Chapter 53: 20 Days
Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. When Lu Yuan opened his eyes, he felt completely refreshed.
A layer of filth had also been expelled from his body.
He stripped off his clothes, poured the hot water into a wooden tub, and prepared to bathe.
A moment later, Lu Yuan lay back in the tub, a look of satisfaction on his face.
Then, he opened his System Space.
[Third-Grade Cultivation Skill: Tiger Subduing Posture — Tendon Refining (1271/30000 to Perfection)]
’One Profound Tendon Pill increases my Skill Level by a thousand. That means I’ll need around thirty of them to reach the threshold for Divinity Fusion. Once I do, I can take the Dragon Tendon Pill and break through to the Organ Refining realm without any issues.’
Lu Yuan smiled faintly.
’At this rate, I can reach the Organ Refining realm in a month at most.’
’Then, I’ll be a Thousand Men Commander.’
’I’ll have completely solidified my position in Icefield City and become part of its upper echelon.’
After washing himself clean, Lu Yuan resumed practicing his other Cultivation Techniques.
He never missed an opportunity to cultivate, taking advantage of every spare moment he had.
’Everything else is merely external. Only strength is truly your own.’
Meanwhile, at Yellow Sand Pass, Zhang Zhe was lying in bed after receiving fifty heavy strikes. The rage on his face was impossible to conceal.
In his entire life, he had never suffered such a humiliation.
"HISS! Do you have a death wish? Can’t you be more gentle?"
He snarled at the maidservant applying his ointment, venting his impotent fury.
Bai Hong, who was sitting beside him, said softly, "Zhe, no one could have predicted this. It’s not your fault. Who could have known that Lu Yuan from Icefield Fortress was so formidable? To think he actually wiped out a whole unit of Silver-armed Iron Kites."
"A man like that is already showing the makings of a Renowned General. You don’t need to compare yourself to him. Just focus on your own path, and you should have no problem becoming a General someday."
"I’m not trying to compare myself to him, but those Helian Family bastards went too far! Not only did they beat me, but they’re also forcing me to go out on patrol in the Wasteland tomorrow. They’re basically sending me to my death!
"In my current condition, I can’t even sit on a horse. How am I supposed to leave the city!" Zhang Zhe hissed.
He had never been treated with such contempt.
"Just endure it for now. I’ve already sent word to the family. As long as you last a full year here and kill a few ordinary Northern Barbarian scouts, our mission to burnish your credentials will be a success. Then we can head straight back to Yunzhou."
Bai Hong continued to soothe Zhang Zhe, feeling a sliver of pity for him. ’What can you do when you run into a military genius the likes of which appears only once in a century?’
After brewing for two days, the news of Lu Yuan’s feat had made him famous in all the major fortress cities.
The main reason was that the commanders of several fortress cities had all seen him when he returned.
It would have been difficult for him *not* to become famous.
At the same time, they couldn’t help but lament that if they had such a disciple, they could die content.
Then, as if remembering something, Bai Hong took out a letter. "One of your men delivered this. It should be news about Yuan."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Kill him, of course. Isn’t the General of Yunzhou’s son looking for him? He hasn’t found him after all this time. This time, I’ll kill Yuan, bring his head back, and that should be enough to finally appease the General’s son."
As he spoke, Zhang Zhe tore open the letter.
However, upon reading the contents, his pupils contracted instantly.
The muscles in his face began to twitch, but since his head was lowered, Bai Hong didn’t notice.
Zhang Zhe’s already reddened eyes became completely bloodshot.
The hands holding the letter were trembling.
Noticing his strange expression, Bai Hong asked curiously, "Did something happen?"
As if startled by the voice, Zhang Zhe discreetly put the letter away and forced a smile. "It’s nothing. They still haven’t found him."
Inside, however, he was seething with uncontrollable rage. ’According to this letter, the Zhang Yuan I’ve been searching for is none other than Lu Yuan—the same Lu Yuan who made a name for himself across the Northern Border by repeatedly slaughtering Iron Kites.’
’The bastard actually changed his name. No wonder I couldn’t find him.’
’That’s why he had to hide the letter. This information must not, under any circumstances, get out.’
’Otherwise, the people in the family—and even Bai Hong—would likely change their minds about me.’
’He knew his eldest uncle all too well. His desire to extend the family’s influence into the military was almost pathological.’
’If his uncle found out about Lu Yuan’s achievements...’
’He didn’t dare to imagine how crazed his uncle would become.’
’Then there was Bai Hong. His lifelong ambition was to groom a General, and Lu Yuan was now, without a doubt, on the fast track to becoming one.’
’If things continued developing this way, he stood no chance of competing with Lu Yuan.’
And so, an unprecedented sense of crisis and terror rose in Zhang Zhe’s heart.
After taking a moment to compose himself, he looked up at Bai Hong. "Sir, I’m fine now. You should go back and rest. We’ll head out of the city early tomorrow morning."
As he spoke, his clenched fists were trembling uncontrollably from the force he was exerting.
At some point, he had broken out in a cold sweat.
However, Bai Hong simply assumed he was like this because of the pain from his injuries and didn’t suspect a thing. "Young Master, get some rest. I’ll take my leave now."
With that, Bai Hong left.
Once Zhang Zhe was alone in the room,
CRASH!
He swept everything from his bedside onto the floor.
He knew he could no longer kill his cousin. The most important thing now was to surpass him, by any means necessary.
’Otherwise, how could he ever hope to win the family’s support?’
This secret, in particular, had to be kept at all costs.
But at the same time, a sense of bewilderment washed over him. He knew his own limits. While he was moderately talented, slaughtering Iron Kites was something he could never dream of doing.
"What should I do?" he muttered to himself.
Then, his mind couldn’t help but drift to the woman he had seen earlier that day. ’Perhaps she can help me.’
But he immediately shook his head, violently dismissing the thought.
He was, after all, the eldest son of the Zhang Family’s main lineage. To become the plaything of a woman like that was absolutely out of the question.
Lu Yuan, meanwhile, was oblivious to all of this. In the days that followed, he devoted himself completely to his cultivation.
He was striving to reach the next level.
「In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days had passed.」
Lu Yuan’s life during this time was quite pleasant. Every day at noon, he would eat at Zhou Hongling’s new General’s Mansion, where he was served a variety of medicinal meals that were different each time.
Each day, the meal included several soups that were particularly beneficial for the Tendon Refining realm.
Eating together so often, Lu Yuan and Zhou Hongling naturally grew more and more familiar with each other.
He even felt comfortable enough to joke with her at times.
She never took offense. In fact, when it was just the two of them together, she was quite lenient with Lu Yuan.
In the evenings, he would go to Xiao Hua’s home for dinner.
Knowing he couldn’t be bothered to cook, Xiao Hua and her mother had invited him to eat with them, saving him the trouble of cooking for himself and eating poorly every day.
He didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately accepted, but he made sure to bring over large quantities of ingredients.
After all, Lu Yuan had a huge appetite. If Xiao Hua were to provide all the food herself, she wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Thus, these last twenty-odd days had been an exceptionally comfortable time for Lu Yuan.
On this particular day, after returning home from dinner, he felt his entire body—flesh, bones, and sinews—brimming with a sense of fullness. He knew in his heart that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
Without hesitation, he immediately opened his system panel.