Chapter 460: Xie Jinjia, Left Vice Minister of War

“The purple-gold wolf emblem. That’s the Rong tribe’s fleet.”

A hint of curiosity suddenly appeared in Yang Ling’s eyes.

Would Li Fengxian be among the experts the Rong tribe had sent to compete in this Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle?

He could no longer gauge Li Fengxian’s strength.

The cult leader, who was skilled with explosives, might well possess Sixth-Rank abilities.

The Rong tribe’s fleet was even larger than Zhao State’s, with a full eighteen enormous ships!

Not one of them was any shabbier than the Water Transport Guild’s great ships. They were nearly identical in size and design.

At the sight of the fleet, the soldiers, Canal Workers, and experts from the various sects aboard the Water Transport Guild’s ships all showed wariness and scrutiny in their eyes.

The enmity between Zhao State and the Rong tribe had lasted for several hundred years. Although there had been no major conflicts in recent decades, skirmishes still occurred along the border every day.

Both sides also constantly caused trouble for each other and laid obstacles in one another’s way.

As a result, people from Zhao State and the Rong tribe were naturally hostile toward each other.

Even ordinary people from the two sides, upon seeing one another, would at the very least regard each other with hostility and suspicion, if not come to blows outright.

The two fleets maintained an unspoken understanding, ceasing their approach when they were at least five li apart.

At that distance, ordinary Martial Artists could not make out what was happening aboard the ships.

But anyone with Sixth-Rank cultivation could just barely see what was happening several hundred meters away.

As for a monster like Yang Ling, whose base Spirit attribute was as high as 280 points, the scene over there was as clear as if he were pressing a high-powered telescope right up against his face.

He opened and scanned the Status Panels of everyone he could see, hoping to find Li Fengxian or Luo Kai.

He did not find either of them, but he did spot Zhang Shuzhou, Ji Nian, and the other Rong tribe players he had encountered in the Devour Heaven Palace dungeon.

Their Status Panels had not changed much since last time, but they had made more noticeable progress than ordinary players.

“They’re all at the Lower Sixth-Rank now, but they’re still among the most ordinary at that rank. I guess they aren’t competing for a spot in the Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle, but are here as accompanying Sixth-Rank experts.”

At that moment, Yang Ling suddenly felt as if someone were watching him.

He calmly withdrew his gaze.

He trusted that his senses would not give him a false impression.

“There’s an expert looking this way too. That feeling just now was that expert’s gaze lingering on me for a moment.”

At the same time, a large group of people suddenly emerged from the Rong tribe’s fleet.

On Zhao State’s side, Li Zhong, the Director of the Ironclad Department, and a number of Water Transport Guild Supervisors also came to the front of the deck.

Nangong Linghe was among the Supervisors. He was not the Water Transport Guild’s only Fifth-Rank Supervisor.

“The official who asked me to deal with the Water Transport Guild last time should have been the Director of the Strategy Division’s First Division. But it seems this official has no intention of showing himself?”

Yang Ling glanced around but did not see him.

“There should also be a Third-Rank expert stationed aboard the fleet, but it seems that person has no intention of showing themselves either?”

As he wondered about this, Li Zhong and the others suddenly turned around to look in a certain direction, inclining their bodies slightly.

A group of people approached at an unhurried pace.

Yang Ling’s first impression of them was that they were refined, as if an aura of scholarly elegance surrounded their every gesture.

The man at their head stood out in particular. He looked to be a little over forty, with a slender build and a purple robe embroidered with three qilin striding through the clouds, poised to take flight.

Their arrival made the eyes of the Star Observation Academy disciples present grow fervent.

The Sixth-Rank experts led by Xie Zhihu had already cupped their fists in salute from far away.

The Water Transport Guild Supervisors and experts from the various sects also grew more serious when they saw the newcomers, including the likes of Jie Shu and Jie Hai from Arhat Temple.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yang Ling caught a peculiar expression in the eyes of the three princes, Zhao Zheng, Zhao Yuan, and Zhao Qi. Was it wariness? Or perhaps reverence?

He also noticed Xu Wenjun, Yun Buchuan, Zhao Xun, and the other Ironclad Department Directors. When the group appeared, the muscles in their bodies seemed to tense.

“Hmm? The soldiers aboard the ships seem to be acting differently too.”

Yang Ling spread out his senses and once again picked up on something unusual.

When the group reached them, Li Zhong, Zhao Zheng, and the others all clasped their fists in greeting.

“Vice Minister Xie.”

“He’s a Vice Minister, not a langzhong…”

Yang Ling wisely refrained from checking the man’s Status Panel. It went without saying that he was at least a Fourth-Rank expert.

He might even be the fleet’s chief escort, the Third-Rank expert!

“A Fourth-Rank expert could kill me with one punch. A Third-Rank like this might be able to blow me to death with a single breath.”

After Vice Minister Xie chatted and laughed with everyone for a while, a hearty laugh came from the Rong tribe’s side.

“Xie Jinjia, I hear you’ve been promoted to Left Vice Minister of War. Congratulations!”

The voice seemed to ring right in everyone’s ears. It was neither too loud nor too soft, but just loud enough for the ten or twenty thousand people aboard the twelve enormous ships to hear clearly!

“Left Vice Minister of War? Is that a civil official or a Military Officer? Judging by the way Xie Zhihu and the others are acting, he’s probably an important member of the civil official faction…”

Yang Ling felt a slight chill in his heart.

Given what he knew about Zhao State’s Six Ministries, anyone who could hold a Vice Minister’s position already belonged to the highest circles of power in Zhao State.

A major figure like this would surely have an extensive web of connections throughout Zhao State.

“I think with your talent, Xie Jinjia, it’ll only be a few years before you’re sitting in the Minister of War’s seat.”

The voice rang out again.

Yang Ling looked up and saw that the speaker was several hundred meters away, standing on the deck of the foremost ship in the Rong tribe’s fleet.

The man wore an official robe that seemed somewhat similar to Xie Jinjia’s. The difference was that his purple robe was embroidered with three golden pheasants.

Xie Jinjia gazed calmly at the other side.

“Vice Minister Chen Quan, are you jealous of me? Why not abandon the darkness and embrace the light, and come serve as an official in Zhao State?

“I’ll give you my position as Left Vice Minister of War. If you want to be Minister of War, I can even risk my life to persuade the Minister to vacate the position for you.”

Both sides fell into a silence as still as death.

After several breaths, Chen Quan chuckled and moved on from the subject.

“We’ll be reaching Fire Flood Dragon Island today. Should we restate the treaty between our sides?”

Xie Jinjia nodded slightly.

“The rules of the Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle remain the same as before. Once they set foot on the island, they must fight until one side is dead. But once they leave Fire Flood Dragon Island, they may not attack one another again.”

Chen Quan had no objection. The two of them exchanged a few casual remarks and set the tone for this Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle.

Chen Quan then looked toward Fire Flood Dragon Island with some curiosity.

“The temperature around Fire Flood Dragon Island is rather high this time. It looks like quite a few Fire Spirit Pearls have appeared. I doubt the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance will miss this chance to land on the island.”

“They may have landed already, or they may come later. Either way, it won’t affect the Sixth-Rank Top Hundred Battle between our sides.”

After Xie Jinjia finished speaking, he began instructing the Water Transport Guild Supervisors to lower the fast boats that could carry only three to five people.

Chen Quan’s side was giving similar orders.

Both sides were lowering small fast boats, clearly preparing to let their Sixth-Rank experts make their own way to the island.

“Isn’t Fire Flood Dragon Island still at least ten-some li away? They expect us to get there in these little boats?”

Beside him, Xu Qingnian muttered to himself.

Yang Ling glanced at him, then asked Zhao Zheng with some curiosity, “Fourth Prince, what kind of faction is the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance? Is it a sect?”

“The Star-Sea Fishing Alliance can be considered a sect, but it could also be seen as an alliance of the various islands. Its people live on the many islands nearby and make their living hunting in the sea. Quite a few experts have emerged from their ranks.”

“They’re much more familiar with Fire Flood Dragon Island than we are.”

The one who answered Yang Ling’s question was not Zhao Zheng, but Xie Jinjia, who had appeared beside them at some point.