e-booksonline Chapter 107 Cultivation Technique Advancement and True Essence
Chapter 107 Cultivation Technique Advancement and True Essence
Chapter 107 Cultivation Technique Advancement and True Essence
"Buzz!"
After Lu Yuan consumed the Meridian Opening Fruit, the meridians and acupoints in his body began to shimmer with divine light.
It constantly stimulated his body.
The surging power of blood and qi flowed through the meridians towards the dantian. After a moment, wisps of gas formed inside. Lu Yuan raised his palm and gently pointed out.
A thin wisp of gas enveloped his fingers.
A small pit was marked on the ground.
He smirked: "So this is true essence? Not bad at all."
Then, system data popped up in my mind.
[True essence of the third-grade martial art "Tiger Subduing Stance" (10039/1000 Minor Success, use 10,000 proficiency points to advance the martial art?)]
Having reached the True Essence Realm, Lu Yuan's current stance training is no longer sufficient.
Lu Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief; his main cultivation technique was finally ready to advance.
"Advanced."
"Buzz!"
A buzzing sound filled Lu Yuan's mind, and then a large number of insights began to appear in his mind, all of them related to cultivation.
He seemed to have cultivated himself for many years.
Having traveled to many places, observed the changes in the world, and witnessed the transformation of the sea into mulberry fields, he finally comprehended a set of cultivation methods suitable for himself, based on the foundation of the "Tiger Subduing Stance" and combined it with body-refining techniques.
[Fourth-grade martial art, "Primordial Qi Gong," True Essence (39/1000 Minor Success)]
It can not only condense true essence, but also has a very good effect on body tempering.
Lu Yuan clenched his fists tightly, and a series of crisp sounds rang out.
At that moment, he wanted to roar, but in the end he held back.
Then, the data popped up again.
[Second-grade martial art "Rain of Arrows" (60281/50000 entry stance, should I advance?)]
Lu Yuan naturally chose to advance.
Then, a glint of fire flashed in his eyes, and a scorching heat emanated from his palm.
A new set of techniques came to mind.
[Third-Rank Skill: Breaking the Qi Arrow Technique (281/1000 Minor Success)]
This set of archery techniques is specifically designed to deal with experts above the Qi Refining Realm. The arrows are as swift as the wind, targeting acupoints and can instantly tear apart the body of a Qi Refining Realm expert.
It can be described as an extremely domineering archery technique.
The breakthroughs in these two techniques greatly increased Lu Yuan's strength, and he was very satisfied with them. The benefits of breaking through the limits at each stage of his body were now fully manifested.
If he were to encounter a master of Qi Condensation now, he should be able to defeat them quickly. Even a master of Innate Qi might not be without a fighting chance. It's just unknown whether he will be able to return after this battle.
After all, no one knows whether the battle with the Western Rong will continue.
Although they lost nearly 300,000 troops, the situation was similar on the Dayong side, with nearly 300,000 border soldiers killed in battle, which is rare in the history of Dayong.
Then, he stood up and walked outside. It was already completely dark. The Imperial Guards were still fighting on the battlefield, and the Western Rong wolf soldiers were already at their last gasp.
But there were still quite a few left, and even if they stood still, they would still have to fight for a while, not to mention that some people were constantly escaping.
The Imperial Guards won't let this opportunity to kick a man when he's down slip away, so it'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to end things.
Lu Yuan dragged his tired body toward the Merit Camp, where he needed to exchange for True Essence Pills.
Upon arriving outside the camp, they found that there weren't many people there today, but thinking about it, it made sense, since the Imperial Guards had all gone out to fight.
As for the border troops who had just escaped death, even though they had earned a lot of military merits, not many of them came here to exchange for pills, since they were already exhausted.
When the quartermaster saw Lu Yuan, he greeted him with a smile, even more politely than last time. After three days of bloody fighting, who in the entire army didn't know about it?
Even if they were thrown in, they might not have survived, but Lu Yuan persevered. Such a person, even if not in the Imperial Guard, was highly respected by the quartermaster.
Upon seeing Lu Yuan, he greeted him with a smile: "My lord, what would you like?"
"Exchange some True Essence Pills for me," Lu Yuan said softly.
The quartermaster quickly replied, "Is it for exchanging military merits? One third-class merit can be exchanged for a case, which is ten bottles."
Lu Yuan nodded: "Exchange it with merit points."
The quartermaster immediately brought over a medicine box, opened it, checked the contents, and, after confirming that everything was correct, handed it to Lu Yuan.
After receiving it, the latter did not return to his own tent, but went straight to the siege equipment camp, where armor and equipment were replaced. Any damage inflicted on the battlefield could be replaced here.
After Lu Yuan arrived, he took out his token, took off his old armor, put on a new captain's armor, and then returned to his tent.
At this moment, Zhou Xiong dragged his heavy body into the tent.
He was in a sorry state; he had been stabbed in the chest and struck in the back by a spiked club during the battle, and nearly died on the battlefield.
If it weren't for Lu Yuan's protection, he would probably have died in battle.
Standing in the tent, he said softly, "Sir, what should we do next? The men have been scattered. I heard that the captains who were selected today, and their men, have been selected into the Imperial Guard."
Moreover, they've filled the ranks to the maximum, with twelve captains taking nearly 20,000 men with them. Now, only 10,000 survivors remain in this camp, a large portion of whom are crippled and unable to continue fighting.
Hearing Zhou Xiong say this...
Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Let's wait for orders from above."
Zhou Xiong sighed softly, knowing that Lu Yuan had no choice.
Many of his men are now in a very low morale after this battle.
While Lu Yuan and the others were discussing what to do next...
Xiao Heng breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the Imperial Guards had dealt with the Western Rong wolf soldiers on the battlefield and were now chasing after the fleeing people.
He returned to his own tent, where only he and Marquis Mucheng were present.
The latter was his deputy general in this western expedition.
Xiao Heng glanced at his deputy and slowly asked, "Did the Seventh Prince look for you?"
"No," Marquis Mucheng quickly replied.
Xiao Heng nodded: "Then he probably hasn't found the time yet. His biggest purpose in coming here is to win over supporters in the military. What do you think of Lu Yuan?"
"Excellent! At seventeen years old, your cultivation has already reached such a level. Your talent is astonishing, and your application of military formations is even more exaggerated."
He stands out from the crowd in the border troops; I really want to recruit him into the Imperial Guard. Perhaps you could speak to the Seventh Prince about it, Commander Xiao?
Xiao Heng shook his head: "This seventh prince is His Majesty's favorite son. Now, he even brings him to the army to build up his reputation, which shows how much His Majesty dotes on him."
Although the Seventh Prince appears gentle and refined, he has an extremely unyielding personality. He just slapped Lu Yuan today, and you're expected to help him up.
Isn't this just asking for trouble? Let's not mention this again.
"What about Lu Yuan?" Marquis Mu asked softly.
He was also a border marquis, but he was kind and obedient. Xiao Heng transferred him to his side as a deputy general of the Imperial Guard, which meant he had one foot in the door of becoming a city marquis.
However, he still had a lot of affection for the lower-ranking officers.
Especially outstanding young people like Lu Yuan, whose circumstances are similar to their own.
"I'll make the arrangements. With so many troops in Dayong, there's bound to be a place for him. As a general of Dayong, I won't watch such a talented person wither away in the power struggle."
Now that the war has progressed to this point, the Western Rong should have some reservations and will not launch such a large-scale offensive again.
However, minor battles are still unavoidable. Lu Yuan is currently a captain, so tomorrow I will write a letter of appointment to formally appoint him as a wolf cavalry captain.
Select some men from the remaining border troops to fill his quota.
In short, in my eyes, as long as someone has rendered meritorious service, even a prince cannot do anything to them.
Marquis Mucheng nodded: "Your Excellency is upright and incorruptible, truly a role model for us all."
"Hehe, stop flattering me. I just want to do my best to retain talent for the Great Yong Dynasty." After saying this, Xiao Heng seemed somewhat dejected.
Marquis Mucheng grinned but said nothing.
Xiao Heng waved his hand, signaling him to step back.
After the Marquis of Mucheng left, only the Duke of Zhenyuan of Dayong remained in the entire tent.
He gently stroked his silvery-white beard, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"The Seventh Prince, the Prince of Polu, the Zhao family of Lingzhou—this Seventh Prince has gathered so many people without anyone noticing. He is not to be underestimated."
After saying that, he raised the wine glass next to him and drank the wine in one gulp.
He ignored all of that; the most important thing now was how to win this battle.
The ensuing war of attrition will likely be the real meat grinder.
The garrison troops and border troops will become the main fighting force, constantly fighting against the Western Rong on this land.
After all, this war wasn't started by the Great Yong Dynasty, and it's not up to the Great Yong Dynasty to decide when to stop.
The Western Rong are fierce and sometimes act without thinking.
Having suffered such a huge loss this time, they probably won't let it go easily.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, while Lu Yuan was drinking with Zhou He in his tent, the official appointment letter arrived. He was promoted from a junior officer to a full-fledged captain.
Moreover, he was a Wolf Cavalry Captain representing the elite of the northern frontier.
Looking at Xiao Heng's seal on it, Lu Yuan silently put the appointment letter away.
In the days that followed, their main task was to recuperate.
After all, many people were injured in the first war, and almost no one escaped unscathed.
At the same time, Lu Yuan also received orders to select those who could still go to the battlefield from the remaining 10,000 border troops to replenish his own forces.
So, during these days, besides his spiritual practice, he spent his time selecting suitable candidates.
When the three thousand people are gathered again.
It was already more than ten days later.
On this day, all of Xiao Heng's generals gathered in his command tent, including the Seventh Prince, whose faces were quite serious.
Xiao Heng pointed to a place on the map and said, "Moya Mountain, there is a wolf army of several thousand people stationed here. They have repeatedly plundered our villages outside the Great Wall. Yesterday, nearly five thousand people were kidnapped by them. The troops that have just been dispatched from various places have launched several encirclements against them, but they have all been driven back."
If this continues, the area beyond the Great Wall will become their private domain.
"Can all the people be relocated to the border?" Marquis Mu asked softly.
"No, it's simply unrealistic to send millions of people to the border. And most importantly, after decades of development and migration, the border region has finally shown some improvement. If we were to relocate them all back..."
"Then all the efforts of the past few decades will have been in vain," Xiao Heng said directly.
"Could we send the Imperial Guards into battle?" the Seventh Prince suggested.
"The true elite of the Western Rong have not yet made their move. If we use the Imperial Guards again, we will be at a disadvantage and the Western Rong will easily seize an opportunity. Therefore, we cannot use them for the time being."
L
Xiao Heng said calmly.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Notify Lu Yuan to lead his men into battle and wipe out this wolf army."
Hearing him say this, Marquis Mucheng looked at Xiao Heng in surprise: "Commander Xiao, these are wolf soldiers. Although they cannot be compared with our Imperial Guards, they are much stronger than ordinary border troops."
Moreover, their numbers are similar to, or even greater than, Lu Yuan's group. The previous two attacks with tens of thousands of men failed; sending him with three thousand men, I doubt he can succeed.
The Seventh Prince pursed his lips and remained silent. He didn't know Xiao Heng's thoughts, and he wasn't proficient in military strategy. At this moment, the best option was to keep quiet.
I was just a little surprised that Xiao Heng chose Lu Yuan.
This is the person I gave up on.
However, he didn't dwell on it any longer. After all, Lu Yuan had performed quite well in the past few days, but he was ultimately just a nobody.
There's no need to spend too much time figuring it out.
Xiao Heng then said calmly, "It's precisely because it's difficult to fight that we're letting him fight. If it were easy, would he even be in the running? Go and make the arrangements."
At this moment, Marquis Mucheng finally realized what was happening and immediately replied, "Yes, sir!"
Then, he sent a messenger to give the order.
Yes, for grassroots generals, if they want to get promoted, they have to risk their lives, fight fierce battles that others can't fight, and tackle tough challenges that others can't crack, only then will they have a glimmer of hope to stand out from the crowd.
If they knew they could win, why would such a thing happen to Lu Yuan?
The Marquis of Mucheng went through the same thing, but he was very lucky to have followed Xiao Heng at a very early age.
That's why I've managed to get to where I am today safely, but I've also faced countless life-or-death situations along the way.
It is no exaggeration to say that each of these border marquises in the Great Yong Dynasty is a remarkable story of a commoner's rise to power.
Zhao Yu stood beside the Seventh Prince with a gloating expression on his face. He didn't believe that Lu Yuan would survive this time.
After the order was given and everyone left.
The Seventh Prince returned to his camp, drinking tea while pondering the day's events. He wasn't particularly concerned about Lu Yuan, but rather about Xiao Heng's attitude and what he meant by sending Lu Yuan into battle.
"Could it be giving the other side a chance to show off? No, judging from the balance of power, this is clearly an attempt to kill Lu Yuan. Is this a gesture of goodwill?" The Seventh Prince pondered for a long time but could not figure it out.
Therefore, he stopped thinking about it and instead glanced at Zhao Yu and said, "I heard that your brother is about to cross over to the Innate Realm. When we get back this time, if he comes out of seclusion, invite him out for a drink."
Zhao Yu's elder brother, Zhao Mu, was born amidst auspicious omens. He possessed exceptional talent from a young age, repeatedly distinguished himself in battle, and reached the Innate Realm at the age of twenty-five. Now, he is poised to surpass the Innate Realm.
With the Zhao family's full support, Zhao Mu was aiming for promotion to marquis.
This is also why the Seventh Prince values the Zhao family.
"Your Highness, I will tell my brother as soon as he comes out of seclusion," Zhao Yu said hurriedly.
The seventh prince nodded without saying anything.
Zhao Yu then tactfully withdrew.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Yuan had already received orders to reorganize his troops and prepare to depart.