Lan Ge interrupted Lan Xiang, his expression strange. “When did I ever say I wanted to become Lord of Thunder City? Dad, you’re alive and well, and now you’ve even reached God Rank. Living another eighty or a hundred years won’t be a problem for you. Didn’t Grandpa teach you to handle your own business? Don’t even think about it. I’d rather go cultivate in Wisdom City with Fa Hua than become some Lord of Thunder City.”
Lan Xiang laughed and scolded, “You brat, show some respect. I’m not asking you to do it now. I’m talking about preparing for the future. To make your championship in this Thunder City Grand Competition look convincing, your old man offended quite a few people. Lei Mingyang practically stormed over demanding to resign. Do you think that was easy for me? How about this—you go to the Five-Thunder Legion and take a deputy position. Learn from Lei Mingyang about commanding troops and training soldiers. It won’t interfere with your cultivation. What do you think?”
“Nope.” Lan Ge refused instantly.
Lan Xiang said, “Son, as long as you agree to go, even if you really do like Fa Hua, your old man won’t stop you anymore. Fair enough?”
“Who likes him? That’s disgusting! Dad, I didn’t expect you to be this open-minded!” Lan Ge blurted out instinctively.
The moment the words left his mouth, Lan Xiang and Xiang Yun’s eyes lit up. The two exchanged a glance, strange smiles appearing at the corners of their mouths.
Lan Ge instantly realized what had happened. “You trapped me!”
Lan Xiang burst into laughter. “I knew it. My son’s just like his old man—a straight man through and through. Good, good. Your mother and I talked it over. This time, you really did suffer because of us, but we truly can’t bear to let you leave our side again. Still, you’ve grown up now. You need something to do. If you don’t want to inherit Thunder City, fine. If you don’t want blind dates anymore, we won’t force you. Fair enough? Just take a position in the Five-Thunder Legion. Besides, your old man has another idea.”
“What idea?” Lan Ge asked curiously.
Lan Xiang said, “Didn’t you say that when Fa Hua was in the Demon Domain, he once commanded Demon Domain troops and achieved brilliant results on the battlefield? In terms of individual combat strength, our Blue Domain Elemental Warriors are absolutely among the strongest humans, no weaker than the Saint Domain’s Demon God Warriors. But then why have our two domains consistently lost to the Law Domain in the group battles of the Three Domains Competition? Command. That’s the difference. The three human domains are supposed to stand together as one. So I want you to invite Fa Hua here and see whether coordinating him with our Elemental Warriors might produce unexpected results.”
He paused before continuing.
“So on paper, you’ll be a deputy commander of the Five-Thunder Legion. But in reality, what your old man wants is for you to bring Fa Hua here and let him try commanding our Elemental Warriors. What do you think?”
Lan Ge looked at him. “So basically, I don’t actually have to do anything. I just trick Fa Hua into commanding and drilling the Five-Thunder Legion for me?”
Lan Xiang nodded. “Of course, it’d be best if you learned something too. It’ll also help you become familiar with the combat methods of our Blue Domain Elemental Warrior Legions. Humans are weak. War could come at any time. Whether it’s you or me, if war breaks out, neither of us can avoid our responsibilities. Familiarizing yourself beforehand is always a good thing.”
Lan Ge grinned. “Now that sounds acceptable. Your son’s more than happy to dump this on Fa Hua.”
Lan Xiang stared blankly. “What’s going on with you two? You don’t seem very harmonious.”
Lan Ge snorted. “Who’s harmonious with that Fa Complains-A-Lot? You have no idea how infuriating that guy is. Leave this to me. I agree. Deputy Grand Commander of the Five-Thunder Legion, right?”
Lan Xiang said, “Lei Mingyang will decide the exact position. He has the final say.”
“I think this matter is extremely important. It concerns whether humans can truly unite against future enemies and bring out our greatest combat strength. You’re now the Divine Envoy of Wisdom. When it comes to commanding armies, you’re definitely one of the Law Domain’s finest representatives. We can start preparing in advance. You’ll become familiar not only with the combat methods of the Law Domain’s Order Warriors, but also with our Blue Domain’s Elemental Warriors. If we really do face invasions from the Devil Domain or Demon Domain in the future, we’ll naturally understand better how our two human domains should cooperate.”
Lan Ge spoke with complete seriousness.
Fa Hua simply listened in silence, his face expressionless.
“Well? Are you going or not? Give me a straight answer!” Lan Ge asked sternly.
Fa Hua shook his head lightly. “Your expression gives you away, you know? You keep trying to suppress your true thoughts, but you’re still incredibly childish. Did you forget? We can sense each other’s thoughts. When you told your father you were happy to dump this on me, I heard that too. It’s not like I stop hearing you just because you’re in the Blue Domain and I’m in the Law Domain. I simply ignored you.”
“You were imagining yourself lounging beneath a tree drinking something cold while watching Fa Complains-A-Lot suffer through commanding and drilling troops, weren’t you?”
Lan Ge stared at him dumbfounded. His face immediately flushed red with rage. “I—I—dammit, I seriously hate that damned pearl.”
“Young man, you’re still too inexperienced.” Fa Hua patted him on the shoulder. “Go back and be your deputy commander. Next time, prepare more thoroughly. Don’t always let me feel intellectually superior around you. It’ll make me arrogant.”
Lan Ge’s breathing quickened. How could it not? He had intended to trap Fa Hua, yet the one who ended up trapped was himself.
“You can’t treat me like this!” Lan Ge grabbed Fa Hua’s sleeve with a pitiful expression. “I don’t know how to command troops! That’s completely outside my skill set. Besides, cooperation between the Law Domain and Blue Domain really would benefit both sides enormously. The Devil Race could threaten us at any moment. Only by joining forces can we gain enough strength to resist them. Our Elemental Warriors are stronger individually, but weak at command, while command happens to be what your Order Domain excels at. Isn’t combining strengths a perfect arrangement?”
Fa Hua merely looked at him. “Don’t you think your persuasion sounds painfully weak?”
Lan Ge’s mouth twitched. He released his sleeve. “Then what do you want? Fa Complains-A-Lot, if I’m miserable, don’t think you’ll be comfortable either. Worst case, I’ll start hurting myself just to make you suffer too.”
“Childish.”
Lan Ge suddenly laughed. “Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea. Tell me—if the people of Wisdom City occasionally saw their great Divine Envoy of Wisdom suddenly walking around with a slap mark on his face, wouldn’t they be shocked? Delighted? Absolutely thrilled?”
“You think that can threaten me?” Fa Hua said calmly.
Lan Ge froze for a moment. Before he could speak again, Fa Hua continued, “I’ll go give it a try.”
“Haha! Now that’s more like it.” Lan Ge immediately threw an arm around his shoulders, grinning from ear to ear.
“I’m not finished yet. I can help command and train the troops, but you’ll also fall under my command. Otherwise, I’m not going.”
“Me?” Lan Ge’s eyes widened. This was completely different from what he had imagined. In his original plan, he was supposed to sit back and watch Fa Hua do all the hard labor.
Fa Hua simply looked at him without speaking. Lan Ge’s mind spun rapidly as he weighed the pros and cons. In the end, he grit his teeth. “Fine. I’ll follow your command too.”
Thunder City, eastern outskirts, Five-Thunder Legion encampment.
As the strongest army under Thunder City’s control, the Five-Thunder Legion ranked among the finest military forces in the entire Blue Domain. The barracks were built primarily from stone—not out of extravagance, but because every member of the Five-Thunder Legion cultivated the lightning element. These Freedomers and Manipulators constantly leaked or condensed lightning element during training, making them inherently dangerous. Only stone structures could guarantee safety.
Not only Fa Hua—even Lan Ge himself was visiting this place for the first time. From far away, they could already see the boundary monument belonging to the Five-Thunder Legion.
“Halt!”
A sharp shout rang out. Light flashed as several figures rapidly descended around Fa Hua and Lan Ge, surrounding them on all sides.
Fa Hua instinctively sized up the soldiers. They wore standardized leather armor of exceptional quality, brownish-tan in color, protecting only vital areas. Each soldier carried a four-foot-long saber with a narrow blade and thick spine, clearly designed for chopping and cleaving.
In addition, every soldier carried four short spears strapped to their back, each roughly two feet long. Both ends of the spears were sharpened, while the middle grip was slightly thicker. A lightning insignia rested on every soldier’s chest.
Lan Ge smiled. “This is our Five-Thunder Legion’s Flash Thunder Battalion. They specialize in scouting and assault, with speed as their greatest strength. When augmented by lightning element, their Thunder Spears can strike targets up to two hundred meters away. The Flash Thunder Battalion is also known as the Blue Domain’s strongest scouts.”
Fa Hua nodded. These Flash Thunder Battalion soldiers truly looked impressive. The elemental fluctuations surrounding them indicated that every single one was at least Third-Rank, all between twenty and thirty years old. Each appeared lean and battle-hardened. Their individual combat ability was unquestionably formidable.
“Who are you people? Don’t you know this is a restricted military zone?” the lead soldier barked.
“We’re here to take up our posts. We’re on the same side.” Lan Ge smiled as he pulled out an official order from his robes and handed it over.
The soldier looked it over, then immediately smiled. “So it’s the Prince. We have been looking forward to your arrival for a long time. We heard you won the Thunder City Grand Competition. You’ll have to give us a few pointers later.”
“No problem! Once there’s time, I’ll definitely teach you a thing or two. Come on, take me to see Uncle Lei.” Lan Ge grinned.
“Prince—ah, no, Military Overseer, this way please.” The soldiers quickly stepped aside. The lead soldier walked ahead, guiding them toward the Five-Thunder Legion encampment.