Chapter 140: Shortcomings of the Mountain Stronghold

"Daddy, Daddy, Tian'er has been such a good boy at home," Feng Jiutian said.

"Well, this is a cake for Tian'er, and there are other gifts too." Fang Xian flicked his hand, and some cakes appeared in his palm. He had specially brought them back from the capital of martial artists, and stored in the spatial storage, they would not spoil no matter how long they were kept.

"Everyone, go about your work. Prepare some dishes to go with wine for tonight, and get the fine wine ready." Feng Ling smiled and dismissed Liu Wu and the others, instructed her maid, and then took Fang Xian to her small courtyard.

"This is a gift for Tian'er, and this is the Crown Princess's gift to you." Fang Xian took out some children's toys, all of which he had people collect in Wudu specifically for Feng Jiutian to play with, as well as the gift prepared by the Crown Princess for Feng Ling.

"These gifts must be very expensive. The Crown Princess is truly thoughtful." Seeing the gifts sent by the Crown Princess, which consisted of various precious jewelry, gold, silver, pearls, and jade, Feng Ling exclaimed with emotion.

"Although she is the Crown Princess, she entered the family after you, making her your younger sister, so it is only right for her to give you gifts," Fang Xian said with a smile.

"And what about you? Did you not prepare a gift for me?" Feng Ling gave him a sideways glance and asked, her gaze charming and alluring, brimming with the boundless allure of a mature woman.

"I am the gift to you myself. How about it? Do you fancy it?" Fang Xian blinked at her and said.

"Take Tian'er to clean up his toys and come back at dinnertime." Feng Ling ignored him and said to the maid nearby. Soon, the maid took Feng Jiutian back to his own room to play.

"In broad daylight, what are you up to?" Seeing Feng Ling close the door, Fang Xian asked with a smile.

"Of course I am coming for my gift." Feng Ling waved her hand, imbuing the entire room with her inner energy to isolate all sounds and movements, and then said with an air of righteous confidence.

Fang Xian had no choice but to deliver this gift, so the two began playing table tennis, continuing until dusk when dinner was being set in the grand hall before they finally stopped. After all, Feng Ling's combat endurance was not something a young girl like Ye Hongxiu could compare to; had there not been matters to attend to, Fang Xian reckoned she could have kept going until tomorrow morning.

Dinner was not just for their immediate family. Feng Ling also invited Liu Wu, Zhou Zhihua, and several individuals in the stronghold who had recently broken through to become first-rate martial artists to accompany Fang Xian for drinks, giving them an opportunity to thank him.

Originally, besides Feng Ling, Feifeng Ridge only had Second Chief Liu Wu and Third Chief Zhou Zhihua as first-rate martial artists. Now, however, five or six more first-rate martial artists had been added to their ranks, including Feng Ling's two maids.

While drinking, Fang Xian roughly recounted his experiences in Wudu City. Hearing that he had only been in Wudu for a few months and had not only become renowned throughout the city for his medical skills, cured the Crown Prince, and passed the imperial civil and military examinations to become the Imperial Son-in-law and the Commander of Jianmen Pass for the imperial court, everyone felt it was full of legendary colors.

"With Brother Fang's immense talent, I believe that with you and the Chief leading the stronghold, everyone will lead a good life in the future. I toast to you," Liu Wu said excitedly.

"I told Brother Liu today that I am currently researching medicinal pills that can help first-rate martial artists break through to the grandmaster realm of Hua-jing, and I have already made some progress. Therefore, everyone must continue to work hard in your martial arts practice. As long as your foundations are solid, I will help everyone break through to the Hua-jing grandmaster realm when the time comes," Fang Xian told the gathered crowd while drinking.

He believed that the temptation of becoming a Hua-jing grandmaster was something no one could resist, and it would also make these people even more loyal to Feng Ling, because that was something no amount of wealth or glory could ever replace.

Knowing how to read the room, the guests drank until it was time to disperse and took their leave one after another, knowing that Fang Xian and the Chief had been reunited after a long separation and would undoubtedly want to spend some private time together.

However, having already exchanged their "gift" in the afternoon, Fang Xian and Feng Ling were not in such a rush at night. The two of them played with Feng Jiutian for a while, and Fang Xian even told him some stories until he lulled him to sleep.

That night, the two of them rested very little, because Feng Ling's Hua-jing grandmaster constitution was extremely robust, and Fang Xian's physique was even more formidable than hers. Thus, they played table tennis until dawn, until Feng Ling finally begged for mercy. Even so, it made up for the months of yearning they had suffered.

"Jianmen Pass is only four or five hundred miles away from here. If I have free time in the future, I can ride back in half a night, and you can also bring Tian'er to visit Jianmen County. However, I estimate that it won't be long before Jianmen Pass and the entire surrounding area of Jianmen County become a battlefield, so you need to prepare to gather intelligence," Fang Xian said, stroking her smooth back.

"With the Crown Princess there, we won't go over. You should just come back when you have time. If a war breaks out, you must be careful. Now that you have a family to support, you need to think more of yourself," Feng Ling exhorted him.

"Rest assured, I know what I'm doing. If a war breaks out in Jianmen County, we might need assistance from the stronghold at that time, taking the opportunity to evacuate some of the civilians and supplies from Jianmen County back to the stronghold. At the same time, we must guard against any armies targeting the stronghold; at a critical moment, all the civilians and supplies of the stronghold can be sent to the mountain base, and these outer perimeters can be fortified into defensive strongholds," Fang Xian said, turning to serious matters.

"Although I don't wish for war to happen, if it does break out, it will also be an opportunity for our stronghold to expand. The base in the mountains has already been built and can accommodate hundreds of thousands of people; coupled with the outer stronghold, even a million people can be settled," Feng Ling said, tracing circles on his chest.

"Although we have a fallback option, the three strongholds combined currently have only fifty or sixty thousand troops, which is still too weak. Therefore, we must seize the time to train more elite soldiers and cultivate more powerful individuals to lay a solid foundation for establishing ourselves in the troubled times ahead.

After taking a trip to Wudu, I realized I had previously underestimated the people of the world. Not to mention the elite legions of the five nations, even a regular local garrison force there is not weaker in numbers and combat strength than our three strongholds combined.

However, our advantage lies in the fact that the number of martial artists and powerful experts far exceeds that of ordinary armies. Even among the elite border armies of various nations, the proportion of strong experts is not as high as in our three strongholds.

Of course, our stronghold also has a shortcoming: we lack supreme experts at or above the Hua-jing grandmaster realm. If a supreme expert sets their sights on us, it will spell massive trouble.

If you give me another year, I believe I will grow strong enough to withstand supreme experts at the Hua-jing grandmaster level and above, but for now, I am still far from it. Therefore, Sister Feng, you still need to strengthen your ties with your sect and leverage the reputation of your sect's supreme experts to safeguard the interests of the three strongholds," Fang Xian chatted casually with Sister Feng while also discussing the future development of the three strongholds.

"Rest assured, I have been in constant contact with the sect. If troubled times arrive, the Hundred Flowers Abyss might relocate. I will strive to have the sect move to the Daba Mountains. If I can persuade the sect to relocate, our Grand Master will come and personally hold the fort in the Daba Mountains, and I believe we will be secure then," Feng Ling nodded and said.