Chapter 308: Rising Moon

Above the qi sea, within the dantian.

The dark clouds formed from immortal xuan qi dispersed.

A full moon slowly rose from the surface of the sea, its cold, clear light bathing the qi sea.

Sacred, solemn, reverent.

At the instant the full moon appeared, the qi sea boiled violently, waves surging to heights of ten thousand zhang.

Moon as Celestial Guide!

Whether from past-life knowledge or conclusions drawn by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's celestial observations, all clearly indicated one thing: tides are intimately tied to the heavenly moon.

The moon of the Sea-Observing realm.

It is the embodiment of the martial artist's will, signifying complete mastery over the qi sea, becoming its master.

After ascending the moon, one may truly begin using the qi sea's power to cleanse the body, achieving a pure, unblemished form and returning to primordial state.

"Primordial state is within reach!"

Li Rui was overjoyed.

Most Sea-Observing cultivators are stuck precisely at this stage of ascending the moon.

Hence, ascending the moon is also called the Moon Gate.

For many geniuses, it is an insurmountable bottleneck—stuck for decades, even for life, unable to advance another inch. Li Rui had spent years hardening his sinews and bones solely for this Moon Gate.

Unexpectedly, with the aid of the Bing character talisman, he shattered the barrier in one decisive push.

He attained the realm of ascending the moon.

As long as one can condense true qi into a qi-moon, it can cleanse the body; with sufficient time, all impurities will be purged, and when the body meets the minimum standard of a primordial martial artist, one naturally becomes one.

This process varies by martial artist's constitution—shortest ten years, longest several decades.

With the aid of elixirs, it can be greatly shortened.

Hence, young primordial prodigies are almost exclusively found among great sects.

The full moon rose slowly.

Li Rui did not know how long had passed; finally, the moon hung high in the nine heavens, visible only from afar, shining in harmony with the immortal palace above his qi sea, indistinguishable from the legendary celestial court.

In that instant.

He felt his true qi perfectly fused with his body; with every breath, he sensed its presence, no trace of obstruction remained.

Li Rui carefully sensed the changes within his true qi.

Ascending the moon is internal, not external.

His physical strength did not increase much, but his control over true qi underwent a qualitative leap.

For instance, far more perfect sword control.

A slight thought.

The immortal saber at his waist, sheath and all, leapt into the air and danced wildly.

Each movement exquisitely precise.

It was the form of the Dragon-Elephant True Qi Power!

Previously, Li Rui could never have achieved this; sword control was simple—using true qi as hands to manipulate weapons, aiming to sever an enemy's head from afar.

He made a rough estimate.

Li Rui's maximum control range with his sword was three hundred zhang; beyond that, he could not command it.

Far less than Jiang Lin's legendary sword strike spanning ten li.

Of course.

With Li Rui's talent, given time, he would surely achieve it.

Combat power surged!

Li Rui felt refreshed and invigorated.

He looked again at the Bing character talisman in his hand—the ink had vanished, leaving only a blank sheet of paper.

The true meaning of the Martial Saint had been fully absorbed; the Bing character naturally disappeared.

"Truly a stroke of fortune."

Had he not accidentally comprehended the Martial Saint's true meaning, he could never have entered the realm of ascending the moon so swiftly—this insight saved him seven or eight years of arduous cultivation.

One need only look at Cao Wei, his fellow commander of the Anning Guard, to understand.

Having entered the Sea-Observing realm nearly a decade ago, he had barely reached Sea-Watching, still at least ten years from ascending the moon.

When Li Rui stepped out of the room.

He realized the sky was bright with daylight.

Yet, breaking through overnight had become routine—he was already accustomed to it.

As he stepped out of the room.

He unexpectedly saw Tie Kuang, who appeared to have been standing there for a long time.

As Li Rui was about to greet him, puzzled,

Tie Kuang spoke slowly: "Another breakthrough?"

Li Rui was startled:

"How did you know?"

Upon hearing Li Rui's words, Tie Kuang became even more certain: "Your true meaning's edge was too sharp—it flashed briefly, but I was too close, so I still felt it."

Li Rui nodded, not concealing it:

"Indeed, I've made progress."

Tie Kuang's eyebrows lifted slightly.

Unlike others, he knew Li Rui was no imperial covert agent—he had trained for only a dozen years and already displayed such an extraordinary aura, truly terrifying.

Among all the prodigies he had seen, Li Rui was the most prodigious.

"You kid"

He had long since grown tired of praising him.

Ever since meeting Li Rui, this boy had never stopped surprising him.

"If any kid from Divine Weapon Mountain Village provokes you, show some mercy—for my sake."

Tie Kuang finished speaking and turned without looking back, returning to the rear courtyard.

He had seen too many prodigies.

Some prodigies were on the verge of soaring, yet fell mid-flight; others, blessed with great fortune, survived every enemy's targeting, ultimately turning the tide and striking back—such people are called destined by heaven.

Yunzhou had one: Jiang Lin.

Tie Kuang believed Li Rui would be the second.

When encountering such a person, the wisest course is to befriend them—or at least never become their enemy.

He knew Divine Weapon Mountain Village had previously clashed with Li Rui.

From his understanding, Li Rui was a man who never forgot a slight.

Li Rui sighed lightly.

"Senior Tie misunderstands—I am actually a kind-hearted man."

"Chief Li, here is the latest roster for our Anning Guard jurisdiction."

Lu Jun respectfully presented a thick roster with both hands to Li Rui.

Li Rui took it, smiling slightly:

"Lord Lu, you've worked hard."

Lu Jun stepped back, bowing: "It is my duty."

Li Rui, as Anning Guard's Assistant Regional Commander, inherited Jiang Lin's influence.

Lu Jun and Ning Zhongtian were naturally his men.

Unlike Ning Zhongtian, Lu Jun was far more disciplined, always respectful, never showing even a hint of arrogance despite Li Rui once being his subordinate.

What could he do? Li Rui's momentum was simply too strong.

He dared not provoke him.

Moreover, Lu Jun's patron was not within the Anning Guard—distant help couldn't solve immediate problems; he must treat Li Rui with utmost courtesy.

Li Rui found nothing wrong with this.

A superior insisting on treating a subordinate as a brother was pure madness.

He only needed obedience.

And the best way to enforce obedience was not through favors, but through authority—especially toward former superiors.

Li Rui waved his hand: "Lord Lu, you may leave." After Lu Jun departed,

Li Rui opened the roster.

"Anning Guard jurisdiction: one third-rank immortal, thirteen primordial, thirty-one Sea-Observing."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow.

Unbeknownst to him, Qinghe had become a thriving center of martial arts.

This strength far surpassed that of any of Yunzhou's thirteen prefectures.

Thus, though Li Rui was a regional commander, he dared not act recklessly.

Yu Kingdom's population numbered hundreds of millions; martial artists were as numerous as fish in the river—among ten thousand, a hundred thousand remained.

Previously, Yunzhou had been weak, its martial arts in decline.

If not for Marquis Yuan's enfeoffment, Yuan State was among the lowest-ranked across all provinces.

Not a single character, line, or content detail is overlooked!

Yunzhou now has a new air about it.

The number of Immortals of the Primordial Stage and even Earth Immortals has increased by more than several times.

Never mind distant matters.

The owner of the Crane Pavilion in Qinghe City is a genuine Earth Immortal, and there are at least a dozen Primordials.

Without real strength, you simply cannot hold the line.

At least Li Rui and Cao Wei were already overwhelmed by those major sects; Marquis Yuan precisely considered this, which is why he sent Nie Siming and his adopted sons to garrison the region.

Qinghe's status is growing ever more important.

Those major sects are no longer satisfied with mere branches; many have directly established subordinate sects.

Qinghe's current officials are utterly unable to control them; Nie Siming's so-called inspection is merely a pretense to stabilize Qinghe's subordinate sects.

He came specifically to suppress the entire city.

Li Rui had already received word that Nie Siming's position as Provincial Governor would soon change.

Then he would become the legitimate chief official of Qinghe.

Becoming a subordinate isn't so bad—least of all, you don't have to worry about too many things.

Li Rui was happy to have someone take the front line.

His body is old; he can't handle much hardship.

As Assistant Military Commander, he paid little attention to most internal affairs of the Peace Guard, yet he demanded absolute strictness regarding this register.

This is something that can save your life in critical moments.

The imperial court controls the martial sects, and this register is of paramount importance.

Li Rui had seen records of it in ancient texts.

When the founding emperor rode across the martial world, his first act was to register every major sect.

But as the court's control over the martial world grew longer, the register's importance gradually faded from memory.

Li Rui was among those who never forgot.

This register contains no shortage of valuable information.

He carefully flips through every page.

With his formidable comprehension, he needs only to read each name twice to memorize them all—another ability granted by his sharp intellect.

As he was reviewing the register,

Liang He entered.

"Master."

Li Rui, seeing Liang He, smiled warmly: "What's up, Xiao He? You actually have time to visit your master?"

Liang He blushed.

He was now the de facto leader of the Heaven and Earth Alliance.

Too many matters needed handling.

Of course, most of them were business affairs.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance today is less a gang and more a merchant guild—he was its shopkeeper.

And Li Rui was its proprietor.

Liang He realized that most of the time, it was Li Rui who went to the Heaven and Earth Alliance; though Li Rui had a room in the Assistant Regional Commander's office, he returned there only rarely.

He cleared his throat twice:

"Master, it's Liu Tong—he sent a letter back."

"Oh?"

Li Rui's interest stirred.

Liu Tong had been in Yunzhou for months; Li Rui had heard he'd made quite a name for himself there.

He'd even earned the title "Ninth Young Master of Yunzhou."

He took the letter from Liang He's hand.

Unsealed, it was a sprawling thousand characters.

It mostly detailed Liu Tong's progress in Yunzhou: who he'd met, which sects he'd connected with, which trade routes he'd opened.

"Lord of the Alliance, I've met the noble daughter of the Tianyuan Merchant Guild. She's very interested in Qinghe's business—if we seal the deal, we'll be able to operate across all of Yu Kingdom."

Li Rui spent a full quarter-hour reading it all.

Every line overflowed with Liu Tong's triumphant pride.

The absolute focus of the letter was the Tianyuan Merchant Guild.

"The noble daughter of the Tianyuan Merchant Guild."

Li Rui chuckled softly. Liu Tong had always excelled in matters of the heart.

The Tianyuan Merchant Guild was one of Yu Kingdom's three largest merchant guilds.

Its business spanned the entire realm.

Its headquarters, of course, lay in the capital, Jingcheng.

Previously, Tianyuan had not entered Yunzhou, as it wasn't worth their investment—but now that cross-border trade had matured, they had finally stepped in.

That was their confidence.

Only the weak rush in before certainty; true masters wait until the final moment to act.

Liang He had already read the letter:

"Master, what should we do next? Should we send support to Liu Tong?"

Li Rui set the letter aside and picked up the register again, speaking calmly:

"This isn't urgent yet. Tell Liu Tong for me: the timing isn't ripe. Let him keep planning."

Liang He heard this.

Though startled, he nodded obediently.

When he'd read the letter, his heart had burned with excitement.

After all, it was the Tianyuan Merchant Guild.

If they could climb this great tree, the Heaven and Earth Alliance's future would be limitless.

Even with his composure, he felt they must seize this opportunity quickly.

But from Li Rui's current attitude,

Liu Tong's plan would likely be shelved.

Yet he had always unconditionally supported Li Rui's decisions; if Li Rui said delay, then delay.

'Master must have his reasons.'

Upon the Dreaming Yuntai Peak,

Li Rui stood still, holding the Immortal Blade that had severed the dragon, his inner energy steadily rising until, at last, it reached its peak.

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

With a single thought,

a figure appeared before him.

Majestic, handsome, ethereal as a celestial being.

It was Jiang Lin.

(End of Chapter)