An Even Worse Piece of News

After returning to his own residence, Li Yuan's expression turned grim.

He had just asked an important question at the Special Capture Division: what was going on with that Corpse Demon? Was it dead yet?

The scene from earlier was vivid in his mind: Spirit Master Zong Lin's unnatural expression, and Young Commander Chu Han avoiding the question, telling him not to bother.

Although those two said nothing, they had said everything.

If the Corpse Demon was dead, then the matter could have been announced to the world; there would be nothing to hide.

But now, the Special Capture Division was being secretive and evasive, which could only mean one thing... the Corpse Demon wasn't dead.

Something had gone wrong.

Back at the Changgan Inn that day, Zong Lin had confidently told everyone that with the combined efforts of True Essence Realm martial artists and the Spirit Master enforcers of Jiujiang Commandery, they would surely capture the Corpse Demon. However, things hadn't unfolded as she had said.

The presence of a top-tier Evil Warrior operating in the Jiujiang Commandery area was bad news.

That two top-tier experts had made a move and still couldn't take down their target was even worse news!

"This is not good..."

"I feel like those people in the Special Capture Division are unreliable!"

Li Yuan grumbled inwardly. The two martial artists who went to pursue the Corpse Demon that day must have met with trouble.

And this matter indeed did not exceed Li Yuan's expectations. Just after Li Yuan left the Special Capture Division, Chu Han and Zong Lin had fallen into silence.

After a long pause, Chu Han spoke, "Zong Lin, how much longer until your grandfather wakes up?"

"The Corpse Poison in him has been mostly dealt with. He should recover and wake up in about half a month," Zong Lin said with a hint of sadness and a low tone.

Yes, Zong Wencheng had been injured.

When he and Xu Zhe had cornered the Corpse Demon, the three had clashed. The Corpse Demon's strength was truly formidable, its body incredibly resilient, perhaps not far off from the legendary Golden Armored Corpse. It had managed to break through several of Zong Wencheng's spirit arts with its physical body alone and landed a Thousand Corpses Ten Thousand Poisons Palm strike on him.

A Spirit Master's physique could not compare to a martial artist's. Zong Wencheng was severely injured at the time, and the Corpse Demon's Corpse Poison had already infiltrated deep into his body!

The situation was extremely critical!

Xu Zhe was greatly alarmed. He also clashed head-on with the Corpse Demon, forcing it back and rescuing Zong Wencheng.

This True Essence Realm martial artist never expected that even with the combined efforts of himself and a Spirit Master enforcer, he still couldn't take down this Corpse Demon.

After Zong Wencheng was injured, the Corpse Demon had frequently targeted the wounded individual, and Xu Zhe's caution had increased significantly.

If the Corpse Demon managed to kill Zong Wencheng, he wouldn't know how to report back to Chu Han.

After a fierce battle among the three, the Corpse Demon, lightly injured, retreated. Xu Zhe, guarding an injured comrade, dared not pursue recklessly. If the Corpse Demon were to launch a surprise counterattack, Zong Wencheng would truly die.

Xu Zhe watched the Corpse Demon's figure disappear into the vast wilderness, his face frighteningly dark.

The plan to lure the enemy out had succeeded this time; they had indeed managed to draw the Corpse Demon out.

But it hadn't been entirely successful.

Not only did the enemy escape, but they also had one Spirit Master injured.

The Corpse Demon's Corpse Poison was no trivial matter. Not only was its toxicity extremely potent, but it also contained a hidden curse, no longer just a simple poison.

When Zong Wencheng was sent back to the Special Capture Division, the Spirit Master had already fallen unconscious. Several Zong family Spirit Masters stationed in Jiujiang Commandery City immediately intervened. Working together, they barely managed to stabilize Zong Wencheng's condition.

Because the Corpse Poison Zong Wencheng had contracted was very tricky, even experienced Spirit Masters found it difficult to remove. Zong Wencheng had been in a coma during this period and had not yet woken up.

The other Spirit Masters were all tending to Zong Wencheng, otherwise, they wouldn't have let Zong Lin come forward to negotiate official matters with Chu Han.

Xu Zhe was filled with guilt, and meeting Chu Han again was very awkward. After a brief chat, he continued to pursue the Corpse Demon and had yet to return.

Chu Han was slightly relieved to know that Zong Wencheng's injuries were recovering. When Li Yuan had asked him about the Corpse Demon just now, he had almost lost his composure.

That unlucky kid, bringing up the most sensitive topic!

It had put both him and Zong Lin in a very awkward position!

However, Chu Han was an old hand at the Special Capture Division, and his thick skin served him well. He coughed, changed the subject, and smoothly moved past the topic.

Meanwhile, on Li Yuan's side, although he was constantly worried that the Corpse Demon might cause some trouble, he was helpless. His current strength was still far from the Corpse Demon's.

For him, the most important thing was to seize the time to improve his strength. Even if the Corpse Demon attacked, the Special Capture Division would still hold the line, right?

If the sky were to fall, there would naturally be taller people to bear it; it wasn't his place as a small fry in the Inner Force Realm to worry about it.

After submitting the Shocking Step martial art, it was foreseeable that he wouldn't lack contribution points in the future. This way, he wouldn't have to frequently go out to accept missions, saving him a lot of time to cultivate with peace of mind and improve his strength.

In the following period, Li Yuan practically spent all his days diligently cultivating at home, constantly practicing martial arts and tempering his body. The results were very significant.

His strength had already broken through the three-thousand-jin mark, and his body's resilience was getting closer and closer to that limit.

Qi Zhengyang also knew that Li Yuan was at a crucial juncture in breaking through to the True Qi Realm, so he hadn't disturbed him during this time. Even if there were matters at the martial arts school, they were handled by other Inner Force Realm disciples.

As Li Yuan's status as the senior disciple of Zhengyang Martial Arts School gradually spread, and the incident of Li Yuan clashing with Qi Zhengyang that day was vividly recounted, more and more people learned that Zhengyang Martial Arts School had produced an extraordinary powerhouse. Even though Li Yuan stayed home all day, people still frequently visited his residence. They included martial artists who had accompanied him to Changgan Inn, other disciples from the martial arts school, and even some martial artists Li Yuan didn't know.

Everyone wanted to build a good relationship with this promising young martial artist, which made Li Yuan's previously quiet courtyard gradually become lively.

At this moment, Li Yuan was practicing martial arts in his courtyard when another knock sounded at the courtyard gate.

"Please come in."

The door was pushed open, and a figure walked in, surprising Li Yuan.

"Dong Yuezhen?"

The visitor was indeed Dong Yuezhen, the only Inner Force Realm female disciple at Zhengyang Martial Arts School. Li Yuan had a deep impression of her; Dong Yuezhen also practiced Cinnabar Palm, and her fighting style was fierce, in no way inferior to men.

Upon seeing Li Yuan, Dong Yuezhen greeted him respectfully, "Greetings, Senior Disciple Brother. Yuezhen has come to disturb you."

Although she was older than Li Yuan and had joined the martial arts school earlier, she showed no arrogance about her seniority, instead greeting Li Yuan with utmost respect.

Li Yuan smiled faintly, "Not at all. Come, sit here."

He stopped the movements he was practicing, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and led Dong Yuezhen to sit at a stone table in the courtyard.

Li Yuan poured Dong Yuezhen a cup of clear tea, "Here, have some tea."

Dong Yuezhen took the tea and, after taking a gentle sip, placed it on the stone table.

When they were previously at Zhengyang Martial Arts School, Li Yuan hadn't had a chance to speak with this female disciple; they had no prior interactions. Li Yuan was quite curious about Dong Yuezhen's sudden visit.

"I wonder what brings Yuezhen here this time..."

Dong Yuezhen composed herself and said respectfully, "Senior Disciple Brother, to be frank, Yuezhen has a favor to ask."

"Yuezhen wishes to ask Senior Disciple Brother for guidance on practicing Cinnabar Palm."