Return

Xiangyin County, Chen Mansion, the training hall.

Hua Maguai walked in, bloodstains covering him. He cupped his hands toward Lu Yan and Chen Yulou and said respectfully, "Chief, Master Lu, we've dealt with the last batch."

Lu Yan nodded and asked quietly, "How many casualties?"

"Dozens of our brothers died despite treatment, and over a hundred were seriously wounded. But with the Healing Liquid you gave us, we managed to save them."

Hua Maguai's face was tinged with sorrow. They were brothers who had spent every day together. They had been drinking together that morning, and now some of them were gone.

Chen Yulou sighed. "Have their names carved down. Send a hundred silver dollars to each of their families, then find easier work for their relatives. Make sure the brothers look after them."

Hua Maguai nodded silently, his eyes reddening slightly.

Lu Yan thought of how those brothers had died for his plan, and his mood grew heavy. He pulled a black-covered, yellowed manual from his robes and tossed it to Hua Maguai. "This is the manual that belonged to that Golden Core old poison. Take it back and study it."

"For the time being, come to me with any questions you have. After that, I'll be going abroad to take care of a few things. I'm afraid I'll be gone for a while."

Lu Yan glanced at Chen Yulou, Red Maiden, Hua Maguai, and Kunlun, then walked toward the door with his hands behind his back.

Outside Maoshan's mountain gate, Lu Yan wore a delighted smile as he waved warmly at Li Zhongkang. "Goodbye, Old Daoist Li. I'll miss you."

Li Zhongkang's face was black as the bottom of a pot. He shook his head listlessly. "I never want to see you again."

Beside him, Shi Jian wore a cold expression. He turned and scolded Simu, whose face was full of bitterness. "Look at the kind of friends you make. A deceitful scoundrel, a disgrace to humanity."

Li Zhongkang waved a hand and sighed. "Enough. This isn't Simu's fault. The kid showed some restraint for Simu's sake. I hear he's nearly cleaned out both the Celestial Master Sect and the Zen Sect."

Shi Jian narrowed his eyes, a trace of killing intent showing. "Granduncle, we should just kill him."

Simu's expression changed. He was about to speak, but Li Zhongkang shook his head gravely. "Don't bring this up again. The kid is young, yet already at the Golden Core stage, and that ocular technique of his is strange. It seems to place him in another dimension, where we can't touch him at all. A hundred years from now, Maoshan may well have to rely on him."

A trace of resentment and jealousy showed in Shi Jian's eyes. He turned and glared at Simu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Maoshan was the last one. That takes care of everyone."

Lu Yan was flying through the sky, unable to hide his smile.

These past few days, Lu Yan had traveled all over the country, visiting the great sects and prestigious schools. With Li Zhongkang acting as an intermediary, things had gone quite smoothly.

"I'll go back and take care of a few things. Then I should be able to return."

He focused on sensing the special energy remaining in the Stone Bead. A glimmer of understanding crossed his eyes.

When Lu Yan had first taught Chen Yulou the Meditation Technique, the special energy inside the Stone Bead had suddenly increased by a large amount. He had already begun to suspect something.

To a world, a transmigrator was a new variable.

The results of this variable could take three forms.

The first: no effect at all, and the world couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

The second: the variable brought benefits to the world, and the world rewarded them. In Daoist terms, this was the Heavenly Dao bestowing merit.

The third: the variable harmed the world and caused immeasurable damage. The world would reject them, and they might even suffer countless calamities there.

Lu Yan's situation was like the second. When he had first arrived, the energy in the Stone Bead had been depleted every day. But after he taught Chen Yulou the Meditation Technique and reopened the Way of the Wizard in this world, the Stone Bead had stopped consuming energy. In fact, the special energy inside had increased considerably.

Now, as Lu Yan traded spiritual energy from heaven and earth for manuals with the various prestigious sects, the energy in the Stone Bead had increased by another large amount.

It seemed the World Consciousness was practical and down-to-earth. If you could bring it benefits, it welcomed you.

For Lu Yan, the unexpected bonus this time was figuring out where the Stone Bead's special energy came from. He no longer had to passively wait for the Stone Bead to slowly recover its energy. In the future, he could be much more proactive about traveling between worlds.

Flying swiftly, Lu Yan soon returned to Xiangyin County. But he didn't show himself. Instead, he cast an invisibility spell and quietly observed.

On the training grounds, Kunlun was leading the Xieling brothers without wizard talent through the Knight Breathing Technique Lu Yan had taught them. They paired their breathing with a series of unusual movements.

Kunlun was making the fastest progress. The thunder of his blood and qi surging through his body was faintly audible.

The Knight Breathing Technique was a secret method passed down among the knightly nobility of the Wizard World. Each family's technique had its own characteristics and could cultivate different kinds of battle qi.

The Knight Breathing Technique Lu Yan had taught the Xieling brothers was quite unusual. He had obtained it by chance. It focused solely on blood and qi, and in its later stages, the practitioner could use their overwhelming vitality to break through ordinary spells.

Unlike other Knight Breathing Techniques, it had no requirements regarding physique or bloodline, so it was easy to pick up. But to master it, practitioners still needed various precious medicines to nourish their bodies.

Lu Yan watched the Xieling core members training with enthusiasm and diligence. Satisfied, he nodded and turned toward another area.

This area contained a row of newly built meditation rooms. Lu Yan had set up Spirit Gathering Arrays around them to continually draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He had also released some of the spiritual energy from the Kamui Dimension. The concentration here was now every bit as high as in the grotto-heavens of the great sects.

Lu Yan discreetly swept his spiritual power over the rooms and saw that everyone was meditating in earnest. A sense of accomplishment rose within him. The future of the Way of the Wizard in this world would rest on these people.

Without looking any further, Lu Yan found the room where Chen Yulou was meditating and sent him a message. "Come to the main hall. I have something to tell you."

In the main hall, Lu Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the newly hung words: "Establish the heart of heaven and earth; secure the fate of the people." He asked solemnly, "Can you live up to those words?"

Chen Yulou had just entered. He looked up at the calligraphy Lu Yan had written himself and replied firmly, "I'll do everything I can."

"Good."

Lu Yan turned and fixed his eyes on Chen Yulou. "I've already analyzed the situation at home and abroad for you. Follow the plan."

"Make sure you start mass-producing the things I taught you as soon as possible. They'll not only greatly boost Xieling's reputation, but also give the people of this land a chance to survive."

"I'll pass on all the knowledge you need to become a formal wizard. Make sure you study hard."

"At the earliest, I'll be back in six months. At the latest, in a year or two."

Thinking of how much he and Xieling had changed in such a short time, Chen Yulou looked at the master he had known for only two months and said reluctantly, "Master, you said the situation here would change dramatically. Why leave in such a hurry?"

Lu Yan smiled and shook his head, pointing to his blood-red Sharingan. "Some things have to be dealt with in person."