloud Plucking Sect has no intention to compete with the other two." the elder replied.

"Intentional or not, there are only three great sects in our Country of Wu. Willingly or not, the Cloud Plucking Sect would have to be a part of it."

"With nine princes and princesses pitting against one another for the position of the crown prince, don't you think it is time to choose one? Look at the youngsters. This is a path they'll have to walk no matter what."

"It will be the same to the Cloud Plucking Sect. You can either continue to walk forward or be left behind..."

...

"Then... Brother Qin, please support me." Sun Wu Jian raised his cup before Qin Lan and earnestly asked.

"Of course!"

"Let's start by taking off your clothes." Qin Lan said.

"What? Our... Our clothes?"josei