Chapter 211

He who understands the times is a hero.

Linghu Baiman was unquestionably a hero; after bidding farewell to An San Yuan Wu, he rushed straight to this alleyway and, without a word, slid to his knees.

In response to Li Yuan's questions, he answered fully and willingly, even volunteering details Li Yuan had not asked about.

Including the invitation from Abbot Feng Feng Yuanqing of Huolong Temple for the Zhenwu Tang to attend a banquet, the conversations held there, and An San Yuan Wu's warning afterward, along with the others' speculations.

"Does Huolong Temple intend to target Shenbing Valley?"

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"That's merely An San Yuan Wu's speculation; they may not even target that Li Yuan…"

Linghu Baiman wiped sweat from his brow: "How lofty is Master Fulong Chan Shi's vision? Though that Li Yuan has decent talent, he may not even catch the old master's eye."

Indeed.

Li Yuan's eyes flickered; since learning the general structure of Longhu Temple, he had harbored a faint premonition.

Longhu Temple comprises three branches; the Master of Da Long Men ranks second only to the abbot, his status far surpassing that of patriarchs of top-tier sects like Huai Long Palace or Duan Yue Gate.

With someone watching, it's only natural.

Li Yuan murmured two phrases to himself, then asked:

"Do you know which branch of Longhu Temple lies behind Huolong Temple?"

"Respected elder, according to intelligence from Yizhu Tang, the founding patriarch of Huolong Temple originated from Da Long Men—the very branch led by Master Fulong Chan Shi today…"

Linghu Baiman dared not raise his head, organizing his words as he answered:

"It should be the Jianglong Tang of Da Long Men; besides its abbot, this tang oversees all farmland, mines, and shops outside Longhu Temple, and over the past thousand years, many of its disciples have left to establish their own sects—Huolong Temple is one of them."

The Zhenwu Tang is the foremost of the imperial court's three violent organs, charged with overseeing the realm, suppressing local unrest, and hunting down fugitives; its intelligence network is naturally extremely thorough.

Linghu Baiman is an acting official of the Zhe Long Fu branch, ranking just below the three principal tang masters—one chief and two deputies—his status is considerable, and his knowledge is substantial.

After being utterly intimidated, he answered every question without hesitation; Li Yuan was even surprised by how much he gained.

"Longhu Temple has been passed down for two to three thousand years, its power immense; each of its three branches is intricate, tangled, and deeply rooted…"

Li Yuan listened in silence, matching each detail against what he already knew.

Long Xi Xiang is the master of Da Long Men, yet this branch commands sixty thousand monk-soldiers and twenty to thirty thousand disciples; its complexity far exceeds that of Shenbing Valley, and the number of eyes watching its succession is unimaginable.

To seize it won't be easy, but what I need is merely the Long Hu Hun Tian Hammer…

"You seem unfamiliar with Dechang Fu?"

"Hm?"

Li Yuan glanced over; Linghu Baiman instantly felt his heart jolt and quickly lowered his head again:

"Respected elder, please don't misunderstand—I merely mean that if you require it, I can inquire on your behalf…"

Li Yuan gave no reply: "Does Longhu Temple have one too?"

"This…"

Linghu Baiman instinctively scanned the surroundings, then bit his tongue in frustration: "Yes."

"Really?"

Li Yuan was surprised.

The Zhenwu Tang has oversight duties and must know much about Longhu Temple, but Zhe Long and Dechang are merely branch offices.

How could there possibly be one here, thousands of miles from Longhu Temple?

"Not many. Not many at all."

Linghu Baiman hurried to explain: "The most detailed records are only at the Mount Hengshan headquarters; though Fucheng has some, they're not detailed."

▲co

"Hmm."

Li Yuan asked no further, merely instructed him to bring the requested intelligence to this alley at the same time three days hence, then took the over four thousand taels in gold notes he offered and turned to leave.

Wu~

When Linghu Baiman looked up again, no one was anywhere in or around the alley.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his legs trembling, unable to stand for a moment.

"Even Feng Feng Yuanqing with the Huolong Sword couldn't handle him… my gold notes."

Linghu Baiman was both frustrated and heartbroken—over four thousand taels in gold notes; how many years would it take him to save that much?

"I regret coming to Dechang Fu—this is agony!"

A fu has millions of households—why did I have to run into such a demon?

…

Hu~

Carried by the wind, returning with the wind.

Li Yuan himself cultivates several lightness and agility arts, and among his transformed forms are avian ones, allowing him to fully exploit the enhancement of these three pairs of third-grade boots.

The Shenwei Army was alert; after the commotion in the city, their entire encampment lit up—but Li Yuan returned silently to his courtyard without disturbing anyone.

"Hu!"

Swiftly changing clothes and stowing his mask, Li Yuan finally lit the oil lamp.

"Feng Feng Yuanqing's Wu Gong rivals Su Su Wanxiong's, and his lightness seems even better; with a quasi-divine weapon in hand, Su Su Wanxiong would certainly lose in a fight."

Li Yuan compared this to the other Tongmai-level experts he had seen.

Forget Old Han—he wears the Crimson Flame Dragon Armor; when he unleashes his full power, even a Li Zang expert falls easily, and true divine weapons are still armor.

Standing still, even the Huolong Sword might not pierce his defense.

Aside from Old Han, the only Tongmai-level experts Li Yuan had personally witnessed were Jing Jing Shuhu, Su Su Wanxiong, and Elder Ku Yue.

"Old Jing's Wu Gong is higher than his, but his weapon is inferior… hmm, Old Lei probably isn't a match for this old man, and Elder Ku Yue's sword is merely a top-grade famed weapon—it wouldn't stand a chance."

Li Yuan swallowed a Zeng Xue Dan, assumed the Xu Tui stance, relaxed his sinews and bones, circulated his blood, Qi, and internal strength, while mentally reviewing the gains and losses of the night.

As abbot of the Fire Dragon Temple and a renowned master for many years, Feng Feng Yuanqing was no ordinary Through-Vessel cultivator.

But with the enhancement of three pairs of third-rank boots, he moved freely; even Feng Feng Yuanqing could not close the distance.

But similarly, when wielding the Fire Dragon Sword, his initial sword qi spanned over ten zhang—getting close himself was no easy feat.

"Suppress your aura; relying on my Wu Gong, closing in isn't impossible—but to ambush, I'd struggle to hide my malice, and even if I could, the chance of killing or crippling him with one strike is slim…"

The ever-cautious Li Li Daoye now seriously calculated the possibility of ambushing and killing Feng Feng Yuanqing.

"Passively enduring attacks is unacceptable; striking first is better than waiting for them to come to your door…"

Li Yuan relaxed his sinews and bones; explosive power surged beneath his skin and membrane.

The Fire Dragon Temple's strength was inferior to the Thousand Jun Cave, but it was tied to the Dragon Tiger Temple—if they truly set their mind on troubling him, it would be a genuine nuisance.

Not to mention, behind the Fire Dragon Temple, there seemed to be people from the Dragon Tiger Temple.

"Hmm, no need to rush; sharpening the knife doesn't delay chopping firewood…"

Inside the room, Li Yuan performed the Xu Tui fist posture.

He stood in the Mang Niu Gong stance, feet seeming to rise and fall, agile and variable—yet it was the Yao Step.

Simultaneously, his five fingers curled and extended, executing the Eagle Claw Grappling Hand; within the narrow space, motion and stillness harmonized—this was the Bai Lu Leaping Art.

He hadn't taken great interest in these four inferior Wu Gong, but after nearly three years of scattered practice, all had approached great perfection, leaving only one final step before altering his bone structure.

"Huh!"

"Hss!"

Multitasking, Li Yuan switched his palm control; after forming the Spirit Fox Body, he seamlessly transitioned into the Spirit Monkey Twin Blades.

Thus, of the four foundational diagrams obtained from the Inner Library, only this Twin Blades technique and the final Xiong Hu Dao Fa remained.

"Grit your teeth and push hard—no more than half a month, I'll alter my bone structure five times. Too bad the Ancient Elephant Six Forms Hammer still lags far behind… but even so, by then, the forms I've altered will total twenty-two?"

Li Yuan squinted, his thoughts scattering to divert the pain of bone structure alteration:

"Fire Dragon Temple… Feng Feng Yuanqing…"

…

…

In the following days, Li Yuan hardly stepped outside.

All purchasing matters were handled by Liu Zheng and Wang Wang Peiyao; after Pan Yi and Yu Xiang arrived, he no longer needed to worry about food, drink, or medicinal baths.

He needed only to train meticulously.

During this time, he left his quarters only once, to retrieve the intelligence gathered by Linghu Linghu Baiwan.

"Huh!"

"Hss!"

As early winter approached and the air turned cold, the autumn breeze blew gently as Li Yuan danced with his hammer in the small courtyard, practicing the Ancient Elephant Six Forms Hammer.

This hammer art was difficult to master; few Fire Hall disciples practiced it, and even fewer succeeded—thus, Li Yuan never sought its foundational diagram, only practicing a few sets when time allowed.

Human energy is limited; too little time was devoted to this hammer art, so even with Li Yuan's deep hammer expertise and innate talent, he could not bring it to great perfection in a short time.

"Brother Li…"

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard; Liu Zheng's voice arrived before he did: "The Valley Lord has returned—he wants to see you!"

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly; he immediately ended his posture.

His blood and internal strength formed a complete cycle; he could train while walking, sitting, lying, or standing—his control was absolute, with no risk of disturbance causing Qi deviation.

"The Valley Lord has returned?"

Li Yuan set down his hammer; sweat vapor rose from his body: "Where are Elder Jing, Elder Lei, and the others?"

He had been in Dechang Prefecture for nearly ten days, yet he had not seen Lord Master Gongyang Yu, nor Fang Fang Bao Luo, who had come with him—said to be meeting other disciples.

"The Valley Lord just returned; the other elders did not accompany him."

Liu Zheng lowered his voice to report:

"Senior Brother Long and Senior Brother Fang also returned with him. I noticed Senior Brother Fang's face was grim, as if something…"

Li Yuan wiped the sweat from his body, changed his clothes, then followed Liu Zheng toward the center of the Divine Guard encampment.

The Divine Armor Valley's Divine Guard numbered three thousand, and after several expansions, before the great battle, they had exceeded ten thousand—but now, only about two thousand remained.

As Li Yuan walked through, he noticed many squad leaders and platoon leaders gathering together.

"Brother Zou!"

Far off, Li Yuan spotted the Evil Tiger Monk Zou Kui, dragging a thick spiked club, unmistakable.

"Senior Brother Li."

Zou Kui, mid-conversation, froze, turned, and forced a smile.

"Li Yuan!"

Before he could speak to Zou Kui, Li Yuan heard Qiu Qiu Changying's voice.

"Senior Sister Qiu?"

Li Yuan glanced at the longbow on her back.

"The Valley Lord wants to see you."

Qiu Qiu Changying was long accustomed to this brat's gaze; she grew wary, turned without expression.

Li Yuan followed slowly, and in the barracks, he saw Lord Master Gongyang Yu, along with the weary Fang Fang Bao Luo, Long Sheng, and others.

"Valley Lord!"

Li Yuan bowed respectfully.

"Mm."

Before the desk, Lord Master Gongyang Yu was flipping through a scroll. Hearing Li Yuan's voice, he didn't look up and casually tossed something over.

"Is this an invitation?"

Li Yuan squinted slightly.

Lord Master Gongyang Yu raised his head, his expression somewhat complicated:

"An invitation from Dragon-Tiger Temple."