Battle Through the Heavens: Emperor Yan, please restrain yourself; your elder brother is truly hones

Qin Zhenming's voice came from inside the tent.

Zhang Yuan and Yao Ye entered one after the other and found him sitting at his desk looking at a scroll.

"What is it?" Qin Zhenming asked, raising his head with a smile on his face.

Qin Zhenming had already heard about Zhang Yuan's battle with Princess Yaoye last night from Qin Zhendong.

A five-star Grand Dou Master can completely defeat a one-star Dou Ling. Zhang Yuan's strength is enough to rank him among the top five in the Xuan-character Camp. Coupled with his extraordinary wisdom, he is someone Zhang Yuan can rely on.

“Regarding the plan I proposed, I think it can be partially modified,” Zhang Yuan said, clasping his hands in a fist salute to Qin Zhenming.

"Please sit down, Your Highness, and also please sit down." Qin Zhenming gestured for Zhang Yuan and Yao Ye to sit to the side, then asked with a serious expression, "I have studied your plan for ten days and have not found any flaws. I think it can be called perfect. How else do you want to revise it?"

Yao Ye sat up straight and pretended to listen attentively.

The plan that Zhang Yuan gave to Qin Zhenming was something that he and Jia Xingtian had already seen when they first arrived in Qingyun Town. They had praised it several times behind his back and didn't think there was anything that needed to be changed.

The strategy is aimed at the beast tides in the Monster Mountain Range. Every few years, towns in the Gama Empire that are near the Monster Mountain Range will encounter small to medium-sized beast tides. If not dealt with properly, it will cause huge losses or even disasters.

In order to prevent large-scale beast tides from occurring in the Monster Mountain Range, and to reduce the frequency of small and medium-sized beast tides and extend their duration as much as possible, the Empire has been arranging for the military to clear the monsters from the Monster Mountain Range.

This is one of the reasons why different armies rotate their garrisons from time to time; it's a way for the royal family to balance resources, merits, and influence.

Zhang Yuan's strategy for Qin Zhenming was, in essence, nothing special, which can be summarized as "luring the enemy into a trap," "closing the door to beat the dog," and "dividing the territory into districts for governance."

Zhang Yuan suggested that instead of dispersing into small teams, large groups, and regiments to clear out the monsters, it would be better to set up positions in places where it would be easy to encircle, ambush, and launch surprise attacks, and use things like pills and spiritual items to attract the monsters to gather, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop when they reached a certain number.

Scattered monsters and monster hordes can be cleared out by mercenary groups in each town, thus eliminating the monster tide at its source and turning the monsters into "livestock" kept in the mountains.

However, to achieve that final level, the royal family would need to lead all the major and minor forces and the army within the country to carry out the plan together; relying on a single Black Armor Guard would be far from sufficient.

The Black Armor Guard Xuanzi Battalion's mission this time can be used as a final test, and the results they produce will be more convincing.

“The specific content will remain largely unchanged. What I’m talking about changing is the part about luring monsters to gather.” Zhang Yuan said with bright eyes, “I’ve recruited a rather special person. If we settle her somewhere, she might be able to attract monsters to gather. We can build a fortress and then wait for them to come to us.”

Yao Ye: ?

If she wasn't mistaken, the somewhat special person Zhang Yuan was referring to was Qing Yanjing.

This is turning the other party's misfortune into a tool to lure monsters!?

For a moment, Yao Ye didn't know how to evaluate it, and didn't even hear clearly what Zhang Yuan and Qin Zhenming discussed next.

Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Yuan and Qin Zhenming finished discussing the details and left.

Yao Ye quickly caught up and asked, "Mr. Zhang, didn't you not believe that Qing Yanjing was an ominous person?"

"Of course I don't believe it." Zhang Yuan glanced at it with satisfaction and said, "I used this ominous sign to my advantage, turning it into a good thing. How can it still be considered ominous?"

Yao Ye: "."

"Yaoye, whether it's dealing with people or things, you can't be too one-sided. Especially since you are the future empress, you need to analyze things from multiple angles and perspectives," Zhang Yuan advised.

"Take Yunlan Sect for example. As long as the royal family can keep it in check, the stronger Yunlan Sect becomes, the stronger the Jia Ma Empire will become. It's like the royal family is getting stronger, so you have to hope for its success. But if Yunlan Sect becomes so strong that the royal family can't keep it in check, then the royal family and even the empire may have to rely on it and lose their power."

"But is it necessarily bad that the Yunlan Sect is stronger than the royal family? Not necessarily."

"Let me ask you, if the Jia Ma Empire is always stronger than the Yunlan Sect, but its overall strength is always only third-rate on the continent, while the Yunlan Sect surpasses the Jia Ma Empire to become a first-rate power, and the Jia Ma Empire can become a second-rate power on the continent even as a subordinate, which would you choose?"

Yao Ye opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't give an answer; her mind was a complete mess.

Seeing that she was deep in thought, Zhang Yuan stopped talking, a smile flashing in his eyes.

Dialectics and political law, kid, study them well.

"Shh!"

Pushing open the curtain and entering the tent, Zhang Yuan went straight to Qing Yanjing, took out a scroll and said, "Yanjing, I have a way to prove that you are not an ominous person. Are you interested in trying it?"

Qing Yanjing: ?

Yao Ye: "."

That's not what you just said.

Zhang Yuan's mouth is a deceitful devil.

Chapter 55 Are you a monster or am I a monster?

"Is the role of my subordinates to act as bait?"

After carefully reading the plan recorded in the scroll, Qing Yanjing's eyes flashed with admiration. She raised her head and stared into Zhang Yuan's eyes, trying to discern his true thoughts.

“In nature, it is indeed bait.” Zhang Yuan nodded frankly and said bluntly, “On the premise that you can actually attract magical beasts to gather.”

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Qing Yanjing was not angry, because Zhang Yuan was not the kind of person who would use underhanded tactics against her. Instead, he directly told her everything and let her decide for herself whether to contribute.

This is similar to someone seeking out an alchemist, valuing the alchemist's skills and asking them to concoct a certain elixir for them—it's a transaction.

"What can I get?" Qing Yan asked calmly and generously.

Zhang Yuan smiled and replied, "First, you will receive a large amount of military merit according to the military's calculation method. You can exchange these merits for what you need through military channels, provided that the royal family can afford it."

"Secondly, you can determine whether the unfortunate events that have happened around you in the past are really related to you, or whether you caused them."

"Third, I can determine whether you are simply unlucky or just have a special constitution and destiny, and whether it can be resolved and utilized."

Zhang Yuan only gave three reasons; he intended to keep the rest to himself.

Qing Yanjing rested his chin on his hand and pondered for a moment before nodding and saying, "This subordinate is willing to cooperate, and will do as you say, sir."

This result was not unexpected for Zhang Yuan. Qing Yanjing would certainly not let go of the opportunity to test him for the first time.

The matter was settled.

Afterwards, Zhang Yuan led Qing Yanjing to the military camp to collect his armor and silver-horned black rhinoceros horse, and then brought them back to his troops to introduce them to everyone.

It is worth mentioning that Meng Xu resigned from the Black Armor Guard last night, citing the unexpected death of his cousin, the emotional pain that prevented him from working, and the needs of his family.

However, the position of deputy captain was still filled by someone else, and that person was Qin Hai.

After leaving last night, Qin Hai first had a pharmacist check his body and found that there was nothing seriously wrong. Then he went to Qingyun Escort Agency to resign from his position as an escort. Finally, he found Zhang Yuan and said that he wanted to work for him.

Just as Meng Xu resigned, Zhang Yuan approached Qin Zhenming and arranged for Qin Hai to become his deputy captain, a position that was more than capable of given Qin Hai's strength as a three-star Grand Master.

"Assemble, form ranks, target Qingyan Town, full speed ahead."

Zhang Yuan gathered five hundred men and several dozen guards in the army, and then, following Qin Zhenming's orders, led the way to Qingyan Town.

With the silver-horned black rhinoceros galloping at full speed, they arrived at Qingyan Town in the afternoon.

While his men set up camp, Zhang Yuan himself didn't sit idle. He took a map, transformed his strange fire wings, and flew into the sky. He surveyed the surrounding terrain and searched for a suitable secluded place for his lightning cultivation.

"This place is nice; the name marked on the map is Yunying Mountain."

Zhang Yuan landed atop a thousand-foot cliff, watching the clouds drift below and sensing the energy concentration around him. He felt quite satisfied.

If it weren't for the time constraints, he would have wanted Ling Ying to summon lightning to assist him in his cultivation for a while.

"Ok?"

Just as Zhang Yuan was about to leave, his divine sense suddenly stirred, and he sensed an unusual movement in the clouds to his lower left.

He turned his head and saw the clouds suddenly disperse, revealing a large blue bird several feet long with wings that were also several feet long when fully extended. Its sharp beak glowed with purple light as it rushed toward him.

"A fourth-tier magical beast, the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle."

Zhang Yuan recognized the monster at a glance.

A type of eagle-like magical beast with an extremely keen sense of lightning, capable of moving freely through thunderstorms, possessing a horn on its head that has the power to shield and attract lightning.

"Well come."

Zhang Yuan's fighting spirit surged wildly, transforming into a fighting spirit armor in an instant. He stomped his left foot on the ground and shot out.

"boom!"

With the power of thunder amplified, Zhang Yuan punched the beak of the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle.

Thunderbolts collided and exploded instantly, the aftershocks sending Zhang Yuan and Zi Ting Yun Ying back a hundred meters.

Thundercloud Eagle shook its large bird head, a look of confusion appearing in its eyes.

Is it a monster, or is Zhang Yuan a monster?

Why did it find itself at a slight disadvantage when it went head-to-head with Zhang Yuan?

Undeterred, the Thunder Cloud Eagle charged again, but Zhang Yuan remained fearless and continued to confront it head-on.

"My current physique far surpasses that of most third-tier magical beasts, and I am also blessed by the Three Dragon Thunderfire within my body. The dragon energy and thunder power have greatly increased my recovery and defense capabilities."

"Even a fourth-tier magical beast comparable to a Dou Ling expert, I can withstand with my own body."

Zhang Yuan skillfully analyzed the strength of his own body, completely using the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle as a whetstone.

"Ow~"

Despite the prolonged battle, the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle was still unable to budge Zhang Yuan in the slightest. It finally unleashed its true power and began to fight seriously, with energy fluctuations emanating from the horns on its head.

"Boom!"

Higher up, the clouds began to gather, turning into black clouds with flashes of lightning.

The fighting spirit within the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle surged, gathering at the horns on its head and transforming into a bolt of purple lightning that slashed out.

This is a talent ability that the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle mastered after reaching the fourth rank. Its effect is similar to the high-level Xuan-rank combat skill Azure Sky Thunder Finger that Zhang Yuan cultivated, but its effect is slightly weaker.

Otherwise, as a fourth-tier magical beast, it wouldn't have caused as much commotion or had as little wind-up as Zhang Yuan's Sky Thunder Finger experiment.

"It's just like a pillow being delivered when you're sleepy."

Seeing that Zi Tingyunying was attacking him with lightning, Zhang Yuan immediately removed his battle qi armor and directly withstood the attack with his bare body. At the same time, he mobilized the Three Dragons Thunderfire to protect his body and activated the Heavenly Thunder Technique.

The power of thunder touched his body and was immediately devoured by the Three Dragon Thunderfire, which tempered his body, replenished it with dragon energy, and burned it with flames, eventually transforming it into battle qi.

"Ow~"

Seeing that a mere human Grand Master was holding its own against its lightning, the Purple Thunder Cloud Eagle's eyes flashed with mockery. It thought to itself that the human was ignorant of its own limitations and would soon be reduced to ashes. It was a pity that it would have no dinner tonight.

But the next moment, Zi Tingyunying felt like he was hallucinating.

That human actually withstood the lightning without any harm, and even had an expression of enjoyment on his face.

Its thunder power is so weak!?

It began to compete, constantly increasing its battle aura output, and later even controlled the lightning falling from the sky to launch an attack.