When they moved to the new residence, the city’s atmosphere was already tense. Wounded adventurers were a common sight on the streets, and a large number of city guards had taken over the key traffic points, replacing the law enforcement teams to maintain order. After all, the law enforcement teams were more effective at catching petty criminals and oppressing the common people, but they were woefully inadequate against fierce and bloodthirsty bounty hunters.
This courtyard was not large, with only three rooms. However, because it was located in the noble district, it was still quite valuable. At least, the deputy captain of the guard escorting Qian Ye was envious. He was also a warlord and had been following Su Dingqian for a long time, but he only managed to get a place at the edge of the noble district, which was smaller than Qian Ye’s, and its force array was also one grade lower.
As the former Monro Princess, Yate had no feeling for the so-called luxury of the neutral land; living anywhere made no difference to her. Zhu Ji, on the other hand, was in a period of deep sleep, drowsy all day, and could fall asleep anywhere.
Once everything was settled and Su Dingqian’s people were sent away, Qian Ye took out the dream-eating worm and placed it in front of Yate.
Upon smelling the aura of the dream-eating worm, Yate’s eyes lit up, and she felt inexplicably lighter. Seeing her reaction, Qian Ye didn’t hesitate any longer. Carefully, he broke the crystal, and the smoky vapor inside shot out like an arrow, trying to escape. Its speed was extremely fast, but how could it escape from Qian Ye? Just as it emerged from the crystal, it was enveloped by a force of origin power tinged with the light of dawn and delivered to Yate.
Following the method provided by Su Dingqian for using the dream-eating worm, Yate silently activated her mental technique and then inhaled the smoky vapor.
The form of the dream-eating worm was between the material and the ethereal, mostly resembling a nearly incorporeal mist. After inhaling it, Yate felt as if a line of ice entered her abdomen, instantly transforming into countless icy spots that spread throughout her body. When the coldness dissipated, Yate felt a wave of relief, as if layers of heavy spider webs that had been clinging to her were now slightly stripped away. In her consciousness, every corner was celebrating.
“How is it?” Qian Ye asked anxiously.
“Very good, it’s useful to me. But…”
Qian Ye interrupted her, “It’s good enough if it’s useful! I will get more.”
Since the treatment for the soul injury, the Sea-Born Lotus, was uncertain when it could be obtained, and since he had encountered the dream-eating worm, Qian Ye would not let it go.
After consuming the dream-eating worm, Yate suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness, and in a blink, her eyes couldn’t stay open. She managed to say, “I’m so sleepy,” before falling into a deep slumber.
Qian Ye wasn’t worried; instead, he was delighted. The bloodline race habitually used deep sleep to heal injuries, and her current state indicated that the restorative effect of the dream-eating worm was even better than expected.
After placing Yate on the bed, Qian Ye left the room and sat in the living room, beginning to ponder the current situation.
Given the exceptional effects of the dream-eating worm, it was naturally very precious. Su Dingqian was not a natural do-gooder, but a dominant and cunning figure. That he had given the dream-eating worm and the Heart Sutra so readily without hesitation, it was clear that the enemy Qian Ye was facing was extremely troublesome.
Running his fingers over the now-empty lacquer box, Qian Ye let out a sigh and murmured, “Is this for dealing with the Wolf King?”
Since the message was from Xueyi to Su Dingqian, it was likely that, with their cunning, they had already guessed Qian Ye’s identity in the neutral territory. After all, Qian Ye’s search for Xue Xingsan, when combined with all the information, revealed that he was actually looking for Cui Yuanhai. Knowing this, they could also deduce that Qian Ye and Yate were the ones heavily sought after by the Wolf King, as well as their battle records in the Black Forest. In this regard, to recruit Qian Ye and Yate, Su Dingqian’s investment was not a loss, as he was getting two people.
However, someone like Su Dingqian wouldn’t do something that was just not a loss. Presumably, he was betting on the fact that Qian Ye and Yate still had hidden means and future potential. Indeed, Su Dingqian had a keen eye.
Moreover, with this relationship, at least Su Dingqian could be certain that Qian Ye would never side with the Wolf King.
But Su Dingqian probably did not know the true identities of Qian Ye and Yate in the Empire and Eternity. If he did, Qian Ye believed the price he offered would be much higher.
The Heart Sutra, which Su Dingqian regarded as the key to victory, was not particularly useful to Qian Ye. With the accumulated experience of the Zhao clan over the years, Qian Ye knew that the so-called Celestial Gate of Divine Generals depended on two factors: one was the purity of the origin power. Different cultivation methods produced different attributes of origin power, with varying degrees of purity. Origin power that was not pure enough could not condense into crystals and naturally could not achieve the status of a divine general.
The other factor was the body’s capacity to accommodate origin power. The stronger the body, the more origin power it could hold and the more it could withstand the backlash of advanced cultivation methods.
Throughout history, countless cultivators have been stuck at these two critical points. After studying the Song Clan’s ancient scroll, Qian Ye knew that after condensing, the origin power often diminished to less than a tenth of its original amount. Many practitioners, even with the method to condense origin power, lacked the speed needed, often dying before reaching the stage of a divine general.
By now, Qian Ye had roughly understood the issues with the Song Clan’s ancient scroll. Why the Song clan would rather let their family decline than cultivate such a precious scroll. Apart from the almost unsolvable requirement of Yin-Yang balance, the Exquisite and Luminous chapters required an excessive level of purity of the origin power. For the origin power cultivated through the Battle Formula, it often took dozens of portions to condense one portion of Dawn’s Awakening. The true core cultivation methods of the major clans and the Imperial Family produced origin power far purer than the Battle Formula, but when refined by the Exquisite and Luminous chapters, seven or eight portions were needed to produce a single portion of extremely pure and refined origin power.
The problem was that, unless it was someone like Zhao Jundu, Ji Tianqing, or Song Zining, according to Qian Ye’s judgment, even someone with the talent of Zhao Junhong, if they cultivated the Song Clan’s ancient scroll, might not accumulate enough origin power even by the age of seventy or eighty to touch the threshold of a divine general. For others, with even slower cultivation speeds, becoming a divine general was an impossible dream.
For Qian Ye, the ancient bloodline race’s body was incredibly strong, which allowed him to push the Battle Formula to over fifty rounds, evolving into the Supreme Battle Formula. It may not be unprecedented, but in the thousand-year history of the Empire, only a few like the Martial Ancestor and Zhang Boqian had achieved this.
The origin power cultivated through the Supreme Battle Formula may not be the purest, but it was abundant like a vast sea, practically endless. The vortex of origin power generated during Qian Ye’s cultivation could now crush the void, and the amount of origin power gained in a single session was more than ten times that of ordinary cultivation methods. Such a cultivation speed was necessary to meet the terrifying demands of the Song Clan’s ancient scroll.
As Qian Ye’s body became increasingly robust, the Supreme Battle Formula could advance to an even deeper level. For Qian Ye, this was the most suitable cultivation method, and he no longer needed any other so-called secret techniques.
Additionally, the bloodline race had their own cultivation methods, and the legacy of the River of Blood contained many secrets. However, the bloodline race could also progress by absorbing refined blood. Due to his constant battles, the refined blood in Qian Ye’s body was always in a state of overflow.
However, for ordinary members of the bloodline race, absorbing too much refined blood would gradually make their bloodlines impure, so they could not absorb an unlimited amount. With the Song Clan’s ancient scroll, Qian Ye could absorb and convert a massive amount of refined blood, using war to nourish war and enhance the power of his bloodline.
While he was lost in thought, a knock sounded at the gate. A city guard officer entered the courtyard and handed a stack of documents to Qian Ye. These included the officer’s credentials for the city guards, a permit to freely enter and exit the noble district and military strongholds, and a guide to exchanging military merit.
For Qian Ye, the first two items were not essential. Besides the city lord’s residence, there weren’t any important areas in LinGang City. The city walls were very low, serving only to keep out ordinary people. If the walls were built higher, the Earth Dragons would easily destroy them with a few turns.
The guide to exchanging military merit listed a long list of rare resources, among which the dream-eating worm, which Qian Ye valued most, was prominently listed!
Qian Ye pointed at the dream-eating worm and asked, “Are there many of these dream-eating worms produced?”
The officer replied, “Dream-eating worms only appear when the Earth Dragons are restless. Each time, the city’s strongest forces, including the city lord, personally participate to capture some. In a good year, there can be hundreds, but in a bad year, there might be less than a hundred.”
Qian Ye felt relieved and said, “That’s not too bad.”
The officer immediately shook his head, “Sir Zhao, you are mistaken! The Earth Dragons’ restlessness happens only once every few years, sometimes even ten years. If you calculate, the amount of dream-eating worms per year is only a few dozen. This small share is not exclusive to LinGang City; the three surrounding families each get a share, so what remains is not much.”
Saying this, he looked at Qian Ye with envy, “Sir Zhao, you were favored by the city lord right from the start and received the dream-eating worm early. How many people envy that! This thing can help one become a divine general when consumed.”
Watching Yate consume the dream-eating worm and hearing her describe the effects, Qian Ye naturally knew that apart from repairing the soul, it could slightly purify the bloodline or origin power and slightly improve the constitution. It could increase the chances of crossing the threshold of a divine general, but the increase was too small. If one consumed dozens of them, it might add a ten percent chance of breaking through to a divine general.
This was already quite good, but unfortunately, even Su Dingqian himself could not monopolize the dream-eating worms.
If not for the minuscule increase provided by each dream-eating worm, their value would not be so limited. As clearly stated in the military merit exchange guide, each slain enemy warlord or viscount would be rewarded with a dream-eating worm. This meant that the value of each dream-eating worm was, in fact, not worth even one warlord.
Qian Ye mentally calculated and realized that Su Dingqian’s expectation was for him to slay more than five enemy warlords, making it a worthwhile deal. On the surface, the accounts were calculated this way, but in reality, if Qian Ye could eliminate a large part of the enemy’s forces, allowing Su Dingqian to focus on dealing with the enemy’s divine generals, the benefits to the overall battle situation would be far more than just a few warlords.
Qian Ye put away the documents and chatted a bit more with the officer, learning that the three legions would arrive near LinGang City the next day. Tonight would be the last peaceful night before the great battle.
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