Chapter 23: Fighting Over Someone
About an hour after Wei Yong and his men were summoned to the Captain’s Mansion for questioning, a thick stack of documents was placed on Zhou Hongling’s desk.
"The accounts from these men are all more or less the same. According to this information, Lu Yuan’s strength should be in the Body Tempering Realm, but his Sword Skill, archery, and Military Array have all reached at least the Great Success stage, or even Perfection."
Zhou Hongling murmured, the delight spreading from the corners of her eyes.
"Ahem, actually, the most shocking thing is his Body Tempering Realm cultivation base. From this, we can see his Body Tempering has at least reached Perfection, and he has also cultivated a Body Refining Skill. That’s why he could face a Tendon Refining expert head-on."
"Hiss... to think he can fight across two major realms. This boy’s talent and comprehension far exceed my expectations. He already has the potential to become a great general," Zhou Ming exclaimed in awe.
Zhou Hongling kept her head down and didn’t speak. She had naturally seen this too but didn’t want to say it out loud. She had originally wanted Lu Yuan to become her uncle’s disciple so he could learn the art of the Military Array.
Now that he himself had reached Perfection in the Military Array, there was no need for him to study under her third uncle.
After all, if he became another’s disciple, there was a chance he could be transferred away. In the past, she had only cared about short-term results, so she didn’t mind, but things were different now.
’I’m a Captain now; I really should have a capable subordinate.’
Seeing that Zhou Hongling had no intention of responding, Zhou Ming spoke again, "Ahem, Hongling, Yun Mo is injured right now, and it will take some time for him to recover."
"How about this, I’ll do you a favor and teach this Lu Yuan a thing or two."
"Third Uncle, I think we should forget it. He’s earned so much merit this time, I’m planning to promote him. Besides, we’re currently in a standoff with the Northern Barbarians."
"He doesn’t have time to study. Let’s talk about it later." Zhou Hongling refused her uncle’s request without hesitation.
At the same time, she was already thinking about how to handle Lu Yuan’s arrangements.
"Hongling, you’re wasting his talent by keeping him here! If you let your Third Uncle train such an outstanding person, his future will be absolutely limitless."
Zhou Ming was now thoroughly regretting his past actions. He dropped the pretense and directly tried to claim the man.
But Zhou Hongling just shook her head. "Third Uncle, you can’t put it that way. I know plenty of things myself. Besides, didn’t he achieve so much without anyone teaching him?"
"You already have Yun Mo. If you take Lu Yuan as another disciple, you’ll inevitably be distracted. That would be the real waste of talent."
She already had new plans for Lu Yuan and had no intention of letting her third uncle get his way.
"You... you little minx, how can you change your tune so quickly? I’ll trade you ten elite veterans at the Bone Forging Realm for him."
"Not even for a hundred. Don’t bring this up again." Zhou Hongling stood her ground, refusing to yield.
’Pushing such a talent into someone else’s hands would be foolish.’
It was one thing when she didn’t know about Lu Yuan’s talent, but now that she did, there was no way her third uncle was going to snatch him away.
Then, as if she’d thought of something, she looked at Zhou Ming and said, "Third Uncle, I still have things to attend to, so I’ll get going. I hear Yun Mo is already able to get out of bed. Why don’t you take him back to Wohu Fortress first?"
"It’s not right to be away for so long."
After she finished speaking, Zhou Hongling hurriedly left.
Zhou Ming sat there, sighing with regret. He never would have imagined that he had missed out on such a promising seedling.
However, he had no intention of giving up.
’That little girl actually tried to shoo me away. Well, I’m just going to stay put.’
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan knew nothing of this. He had just finished taking a bath.
He took out a Tiger Soul Pill and swallowed it.
’The most important thing now is to break through.’
’If I can reach the Bone Forging Realm, I’m confident that the Iron Kite Centurion won’t last ten moves against me. He’ll have absolutely no chance of escape.’
The moment the elixir entered his stomach,
Lu Yuan crouched on the ground, his entire body resembling a giant tiger.
The muscles on his body trembled, and his chest and abdomen rose and fell, his breaths creating a thunderous roar.
At the same time, he could clearly feel the potent medicinal power surging wantonly through his body. It was an incredibly comfortable sensation, something he had never experienced before.
An unknown amount of time passed before Lu Yuan came to his senses as the medicinal power began to wane.
He glanced outside. The sky had already grown dark.
After his recent cultivation session, he was famished, but he couldn’t be bothered to cook.
He heated up the leftover rations from his trip outside the city on the stove. After gnawing on a few pieces, he took out another Tiger Soul Pill and consumed it.
Normally, the limit for an ordinary person was one of these elixirs every three days. Some could only take one every ten days. But Lu Yuan didn’t have this problem. Because he had the system, he could convert the elixir’s medicinal properties into Skill Level at the fastest possible speed.
And it was a one hundred percent absorption rate. One had to know that for most people, absorbing sixty percent already made them a top-tier genius. An average person could manage about thirty percent at most.
Therefore, Lu Yuan could consume these Heavenly and Earthly Treasures without any reservations, free from the worry of side effects.
The next moment, another elixir was swallowed.
He’d finally gotten his hands on some Cultivation Resources; he was determined to break through as soon as possible this time.
Once again, he felt the medicinal power spreading through his body.
A hum vibrated through Lu Yuan’s muscles and bones.
He couldn’t help but marvel at the potency of the medicinal power.
It was a sensation unlike anything he had ever felt before.
In a single night, Lu Yuan consumed a total of three elixirs.
Although he hadn’t slept, he felt more comfortable than ever before.
Early the next morning, just as he was getting up,
a knock came from outside.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"
The sound rang out.
Lu Yuan was a little surprised. ’Who would come over so early in the morning?’
When he went out and opened the courtyard gate, he found it was Old Huang. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept all night.
As soon as he came in, he shut the door and pulled Lu Yuan into the house.
He said anxiously, "After you left yesterday, Wei Yong and I were taken to the Captain’s Mansion. They questioned us about the process of slaying the Iron Kites. We were all questioned separately. I was worried our stories wouldn’t match up, so I just told them everything I saw."
"That won’t affect you, will it? After I got out, I discussed it with Wei Yong and the others. Our stories were all pretty much the same."
"The men asked me to come give you a heads-up today."
Evidently, these subordinates of his had been completely won over by Lu Yuan.
Then, he waved his hand and said, "It’s fine. Just tell them what happened. It’s no big deal. Have the silver taels for our fallen brothers been distributed?"
"We delivered it last night. Even though they’re gone, with that silver, their families will be able to get by for a while. As long as it doesn’t affect you, that’s what matters. I’ll get going then, I haven’t been home yet."
Old Huang said, rubbing his hands together.
Lu Yuan nodded. "Alright, you should head back first. Rest for two days. I’ll call you when it’s time to head out of the city."
"You got it," Old Huang replied before leaving.
Lu Yuan, for his part, took out his rations, planning to heat them up before eating.
He had no intention of hiding his strength. This was a military camp where strength was all that mattered. Only with powerful talent and high strength could one avoid being treated as cannon fodder.
Only then would one be considered useful.
Moreover, there was another thing. With the system, his strength increased very quickly. For example, right now everyone thought his skills were only at Great Success or Perfection, but he had actually already achieved Entering the Stance.
This was, in its own way, another trump card up his sleeve.
After watching Old Huang leave, Lu Yuan immediately opened his system panel to check the results of his night of cultivation.