[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 16] [Martial Arts: Blade-Breaking Eight Styles (9618/10000, Great Mastery)] Tiger-Subduing Stance Body-Tempering (102/1000, Minor Mastery) Golden Bell Cover (51/100, Entry Level)
"Whew!"
Lu Yuan let out a breath, delight showing on his face. Ten days of progress had been gratifying.
The Blade-Breaking Eight Styles were close to perfection.
He had also reached minor mastery in the Tiger-Subduing Stance. By rights, at this point he could try to break through to the Bone Forging Realm, but he planned to see whether he could train his body to its limits before advancing.
After all, that would make him stronger in battle.
They said some people chose to break through only after achieving great mastery in Body-Tempering. With a deep foundation built up, they could even fight above their level, making them formidable soldiers in the army.
But because of talent, few people could achieve great mastery in Body-Tempering.
Most scions of prominent families relied on pills or special techniques to hold back their progress.
The closer one got to the limit, the better one's talent.
"Practicing the Golden Bell Cover seems to help my Body-Tempering progress a lot, too. I'm training quite a bit faster than before."
Lu Yuan mulled it over.
"I'm still short on silver. I need to find a way to make money soon. If I had pills, I'd probably train even faster."
After assessing his current condition, Lu Yuan resumed his training.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, after breakfast, he donned his armor, slung a long saber at his waist, and headed for the city gate.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the streets were nearly empty.
When he reached the gate, he saw that his men had already assembled: ten City Guards and ten garrison soldiers.
Twenty-one men in all, responsible for inspecting everyone entering and leaving through the gate.
Ice Plain City, a border fortress in the Northern Frontier, had been built quite high—much taller than some cities in the interior. Its walls stood more than ten meters tall and were built of bluestone.
Giant crossbows were mounted atop the battlements. They said a single bolt could pin someone in the True Origin Realm to the ground. Their power was formidable.
Still, the City Guard was rather small. Only a few hundred men were stationed in the entire city.
Some were also stationed outside the city, tasked with clearing out and deterring nearby bandits and brigands to keep them from harassing the people.
Most importantly, they had to repel the Northern Barbarians when they crossed the border to raid.
Great Yong wasn't in a time of chaos. Compared with most dynasties, it might not be at the height of its power, but it was doing well enough. At any rate, it wasn't afraid of the Northern Barbarians and sometimes even launched attacks of its own.
After they took over the gate's defenses,
"Creeeak!"
The gate only began to open after more than twenty men strained against it together.
Then everyone took up their positions and began the day's work.
As Squad Leader, Lu Yuan had it relatively easy. He stood beside the brazier at the gate, warming himself.
As the sun rose, more and more people began passing through the gate.
There were quite a few merchant caravans among them.
Lu Yuan perked up. Guarding the city gate wasn't the most lucrative assignment, but there was still plenty of pocket money to be made.
In the past, he had only been a garrison soldier and hadn't been in a position to take a cut. Now, things were different. As Squad Leader, he could do that sort of thing. Old Huang had told him so.
He had also seen it happen during previous shifts.
Ordinary travelers barely needed checking. Once they confirmed they weren't spies, they could let them through. But when merchant caravans came by, they could usually squeeze them for a bribe.
Sure enough, just after the hour of the Dragon, a small merchant caravan of about a dozen people approached the city.
Lu Yuan didn't step forward.
He merely watched coldly.
After all, he wasn't familiar with this sort of operation yet.
Besides, he was waiting for an opportunity.
Sure enough, Wei Yong couldn't resist walking over. "Stop! Inspection!"
As soon as he spoke, the caravan's manager came over with a beaming smile. "Ah, Lord Wei's on duty today."
As he spoke, he slipped a money pouch from his sleeve into Wei Yong's hand.
Wei Yong smiled and gave the caravan a perfunctory glance. "Let them through."
The people around them immediately stepped aside to clear a path.
Then Wei Yong called out to everyone, "Brothers, dinner's on me tonight. We'll have something extra!"
He didn't raise his voice, but everyone nearby could hear him.
Lu Yuan's lips curled.
"Well, this guy really wants to be a thorn in my side. He's just too stupid—he's handed me an opening already."
Then he stepped forward and blocked the caravan.
"You dare let them through without an inspection? Who gave you the nerve?" Lu Yuan's voice rang out, clear and forceful.
It even echoed at the city gate.
It was his first day on duty. When he'd arrived, Wei Yong and the others hadn't even come to greet him. It wasn't an official requirement, but it showed they didn't take Lu Yuan seriously.
Clearly, the men had their own little clique and didn't respect him much. But Lu Yuan hadn't lost his temper; that would have made him look petty.
He had spent nearly the entire morning looking for an opportunity.
Now he understood: his chance had come.
When Lu Yuan stepped forward,
the caravan manager's expression changed, and Wei Yong and the others looked over as well. Lu Yuan glanced at the convoy, his expression darkening, then walked over. Wei Yong bowed and said, "Sir, this is the Li Family's caravan. I know them well. They often—"
"Bang!"
Before he could finish, Lu Yuan kicked him.
Wei Yong flew several meters and landed face-down. For a moment, he couldn't get back up.
The eyes of the people nearby narrowed.
Wei Yong had already reached the Entry Realm. An ordinary person couldn't hurt someone like him even if he stood still, let alone kick him several meters away.
The army respected strength above all. The others had gathered around Wei Yong partly because he had been the previous Squad Leader's trusted subordinate, and partly because he was strong.
Now that they had seen Lu Yuan show off his strength, no one dared step forward to help Wei Yong. They all froze in place.
"You think knowing someone means you can let them through whenever you want? How many heads do you have? Do you take military law for a joke?" Lu Yuan thundered.
Then he glanced at the others. "Search them!"
At his command, the dozen or so garrison soldiers didn't dare hesitate. They began searching the caravan's goods. The City Guards hesitated for a moment,
then joined in.
Lu Yuan was strong enough to be Squad Leader. There was nothing more to discuss.
The caravan manager stood to one side, not daring to move.
Only after the search was over did he take out a money pouch and approach obsequiously, pressing it into Lu Yuan's hand. Lu Yuan weighed it. There were probably five taels of silver in it.
He waved the man on and let the caravan pass.
Then he walked slowly toward Wei Yong. By now, Wei Yong had gotten back to his feet, but he didn't dare meet Lu Yuan's gaze. That kick had shattered his courage.
He had also recognized the gap between them.
In the Northern Frontier, the hardest fist made the rules. Wei Yong knew that even if he were prepared, he probably wouldn't last more than a few exchanges against Lu Yuan. Besides, Lu Yuan was clearly in the right.
The higher-ups didn't care if you made a little money on the side, but if you shirked your duties, that was another matter.
Wei Yong had wanted to put Lu Yuan in his place and show everyone that he held sway over them, so he had let the caravan through without a second thought.
Who could have imagined that instead of cowing Lu Yuan, he would hand him a reason to punish him—and take a kick for it?
When he saw Lu Yuan approach, he didn't dare hesitate. He held out the money pouch with both hands.
Lu Yuan glanced at it. There were probably only two taels of silver inside.
He didn't reach for it. He only asked, "Do you know what crime neglect of duty carries?"
At his words, Wei Yong's face instantly turned pale. That offense could be treated as either minor or severe, depending entirely on what the superior decided.
"Thump!"
He immediately dropped to his knees and cried, "Spare me, sir!"
He never would have thought that one small act of indulgence would leave him in such a predicament.
Zhang Gun stepped forward as well. "Sir, Wei Yong got carried away for a moment. Please let him off. We brothers will obey you from now on."
There was no denying that Zhang Gun knew how to read a situation.
In one sentence, he'd hit the nail on the head. Compared to him, Wei Yong was a pure brute.
"Yes, yes! I'll listen to you from now on, sir," Wei Yong hurriedly said.
His forehead touched the ground as he held the silver high over his head.
Truthfully, if he had been able to beat Lu Yuan today, things wouldn't have been so awkward. He might even have caused Lu Yuan some trouble. But Lu Yuan was far stronger than him.
So Wei Yong was the one who got unlucky.
Lu Yuan took the silver from his hands, weighed it, then tossed it to a nearby soldier. "Go into the city at noon and buy some meat. We'll have something extra for dinner."
The soldier hurriedly replied with a smile, "Yes, sir."
Then Lu Yuan looked at Wei Yong, who was still kneeling. "Get up. It's my first day on duty, and I don't want my men bleeding. I'll let this go for now.
"Do it again, and I'll punish you for both offenses. Go buy the meat at noon, and pick up some liniment while you're at it."
"Thank you, sir," Wei Yong said softly as he got to his feet. He was much more subdued now.
Lu Yuan had completely established his authority.
Nothing else of note happened afterward. They inspected a few small caravans and took in more than ten taels of silver. By nightfall,
a group of them sat around the brazier and finished the cooked food they'd bought, finally getting to know one another.
By now, many of them had accepted Lu Yuan.
He wasn't stingy, either. As was customary, he brought out all the silver they had collected that day. After subtracting the cost of the meat, there were about fifteen taels left.
Lu Yuan took five taels for himself, then distributed the rest among the others.
Each person came away with one tael.
The garrison soldiers didn't get such a perk. For them, getting a hot meal in the evening was already good enough.
Once the silver had been divided, everyone grew even more familiar with one another.
Even Wei Yong came over with a sheepish smile and asked Lu Yuan, "Sir, after we finish duty today, we've still got more than ten days before our next shift. Do you have any plans?"
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Wei Yong rubbed his hands together and grinned. "You may not know this, but this place is bitterly cold. The court pays us, but one man can barely get by on it. If you have a big family, it's hard to make ends meet.
"In the past, whenever we weren't on duty, the previous Squad Leader would take us outside the city to earn some silver. I led the group a few days ago.
"Now that you're here, everyone will follow you."
He wouldn't have said that if he hadn't truly submitted.
"What kind of work is it?" Lu Yuan wasn't familiar with this.
"There's a Merit Pavilion in the barracks. When they're off duty, a lot of people go there to take assignments. Most of them take place around the city. You can get one tael of silver for a bandit's head, though it doesn't count toward merit.
"A Northern Barbarian scout's head is worth two taels of silver and a little merit. But usually, we work with other squads and only hunt small groups of bandits. They're poorly equipped and weak. Over ten days, we can still make a bit."
After listening to Wei Yong, Lu Yuan nodded. This did seem like a way to earn money.
"Fine. I'll go take a look in the morning," Lu Yuan said with a nod.
At his words, the others breathed a sigh of relief.
They had worried that Lu Yuan wouldn't want to leave the city. If so, Wei Yong would be the only one in the Entry Realm, and they'd be at a disadvantage outside.
Having a Squad Leader along made all the difference.
If they could form a battle formation, their fighting strength would double.
And Lu Yuan was so strong, too.
As the sky gradually brightened, Lu Yuan and the others were relieved by the incoming shift. Then they went their separate ways.
Only Lu Yuan, Wei Yong, and Zhang Gun headed toward the Merit Pavilion in the barracks.