After Wei Yong and the others had been summoned to the Captain's Mansion for questioning for about an hour, a thick stack of reports was placed on Zhou Hongling's desk.
"They all told roughly the same story. Judging from the reports, Lu Yuan should be at the Body Tempering Realm, but his blade techniques, archery, and military formations have all reached at least the Great Mastery stage, if not perfection."
Zhou Hongling spoke softly, joy spreading from the corners of her eyes.
"Cough, cough. Actually, the most astonishing thing is that he's only at the Body Tempering Realm. That means his Body-Tempering cultivation must already be at perfection, and he's also practiced a body-tempering technique. That's how he managed to withstand a Tendon-Refining cultivator head-on.
"Tsk, fighting across two whole realms! This young man's talent and comprehension far exceed my expectations. He already has the potential to become a great general." Zhou Ming exclaimed in wonder.
Zhou Hongling lowered her head without answering. She had naturally noticed it too; she just didn't want to say it outright. Back then, she had wanted Lu Yuan to become her uncle's disciple so he could learn military formations.
Now he had already perfected military formations on his own, so there was no need for him to become Third Uncle's disciple.
After all, becoming his disciple meant there was a chance Lu Yuan would be transferred away. Before, she had only pursued short-term gains, so she hadn't cared. But that wouldn't do now.
She was a Captain herself now, and she really ought to have a capable subordinate.
Seeing that Zhou Hongling had no intention of responding, Zhou Ming continued, "Cough, cough. Hong Ling, Yun Mo is injured right now, and he'll need some time to recover.
"Otherwise, I'd do you a favor and take Lu Yuan under my wing."
"Third Uncle, I think we should leave it. He's earned so many merits this time, and I'm planning to promote him. Besides, we're currently locked in a standoff with the Northern Barbarians.
"He won't have time to study. Let's talk about it another time." Zhou Hongling rejected her third uncle without hesitation.
At the same time, she was already thinking about how to arrange things for Lu Yuan.
"Hong Ling, leaving him here would be a waste of talent. Someone this outstanding would have an unlimited future if I trained him."
Zhou Ming regretted it completely now. He dropped the pretense and went straight to asking for Lu Yuan.
But Zhou Hongling still shook her head. "Third Uncle, you can't put it that way. I know plenty of things myself, and he's achieved so much without anyone teaching him.
"You already have Yun Mo. If you take Lu Yuan under your wing too, you're bound to be distracted. That would be the real waste of talent."
By now, she had a new plan for Lu Yuan, and she wasn't about to let her third uncle get his way.
"You—you little girl! How can you change your tune so quickly? I'll trade you ten elite Bone-Forging veterans for him."
"Not even a hundred would do. Please don't bring this up again." Zhou Hongling stood firm.
Someone this talented—if she really let him end up under someone else, she'd be a fool.
She could have been forgiven for not realizing Lu Yuan's talent before. But now that she knew, there was no way she'd let her third uncle snatch him away.
Then, as if she had thought of something, she looked at Zhou Ming. "Third Uncle, I have things to take care of, so I'll get back to work. Yun Mo seems able to walk again. Why don't you take him back to Crouching Tiger Sai City first?
"You've been away for so long. It really isn't proper."
After saying that, Zhou Hongling hurried off.
Zhou Ming sat where he was, sighing deeply. He had never imagined he'd miss out on such a promising talent.
Still, he had no intention of giving up.
The little girl had actually told him to leave? Then he'd stay all the more.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan knew nothing about any of this. After taking a bath, he took out a Tiger Soul Pill and swallowed it.
Breaking through was the most important thing now.
If he could reach the Bone-Forging Realm, then the next time he faced that Iron Sparrowhawk Centurion, he was sure the man wouldn't last ten moves against him. There'd be absolutely no chance of him escaping.
The moment the pill entered his stomach, Lu Yuan crouched on the ground like a mighty tiger.
The muscles throughout his body trembled, his chest and abdomen rose and fell, and each breath rumbled like thunder.
At the same time, he could clearly feel the potent medicinal power coursing wildly through his body. He had never experienced anything like it before. It felt wonderful.
He didn't know how much time passed before the medicinal power began to weaken and Lu Yuan finally came back to his senses.
He glanced outside. It was already dark.
After practicing, he was truly hungry, but he couldn't be bothered to cook.
He put the uneaten travel rations from his last trip outside the city over the stove to warm them, ate some, then took out another Tiger Soul Pill and swallowed it.
Normally, taking one of these pills every three days was the limit for most people. Some could only take one every ten days. But Lu Yuan didn't have that problem. With the system, he could convert the pill's medicinal properties into proficiency as quickly as possible.
He also absorbed every bit of it. For most people, absorbing sixty percent would make them a top-tier genius; ordinary people managed only about thirty percent at most.
So Lu Yuan could take these rare treasures without restraint or worrying about side effects.
The next moment, he swallowed another pill.
Now that he finally had cultivation resources, he was determined to break through as quickly as possible.
Once again, he felt the medicinal power spread through his body.
Lu Yuan's bones and muscles hummed again.
He couldn't help marveling at the strength of the medicine.
He had never experienced anything like this before.
Over the course of one night, Lu Yuan swallowed three pills.
Though he hadn't slept, he felt better than ever.
Early the next morning, just as he was getting up,
a knock sounded outside.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
At the sound,
Lu Yuan was a little surprised. Who would come by so early?
He went outside and opened the courtyard gate. It was Old Huang, whose eyes were bloodshot. He must have been up all night.
As soon as he came in, he shut the gate and pulled Lu Yuan inside.
Looking anxious, he said, "After you left yesterday, Wei Yong and the rest of us were taken to the Captain's Mansion and questioned about how we killed the Iron Sparrowhawks. They questioned us separately. I was worried our stories wouldn't match, so I told them everything I'd seen.
"It won't cause trouble for you, will it? After we came out, I talked it over with Wei Yong and the others. What we said was all pretty much the same.
"Today, everyone asked me to come tell you first."
Clearly, Lu Yuan had already won over his men completely.
Then he waved a hand and said, "It's fine. Just tell them what happened. It's no big deal. Have the silver for our fallen brothers' families all been sent out?"
"We delivered it last night. They're gone, but with that silver, their families can get by for a while. I'm glad it won't cause trouble for you. I'll head off now. I still haven't been home."
Old Huang rubbed his hands together as he spoke.
Lu Yuan nodded. "All right, go home and get some rest for a couple of days. I'll call for you when we head out of the city."
"Sure thing." Old Huang answered, then left.
Lu Yuan took out the travel rations and prepared to warm them up before eating.
He had no intention of hiding his strength. This was a military camp, where everything came down to strength. Only with exceptional talent and high strength would he avoid being treated as cannon fodder.
Only then would he have any value.
Besides, with the system, his strength was improving rapidly. Others might still think he had only reached Great Mastery or perfection, but he had already entered the Force-Entry Realm.
That was another card he'd kept up his sleeve, wasn't it?
After watching Old Huang leave, Lu Yuan immediately opened the System Panel and began checking the results of a night's cultivation.