I Can See Your Combat Power

After the Ji Clan’s caravan had handed over the spiritual grass to the Xiao Family, Ji Xuanyuan led the team to leave the area of Xiling. After all, Longzhou was under the influence of Martial Saint Mountain, and with the changes in the wind and clouds under the sky, each of the secluded sects and sacred places had sent out disciples. To minimize their exposure, they did not want to stay in Longzhou for too long.

The Xiao family, who had sent a fleet to fetch the Ji Clan’s spiritual medicine back to Red Cloud Mountain, had not established any contact with the Tang Clan in North Mountain, but instead started packing up their belongings, seemingly ready to flee.

The reason for Mi Jin’s gloomy expression was that he finally understood why Xiao Jinlin, despite seeing the Tang Clan’s signs of defeat, was also reluctant to help the Mi Clan.

From the very beginning, this old fox had never planned to align himself with any outside forces. He maintained neutrality in order to reap the greatest benefits from this war!

Beimang is mostly composed of mountains and swamps, a fertile ground for spiritual medicine and precious herbs, so it wasn’t surprising that the Ji Clan would negotiate a trade with the Tang Clan in exchange for these resources.

However, he could never have imagined that the trade figures between the Ji Clan of Beimang and the Tang Clan of Xiling would have been so large. It was so large that even he, the head of the Mi Clan, felt a surge of envy.

To load two large transport ships with spiritual medicine and precious herbs, the Ji Clan must have got more than enough benefits from their treasure vault to justify such a substantial investment.

And now, the biggest slice of profit in Xiling was going to be swallowed by this silent old fox. It’s no wonder that the usually impassive Mi Jin was a bit flustered.

The carriage was prepared quickly. Mi Jin, accompanied by a few Martial Ancestor guards, soon arrived at the border of Red Cloud Mountain and landed on Nanping Peak.

Wind Media had relayed the news to Mi Bufu ahead of time, so Xiao Jinlin, along with his eldest son Xiao Zheng and second son Xiao Qi, was waiting at the top of Nanping Peak for the arrival of Mi Jin, the head of the Mi Clan.

Unveiling the tent, the smiling Mi Jin stepped down from his carriage and called out to Xiao Jinlin from afar, “Leader Xiao really lives up to his reputation. The whole three million spiritual herbs, a sight to behold!”

Xiao Jinlin’s eyes were full of laughter. He stepped forward to greet Mi Jin, helping him by his arm and said with a smile, “Clan Leader Mi is too kind. My humble Xiao Clan is weak and dares not to get involved in the war between the Tang and Mi clans. We just want to take some spiritual grass elsewhere and start our own cultivation. We didn’t mean to make Clan Leader Mi laugh with our humbleness.”

“The Tang and Mi clans are fighting to the death, and yet Clan Leader Xiao seizes everything without lifting a finger. Today, no matter what, I must have a few drinks with Clan Leader Xiao!”

“Clan Leader Mi’s visit is just in time. To share a drink with the future ruler of Lingjiang is my honor.”

“Clan Leader Xiao, please!”

“Clan Leader Mi, please.”

With arms linked, Mi Jin and Xiao Jinlin walked jovially into the camp of the Xiao Clan. Everyone inside was packing, creating a busy scene.

Every member of the Xiao Clan had a warm smile on their face. Although the clan was relocating, which was a major event with unpredictable fate, the clan members were as happy as if they were going on a picnic.

The two men walked in this atmosphere. Every confrontational clan member greeted Xiao Jinlin with a bow. Mi Jin could see that the members of the Xiao Clan truly cherished their clan leader.

They walked through the camp to Xiao Jinlin’s tent and sat down. But when Mi Jin saw the situation inside the tent, he could only sigh bitterly. Even the sand table had been removed from the large tent, and the huge map of Longzhou was rolled up and thrown to the side along with other odds and ends. There were still some people cleaning the tent.

“All of you, leave.” Xiao Jinlin ordered the servants in the tent, then turned to Mi Jin and the others and said, “Forgive my meager hospitality. Please, take a seat.”

At this time, there were only a few chairs left in the empty tent. Mi Jin did not rush to sit down, and said to Xiao Jinlin, “It seems, brother Xiao, that your mind is made up.”

“Will one allow others to sleep soundly beside their couch? We all know what the Mi Clan’s united army plans to do after they wipe out the Tang Clan. Although Xiling is the ancestral land of the Xiao Clan, it is no longer a place of fortune for our family. We have no choice but to leave.” Xiao Jinlin did not evade and replied lightly.

If Xiao Jinlin had said half a month, or even ten days earlier that he wanted to leave, Mi Jin would not feel any fluctuations in his heart. He might even feel a sense of schadenfreude. But at this moment, he was extremely unwilling.

The war had lasted till now, not to mention the Martial Ancestors who had died, the Mi Clan alone had consumed several hundreds of thousands of spiritual medicines and precious herbs, not to mention the spiritual armor and Xuanji Jade.

Such a large deficit had almost wiped out the foundation of the Mi Clan that had been accumulated over the past fifty years. As the head of the Mi Clan, he could not shirk his responsibility. The Mi Clan was in urgent need of a significant benefit to make up for this deficit.

Originally, this deficit was supposed to be made up by pillaging from the surrounding large cities, but now there was a better target to ask for reparations.

With a smile, Mi Jin said to Xiao Jinlin, “Since Clan Leader Xiao wants to leave, I also have no right to stop you. However, the Tang Clan was beaten down by the combined forces of various tribes in South Ridge. It’s somewhat unjust for Clan Leader Xiao to swallow all the spiritual grass from the trade between the Tang Clan and the Ji Clan of Beimang.”

Since Xiao Jinlin decided to leave, Mi Jin did not pretend to be compassionate and pointed out the purpose of his visit.

What Clan Leader Mi meant was very clear. You may leave, but don’t think about taking all the spiritual medicine and precious herbs with you!

But he underestimated Xiao Jinlin’s thick-skinned nature. Hearing Mi Jin’s allegations, Xiao Jinlin was instantly taken aback, “What traded spiritual grass?”

Ignoring the suddenly grim expression on Mi Jin’s face, Xiao Jinlin laughed and explained, “If Clan Leader Mi is referring to the precious medicine on that ship, that’s the reward of a business venture undertaken by my son Xiao Zheng and the Ji Clan of Beimang. It has nothing to do with the Tang Clan. If you don’t believe it, Clan Leader Mi can invite the head of the Tang Clan to confront us and see to whom these spiritual medicines and precious herbs actually belong—the Tang Clan or my Xiao Clan.”

Goddamn reward! Hearing Xiao Jinlin’s explanation, Mi Jin wanted to roar with frustration. In just over a year of trade expeditions, Xiao Zheng had already returned, and in that year and a half, he had made such a huge profit—it was utterly ridiculous!

Could it be that they had annihilated a clan with several Martial Ancestors and this was their spoil of war? This was a complete farce!

Xiao Jinlin’s explanation was clearly to evade responsibility, and it made Mi Jin even more certain that these spiritual herbs were indeed the subject of the trade between the Tang Clan and the Ji Clan. But now that the Tang Clan had met with misfortune, they handed them over to the neutral Xiao Clan for safekeeping.

It even crossed Mi Jin’s mind that Xiao Jinlin might have known about these spiritual herbs from the very beginning, which was why he had remained neutral during the outbreak of war.

Taking advantage of his son Xiao Zheng’s good relationship with the Ji Clan, they put on a play of deception and toys with everyone’s fate!

“So, Clan Leader Xiao, are you saying you won’t leave behind a single herb?” Mi Jin’s chill laughter made those who heard it shudder although he was using respectful titles.

Xiao Jinlin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he replied without any emotion, “These are the gains from the Xiao Clan’s trade and the foundation of our future. Not a single one can be missed!”