Chapter 057: Divine Refinement, Second Point — "Conveying the Will"

At the Blue Moon Grand Hotel, in the finest honeymoon suite, Le Xiaotian lay sleeping on the undulating, wave-shaped bed. Gazing at his strong yet delicate features, Chen Fang couldn’t help but swallow, entranced by his irresistible charm.

With a shy flush, Chen Fang gathered her composure. Once she felt steady, she gently nudged Le Xiaotian’s shoulder. “Xiaotian, wake up. It’s getting late.”

Le Xiaotian slowly opened his eyes, yawned as he came to, and blinked twice before turning to Chen Fang with a smile. “I was dead asleep just now—did you take advantage of me while I was out? If so, I’ll have to get you back for it.”

Chen Fang pinched his waist, both embarrassed and annoyed. “Can you be any more shameless? If you keep teasing me, I’m not talking to you anymore.”

With a chuckle, Le Xiaotian threw off the quilt draped over his chest and sat up. He splashed his face with cold water in the bathroom, then called out invitingly as he started a warm shower, “Xiaofang, come on, it’s a rare chance—let’s shower together.”

“Le Xiaotian!” Chen Fang’s voice rose sharply, echoing with the force of a lioness. Meanwhile, Le Xiaotian belted out off-key tunes from the bathroom, his singing so perfectly out of tune that it carried its own odd charm.

After a quick shower, he emerged spirited and alert, his mind now clear about various matters concerning the upcoming performance. He dressed, teased Chen Fang, lit a cigar, sipped water and juice, tidied his outfit, grabbed the car keys, and the two of them headed out.

At the end of September, the beginning of October, Blue Moon Island was still a bit chilly. Yet Le Xiaotian found the air invigorating as he drove slowly along the roads. In recent days, the island’s recovery had attracted a surge of tourists, and beautiful women were everywhere.

Half an hour later, Le Xiaotian brought Chen Fang to the northern beach, in front of the Eighty-Eight Pearls Grand Steps. A glance revealed the agents and warlords still tending to their wounds and discussing strategies for storming the tower.

Not seeing Qin Bufan or Bi Muyang, whom he sought, Le Xiaotian decided to wait in the car. His arrival did not go unnoticed by the agents, for this area was off-limits to ordinary people, and his car had appeared here that very morning. Everyone knew its owners were Le Xiaotian and Dr. Chen.

He hadn’t waited long before Qin Bufan and Bi Muyang appeared. Moreover, agents from the eastern, western, and southern steps were converging on the spot. Le Xiaotian immediately understood: clearly, they had all received orders from the Empress.

As Qin Bufan and Bi Muyang approached, Le Xiaotian stepped out of the car with a taunting grin. “Feeling disappointed, aren’t you? I bet you were celebrating just a while ago, weren’t you? Ha!”

Seeing his smug expression, both Qin Bufan and Bi Muyang looked sour. Just as Le Xiaotian said, that morning they’d been elated, with Bi Muyang even imagining how grand he’d look in front of Chen Fang. But soon after, word from the Black Palace arrived: Qin Bufan was to temporarily relinquish supreme command of the Zhenxing Tower mission!

Damn it! At first, the two couldn’t believe it. But after discreet inquiries among their own circles, they learned the truth—Le Xiaotian had connected directly with the Empress, and had struck a private deal.

As the two remained silent, Le Xiaotian continued to mock them. “Tell me, Commander Qin, you’re not going to turn into someone like Ying Dengbo, are you?”

Suppressing his anger, Qin Bufan replied, “Don’t worry, I haven’t sunk to that level yet.”

With a disdainful laugh, Le Xiaotian took a megaphone from a female adjutant, jumped onto the car’s hood, and roared at the assembled agents, “Look at you lot! Did you skip breakfast or what? Move faster, will you?”

The sudden outburst jarred the thousands of agents and warlords present, but they recalled a direct order: attendance was mandatory, or they’d face court-martial.

When the dark mass of agents had gathered, Le Xiaotian continued, “Don’t look so miserable, as if being here is some kind of punishment. Let me tell you, for this combat performance, I’m not even sure you useless lot can make the cut.”

Useless! The moment the word rang out, a deadly silence fell over the crowd. In the next instant, thousands of agents, warlords, and martial artists fixed him with murderous glares. A warrior could be killed, but never insulted!

But Le Xiaotian was no longer the man he once was—now he was the formidable Grand Maestro of Command! Brandishing the megaphone, he thundered, “There are no bad employees, only bad leaders—that saying works in all fields. But in the world of music and dance, nobler than any intelligence, there are no bad musicians, only bad conductors—isn’t that total nonsense!”

He turned his glare on Qin Bufan and continued, “Maybe his command was poor, but what about you? I heard your previous performance—let me be blunt: as the most exalted expression of life, the ‘dance,’ you all performed like a bunch of useless fools. If you want me to conduct you, first, you’d better damn well prove you’re worth conducting!”

Finally, he raised his voice to a thunderous pitch. “The people of the nation are still waiting for you to resolve this crisis. You’ve trained for years, even decades, spending two billion Fama’s hard-earned currency. Yet after all these days, you can’t even conquer the first tier. The only time you reached the fifth, you walked right into the enemy’s trap—thousands died for nothing. Your so-called inspirational music and dance are perfunctory. I’m honestly ashamed for you. Tell me, are you a bunch of useless wretches or not? Are you?!”

Silence. Not a sound. Many wanted to retort, but none could find words.

Having seized complete control of the scene, Le Xiaotian declared his purpose. “Let the light of hope shine! Let your faith be as unyielding as steel! Harbor no fear in your hearts! Never falter in your stride! Be as sharp as a blade! Wear the wings of courage! Stand as epic heroes! In this battle performance, I want each of you to embody a man’s courage with your very lives! If you pass my test, I will grant you supreme honor—you will become true great heroes of Fama!”

Great heroes! In that instant, the hearts of thousands of agents surged with complex emotions, their blood set ablaze.

Sensing the rapid shift in atmosphere, Chen Fang, seated in the car, was shocked—and only more enamored with Le Xiaotian. One of the conductor’s essential duties was to unite the ensemble to his musical will. For every piece of music or dance, everyone feels something different. But ultimately, the conductor’s vision prevails—there is no right or wrong; he is the sky itself.

With just a few lines of fierce exhortation, Le Xiaotian had completed this task. He was so powerful! He was exactly the man she admired!

On the other side, Qin Bufan, Bi Muyang, and their confidants were left utterly dumbfounded.