Taisui Dao Seed!

"The Iron Dragon Stockade has over a thousand men. Its chief, Yi Zheng, was once a military officer. He was expelled from the army for killing innocent people and claiming credit for it, then turned bandit. He's skilled at training troops, so most of the stockade's bandits are well disciplined. On top of that, they occupy advantageous terrain. Unless an army of at least ten thousand attacks them with everything it has, wiping out the Iron Dragon Stockade would be very difficult."

Lu Yuan offered an idea. "What if we surrounded them without attacking?"

"I know what you mean. You want to starve the Iron Dragon Stockade until they run out of food and arrows."

Lu Longjing gave a slight nod. "But that won't work. There's a water source where the stockade is, enough for over a thousand people, and they've also cleared farmland. Add in their own food stores, and it would take at least a year or two of surrounding them to cut off their supplies."

He sighed.

"The court's control over the provinces has weakened considerably. Most of the army is busy suppressing rebellions flaring up across the land. The court won't send troops to attack a minor force like the Iron Dragon Stockade, which hasn't openly raised the banner of rebellion."

"So unless the Iron Dragon Stockade offends a Great Power, one that sends experts to wipe them out..."

Lu Yuan pondered this.

Lu Cheng's eyes turned vicious. "Wiping out the Iron Dragon Stockade is a pipe dream for us. But Lu Yuan, you'll have your chance. With your talent, reaching Qi and Blood like a Tiger—or even Blood Qi Like an Elephant—is only a matter of time. If you reach Blood Qi Like an Elephant... You might not be able to wipe out the whole stockade, but killing its leaders shouldn't be hard. Then we can finally vent some of our Lu Family's anger."

"Of course. The Iron Dragon Stockade has squeezed us for long enough. It's time we struck back." Lu Yuan agreed.

"But for now, the priority is coming with me to meet your match."

Lu Cheng's face immediately turned long. "Father, can I stay home?"

"We can discuss anything else, but not this!"

Lu Longjing's expression hardened. He shot Lu Yuan a sidelong glance, making Lu Yuan's heart jump. "Father, I'm still young. Please don't arrange a match for me."

"You're still young? You're seventeen! At your age, I'd already met your mother. We married when I was eighteen, and your eldest brother was born when I was nineteen. Anyway, I want a grandchild by next year. I don't care which of you two gives me one."

Lu Yuan said weakly, "Father, look, I'm devoted to martial arts. If I marry now, it'll definitely affect my training. You wouldn't want a martial arts genius to go to ruin, would you?"

He wasn't against getting married; he just didn't want his father arranging this part of his life, too.

Lu Longjing's brows relaxed. "You have a point."

Lu Cheng let out a long sigh, looking like a man marching to his death. "All right. For the sake of the family line, I'll make this sacrifice!"

Before he could finish, Lu Longjing smacked him on the back of the head.

"Stop talking nonsense. You'd better make a good impression tomorrow, understand? If I find out you deliberately sabotage things, you'll regret it!"

He hadn't slept all night. After returning to his room, he slept until noon. Though he'd only slept for a little over four hours, he still woke feeling refreshed.

The first thing Lu Yuan did was open the wooden box and examine the Great Dao Seed.

He turned it over and over, but still couldn't see anything unusual about the bead.

"I'll try acknowledging it with a drop of blood!"

A sudden inspiration struck Lu Yuan. He pricked his finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the bead. As he watched, it seeped inside, and the information panel changed:

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Age: 17]

[Potential: Genius]

[Lifespan: 148 (Remaining lifespan: 23 years)]

[Martial Arts: Ox Demon Fist (Peak Perfection 100%), Great Gale Saber Technique (Peak Perfection 100%), Dragon Elephant Longevity Art (Perfected 85%), Dragon Swimming Step (Mastery 38%), Lightning Blade (Proficient 66%)]

[Great Dao Seed: Taisui Dao Seed (Not Refined)]

[His chest broad, he bore the might of ten thousand men. His words rang with pride, his ambition soared a thousand zhang into the clouds. His heart was bold and his courage great, like a Heaven Shaking Lion descending from the clouds; his bones were strong and his muscles hard, like an Earth Shaking Pixiu seated upon its throne.]

[As if a demon lord descended from heaven, truly the Taisui God of the mortal world. Refine the Taisui Dao Seed to absorb the Heaven Shaking Lion's strength and contain the Earth Shaking Pixiu's might, and you can shake mountains and tremble the earth.]

A genius's talent really was monstrous. He'd only practiced the Dragon Swimming Step he'd obtained from Bai Hailong for less than two days, and he'd already reached the Mastery level.

As for the Lightning Blade, it was naturally the inferior saber technique he'd bought at the auction.

This technique had something in common with the Great Gale Saber Technique: both relied on speed.

The difference was that the Great Gale Saber Technique needed to be fast, fierce, and wild.

The Lightning Blade only needed to be fast.

Since Lu Yuan was trying to elevate the Great Gale Saber Technique using it as a foundation, he naturally needed more saber techniques with similar qualities.

"This works, too? My cheat is far more powerful than I imagined! It can even display information about a Great Dao Seed!"

Lu Yuan was overjoyed.

What thrilled him even more was that this really was a Great Dao Seed.

The Bai Family had obtained Tai Sui, yet they couldn't even figure out whether it was truly a Great Dao Seed, what kind of Great Dao Seed it was, or how to refine one.

They'd failed miserably.

If Lu Yuan hadn't had a cheat that could display information about Tai Sui, he might not have figured it out either.

He understood how important and dangerous Great Dao Seeds were. He didn't dare openly gather information about them, afraid of inviting disaster.

He was small fry. He counted as someone of importance in Lingbao County, but in the vast expanse of Great Sheng, he was probably nothing. The real big shots could crush him with a single finger.

Taisui Dao Seed?

"As if a demon lord descended from heaven, truly the Taisui God of the mortal world."

"Absorb the Heaven Shaking Lion's strength, contain the Earth Shaking Pixiu's might?"

"You can shake mountains and tremble the earth!"

Just from the description, he could tell how powerful the Divine Ability that came with this Dao Seed was.

Lu Yuan's heart surged, and he could barely contain himself as his thoughts raced.

"I wonder if having a Great Dao Seed really lets you become an immortal."

Then another line appeared on the panel:

[Refinement Condition: Taisui Stone]

"Taisui Stone..."

Lu Yuan slowly exhaled, a tremendous longing rising in his heart. He desperately wanted to find out just how powerful the Taisui Dao Seed was.

But what exactly was Taisui Stone?

Where could he find it?

How could he get it?

In the end, he forced down his excitement and prepared to accompany Lu Cheng to the match.

The prospective bride was a daughter of the Feng Family.

The Feng Family was also a merchant family. Its grain stores, fruit shops, taverns, and inns were spread throughout several surrounding counties, making it one of Lingbao County's most prominent merchant families.

The Lu Family barely ranked among Lingbao County's notable families, but it was nowhere near the Feng Family's level.

Still, both were merchant families. There was a difference between them, but not a gap between social classes.

The Feng Family had two sons and three daughters.

The eldest daughter was eighteen, the second daughter sixteen, and the youngest twelve.

The one meeting Lu Cheng was the second daughter, Feng Rongrong. By Lingbao County custom, the second daughter wouldn't marry before the eldest. But rumors said that the Feng Family's eldest daughter had a physical deformity and was shunned, unable to find a husband.

That was why the Feng Family was marrying off its second daughter first.