Chapter 453: Chapter 230 Disciple’s Plan_3
Translator: 549690339
Fortunately, there is another way for me as your Master, which can also help you break through the Innate realm…”
Thereupon, Lu Yuan told his disciple about his Immortal Fate jade piece, as well as the fact that he had cultivated the Five Thunder Sutra.
He naturally had great trust in Zhou Qing and Sun Siwen, and was willing to share some secrets with them.
Moreover, these matters did not involve core secrets.
After some time, when the relationship with the Dan Ding Path will be severed, these matters will be made public anyway.
At this point, he was just telling his disciple in advance.
However, upon hearing this, Zhou Qing was both shocked and deeply touched.
He didn’t expect that his Master would have such Immortal Fate, and had actually become a legendary cultivator.
What touched him even more was that his Master was willing to share this matter, which should have been kept secret and enjoyed privately, with him.
Not only did he share it, but now for the sake of his breakthrough to the Innate realm, his Master was even willing to share the Immortal Spirit Qi, which was now extremely precious and scarce, with him.
The love and care his Master had for him was simply… simply…
Zhou Qing didn’t even know how to describe it.
So after recovering from the shock, he knelt down and said, “Disciple is already greatly indebted to Master for teaching me martial arts and nurturing me.
Now that Master has Immortal Fate and can aspire for longevity, how can disciple dare to hinder Master’s Immortal Path because of my personal matters?
I beseech Master to take back this offer, disciple dares not to hope for it.”
This eldest disciple was still as filial as ever. At this moment, even with the prospect of breaking through Innate realm before him, he was not tempted and instead considered Lu Yuan’s welfare.
Lu Yuan was both gratified and distressed to see this, and ultimately could only force himself to say, “Since I have decided to pass on the Immortal Spirit Qi to you, it is naturally after careful consideration. And my Immortal Path has my own considerations as well.
The newly established Changsha Country is surrounded by enemies, and all the neighboring countries regard us as a thorn in their side.
During our Northern Expedition, we have continuously expanded our territory. With our vast territories, relying on the combined strength of just your Master Mother and me, is difficult to manage.
You and Brother Sun are the people I trust most in this world, even more than my own wife and children.
Today, in helping you break through the Innate realm, we must also rely on you, Little Qing, to guard and support our country in the future.
So this is not just for your sake, but also for me, and for Changsha Country.
There is no need to discuss this matter further, just follow your Master’s plan.”
With the conversation reaching this point, Zhou Qing could no longer refuse further, and could only say, “The disciple will definitely practice diligently and break through the Innate realm as soon as possible, in order to help Master with the affairs of the country.”
Lu Yuan smiled indifferently, “That’s more like it. Come, let me first take a look at your cultivation, and then devise a plan to purify your Inner Strength.”
“Yes.”
Zhou Qing nodded, followed by the initiation.
Lu Yuan reached out and began checking his disciple’s Inner Strength cultivation and frowned in deep thought.
After a while.
Zhou Qing left the tent, having finished the inspection.
‘Little Qing’s Inner Strength is still a bit mixed, not as pure as mine since I’ve been constantly refining it with the Immortal Fate jade piece since I started cultivating.
So initially when we start purifying Inner Strength, we can’t make any drastic changes, as that could lead to loss of control and damage to the foundation.
Therefore, we have to progress gradually, spending a month or two to complete this process.
What I need to do is to complete the guidance in the first few days and then hand the jade piece over to him, allowing Xiaoqing to purify his Inner Strength by himself, just like in the past.
It is not difficult to do so, and it will not take up too much time.
Furthermore, I’ve just assessed Xiaoqing’s state of mind, and the progress is even more pleasing than what he said earlier.
Now, it seems that he can completely break through to the fourth meridian, and more solidly control his Inner Strength.’
With Xiaoqing’s innate talent and my help as a cultivator, perhaps he can break through Innate in six or seven years.”
Lu Yuan thought to himself, very satisfied with his plan.
After six or seven years, Zhou Qing would have practiced martial arts for almost 20 years. Breaking through Innate at this speed would be considered an above-average performance among Inborn Grandmasters.
After this Northern Expedition, it can be foreseen that there will be a long period of peace between Zhou and Yue.
Yue Country has suffered from chaos for nearly eight years, losing four Prefectures, five to six hundred thousand soldiers, and one Inborn.
With such great losses, it would be impossible to catch their breath without a recovery period of at least a decade or two.
Zhou Country is also in the same situation.
If the Wuan Marquis’s surprise attack plan goes well, the best outcome for Zhou Country is to lose more than half of Xiangyang Prefecture and a portion of Hanzhong Prefecture after this Northern Expedition.
All of these added together are roughly the size of one prefecture.
Moreover, considering the previous loss of more than 200,000 soldiers and the potential loss of another 100,000 soldiers, the total loss of soldiers is nearly 400,000, which is not a small number.
Not to mention that they have already lost two Inborns, and it’s unknown whether more will die in battle later.
With such losses, they might not be any better off than Yue Country, except that they didn’t lose much territory.
So after this battle, both countries would need at least ten years of recuperation before they could mobilize troops again.
As for the five newly-enshrined countries under Yue Country, Southsea and Ninghai, although they have recovered a lot of vitality since the previous invasion by Jinghai Country,
These two newly-established countries don’t even have a strong army. Even if they wanted to take action, they have the will but no power.
Moreover, training strong soldiers without participating in a war or seeing blood takes at least four or five years.
So, these two countries won’t be causing any trouble in the short term.
Not to mention that with Yan Wangqiu’s age, this country is unlikely to make any trouble either.
The only exception is Su Xuange, who reportedly captured 20,000 Zhou captives by besieging Dangyang City.
These were all elite soldiers. Apparently, Ninghai Country has some ambitions and needs to pay attention to them since they have managed to build such a strong army.
However, with Ninghai Country’s national power, they can’t afford many soldiers. Raising 30,000 to 50,000 men is already their limit, and there’s no need to worry too much.
Lastly, there were the Jihui Monk and Qiao Kangquan, who are planning to establish a country in Xichuan Prefecture.
In fact, these two don’t have to be overly worried about either.
After all, it was made very clear what the situation in Xichuan Prefecture is like beforehand.
With a population of less than a million, even if you include the southern three prefectures of Hanzhong that Lu Yuan is preparing to exchange with them, there will be only around two million people in total. Moreover, these people are extremely poor due to wars.
Considering this situation, it would be impossible for these two countries to restore local production in less than a decade.
Moreover, after ten years, with a population of two million, they could only raise 50,000 soldiers at most. These soldiers would need to be divided between two countries, and they would also have to guard against Zhou Country.
With these restrictions, even if these two countries join forces, they can only muster 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers at most for external conquests.
What can they do with this small number of troops?
To be honest.
If it weren’t for the fact that there are two Inborn Grandmasters in Xichuan Prefecture, Lu Yuan wouldn’t take them seriously at all.
Those who aren’t even as good as Ninghai Country don’t deserve any attention.
Therefore, to sum up, after this Northern Expedition, the Seven Countries – Zhou, Yue, Changsha, Ninghai, Southsea, and the two in Xichuan – will not see any wars for at least ten years.
Lu Yuan will have plenty of time to wait for Zhou Qing to become an Inborn after fighting the Northern Expedition.
By then, with Zhou Qing, there will be three Inborn Grandmasters in his country. With such strength, it would not be a problem to defend the current 16 Prefectures, let alone doubling the territory of Changsha Country.