Recruitment, and the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Liquid-Condensing Method!

Xu Qingshan was stopped at the roadside.

Four or five young men blocked his path. Each had a formidable aura and was at least in the Liquid Condensation Realm.

The man in front looked about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a hint of arrogance in his eyes. He wore a tailored robe patterned in blue, and a jade pendant at his waist glowed softly in the sunlight.

Xu Mingting was a direct-line member of the Xu Family. At the Liquid Condensation Mid Stage, he held considerable standing among the family's younger generation.

He looked at Xu Qingshan, a cold smile curling at his lips.

"Xu Qingshan, I hear you did well on this mission?"

Xu Qingshan's expression shifted slightly, but he forced a smile. "Brother Mingting, I just got lucky."

"Lucky?" Xu Mingting scoffed. "Looks to me like you rode someone else's coattails."

He stepped forward and looked down at Xu Qingshan.

"I heard Yang Xiao did all the work from beginning to end. You just flipped through case files at the County Yamen and ran errands."

"And what did you get? Four hundred Merit? You're quite good at stealing credit."

Xu Qingshan's face flushed, but he held back his reply.

The other Xu Family youths joined in.

"Exactly. A collateral branch is a collateral branch. When you've got no ability of your own, you suck someone else's blood."

"Keeping a parasite like that in the Xu Family is an embarrassment."

Xu Qingshan clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, but he still did not dare argue.

In the Xu Family, the gulf between the direct and collateral lines was like heaven and earth.

A single word from Xu Mingting could make his place in the lineage even more difficult.

Besides, Xu Mingting was not entirely wrong.

Yang Xiao had indeed done the heavy lifting on this mission while Xu Qingshan had only assisted. The four hundred Merit was rightfully his, but to others, it did look as though he had ridden Yang Xiao's coattails.

Seeing that Xu Qingshan did not dare respond, Xu Mingting's sneer deepened.

"What? Nothing to say?"

Xu Qingshan gritted his teeth, his face dark with anger.

Just then, a calm voice came from behind them.

"What are you talking about? Sounds lively."

Xu Mingting and the others turned to see Yang Xiao walking over from the Mission Pavilion.

He wore a dark Demon Suppression Division uniform, with a Captain's badge at his waist. His bearing was steady, his face composed.

Xu Mingting's expression changed at once.

His arrogance and contempt vanished, replaced by a broad smile.

"Captain Yang!"

He hurried forward, suddenly warm and welcoming.

"I heard you completed this mission brilliantly, killing a Liquid Condensation Realm Painted-Skin Demon and Straw-Cloak Ghost on your own. Truly impressive."

Yang Xiao glanced at him without speaking.

Xu Mingting continued, "I'm Xu Mingting, a direct-line member of the Xu Family. I've wanted to meet you for a long time, Captain Yang, but never had the chance."

He gestured toward the young men behind him.

"These are some of the family's younger members. They usually work with me."

They came forward to greet Yang Xiao, even more courteous than Xu Mingting.

"Captain Yang, we've heard so much about you."

"We saw you during the Captain assessment. We should have made your acquaintance then."

Yang Xiao nodded. His gaze passed over them before settling on Xu Mingting.

"What were you saying just now?"

Xu Mingting froze, then smiled. "Nothing much. I was just catching up with Xu Qingshan. We're both Xu Family members, after all. It's been a long time since we met, so naturally we had a few things to talk about."

Yang Xiao looked at him, then at Xu Qingshan.

Xu Qingshan's expression was strained. His fists were clenched, but he said nothing.

Yang Xiao looked back at Xu Mingting. "Is that so?"

Xu Mingting gave a couple of dry laughs, then changed the subject.

"Captain Yang, since we've run into each other, why don't we find somewhere to sit? My treat. It'd be a good chance to get acquainted."

He lowered his voice, his tone growing more familiar.

"You're new here, Captain Yang, so you may not know how things work in Qingzhou. Going it alone here can be exhausting."

"If you're willing, we could look out for one another." Xu Mingting's meaning was clear. "You'd never have to take a mission with only two people again."

Yang Xiao said nothing.

One of the young men spoke up, far more politely than Xu Mingting.

"Captain Yang, Brother Xu is right. Connections matter in the Demon Suppression Division."

"If you're willing, we could arrange a better courtyard for you. Your current single room may be quiet, but it's rather bare."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"All we'd need is for you to become an Attendant of my family."

"After that, you could take on missions with far less risk. Others would see to the credit you earned, and becoming a Deputy General in time would be no problem."

He had put it plainly.

"An Attendant?"

Yang Xiao raised an eyebrow. He understood now: they were trying to recruit him.

If he joined them, he would gain a courtyard, cultivation resources, and the backing of a lineage. He could even earn credit without risking his life.

It sounded tempting, but Yang Xiao did not hesitate.

"Thank you for the offer."

His voice was calm, but his tone was cool. "I don't need it."

With that, he turned to Xu Qingshan.

"Let's go."

Xu Qingshan froze, then caught on and hurried after him.

Seeing Yang Xiao walk off without the slightest concern for their dignity, Xu Mingting and the others turned grim.

Xu Mingting gritted his teeth as he watched Yang Xiao's retreating back, a shadow passing through his eyes.

"He doesn't know what's good for him..."

The man beside him shook his head and murmured, "He seems stubborn. Trying to pull him in by force would only backfire."

"And..." He paused. "He's strong enough to kill Liquid Condensation Realm Demons on his own. He won't be easy to control."

Xu Mingting snorted. "He's just a fighter from a small county, with no roots or faction behind him. I'll wait until he runs headfirst into a wall and comes crawling back."

After seeing Xu Qingshan off, Yang Xiao took out his Merit Booklet and headed to the Cultivation Manual Archive next door.

The attendant behind the counter took the booklet and opened it. Surprise flickered in her eyes.

"Captain Yang, you want to exchange Merit for a Liquid Condensation Realm internal cultivation method?"

"Yes."

"One moment." She rose and went into a side room of the archive. A short while later, she returned carrying a thin booklet. "This is the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Qi-Condensing Method."

As if to make the slim booklet seem more valuable to a newcomer, she added,

"It's not just you Captains who use it. Deputy Generals and Generals do too."

"Thank you."

Yang Xiao put away his Merit Booklet and left.

Back at his small courtyard, Yang Xiao did not begin cultivating right away.

He first drew a bucket of water from the well, washed away the day's fatigue, and changed into clean clothes.

Then he sat on a stone stool in the courtyard and opened the Myriad Rivers Return to the Sea Liquid-Condensing Method.

It mainly explained how to condense the spiritual energy in his body into liquid and how to open up his Apertures.

The booklet was thin, but practicing the method would not be easy.

The Body Forging Realm tempered the flesh. The Qi Gathering Realm opened Apertures to absorb spiritual energy. The Liquid Condensation Realm condensed that energy into liquid, greatly increasing the quality of one's spiritual power.

Only by compressing spiritual energy into liquid could a cultivator sustain more advanced martial arts and endure a prolonged fight.

Normally, he would have to compress the spiritual energy filling his Apertures again and again, wearing away at it like water grinding stone. By the time a drop of golden Spirit Liquid formed, an Aperture might retain less than a tenth of its original energy.

In other words, his twelve Apertures, once filled with spiritual energy, would have plenty of empty space after it was converted into liquid.

Cultivation in the Liquid Condensation Realm meant filling those Twelve Major Apertures once more, this time with Spirit Liquid.