Preparing to Leave!
Feeling the joy and increased power emanating from the Light Snow, Dongfang Yueming nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad."
"What... what kind of power is that?!" Li Yu struggled to get up from the ground, ignoring his injuries, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief! The terrifying power contained in that punch just now made even a Blood Replacement Realm general like him feel his heart tremble!
After a brief silence, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted from the city walls!
"We won! We won!"
"The Ferocious Beast is dead! We don't have to die!"
"It was that sir! He saved us!"
The surviving soldiers and new recruits wept with joy, their gazes towards the Dongfang Yueming filled with awe and gratitude!
Without the intimidating presence of their Ferocious Beast, the once surging beast tide began to descend into chaos, eventually receding slowly into the depths of the wilderness like a receding tide.
With the crisis averted, General Chen rushed over, his face plastered with a fawning smile, a stark contrast to his previous demeanor. "My lord, you are truly awe-inspiring! I am Chen Bing, and I was blind to your greatness. I have offended you greatly, and I hope you will forgive me!"
Dongfang Yueming ignored his flattery and simply asked, "I wonder if General Xi Zhenyue is currently at the Boundary?"
Chen Bing was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly replied, "My lord, General Xi left some time ago. I heard that... he went to the Central Continent with the Gao Family Master Gao Long, who returned from the Martial Arts Holy Land, to seek opportunities."
"Gao Long... Central Continent..." Dongfang Yueming nodded thoughtfully.
Just then, Li Yu, who was standing to the side, suddenly had a thought! "Wait... Xi Zhenyue? Could it be..." He looked sharply at Dongfang Yueming and tentatively asked, "Young brother... is your surname Dongfang?"
Dongfang Yueming glanced at him with some surprise, but nodded nonetheless. "Exactly."
Upon hearing this, Li Yu's face immediately revealed an excited yet complex expression, and he burst into laughter. "As expected! It really is you! Young brother, may I have a word with you in private?"
Seeing this, Chen Bing didn't dare to disturb him any longer and quickly and tactfully stepped aside.
The two walked to a secluded spot. Li Yu took a deep breath and looked intently at Dongfang Yueming: "Young brother, do you... also have another name, Dongfang Ri?"
Dongfang Yueming was startled! This alias had only been used on the train at the Boundary! "How did you know? It was Hongxiu, she..."
Li Yu nodded, then shook his head, a bitter and helpless look on his face. "Hongxiu told me..." He sighed, "That girl... a while ago, she was taken to the Central Continent by her half-sister."
"What?!" Dongfang Yueming was shocked!
Li Yu then briefly recounted the story of Hongxiu's mother, the triggering of the Ill-Fated Love Stone, and the appearance of Li Qingyue and the process of taking Hongxiu away.
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Yueming was deeply shocked. "I never imagined... that Hongxiu had such a past."
Li Yu looked at Dongfang Yueming, his eyes filled with earnestness and expectation. "Young brother, I know this request may be presumptuous. But... I hope that if you have the opportunity to go to the Central Continent in the future, you can... help me find Hongxiu, and also help me... complete what I was unable to do." His voice trembled slightly, filled with guilt and longing for his wife and daughter.
Looking into the tenderness and expectation in the eyes of the iron-willed general before him, Dongfang Yueming remained silent for a moment before finally nodding solemnly. "General Li, rest assured, if the opportunity arises, I will definitely go to the Central Continent. As for Hongxiu... I will do my best as well."
Upon hearing this, Li Yu's face lit up with a relieved smile, as if a heavy burden of many years had been lifted from his shoulders. He bowed deeply to Dongfang Yueming: "Thank you! Thank you, young brother!"
Time passed.
The night was as dark as ink, but the room was brightly lit, Dongfang Yueming in the east as he sat cross-legged.
Knock knock knock.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
"Come in." Dongfang Yueming opened her eyes.
The door was carefully pushed open, and a Boundary soldier respectfully entered, holding several slightly worn martial arts manuals in his hands. He presented them to Dongfang Yueming: "Sir, General Li sent these to you, saying they are some martial arts techniques you mentioned wanting before."
Dongfang Yueming glanced at the few manuals, then casually took one. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness."
"I dare not disturb your rest, sir, and will take my leave now." The soldier dared not linger and bowed as he withdrew.
Dongfang Yueming casually flipped through the manual in his hand, thinking to himself, "Perfect, let's test it out and see if the fused martial arts can continue to incorporate new martial arts, and where its limits lie."
He first picked up a manual called "Drifting Feather Movement Technique." He immersed his consciousness into it, and the interface immediately updated.
[Drifting Feather Movement Technique (0/2, Not Yet Entry)]!
"I still have points left, let's try this one first."
"Point Allocation!"
[Drifting Feather Movement Technique (0/6, Entry)]!
[Drifting Feather Movement Technique (0/10, Minor Accomplishment)]!
[Drifting Feather Movement Technique (0/20, Major Accomplishment)]!
[Drifting Feather Movement Technique (Perfection)]!
As points were consumed, the profound mysteries and secrets of the Drifting Feather Movement Technique were instantly grasped!
With a thought, Dongfang Yueming attempted to integrate the newly Perfection [Drifting Feather Movement Technique] into the existing [Swift Whirlwind Movement Technique (Perfection)]!
Buzz!
On the panel, [Drifting Feather Movement Technique] disappeared, while the light of [Swift Whirlwind Movement Technique] flickered slightly, seemingly becoming more refined, but without any qualitative change.
"Hmm?" Dongfang Yueming carefully sensed the fused movement technique. "It seems... the improvement is limited? It appears that the effect of fusion with martial arts of the same level and type diminishes after a certain point. Currently, fusing about three techniques seems to be the limit. To improve further, I'm afraid I'll have to find higher-grade martial arts to fuse with."
He put aside his obsession with movement techniques and picked up a swordsmanship manual called "The Blink Swift Saber".
[Blink Swift Saber (0/3, Entry)]!
"Point Allocation!"
[Blink Swift Saber (0/9, Entry)]!
[Blink Swift Saber (0/15, Minor Accomplishment)]!
[Blink Swift Saber (0/30, Major Accomplishment)]!
[Blink Swift Saber (Perfection)]!
Without hesitation, let's continue trying to fuse them!
[Blink Swift Saber (Perfection)] merged with [Gale Swift Saber (Perfection)]!
The same light flashed, and the aura of [Gale Swift Saber] seemed to have become even sharper and faster, but the essential improvement was not obvious.
"Just as I suspected." Dongfang Yueming confirmed his suspicions. "As for fist techniques... with the Crimson Flame Fist as a foundation, there's no need to integrate these ordinary fist techniques."
He glanced at the panel; his points had dwindled to single digits.
[Points:5]
"I still don't have enough points, I need to save them," Dongfang Yueming thought to herself. "Next, I'll break through to the Qi Refining Realm! At that time, I should get even more points every day!"
The following morning, Dongfang Yueming bid farewell to Li Yu and Chen Bing.
"Take care on your journey, young man!" Li Yu patted Dongfang Yueming on the shoulder, his eyes filled with expectation and reluctance.
"Take care, sir! If you have the chance, please come back to the Boundary often!" Chen Bing said with a respectful and ingratiating expression.
Dongfang Yueming nodded, said no more, turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing on the distant horizon.
"The Great Han Dynasty... the colossal ship leading to the Central Continent..." His heart was filled with anticipation, "What kind of sight will it be?"