Chapter 33: Time Flies
After returning to the city, Lu Yuan went to the Military Equipment Storehouse. He had already arranged everything that needed to be done; his men just had to practice with the Military Array. Now, it was time for his own cultivation.
He currently had about a thousand taels of silver on hand. Part of it was his pay silver, and the rest was what was left over after buying Spirit Medicine.
He planned to purchase some medicine for Bone Forging and take it back to use for his cultivation.
When he arrived at the Military Equipment Storehouse, Lu Yuan looked at the dazzling array of items and, for a moment, didn’t know what to choose. He turned to an official standing to the side and asked, "Do you have any recommended Elixirs for the Bone Forging Realm?"
The official, who was flipping through a book, first furrowed his brow with a hint of impatience. However, upon seeing it was Lu Yuan, he immediately broke into a smile. "Ah, it’s Lord Lu. For the Bone Forging Realm, people generally take the Bone Forging Pill. It’s one hundred taels of silver per bottle.
"If you need something better, then there’s the Black Jade Bone Tempering Pill.
"It’s said to be refined from the bones of a Profound Tiger mixed with Profound Jade Powder. It’s quite a bit better than the ordinary Bone Forging Pill and costs three hundred taels of silver a bottle."
As he spoke, he took out a medicine bottle.
He then leaned closer to Lu Yuan and whispered, "This Elixir is an extremely good value. Its effects are seven to eight times stronger than an ordinary Bone Forging Pill, but the price is only triple. Only the military still sells it at this price; it went up a long time ago on the outside."
"I’ll take three bottles."
Lu Yuan said, then took out a stack of silver notes, each worth one hundred taels.
Now, he only had a little over two hundred taels left on him.
It was certainly enough for his normal expenses.
"Right away! I’ll get these packed up for you."
The official chuckled as he took out three bottles of the Elixir and handed them to Lu Yuan.
After taking them, Lu Yuan walked straight out of the Military Equipment Storehouse and headed for home.
When he returned to his courtyard, the stove hadn’t gone out and was still warm.
The room wasn’t cold, either.
Lu Yuan took out some things to prepare a meal.
But just as he opened the rice container, he heard a voice from outside. Xiao Hua had appeared at his doorway at some point.
"Yuan, come eat at my place. I saw you were out all afternoon, so you probably haven’t prepared any food, have you?" Xiao Hua was wearing a red cloth dress today, her long, straight legs particularly striking.
Above them were rolling hills. ’Even though I don’t know her exact age, her figure is really incredible.’
This was paired with a face that was pure with a hint of nobility.
Just standing there, she was a sight to behold.
Lu Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony and nodded. "Alright, then I’ll eat at your place today."
Xiao Hua smiled, pressing her lips together.
She turned and led the way, with Lu Yuan following behind her.
When they arrived next door, the matriarch of the Xiao Clan was still lying in bed. "Yuan, this is all thanks to you. Otherwise, I’m afraid I really wouldn’t have pulled through."
As she said this, a lingering fear surfaced in her eyes.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of death, but of what would happen to her daughter if something really happened to her. And there would have been so much trouble afterward.
"Auntie, there’s no need to be so formal with me. As the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. We’re like family, so please don’t be so formal," Lu Yuan said with a chuckle.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hua went into the inner room and began bringing out the dishes.
There were quite a few meat dishes today. Not only was there a small pot of roe deer meat, but also a stewed rabbit.
The vegetables were wild greens.
As the weather was gradually warming up, many wild greens had sprouted in the Wasteland. Their vibrant green color made them a perfect accompaniment to a meal.
In addition to these, there was a basin of noodles.
Lu Yuan was indeed quite hungry by now, and after sitting down, he began to dig in with gusto.
Xiao Hua sat beside him, continuously placing more food on his plate.
Watching the two of them, the Xiao matriarch’s gaze grew increasingly gentle.
After the meal, Lu Yuan returned to his own residence.
After taking off his armor and tunic, he swallowed a Black Jade Bone Tempering Pill.
This Elixir was indeed much more effective than an ordinary Bone Forging Pill. Just after swallowing it, Lu Yuan could feel a surge of energy moving toward his bones.
Then, his entire body began to heat up.
It was as if he were truly being tempered by flames.
He pushed the Lying Tiger Posture to its absolute limit.
One had to know, the effects of this Black Jade Bone Tempering Pill were several times stronger than those of an ordinary elixir.
Coupled with the fact that Lu Yuan, due to his system, could absorb the medicinal effects completely, the Elixir’s impact was even more intense.
"CRACK! CREAK!"
He could even hear sharp cracking sounds coming from his own bones.
A great deal of sweat broke out on his forehead.
About four hours later, Lu Yuan finally stopped his cultivation.
Then, he walked out into the courtyard and began to practice with the Tiger Head Heaven-Swallowing Blade under the moonlight. The man moved with the blade, and a phantom of a White Tiger seemed to leap and roar around his body.
Lu Yuan’s own figure was almost completely obscured.
Including the hilt, the nearly three-meter-long blade filled the small courtyard, covering it in afterimages of its movement.
After practicing the Sword Skill several times, he began to practice his archery.
In short, Lu Yuan didn’t waste a single moment of the evening before he went to sleep.
He understood in his heart that since the Manyan Tribe had dispatched elite cavalry, Icefield City would most likely send him into battle.
The only way to ensure his safety in the Wasteland was to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
For the next period of time, Lu Yuan began his cultivation before dawn every day, only stopping when it was time to sleep at night.
Although he was exhausted, he could clearly feel his body growing stronger day by day.
This was especially true with the help of the Elixirs.
There were a full thirty pills in the bottles of Black Jade Bone Tempering Pill. For an ordinary person, this supply would have been enough for over half a year, if not a full year.
But Lu Yuan used up every last Elixir within half a month.
On this day, just as he had finished lunch and was preparing to continue his cultivation...
"BANG!"
The main gate was thrown open, and Zhou He walked in.
After the incident with Wu Han, he had become much closer with Lu Yuan and visited often, never bothering to knock.
According to him, he would only consider knocking when Lu Yuan got married.
Seeing him, Lu Yuan stared and asked, "Why the rush? Did something happen?"
"Something did happen! The Lord Captain is looking for you," Zhou He said hurriedly.
Lu Yuan nodded, threw on some clothes, and headed toward the Captain’s Mansion.
On the way, Zhou He carefully reminded him, "You haven’t been out of the city recently. Outside Sai City, it’s practically become the Northern Barbarians’ world. The elite scouts of the Manyan Tribe have terrorized the three Sai Cities to the point that no one dares to venture out.
"I heard that Yellow Sand City and Huqiu City have already sent out their elite troops. I reckon our Captain is also preparing to send you out.
"This battle is pretty crucial. A Royal Family caravan was robbed, and word has reached the Imperial City, so the higher-ups are determined to resolve this.
"Whoever can eliminate this elite Northern Barbarian unit will be awarded triple military merit!"
Zhou He’s words made Lu Yuan raise an eyebrow. ’Triple military merit... that’s a huge amount.’
If he added that to his past military merit and succeeded in this mission, his Military Merit Points should reach over five hundred.
At his current rate of deployment, it wouldn’t be long before he could be promoted to Thousand Men Commander.
Once he reached that rank, he would be considered part of the upper echelon in Icefield City.
Above him, there would only be Zhou Hongling.
Most importantly, he had heard that after reaching the rank of Thousand Men Commander, one could exchange points for higher-grade Cultivation Resources and also had one opportunity to receive a Cultivation Technique.
He would have a thousand soldiers of the City Guard Army under his command, and including the Garrison Soldiers, the total number of troops he could mobilize would reach several thousand.
It was a Senior Seventh Grade official post. Just one more step up, and he would be on par with his second uncle.
After all, the rank above Thousand Men Commander was Captain, which was a Senior Sixth Grade official post.
That was even higher than Zhang He of the Zhang Family’s second branch.
As the two of them spoke, they arrived outside the Captain’s Mansion.
While the guard went inside to announce them, Lu Yuan opened his data panel.
No matter how he looked at it, venturing deep into the Wasteland to fight the elite troops of the Manyan Tribe was a dangerous affair.
He needed to see just how much his cultivation had grown over the past ten-odd days before giving his answer.