Support for Meishan

For the next few days, Li Yuan diligently cultivated without rest, maintaining a pace of opening one meridian per day for a total of three days.

The True Qi within his body had tripled!

This brought a significant improvement to Li Yuan's strength. Every day, his power was growing at an astonishing rate.

He was very fast at opening meridians, needing only two incense sticks of time to open one. In his spare time, Li Yuan would also guide Dong Yuezhen in her cultivation.

With Li Yuan's repeated guidance, Dong Yuezhen's mastery of the Cinnabar Palm grew increasingly profound, and her points of confusion diminished. After some time spent together, Li Yuan had a very good impression of Dong Yuezhen.

Her martial arts talent was decent, but she had suffered greatly from a lack of dedicated instruction, taking many detours. Otherwise, her martial arts progress could have been even faster, and she might even have had hope of breaking through to the True Qi Realm.

Since Dong Yuezhen was a promising talent and had a good character, not being a deceitful person, Li Yuan didn't mind nurturing her further and decided to teach her his Shocking Step as well.

"Hall Master, how can I possibly accept this?"

Dong Yuezhen exclaimed in surprise.

The Shocking Step was created by Li Yuan. The day Li Yuan fought Qi Zhengyang, he had displayed this footwork. Once unleashed, his movements were like a phantom, making him difficult to predict, leaving a deep impression on the disciples who witnessed it.

Now that Li Yuan was willing to teach her this martial art, she was greatly shocked.

Li Yuan smiled faintly, "You are very suited to practicing the Cinnabar Palm, so I'll teach you the Shocking Step as well."

Previously, Dong Yuezhen had given him a copy of the Iron Body Skill, which had elevated his physical body's toughness by a significant level, providing Li Yuan with great help. Repaying kindness with kindness, Li Yuan decided to reciprocate by teaching her the Shocking Step.

He had been guiding Dong Yuezhen for many days, investing his efforts in her. The other disciples in the martial arts hall also knew that Dong Yuezhen frequently sought guidance from Li Yuan. Recently, a reputation had begun to spread that Li Yuan was like a half-master to Dong Yuezhen.

Li Yuan didn't mind this "half-master" title.

Dong Yuezhen was a promising talent, worth teaching.

Since that was the case, he couldn't let her potential go to waste.

If Dong Yuezhen were easily defeated by someone in the future, it would reflect poorly on him as her half-master, wouldn't it?

Having made up his mind, Li Yuan stood up and demonstrated the Shocking Step in the courtyard, moving through each stance and explaining the key principles of the footwork.

With a martial artist in the True Qi Realm personally instructing her, Dong Yuezhen knew this was a rare opportunity. She no longer stood on ceremony and immediately began to learn with intense focus.

Li Yuan's Shocking Step was derived from the Shocking Force of the Cinnabar Palm, representing a unique application of that force. Its intricate details made Dong Yuezhen exclaim "brilliant!" and marvel at Li Yuan's ingenious ideas.

After a few demonstrations, Dong Yuezhen learned the movement technique. With diligent practice, she would be able to master it.

"Hall Master, thank you." Dong Yuezhen's tone was somewhat complex.

Li Yuan had achieved so much at such a young age, his future was immeasurable, and the talent he displayed was incredibly dazzling. Among all the men Dong Yuezhen had met, none could compare to him. When she looked at Li Yuan, she would sometimes even lose herself in thought.

"What are you thinking about? You're spacing out."

Li Yuan interrupted her thoughts. Dong Yuezhen's face flushed slightly, and she quickly shook her head, "I wasn't thinking about anything."

"Well, I'll be out on a mission for the next few days, so I won't have time to guide your cultivation."

"I've taught you everything I can. With your talent, you'll be fine on your own from now on."

The Special Capture Division had sent him a letter. Tomorrow, he was to lead the nineteenth squad on a tricky mission, and it was estimated he wouldn't be back for quite some time.

After arranging matters with Dong Yuezhen, Li Yuan settled down in the courtyard to cultivate quietly, adjusting his state to its peak condition in preparation for tomorrow's mission.

The mission assigned by the Special Capture Division required him, a True Qi Realm martial artist, to be involved, so it naturally wouldn't be simple.

Moreover, this was his first mission since joining the Special Capture Division, so he couldn't afford to be careless. He had to perform it flawlessly.

Time flew by. Early the next morning, Li Yuan headed to the Special Capture Division.

The members of the nineteenth squad also arrived one after another. Seeing Li Yuan, they stepped forward to greet him.

They didn't yet know the details of their mission, but someone would soon come to deliver the briefing. However, as the person delivering the mission came around the corner ahead, Li Yuan couldn't help but freeze, because he recognized the person.

"Zong Lin?"

Li Yuan had gained some understanding of the Special Capture Division. Minor tasks like delivering mission briefings wouldn't be handled by Spirit Masters.

Zong Lin walked over and nodded at Li Yuan with a smile.

"I will be delivering your mission briefing."

"Also, I will be accompanying you on this mission."

A Spirit Master would be accompanying them on this mission?

A bad premonition stirred within Li Yuan.

During the previous Changgan mission, Zong Lin had also been present, and quite a few complications had arisen. Only those who had personally experienced the danger could truly understand it.

It seemed that anything involving a Spirit Master was rarely good news.

However, the reality was just as Li Yuan suspected. Simple missions could be handled by martial artists. If even Spirit Masters needed to be involved, the situation was likely to be troublesome.

Zong Lin surveyed the nineteenth squad. "Time is short, we'll discuss the details on the way."

The group of six quickly departed the city, heading towards their destination.

After Zong Lin's explanation, Li Yuan finally understood the content of the mission.

Ten days ago, signs of large-scale Evil Creature activity had appeared near Meishan County, raising the alarm in the county.

Not long after, Evil Creatures began to harass towns and villages. Behind this, the tracks of numerous Evil Warriors had been discovered!

It turns out Evil Warriors were driving Evil Creatures to attack various locations in Meishan County!

Evil Creatures are difficult to deal with, and Evil Warriors are even more so. The situation in Meishan County is becoming increasingly severe!

Meishan County is not within Jiujiang Commandery, but rather in Yangxing Commandery to the north of Jiujiang Commandery. Yangxing Commandery's Special Capture Division immediately dispatched a large number of warriors and Spirit Masters to suppress these Evil Creatures and Evil Warriors. However, the enemy's numbers were too great, making it difficult for Yangxing Commandery to suppress them. Thus, they requested assistance from several nearby commanderies and counties.

Those participating in the aid from Jiujiang were Zong Lin, Li Yuan, and their group.

To be honest, the scale of this reinforcement was a bit small.

However, Zong Wencheng had only recently woken up and had not yet recovered his strength. The other Spirit Masters stationed in Jiujiang Commandery needed to look after Zong Wencheng and were also unable to get away. Thus, Jiujiang only sent Zong Lin, a single Spirit Master, to Meishan County for support.

There weren't many warriors either; only Li Yuan at the True Qi Realm, plus three at the Inner Force Realm, and Mi Lan at the Body Tempering Realm, making it even more meager.

This was also an unavoidable measure. Jiujiang Commandery had its own difficulties, and these difficulties were not convenient to explain in detail to others.

Besides Li Yuan, there were other True Qi Realm warriors in Jiujiang Commandery, but there was another reason why Li Yuan's team was specifically called upon for this support.

"Li Yuan, do you know why your team was called for this mission?"

Li Yuan was taken aback. "I don't know."

Zong Lin smiled faintly. "If I remember correctly, the illusion of that Half-step Blood Robe during the last trip to Changgan... seemed to have no effect on you, right?"

When fighting the Half-step Blood Robe, Li Yuan had secretly used his Martial Dao True Intent, [Dragon's Bloodshed], to resist the Half-step Blood Robe's illusionary attack. He didn't want to elaborate on this matter, but he didn't object either, merely nodding in agreement.

Seeing Li Yuan admit it, Zong Lin continued.

"This is why the Special Capture Division arranged for you, a True Qi Realm cultivator, to support Meishan County."

"Meishan County has recently encountered several Blood Robe Evil Ghosts, which have already caused significant casualties."

"These Blood Robe Evil Ghosts are difficult to deal with, but we believe you are the most suitable person to handle them."