The crowd behind me lingered, their buzzing chatter echoing in the night...
Next, people started packing their belongings.
First, a few people walked out of the camp one by one, carrying their packs, and then groups of people left the camp one after another.
There were quite a few people in the group who wanted to be recruited into the government; these people didn't want to be bandits for life.
Footsteps clattered, and figures flickered in the firelight.
By midnight, nearly two thousand people had left!
More than three hundred riders were leading their horses, preparing to leave. Yan Xiaobing, with a squad of personal guards, blocked the road, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his face pale.
"My elder brother is kind and righteous; he allowed you to leave on your own. How dare you take the horses with you?!"
The cavalrymen looked fearful and dared not attack.
Just then, Lu Yulin came out of the tent.
He glanced at the cavalrymen leading their horses and said to Yan Xiaobing, "Let them go."
"Elder brother!"
"Release them."
Yan Xiaobing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth to step aside.
More than three hundred riders bowed to Lu Yulin and filed out of the camp. The sound of their hooves gradually faded away on the official road, and the dust they kicked up blended into the night.
As dawn broke, Lu Yulin took a headcount of the remaining people.
There were still nearly 700 cavalrymen and a little over 2,000 infantrymen remaining.
However, Lin Qian was there, Zhigang was there, and Liang An was there too.
None of the three big bosses left.
Because all three of them chose to stay, there were relatively more elite troops remaining in the camp.
Lu Yulin had his personal guards gather everyone together, and he stood on a slightly raised earthen slope.
The morning light streamed in from behind him, illuminating his face with exceptional clarity.
Thank you all for trusting me.
Lu Yulin clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd and said loudly, "We didn't carry much food on our escape, and there will definitely be pursuers behind us. The men who left last night can draw away some of our pursuers. Only in this way can we find a way to survive!"
His explanation revived the crowd's spirits.
Lu Yulin pointed northwest. "Those people are heading towards Ya Province. We're not going to Ya Province; we're going to Lu Province. With our current forces, it's indeed difficult to conquer cities and territories. Let's find a place to settle down, recuperate, develop slowly, and wait for the right opportunity to plan something bigger!"
The implication is that they want to start a new "Mount Liang".
This time, Lu Yulin will no longer be a second-in-command who can be manipulated at will!
Everyone present had their own guesses about this.
Lu Yulin paused for a moment, then continued:
"There's one more thing. My state of mind changed last night, and I vaguely touched upon an opportunity for a breakthrough. If I can overcome it, I might be able to step into the Great Grandmaster realm."
These words struck the crowd like a thunderbolt!
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then suddenly erupted in gasps of surprise.
"Brother, is it true?!"
Yan Xiaobing's face flushed with excitement, and he was the first to ask.
Around the earthen slope, more than two thousand pairs of eyes turned to Lu Yulin, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Lu Yulin smiled and nodded firmly, "Of course it's true. I, Lu, have dedicated my life to martial arts and would never lie about this!"
Hearing this, many people present believed it to a large extent, and their gazes toward Lu Yulin became even more ardent!
The reason so many people were willing to stay and follow Lu Yulin was twofold: firstly, they did not want to be recruited by the imperial court, and secondly, they admired his martial arts skills.
Lu Yulin's statement that he is expected to break through to the Grandmaster level has naturally greatly boosted morale.
A Great Grandmaster can become a powerful and influential figure wherever he goes!
If Lu Yulin can successfully break through to the next level and become Great Grandmaster, he will surely be able to build a force even more glorious than Mount Liang in the past!
While Lu Yulin was boosting morale, Wu Shuangren also led his troops out.
More than 6,000 Yi Province Militia marched out of the north gate of Rong Province, followed closely by the Shannan Army.
After the two groups met on the official road, they pursued Mount Liang in the direction he had fled, followed by a grain transport team of more than 6,000 people.
Just like when we set off from Yi Prefecture City.
After chasing for most of the day, at dusk, the scouts returned with news.
Ahead, the official road forked into two paths. One continued north, heading towards Ya Province, with sparser footprints and hoofprints on the ground; the other turned northwest, heading towards Lu Province, with much denser tracks and more hoofprints.
"The enemy has split their forces, why?"
Xu Rong was puzzled after receiving the news.
The Mount Liang forces were already at a disadvantage; to divide their troops at this point would be tantamount to suicide.
Upon receiving the news, Wu Shuangren immediately concluded that there must be someone within Mount Liang who was unwilling to accept the imperial pardon.
The split at this time may be due to internal conflicts between the two sides, leading them to choose to go their separate ways.
Wu Shuangren approached Xu Rong and offered, "General Xu, since the enemy has divided their forces, let's divide ours too. I'll take some men to pursue the group heading towards Ya Province, and we'll leave the enemy in Lu Province to General Xu."
The scouts' intelligence indicated that there were more people heading towards Lu Province, and significantly more horses.
Wu Shuangren's act of handing over more enemies to Xu Rong appears to be a gesture of goodwill.
His real purpose was to delay Xu Rong receiving the news about the amnesty from Ya Province.
Xu Rong turned and glanced at Wu Shuangren; in the twilight, neither could see the other's expression.
He nodded. "Alright, then let's split up and pursue them."
The two groups soon parted ways at the fork in the road.
Wu Shuangren led the Yi Province Militia northward in pursuit, while Xu Rong led six thousand Shannan Army northwestward in pursuit.
Dusk was falling.
Lu Yulin's men set up camp again by the roadside and stopped.
He summoned a group of leaders.
"Our provisions will last for at most two days, and we've run out of all the concentrated feed for our warhorses."
Lu Yulin said.
To keep warhorses in a state of carrying heavy loads for extended periods, concentrated feed is essential.
Concentrated feed mainly consists of grains and legumes.
Without concentrated feed, warhorses would need to spend at least eight or nine hours a day feeding on just hay. That would make marching impossible, and no one could afford to wait.
Humans can go hungry, but horses cannot.
If they abandon their warhorses, the fighting power of this team will immediately drop several levels!
"If we keep moving forward, once our supplies are all exhausted and everyone is too weak to move, our marching speed will slow down, and we will inevitably be overtaken by the pursuers. That will be a dead end."
Lu Yulin continued, "Rather than sitting and waiting to be killed, we should take the initiative!"
Liang An looked at him. "Grand Marshal... Brother Lu, how do you plan to take the initiative?"
Now that everyone has left Mount Liang, there's no need to mention Mount Liang positions there anymore.
Lu Yulin said without hesitation, "While everyone still has the strength, let's turn back and fight the pursuers behind us!"
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
To turn back and fight the pursuers is incredibly bold!
Since the events of last night, Lu Yulin has completely changed from his usual composed demeanor, becoming more ambitious and enterprising, as if he has suddenly become more than ten years younger!
"Brother Lu, we have less than three thousand men now, and the pursuing troops behind us are probably several times our size. Turning back to fight them wouldn't be a good idea; the chances of winning are slim."
Liang An said, "In my opinion, it would be better to slaughter a batch of warhorses for food. That would be enough to sustain us until we reach Lu Province and find new provisions."
Lu Yulin looked at him. "What happens after we escape into Lu Province? Do you think the pursuers will stop chasing us? How long are we going to keep running?"
"..."
Liang An was speechless.
"This battle was inevitable sooner or later; it's our battle for survival! Only by winning this battle can we struggle to find a way to live!"
Lu Yulin said firmly, "Rather than being exhausted and even having to kill our warhorses, we should take advantage of everyone's peak condition and fight a solid battle with the pursuers behind us! If we win this battle, we'll have enough food and we can temporarily shake off the pursuers."
"As for the chances of victory, some of the pursuing troops will inevitably head towards Ya Province, leaving us with far fewer enemies. Secondly, they certainly won't expect us to dare to turn back and counterattack, allowing us to catch them off guard! Finally..."
Lu Yulin paused for a moment, then said, word by word, "I want to find an opportunity to fight Wu Shuangren again!"
"Oh?"
Everyone looked at him, and they felt that this last reason might be the main reason why Lu Yulin wanted to turn around and fight back.
Lu Yulin didn't hide anything and said frankly, "When I fought Wu Shuangren last time, I actually had a feeling that I was about to break through my bottleneck. At that time, I felt that if I could defeat this opponent, I might be able to find the opportunity to break through!"
Last night I resolved my inner conflict, and my state of mind changed. I thought I could take that step and break through the bottleneck. But I realized that my state of mind was not yet complete... The missing piece is the battle with Wu Shuangren!
Of all those present, only Lin Qian, Zhigang, Liang An, and Yan Xiaobing, four First Rate experts, could roughly understand what Lu Yulin was saying.
Everyone else was completely confused and didn't understand.
In fact, the most crucial factor in breaking through to the First Rate level of Internal Skill cultivation is not breathing techniques or circulating qi and blood, but Mental Power, or state of mind.
After that, Mental Power became the most crucial element in breaking through from the Subordinate First Rank to the Grandmaster realm!
Unfortunately, this kind of thing is so mysterious and elusive that no one can explain a specific and clear method for breaking through it.
Everyone's path is different; you have to find your own way.
The Great Grandmaster of the Deer-Slaying Palace once said something widely circulated:
"Any First Rank expert has the opportunity to become Great Grandmaster, not because of talent, but because of opportunity."
Last night was Lu Yulin's lucky break!
If he hadn't fought Wu Shuangren before, and hadn't lost to Wu Shuangren in public, perhaps he could have taken that crucial step last night.
He fought his way from Hebei Circuit to the capital without ever being defeated, and became the top martial arts champion of that year.
Later, he became invincible throughout the martial arts Hebei Circuit!
Later, he joined the Mount Liang, but even when he lost, it was due to a series of attacks.
In Mount Liang, no one could rival him in a one-on-one fight!
Lu Yulin had never experienced a true defeat in his martial arts career until he met Wu Shuangren.
That battle Yi Prefecture City, in a sense, changed the fate of Mount Liang Lu Yulin's fate!
Lu Yulin now clearly sees the path to becoming Grandmaster; he's just one step away from achieving that final state of mind.
Therefore, he was eager to fight Wu Shuangren again and defeat him fair and square!
"I have a strong intuition that as long as I defeat Wu Shuangren, I will be able to completely break through my bottleneck!"
Lu Yulin said firmly.
"..."
The group remained silent for a moment, then looked at each other.
"Fuck it, let's gamble!"
Liang An suddenly blurted out a curse, "Brother Lu, I'm willing to fight my way back with you!"
"I'd like to too!"