My Cultivation Starting from Archery

"Since helping either side would wrong my brothers,"

"I simply won't help either!"

"There's no turning back now, no way out."

"Rather than running away, I might as well go down fighting wildly, even if I die here, at least I'll have avenged my border brothers."

"Another figure blocked the way ahead."

"Get out of my way!"

With a roar, Meng Quji thrust his eight-foot snake spear, wrapped in rolling clouds of True Qi, colliding with an Azure Dragon Crescent blade.

The person holding the Azure Dragon Crescent blade was sent flying backward, not landing until he had retreated dozens of feet to dissipate the force.

"To withstand a blow from the Martial Saint without harm, you're quite impressive!"

Meng Quji fixed his gaze and was soon startled, "Deng Feng? What are you doing here?"

"Naturally, to stop General Meng."

Deng Feng glanced in the direction of the sleeping palace, "The situation is settled, General. Going there now, I'm afraid you would just be throwing your life away."

"So what if I am?!"

Meng Quji said with hostility, "If you named Deng want to live, don't stand in my way!"

Far from stepping aside, Deng Feng instead thrust the Azure Dragon Crescent blade into the ground to signal he had no ill intent and began to speak: "General Meng! I heard everything you said to Mr. Gao earlier."

"You're lashing out like a madman now simply because you don't understand what living means anymore, and you want a swift death, am I right?"

Meng Quji remained silent.

"I won't lie, not long ago, I was just like you."

Deng Feng said solemnly, "At that time, I was confused and uncertain about what to do in the days ahead."

"Spare me your nonsense, you're just afraid to die and surrendered, you're no loyal and righteous man!"

Meng Quji was impatient and about to leave.

Deng Feng shouted at his back, "General Meng, since you cannot tolerate the strife between the two factions in court, why not break free and join a third force?"

This time,

Meng Quji stopped in his tracks, "A third force? Are you talking about Prince Qin, Prince Qi, or the Sixth Prince, who's about to end his house arrest? What's the difference between them and the Yan Party and the Gao Faction?"

"No."

Deng Feng said calmly, "None of those."

"None of those..."

Meng Quji eyed him, then suddenly thought of something, "Deng Feng, you can't be talking to me about Chen Sansi, can you?"

Deng Feng's silence gave the answer.

Meng Quji snorted derisively, "Nonsense! He's an official in the court just the same, isn't he? And many people know that although he hasn't clearly taken sides, he has a rather ambiguous relationship with the Yan Party."

"Chen Shuai is different. He would never partake in these so-called factional disputes. Even if he seems to be involved, it is merely a temporary measure due to his position."

Deng Feng continued, "If Chen Shuai were like those in the court, grabbing power and acting without scruples like those utterly corrupt officials, I would never choose to follow him and bear the stigma! This was evident when Chen Shuai arrived in Taihu Prefecture and did all he could to help the starving people, isn't it? He even spent most of his own silver to help them. How many officials are willing to do that?"

"..."

Meng Quji knew about this.

Back then, Chen Sansi even came to ask for his help, but he had refused.

Compared to the common people, he cared more about whether his own brothers could get enough to eat.

"You should have heard how good Chen Shuai is to his men."

Deng Feng narrated, "When Chen Shuai began in Po Yang County, he brought out a group of brothers. These men were of average talent, but they are still in the Xuanjia Army to this day. Chen Shuai even personally funds supplemental medicines for them every month. Whenever a soldier is injured or killed, he provides the highest level of compensation. Could such a man, be like those in the court who treat border soldiers as mere numbers, doing things like what happened in Yunzhou ten days ago?"

"Chen Sansi is indeed a figure."

Meng Quji knew this well, "But what's the point of you telling me all this?"

"Can't General Meng understand? Since the court is corrupt, forget about them!"

Deng Feng declared resolutely, "Join me in following Chen Shuai, and one day, 'with a three-foot Green Blade Sword in hand, we will sweep all the filth from this land!'"

"Wait a second..."

Previously, he hadn't thought it through.

Having this conversation, Meng Quji suddenly realized something was amiss, "What are you all planning to do?!"

This was forming a faction for personal gain!

And it wasn't just the explicit court factions, but something going on behind the scenes...

No, this wasn't just personal factionalism anymore,

it should be called cultivating a power base in secret!

Deng Feng said, "General Meng, you react just as I did at first. In any case, I can assure you that Chen Shuai is different from the rest, and if you agree to join, you'll see for yourself eventually."

"Regardless of what you're planning to do, aren't you all too weak right now?"

Meng Quji calculated, "After this battle, at most Chen Sansi will have ten thousand troops under him, just a commander of one camp. What can he do?"

"That's why we need General Meng's involvement."
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Deng Feng persuaded, "Add me to that, and before long, Chen Shuai will have two Martial Saints under his command! And this might be your only chance to truly avenge the soldiers of Yunzhou.

"If I remember correctly, you have several sworn brothers, as well as a woman you're fond of, who all died unjustly in Yunzhou, correct?

"Even if you rush over there, how many can you kill?

"If you want revenge, let's do it thoroughly!"

These sworn brothers.

Meng Quji had taken them a long time ago.

None of them were as good as he was, and the best of them only made Assistant General. The rest were Thousand Captains and Hundred Captains. That woman was a brother's sister, and with such low status, their deaths in Yunzhou are unlikely to have been of concern to the people at court.

"How do you know these things? I rarely speak of them to outsiders!"

"General Meng."