It did not take them long to find out more information. They returned to look for Mo Huaisang and Di Ling’er. Both of them went out for a walk and returned four hours later. Then, they gave Jiang Yi a brief overview of Demon-Buster Valley.
Many young masters had indeed come to the Demon-Buster Army. Apart from Little Eagle King, most of those young masters wanted to join Qingchen Battle Goddess’s Fire Phoenix Army. First, Qi Qingchen had already decided on a style: the least of the Fire Phoenix Army’s soldiers must be a Battle God. What’s more, she already decided that she would not recruit too many people. This meant that the army would be formidable for sure, and many young masters could hope to be well-trained inside it. Second, of course, they wanted to win Qi Qingchen over for themselves. As long as Qi Qingchen did not get tied down by any other man, they still stood a chance.
Anybody would want a beauty for themselves. There was no way that Qi Qingchen could remain single for the rest of her life either. The Qi Clan had to have descendants. Although one of their sons would probably have to take the surname ‘Qi’ and the Wintry Domain would probably still belong to the Qi Clan by then—if their own sons were made head of the household, wouldn’t they still be considered part of their own family?
The Little Eagle King was such an exquisite gentleman, and yet he—too—could not win Qi Qingchen over. This meant that Qi Qingchen was not concerned about appearances or backgrounds. This also meant that anybody stood a chance. As long as they could fight alongside Qi Qingchen, their chances of winning this beauty over would be greatly increased.
What hurt Jiang Yi’s head was…
Not only were there young masters from great family clans from various domains, but even the young masters from the large, powerful clans within the Demon-Buster Army were fighting to join them, too. Take the two King-Ranked commanders’ grandsons for example: they had already expressed their interest in joining the Fire Phoenix Army.
However, Qi Qingchen neither accepted nor rejected them. This difficult problem was now Jiang Yi’s to solve. If he offended these two young masters, he would be offending the two commanders of the Demon-Buster Army.
The only person who did not express interest in joining the Fire Phoenix Army was the Little Eagle King. He had not thought about joining the Fire Phoenix Army; instead, he intended to join the Demon-Buster Army from the beginning. He had been competing for some time and had successfully advanced to become a commander.
His intentions were clear. He wanted Qi Qingchen to see his skills for herself like a handsome lion displaying his own battle skills and prowess. Perhaps, once he accumulated enough battle merits, he would continue to compete against generals. This way, he could become of the same rank as Qi Qingchen. Once he realized quintessence in the future and his battle skills reached the standard of King-Ranked martial artists’, then he would be able to depend on his skills to subdue Qi Qingchen.
There was another thing that was hurting Jiang Yi’s head: recruiting people!
Qi Qingchen’s standards were set too high. She had already been here for some time, and yet she had only recruited over a hundred people. Among them, tens of them were loyal subjects that she had brought over from Wintry Domain, whom she intended to nurture.
Qi Qingchen said that she wanted five hundred people. If Jiang Yi did not find enough people, when would they be able to go on missions? They could not wait forever, could they? Jiang Yi’s time was precious. He could not spend months recruiting people.
Jiang Yi pondered for a moment and then decided to go to the army camp to look for Qi Yue and Qi Xia to discuss matters. Di Qianjun had nothing much to say about him joining the Fire Phoenix Army. Instead, he was genuinely happy for Jiang Yi. After all, the Fire Phoenix Army had a King-Ranked fighter. Under Qi Qingchen’s lead, missions would be way too easy.
On the other hand, Mo Huaisang and Di Ling’er were resentful. They thought that Jiang Yi was interested in winning Qi Qingchen over. Mo Huaisang’s unhappiness was written all over her face. Di Ling’er, however, just remained quiet.
Jiang Yi did not pay any attention to either of them. Instead, he brought the Poison Spirit out to the Fire Phoenix Army’s camp. In the commanders’ camp, he found Qi Yue and Qi Xia. Both of them treated him differently. When they saw him enter the camp, they bowed and said, “Greetings, Lord Inspector-General!”
“Don’t stand on ceremony!” Jiang Yi waved his hand and asked, confused, “Where is the General?”
Qi Yue answered, “The General has gone into seclusion. She said that the Inspector-General is to make the decision on all matters. She will only come out and bring us on missions after we have recruited five hundred people.”
“…”
Jiang Yi felt speechless. This Qi Qingchen was really washing her hands off everything. He did not dare to sit at the host’s seat. Instead, he sat on the first seat on the left side and said in a low voice, “It is very difficult to recruit five hundred people. Weren’t there seven or eight Battle-God-ranked martial artists in the new barracks earlier? Why didn’t you select them?”
“It is only those people’s heavenly powers that have reached the Battle God Realm.”
Qi Yue explained, “My Lord, if you were in the Battle God Realm, you would be able to feel that their auras are different. Their combined combat abilities are probably only in the peak-stage God King Realm.”
The Poison Spirit nodded and said, “That’s right. Those people look good but would probably be useless.”
Jiang Yi’s head began to hurt. He scratched his head and asked, “How are we going to recruit five hundred people then?”
Qi Yue stared at Jiang Yi, dumfounded. “We don’t know. We are waiting for my Lord to make the arrangements.”
“Report!”
At that moment, they heard a soldier’s voice, shouting, “Reporting to Lords, there is a young master outside by the name of Qiu Ren, who is requesting to meet General!”
“Qiu Ren?”
A look of confusion crossed Jiang Yi’s face. The Poison Spirit whispered, explaining, “The Qiu Clan seems to be the sovereigns of Heavenly Desert Domain!”
Qiu Ren smiled bitterly and reported, “Lord Inspector-General, Qiu Ren is the first young master in Heavenly Desert Domain. I’ve told him the past few times that young mistress is not around. He has already come here seven or eight times recently…”
“He’s not giving up?”
Jiang Yi’s expression hardened. After thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice, “Send him in.”
The soldier hesitated for a moment. After all, word of Jiang Yi’s appointment had not spread downwards. Qi Yue said in a cool tone, “This is the Inspector-General. Are you not going to carry out his instructions?”
Immediately, the soldier retreated. Jiang Yi suddenly got up and moved to the host’s seat, putting on the airs of the person truly in charge. Qi Yue and Qi Xia exchanged a meaningful glance but did not say anything more. Qi Qingchen had given Jiang Yi a lot of power. When she was not around, Jiang Yi could indeed sit in that seat.
A moment later, they heard footsteps outside the army camp. An elegantly-dressed, handsome, young man led two people in, taking big strides. Even before they walked in, their laughter could be heard. “Hahaha, Young Mistress Qingchen, it’s extremely difficult for me to see you now, no matter how much I want to. Er… who are you?”
The young man saw Jiang Yi seated at Qi Qingchen’s seat and immediately looked suspicious and weird. Qi Yue quickly introduced him, “Young Master Qiu, this is our Inspector-General.”
“Inspector-General?”
Qiu Ren eyes Jiang Yi suspiciously, not paying him much attention. Instead, he turned to face Qi Yue. “Where is Young Mistress Qingchen? Is she hiding from me? Young Mistress Qi Yue, what happened to what you told me the last time?”
Qi Yue did not answer his first question. Instead, she turned to Jiang Yi and said, “In order to join the Fire Phoenix Army, you will have to get the Inspector-General’s approval. The General has gone into seclusion. The Inspector-General is in charge of everything else in the Fire Phoenix Army now.”
“Oh?”
There was a glint in Qiu Ren’s eyes. Finally, he turned to look at Jiang Yi. He scanned his face for several seconds and smiled, cupping his hands. “I am Qiu Ren. Inspector-General, how should I address you?”
Jiang Yi had the Silver Demon Mask on so Qiu Ren could not see his features clearly. His gaze was cold as he said, “Young Master Qiu, what have you come to my Fire Phoenix Army for?”
Qiu Ren had shown Jiang Yi so much respect, and yet he did not reciprocate? He was even speaking in such a cold manner. He really had no regard for Qiu Ren.
A look of rage crossed Qiu Ren’s eyes, but he suppressed it as best as he could. Still cupping his hands, he said, “There is nothing much. I just arrived in the Demon-Buster Army’s camp and heard that the Fire Phoenix Army is recruiting. I wanted to join the Fire Phoenix Army. Would the Inspector-General help me out?”
“I’m sorry!”
Jiang Yi did not hesitate as he replied in a cool tone, “If you want to join the army, you have to go and report at the new barracks. If you satisfy our conditions, our Fire Phoenix Army will recruit you.”
“Uh—”
The expressions of the two men behind Qiu Ren changed at once. Jiang Yi was really showing no regard for Qiu Ren at all. A killing intent flashed across Qiu Ren’s face as the aura of the two men behind him intensified significantly. The Poison Spirit laughed mirthlessly and appeared in a flash. “What’s the matter, gentlemen? Do you want to make a move on our Fire Phoenix Army? Do you believe that I will deal with you right here, according to the military rules of the Demon-Buster Army?”
“Hahaha!”
Qiu Ren burst into laughter, gazing at both Jiang Yi and the Poison Spirit, saying, “Alright, if you have the guts, kill us. I’m just afraid that you are lacking in the guts.”
“Idiot…”
Jiang Yi waved his hand in frustration and said, “Someone, throw these three troublemakers out. If they dare to make any moves, kill them immediately, according to military law!”
