154 Chapter 153: Man and Machine (2/2)
Heavens knew we couldn't afford to make any more enemies.
We continued on our path when three of the Great Elders suddenly showed up. Smiling, they approached Tang Qi Hong.
”Qi Hong! There you are! A quick word, if you don't mind?” one of them called out in a friendly manner.
”Great Elders.” Tang Qi Hong swallowed, but nodded. Lian Rou, Tong Xue and I stepped back and bowed respectfully. Noticing our presence, a second Great Elder acknowledged our greeting before glancing at Tang Qi Hong.
”Were you in the middle of something?”
”Um, yes. I'm heading over to the main sect hall, to learn battle-automata from First Elder Hai.” Tang Qi Hong replied honestly.
”Ah…that's right. I heard that you have about ten new battle puppets. Your combat strength has grown tremendously.”
”Not bad, not bad.”
”You really are the adopted daughter of the Sect Leader and Sect Lady.”
The three Great Elders were praising a perplexed Tang Qi Hong. Tong Xue and I exchanged puzzled glances.
”Ever since Qi Hong acquired those battle puppets, her standing in the sect has risen,” Lian Rou whispered, offering an explanation to me and Tong Xue. Both of us stared at her in surprise, but I guess I could understand.
Battle puppets and battle-automata were signifiers of status. They were extremely rare, valuable and powerful – a single middle-ranked battle-automata like the Castellax class was said to be able to fight on par with a Qi Fusion Stage practitioner (whatever that meant), which was why they were priced so highly. Anyone who possessed not one but many of them would be a force to be reckoned with. Tang Qi Hong essentially had a small army of her own.
Recognizing that, the Great Elders wanted to get in her good books, especially since they were aware how powerful Tang Qi Hong would become once she finished inscribing her tiny army with Spirit Engravings.
Tang Qi Hong had always been a genius at blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving, and now she had her own private military. Her stock was rising fast and the Great Elders didn't want to shoot themselves in the foot and be filled with regret.
”There are rumors that several of the Great Elders have suddenly switched sides and are now backing Qi Hong to succeed as the next sect leader instead of Liang Shao Yang.” Lian Rou's voice was dripping with disapproval and scorn. She clearly didn't like the idea of her best friend being dragged into these politics.
”Really?” Tong Xue asked, surprised. For my part, I believed Lian Rou. As an inner sect disciple, she was more privy to the matters involving the Great Elders than either of us. Though I wondered the wisdom of sharing that information with Tong Xue, who doubled as a disciple of the Smart Shadow Sect. he would be happily gathering the intelligence of other sects for his primary sect, even if he was technically a member of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and a Blood Blade.
Not for the first time, I wondered if Tong Xue's loyalty to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was stronger than his loyalty to the Smart Shadow Sect. good thing the Heaven and Earth Sect had been exterminated long ago, so I didn't have to make that choice.
”Ah, you must be the one who brought back all those battle-automata. Fei Wu, right?”
The first Great Elder suddenly noticed we were still there, and when his gaze fell on me, his eyes lit up in recognition.
”That's right, sir.” I nodded. There was no point denying it.
”Good, good. I hear you're in the Blood Blades, correct? And you did a splendid job in the expedition to the Nascent Soul Stage practitioner's tomb two months ago, bringing back such valuable treasures!”
”Indeed!” the second Great Elder chimed in, delighted. He cast a gaze from the troubled Tang Qi Hong to me. ”You two remind me of the current Sect Leader and Sect Lady! The resemblance is remarkable! I'm sure you both will bring the sect to greater heights!”
Wow, they were being pretty blatant about their motives now. Lian Rou wasn't mistaken when she told me and Tong Xue about their sudden change in stance. I heard that they had always been firmly behind Liang Shao Yang, but now they were clearly in the Tang Qi Hong camp. No doubt Lian Rou was correct that it had something to do with Tang Qi Hong being the owner of a sizeable amount of battle-automata.
And I was another owner of four Castellax-class battle-automata, which meant my worth and standing in the sect had also increased.
”Geez, Great Elders!” Tang Qi Hong turned red. ”Our relationship isn't like that! Please don't say such embarrassing things!”
”Not yet,” the third Great Elder said mischievously. ”Give it time.”
”Ugh! Stop teasing me! If there's nothing else, then I'll make a move first!”
Unable to endure the relentless teasing and obvious flattery, Tang Qi Hong tried to move away, her face burning crimson.
”Oh, about that…actually we have a request for you.” the first Great Elder reached into his pocket and took out his cellphone. ”We wanted to ask you if you're interested in taking up a mission from the Dark Asura Sect.”
”The Dark Asura Sect?” Tang Qi Hong repeated incredulously. ”What do they want?”
”They have requested that the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect forge them Spirit Artifacts,” the second Great Elder explained. ”The commanders of the Dark Asura Sect have personally submitted these custom-orders. They have asked for six Spirit Artifacts in total, and even provided the Spirit Materials necessary. Well, most of them, anyway. Fortunately, our sect has almost all the remainder of Spirit Materials required. You can get someone to obtain them for you.” he glanced meaningfully at me, then turned back to Tang Qi Hong apologetically. ”I'm sorry. We really didn't want to disturb you when you're so busy. But as you know, we can't turn them down so easily.”
”I know,” Tang Qi Hong replied, but she still looked flustered. Staring at her cellphone as she received the forwarded email from the first Great Elder, she swallowed nervously. ”But why me? Wouldn't Liang Shao Yang or one of the other inner sect disciples be capable of carrying out this request?”
”Of all the inner sect disciples, your success rate is the highest,” the third great elder replied. ”And the quality of the spirit artifacts you forge is the best, surpassing even that of Liang Shao Yang's. He is still inexperienced when compared to you. Furthermore, we are currently in the midst of forging Spirit Engraved Gear for the Imperial Guard, and are unable to take on a new project right now. You should know the sheer quantity of Spirit Armaments that the Imperial Guard require. First Elder Hai Mo is also forging another complex device for the royal family while teaching the Blood Blades lessons on battle-automata Spirit Engravings at the same time. So you are the only one left.”
”I understand,” Tang Qi Hong replied helplessly as she studied the list.
”Don't worry,” the first Great Elder assured her. ”We will pay you handsomely for this project. You'll receive payment appropriate to the quality of the Spirit Artifacts you forge. You'll definitely be rewarded for taking up this request.”
”All right…I will do it.” Tang Qi Hong sighed heavily. Then she turned to me. ”Wu, will you be free after the battle-automata lesson today?”
”I'm never free, but I will make myself available today if you need my help.”
Seriously, do people think I laze around have nothing to do after my lessons? If there was nothing else, I would spend it working on my personal project or training my combat skills. But that didn't mean I wasn't flexible enough to rearrange my schedule if someone needed my help immediately after the lesson on battle-automata Spirit Engraving.
”Really? I mean, if you're busy…”
”No, they are not important. It's just normal training.”
”Yeah, we won't die if we miss a day of training or two!” Tong Xue agreed with a smile. While I would normally disagree with him, I was glad that our opinions align today, so I also smiled and nodded.
”Exactly.”
”If you say so.” Tang Qi Hong consulted the list. ”Well, we'll discuss this later, after the Spirit Engraving lesson. Let's hurry, or we'll be late.”
We bade the three satisfied Great Elders farewell, and then quickly made our way to the main sect hall. Already a large group of Blood Blades were flooding the main sect hall, the majority of them having returned home from school just like us.
Lian Rou excused herself and went her separate way, leaving the three of us to merge with the crowd. As we fought our way to the front, I caught sight of Pang Feng. He waved to us, and the three of us fought through the mass of human bodies to join him.
”What are you doing here?” I asked, perplexed. ”You already finished the Spirit Engravings for your two Castellax-class battle-automata, right?”
”…that's right. I forgot.” Pang Feng laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head. ”Force of habit, I suppose?”
Actually, I suspected he had a more…personal reason for showing up. I could see the way he looked at Tang Qi Hong. He clearly still had a crush on her.
Well, so did I, but as of right now, our relationship was at an impasse. As much as I wanted to break the status quo, I already knew what would happen. Furthermore, after the pressure those three fair-weather Great Elders placed on Tang Qi Hong to be the next sect leader, she would be more determined than before to stay single and focus on that goal. Knowing Tang Qi Hong, she would give the reason that she could not afford to be distracted by men or romance because the whole sect was depending on her or something.
She had given me the same reason before, and she hadn't changed since then.
While we stepped into the main sect hall and disappeared into its interior, from the distance, someone watched us, completely unnoticed. At that time, I didn't sense his murderous gaze, but I was reconstructing this whole thing on hindsight, on retrospect.
Liang Shao Yang, accompanied by Hu Mei Er, had watched the entire exchange between the three Great Elders and Tang Qi Hong. His eyes never left his current rival, he continued to watch her as she entered the main sect hall. Even though he wasn't close enough to overhear their conversation, he could tell from their attitudes toward Tang Qi Hong that they were currently favoring her. He was also not deaf, having heard about her rise in status and power after acquiring a bunch of battle-automata, her close links to the Blood Blades, and had noticed the obvious shift of the Great Elders' attention from him to her in the last couple of months.
His eyes narrowed murderously as he pondered over the events, and even Hu Mei Er couldn't help but shudder when she caught sight of his cold, merciless gaze.
”Shao Yang?” she asked timidly.
Liang Shao Yang forced a smile as he looked at her. ”Sorry, Mei Er. I will have to leave Tushan for a bit. I'll see you in my apartment tonight?”
Hu Mei Er nodded nervously, but did not object despite her misgivings. She disengaged from him, releasing her hold on his arm that she was clinging to until just now, and then helplessly watched as he stalked off toward the huge gates of Tushan City. She continued watching him even as he walked out of the gates and vanished into the outside world.