I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 360: Chapter 356: Righteous Victory Against Odds

Translator: 549690339 |

“Siam Strong Spirit Wine?” Xiao Jinlin saw that his aura was ineffective against Xiao Zheng. Even though his tone carried doubt, he was already certain.

Siam is to the southeast of Longzhou and is a nation known for wine-making, with nearly half of the renowned winemakers in the world gathered there.

“Since ancient times, heroes have loved wine,” most likely because they must, now and then, drown the sword at their waist and the boulders in their hearts in cups of wine.

The so-called “big heroes who eat large pieces of meat, drink from large bowls, and distribute gold and silver scales” regardless of whether they’re noble or robber, have a rough and bold style. They’re unable to enjoy the delicacy and elegance of the phrase “three cups and two dips of light wine.”

So, martial artists drinking wine is different from ordinary people. Rare and exquisite wines that are too delicate and prestigious are actually disagreeable. All those fine sips and savories, while appreciated by the scholar, would be hopeless for a hero trying to quench his thirst!

Therefore, to cater to these warriors’ needs, some winemakers began to brew extremely potent Spirit Wines. These wines not only required large quantities of spiritual rice, but also many treasures of heaven and earth for brewing. Apart from their superb taste, the most important feature was that they offered various miracles, much like this Strong Spirit Wine.

They say “wine gives courage to the coward,” but this is a statement for ordinary people. For martial artists in combat, if there is a gap in their ranks, even if your courage is bolstered, you will still be overwhelmed by the enemy. This is not because your body is afraid, but because your fragile soul cannot withstand the pressure. Strong Spirit Wine is specifically meant for those who dare to challenge the boundaries of life and death.

After sipping the Strong Spirit Wine, your liver and gallbladder will be numbed, and your soul will be saturated with spiritual energy, giving you a false impression of fearlessness, regardless of how stunning the other party’s aura is.

However, this is ultimately a facade. The effect of the wine cannot neutralize the damage inflicted on the soul. Although it indeed allows you to stand tall in front of a high-ranking warrior, ignoring their chilling aura, if the soul is damaged too much, you will still shatter and die.

Hence, this wine is a life-risking one, a final drink for a true warrior, emboldening them to swing their fist at the strong.

Xiao Jinlin shook his head, withdrew his aura, and casually asked, “You said you have crucial news related to the survival of Xiao Family. Is it about you acquiring this life-risking wine?”

Perhaps the best description of the relationship between this father and son is that seeing each other is as good as not seeing each other. Every encounter between the two sparks an explosion of anger, making them seem like arch-enemies. However, both of them are from the Xiao Clan and have accordingly contributed their strength to the prosperity of the Xiao clan. If it weren’t for Xiao Zheng’s important news, they wouldn’t have met again.

Scolding his son could wait, but news concerning the Xiao Family had to be dealt with immediately.

Xiao Zheng, who initially had a thousand harsh words ready, swallowed his anger when he heard the elder’s question, preparing to finish discussing this matter first.

Although he disliked Xiao Jinlin intensely, he still considered the Xiao Family as his clan. If it wasn’t for the upbringing and education from the Xiao Family, he wouldn’t have accomplished what he has today.

He may have a thousand shortcomings, but when it comes to distinguishing between gratitude and grudges, Xiao Zheng is clear-cut. He got straight to the point and said, “The Xiao Family can no longer remain neutral!”

“What do you mean?” asked the elder, his expression unchanging, as he calmly waited for Xiao Zheng to explain the situation.

People could only see his strictness towards Xiao Zheng, but no one knew the expectations and hopes he held for his eldest son.

He has two sons, their names being Zheng and Qi, derived from the ancient military strategy book that says, “In every battle, fight with the right and win with the left. Therefore, those who are adept at unconventional warfare are inexhaustible like heaven and earth, and boundless like rivers and seas.”

Everyone assumed that Xiao Qi is the more preferred one, but nobody knew that in the elder’s heart, Xiao Zheng is actually the most important person to the Xiao clan. Only those who truly understand military strategy know the truth in “when the enemy becomes the main force, the para forces become auxiliary.”

Simply put, without the main force holding the battle lines, even if you have numerous military strategies and elite para forces, they are all meaningless. Xiao Qi’s vision, scale, and allowance have destined him to be the chief of the para forces. He, however, lacks the capability to steer the course of the Xiao Clan.

Whereas, from a young age, Xiao Zheng has been well-versed in reading scriptures, practicing martial arts and studying literature.

For the first fifteen years, Xiao Jinlin took the most pride in this eldest son. But when Xiao Zheng decided to abandon martial arts for entertainment, the head of the Xiao Family suddenly realized that there was no one else in the entire Xiao family that could replace him. Thus, he had to bring Xiao Zheng back to the right path.

Persuasions and commands, were ineffective; confiscating his income, cutting off his food supply, were ineffective; even destroying his possessions, killing his mistresses remained ineffective;

Every time Xiao Zheng was repressed, he would recover in his own way. His excellence made Xiao Jinlin feel gratified, but naturally, he was even more disappointed in his eldest son.

But disappointment is one thing. Knowing Xiao Zheng’s personality, he wouldn’t make such alarming statements without some level of assurance.

Because when you reach a certain level, you realize that there’s nothing guaranteed to succeed in this world. Therefore, those in power will only invest their resources in things with a higher chance of success, and Xiao Zheng understood this concept even better. If running this family is like a game of gambling, then winning or losing depends on the gambling skills of the helmsman.

And everyone in Xiling knew this, Gambling Saint Xiao Zheng, always won whenever he gambled!

“A few months ago, I made a good friend in Beimang, Ji Fu, who led a trade caravan back to Xiling. This caravan not only brought spirit grasses and medicines worth billions, but it was also escorted by a hundred Transcedentals and five warriors of the Fierce Realm!”

Nobody knew better than Xiao Zheng about the tremendous power wielded by the Ji family in Beimang. If Tang Mi and his family were considered wealthy families, then the Ji Family of Beimang was a wealthy family among wealthy families, controlling more than a dozen cities in Beimang. Since meeting Ji Fu, Xiao Zheng realized that the Ji family must have a deep background. However, he had not been able to discover the roots of the Ji Family.

“At this Xiling auction, an unidentified gem triggered a dispute between Xu Clan’s runner and Ji Fu. Although it was ultimately purchased by the Tang Clan, the spiritual energy fluctuations that erupted in the Jianglin valley after the auction were likely the traces of Ji Fu and his five warriors of the Fierce Realm attacking.”

The supremely powerful Ji Family in Beimang wouldn’t let something they wanted slip away. However, even five Fierce Realm warriors could barely take down a small city, let alone the massive Longzhou, despite their numbers being ten times larger, they would be totally consumed.

” Ji Fu and his five Fierce Realm warriors were captured by the Tang Clan and taken back to the Tang Martial Arts Hall. The caravan was firmly controlled by the Tang Clan’s Dark Thunder Hall. If it hadn’t been for Ji Fu giving orders to stay put, East City of Xiling would have been flowing with blood that night. And the root of all this, is that unidentified gem!”

While everyone was speculating about the confrontation in Jianglin, only Xiao Zheng had ultimate clarity. The cause of this collision was not because of anything else, but that unidentified gem.

Moreover, this gem had a grand origin. The development of Longzhou was only a thousand years old, so the oldest families here could only date back a thousand years too. The information retained by Wind Media Department mostly does not exceed a thousand years either. This allowed Xiao Zheng to deduce that this gem was an antique dating back a thousand years.