Chapter 1942: Preparations

A great battle had been fought at Ding'an City, leaving hundreds of corpses three miles outside its walls.

The city gates were wide open. Escorted by many soldiers, Lu Ye rode back. Countless soldiers on the city walls, who had witnessed the battle firsthand, looked on with reverence and admiration, while many citizens lined the streets inside the city to welcome the returning hero.

They had evidently all heard the news that the Black Scarf vanguard had been defeated.

In a world where cultivation levels were extremely low, Lu Ye's recent performance was utterly astonishing. He had single-handedly charged into an army of a thousand, killed hundreds of enemies by himself, and slain the enemy general on the battlefield. Such feats were only heard of in the tales of storytellers.

Yet today, it had happened right before their very eyes.

Lu Ye returned to the Zhou family's small courtyard and, without resting, immediately began intense cultivation.

One by one, low-grade spirit stones were consumed by the Talent Tree, turning into useless waste as his cultivation slowly but steadily improved.

A day later, his ninth Spirit Aperture opened, and Lu Ye let out a long breath.

Although there was only one aperture difference in cultivation between eight and nine apertures, this marked a qualitative change. Opening nine apertures meant truly embarking on the path of cultivation. In fact, only at this point could a practitioner rightfully call themselves a true cultivator.

Spiritual energy flowed through and connected the spirit apertures, performing the Lesser Circulation, continuously and endlessly.

Spirit Stream Realm, First Level! This advancement brought a significant improvement to both his personal strength and his endurance.

This cultivation experience felt very strange to Lu Ye. He hadn't expected to walk a path he had previously traversed, but compared to his past journey, this one was much faster.

If he had been at the First Level of the Spirit Stream Realm when he fought the Black Scarf vanguard, Lu Ye was truly confident he could have wiped out the entire force alone, provided they didn't scatter and flee.

"Yao Nuan," Lu Ye called out softly.

"Sir," Yao Nuan immediately entered from outside, her eyes filled with reverence. She had witnessed Lu Ye displaying his incredible power from the city walls, and for a girl her age, such a sight was deeply impactful.

"Has Zhou Ping arrived?" Lu Ye asked.

When he had returned earlier, Zhou Ping was leading people in cleaning up the battlefield. With so many dead just outside Ding'an City, leaving the bodies might lead to plagues. Lu Ye had, however, instructed him to come after the cleanup was complete.

"The City Lord has been waiting outside," Yao Nuan replied. When Zhou Ping had arrived, Lu Ye was cultivating, and knowing this, he had not dared to disturb him.

"Invite him in."

"Yes, sir!"

A moment later, Zhou Ping strode in. Compared to his worry-filled state of the past few days, Zhou Ping was undoubtedly much more spirited now. Upon seeing Lu Ye, he immediately cupped his fist in greeting: "Greetings, Sir."

Lu Ye nodded.

Zhou Ping enthusiastically said, "In the previous battle, Sir displayed magnificent power, which truly filled us with admiration. It is our great fortune that Ding'an has you. With you safeguarding our city, we need not worry again."

He actually couldn't quite understand it. Lu Ye's cultivation was only one aperture higher than his, yet he was so invincible on the battlefield.

If he had been in that situation, a single volley of arrows from the enemy would have severely wounded him, if not killed him.

But none of this mattered. As the City Lord of Ding'an, with Lu Ye's assistance, he was confident he could defend the city and protect its people. He had even considered letting Lu Ye become the City Lord. He hadn't done so before, mainly because Lu Ye was an outsider and thus unsuitable. However, after the previous battle, Lu Ye had undoubtedly gained the popular support for such a role.

Now, throughout Ding'an, who didn't know the heroic reputation of Sir Lu Ye?

As he thought this, before he could speak, he heard Lu Ye ask, "Tell me about the specific situation with the Black Scarves."

Zhou Ping's expression turned serious. After a moment of thought, he began, "The Black Scarves started as mountain bandits. After their reputation spread, many other bandits joined them. They claim a force of thirty thousand, but according to our intelligence, their actual strength is probably around ten thousand men..."

He recounted the details, and Lu Ye listened quietly.

After he finished speaking, Lu Ye then said, "So, although we defeated their vanguard, it's actually negligible compared to the Black Scarves' overall strength."

Zhou Ping admitted somewhat reluctantly, "Indeed, for an army of ten thousand, a few hundred casualties are truly negligible." Changing the subject, he continued, "However, Sir, you needn't worry too much. The Black Scarves are currently attacking another city; their main target isn't Ding'an. That initial small squad was actually just here to procure provisions for them. It was only because they lost that squad that Fang Kuang's vanguard was sent. Now that Fang Kuang is dead and the vanguard is crippled, the Black Scarves probably won't make any major moves for the time being. Their forces are insufficient to divide into two."

Lu Ye pondered in silence. If this weren't his cultivation trial scenario, then Zhou Ping's judgment wouldn't be unreasonable. But since this was his cultivation trial, Lu Ye felt that the Black Scarves would definitely not give up so easily.

He would not entrust future peace to his enemies.

"Let's go. Take me to the storeroom," Lu Ye said, standing up.

Zhou Ping did not hesitate and immediately led the way.

A short while later, Lu Ye examined the large storeroom. This was one of Ding'an's most important locations, naturally heavily guarded, and contained enough supplies to sustain the entire city's population for several months, as well as some items used for cultivation.

Zhou Ping didn't know what Lu Ye was looking for, but with the safety of all Ding'an now resting solely on Lu Ye, he was naturally free to take anything from the storeroom.

A moment later, Lu Ye stood before a pile of dark black stones. He casually picked up a fist-sized stone, and after slightly activating his spiritual energy, his eyebrow raised.

Zhou Ping, observing his expression, immediately stepped forward and explained, "Sir, this is black bluestone. After smelting, it can be used to forge spiritual weapons."

Not all minerals are suitable for forging weapons used by cultivators, as conductivity is a key factor. When cultivators fight, they channel spiritual energy. The easier a material conducts spiritual energy, the more valuable it is for forging spiritual weapons. Materials that cannot conduct spiritual energy only produce ordinary weapons.

Just like the thick spear Lu Ye used before, it was merely an ordinary spear. It was only because of its considerable weight that it could unleash powerful destructive force in Lu Ye's hands.

This black bluestone could be used to forge spiritual weapons. However, in Lu Ye's view, the spiritual weapons made from it would only be of the lowest grade because the mineral itself was of very low quality.

But in a world like this, having such material was already quite rare and valuable.

"Are there other places in the city with black bluestone, besides the storeroom?" Lu Ye asked.

Zhou Ping thought for a moment and said, "The Zhou family has some, and the other two prominent families should also have some in their reserves. If you need them, Sir, I can collect them."

"Get all of it, and then find someone to smelt it," Lu Ye instructed.

"What do you intend to forge, Sir?" Zhou Ping asked.

"You'll know when the time comes." Lu Ye didn't explain much.

A short while later, he returned to his small courtyard and continued cultivating.

Zhou Ping's efficiency was undoubtedly high. Just two days later, he returned to report that all the black bluestone in the city had been collected and fully smelted.

In the eastern part of the city, at a steaming hot location, Zhou Ping and the patriarchs of the other two prominent families were waiting. This was the shared blacksmith forge of the three prominent families, where almost all the weapons in the entire city were produced.

Lu Ye arrived shortly after. Zhou Ping and the others quickly bowed, their attitudes respectful.

"Is it all here?" Lu Ye asked, immediately spotting the piled-up items nearby. They were black, square, about an inch thick and five inches long and wide, totaling around twenty-odd pieces.

"It's all here," Zhou Ping replied. Black bluestone was expensive, and what was before them represented the entire city's reserve.

Lu Ye picked up a piece and weighed it, finding it quite substantial. He channeled spiritual energy into it, then nodded slightly, "It'll do."

This material was of too low quality; in Kyushu, it would be considered garbage no one would even glance at. But in a world like this, he could only make do.

"Get me a blacksmith master," Lu Ye instructed again.

Soon, a burly, broad-shouldered blacksmith stood before Lu Ye. Despite his fierce demeanor, his attitude was respectful. "What spiritual weapon do you wish to forge, Sir Lu?" he asked.

Zhou Ping introduced from the side, "This is the chief smith of our three prominent families. His craftsmanship is absolutely excellent."

Lu Ye nodded, looked at him, and said, "You'll be assisting me."

The item he was going to forge was not something a blacksmith of this world could create.

The previous battle against the Black Scarf vanguard made Lu Ye realize something: in a world like this, the effectiveness of cultivators was largely diminished. Even he couldn't completely wipe out a vanguard of a thousand men at that time. Even if he tried his absolute best, killing four or five hundred would be impressive.

This was because the cultivators' level was too low, and the physical disparity between them and ordinary people wasn't that vast.

If one Black Scarf vanguard was so troublesome, then if the entire Black Scarf army launched a full assault, Ding'an would most likely not be able to hold out.

Therefore, he couldn't rely on himself alone!

However, other cultivators had weaker individual strength. Even gathering them together wouldn't have much effect. Thus, he could only rely on external forces to combine their strengths.

The Spirit Link Array Plate was undoubtedly the best and only choice!

Lu Ye had refined countless such array plates in the past and was already highly proficient. The only troublesome aspect was the extremely complex Spirit Link Array pattern.

This was also why Lu Ye needed to raise his cultivation to the First Level of the Spirit Stream Realm before proceeding, as his eight-aperture cultivation was simply insufficient.

Even now, Lu Ye wasn't certain if the First Level of the Spirit Stream Realm would be enough.

"Bring the materials!" Lu Ye instructed again.

Zhou Ping gestured, and immediately, soldiers carried a large box, placing it at Lu Ye's feet. He opened the box, revealing it was full of low-grade spirit stones.

Lu Ye stepped on the spirit stones, ready to replenish his spiritual energy at any time. Then he rolled up his sleeves and said, "Let's begin!"

A short while later, clanging sounds echoed from within the blacksmith forge. The chief smith worked, sweating profusely, and soon forged a piece of black bluestone into the shape of a round plate.