Chapter 254: The Youth with Boundless Potential

The county magistrate's hall.

The former county magistrate was gone; his seat was temporarily occupied by the assistant magistrate, Zhong Zheng.

This complied with Yu Dynasty ritual protocol.

Until a new county magistrate arrived to take office, Zhong Zheng was the magistrate of Qinghe.

"Your Excellencies, County Magistrate Zhuang's death was carried out by remnants of the Qi clan of Wu State, with physical evidence to support it—here is the case file, please review."

At Cai Jingong's signal.

Several officials from the Ministry of Justice's Clear Li Department carried out a thick stack of case files.

Though Ning Zhongtian and the others had spent many years as soldiers, they had only ever faced martial artists and martial affairs—they had never once set foot on a battlefield.

In one, one sees

Director Yuan was not only skilled in commanding troops, his personal combat strength was also among the finest in the world.

For Yu State's military officers to rise to high rank, they must have battlefield experience; previously, the only place to gain such experience was the northwestern frontier army, where survival was uncertain—but Wu State was different: it counted as battlefield experience, and far safer.

It was truly not tough.

They left Qinghe that same day.

Gazing at the room full of people who were barely holding back their cries.

Let's calculate.

Director Yuan.

He treasured this immortal blade as if it were his life; even if a Great Immortal descended, he would still say two words: not for loan.

Without exception, all had stirred up considerable turmoil in Yunzhou.

Do they really think a genius can treat crossing realms like drinking water? Even within the same realm it's difficult; for someone like Li Rui to cross a whole major realm, only Jiang Linxian had ever done so in Yunzhou.

They were sent to help quell the rebellion; no matter who won or lost in Wu State, the Anning Guard would gain merit—it was a guaranteed win.

After a night of fighting, Li Rui walked out of the courtyard, full of energy.

Civil officials, whether friend or foe, regarded the "great statesman" Zhang Shoufu as their literary paragon, while military officers looked to Director Yuan, known as the White-Robed War God.

Upon hearing those three words, the others also showed expressions of admiration.

Especially crossing a whole major realm—even though Li Rui had already opened his qi sea and was undeniably a Sea-Observing cultivator, he still faced an insurmountable gap compared to true Sea-Observing masters who had genuinely cultivated their qi sea.

Both were astonished by the thoroughness of Cai Jingong's evidence.

Tie Kuang stared at Li Rui, his tongue clicking nonstop: "With you in Yunzhou, peace won't last."

So Cai Jingong had to leave immediately, no matter what.

Li Rui's heart stirred slightly.

Yan Zhongxing grumbled.

But Cai Jingong cut him off: "Magistrate Zhong, no need. We depart today. There will be plenty of time in the future."

Tan Hu was born with a diamond body; a few more slashes were no problem.

But places like Annan Town, which had seen no warfare for years, had extremely limited paths to merit—so naturally, they hoped to gain military glory through battle and realize their dream of climbing the social ladder.

They all knew about Li Rui's qi deviation.

Ning Zhongtian nodded.

The martial essence of Dragon-Elephant True Qi surged in his mind: body like a giant elephant seated firm, arms like a silver dragon raging wildly—suddenly, his robes fluttered, and fallen leaves in the courtyard rose in Cengceng layers.

Listening to music?

Tie Kuang rolled his eyes.

Tie Kuang looked up at the blazing sun on the horizon:

Why?

Cai Jingong chuckled: "Since none of you have objections, I'll submit this case file to His Majesty. You all know this matter is urgent."

He hadn't set foot on a battlefield in ten years, yet he longed desperately for the feeling of charging across the battlefield.

Of course, if the immortal blade, Nine-One, were reversed.

"If you ever run into trouble in the future, come find me. But if you provoke a third-rank or higher official, don't bother."

So the answer is clear.

"Dragon-Elephant True Qi has three levels: Elephant Qi, Dragon Qi, and Dragon-Elephant Qi."

Ning Zhong

Ever since he encountered the Duke Prefecture's emissaries in Qinghe last time, he'd been jumpy ever since—and when he first arrived, Director Yuan had personally sent word to him, so how could he dare stay long?

Tie Kuang smoked, glancing sideways at Li Rui.

'At least it wasn't a wasted loan.'

He simulated Zhuang Renhe.

According to martial arts doctrine.

Jiang Linxian and Cao Wei flipped through a few pages and stopped reading.

Sixth-rank killing a fifth-rank—impressive skill.

Yunzhou once had a powerful sect; now it's gone, because before Jiang Linxian rose to power, they had a grudge—and Jiang Linxian wiped them out completely.

The long blade drew from its sheath.

Wei Ming and Ge Hong also harbored quiet anticipation.

Seeing all four had no objections.

A golden opportunity.

Thus, his reputation in the martial world was also immense.

But he had already used the Blade of Evil to forge Li Rui's willpower; within a short time, qi deviation was nearly impossible.

Li Rui had deliberately induced qi deviation.

Crossing realms is something only a prodigy can accomplish.

He was truly afraid.

Without Director Yuan, dozens of thousands in the northwestern provinces would have perished under barbarian hooves.

Now few remember.

Li Rui chuckled.

Li Rui breathed in the cool morning breeze, his enthusiasm for training higher than ever.

'I've heard this Cai official is henpecked—yes, that must be why.'

Wei Ming, as a veteran of Annan Army, naturally looked up to Director Yuan.

Tan Hu was the first to turn red with excitement: "This is good news!"

Tie Kuang was the Grand Elder of Divine Weapon Manor—not some idle hermit; behind him stood an entire sect. Attacking a government official could drag the whole sect into trouble.

Li Rui grinned.

"Mm."

There's a saying in the martial world: internal cultivation cultivates one breath, external cultivation hardens tendons, bones, and skin.

Morning.

Only Li Rui was an exception.

But if he and Ge Hong took a few more slashes, they'd surely die.

Lei Yong wasn't just Wei Ming's former superior—he was also his old superior.

Tie Kuang and Li Rui each held a pipe, squatting on the stone steps before the shop, puffing away.

First time on the battlefield? Even a green recruit gets nervous.

Crossing realms is nearly impossible.

Duty?

Coupled with recent events in the city—he spent his days hammering iron in the forge, but he wasn't as naive as Liu Tiezhu; he wasn't completely oblivious to the world outside.

The blade's momentum grew fiercer.

Li Rui had trained diligently these past days and was showing signs of minor mastery.

"Master, then I won't be polite."

Li Rui would surely go to Old Man Tie.

Both were willow-tendons; even with lifelong hard training, they could never cross the dragon gate—they needed more resources and stronger techniques.

Though he had already been certain the remnants of the former dynasty's Qi clan were responsible, seeing Cai Jingong's case file now made him even more certain.

The tree wishes for stillness, but the wind refuses to cease.

Because he was the only one who had truly been on a battlefield.

"Achieving glory—that's for the young to handle."

"Yes."

Daily sparring.

"Good. Tight-lipped. Even if I lend you the blade, killing is your own skill."

Never mind whether Li Rui was truly dutiful—any prodigy rising to prominence must inevitably show his sharpness; even if he himself didn't kill, others would always want to kill him.

Among them, the only one who seemed completely unconcerned was probably Tan Hu.

He had always thought him a promising martial talent, with considerable aptitude for combat—but even he admitted that at sixth-rank, he couldn't have slain a fifth-rank Sea-Observing master.

If he hadn't guessed wrong, Li Rui had tried many times before barely managing to kill Zhuang Renhe once.

Besides him, Ge Hong, Wei Ming, and the others were all seated together in the room.

Before the blacksmith's shop.

Li Rui's sharpness was more subdued, but he would surely stir up storms in Yunzhou.

"Truly, the young are to be feared!"

In the past hundred years, Tie Kuang had seen many gifted individuals in Yunzhou.

Thinking of this, he smiled again: "Then let's reschedule."

Senior officer? Wei Ming first froze, then exclaimed in delight: "You mean General Lei Yong?"

Come to think of it, Ning Zhongtian should truly be under Lei Yong's command.

Indeed, everyone fell silent at once.

This time, Li Rui borrowed the blade—this was the Immortal Blade's first taste of blood, killing an opponent above his realm, and it had not tarnished the weapon's reputation.

As for why he hadn't directly asked Tie Kuang to act earlier.

The most prominent among them was Jiang Lin.

The facts proved that, without an Immortal Blade, his victory over Zhuang Renhe was a nine-to-one split—he was the one.

Wei Ming licked his lips, eyes gleaming with excitement: "I wonder if Governor Yuan will come to our Anning Guard."

Li Rui's expression didn't change: "Senior, the one who killed Lord Zhuang was a rebel of the Qi clan."

No matter how gifted, they were all the same.

These past few days, he had been on edge.

As if some terrifying flood or monstrous beast loomed ahead.

Zhong Zheng hadn't expected Chai Jingong's reaction to be so strong—he was momentarily stunned.

"Youth is wonderful."

Tan Hu muttered.

No one was at the door either.

With a fifth-rank expert as his sparring partner, his Dragon-Elephant True Qi energy progressed by leaps and bounds; added to his already excellent foundation, after only seven or eight days of training, he had already glimpsed the threshold.

Every strike and motion carried terrifying force.

They'd long since exhausted their supplies from daily fighting—no profit to be had, and charging meant certain death. Of course they feared it.

In the dream.

Yan Zhongxing and Zhong Zheng watched intently for a full hour.

Tie Kuang gazed deeply at Li Rui, ignoring his excuses entirely, a flicker of approval crossing his face.

"Big brother, since you've been sick, Qinghe has been incredibly lively."

Chai Jingong took his leave.

He instantly recognized that Li Rui clearly showed signs of qi deviation.

It was something he had to do.

It was just to listen to music—why such a reaction?

A warmth stirred in his heart.

The most extreme cases truly hated that heaven had no handle, earth had no ring.

The situation in Wu State differed from that in the northwest.

"A young man with boundless potential."

Old Tie Kuang had a sharp tongue but a soft heart—he was certain the old man would truly act when it mattered.

"I heard Governor Yuan arrived in Yunzhou yesterday—he must be in Anchang Town."

"So it was indeed the Qi clan rebels!"

Ning Zhongtian looked at Ge Hong and Wei Ming: "Prepare yourselves—you'll soon see action. After all, this is war; don't let your guard down."

Of course, if the enemy was fourth-rank or higher.

When one attains Dragon-Elephant True Power, one's strength can uproot mountains.

Ever since that night he returned the blade.

"This is a place of great misfortune."

Ask the border troops of the northwest—who wants to fight?

He had long known Zhuang Renhe was dead; he even knew a "Qi" character had been left at the scene of his death.

Moreover, this was a regional commander from the Qinghe garrison appearing in another commander's jurisdiction—that spoke volumes.

Lei Yong's eagerness likely stemmed from a desire to claim credit.

That's how he earned the title "Sword Immortal of Jiangdong."

If Cao Wei insisted it was the Qi clan who killed him, isn't that clearly an attempt to seize military merit?

Tie Kuang spoke slowly, his words startling: "So—you're the one who killed Zhuang Renhe."

The soldiers below were like this; the officers above were no different.

Martial arts were divided into internal and external.

You certainly won't earn merit by staying within Anning Guard's territory—only on the battlefield could you possibly do so.

Those who fought daily feared battle; those who didn't fight longed for it.

The words weren't even finished.

Li Rui's karmic debt must be borne by himself; if he could resolve it, he should do so himself.

"Uh."

Killing an opponent above your realm has never been easy.

"I thank you for your auspicious words."

Famous in one battle.

He had also slain a sect master after opening his qi sea.

Hearing Li Rui could finally get out of bed today, they came specially to visit.

Lei Yong, like Cao Wei, was an Assistant Regional Commander.

He gazed at the Immortal Blade cradled in his arms.

Ning Zhongtian said: "Governor Yuan won't be coming—he's too high-ranking; if he goes anywhere, it's straight to the front lines. But your old superior is coming to Qinghe."

Tan Hu grinned: "Chief Ning, don't worry—just one phrase: courage conquers all—just swing and finish it."

He occasionally pinched the burning tobacco in the brass pipe.

But having stayed in Anning Guard too long, everyone assumed Jiang Lin was of that faction.

Qinghe was about to change, but none of this had much to do with Li's residence.

According to Tie Kuang, Jiang Lin's victory was extremely narrow—nearly a nine-to-one death sentence.

Tie Kuang seized Li Rui's shoulder, a faint smile tugging his lips: "Good lad—you've just opened your qi sea, yet you've already improved further. In a few years, you'll likely enter the Sea-Viewing realm."

"Senior, I'm a law-abiding man."

"True enough, but I've hated Zhuang Renhe for ages—better he's dead."

Ever since he learned Tang Hai's troubles were orchestrated by Zhuang Renhe, he'd been shouting he'd kill him. Now it had come true.

His aura was astonishing.

Anchang Town is preparing to march!

As a superior external art, the Dragon-Elephant True Qi energy's sword technique was the Six Dragon Swings, emphasizing strength to achieve overwhelming power through brute force—though its skill was no less refined.

Why?

Ning Zhongtian chuckled: "Governor Yuan is out of the question—he's too high-ranking; he'd go straight to the front, never to our guard battalion. But your old superior is coming to Qinghe."

Hearing Lei Yong was coming to Anning Guard, even Li Rui sat up straight.

Zhuang Renhe was truly dead.

External arts were mostly divided into two parts: body strengthening and techniques.

But even if afraid, one still had to go.

Of Yu State's thirty-two military garrisons, not a single officer failed to admire Governor Yuan; even among common folk, many secretly worshipped his statue—a phenomenon especially pronounced in the northwest.

Wei Ming rolled his eyes.

They had already witnessed this Master Chai's skill—they wouldn't make any mistakes.

Assistant County Magistrate Zhong Zheng tried to detain him: "Master Chai, no need to rush today—why not…"

Li Rui didn't reappear at the shop for over half a month.

Suddenly!

A warm current surged from Li Rui's waist and abdomen, rushing through his limbs and extremities—his fingers and palms felt boundless strength.

Li Rui rejoiced:

"The Elephant Power is complete!"

(End of Chapter)