Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

The room was quiet for a few moments.

Wu Yanluo looked at Yi Yang's expressionless face, and the silver bell on her ankle swayed gently.

She turned her head and glanced at Ug.

Ug rested his hand on his scimitar, said nothing, and simply nodded slightly.

Wu Yanluo withdrew her gaze, sat up straight, and the lively, expectant look on her face disappeared, replaced by a seriousness that seemed incongruous with her age. She said:

"Since you've asked, Lord Yi, I'll be frank with you."

She paused, carefully choosing her words before continuing:

"Lord Yi is right."

"This matter is indeed not that simple."

"Currently, there are traitors within our Wu Kingdom who want to cause trouble and attempt to sabotage this trade with Dayu."

Yi Yang held the teacup still and continued listening to the other person's explanation while pondering inwardly.

Wu Yanluo continued, "Before coming to Qingzhou this time, the Wu Kingdom's court held a court discussion on the matter of the border trade. The result of the court discussion was that it passed and sent our delegation to negotiate. Those who harbored rebellious intentions could not oppose it in the court discussion. After all, it was the general trend. The Wu Kingdom lacked food, iron and medicine. If these things were not obtained from Dayu, the border tribes would not survive the next winter."

"But just because something is approved doesn't mean everyone will accept it."

Her fingers unconsciously fiddled with the silver bell on her ankle, and her voice lowered by two decibels.

"After we arrived in Qingzhou, we negotiated terms with the Trade and Commerce Bureau. Although we suffered considerable losses, the agreement has already been signed. At this point, those people within the Witch Kingdom have no way to turn the tables through normal means."

Yi Yang put down his teacup and continued, "So they plan to use unconventional methods."

"Yes." Wu Yanluo nodded. "The simplest and most direct way—"

"Kill us."

The atmosphere in the room became heavy after those words were spoken.

"To be precise, they took action on our way back to the Wu Kingdom. They silenced all the key members of the delegation and then framed the Great Yu Dynasty."

Wu Yanluo's voice was calm and fearless, but Yi Yang noticed that her fingers tightened around the silver bell.

"Once the mission is destroyed, and the news reaches the Witch Kingdom, I don't need to tell you how furious the royal court will be. The agreement will be worthless, trade routes will be cut off, and the two countries will return to hostility. Those who advocate war will have the perfect opportunity to rise to power and seize control of the government."

"As for the Great Yu side, an entire delegation from the Wu Kingdom died. Even if it's found that you weren't responsible, this mess can never be cleared up. Once the trust between the two countries collapses, it won't be repaired for eight or ten years."

After listening, Yi Yang ran his thumb along the rim of the teacup twice, thinking to himself:

"The trap set up by the opponent seems very simple."

"But it can kill three birds with one stone: kill the delegation, frame Dayu, and incite hostility between the two countries."

The person who did this wasn't a fool; they were a ruthless character with a sharp mind.

"Where are your men?" Yi Yang asked a crucial question. "I saw the delegation at the city gate when they arrived. There were quite a few guards, including several experts at the peak of the True Qi Realm. Add to that Lord Uge, a Transcendent Realm expert, and you're all traveling together. Who would dare to touch you?"

Ug finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "There are many experts in the delegation, but the forces of the enemies within the Witch Kingdom are definitely not weak. I am not entirely confident that I can protect Miss."

Yi Yang's brow twitched. Was it possible that even someone at the Profound Realm wasn't entirely confident about this matter?

Ug didn't explain much here, only saying, "So we returned to the Witch Kingdom from Hengyue Town."

Yi Yang turned to look at Wu Yanluo and asked the question that had been bothering him the most.

"Since this matter is so serious, why don't you two just tell the people in Qingzhou City? Just find any important figure above the Tongxuan Realm to intervene, and who would dare to mess with you halfway through?"

"Even if we don't involve the Sky Patrol Bureau, shouldn't the Trade Bureau be responsible? The trade agreement was just signed, and now the delegation has run into trouble; they'll lose face."

Wu Yanluo did not answer immediately.

She raised her head, looked at Yi Yang, and gave a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, her expression neither a bitter smile nor a helpless one, as she said, "Does Lord Yi think that only our Wu Kingdom wants to mess this up?"

Yi Yang frowned.

"If I tell the higher-ups in Qingzhou about this," Wu Yanluo said slowly, enunciating each word clearly, "some of them might be happy to see us die on the road, and might even deliberately facilitate this to secretly help those traitors, ensuring we never leave Qingzhou."

The room was quiet for three breaths.

Wu Yanluo leaned back in her chair, hugged her knees, and explained with a weariness that seemed out of place for her age:

"From what we understand, things aren't peaceful within Qingzhou either. The imperial court has approved the trade agreement, and the mainstream forces in Qingzhou have also given their approval. But there are quite a few people secretly opposing it."

"Some people think that doing business with our Wu Kingdom is not worthwhile, and that it's easier to make money by fighting a war and robbing. Trade costs money, but plunder does not."

"Some people are worried that once the border trade opens, the original pattern of interests will be disrupted and their share of the pie will be taken away."

"For now, the interests of trade can keep them in check. But once they find out that there are also people within our Wu Kingdom who want to sabotage us—"

She didn't finish her sentence.

Yi Yang spoke for her, saying, "Those who were originally observing will go with the flow."

"Yes." Wu Yanluo nodded. "Use our internal strife as an excuse to take advantage of the situation and get rid of it all at once. Then they can just push it out and say that the Wu Kingdom delegation died on the way because of their own infighting, and that it had nothing to do with Dayu. Then the two countries will start a new dispute over this matter, and they can profit from it."

"When the dead can't testify, who can say for sure?"

Yi Yang placed the teacup on the table and leaned back in his chair.

He finally figured out the whole story.

He finally understood why Yan Wuyuan had used such a secretive method to summon him here.

This matter involves not only the internal rebellion within the Wu Kingdom, but also the factional struggles within the Qingzhou leadership and the Dayu Dynasty.

The Qingyu Marquis's Mansion, or rather, the forces behind Yan Wuyuan, are clearly on the side of the "peace faction".

But they couldn't openly intervene to protect the Wu Kingdom delegation.

Because once we take action, it's tantamount to telling those "pro-war factions"—look, the Wu Kingdom people are indeed problematic, we need to act quickly and not let them escape.

Therefore, they could only find a trustworthy "outsider" with sufficient ability and no factional background to do this dirty work.

And I am that person.

A clean-cut deputy chief inspector from Suining Prefecture, who is about to be sent to the important town of Hengyue.

To outsiders, it was perfectly normal for Yi Yang to lead his own Zhenfu Guard to Hengyue to take up his post, and to escort a merchant caravan from the Wu Kingdom along the way.

No one would think about it too deeply.

This murky water was deeper than he had imagined. And it was precisely because it was deep that the fish in it were big enough.

Yi Yang pondered for a moment, then raised his head and looked at Wu Yanluo, saying:

"I think I understand."

Ug removed his hand from the scimitar, leaned forward, and stared sharply at Yi Yang.

He was waiting for an answer.

Yi Yang didn't nod immediately. He considered it in his mind.

There are three reasons for helping:

First, there's the favor Yan Wuyuan owes me. She went to great lengths for me in Qingzhou, finalizing the conscription list and arranging a position in the important town of Hengyue. This favor is considerable. It wouldn't be right not to help her with what she asked me to do.

Secondly, there's the connection to the Qingyu Marquis's Mansion. Behind this matter lies the Qingyu Marquis's stance; handling it well is tantamount to having one's name on this powerful tree. This will give them much more leverage when acting in the important town of Hengyue in the future.

Moreover, when he left the Marquis's residence, the guard captain named Zeng Ying actually picked a bunch of spiritual flowers and fruits for him to take with him. Those things are still lying in his storage ring; refining them later will greatly help his cultivation.

Third, and most importantly, he is now at the Profound Realm.

The Realm of Profound Understanding.

The weight of these three words is completely different from what it was half a month ago.

He used to operate in the shadows because he lacked the strength to do so. Now that he has the confidence to protect himself, the potential gains from this matter make the risk worthwhile.

"I agree."

Yi Yang opened his mouth and uttered four words.

Upon hearing Yi Yang's agreement, Wu Yanluo's eyes lit up.

Ug, standing to the side, remained vigilant. He asked in a deep voice, "How many men did Lord I bring?"

"Thirty Zhenfu Guards, plus a captain at the True Qi Realm."

Ug's expression changed.

Thirty people.

He weighed the number in his mind over and over again, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

Even if each of the thirty Zhenfu Guards were a master of the Inner Qi Realm, they would only constitute a small-scale guard force in Qingzhou City. If they were to encounter a Transcendent Realm assassin, this number of men wouldn't even be enough to fill a tooth gap.

A captain at the True Qi Realm?

That's all there is to it.

Ug tightened his grip on the scimitar. He didn't show his disappointment on his face, but the muscle at the corner of his mouth tautened even more.

He originally thought that since the fifth young lady of the Qingyu Marquis's mansion had agreed to help, she should at least send a decent elite force.

As a result, a deputy chief inspector arrived with thirty soldiers.

Ug's heart sank, and his gaze toward Yi Yang revealed an undisguised disappointment and worry.

Although he hid this emotion very well, Yi Yang still keenly noticed it.

With his profound perception and the divine sense of the "Breaking Illusion" realm, Yi Yang could easily perceive the most subtle emotional fluctuations of the other party.

He could sense the suppressed distrust in the other person.

Not surprisingly.

If he were Ug, he would have the same thought.

A deputy chief inspector, ostensibly at the late True Qi Realm level, led thirty Inner Qi Realm guards to escort two important figures from the Witch Kingdom across most of Qingzhou to the important town of Hengyue.

That doesn't sound reliable.

But Yi Yang didn't explain anything.

He didn't intend to reveal his trump card of reaching the Profound Realm at this time. The fewer people who knew about it, the more effective this card would be.

"How many people are in the caravan? When are they setting off?" Yi Yang steered the conversation back on track.

Ug suppressed his dissatisfaction and replied, "The caravan consists of forty-seven people, twenty-three of whom are genuine merchants and their companions, and the rest are guards I have arranged. We will depart in three days."

"How many of your guards are capable fighters?"

"Three are at the True Qi Realm, the rest are at the Inner Qi Realm."

Yi Yang did the math in his head.

Our side had thirty Zhenfu Guards plus Xu Min, while the opposing side had forty-seven. Together, the two groups numbered nearly eighty, including four True Qi Realm cultivators. Add to that Wu Ge, a Transcendent Realm cultivator.

Our visible fighting strength is sufficient.

"Meet us at the horse market in the south of the city in three days." Yi Yang stood up. "You should prepare the caravan's documents and travel permits yourselves. I will issue an escort letter in the name of the Sky Patrol Bureau, with the seal of the Deputy Chief Inspector."

"If we encounter any checks on the road, I will handle them."

He glanced at Ug, "Lord Ug and Miss Ug, from the moment we set off, you've been just ordinary attendants in the caravan."

"No matter what happens, you must not reveal your identities to outsiders."

Ug pursed his lips, then finally nodded.

"Can."

Yi Yang didn't say anything more, turned around and walked towards the door. He walked slowly, paused at the threshold, and didn't look back.

See you in three days.

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out.

The sunlight in the courtyard fell on him, and the door closed behind him.

……

Only Ug and Wuyanluo remained in the room.

"Yanluo..." Uge finally couldn't hold back anymore. He looked at his princess with a worried expression on his face.

"Can this person really be trusted?"

"He only has thirty men under his command, while our caravan has over twenty core guards alone. With so few men, what good will they do if trouble comes up?"

"Is the Marquis of Qingyu... underestimating this matter?"

Wu Yanluo did not answer immediately.

She walked to the window and looked in the direction where Yi Yang had disappeared. In her obsidian-like eyes, there was a light that Uge couldn't understand.

After a long while, she turned her head and looked at her uncle with a certainty on her face that was beyond her years.

"Uncle Ug, do you believe me?"

Ug was taken aback, but immediately replied, "Of course."

"Then trust him." A mysterious smile curved the corners of Wu Yanluo's lips.

"This person is far more terrifying than we perceive."

Looking at the confident expression on his princess's face, Ugg was even more confused.

horrible?

What's so scary about that seemingly ordinary guy?

Ug couldn't understand it.

But he chose to trust his princess's judgment.

After all, from childhood to adulthood, the princess's intuition had never been wrong.