Qianye looked back at the group of subordinates. As survivors of a great ordeal, all of them were injured and almost half couldn’t move well. The ones with the heaviest injuries were lying on the airship and would be carried down later. Mercenaries didn’t quite care about their appearance normally, and even less now that they were injured. At a glance, they looked more like refugees than mercenaries.

Their auras were fairly subdued since they were injured. A wounded beast simply couldn’t compare to an undamaged creature of the same species.

Ji Rui was an old fox. In order to prove that he wasn’t just currying favor, he said with a laugh, “Sire, the Empire is full of talented people, so these men might seem ordinary in comparison, but they are rare talents in the neutral lands. Half of your men have the potential to break through to the champion realm. Once they do, Dark Flame will no longer be the same.”

Qianye immediately understood what Ji Rui wanted to say. This old fox liked to exaggerate a bit, but it was true that a third of them might break through.

With enough resources, these promising mercenaries would break through into several dozen champions. Even the Empire’s numbered army corps only had that many experts. Even those who couldn’t ascend would definitely see a great increase in their fighting power.

The neutral land’s mercenaries had never lacked valor and ferocity, only resources and environment.

From this standpoint, it was indeed as Ji Rui had said, all of them were promising talents. It was just that a couple hundred of these talented men had to climb out of a pile of forty thousand corpses.

“Let’s head back to the city, how are things over there?”

Ji Rui said, “What else can happen? Those merchants and minor families are extremely obedient! No one dares to act up after hearing of your triumphant return. You already cleaned up the bad ones last time.”

Qianye nodded. “That’s good.”

There was no change in the situation in the neutral lands. Dark Flame had mobilized in full force, but Southern Blue and Tidehark remained relatively stable. No one dared to jump out and attempt another coup.

Qianye had already taught those restless people a good lesson the last time he returned. Even Zhang Buzhou’s nephew was captured and exchanged for Tidehark. Everyone had to reevaluate themselves after that incident; who would dare to cause trouble?

News of the Empire's victory on the void continent had also spread far and wide. Dark Flame had suffered grave losses and was almost wiped out, but as the victorious party, it would surely regain its vigor quickly.

Those with resources will have manpower, and those with manpower will have strength. No matter how bitter the casualty rate was, the numbers didn’t seem all that shocking in the neutral lands where humans were struggling to survive.

A jeep was already waiting nearby. Ji Rui personally opened the door for Qianye and invited him into the vehicle, much like a servant. He was still the nominal city lord of Southern Blue and not a weak one, either. It was definitely a surprise that he would be so humble.

“City Lord Ji, this isn’t appropriate, is it?”

Ji Rui was full of smiles. “Of course it is, why wouldn’t it be? With your status, it’s not embarrassing even if I become your follower. If you remember our old friendship, just give me a position in Dark Flame.”

Qianye frowned. “That’s too much of an inconvenience for you.”

Ji Rui’s smile disappeared. “Now you’re being a stranger. We’ve actually known each other for a good while. I watched how you grew up, saw how you treat your brethren in Dark Flame, and how you changed the entire industrial structure in Southern Blue.”

“The industrial structure was through Zining’s efforts.” Qianye didn’t want to take credit.

Ji Rui said, “Zining is your brother, but you are the pillar of the entire Dark Flame. Forgive me for being frank, but I probably won’t last very long if we fight, will I?”

Qianye gave it serious thought. Then, he said with a sincere expression, “You can still… erm, last a good while.”

Ji Rui laughed. “No need to worry about my feelings! If you think of me as a friend, let me be your vice-commander or something. An empty title is okay, I won’t be meddling in your operations. Just call me when there’s a battle to fight.”

Qianye merely nodded. He couldn’t quite decline since Ji Rui was so understanding and tactful.

Ji Rui waited until Qianye had boarded the car before taking the aide’s seat to the front. His posturing was on point. Along the way, he asked, “Sire Qianye, tell me the truth. How long can I last against you?”

Since Ji Rui was asking so earnestly, Qianye thought about it seriously, but he looked rather hesitant about how to say it.

His current blood energy was at the level of a glorious marquis, equivalent to a human divine champion. There was already a qualitative difference between him and Ji Rui. Qianye’s abilities were also extremely powerful, belonging to the category of one-hit-kills.

Since Ji Rui had asked, Qianye first thought about the Shot of Inception. There was no need to discuss the upgraded black feather; it was sure to kill Ji Rui in one hit. The Shot of Inception might not be able to kill a duke, but it should have no problem killing a human who wasn’t even a divine champion. It didn't seem like Ji Rui could stand an ordinary Shot of Inception, either.

Next up was Heartgrave. This weapon could snipe a divine champion both in Qianye and Zhao Jundu’s hands.

If he didn’t use either of them, he would only have East Peak left. Qianye could perform seven slashes with each Sweeping Calm now. If he were to concentrate all of them in a small area, it would kill Ji Rui if he failed to dodge.

Last was Life Plunder. Ji Rui probably couldn’t escape the current area-of-effect. He might not die when struck, but his capacity to fight would be drastically reduced, and it might even damage his foundations if he were to take a few more threads.

After some thought, there was only Life Plunder that Ji Rui could withstand for a while. This so-called “a while” meant that he wouldn’t fall with the first strike, but he certainly couldn’t withstand the second. Life Plunder was an area-of-effect attack, a skill Qianye rarely used in a one-on-one showdown.

There was also an indirect method, and that was Little Zhuji. The little fellow’s poison would probably cripple Ji Rui even if he wasn’t killed.

Seeing Qianye’s shifting expression, Ji Rui understood what was going on. His expression was awkward as he said self-deprecatingly, “It seems you don’t need to tell me anymore, I more or less understand. I guess I’ll be lucky if I can take one move from you.”

“One move is still possible!” Qianye moved to remedy the situation, but he soon realized his mistake.

The driver's body tensed up, then relaxed rather slowly. Only then did Qianye notice that it was Guan Zhongliu behind the steering wheel. This former commander of the city guard had also gotten rid of any form of posturing.

If even Ji Rui couldn’t last one move against Qianye, there was really no need to discuss Guan Zhongliu. At this point, he was filled with complicated emotions that expressed themselves on his body.

Ji Rui said, “Sire Qianye, it seems my request to be vice-commander was too high of an aim, please just make me a petty leader!”

Qianye said hurriedly, “How will that do? There’s no problem with you being vice-commander.”

Ji Rui was overjoyed. “I’ll do my best!”

They soon passed through the city and arrived at Dark Flame’s headquarters. Ji Rui saw Qianye off to the main building before returning to his residence.

Back on the jeep, Guan Zhongliu said, “City Lord, did we have to be so humble?”

Ji Rui shook his head. “Do you see it that way?”

“Qianye is powerful, that I admit, but you’re the city lord. If worse comes to worst, we’ll head out and build another foundation.”

Ji Rui sighed. “Old Guan, you think I was wronged, but do you know what kind of people Dark Flame’s vice-commanders are?”

“Isn’t those two youngsters...” Guan Zhongliu’s voice shrank halfway through the conversation.

Dark Flame had two official vice-commanders. One was Song Zining, and the other was Ji Tianqing. Li Kuanglan could also be considered half a vice-commander. Guan Zhongliu wasn’t privy to Ji Tianqing’s identity, but he did understand her combat strength.

Ji Rui said, “There’s no need to mention that seventh young master. As for Miss Ji, she possesses such combat strength at such a young age. Do you think her origins are really simple? Judging from the seventh young noble’s stance, her true identity might be so big that it’ll scare us to death. To become peers with these two, I’m probably the one reaching upward. Think about it, there’ll be no place for us once they cross the divine champion threshold in a few years.”

Guan Zhongliu opened his mouth but only managed to speak after half a beat. “How can it be that easy?”

“It might be hard for us, but that’s a different matter for them.”

“But…”

“Old Guan, we’re both old now. I’ve been a nominal city lord for over a year now, I feel that it’s not so bad. I don’t want to go out and fight anymore. Isn’t it better to find someone to follow and live a simple, easy life?”

Guan Zhongliu opened his mouth briefly but didn’t say anything in the end. He suddenly discovered that the attraction of a peaceful life was growing stronger and stronger. Even if he had to work under someone, it wasn’t an unacceptable condition.

“That Qianye…” He couldn’t continue.

Ji Rui laughed. “Sire Qianye is generous and has great potential. His current strength is way beyond my level now, and it almost makes me tremble in fear. Is such a person not worth following?”

Guan Zhongliu understood that the city lord’s words were reasonable. He only sighed in the end.

Back at Dark Flame headquarters, a new building had risen up beside the original command center. It could be considered the tallest structure in Southern Blue. The interior hadn’t been completed, and thus, there was a large group of artisans going about their work.

A number of attendants led Qianye to the top floor and said respectfully, “Sire, this is your new office.”

“What’s going on?” Qianye didn’t remember this building.

The attendant said, “After your departure with Song Zining, City Lord Ji felt that Dark Flame’s presence in Southern Blue wasn’t strong enough, so he constructed this new building for you. The city lord provided the funds and the craftsmen. He and Guan Zhongliu even supervised the construction personally during the rush-period. It was just that we were short on time, so the building isn’t fully complete just yet. But both your office and Sire Song Zining’s have been prepared.”

Qianye entered to find an interesting layout that was simple but stylish. All the furnishings inside were carefully selected and possessed extraordinary origins. It would seem they were items from Ji Rui’s collection.

The office took up half of the entire floor. Space itself was a type of beauty; standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the entire city of Southern Blue and even the city lord’s manor.

Such scenery naturally lifted the spirit.

Qianye nodded. “The city lord is considerate.”

The servant asked, “It’s great that you like it. Shall we move your things over?”

“Wait a minute, you’re all people from the City Lord’s Manor?” Qianye recognized that most of the people in the building weren’t from Dark Flame.

The servant replied, “We used to serve there, but Lord Ji said he has no intention of serving as the city lord in the future, so there’s no need for so many people. Out of consideration for our many years of good servitude, he allowed us to come to Dark Flame and help you with miscellaneous chores.”

Qianye nodded, not at all suspecting that Ji Rui was trying to plant eyes at his side. These attendants looked capable and would come in pretty handy.

After Qianye sat down, someone delivered a thick stack of documents, containing data on the operation of Dark Flame and its subordinate workshops during this period.

Qianye collected his thoughts, opened a document, and began reading through it in detail. By the time he had finished reading all the reports, it was already dusk. He noticed his eyes feeling tired, something he hadn’t experienced in a long while. Turns out handling official work wasn’t easy, either.