For two days straight, Wu Yuan accompanied Clan Chief Wu Qiming to all kinds of banquets among Li City's upper crust, meeting many of the city's influential figures.
He met all manner of high-ranking officials from the prefecture, as well as Battalion Commanders and officers of the City Guard Army and the garrison forces.
Throughout their interactions, Wu Yuan had to admit that Clan Chief Wu Qiming was indeed a master of social graces. In the past, he had simply lacked a platform on which to shine.
Meanwhile, with the Wu Clan's help, the entire family had completed their move over the past two days. Wan Qin and Wu Yijun had both settled into the grand estate.
Night fell over Wu Manor.
The central courtyard separated the outer grounds from the inner residence. In a large estate, it was usually the last line of defense protecting the family.
"Uncle Wu, I never expected you to be the one sent here." Wu Yuan finally had some free time to meet the "protection detail" dispatched by the City Guard Army.
There were only ten of them, but every one of them had an imposing presence.
Among the ten, Wu Yuan spotted a familiar elder: Wu Xiong, a "Centurion" in the City Guard Army!
He was Wu Yuan's father's sworn brother, and Wu Sheng's father.
Over the years, Wu Xiong had looked after Wu Yuan quite a bit.
Naturally, Wu Yuan was delighted to see him.
"Haha, Wu Yuan, as soon as I heard what happened to you, I personally requested permission from the Prefectural Commandant to come protect you until you reach the sect. The Prefectural Commandant even made me captain of this escort team." Wu Xiong wore heavy armor and grinned with an honest, simple warmth. Broad-backed and powerfully built, he truly lived up to the name "Xiong."
"I'll be imposing on you this time, Uncle Wu," Wu Yuan said with a smile.
"It's no trouble!" Wu Xiong said with a sigh. "I watched you grow up. You used to train so hard—you were far better than that little rascal Wu Sheng. I knew even then that you'd make something of yourself one day."
"But to have the strength of a Martial Master at fourteen? When your Uncle Wu heard, he was left gaping. You're far stronger than your father and me." Wu Xiong grinned.
The other guards were Third-class Experts, mostly Centurions from the City Guard Army. They were all very courteous to Wu Yuan, though Wu Xiong was the only one who treated him casually.
"My father?" Wu Yuan recalled the past...
"Ah, your father just had bad luck." Wu Xiong sighed, seemingly remembering the Battle of Hengshan.
He looked at Wu Yuan. "If he knew how talented and strong you are now, he'd surely be very happy."
Wu Yuan nodded slightly.
"I came here with a bit of a selfish motive, too. Heh. I know you're heading to Nanmeng Prefecture, so I thought I'd take the chance to visit that little rascal Wu Sheng while I'm at it. He's been at Nanmeng Martial Academy for three or four months, and he hasn't even sent his family a letter." Wu Xiong said.
"Perhaps he's just arrived at an advanced academy and has been so absorbed in training that writing a letter slipped his mind," Wu Yuan said with a smile, making excuses for his friend.
"How busy could he possibly be?" Wu Xiong shook his head.
Then, as if he realized he'd strayed from the topic, Wu Xiong changed tack. "Wu Yuan, don't worry. Your Uncle Wu will do everything in his power to keep you safe on this journey! The ten of us working together could keep even a Second-class Expert from laying a hand on you."
"I'll have to trouble you and the other seniors," Wu Yuan said solemnly, his gaze sweeping across the other nine guards.
"Haha, it's nothing!"
"A small matter. Nanmeng Prefecture lies in the heart of the sect's territory. Few forces would dare throw their weight around here. No one should dare plot anything against you."
"Don't worry." The ten experts assigned to guard him gathered around, all speaking warmly and assuring Wu Yuan they had his back.
They had every reason to be confident. Second-class Experts? They weren't afraid of them!
As for First-class Experts? How many could there be in all of Nanmeng Prefecture? Their numbers were known. Even if other forces had spies lying in wait, they generally wouldn't expose their strength over something like this.
Wu Yuan responded to each of the guards in turn.
"All right, Uncle Wu. If you need anything, just speak to the steward," Wu Yuan said with a smile. "I'll head to the martial training hall now."
"Haha, good. Go on," Wu Xiong said.
Wu Yuan turned and went into the inner residence.
...The inner residence of the estate covered a considerable area. Besides the gardens, bedrooms, and other places for living and recreation, it also had a specially built, enormous martial training hall.
The indoor martial training hall was eighteen meters long, ten meters wide, and six meters high.
In one word: huge!
Besides Wu Yuan, the only one who came here was Gu Ji, who served as his "steward" in name.
"Uncle Ji."
Wu Yuan looked at the middle-aged man in black robes. "The various matters in Li City have been taken care of. Before I leave for Nanmeng Martial Academy, I'd like to take a Spirit Condensing Pill."
"Of course. You only need to reach Nanmeng Martial Academy within a month," Gu Ji said softly. "Go ahead and cultivate in seclusion, Young Master. I'll keep watch over you for the next few days."
Wu Yuan nodded.
Over the past two days, he had been observing Gu Ji. He had more or less gauged the man's strength and come to understand his manner even better: low-key and taciturn.
He entered the martial training hall.
After closing all the windows, he blew out the lamps. The hall fell into complete darkness.
"Even I can't make out anything three meters away." Wu Yuan smiled faintly.
No matter how sharp one's eyesight was, there had to be a light source to see by. In absolute darkness, even the keenest eyes could see nothing at all.
At that moment, the martial training hall was almost completely dark. Only a few faint rays, imperceptible to ordinary people, seeped in through the cracks.
"This is when I have to rely on my senses." Wu Yuan closed his eyes and silently felt the changes in the hall around him.
Light slipping in, air currents shifting... Gradually, the rough shape of the entire hall took form in his mind. This was, in fact, what many martial artists called the "mind's eye."
He waited until his mind was completely still.
"Pop." The stopper came free with a soft sound. Wu Yuan opened the jade bottle containing the Spirit Condensing Pills, and one dropped into his palm.
A delicate fragrance wafted out, instantly invigorating his mind.
"What's this?" Wu Yuan wondered.
The scent of the Spirit Condensing Pill was somewhat similar to the Spirit Liquid he had obtained, yet fundamentally different.
The Spirit Liquid made one feel invigorated, mainly by eliminating physical fatigue.
But just a sniff of the Spirit Condensing Pill seemed to clear his mind considerably. As for his body? With his degree of control over his muscles, Wu Yuan detected nothing unusual.
"Condensing the spirit! It really is something that strengthens the spirit. Let's try it." Wu Yuan had no doubts about the Spirit Condensing Pill.
He had disguised himself throughout the journey, so the odds of his secret being exposed were very low. And Gao Yu had no reason to harm him.
At worst, the Spirit Condensing Pill would do nothing. The chance it could do him harm was practically zero.
"Glug!" "Glug!" He swallowed two Spirit Condensing Pills one after the other. His powerful digestive system instantly "crushed" them!
"Hmm?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Wu Yuan's mind. He had just been about to control his muscles and bones to absorb the medicinal effects, as he had before.
Then he noticed that the two pills he had just crushed...
Had astonishingly transformed, in an instant, into streams of strange energy that rushed straight through his limbs and bones, heading directly for Wu Yuan's... brain!
With his powerful spirit, which was strong enough to perform Internal Vision, Wu Yuan could barely sense the process. He was startled.
The brain—how mysterious was it?
It was of the utmost importance!
But everything happened too quickly. Wu Yuan had no time to react before all those streams of strange energy had already surged into his brain.
In an instant.
"Hmm?" Wu Yuan felt waves of drowsiness wash over him. An exhaustion unlike any he had ever known made his eyelids feel as if they were fighting to close.
"Huff!" "Huff!" Still sitting upright, Wu Yuan fell fast asleep.
He lost consciousness.
For a martial artist as powerful as Wu Yuan, even the strongest "knockout drug" shouldn't have taken effect so quickly. Yet here it was, happening right before his eyes.
The brain was the Upper Dantian Palace!
Within Wu Yuan's mysterious Upper Dantian Palace, wisps of strange, blood-red energy suddenly poured out. They traveled through the special meridians connecting the three Dantian Palaces, flowing straight into the Middle Dantian Palace, then from there into the Lower Dantian Palace.
At last, they spread out and merged into every part of his body.
Skin, muscles, bones, internal organs, blood! Every part of Wu Yuan's body underwent a peculiar evolution as it fused with the blood-red energy.
This evolution...
Did not directly improve Wu Yuan's physical prowess. Instead, it healed countless tiny hidden injuries, then brought about a process of refinement and evolution at the level of the cell's mitochondria, the most fundamental particles of his flesh and blood, and even his genes!
Miraculous! Inconceivable!
If Gao Yu or even the Master of the Finance and Engineering Hall had witnessed this, they would have been left gaping. They could never have imagined the Spirit Condensing Pill might have such astonishing effects.
Gu Ji, standing guard outside, had no idea what was happening to Wu Yuan.
Time passed.
A long while later.
"Hmm?" Wu Yuan's consciousness returned. He snapped open his eyes, a flicker of surprise in them.
"What happened to me? After taking the Spirit Condensing Pills, did I fall asleep?" Wu Yuan recalled what had happened before he lost consciousness.
"No, that's not it."
"My spirit?" Wu Yuan quieted his mind. He sensed that he could almost clearly "see" the blood flowing through his veins, "hear" the powerful surge of every drop of blood with each heartbeat, and feel the tiniest tremor in every muscle and bone!
It was far clearer than his previous Internal Vision.
"My spirit..."
"Has it grown stronger?" Wu Yuan was astonished.
The spirit resided in the Upper Dantian Palace, and its strength was profoundly mysterious. Martial artists generally couldn't cultivate it directly.
Usually, the stronger the body, the more it nurtured the Upper Dantian Palace in return, strengthening the spirit. It was a passive process.
Just as people with strong bodies usually had stronger minds and wills.
But Wu Yuan's spirit had grown considerably stronger in an extremely short time!
Without a doubt...
It was the miraculous effect of the Spirit Condensing Pill.
"My... Upper Dantian Palace?" With his spirit strengthened, Wu Yuan turned his Internal Vision inward and instinctively began sensing his brain.
He could vaguely sense a mysterious place hidden inside his brain!
As if shrouded by countless clouds and mists.
"The Upper Dantian Palace! I can actually sense that it exists?" Wu Yuan was astonished. "I'm still at the Strength Training stage. How can I already sense it?"
According to Gao Yu...
Even among the Earth Ranking Grandmasters, many couldn't sense it.
In his previous life, Wu Yuan had needed to cultivate extensively before he could barely sense a trace of it through a special method. It had never been this clear.
"Could my spirit be even stronger than that of the Earth Ranking Grandmasters?" Wu Yuan's gaze fell on the jade bottle before him. "Just two Spirit Condensing Pills had such astonishing effects."
"What if I took them all?"
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