Chapter 1247: Chapter 1247 - 1232: Secret Military Order

Ye Zhen could not understand a woman’s affection for a small pet, just like others could not understand how Ye Zhen was willing to give up riches and glory for a Demon Beast.

Princess Changle was very fond of the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten; every day she found numerous excuses to cuddle it, or tease it playfully, and even accompany it while reading.

Naturally, Princess Changle also became Ye Zhen’s helper, and a very efficient one at that; her reading speed far surpassed Ye Zhen’s.

This had nothing to do with Divine Soul Power, merely a type of talent.

Originally, books related to the Five-colored Soul Light would take at least half a month to search through.

But with the help of Princess Changle and her several maids, it took only ten days to sort through one hundred thousand books on Five-colored Soul Light, and they produced a comprehensive data summary for Ye Zhen.

Compared to the traces of the Ancient Demon God Temple’s exits and entrances, searching for the clans possessing the Five-colored Soul Light was no longer something that required secrecy.

Princess Changle was willing to do it, and Ye Zhen did not mind having free labor assist him.

Among the Primordial Myriad Races, there were a total of four hundred and seventy-five species naturally born with Five-colored Soul Light, nearly half related to the Demon Race. Furthermore, there were eight hundred and fourteen species that could awaken Five-colored Primordial Soul Light after birth due to various factors or consumption of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, or Bloodline resurgence.

Out of these one thousand two hundred eighty-nine species possessing Five-colored Soul Light, two hundred twenty-one species were of human form, most of which were derived from the Human Clan.

In other words, based on Ye Zhen’s current knowledge, these two hundred twenty-one species with Five-colored Soul Light might all potentially be related to Caiyi’s clan.

Moreover, with Ye Zhen’s understanding of Caiyi, he believed this list of two hundred twenty-one species could be narrowed down by more than ninety percent given sufficient information.

Once the scope is narrowed, finding Caiyi wouldn’t be such a distant prospect.

The vast collection of books within Marquis Xingqing’s Mansion included many regarding these two hundred twenty-one species, but unfortunately, Ye Zhen was out of time.

Just as Ye Zhen narrowed the search down to one hundred seventy-four species, Zhao Zhong delivered the latest command from Marquis Xingqing.

The time for the real military drill had arrived.

To avoid attracting attention, Ye Zhen needed to depart for the drill site in advance with the participating army.

Moreover, Zhao Zhong obtained several rules regarding this wager.

As it was a test of the two marquises’ command abilities in battle formations, there were comprehensive requirements concerning the strength and equipment of the participating army.

No Martial Artist at the Dao Entrance Realm was allowed among the troops, and those at the Establishment Realm could only serve as various levels of officers if participating; ordinary soldiers had to be at the Vein Forging Realm.

Similarly, restrictions were placed on the army’s equipment; ordinary soldiers could only wear the standard equipment of the Great Zhou, and although officers at the Establishment Realm were not strictly required to have standard gear, the grade of their equipment was not allowed to exceed High Grade Soul Artifacts.

Otherwise, given the wealth of Marquis Xingqing and Marquis Anling, they could easily produce several Suppressing Devices, if not powerful Acquired Spirit Treasures.

A single powerful Acquired Spirit Treasure might annihilate an entire Ten Thousand Man Army.

With restrictions on weapons and equipment, limitations also applied to mounts such as Spirit Beasts.

Thus, commanding officers were strictly prohibited from bringing Spirit Beasts or mounts to the battle. Any discovery would be considered cheating and directly deemed a failure.

It’s understandable, considering any Golden Nili Beast pulling carts for Marquis Xingqing, even randomly, was at Divine Communication Realm cultivation, providing an overwhelming advantage in a ten thousand strong army.

If Demon Beasts were allowed to participate, to ensure victory, the two marquises would undoubtedly deploy all their Demon Beasts, and perhaps even request aid from their fathers.

The father of Marquis Xingqing, Ji Tao, was Prince Yangling Ji Liu, a prince of Great Zhou Empire ranked immediately below the eight Princes of Political Affairs with immense power.

The father of Marquis Anling, even more formidable, was King of Ding Mountain, Ji Lei, ranked seventh among the Princes of Political Affairs in the Great Zhou Empire, even stronger than the father of Marquis Xingqing.

Without limitations, it would likely escalate into a gambling match between the two royal families of Prince Yangling and King of Ding Mountain, utilizing unimaginable resources.

Therefore, Marquis Xingqing and Marquis Anling established numerous restrictions.

Solely relying on their command skills, all soldiers and officers could only use standardized equipment and weapons not exceeding the grade of High Grade Soul Artifacts; as for mounts, Spirit Beasts, and high-powered Spirit Talisman Formation Disks, none were allowed.

In response, both parties sent an inspection group comprised entirely of eunuchs to monitor each other’s military preparations, lending a semblance of formality.

Under such circumstances, Ye Zhen needed to leave the kitten behind before entering the barracks.

Bringing the kitten along, irrelevant of whether it participated in the battle or not, would place Marquis Xingqing’s side at a significant disadvantage once discovered.

Ye Zhen was a bit helpless receiving this news, but Princess Changle found it amusing.

"Captain Ye, rest assured, I will definitely take good care of the kitten these days, making it chubby and absolutely not letting it get bullied!" Princess Changle said excitedly, then asked the kitten’s opinion, "Kitten, what do you think? Anyway, Captain Ye can’t take you these days, so why don’t you stay with me?"

Before Ye Zhen could respond, the kitten eagerly jumped into Princess Changle’s arms.

Seeing this, Ye Zhen rolled his eyes dramatically; in just a few days, the kitten had already been won over by Princess Changle.

Whenever it saw Princess Changle, it would eagerly leap into her arms, rolling around and acting adorably, making Princess Changle giggle endlessly.

There’s nothing he could do; after all, Princess Changle was quite generous.

The Demon Cores she casually fed the kitten were all from Grand Demons of the Dao Entrance Realm at the very least, and the Thought Spirit Pills she gave were all Mid-grade, never Low Grade.

The treatment was something Ye Zhen couldn’t provide; even he and the Little Demon were green with envy.

The kitten had already swallowed five Mid-grade Thought Spirit Pills, each worth a hundred Low Grade ones, even though it had barely refined one thousandth of it.

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the kitten still had some conscience; the unrefined Mid-grade Thought Spirit Pills it swallowed now lay obediently in Ye Zhen’s storage ring.

Even so, Princess Changle continued feeding it relentlessly.

Ye Zhen also saw a few other small pets being raised by Princess Changle over the past few days, like the palm-sized, just-hatched Green Bird, and the Fire Cloud Sparrow with a thin Phoenix bloodline. These pets had strong bloodlines and formidable abilities, but compared to the kitten in terms of spirit and cuteness, they were still lacking.

The kitten’s basic spirit nature was cultivated when Caiyi was around, drinking several bowls of Ning Shen Jade Liquid he personally prepared each day just after it arrived.

The Qiyun Sect Leader would only get two or three bowls of Ning Shen Jade Liquid a year, and the newborn kitten could finish one or two bowls in a day, having consumed an unknown amount.

The kitten’s spirit wisdom grew during that time.

As for its cuteness, that started when Elder Black Water accidentally acquired the Universe Wishful Secret Technique from the Southern Barbarians.

Ye Zhen hadn’t thought about this before; now thinking back, though the Southern Barbarian Tribes in the Black Dragon Domain were less developed, some of their secret techniques were rare even on the Primordial Continent.

Ye Zhen had already made up his mind; next time when he returns, he will explore the Southern Barbarian Tribes in the Black Dragon Domain thoroughly, hoping to find something valuable.

"Since the princess has said so, let the kitten stay by her side. However, if the kitten causes any trouble, please forgive it and don’t hold a grudge against it," Ye Zhen said.

Hearing this, Princess Changle, holding the kitten, smiled so broadly that her eyes formed little crescents.

"Captain Ye, the army will set off in just an hour, heading to the military exercise site ahead of schedule!" Zhao Zhong reminded him from the side.

Saluting Princess Changle, Ye Zhen left the Book Storage Building with Zhao Zhong.

Before long, Princess Changle also departed, invited to Marquis Xingqing’s Mansion to witness the wager between Marquis Xingqing and Marquis Anling.

Not only Princess Changle, but more than half of the young nobles and royals of the Great Zhou Empire were invited by Marquis Xingqing and Marquis Anling.

Moreover, for the sake of fairness, both had used their influences to invite a Sect Ruler under the Grand Sect Leader of Great Zhou responsible for royal affairs to preside over the wager.

The Great Zhou Empire had a strong martial ethos, supporting this culture of martial challenges from top to bottom.

According to Princess Changle, nobles who didn’t receive invitations even sent their butlers to watch the event.

Essentially, although the victor of the wager wouldn’t immediately reach great heights, they would certainly become a leading figure among the royal descendants of Great Zhou.

As for the loser, regardless of the loss, this confrontation would likely become a lifelong shame.

Thus, the importance both marquises placed on this confrontation was beyond description.

When Ye Zhen arrived at the military camp, he was wearing a standard Soul Armor, entering the camp under the pretense of being a Capital Guard drawn from other divisions.

While entering the camp, a eunuch whose mere glance sent shivers down the spine personally inspected Ye Zhen from head to toe, even confiscating his hard-earned Spirit Beast Bag to avoid any incidents that might impact Marquis Xingqing’s plans.

As a Capital Guard, Ye Zhen had command over three squads, totaling one hundred and fifty soldiers.

"Remember, starting now, Ye Zhen is your new Capital Guard. On the battlefield, if Captain Ye dies before any of you, the survivors will have their Nine Clans exterminated!" Leaving behind this snake-like military order, the eunuch quickly left.

Upon receiving the order, Ye Zhen’s subordinate soldiers instinctively glanced at him, involuntarily tightening their grips on their weapons.

An hour later, the army set off, headed for Thunder Marsh Ridge, seventy-five thousand miles away in the wilderness!