Ding'an City. After a great battle, hundreds of corpses lay three miles outside the city.
The city gates stood wide open. Escorted by numerous soldiers, Lu Ye rode back into the city. Countless soldiers atop the walls who had witnessed the battle firsthand looked upon him with worship and reverence, while crowds of citizens lined both sides of the streets to welcome the victorious hero home.
They had clearly also learned that the Black Scarves' vanguard had been crushed.
In a world where cultivation stood at such a low level, Lu Ye's performance had been far too astonishing. Charging alone into a thousand-man army, killing hundreds by his own strength, and slaying the enemy general in the midst of battle—such things had only ever been heard in storytellers' tales.
Yet today, it had happened right before their eyes.
After returning to the Zhou Family's small courtyard, Lu Ye did not rest. He immediately began cultivating in earnest.
One inferior Spirit Stone after another was devoured by the Talent Tree and turned into useless waste rock, while his cultivation steadily and slowly rose.
A day later, Lu Ye opened his ninth Spiritual Aperture and let out a long breath.
Though Eight Apertures and nine apertures differed by only one aperture's worth of cultivation, it was a qualitative transformation. Opening nine apertures meant truly stepping onto the path of cultivation. In fact, only at this point did one qualify to call oneself a cultivator.
Spiritual Power flowed through and linked the Spiritual Apertures one by one, circulating in a Minor Heavenly Circulation, ceaseless and unending.
Spirit Stream First Layer! With this, both his personal strength and endurance would receive an enormous boost.
This trial felt rather strange to Lu Ye. He had never expected to walk a road he had once traveled