Soaring the Heavens

The next day, the ten interim Mountain Chieftains were all present in the main assembly hall.

Chen Fei, Ji Sixiu (female), Shi Man, Yang Zhaoqing, Dan Dandan (female), Ding Jie, Jiao Yongtian, Niu Ligong, Gu Ping, and Ning Zailai. Seated on the high chair, Miao Yi swept his gaze across these ten interim Mountain Chieftains.

Within the past six months, Raincloud Manor had undergone a massive change, and these ten people were part of the reason why. They had all worked hard, and Miao Yi was quite satisfied with their performance. Or to put things in another perspective, Yan Xiu had really thought things through when selecting these people. He didn't disappoint Miao Yi at all.

During the final assembly of the year, everyone was free to discuss about any topic, no matter how big or small the issue. It was a way to settle the grievances of the year.

Ding Jie stood out with cupped fists and reported, "This subordinate wishes to lodge a complaint against Yang Zhaoqing. When he ambushed my troops, he used underhanded methods and poisoned our water supply. His victory was not honorable!"

Dan Dandan also stepped forward with cupped fists, "This subordinate also wishes to lodge a complaint against Yang Zhaoqing. He hired a group of loose cultivators to act as sentries in his own territory, preventing my troops from approaching his domain. This is highly unfair to my troops and is not reflective of their combat prowess. I would like to request my lord to punish Yang Zhaoqing for making use of those who are outside of the administration to achieve his own ends."

Even Chen Fei stepped forward. With a dark expression, he complained, "This subordinate also wishes to protest against Yang Zhaoqing. It was already stated that the use of weapons was disallowed, and wooden sticks were to be used instead. However, in our battle, right as my troops were charging forward with their wooden sticks, Yang Zhaoqing and his forces suddenly brandished their weapons. It was not an honorable victory!"

Miao Yi couldn't help his surprise at Chen Fei's words. He could imagine what it must have been like at the time. Chen Fei was leading his troops to attack with their wooden weapons when suddenly Yang Zhaoqing's troops retaliated with the real deal. Miao Yi could see how Chen Fei and his troops must have immediately fled at the sight of that.

Besides Chen Fei, Miao Yi didn't have much of a recollection for the others. However, after hearing repeated complaints about the same person, Miao Yi couldn't help looking at Yang Zhaoqing in surprise, sizing up the latter as he renewed his perception of the guy. He then asked, "Yang Zhaoqing, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"This subordinate doesn't need to make any explanations!" Yang Zhaoqing stepped forward, then cupped his fists and continued, "All I know is that the Manor Head's official decree stated that I am to temporarily take charge as Mount Spiritual Longevity's Mountain Chieftain, that I am given full authority to make any decision on the spot, and if anything happens, my lord will shoulder the responsibility! I would also like to note that the others were free to use all the methods I had employed as well. No one's stopping them. If they manage to defeat me, then I will reflect on my mistakes and think of a way to regain victory, rather than complaining to the Manor Head at the main assembly hall! If I were to cause Mount Spiritual Longevity to fall when the Manor Head specifically left it in my care, then that would be my greatest crime!"

Miao Yi asked, "How many loose cultivators have you employed?"

Yang Zhaoqing cupped his fists and replied, "Sir! Not too many, just around eighty or so."

The other Mountain Chieftains immediately rolled their eyes. How was eighty not too many? Right now, everyone's forces were halved, but this guy practically had an entire Mountain's worth of forces in surplus.

Miao Yi frowned. "Around eighty people? How are you able to hire so many?"

"Actually, I didn't need to spend any resources to hire them. I just provided them with some food and drink…" Yang Zhaoqing seemed a little hesitant as he said this. He was wondering if it was appropriate to reveal his tricks in public like this. However, when he met Miao Yi's piercing gaze, he eventually spat out the truth. "Actually, I didn't really hire them. I captured them."

"You captured them?" Miao Yi asked curiously, "Where did you catch so many loose cultivators from?"

Yang Zhaoqing replied, "I had issued a command to my subordinate Caves to station their troops next to the public roads as well as outside all the major and minor cities. As soon as they find cultivators trying to cross the border on their dragon steeds or simply wanting to enter the city to buy things, my men will immediately stop them for questioning. If we find that those people are loose cultivators, we will immediately set them up with a crime and punish them to work for our Mount Spiritual Longevity for a year. And should they ever think of escaping, we will threaten to issue a manhunt for them. There have been no loose cultivators who dared to go against the administration to this day. Besides, we only asked them to work for a year. As the request wasn't too difficult, those loose cultivators complied very easily!"

Even Miao Yi was a little flabbergasted at this, much less the other Mountain Chieftains. Was this even fair? The guy was practically bullying those loose cultivators because he knew they wouldn't dare go against the administration.

Yang Zhaoqing cupped his fists and continued, "I have only stationed them as sentries. The others can all vouch for this. In our battles, I have never once allowed those loose cultivators to participate in the conflict, as I have not been given permission to do so.

Miao Yi clicked his tongue in admiration as he looked at Yang Zhaoqing. He never thought that someone capable would actually emerge from this group of subordinates. As he continued sweeping his gaze across the other Mountain Chieftains deep in thought, he couldn't help musing to himself, 'Given the other party's wits, it was no surprise that you guys would lose.' He then pointed to Yang Zhaoqing and said, "Well, you heard him. You are free to use all the underhanded methods at your disposal to win against him. And as long as you triumph, he will accept his loss with grace and not complain to me."

The crowd was speechless. Since the Manor Head had already put it that way, it was clear that he was taking Yang Zhaoqing's side.

"However, let me make things clear. Even though I said that you can use as many underhanded methods you want, you are not to go beyond the boundaries set by our Traversing Water Palace and the Celestial Nation. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to save you if anything happens!" Miao Yi warned solemnly.

"We acknowledge the Manor Head's decree!" The Mountain Chieftains cupped their fists and responded.

Miao Yi looked back at Yang Zhaoqing and asked, "How is your win rate over the past six months?"

Yang Zhaoqing replied, "This subordinate has been through a total of twenty-eight battles, and has fought against each of the other nine Mountains' forces at least once. Up until now, I have yet to taste a single defeat!"

Although his tone was reserved, his words were overflowing with a sense of dominance! This basically meant that this Yang Zhaoqing had never lost even once, or it was better said that he had won every single battle. No wonder there were so many people complaining about him! Miao Yi's eyes flashed with astonishment as he carefully re-assessed his evaluation on this guy. He himself was someone who had experienced his fair share of defeats back in the day. However, the guy standing before him right now seemed to be an even bigger hard-ass than that!

'Hot damn, are all those with the surname Yang this overpowered?' Miao Yi mused to himself as the thought of South Edict Manor Head Yang Qing came to mind.

"The way I see it, the rest of you should just admit your losses! Make use of this opportunity while I'm here as a witness to settle all the bets you guys made in the past six months!" said Miao Yi while chuckling on his high seat.

The ten Mountain Chieftains then started with the proceedings. They didn't bet too much on their battles; it was only ten low-grade Orbs of Will per battle. To a bunch of Mountain Chieftains who received over a hundred Orbs of Will from their vassal cities every year and not to mention, the tributes they got from their subordinates, this wasn't such a large sum. However, if the bet was any greater, they definitely wouldn't be able to suffer the loss.

Yang Zhaoqing was the biggest winner of them all, even pulling far ahead of Chen Fei. With all twenty-eight battles ending in victory, he managed to win a total of two hundred and eighty Orbs of Will, causing the other Mountain Chieftains to look on in envy.

After which, Miao Yi decided to take out his share of the tribute as well. The subordinates had presented him with over a thousand Orb of Will as gifts. Besides the four hundred or so he needed to spend on and reward the main troops of Raincloud Manor, he split the remaining six hundred into individual prizes and handed them over to the top three performers of the battle royale.

This meant that Yang Zhaoqing managed to earn another three hundred low-grade Orbs of Will in a single stroke. He thanked Miao Yi for the generosity, while the other Mountain Chieftains looked on in admiration. They couldn't help thinking how Mount Spiritual Longevity had really struck gold this time. It was easy to imagine how heated Yang Zhaoqing's subordinates would be once he returned to Mount Spiritual Longevity and rewarded them for their good performance. He was sure to obtain his subordinates' respect and admiration, thereby cementing his authority within Mount Spiritual Longevity. And the next time their Mountains fought, Yang Zhaoqing's subordinates would definitely fight even harder.

However, this caused Mu Tailai and the other main troops of Raincloud Manor to be a little tempted, and they contemplated whether they should ask the Manor Head for a Mountain Chieftain's position instead. That was definitely a more profitable position than being some Advisor.

That said, Miao Yi didn't give out all these Orbs of Will because he was feeling generous. Rather, it was because his share of the tribute for the next ten years had to be confiscated either way. The more than one thousand Orbs of Will from his vassal city was sure to be handed over to Suppressing Tenth Hall. However, he didn't need to give them the ones that his subordinates had gifted him as well. As such, he figured he might as well just use that share to reward his subordinates.

The handover procedure for each Mountain was soon completed. Miao Yi had no intention of hosting some kind of combat tournament the way Yang Qing did to reward his subordinates. There was already enough of that from the past six months. He didn't ask the Mountain Chieftains to stay and escort the tribute over to Suppressing Tenth Hall either. There was no need for that. If he couldn't even protect the tribute with the number of transcendent artifacts he had on hand right now, then no amount of extra help would change anything.

Even though the use of gifts and flattery was no longer practiced in the current Raincloud Manor, the subordinates still needed to strengthen their connections with one another. Miao Yi wouldn't go so far as to cut off his troops' source of income either. The Advisors and everyone else working under him only earned about a dozen Orbs of Will at most every year. Without any tributes from the subordinates, it would be hard for them to get by. If Miao Yi were to limit this source of income as well, then those troops would no longer wish to work for him. They would definitely try to fight against him in the shadows.

Naturally, this matter was left up to the Mountain Chieftains to resolve. Qian'Er and Xue'Er had received a fair share as well, coming to a total of nearly thirty orbs from all the subordinates. Each Mountain Chieftain had gifted them with two orbs each, with Yang Zhaoqing offering the most. He gave ten orbs to each Auntie, which was almost the annual income of an entire Cave. Yan Xiu also received quite a bit as well.

Perhaps in the eyes of the two Aunties and Yan Xiu, this was not a large sum. Compared to what Miao Yi gave them, it wasn't worth mentioning at all. However, they all knew that to these subordinates, this was already quite a large amount. After all, they still had their own subordinates to care for and had to make sure that every single Orb of Will counted.

Miao Yi revealed a faint smile when he found out about this. 'It seems that Yang Zhaoqing really isn't just some layabout. He's got potential!'

Once the subordinates had left for their respective territories, Miao Yi called his two Advisors—Mu Tailai and Hu Defu—to accompany him in delivering the tribute to Suppressing Tenth Hall.

Having already planned to meet up with one another beforehand, Miao Yi was soon joined by Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei, and the three groups continued the journey together.

In the past six months, the three of them had placed most of their efforts in their own cultivations and thus didn't talk to each other as often as before. As such, they couldn't help asking about one another's affairs. When the other two heard about Miao Yi's method of training the subordinates by having them fight against one another, they immediately praised it for being a great idea and made plans to implement it in their own territories once they returned.

The three of them soon reached Suppressing Tenth Hall, was granted an audience with the Hall Master, and then handed over the tribute. After which, they continued to stay in Suppressing Tenth Hall. There was no longer any need for them to visit the three Advisors.

When all the Manor Heads had arrived and the handover of the tributes was completed, it was naturally time for everyone to assemble in the main assembly hall and settle the year's past grievances. Oddly enough, not a single person mentioned the massacre of Tranquil Sun Manor by the three Manors, and even the Hall Master himself had merely given Miao Yi and the others some light scolding.

The three of them couldn't help their surprise at this. Why were the Advisors not taking this opportunity to criticize them?

However, right as they were about to be dismissed, trouble managed to find its way back to them indeed. Seated on his high chair, Hall Master Shen Huaixin said, "If there's nothing else, you are all dismissed."

Suddenly, Xu Jinsong stepped forward with cupped fists and said, "This subordinate wishes to impeach the three Manor Heads of Raincloud Manor, Thousand Lake Manor, and Mulberry Cloud Manor!"

The crowd immediately cast their gazes at the three Manor Heads, thinking to themselves, 'I just knew that this wouldn't end so easily. Looks like it's finally happening.' Those unrelated to the incident were all idling around as they prepared themselves to watch the show.

Shen Huaixin blankly asked, "On what grounds?"

Xu Jinsong replied, "The punishment issued by Suppressing Tenth Hall to the three Manor Heads was the confiscation of their ten years' worth of income. However, I just found out that the three of them had only handed over about a thousand Orbs of Will per person. May I ask, Hall Master, is this true?"