Chapter 363: The Immortal Bestows the Dao

Before the grand hall of the Purple Gold Palace.

Si Feng and Sheng Dao Ren stood side by side.

Not long after.

Blood Shadow Ancestor arrived with two people before them.

"My Lord, Elder, the people you requested have been found."

Si Feng glanced at the man and woman before him and smiled slightly: "Good."

With that said.

Sheng Dao Ren stepped forward.

He reached out one hand and seized the man's shoulder. The man's heart leapt in alarm, yet he dared not evade, gritting his teeth and enduring as Sheng Dao Ren gripped his right shoulder.

Instantly.

A chill rose within him.

He couldn't help but shiver.

"Upper-Middle grade. Not bad."

Sheng Dao Ren laughed in satisfaction, then repeated the same process on the young woman.

Only then did he turn his head.

He nodded to Si Feng: "No issues."

Hearing Sheng Dao Ren's words, Blood Shadow Ancestor quietly exhaled in relief.

Si Feng had always tasked him with using Spirit-Testing Stones to find Superior-grade Spirit Roots.

Unfortunately.

Those with Superior-grade Spirit Roots were exceedingly rare in this world, leaving them with only two individuals possessing Upper-Middle-grade Spirit Roots.

Si Feng's lips curled slightly.

He understood well: in this world, spiritual energy was depleted; producing someone with a Superior-grade Spirit Root was nearly impossible. What stood before him was already exceptional.

Had they been in the Upper Realm, they would have been at least Superior-grade, perhaps even Elite-grade.

Of course.

He merely thought it.

"Fourth-grade, Innate. Acceptable. From now on, train under me."

Spirit Roots offered some benefit to martial cultivation, but were not decisive—having a good Spirit Root didn't guarantee high martial skill. These two were already Innate martial cultivators, which had surprised him.

Clearly, Blood Shadow Ancestor had gone to great lengths.

Hearing Si Feng's words,

Not only the man and woman, but even Blood Shadow Ancestor were secretly stunned.

What great fortune.

He hadn't expected these two to become the Palace Lord's disciples.

The man and woman, both from the Ghost Ming Sect and the Qi Clan, knew well the power of the Purple Gold Palace's Lord; their eyes brimmed with delight.

But Si Feng's next words doused them in cold water:

"I need two junior Dao attendants."

Not disciples. Merely attendants.

The man suppressed his disappointment and forced a breath of resolve:

"Yes, My Lord."

Attendant or not, perhaps he could still become the Lord's disciple later—there would be other chances.

Soon after,

The man and woman followed Si Feng into the grand hall.

Si Feng first handed the man a small booklet: "This is the Flame Scripture."

Then he handed the woman another small booklet: "This is the Dark Water Scripture."

"Train daily from now on."

"Go."

The Immortal Lord bestows scripture?

The two instantly burst into ecstatic joy.

If scripture was being given, what difference was there from being a disciple?

At once, both bowed their heads repeatedly.

Si Feng was long accustomed to this; he merely waved his hand.

After the man and woman departed, Sheng Dao Ren chuckled, watching their eager backs: "These two have only Upper-Middle-grade Spirit Roots. In the Upper Realm, they'd barely suffice—but this is the Lower Realm. At least Superior-grade Spirit Roots are needed to cultivate Immortal arts. And your incomplete version of the scripture? It can be practiced, but it's truly dull."

Si Feng's smile didn't fade:

"Who said I intend for them to master it?"

Hiss.

A faint sound echoed in the room.

A green vine crept from the ground, slowly coiling around Li Rui's arms.

Gradually, it formed a pair of gauntlets.

A green glow flickered around Li Rui.

It was Green Wood Qi.

And these vines were not naturally grown—they were forcibly summoned by Li Rui's Green Wood Qi.

With a single thought,

He could control their growth and death.

"Good."

Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

As he'd expected: water nurtures wood. With the Dark Water Body aiding him, his perception of celestial wood spirits was more than twice as fast as normal. In just one month, he had absorbed enough wood spirit to cultivate Green Wood Qi.

Progress in Immortal arts was excellent.

Li Rui's spirits lifted.

After finishing his training, he pushed open the door and stepped outside.

It was a mansion large enough to accommodate ten households.

To put it plainly: walking from the courtyard entrance to the rear took half an hour without issue.

Extravagant.

Excellent.

Though the official appointment edict had not yet arrived, it had already been recorded in the Ministry of Personnel, so he moved out of his former Anning Guard Assistant Regional Commander's residence and into the Deputy Commander's residence assigned to Annan Garrison.

This residence was personally overseen by him—its quality was unquestionable.

Moreover, most residents here were Annan Garrison's elite.

Aside from Regional Commander Xue Gui, several Deputy Commanders of Annan Garrison, and various miscellaneous generals, even Xue Gui's and Zhou Dinghai's strategists and retainers resided here.

It was, without doubt, the most prestigious place in Qinghe.

Even the gatekeepers were Sixth-grade Garrison Commanders.

How illustrious.

Now that he was a Fourth-grade Deputy Commander, such a vast estate couldn't lack servants. Li Rui purchased Qiba clean, sharp-witted men and women to manage the sprawling household.

Otherwise, relying solely on Liu Tiezhu would be unreasonable.

If Liu Tiezhu wasted his cultivation on such trivial matters, that would be putting the cart before the horse.

As a Deputy Commander, receiving guests was common. If he invited colleagues home and found the place chaotic and desolate, it would be deeply embarrassing.

For officials, dignity was a serious matter.

He had once been Qinghe's highest official and could act freely, but now Qinghe had no shortage of officials.

He had to be careful.

Liu Tiezhu wholeheartedly agreed—he was finally freed from the torment of cooking.

Yang Yong also strongly approved.

After all, he was truly living the life of a Master he'd once imagined.

The only dissatisfied one was perhaps Old Iron.

!

"Master."

"Master."

One by one, young faces bowed in reverence to Li Rui.

Li Rui sometimes gave a slight nod, sometimes ignored them entirely.

As a Master, one must not be too approachable, especially with a courtyard full of newcomers. Li Rui himself had once been a servant—he understood these servants' thoughts all too well.

Though he had no intention of withholding rations like the Fourth Young Master of the Zhu family, if he were too lenient, the servants would overstep.

Due to his rank, they dared not act outrageously.

But petty schemes would grow bolder over time, and when he finally tried to correct them, he'd have to kill a few to restore order.

Li Rui had been there before, so he intended to help them.

As for master and servant equality.

He never considered it—only someone with a brain fart would do such a thing in Yu State.

Li Rui stepped out of the Li family's main gate.

A brand-new, imposing carriage was already waiting at the gate; a young coachman bowed respectfully and said, "Master, are you going out?"

Li Rui nodded: "To Anning Wei."

"Yes, sir."

The young coachman hurried to fetch the mounting stool.

Though such a thing was truly unnecessary for Li Rui, a martial officer, the proper display of status could not be omitted.

Li Rui stepped onto the stool and boarded the carriage effortlessly.

Then came a sharp, clear crack from the coachman's whip.

The carriage began to move slowly.

This carriage was specially made, and the horses were specially selected by the Imperial Stable—utterly steady, with not the slightest jolt.

Li Rui sat inside the carriage, closing his eyes to rest.

Soon.

He saw the familiar Anning Wei camp.

When Li Rui returned to Anning Wei, he came as a superior officer.

As deputy commander, his duty was to assist the Viceroy in managing the guard battalions; Annan Town had twenty-four guard battalions total. Aside from the four directly commanded by Viceroy Xue Gui, each other deputy commander oversaw two or three battalions.

Anning Wei fell under Li Rui's command.

In addition, Li Rui's other posting was not even in Anning Prefecture, let alone in Yunzhou.

Precisely because of this.

In practice, deputy commanders merely made annual inspections as routine; otherwise, they rarely interfered in battalion affairs.

This exception applied only to battalions stationed within Annan Town itself.

After all, they were simply too close.

In fact, of the twenty-four battalions, eight were stationed within Annan Town.

This time, they had all been relocated to Qinghe.

Excluding the one left behind in Yunzhou and adding the original Anning Wei, there were now eight again.

That is, what the soldiers called the Personal Guard Battalion—Anning Wei was Li Rui's Personal Guard Battalion.

Walking along the main road of Anning Wei.

Li Rui was suddenly roused by a chorus of shouts.

He pulled back the side curtain.

He saw a crowd gathered in several circles on the drill field, faces flushed, shouting loudly.

"Hit him!"

"Kick his lower body!"

"Cheating! Using the groin strike!"

Listening, Li Rui grew curious. He called out to the young coachman outside: "Stop. Wait for me outside the camp."

"Yes, Master."

The young coachman respectfully brought out the mounting stool again.

Li Rui stepped down with practiced ease and walked to the outer edge of the crowd.

"Hit him! Why don't you hit him?!"

A young soldier's voice suddenly cut off. He stammered: "L-Li my lord."

Unnoticed.

Li Rui had appeared beside him, standing on tiptoe, watching with keen interest.

The young soldier widened his eyes.

Li Rui? Li Fujiang? Who in Anning Wei didn't know him?

He was here—and standing right beside him.

Li Rui smiled warmly at the young soldier: "What's going on in there?"

The young soldier hurried to answer:

"It's the neighboring Guuniu Wei—they've come again to challenge us. Today, it's Lu Jun who's fighting."

Li Rui instantly understood.

The assistant regional commander of Guuniu Wei had been replaced by a general aligned with Zhou Dinghai's faction.

Mutual disdain between the two factions was common.

Large-scale conflict was impossible, of course.

After all, Li Rui had dined with Fu Tao just yesterday—but sparring matches like this were inevitable.

As they spoke,

A cry of "Wah!" rang out.

Dust rose.

Lu Jun had lost.

(End of chapter)