Chapter 2461: A New Atmosphere

“Even without the design drawings, even if it’s a blank page, the entire warehouse of materials is all in my head. I remember every page, every detail. I don’t need the design drawings. Compared to the materials in the warehouse, I am the most complete design.” Lul Jun proudly patted his chest and looked at Gan Ning.

Gan Ning paused for a good while, then suddenly laughed, leaving Lul Jun puzzled, not understanding at all what Gan Ning found funny.

“You rascal!” Lul Jun’s voice came out in a low tone.

“Hahaha, let me laugh, I didn’t expect you to have changed so much. You were once timid and fearful, always agreeing, but now you actually have such self-pride.” Gan Ning laughed as he spoke, “Since you have this confidence, I’ll go find them. Almost everyone in Central Plains who understands this is here; I’ll bring them to you.”

“Thank you.” Hearing Gan Ning’s laughter, Lul Jun couldn’t help but smile. Yes, compared to his former self in decline, he was now more vibrant and energetic.

“Overwhelm them all!” Gan Ning laughed and then turned around as if to leave, “It’s New Year’s and seeing you in a dark cell makes me really happy, so I won’t bother you. I’m going home for the New Year, hohoho.”

“Gan Xingba, you rascal!” Lul Jun shouted at Gan Ning’s retreating figure upon hearing these words.

At Guan Yu’s residence, Guan Ping was holding a long-handled broadsword, sparring with Guan Yu. This was almost the daily routine whenever Guan Yu was at home, regardless of spring, autumn, winter, summer, or festive seasons. As long as Guan Yu was home, he would practice with his son every day.

“Ping’er, not bad.” Guan Yu rarely praised his son after sparring, probably because it was New Year, giving his son a good review for a happy New Year.

Wiping the blade after sparring, Guan Ping was stunned upon hearing this. When was the last time his father thought he was doing well?

“Don’t let power control you; you should control power.” With eyes half-closed, Guan Yu was quite satisfied. Apart from being straightforward, his son was excellent in almost all other aspects.

So excellent that even if Guan Yu didn’t say so aloud, inwardly, he was secretly approving. At twenty years old, he already had the Ultimate Inner Qi Manifestation cultivation level. Even if there’s some cheating involved, it’s enough to be called a genius, not to mention he also possesses the Legion Talent.

Guan Ping nodded his head. He now understood how to control Heaven and Earth Essence. He no longer used the direct method of manipulating it but instead refined it, imprinting his own will, transforming it into more usable power dispersed around him.

Even though this method still only offered a dead-end against opponents with terrifying Divine Will like Guan Yu, compared to the past when his control of Heaven and Earth Essence was instantly stripped away by Guan Yu’s Divine Will, Guan Ping could now at least withstand a few moves.

“Come, bring gifts, follow me to pay New Year’s visit to your uncle.” Guan Yu beckoned to Guan Ping, unsure how to communicate with his eldest son Guan Ping otherwise, but fortunately, Guan Ping was the first among the second generation to achieve Inner Qi Manifestation. Using fists also served as a means of communication.

Of course, if Sunx Ce and Ma Chao were considered part of the second generation, Guan Ping wouldn’t seem as dominant. Even Guan Yu could feel Sunx Ce and Ma Chao’s terrifying talent, and what can be said? Guan Ping’s talent, inherited from Guan Yu, wasn’t considered top-notch.

But Guan Ping’s disposition and will were excellent, especially having followed the path of absorbing Heaven and Earth Essence, yet still capable of organizing Heaven and Earth Essence through the will. Guan Ping could be considered extraordinarily talented in an alternative way.

Talking about exceptional talents, Dian Wei’s son, Dian Mann, has quietly reached Inner Qi Manifestation. Like his father, he had advanced cultivation of Inner Qi Manifestation, possessing strong close combat burst power.

Indeed, compared to other cultivation methods, advanced cultivation demands more talent. It’s a method that greatly relies on talent and requires guidance from others.

Jia Xu looked at his three sons and one daughter along with the disciple who came to pay respects for New Year. Also present was Lady Tang, who was invited, now expressionlessly breaking snacks to feed his son, Jia Xu was quite content. At least, compared to his empty-nested neighboring elder, his home was much livelier.

Lub Family, recently Ji Xiang hasn’t been as wildly active as before. She’s not even playing in the snow; there’s a gentler tone to her entire demeanor, her fatigue periods growing longer, unable to continue her reckless ways, naturally saving Lub Su much worry.

Fa Zheng, once again researching how to make mutton more delicious. Although he got tired of it for a while, Fa Zheng rediscovered the sensation of warming up with mutton in winter, especially with his wife pregnant, making him more meticulous regarding eating.

At Sunx Qian’s home, his daughter did something that she might not know about, but Sunx Qian was very clear on the matter: his daughter, with some unknown intention, invested a substantial amount into the Lul Family.

Though he knew early on that since his daughter won a lottery, she had become wealthier, the extent of her wealth exceeded Sunx Qian’s expectations. Or perhaps, due to being away for several years, he’s neglected home management. Ah, every family has its challenges.

Liu Yan helped Sang Qin into the main seat. In this era of seventy being rare, a ninety-year-old sitting at the family’s main seat was nothing out of the ordinary.

Moreover, this is still a big shot. Bring out the wine, the dishes. Old master, see, these are all your favorites. After eating, I’ll take you out for a stroll to relax; staying at home for too long isn’t good!

Hua Xiong was still researching his own Xiliang Iron Cavalry. When Li Jue and others discovered the crux, Hua Xiong also noted this issue. His own Divine Iron Cavalry is supposed to be a Military Spirit Legion, yet the effect on other cavalry corps seems no different from before. This shouldn’t be the case.

It was said that when achieving the Military Spirit, all talents would be elevated, and all abilities would similarly be transcended. Hua Xiong even sacrificed his unfamiliar Legion Talent back in the day, yet somehow the superficial effect didn’t elevate. Could there be a problem with this effect? Hua Xiong naturally pondered this point.

Given Hua Xiong’s intelligence, he obviously couldn’t conceive the deeper core issue. But even without thinking too deeply, Hua Xiong could grasp the more apparent things.

The talent whereby Xiliang Iron Cavalry boosts other cavalry—where did it come from? Though others didn’t know, as one of the former Five Xiliang Giants, Hua Xiong was quite clear.

Back in the day…

“Zijian, do you think that our attempt to muddle a batch of Qiang Cavalry as auxiliary troops is really effective?” Fan Chou hesitantly asked the young Hua Xiong, looking at the chaotic Qiang Cavalry.

“Let’s not talk about anything else; for bluffing, it should be satisfactory.” Hua Xiong glanced at the Qiang Cavalry, also feeling a bit troubled, but after a while still gave a relatively satisfactory answer.

“No, no, no. These miscellaneous soldiers become disordered after being attacked, not even eligible as auxiliary troops. At most, they’re just flag wavers; our food is scarce. Maybe we should dispatch them.” Fan Chou had always despised the combat power of the Qiang People.

Speaking of which, after Dong Zhuo’s death, when Chang’an faced a food shortage, the first to disband the Qiang Cavalry was also Fan Chou. He had long scorned the Qiang Cavalry.

“Momentum is also crucial; a crowd intimidates easier.” Li Jue ladled a bowl of millet rice for each person with his spoon.

“I think we should do it this way.” Zhang Ji suddenly spoke while holding his millet rice.

Zhang Ji, being one of the few with a decent brain within the Xiliang Army, coupled with being one of the Five Legion Leaders, usually had his proposals adopted. Unfortunately, the brains of the other four, including Li Jue, were basically all muscle.

“Actually, we don’t require the Qiang Cavalry to be capable fighters; we just need them to charge with us. We could simply tell the Qiang Cavalry that as long as they fight alongside us, they’ll gain a boost in strength.” Zhang Ji suggested.

Hua Xiong, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou deeply agreed and began misleading the Qiang Cavalry.

The Xiliang Iron Cavalry back then was already an overpowered product. Their quality had surpassed the limit of Dual Talent. Besides Gongsun Zan’s own White Horse Soldiers and a mere few from Danyang, others hadn’t even reached Dual Talent, incapable of opposing the Iron Cavalry.

Always victorious, whether in large or small wins, they won consistently. It didn’t take long for the Qiang Cavalry to genuinely believe it.

Subsequently, the Qiang Cavalry began spreading this ideology to other cavalry.

During that period, the Iron Cavalry’s willpower was formidable from top to bottom, capable of achieving ‘belief is reality’ status. The Qiang Cavalry genuinely gained power as they believed, naturally prompting other cavalry to gradually believe in the Iron Cavalry’s ability.

Similarly, this is also why the attribute doesn’t have a clear limit—because ‘belief is reality,’ the extent of the boost truly depends on the depth of your faith.

However, due to the Iron Cavalry being overly formidable then, most Dual Talent Super Elite Cavalry acknowledged two-tenths of the boost upon realizing this fact. Of course regarding Military Spirit, during Vanguard Cavalry charges, their cognition acknowledged only around one-tenth for the Iron Cavalry boost.

Because the Iron Cavalry had proved their prowess to Vanguard Cavalry back then, enabling them to affirm the Iron Cavalry’s strength. Otherwise, the Iron Cavalry’s talent wouldn’t even qualify to enhance the Vanguard Cavalry.

Moreover, unlike other legions, the Vanguard can opt to reject the Iron Cavalry leadership. However, refusal also means missing out on this boost.

Regarding the Miscellaneous Hun cavalry, the boost level varies based on recognition degree.

Of the miscellaneous soldiers, the most fanatical were some Qiang Cavalry reaching a state of fanaticism, achieving a seventy percent boost. This is also why, when led by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, the Qiang Cavalry dared to challenge dual talents—they fervently believed that under Xiliang Iron Cavalry’s leadership, they could overcome anything.