parentshiftbook Chapter 154 Advancement
Chapter 154 Advancement
In an instant, many people turned their attention to this.
At this moment, a look of interest appeared on Lu Yuan's lips. He could just test his strength after the breakthrough.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade flashed, its cold, beautiful light piercing through the sea.
As the blade was raised above his head, a phantom image of a cyan-gold blade aura appeared above his body and fell downwards.
A violent surge swept through the surrounding area.
The evil dragon, having completed its metamorphosis, raised its body and soared into the sky.
With its two front claws, it reached out to grab Lu Yuan, showing no fear of the blade and actually trying to fight it head-on.
"Boom!"
When the two collided violently, a water column hundreds of feet high was splashed on the sea surface.
The terrifying energy spread outwards, causing some of the younger disciples who were gathered nearby to involuntarily retreat.
His eyes were fixed intently on the field.
Lu Yuan's performance exceeded their expectations; his strength was simply terrifying.
Just then, a crimson stain appeared on the sea surface. Everyone looked closely and saw that the dragon's claw had been split open, revealing traces of blood.
This scene surprised many people, since no one had been able to harm the dragon in the battle just now.
Lu Yuan accomplished this as soon as he made his move, which is enough to demonstrate the other party's extraordinary abilities.
"hold head high!"
The dragon soared into the sky, its massive body swaying and shattering the surface of the sea.
It glared fiercely at Lu Yuan, its huge tail lashing out at him.
It was pitch black, like a pillar reaching to the sky.
Lu Yuan held his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade upright beside him, the cyan-gold battle blade phantom transforming into a length of several tens of feet.
His body was even radiating light.
"boom!"
The two collided, and Lu Yuan drew his sword and stepped back.
The evil dragon turned around and seized the opportunity to pounce.
Its body shimmered with black scales as it appeared above Lu Yuan.
"Good timing."
Instead of retreating, Lu Yuan advanced, shouted, and stopped in his tracks. He wielded the Green Dragon Crescent Blade at a very strange angle, with qi flying around it, and it seemed as if a sun was shining on him.
They clashed with the dragon again.
"Jingle bells!"
The sounds of violent collisions continued to ring out.
Clusters of sparks floated in the air.
The dragon roared, mainly because the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade was too sharp, and with the added magic power from Lu Yuan, the dragon's claws seemed about to crack at this moment.
At this moment, it was clear to everyone that Lu Yuan had gained the upper hand in the battle against the dragon, leaving them all in awe.
It should be noted that this dragon had reached the Divine Palace Realm, and Lu Yuan was still gathering his core, yet he was able to suppress it completely. Such strength was truly astonishing.
That's what everyone was thinking.
Lu Yuan seemed to be getting a little impatient as well.
"Kara!"
The blade slashed horizontally forward, sending a stunning blade of light streaking through the air.
All that could be seen was a bluish-gold color; this power was immense, almost overwhelming.
"when!"
The dragon staggered backward after being cleaved, its enormous eyes showing surprise; it clearly hadn't expected Lu Yuan to use such force.
Meanwhile, the other party had already flown over the dragon.
When I saw that huge body becoming unstable.
The Green Dragon Crescent Blade was thrust down towards the dragon's head.
"Buzz!"
A sound of energy bursting forth rang out.
The blade pierced the evil dragon's head in an instant.
"hold head high!"
A mournful cry rang out as the dragon writhed violently, creating a huge splash on the sea surface.
Lu Yuan gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, never letting go.
It is unknown how much time passed, but the dragon finally stopped breathing.
The enormous body floated in the air, with Lu Yuan standing on its head, blood spreading outwards from the evil dragon's head.
An invisible force, seemingly drawn to the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, moved toward the blade.
"It's a dragon's soul! It actually entered the blade! How powerful!"
"Is this the Qin King of the Northern Barbarians? I've long heard of his extraordinary talent, but I didn't expect it to be true. And he's so young. If I could marry such a person, it would be a worthwhile life as a woman." A female cultivator from a sect whispered.
This resonated with many female cultivators.
"Do you think this King of Qin might be the one who reaches the top?"
"No, I received information that he only reached the 8,000th level before retiring. This King Qin seems to have cultivated some kind of powerful body-refining technique, which is why he is so powerful."
After all, he wasn't the last one to descend the mountain, and he landed before the divine light dissipated. Only a fool would waste the divine light baptism.
Someone objected, and then the people around nodded in agreement.
Moreover, this explanation is clearly the most believable.
After all, many people subconsciously do not want others to be powerful.
They might even come up with all sorts of reasons to convince themselves.
Not to mention that some people are now making reasonable and well-founded arguments.
Even so, it is enough to prove Lu Yuan's talent.
The Crown Prince of Da Yu watched all this coldly, never expecting that Lu Yuan could actually slay the dragon.
My face feels a little hot.
If back then, when Lu Yuan won the championship in the arena of the Dayong Imperial Palace, he could still say that his opponent's cultivation was too weak, but now that he has reached the Core Formation stage...
Such a level of cultivation is no longer to be ignored.
Seeing his unpleasant expression, Prince Polu knew that the Crown Prince's rejection of Lu Yuan was related to his son-in-law, Zhang Zhe.
Although he looked down on Zhang Zhe, he was, after all, his daughter's husband.
Moreover, they are quite satisfied with Zhang Zhe's recent performance.
After the marriage, the pig-woman of the King of Polu became increasingly outrageous, but Zhang Zhe remained very dutiful.
They didn't utter a single complaint; instead, they covered up what the pig woman had done.
This alone made the Prince of Polu look at Zhang Zhe with higher regard, and thus he looked at the Crown Prince and chuckled, "It is indeed impressive that someone at the Core Formation Realm has such combat power."
However, Your Highness has no shortage of such figures under your command. Putting everything else aside, when the war begins in two years, Tianwang Village should give Your Highness a pleasant surprise.
Based on my deduction, the fighting power of that Heavenly King's stronghold leader is also extremely terrifying.
When the topic turned to Tianwang Village, a smile appeared on the prince's lips, and he nodded, saying, "That's for sure. The speed at which the Tianwang Village Chief's strength has increased is astonishing, even to me."
I think he's even better than Marquis Wushuang. If we succeed in conquering the Northern Barbarians in two years, I'd like to ask the Prince to help me find him a good position.
"That's for sure. The Prince's Palace and His Highness are one entity." King Polu nodded.
Then, the Crown Prince turned to the prince and said, "Your Highness, is there any way to kill Lu Yuan on the road?"
"It's difficult. The Northern Barbarians value him highly. Besides that old man Xiao Gu, the eight Vajra Venerables from Prajna Temple also came."
Each of them is very strong, especially the latter, who has a combined attack formation.
To kill them, we would need to mobilize a large army and have strong warriors cooperate, but that would definitely bring the conflict with the Northern Barbarians to an earlier date.
"As you know, His Majesty does not want to fight the Northern Barbarians right now," King Polu analyzed the pros and cons.
The Crown Prince nodded: "Alright, he's just a nobody anyway, let him be arrogant for a while longer."
After saying that, he turned around and walked outside.
On the other side, Xiao Hua's cheeks were flushed with excitement. In her eyes, Lu Yuan was really too amazing. He killed such a powerful dragon just like that.
I'm so lucky.
Xiao Hua thought to herself, and then followed Xiao Gu and the others down to the dragon. When they landed on the dragon, they helped Lu Yuan collect the treasures on the dragon's body.
We definitely need to get the scales; they'll be used to craft armor.
The dragon tendons and dragon bones must be removed.
Even the dragon meat was taken away.
Taking this substance would be extremely beneficial for spiritual practice.
As for the blood, it was all drained and put into a large vessel. Lu Yuan planned to use the dragon's blood to temper his body after returning.
He just discovered that this blood is incredibly potent.
If an ordinary person got their hands on it, they would probably be burned to death instantly.
Even if cultivators take it, it still needs to be processed, but Lu Yuan likes this domineering effect.
With so much dragon blood, he should be able to upgrade the "Formless Golden Bell" to a higher grade.
At that time, Lu Yuan's combat power will be even higher.
After the dragon's body was completely collected.
Xiao Gu glanced around and said to Lu Yuan, "It seems that Dayong has no intention of attacking us recently, and everyone has already left."
Let's go back.
"Mm." Lu Yuan nodded.
Now that the Northern Barbarians have received a large influx of silver, their situation should be much better.
The current goal is to stockpile food so that we can launch an attack on the barbarians after spring arrives.
Then, he stood on the golden wheel.
Heading towards the northern barbarians.
Some of the people who hadn't yet dispersed looked at Lu Yuan with envy.
However, at the same time, a dark cloud seems to be hanging over the heads of all major forces.
The young powerhouse who reached the summit has still not been found.
However, the only certainty is that the other party is not from any royal family, which has driven all the courts in the country into a frenzy.
They began searching at all costs.
Lu Yuan ignored all of this and, after staying on the golden wheel for several days, successfully returned to the Northern Barbarian Lands.
First, he went to the palace to tell Lady Xiao about what had happened, and then returned to the Prince's Mansion to see his mother.
He then entered his own courtyard.
He poured the dragon's blood into the bathtub, preparing for his cultivation.
As for the dragon scales and tendons, they have been handed over to the Grand Master of Ceremonies, who will help him find someone to forge weapons for him.
"Sizzle!"
The moment Lu Yuan stepped into the blood pool, a series of piercing sounds rang out on his skin, as if the dragon's blood was corroding his body.
However, I can feel that my body is undergoing tremendous changes.
"The Golden Bell of No Form" is transforming, moving towards becoming more powerful.
These blood samples became the purest form of proficiency.
At some point, wisps of mist began to rise from above.
Lu Yuan's face was even somewhat flushed.
I don't know how much time passed, but the blood in the bathtub became clear.
System data suddenly popped up in Lu Yuan's mind.
[Sixth-Rank Technique "Formless Golden Bell" (60871/50000 Entry Stance, Should I use 10,000 proficiency points to advance to the next level?)]
At this moment, Lu Yuan naturally did not hesitate and immediately chose to advance.
At the same time, I was also quite looking forward to it.
Because the sixth-grade "Formless Golden Bell" had already made his physical body extremely powerful.
If one were to advance to the seventh rank, it would likely become even more extraordinary. Such a cultivation technique is something only royal families possess, and it is used as a national treasure.
That kid Ling Ku, don't let his status as a monk at Lingjiu Temple fool you. Lu Yuan knew him well; he was actually a descendant of the Western Rong Emperor.
He is the future Grand Master of Ceremonies, and his status is self-evident.
It was precisely because of this identity that he was able to cultivate a seventh-grade martial arts technique.
Now, he finally has a powerful cultivation technique that belongs to him.
Then, Lu Yuan felt a huge change in his body, his physical body was sublimating, and various insights about body refinement appeared in his mind.
It made a "crackling" sound all over its body.
It seems that some kind of transformation has taken place.
As dawn broke outside, after a night had passed, a large amount of dead skin had peeled off the edges of Lu Yuan's body, which he easily tore off.
Her body was revealed to be even more perfect, almost flawless.
[Seventh-Rank Cultivation Technique: Primordial Golden Body (871/1000 Minor Success)]
Lu Yuan clenched his fist, feeling his whole body brimming with power.
I am very satisfied with the current situation.
Just then, Cai Chong's voice rang out from outside: "Your Highness, it's time for the morning court session."
Lu Yuan stepped out of the bathtub and said calmly, "Come in."
The next moment, a maid came in to help him change his clothes. After he put on the python robe and jade belt, he was ready to go.
He draped a cloak over his back and walked outside.
Upon arriving at the front yard, several capable servants and guards followed behind.
After leaving the mansion, they stood cautiously to the side outside the palace gate, waiting for Lu Yuan to come out.
Although the distance is not far, this still represents the prestige of the Prince's Mansion.
The proper pomp and circumstance must still be maintained.
When Lu Yuan entered the Chaotian Hall, he glanced around and saw that all the officials had already arrived.
Xiao Hua was already seated on the right side of the dragon throne, and Lu Yuan walked straight up and sat on the left side.
As soon as they sat down, Xiao Hua said softly, "Brother Yuan, you got up late today. Mother drank a couple more cups of tea in the back hall while waiting for you."
Despite saying that, he had a smile on his face.
The only person in the entire Northern Barbarian lands who could be treated this way by the Xiao family is probably Lu Yuan.
"I had some insights yesterday and made a breakthrough, so it took me a while," Lu Yuan said somewhat embarrassed.
Xiao Hua's eyes lit up.
He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased. His brother Yuan was indeed a person who could reach the top. This was another improvement.
Just as the two of them were speaking in hushed tones.
A sharp voice rang out: "His Majesty has arrived."
Then, Lu Yuan and Xiao Hua stood up, and then they saw Xiao Shi walk in.
After she sat down, the two of them also sat down.
Then Xiao Shi said, "Let's talk about the regional military governorships today. I heard that the Manku tribe and the Manxing tribe have started fighting?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Ever since you appointed the Manxing tribe as the garrison commander of Longyu Pass, the Manku tribe has been very dissatisfied, because Longyu Pass has always been within their sphere of influence."
Moreover, the imperial court's provision of a batch of grain to the Manxing tribe has further fueled the Manku tribe's discontent. The Manxing tribe also covets Longyu Pass, so the two sides have been clashing for some time now. Now, they finally couldn't hold back and started fighting, and it's said that it has even attracted the involvement of many other regional powers. "Prime Minister Li Qing said.
He now admired the Xiao family immensely; he never expected them to come up with such a method to divide the regional military governors.
It is now clear that cracks have appeared between these forces.
Some are even irreconcilable.
The battle between the Manku tribe and the Manxing tribe is just the beginning. This winter, the various warlords are likely to be quite lively.
Most encouragingly, some regional military governors are clearly starting to align themselves with the imperial court; the Manxing tribe even sent an envoy just two days ago.
This is a very good thing.
As long as these regional military governors do not oppose the imperial court for the time being, the northern barbarians will have time to be governed, and they may be able to regain their vitality in just one winter.
However, Li Qing was unaware that this idea came from Lu Yuan. If he had known, he would likely have held this Prince of Qin in even higher regard.
Upon hearing this news, Madam Xiao chuckled and said, "In that case, we don't need to worry about the local warlords for the time being. Now, let's talk about the disaster relief situation in various regions."
"Your Majesty, the court has purchased a large amount of grain through Wei Yong of the Prince of Qin's residence at a price 30% higher than the normal price. The first batch has already been sent to disaster areas in various places, temporarily alleviating the hunger of the people."
"We've also bought a lot of cotton-padded clothes, so we should be able to get through this winter without any problem." After Li Qing said this, everyone in the entire hall seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Madam Xiao turned her gaze to Lu Yuan beside her and said softly, "A Yuan, do you have any thoughts? You can tell me."
For a moment, all the ministers' eyes were focused on this young prince, because they knew that if it weren't for him, the Northern Barbarians would not have survived this time.
During Lu Yuan's absence, Nancheng remained prosperous, with a constant stream of people coming to buy houses every day.
The imperial court alone has collected over 20 billion in taxes in just the last few days.
This is a figure that, even at its wealthiest, the Northern Barbarians had only this much in their national treasury.
And there's another one.
The southern part of the city, including the Confucian academy, is still not completed.
In other words, a great deal of wealth will still be generated during this winter.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yuan said, "Your Majesty, I believe that our most important task right now is still to stockpile grain."
The northern barbarians have less arable land than other places. I believe that at the very least, we should have enough reserves to feed the people for three years to be considered safe.
Moreover, the fact that the regional military governors are now at odds with each other presents an opportunity for the imperial court to expand outwards.
Your subject proposes that after the spring, I personally lead troops to attack the barbarians.
This was in response to their provocations in early winter.
Lu Yuan's words caused many people in the hall to fall into deep thought. They agreed with hoarding food, after all, food is the most important thing for people.
After learning this lesson, the first thing that came to mind when he had money was, of course, to buy grain.
But the aggressive and brute force is something many people don't understand.
After all, conquering the barbarians was something no one thought was possible, since none of the Northern Barbarian emperors throughout history had ever accomplished it.
Even if war breaks out, it will only be a temporary clash of wills, at most we can defeat them.
This is of no benefit to the Northern Barbarians.
Sure enough, right after Lu Yuan finished speaking, Li Qing stepped forward and said, "I wholeheartedly agree with the King of Qin's suggestion to stockpile grain, but I absolutely cannot agree with the idea of waging war against the barbarians."
The barbarians are known for their fierceness. Even if we go to war with them, it won't make much of a difference if we can't completely subdue them.
However, it would only be a great effort, so the King of Qin must not act rashly.
After he finished speaking, the other ministers all nodded.
Even the Grand Master of Ceremonies said, "King Qin, the barbarians are different from the vassal states. Their strength is only slightly weaker than ours. If we push them too far, the ancient barbarian tribes will help us."
It's virtually impossible to take them down in a short time.
After seeing that the court officials all opposed it.
Lu Yuan did not give up, but said: "Everyone, we Northern Barbarians, the Raw Barbarians, and the Ancient Barbarians are all one entity."
If we unify the three barbarian tribes and rebuild the Great Qin, who will dare to point fingers at us in the future?
Nowadays, it's not just the Northern Barbarians who are suffering from snow disasters in winter; the Raw Barbarians and Ancient Barbarians are also struggling. We have purchased a large amount of grain, but they haven't, and they will face a food shortage in the spring.
The other two barbarians are in much worse condition than we imagined. This is a very good opportunity, and if we miss it, we may not have another chance.
Therefore, I believe we should launch an attack.
After he finished speaking, a few young generals stood up to support him, but there were simply too few of them.
However, Lu Yuan was not angry about this, as he knew that Li Qing and the others were only addressing the issue, not the person.
If it comes to unifying the three barbarian tribes, these veteran officials in the court probably yearn for it even more than he does.
However, their long-standing helplessness made them realize that it was impossible to annihilate the Shengman and Guman tribes.
When Empress Xiao saw that the courtiers were about to start arguing, she said calmly, "Alright, let's stop here for today. Continue to observe the regional military governors."
As for grain, half of the silver in the national treasury will be allocated to continuously purchase it.
As for the matter of sending troops, we will discuss it another day.
"Yes, sir!"
After Xiao's voice fell, the assembled officials bowed and said...
Then, with the announcement of "The court session is over," they all left.
However, Lu Yuan did not leave, but was held down by Xiao Shi.
When only Xiao Hua, her daughter, and Lu Yuan remained in the main hall.
Xiao looked at Lu Yuan and asked, "If we attack the barbarians, how confident are you?"
"With 50,000 beast cavalry, each riding two horses, once we enter the barbarian territory, I will head straight for their royal camp. I have a 70% chance of winning this battle," Lu Yuan said softly.
If it were dealing with the ancient barbarians, he might not dare to make such a bold claim, but the raw barbarians are different; they have no cities and live only in tents.
Just like the people in the wilderness.
Moreover, although there are many skilled soldiers in the army, none of them are proficient in military formations.
My "Shocking God Floating Pagoda Formation" will soon be complete, and there is still hope for advancement before spring. When that time comes, I will definitely be able to achieve great success by launching a surprise attack on the Barbarian King's camp.
He then added, "If we send a great general to put pressure on the ancient barbarian border, our chances of success can be increased by another 10%."
After Lu Yuan finished speaking, seeing that Xiao Shi was still deep in thought, he continued, "This is an opportunity for us. Based on my speculation and some information I have received, Dayong may take action against us in two years."
Therefore, we must improve our strength in the next two years.
It now seems that by next year, the rifts between the various regional military governors may become more pronounced, and the fighting may intensify, as they dare not provoke the imperial court any further.
This is the best time for us to send troops abroad. If we miss this opportunity, we may never have another chance.
Although Xiao Hua did not want Lu Yuan to go to the battlefield, she still blindly chose to support him: "Mother, I think Brother Yuan is right. Our Northern Barbarians are too weak now."
If we don't find a way to strengthen ourselves, other dynasties will come and kick us while we're down.
"On this trip to the East Sea, when Brother Yuan and the Grand Master went to meet the Azure Emperor, he didn't even offer Brother Yuan a seat. It's truly despicable."
Xiao was somewhat tempted by what the two said, but still said, "I need to think about this for a while. A-Yuan, please don't blame me for being hesitant, after all, this matter is quite significant."
The northern barbarians have finally stabilized, and if we rashly start a war with the untamed barbarians, the ministers will face great resistance.
As for the Azure Emperor, I will seek justice for you in the future.
"I know, you can think about it first. There's still plenty of time, so there's no rush," Lu Yuan nodded.
"Mm," Xiao replied with satisfaction.
After chatting for a while, Lu Yuan left.
In the time that followed, this Qin king from the northern barbarians did not encounter any major events.
He simply cultivates himself, and when he has free time, he often goes to the South City to take a look.
He would also accompany Xiao Hua for walks.
Before long, winter passed, and Lu Yuan celebrated his twentieth birthday.
The weather is gradually getting warmer.
On this day, after finishing his business in the South City, Lu Yuan sat in his residence, preparing to check on his cultivation progress over this period of time.
Over the course of winter, his cultivation level increased significantly compared to the past.
If we can break through.
He planned to bring up the matter of conquering the barbarians again after attending court the next day.