Over the next few days, Lu Yuan devoted himself to cultivation in his own courtyard. He also met with the men assigned to him by his superiors.
After earning some silver, Zhang Gun and Zhang He had both bought cultivation supplies and broken through to the next realm. They were assigned under Lu Yuan along with Wei Yong.
Seven more Entry Realm experts were transferred to his command.
Together, they formed a unit made up entirely of Entry Realm experts.
They were all equipped with Squad Leader Armor, and their benefits were on par with those of squad leaders. Zhou Hongling had clearly given Lu Yuan the makings of a unit. Once he broke through to Tendon-Refining, he could use these men as its core and form a hundred-man company.
No one was dissatisfied. They had all heard of Lu Yuan, the man who had taken down the Iron Sparrowhawks. Who would dare act like a troublemaker in front of him? They'd have to be tired of living.
Early one morning, Lu Yuan led his men out of the city. He had taken on several missions this time.
If he could complete them, he'd earn a hefty sum in both silver and military merit.
In the armory, he had once seen a rare treasure called Dragon Scale Grass. It was said to be the best thing for cultivating the body and nurturing the spirit, and could let him achieve perfect Spirit-Nurturing through his physical body before breaking through to Bone Forging Realm.
It was simply too expensive. At two thousand taels of silver, it was beyond his means for now.
So, on this trip, he intended to take as many Northern Barbarian heads as he could and earn more silver.
Now, on the Wasteland, the spring breeze was growing warmer. The snow had melted, and tender shoots were poking up from the earth.
Rolling hills stretched across the boundless plain.
Villages were scattered across it like stars.
Their warhorses charged forward, and they came upon a Northern Barbarian scouting party. The enemy numbered about as many as they did, and appeared to have around three Entry Realm experts.
They were no threat to Lu Yuan and his men.
He simply waved his hand and ordered his men to charge.
Their formation snapped into place, instantly becoming a spearhead.
As they neared the Northern Barbarian scouts—
Whoosh!
Lu Yuan swung his saber, its edge sweeping across everything within several meters.
Several heads soared into the air at once, sliced off by his strike as the Northern Barbarian scouts drew near.
The next moment, it was a one-sided slaughter.
In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, he had wiped out the entire scouting party.
Blood stained the tender grass, while riderless horses grazed on the ground.
After sorting through the supplies, Lu Yuan and his men set off in another direction.
For the next ten-odd days, they roamed the Wasteland. Their spoils went without saying—they had reaped a great many.
Lu Yuan's strength had also improved by leaps and bounds.
But their retaliatory attacks had angered the Northern Barbarians.
The Iron Sparrowhawks' deaths had been unavoidable. They had simply been outmatched.
But for several days running, every scouting party the Northern Barbarians sent out was slaughtered. Not one man returned.
Just like Ice Plain City had once been helpless against the Iron Sparrowhawks, they now found themselves at a loss.
Inside the Northern Barbarian camp, the chieftain of the Manyan Tribe sat in his tent. He was a towering, powerfully built man, around two meters tall, with a thick beard covering his chin.
"The Yong people are retaliating against us. In just over ten days, thirteen scouting parties have been wiped out. What are they trying to do? Ever since the Manyan Tribe went to war with Great Yong, we've never suffered such a humiliating blow."
The Manyan Tribe's chieftain, Manyan Humie, spoke in a rough voice.
His palm slammed against the table with such force that everyone's eardrums seemed to shake.
"It was all that Iron Sparrowhawks unit's fault. They killed so many people from Great Yong, then lost and walked away without a care, leaving our people to suffer the consequences."
One of the Manyan Tribe's chiliarchs took a long swig of liquor, then said coldly.
"You're talking too much. We're discussing how to deal with this Great Yong scouting party, not sitting around complaining. The man's surname is Xiao. No matter how much trouble he causes, someone will cover for him. Who are you?"
Manyan Humie swept his gaze over the commanders below and snapped irritably.
There were plenty of people surnamed Xiao in Great Yong, but here among the Northern Barbarians, the name meant imperial bloodline. They were among the most exalted of all.
He continued, "Send Manyan Qihun. He's the most outstanding of the younger generation in our tribe. Put together a scouting party of eighty and find this elite Great Yong unit.
"Once you find them, leave not one alive."
"Yes, sir!" the people below answered at once.
At that very moment, Zhang Zhe was already on his way to the Northern Frontier. He complained to the middle-aged man beside him, "I don't know what my father was thinking, insisting I come to the Northern Frontier. Back then, I even had A-Yuan take the blame so I wouldn't have to come to this place. I never thought I'd still have to make the trip."
The middle-aged man chuckled. "A-Zhe, it's not the same. A-Yuan came here to suffer. For all we know, he might already be dead. But you're here to polish your credentials. You have people protecting you and men who'll follow your orders. Stay for a while and kill a few Northern Barbarians, and your mission will be complete.
"After that, your future will be smooth sailing.
"If you want to rise far in the military, a stint on the Northern Frontier will always look good on your record."
The middle-aged man was Bai Hong, a renowned strategist from Yun Province and the Zhang Clan's tutor. He had been sent here to assist Zhang Zhe, which showed how determined the Zhang Clan was to carve out a path in the military.
"Sir, A-Yuan was your student too. If we run into him on the Northern Frontier, you won't be able to bring yourself to hurt him, will you?" Zhang Zhe said, dusting off his armor.
After the Zhang Clan's disciples had been selected, quite a few of them had studied under Bai Hong. Lu Yuan had been among them.
Every renowned teacher hoped to produce a great general in his lifetime. Bai Hong had devoted himself to studying military formations and taught the subject himself. Naturally, he hoped to nurture a great general as well.
And it would be better still if one of his students could earn a noble title and become a general.
At present, Zhang Zhe was the one he had the highest hopes for. Most importantly, the young man had his clan behind him. Bai Hong believed that even if Zhang Zhe never became a noble, he would still rise to a respectable position in the military.
So he simply replied, "I've already removed A-Yuan from my list of students. Since he was exiled, he no longer has the right to be my student. You can rest easy."
He had said this to make it clear to the Zhang Clan that he had severed ties with Lu Yuan.
He was committed to assisting Zhang Zhe alone.
Hearing this, Zhang Zhe nodded with satisfaction and didn't pursue the subject.
Instead, he lashed his horse across the back with his riding crop. "Sir, let's pick up the pace. Once we reach Yellow Sand City and finish the mission, we can head back."
"Very well," Bai Hong replied warmly.
He too urged his horse forward.
Neither of them could have imagined that Lu Yuan wasn't suffering in the Northern Frontier at all. In fact, he was doing very well.
He had not only established himself there, but had also joined the Zhou Family.
He had changed his name and completely severed ties with his past.
After nearly a month of fierce fighting outside the city, Lu Yuan finally returned to Ice Plain City with his men.
They had brought back a great deal from this trip.
Outside the Merit Pavilion, they dumped a mountain of heads onto the ground, along with the armor and weapons carried on their warhorses.
Everyone knew Lu Yuan had made another impressive haul.
People streamed over to watch.
The quartermaster, meanwhile, led his men in counting the heads and sorting through the supplies they had brought back.
Their hands were coated in sticky blood, but they didn't care.
It had been many years since anyone had brought so many heads back to the Merit Pavilion.
Lu Yuan was impatient too. If he could exchange this haul for enough military merit and silver, he'd be just about ready to break through.