Chapter 389: Friend, Please Stay a Moment [Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter — Requesting Monthly Tickets, Second]

A mournful wailing filled the room.

Li Rui sat cross-legged.

Before him, a white banner rose, spewing crimson mist that drifted on its own, its surface rippling without wind.

"Good."

Li Rui's lips curled slightly.

After forty-nine days, he had finally mastered the first layer of the Thousand Souls Banner.

"According to the scripture, the Thousand Souls Banner has three layers; each seal broken increases its power by several tenths, and it takes seven years to fully forge."

Li Rui pondered silently.

He possessed a top-grade spiritual root, and his progress in refining the Thousand Souls Banner was smooth.

There was virtually no obstacle.

With a single thought.

The Thousand Souls Banner drifted freely, requiring no further mental effort to control.

"Immortal magic treasures are truly useful."

Li Rui praised inwardly.

He murmured softly: "Retreat!"

The Thousand Souls Banner shrank into a palm-sized flag and shot with a swift hiss into Li Rui's sleeve.

Compared to spirit weapons, magic treasures are more flexible and can change size.

They are convenient to carry.

Otherwise, walking out with a white banner would surely mark one as a demon and get one killed by righteous sects.

No one knows how it started, but many demon sects now have legions of followers wielding Ten Thousand Souls Banners.

As a result,

anyone using a white banner is automatically labeled as an evil path cultivator.

But if the Thousand Souls Banner is kept hidden in the sleeve and only revealed in battle, it not only catches the enemy off guard but also avoids much trouble.

Having forged the Thousand Souls Banner, Li Rui was in high spirits.

He hummed a tune commonly sung by fishermen from Qinghe.

He stepped out the door.

"Master."

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Liu Tiezhu grinning at him.

"Tiezhu, where's Elder Tie?"

Li Rui glanced into the back courtyard and saw no sign of Tie Kuang.

Liu Tiezhu scratched his head: "Old Tie said he felt stifled in this house and went out for some fresh air."

Li Rui understood.

Elder Tie was depressed.

Ever since that match, Tie Kuang stopped fighting, stopped practicing his fists, and spent his days lounging in the back courtyard sunbathing.

Li Rui felt a pang of guilt.

"I should've held back more."

He turned his gaze away and strolled out of the deputy commander's residence with his hands behind his back.

"Commander Li, good morning."

"Brother Li, let's have drinks sometime—I'll treat you."

Everyone he met smiled as if they'd found gold.

The disturbance at Zijin Palace had been quelled.

Annan Town deserved the foremost credit.

Rumor has it the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel are discussing rewards for the troops—someone will surely be promoted, or at least receive gifts.

Of course they're happy.

Clever men have already begun making connections.

Li Rui knew several deputy commanders had sent secret letters to powerful figures in the capital, seeking official posts there.

Yu Kingdom has always favored the capital over the provinces.

No provincial official, no matter how capable, compares to a capital official.

Once, a Metropolitan Graduate of the second rank chose to serve as a ninth-rank official in the capital rather than take a county magistrate post outside.

Though this bias is less pronounced among military officers, many still crave postings in the capital.

Why risk life and limb for battlefield merit when drinking tea in the capital is so much easier?

Li Rui greeted people as he reached the carriage already waiting at the camp gate.

The young coachman called out, "Master."

Li Rui: "To Qianhe Martial Hall."

"Yes, sir."

The young coachman cracked his whip; the strong demonic horse pulled the heavy carriage slowly toward Qinghe City.

Pedestrians on the street, seeing the carriage, instinctively avoided it with fearful expressions.

Anan Town's carriages bore a small black-and-gold tiger-pattern flag—easy to recognize.

In Qinghe, who would dare oppose Anan Town?

Li Rui watched through the carriage curtain as faces turned with reverence.

His heart remained unmoved.

These days, he mostly traveled by carriage; if an official still walked, it would be like wearing brocade in the dark—only inviting ridicule.

After two quarters of an hour,

the carriage halted steadily before Qianhe Martial Hall.

Li Rui stepped out.

He greeted the gatekeeper of Qianhe Martial Hall warmly, then strolled on his own to He Qian Niande courtyard.

The courtyard gate was open.

From afar, he saw He Qian Niande lying back, lazily sunbathing.

Li Rui walked to the gate and bowed respectfully with a smile: "Elder, how is your health?"

He Qian Niande: "Don't worry, I'm not dead yet."

"Elder, may you live ten thousand years—another few hundred won't be a problem."

"Do you think I'm an ancient demon?"

He Qian Niande rolled his eyes.

Li Rui watched He Qian Niande 's robust vitality and thought inwardly: external cultivators are truly different. The injuries He Qian Niande suffered that day were severe—ordinary Tongxuan martial artists would need at least a year to fully recover, yet He Qian Niande had cut that time to three months.

External martial artists do have formidable recovery abilities.

He Qian Niande glanced at Li Rui: "Did that Jiang kid leave?"

"Yes."

Li Rui nodded: "The Imperial Astronomical Bureau is busy—Jiang's younger brother left a few days ago."

He Qian Niande grunted.

"That kid didn't even come say goodbye to me before sneaking off."

Li Rui pretended not to hear.

In truth, after the battle at Zijin Palace, Jiang Lin had vanished again—only returning to the deputy commander's residence three days ago, packing his things, and leaving Qinghe that very night, in a hurry.

He Qian Niande: "You, boy—have you slacked off in your training these days?"

"I train daily, never lazy."

Li Rui said. Though he'd devoted much effort to forging the Thousand Souls Banner, he hadn't neglected Da Henglian.

The Thousand Souls Banner is a tool—an external path.

One's own realm and strength remain the foundation.

"Good."

He Qian Niande nodded in satisfaction.

The Dao Embryo realm is a rarity that appears once in a thousand years; all who enter it are peerless prodigies who dominate their age.

If one could enter the Dao Embryo realm through external martial cultivation, external martial arts would flourish for a thousand years.

"That kind of grand event would surely be fascinating."

He Qian Niande 's lips curled slightly.

He felt Li Rui might truly achieve it.

Li Rui: "Elder, I heard a sect plans to claim land in the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

He Qian Niande nodded: "I heard. Rumor says it's a hidden sect elder of immense power, seeking to establish a school in the Ten Thousand Mountains."

A hidden sect elder?

Li Rui's eyebrows lifted slightly.

The Ten Thousand Mountains are too sensitive—not only because they lie on the border between two nations, but because, due to Zijin Palace, both Yu Kingdom's imperial court and Wu Kingdom's royal house are watching closely.

For someone to establish a sect there, they must first secure relations between Yu and Wu.

No ordinary person could possibly do it.

One might say he has hands and eyes that reach the heavens.

He heard this rumor from within the capital.

He Qianian: "This matter is indeed strange, but since it was decreed by the Holy Emperor, it is not something for you or me to worry over—just focus on your martial training."

"Yes, Elder."

Li Rui knew this well.

But as Deputy Commander of Annan Town, if a major sect appeared in the Ten Thousand Mountains, there would inevitably be some connection.

Whether friend or foe, it's better to know more.

He disliked being kept in the dark.

At Hai Hour, the night was deep and silent.

Outside the patrol guards, Annan Town's main camp was shrouded in impenetrable darkness.

Inside the Li residence.

Li Rui's room was brightly lit by lamps.

It burned all night long.

Only the wealthiest households could afford such extravagance; in the past, he would never have dreamed of spending so much on lamp oil.

After finishing his cultivation.

Li Rui finally crawled into bed and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he stood before the mist-shrouded Grand Void Dao Field.

He sat cross-legged on the ground with practiced ease.

He began inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy to cultivate.

The Five Spirits Body Refinement Scripture had now reached mastery; in ancient times, this would have made him a respectable cultivator.

Combined with his martial arts, he was not to be underestimated.

"Jiang Lao Di once said that today's top three ranks have been modified—five hundred years ago, when the Exiled Immortals descended, the court glimpsed divine secrets, and only in the past few centuries have these three ranks been called Earth Immortal Ranks, for they are the path from primordial to immortal cultivation."

"They now resemble ancient cultivators by seven or eight tenths."

Li Rui divided his focus.

He frantically absorbed the spiritual energy of the Grand Void Dao Field while pondering.

The spiritual energy here was more than several times denser than the outside world; cultivating immortal arts here was like advancing a thousand li in a single day.

After roughly three hours.

Li Rui finally stood up.

He stepped onto the White Jade Steps, timing it precisely.

One step, two steps, ten steps.

He ascended more than twenty steps in one breath, unaffected by the spiritual shock.

Just as Li Rui was about to step onto the twenty-eighth step.

Sudden change!

The hairs on Li Rui's back stood on end; a powerful sense of danger made him whip his head around.

"So it appears again!"

A small flying sword appeared instantly one foot ahead of him.

Five Spirits Shield!

The prepped Five Spirits Shield blocked the flying sword.

Since last time, whenever Li Rui stepped onto the steps, the Five Spirits Shield never left his side—always the same.

Now it finally proved useful!

At that moment, Li Rui finally saw what was behind him.

There stood a slightly chubby, cheerful-looking young Daoist; the flying sword had been controlled by him.

As Li Rui wondered whether the young Daoist was a simulated combat opponent of the Grand Void Dao Field.

The young Daoist suddenly spoke:

"Damn, it's actually alive."

The atmosphere before the White Jade Steps turned eerie.

Both were caught off guard.

The chubby Daoist smiled warmly:

"Friend, please wait a moment!"

"I thought you were a trial illusion, so I struck—my apologies."

Li Rui's lips twitched.

That phrase was terribly unlucky; once a cultivator surnamed Shen said it, his "friend" was soon to perish. He retracted his right foot.

He descended the White Jade Steps and approached the chubby Daoist.

In reality, he would have struck without hesitation—but here, in a dream, the worst that could happen was insomnia.

He grew increasingly curious about the chubby Daoist.

He squinted, scanning him up and down.

The chubby Daoist did the same.

After a long while, Li Rui confirmed one thing: this chubby Daoist was no dream simulation—he, like Li Rui, had entered the Grand Void Dao Field with his primordial spirit.

The chubby Daoist bowed in Daoist fashion: "I am Wu De of the Divine Xuan Palace. May I ask, friend, which sect or school do you belong to?"

Divine Xuan Palace?

Wu De was indeed a good name.

Li Rui's expression remained unchanged.

!

Yet internally, he muttered: as Deputy Commander of Annan Town, he had access to intelligence on all forces in Yu Kingdom—and knew them all by heart.

Yet he had never heard of a sect called Divine Xuan Palace.

"Could it be a hidden sect—or perhaps not from Yu Kingdom?"

Though puzzled,

Li Rui still smiled and bowed: "So you're Brother Wu. I am Zhu Ping, no sect, no school—just a free cloud, a wild crane."

He had intended to invent a fake sect.

After all, wandering cultivators without a sect were easily looked down upon.

But he feared the man might actually know the truth and expose him; for safety's sake, he settled for this.

Upon hearing this,

Wu De burst into laughter:

"So you're Brother Zhu—I've long heard of you."

Li Rui smiled.

Long heard of me?

Zhu Ping was the former head of the Zhu family—he had been dead for years; no one outside Qinghe County knew him. For this chubby Daoist to know him was absurd.

Yet his smile widened: "Brother Wu, likewise, I've long heard of you."

Wu De squinted his tiny, pea-sized eyes: "Brother Zhu, how did you enter this Grand Void Dao Palace?"

Judging by his demeanor,

he had no intention of mentioning how his sword had given Li Rui insomnia.

Li Rui chuckled: "By chance."

Wu De chuckled too: "Then we truly have fate on our side."

Both harbored hidden motives.

After much talk, neither extracted any useful information.

Li Rui's surprise gradually faded.

The world is vast; anything is possible.

If he could enter the Grand Void Dao Field, others might have found other ways in too.

It was just that the two of them had met.

How incredibly coincidental.

The chubby Daoist on the other side thought much the same, silently muttering to himself.

"Looks honest, but isn't honest at all."

He had spun many words, yet extracted not a single piece of useful information from Li Rui.

As Li Rui prepared to continue probing,

Wu De's expression changed—he gasped, "Damn!"—then his form grew faint and vanished entirely.

Staring at the empty ground,

Li Rui fell into thought.

Clearly, Wu De's method of entering the Grand Void Dao Field was inferior to the Great Dream Immortal Travel—he'd only lasted half an hour, barely any time at all.

After roughly fifteen minutes.

It was also time for the Great Dream Immersion to end.

The next instant.

Li Rui sat up from the bed.

He murmured softly.

"Shenxuan Palace, Wu De."

He rose from the bed, washing and brushing his teeth while pondering.

When he pushed open the door and stepped out.

The sky was already bright.

He beckoned a young servant: "Go summon General Tan Hu."

"Yes."

In just a moment.

Tan Hu strode into the deputy commander's residence, grinning: "Big brother, what's up?"

He was now riding high on good fortune.

Li Rui had been promoted and brought him along to the Annan Garrison, making him the elite among elites; moreover, he had broken through during the last battle at Zijin Palace, naturally delighted.

"Huizi, check the archives—see if there's a sect called Shenxuan Palace."

Tan Hu was slightly surprised.

"Shenxuan Palace?"

But he didn't dwell on it, nodding: "Alright, big brother, I'll look into it right away."

"Go."

Li Rui waved him off.

His curiosity about Wu De's identity grew stronger.

After this brief interlude.

Li Rui's life returned to normal.

Afterward, he trained nightly in the Grand Void Dojo, yet never saw Wu De again.

Clearly.

Entering the Grand Void Dojo was no easy feat for Wu De.

Cultivation knows no time; before he knew it, autumn had come again.

In the courtyard.

Li Rui wore a seasonal autumn robe, though he no longer feared cold or heat.

He gazed at Nie Siming and Yuan Xiong before him, both eager to spar.

"Then let's begin."

Today, he told them he had broken through.

Hmm.

Though delayed by nearly a year.

Upon hearing this, both were desperate to test themselves against Li Rui.

Nie Siming exclaimed excitedly: "Finally caught up—I and Eighth Brother are already half a step into Tongxuan; at most three years, we'll enter the upper three ranks."

Fighting Li Rui at the same level thrilled these two martial fanatics.

In truth, they had sparred with Li Rui many times before.

But because their realms were unequal, each bout left them unsatisfied.

Now, at last, the chance had come.

The three went to the training ground.

Nie Siming stepped forward first, bowed to Li Rui, then drew his long spear without holding back.

Li Rui drew his waist blade, Zhanjiao, gripping it still in its scabbard.

Nie Siming's battle fervor surged.

He let out a low roar.

His spear trembled, like a silver dragon lunging at Li Rui, his dominant true qi crashing down like a tidal wave.

Zhanjiao hummed, its cry echoing like a dragon's roar across the heavens.

The next instant.

Spear met blade.

Nie Siming's brows lifted—he was falling behind?

Yet his eyes burned with greater excitement.

"Again!"

This time, Nie Siming abandoned all restraint, becoming frenzied, slipping into a special berserk state.

In this state,

his strength surged by thirty percent!

Nie Siming was already a top-tier Pre-Qi cultivator; now, with a thirty percent boost, his power was formidable indeed.

Yuan Xiong watched from the side.

"Seventh Brother's primordial spirit is extraordinary—he can control demonic influences and enter berserk state, truly ruthless. Brother Li might not withstand it."

He prepared to intervene at any moment.

Afraid Nie Siming might lose control and injure Li Rui.

Yet Li Rui grew more exhilarated with each clash.

With his Great Hardening technique paired with Dragon-form true qi, he matched Nie Siming blow for blow.

In moments,

they had exchanged hundreds of strikes.

Their movements blurred, nearly invisible to the eye.

Finally—

Li Rui roared, using the brute force of Great Hardening to shatter Nie Siming's spear formation and forcibly break him out of his berserk state.

Seeing this,

Yuan Xiong's eyes widened.

"What an overwhelming external art!"

Just this single move nearly cemented Li Rui's title as the number one Pre-Qi external martial artist.

Remember, as Yuan Dingting's adopted son, he and Nie Siming were no slouches in external arts—their bodies were exceptionally strong, rivaling their internal cultivation.

Such balance was rare among Pre-Qi cultivators.

Yet even so, Nie Siming was still suppressed by Li Rui's external art.

Remarkable!

Nie Siming's gaze cleared. He planted his spear into the ground, steadying himself.

He looked at Li Rui and took a deep breath:

"I lose."

For a Pre-Qi cultivator to admit defeat was rare indeed.

Even though Nie Siming only revealed his full strength in life-or-death battles, he now fully acknowledged Li Rui's power, accepting defeat with sincere respect.

Li Rui's battle fervor had not faded.

Without resting, he turned to Yuan Xiong:

"Brother Yuan, care to try?"

Yuan Xiong froze.

He had planned not to take advantage, waiting until Li Rui fully recovered before sparring.

He never expected Li Rui to challenge him directly.

How could he refuse?

"Alright!"

Yuan Xiong shouted, gripping his silver spear.

He clashed with Li Rui.

Unlike Nie Siming, Yuan Xiong's martial style was also dominant, but not broad and forceful—he wielded a spear technique of exquisite precision, leaving opponents defenseless.

Li Rui held his blade steady, unmoving.

He used no immortal techniques, relying solely on martial arts.

Half an hour later,

Li Rui won again!

He defeated both of Yuan Dingting's two adopted sons in succession.

If this news spread, the entire martial world of Yu Kingdom would be stunned.

After the battle,

Nie Siming walked over, exchanged a glance with Yuan Xiong, and laughed heartily:

"Brother Li's combat prowess deserves the title of number one Pre-Qi cultivator."

Even the usually composed Yuan Xiong nodded in agreement this time:

"Well deserved."

Li Rui grinned.

Unbeatable below the Profound Heaven realm!

Both of Yuan Dingting's adopted sons have confirmed it!

(End of Chapter)