Ch 109 – Establishing An Army
Going through a long corridor, Nuo Yi Long and Shangguan Xi Hong’s looks turned serious; their face was completely different from their previous expressions. It appears that their respect for this Supreme Ruler was extremely high. Able to cause pivotal figures of Tenglong country to become like this, perhaps the only person would be this ruler of the country.
A middle-aged man was standing in the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back. He appeared to be attentively looking at a single flower that had just started to bloom.
The three of them stood about ten meters away silently waiting, not making a single sound.
Ten minutes later, the middle-aged man turned around. Lei Yu was instantly surprised; he never imagined that Tenglong country’s most noble and respected ruler was a middle-aged man around forty years old. This was a bit too inconceivable. Based on Lei Yu’s thoughts, a person with such a high status should be in their fifties or sixties.
Carefully detecting his surroundings, Lei Yu concluded this person in front of him had the strength of a mid-stage Fourth Order Warrior. In the Tenglong country, he was already considered an expert. But this was nothing, because Lei Yu’s perception ability had become monstrous after reaching the [Discharge] stage, he was able to detect that apart from Shangguan Xi Hong with the strength of a Sixth Order Warrior, someone else present also had that strength. And this person was inside a room not too far away, an aura that Lei Yu was not familiar with which meant he has not met this person before.
Lei Yu slightly frowned. It appears that it wasn’t only the four major forces of Tenglong country that had super experts that have reached the peak of strength; the country also had its own.
“You guys have arrived!” The middle-aged man smiled as his gaze fell upon Lei Yu. Lei Yu respectfully bent the upper-half of his body into a bow. A person that had the utmost respect of Shangguan Xi Hong and Nuo Yi Long, how could Lei Yu not act accordingly?
The middle-aged man had a warm look on his face, not the imagined unapproachable looks. But he did possess the dignity and the domineering aura that a normal person would not have, causing people to look at with awe.
The middle-aged man’s given name was Cang Hai, his family name Lin. He was not a descendant of the ancient martial clans and his current level of strength was purely cultivated on his own. His bone structures and his aptitude for cultivation were considered one in ten thousand, but he paled in comparison with Lei Yu. As for how he managed to attain this position, it may be his superior intellect and his ability to govern.
“Mr. Chairman, this is Lei Yu.” Shangguan Xi Hong pointed to Lei Yu on the side as he respectfully said this. Nuo Yi Long lowered his head without saying a word.
“Very good.” Lin Cang Hai smiled and nodded, his face filled with kindness. He did not reveal any feelings of superiority which made Lei Yu’s first impression of him not bad.
Lei Yu once again respectfully bowed. “Mr. Chairman, it is really a great pleasure to be meeting you today!”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. Xi Hong and Yi Long always mention about you, I’ve heard so many praises they give you that my ears are about to fall off, ha ha…”
Because it was his first time meeting the noble and prominent Chairman Lin, Lei Yu was a bit over excited at first. But as they continued to chat, he gradually loosened up and the anxiety he was feeling gradually disappeared. Yet inside his heart, he was somewhat unhappy with the expert that was hidden not too far from where they were. Why did this person hide himself? Was there really a need to do that?
But after thinking through; being the country’s Supreme Ruler, one has to be certain of their own safety. Concealing a peerless expert nearby was a reasonable thing since they could respond quickly to any emergencies that may emerge.
“Mr. Chairman.” As they were chatting, Lei Yu raised a question: “Please excuse my boldness, but could I speak to you alone?”
The faces of the other three slightly changed but it quickly returned to normal. Nuo Yi Long naturally believed Lei Yu would not cause any problems, but Shangguan Xi Hong was different. He didn’t know Lei Yu that well; one could say he barely knew him at all. When Lei Yu left Tenglong country, Shangguan Xi Hong went to Dragon Group to look for him multiple times but not getting any signs of where he went. This had caused him to be extremely angry.
Shangguan Xi Hong was about to say something to deny Lei Yu’s requests when Lin Cang Hai waved his hand to stop him from saying anything. With a smile and nodding, “You two can wait outside the door for a bit, I also want to chat with Lei Yu about something.”
“This…” Shangguan Xi Hong could not believe Lin Cang Hai would agree so easily. But seeing Nuo Yi Long having already bowed to leave, he didn’t want to say anything more and left as well.
Once the two left, Lei Yu smiled. “Thank you for your trust in me.”
“You don’t need to be so polite. In fact, the actions you’ve made have caused a huge wave. A shadowy organization that has existed in the Kou country for many years was actually destroyed by you, a lot of people were shouting out in excitement! I was one of them, ha ha ha…”
Lei Yu blinked a few times. He couldn’t believe Lin Cang Hai as a Supreme Ruler was capable of such humorous words; it was really beyond his expectations.
“Mr. Chairman…” Pausing for a bit, Lei Yu then asked: “I believe that you, specifically asking me to meet you today was definitely not just to have a casual chat. There should be some reason right? But I noticed that with Chief Shangguan and Commander Nuo present, you didn’t want to mention it and was waiting for a chance to send them away… am I right?”
Lin Cang Hai’s eyebrows twitched, Lei Yu’s words hit the mark. Regarding Shangguan Xi Hong, Lin Cang Hai didn’t really have a good impression of him and it wouldn’t be right to directly order him to leave. But with Lei Yu’s previous request to speak with him alone, it was a perfect opportunity for him to say something.
“You are very smart. That’s right, there’s an issue that I wish to discuss with you.” Lin Cang Hai’s facial expressions gradually became more serious. Lei Yu stopped smiling and perked up his ears.
“How old are you this year?”
“I’m almost twenty five years old.”
Even though he already knew Lei Yu wasn’t that old, but hearing Lei Yu say it himself, he still couldn’t help feeling some shock.
“The current situation you’re in is very similar to me; we could even say it’s almost the same.” Ling Cang Hai’s words seem to have a deeper meaning causing Lei Yu to be at a loss.
Seeing Lei Yu’s confused face, Ling Cang Hai smiled and said: “There’s some things you don’t understand and it’s not the right time yet to explain it to you, therefore it’s best that you don’t know for now. But there is one thing I would like you to take care of but I’m not sure if you’re willing…?”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Do you have any interest in establishing a new army branch? The country will certainly fully support you in many ways.”
Lei Yu would never believe in a million years that Lin Cang Hai would say these words to him. How could setting up a new branch of the army be so easy as saying a few words? The things involved will be extremely complex! Especially in the history of Tenglong country, no army branch was established based on a single person’s strength.
“How would this be possible?” Lei Yu asked hesitantly.
Ling Cang Hai smiled. “There’s nothing impossible about this. As long as you have a huge financial entity as your backup, what’s impossible to accomplish? I believe the Lei family will certainly fund you in establishing the new army branch, and I will be here to assist you with the best aid and guidance regarding military affairs.”
Since the beginning, Lei Yu felt that there was something a little off with the way Lin Cang Hai was looking at him. He never expected it would be for something like this. “This is impossible; I’m still not ready for any close relationship with the Lei family.” Once again looking at Lin Cang Hai’s gaze, Lei Yu could not help adding: “Mr. Chairman, can you tell me why you want me to establish a new branch of army for our country?”
Turning around and once again looking at the previous flower that had just bloomed, Lin Cang Hai paused for a bit before saying: “Tenglong country is basically split into two main parts; the first part is supported by our military – in the international community, our strong military is used as a deterrent effect which grants us the peace you enjoy today. The second part is supported by finance – you should know that the Lei family has businesses throughout the world. We could say the wealth of the Lei family could be compared to a country’s. A family with such wealth, if they wanted to influence a country would not be something difficult. This is why the Kou government did not intervene too much upon the actions you have made in the Kou country. Additionally, the forces of the Yamaguchi-gumi were getting larger each day making them exceed the power of the government. Taking them out was beneficial to the Kou government so all of this made them not intervene with you. With this, we can see how both wealth and military power are indispensable to a country.”
Lei Yu perfectly understood these concepts. Lin Cang Hai wanted to explain that in order for a country to maintain its stability, it required two powerful states of existence as a stabilizing factor. If either one of these existences are lacking, then dire consequences may happen.
“You want me to establish another branch of army; can you tell me the reason for this?” Lei Yu asked while puzzled.
“Shangguan Xi Hong believes that we should be ruling this country using purely military power, while I think the consequences of this would be disastrous. I want you to establish a new army branch because I hope that in the future, it will develop into a formidable force. If it could eventually rival the strength of Martial Sect, then the checks and balance will be equal again creating a stability that doesn’t tilt in anyone’s favor.”
Lei Yu could not help gasp, compete against Martial Sect? Looks like Shangguan Xi Hong wanted to implement some ideas that Lin Cang Hai was against, and the relationship between those two gradually became worse. But even with Lin Cang Hai’s authority and power, it still wasn’t enough to deal with this central figure that has been already entrenched himself with the country’s military for a long time. Thus, he could only rely on this method. Even though they were to establish a new branch of the army, how long would it take before they can rival Martial Sect? Not to mention that goal may never be achieved.
Lei Yu thought for a bit, “Mr. Chairman, what about the other issue? Aren’t you afraid the financial part would become unbalanced?”
“That will never happen.” Lin Cang Hai smiled, “Didn’t I just say? As long as you have a strong financial foundation, anything is possible, including obtaining all the power you want.”
Lin Cang Hai’s words made Lei Yu slightly annoyed. If he was to really establish a new army branch, he would be like a blind man leading another blind man; he was completely clueless on that topic. Even if he knew how to, this wasn’t something he wanted to pursue. Joining Dragon Group was just a passing point of his life. When he left the Lei family without a place to stay, if it weren’t for Nuo Hu’s assistance, who knows what he’d be doing right now. It was obvious that betraying Martial Sect was the same as betraying Dragon Group, betraying Nuo Yi Long and Nuo Yi Feng that had treated him like their own child. Making Lei Yu a disloyal and traitorous person was even harder than killing him.
“You don’t need to respond right away, time is what we have plenty of. You can go back and fully think about it first, I will look for you later for another chat.”
Once he finished saying this, he started walking towards a room in the distance. As he was about to enter the room, he turned around and said: “Tell Xi Hong and Yi Long that I’m tired, you guys may leave and go rest up.”
“Yes, Mr. Chairman.” Lei Yu bowed before leaving.
Even though Shangguan Xi Hong wanted to know what topics those two were talking about, he knew better to ask. He has previously spoken to other high ranking officials about Lei Yu’s status and it was decided the he was no longer under the jurisdiction of any branches of the government. Going with the flow, we can say Lei Yu was now a free man. Wherever Lei Yu wanted to develop himself, we can be sure that place would welcome him with their doors wide open. If he didn’t want to go anywhere or anyplace to develop his prospects, no one really had the right to intervene either.