Months later, at Tenshukaku.
"Ling, what do you need me for?"
"Gouzi, you're here."
"How many times have I told you not to call me Gouzi!"
"Okay, Gouzi, no problem, Gouzi."
Ling Feng agreed with Sasayuri's request with both hands and feet.
Unfortunately, while his hands and feet agreed, his mouth did not.
Sasayuri: ... I'm tired, let's destroy this already.
"Speak, what is it this time?"
Sasayuri leaned against the wall, utterly dejected, accustomed to Ling Feng's demeanor.
"Uh, it's nothing major, just want to ask your Great Tengu clan to spar with the Shogunate army."
"Spar?"
Sasayuri tilted his head, confused, and wondered if he had misheard.
"That's right, a sparring session. Although the Shogunate soldiers train very hard, it's time to test the results of their training."
Sasayuri fell silent for a moment and asked uncertainly.
"After all, Shogunate soldiers are humans. They can't compare to the innate strength of us Tengu."
"How do we know if we don't fight? Just say yes or no. If no, I'll go find Chiyo."
"Alright, alright, since you said so, fine, let's set a time."
"Okay, tomorrow. The flat ground near Mount Hikage. Since it's a sparring session, remember to hold back."
Seeing Ling Feng's playful smile, Sasayuri secretly suspected.
Did this guy have some other scheme?
After all, the Kamui Cannon came from this scoundrel.
They had witnessed the power of the Kamui Cannon.
Forget it, he couldn't be bothered.
Since he had agreed to spar, he should go inform his own people.
After Sasayuri left, Ling Feng took out the Inazuma map and began to analyze the current situation.
Currently, the Electro twins only occupied one island, Narukami Island.
Next, they would head west to Seirai Island. He didn't know who the specific Archons were in Inazuma.
But he knew one thing: as long as Ei was there, these Archons wouldn't be his concern.
His target was the subordinates of those Archons!
Thinking of this, Ling Feng was actually a little excited. That meant a lot of wish energy.
The next day, on a plain south of Mount Hikage, tens of thousands of Shogunate soldiers were neatly arrayed.
Ling Feng, dressed in white, stood at the forefront of the Shogunate army, looking at Sasayuri not far away and the Tengu warriors behind him.
Since it was a sparring session, Ling Feng did not have the Shogunate army bring the Kamui Cannon.
Otherwise, if friendly fire caused casualties, wouldn't that be ridiculous?
"Today, remember one thing: hold back. Don't kill anyone. Otherwise, use everything I've taught you!"
"If you win against Sasayuri today, I'll give each of you a set of battle gear!"
"Yes!"
Hearing about battle gear, many people's eyes lit up.
A few months ago, in Ling Feng's test, the Third Regiment came in first place, and Ling Feng gave each of the three thousand people a set of battle gear.
A set of battle gear consisted of: a three-star weapon, a three-star healing pill (three pills), and a full set of three-star armor.
Even though three-star weapons were common in games, they were very precious in reality.
Four-star weapons were even rarer, possessed by almost only generals.
Among them, the weapon was not the most important. The most important was the healing pill.
As long as one wasn't dead, a healing pill could restore pain and other ailments in a short period.
Of course, it couldn't heal severed limbs. Three-star pills didn't have that kind of efficacy.
On the battlefield, one only had one life. Three pills could be exchanged for three lives. Was it worth it?
"Now, it's up to you."
Ling Feng said, nodding gently to Sasayuri.
Sasayuri nodded in return.
They tacitly moved to the side and casually sat down to chat.
"Full army, form up!"
Led by several regiment commanders, the Shogunate army quickly formed ranks as they had trained.
The first and simplest formation was the square formation!
As the dust swirled, every Shogunate soldier wore a solemn and serious expression, ready for battle. Their aura immediately surpassed that of the Tengu.
Ling Feng and Sasayuri sat on the side, cracking melon seeds and watching the two armies engage.
"Ling Feng, how about we make a bet."
"Bet on what? Bet on our win or loss. If we win, you give the Great Tengu clan one thousand portions of high-quality healing pills."
"You scoundrel, trying to extort my pills, I'll choke you!"
Ling Feng pounced at Sasayuri, looking like he was going to strangle him.
They didn't need to wait for the end of the battle to know the outcome.
The Shogunate army alone couldn't defeat the Great Tengu clan.
It was more likely to increase their kill count. Winning was quite difficult.
And Sasayuri, this guy, actually wanted to blackmail him for pills.
It seemed he hadn't given him enough work.
Healing pills, although effective, were only available from Ling Feng in all of Inazuma.
One could imagine how precious these healing pills were.
"Cough, cough, cough, hey! Don't take off my clothes!"
Sasayuri quickly reached out and grappled with Ling Feng.
As they "fought," on the plain, the Shogunate army and the Tengu warriors had also engaged.
With their unpredictable formations, the Shogunate army was temporarily able to contend with the Great Tengu.
Of course, the final result was as Ling Feng and Sasayuri expected, the Shogunate army was narrowly defeated.
There was no way around it. Although the formations allowed the Shogunate army to resist the Tengu clan for a while, the two important factors of physical constitution and inability to fly still tipped the scales in favor of the Tengu clan.
After the sparring session, everyone consciously returned to the respawn point.
Sasayuri looked at the number of casualties on his side and exclaimed in surprise.
"Damn, why are my casualties so high too?"
"Yours is better. Look at my side, everyone is wiped out."
"Stop messing around. This thing you call 'military formation' is really quite powerful. The combat effectiveness of the Shogunate army has actually increased so much!"
Sasayuri gave Ling Feng a disdainful look, letting him ponder it himself.
However, the practicality of this military formation still greatly surprised him.
According to his original estimation, the Shogunate army should have been miserably defeated.
It was important to note that there were no Visions at this time, and Archons relied on their own elemental powers.
Their strength came from themselves.
This was also why they were not surprised by Ling Feng's many abilities.
"Alright, we'll be leaving now."
Seeing Sasayuri's eyes gleaming, Ling Feng felt that something bad was about to happen. He quickly flashed and appeared before the "fallen" Shogunate army.
Looking at the dispirited Shogunate soldiers, Ling Feng raised an eyebrow.
It seemed that losing to the Tengu had made them lose confidence.
"Alright! Everyone, get up! What do you look like!"
"It's just a sparring match, isn't it?!"
"You must remember, you are humans, and they are Tengu. There is already a significant gap in strength between you. Being able to defeat so many of them is already beyond my expectations."
Hearing Ling Feng's scolding, the Shogunate soldiers looked at each other.
Lord Ling seemed to be right.
They were inherently weaker than the other side by a large margin. Being able to "kill" so many of them meant they had become stronger, right?
With this thought, the Shogunate soldiers regained their confidence and got up from the ground.
"Alright, the entire army returns to the camp and continues training!"
"Yes!"
"Ling! My soldiers want to learn your military formations!"
Hearing Sasayuri's voice from behind, Ling Feng muttered to himself, "As expected," and flew into the sky, turning into a rainbow of light and flying back to Inazuma City.
He was already tired enough from training the Shogunate army and managing domestic affairs every day. Did he want to find more trouble?
Impossible!
"Wait, Ling! Teach me!"
Sasayuri also spread his wings and turned into a bolt of lightning, chasing after Ling Feng.
"Why are you coming over!"
The Tengu's speed was not bad, let alone a strong person like Sasayuri, Ling Feng couldn't help but speed up.
"We're all brothers, what's wrong with teaching me a little!"
Sasayuri also sped up.
A golden light and a purple lightning bolt streaked across the sky above Inazuma City.
...
In the Shogunate army camp, after sending Sasayuri away with a copy of "Illustrated Guide to Military Formations," Ling Feng's ears finally fell silent.
Sasayuri was truly stubborn, chasing him all the way across Narukami Island.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Seeing the spirited Shogunate soldiers, Ling Feng nodded with satisfaction and began his speech.
"To make a long story short."
"Your performance in today's sparring with the Tengu warriors was excellent."
"But remain humble and continue to train yourselves strictly! Otherwise, you will regret it on the battlefield."
"Yes!"
[This military formation is really amazing. At first, we were all stupid enough to compare the Tengu warriors as if they were humans.]
[That's right, I counted, the Tengu lost about sixty percent of their forces.]
[As expected, when it comes to training soldiers, Lord Ling's methods are more effective than General's.]
[Uh... aren't you afraid that the General will hear you and make you a sandbag?]
[What are you afraid of? Isn't Lord Ling acting as a sandbag for the General every day?]
[Ababa.]
[...]
Ling Feng's expression changed as he listened to the whispers below.
Good heavens, they were bad-mouthing him to his face.
He had originally planned to treat them to good food, seeing as they had performed so well.
But now...
"Everyone! Run three more laps! If anyone doesn't finish, no one eats!"
The well-behaved Shogunate soldiers: ???
What happened? Why was there a sudden extra training session?
"Ling, it's time for sparring."
Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Ling Feng trembled and slowly turned his head.
Indeed, Ei stood there with her arms crossed.
"My back hurts today, how about we skip it."
"No... with the great battle imminent, training cannot be delayed."
"I'm outta here!"
Ling Feng bolted out of the military camp as if his heels had been fitted with engines.
"Looking at it, your back seems to be quite alright."
Ei said, turning into a bolt of lightning and chasing after him.
Rumble!
The Shogunate soldiers watched the distant storm clouds and began to whisper again.
Some even set up betting pools, betting on how long Ling Feng would last this time.
After all, such incidents happened frequently, sometimes once a day, sometimes once every two days.
In the initial period, Ling Feng's entire body turned black and charred, a true representation of his unlucky nature.
In the distance, the storm cloud in the sky stopped, and explosions could be heard one after another.
Everyone knew that Ling Feng's devilish training had begun again.
An hour later.
"Ei, I can't do it anymore~"
"As my person, how can you say you can't."
"No, can you please not say such misleading things?"
"Did I say something wrong? You are my副官, my person, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
What could Ling Feng do with Ei, who had no common sense? He was helpless.
Ling Feng inserted his Fushen and Wufeng swords back into their scabbards behind him, collapsed on the ground, and surrendered.
Seeing Ling Feng like this, Ei sighed lightly.
She put away her naginata, came to Ling Feng's side, sat down properly on her knees, and placed her hands lightly on his large white legs.
Her dark purple braided hair fluttered in the wind and slowly fell onto Ling Feng.
"Ling, do you find me annoying like this?"
"Not annoying. I know the reason why you pursue martial arts to its extreme."
As a fellow martial artist, Ling Feng could feel Ei's state of mind during combat.
This was also one of the reasons why ancient masters often said that the sword should speak.
For masters, a fight could convey their meaning.
"Pursuing extreme martial arts is not only my lifelong pursuit, but also to protect Shin, to protect my Six Braves, and to protect the common people."
"War is cruel. Only by becoming stronger than others can one protect what they want to protect."
Ei's gaze seemed to travel through time, falling on the beautiful scenes in her memory.
"This is why you've been honing me constantly these past few months, isn't it?"
As someone who also drew his sword for protection, he understood Ei's feelings too well.
"Even as an Archon, my strength has limits, and I can't always look out for you. I am afraid of losing any one of you."
As she spoke, Ling Feng could see a trace of unease in Ei's eyes.
"Don't worry, I'm very strong, okay?"
"To be honest, when I first arrived here, I thought I would only be a passerby to you all."
"And now, my five people have become six. Did all of this start with that pesky fox, Saiguu?"
"That pesky fox does like to play tricks."
"Hey, Ei and Ling, you're chatting here, can I join?"
At some unknown time, Shin, dressed in a pink and white robe, walked towards them with a smile.
Then, without another word, she sat down on Ling Feng's other side, sandwiching him between them like a double-cheese-filled bun.
Whether intentionally or not, Shin suddenly stumbled and fell onto Ling Feng.
"I, I, I~"
Ling Feng's pupils widened sharply. Smelling the unique fragrance from Shin, he couldn't help but blush and became flustered, holding up his hands to prove his innocence.
"Ling, I'm sorry."
Shin, with a hint of apology on her face, slowly got up from Ling Feng.
"Shin, are you alright?"
Ei asked with concern.
"I'm fine, just clumsy. Don't worry."
Shin waved her hand with a smile.
Ling Feng: Why don't you ask me if I'm alright!
However, looking at the beauties on both sides, Ling Feng felt that his current life was quite good.