Chapter 2198: Crazy Improvement

After completing the handover with Yan Xiaowu, Lu Ye, as usual, gave one-tenth of his earnings to the Night Owl who had provided the intelligence. He then found a place to refine the Dao bones and enhance his strength.

The major war zones within Splendor were in constant turmoil, with ongoing conflicts and frequent casualties on both sides. This has been the unchanging rhythm of Splendor throughout history—it was true in the past, it is true now, and it will remain true in the future.

This will only change if, one day, the three major powers engage in a decisive, world-shaking battle to determine who lives and who dies.

Amidst this vast tide of events, there were also small ripples. While insignificant compared to the overall situation in Splendor, these ripples became quite noticeable in certain specific regions or organizations.

Recently, a formidable Dao Initiate appeared in the Falcon mercenary group!

His codename was "Owl." Few people had seen him; most who knew of him only knew he was human, relatively young, and wielded a short-handled hammer Dao artifact.

He was considered formidable because ever since he joined Falcon, he only accepted red-level missions, seemingly disregarding tasks of other difficulty levels.

It should be noted that very few people would attempt red-level missions; even powerful Dao Initiates like Yan Hong had returned empty-handed, and no one was willing to waste time on such tasks.

However, since Owl joined Falcon, those long-standing red-level missions were almost consistently completed one after another.

On average, he completed one red-level mission every month.

For years, outstanding red-level missions had remained unresolved, but after his appearance, they began to decrease one by one. So far, in just over half a year, he had completed as many as seven or eight red-level missions!

Logically speaking, with his thorough clearing, those red-level missions should have been mostly resolved.

But that was not the case.

Red-level missions not only didn't decrease but actually increased. This was because previously, with no one accepting these missions, the Night Owls were too lazy to report them.

Now, things were different. Owl seemed to be specifically targeting red-level missions, always making gains whenever he accepted a task, which also benefited many Night Owls.

As a result, the Night Owls' enthusiasm for reporting intelligence was naturally ignited. Whenever a Night Owl discovered traces of an enemy expert with 14 Dao powers, they would report it immediately. If they were lucky and Owl took the mission, the reward of nearly a hundred Dao bones was essentially guaranteed.

Upon his return once again, Lu Ye spotted Yan Xiaowu waiting for him by the entrance of the War Merit Pavilion from a distance.

They met almost every month, and Lu Ye and Yan Xiaowu had become quite familiar with each other. Furthermore, since Yan Hong had entered a secluded cultivation state, Lu Ye had been directly contacting Yan Xiaowu recently.

"Brother Ye!" Yan Xiaowu greeted, raising his hand. After they became familiar, Yan Xiaowu's way of addressing him had also become much more intimate.

Lu Ye nodded. He handed over the Dao artifact he had acquired this time, then took a storage ring filled with Dao bones from Yan Xiaowu.

Yan Xiaowu inspected the Dao artifact, confirmed it was fine, and then looked at Lu Ye with a hint of embarrassment. "Brother Ye," he said, "my Yan family can no longer take in any more high-grade Dao artifacts."

Lu Ye paused for a moment, then nodded, indicating his understanding.

Although artifact refiners in Splendor could craft Dao artifacts, high-grade Dao artifacts were still incredibly rare, which was why the Yan family had been willing to acquire them. However, in just over half a year, the Yan family had received eight high-grade Dao artifacts from Lu Ye.

Not every Dao Initiate in the Yan family needed a high-grade Dao artifact; only those favored by elder family members and with good natural talent were qualified to use them. The Yan family itself had a reserve of Dao artifacts, and with those acquired from Lu Ye, they had more than enough for the next few decades.

At 900 Dao bones per high-grade Dao artifact, it was a considerable expense for the Yan family.

Lu Ye had actually anticipated this.

"What are Uncle Yong's arrangements?" Lu Ye asked.

Yan Xiaowu was momentarily stunned, then smiled. "As expected, nothing escapes Brother Ye." His expression turned serious as he continued, "Before I came, Uncle Yong said that if Brother Ye is interested, he can help you contact the other major aristocratic families. They would certainly be happy to acquire high-grade Dao artifacts, though the price... it would be 100 Dao bones less."

"That's understandable." Lu Ye nodded. The initial intelligence he had received indicated this lower price; the Yan family's willingness to add 100 Dao bones was due to Yan Hong's word, making it a friendly price.

"If Brother Ye has no issues, please contact me later, and I will handle the exchange with you. Of course, I'll just be acting as an intermediary; the Dao bones will be provided by others, and I'll hand the Dao artifacts over to them upon my return."

"Understood then!" Lu Ye nodded, having no objections.

With their discussion concluded, Yan Xiaowu departed.

Lu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yan Xiaowu's words were likely not false. However, it was more likely that the friendly price of 100 Dao bones made some within the Yan family uncomfortable, and with Yan Hong now in secluded cultivation, the Yan family had pushed the price back to its normal state.

As for the Yan family being unable to take in more high-grade Dao artifacts... Lu Ye didn't believe that. Even if they couldn't absorb them, they could simply resell them to other aristocratic families.

Lu Ye could understand this. For large aristocratic families with extensive enterprises, differing opinions within the clan were quite normal.

With a raise of his hand, the Night Owl who had been waiting for a long time at his side promptly approached.

After leaving the War Merit Pavilion, he again found a secluded spot to refine Dao bones and enhance his strength.

Half a day later, Lu Ye examined himself.

Inside him, eighty-one Dao bones glowed brilliantly. With a slight clench of his fist and a shift of his thoughts, he could effortlessly wield ninety Dao powers!

To be honest, Lu Ye himself didn't know how strong he truly was now, as he had always been clashing with Dao Initiates and had never had the chance to fight with Fused Dao experts.

Compared to half a year ago, the Dao power he could wield had doubled. However, his actual strength had improved by more than just double.

In recent days, factoring in the missions he completed for Falcon, the Yan family's monthly retainer's salary, and the Dao bones agreed upon by the Military Affairs Office, he could basically acquire around 20,000 Dao powers each month after deducting his own consumption.

For him, completing those missions was not difficult; a group of 14-Dao individuals were simply no match. Most of his time was spent traveling and searching for the whereabouts of his targets.

Some targets were highly vigilant. Of the eight missions Lu Ye had completed so far, the longest one took him a month and a half.

All of his Dao power was basically invested in refining his Dao bones. As his strength continuously increased, the Dao power required for this process also gradually increased.

Now, with ninety Dao powers, refining one Dao bone required four to five thousand Dao powers. Even with his substantial monthly gains, he could actually only increase his power by a few Dao points.

In the past six months, he had encountered another Star Abyss blessing. Unfortunately, it only slightly improved his physical constitution; the wondrous, soul-penetrating effect he hoped for never materialized, which greatly disappointed Lu Ye.

Taking out his Falcon token, he checked it carefully. After accepting a mission, Lu Ye leaped into the air.

Two more months passed in a flash. In a certain war zone, a battle had ceased, and Lu Ye stood alone amidst the corpses of several cultivators from the Insect and Blood races.

He frowned slightly and collected the spoils of war.

It had been two months, and his mission was still incomplete, breaking his previous record.

The main reason was that he couldn't find his mission target, which resulted in his strength increasing minimally over the past two months, by only three Dao points.

Checking his Falcon token again, he found that all red-level mission information had not been updated for a long time.

Those 14-Dao powerhouses of the Insect and Blood races who possessed high-grade Dao artifacts seemed to have made an agreement, all going into hiding.

Lu Ye felt a headache coming on...

He had actually anticipated this situation.

In just over half a year, eight 14-Dao powerhouses holding high-grade Dao artifacts had died. Even the slow-witted among the Insect and Blood races would realize that someone was specifically hunting them. With Falcon's renowned reputation, the enemies would surely make the connection.

As such, as long as the higher-ups of the Insect and Blood races weren't fools, they would certainly implement some targeted deployments.

The hibernation of those 14-Dao powerhouses was likely due to this reason.

But for Lu Ye, this presented a problem. His main source of Dao power was Falcon missions, and with all the enemies in hiding, he had no one to track down.

Although killing random enemies encountered in the war zone also yielded rewards, the efficiency simply couldn't compare to selling high-grade Dao artifacts.

Ten days later, Lu Ye still hadn't found any trace of his mission target. Left with no choice, he returned to the War Merit Pavilion and abandoned the mission.

This was the first time he had failed to complete a mission since joining Falcon.

He began to try accepting missions below the red level. However, these missions relied heavily on quick reflexes and sharp eyes, and Lu Ye tried for most of the day but couldn't succeed.

He was greatly frustrated.

Just as he was continuously trying, his Alliance Guard token suddenly showed activity.

Lu Ye immediately picked it up to check.

Although he had been in Splendor for some time, not many people could contact him—at most, fewer than ten, all familiar individuals.

He had thought it was Yan Xiaowu contacting him, as it was almost time for the Yan family to issue the monthly stipend for retainers.

However, after seeing who was actually contacting him, Lu Ye couldn't help but be surprised.

He never expected it to be this person contacting him.

"Do you need something, Senior?" Lu Ye messaged back.

It was Zi Ying who had contacted him!

She was also the only Fused Dao expert he had a contact mark for.

Zi Ying's message was concise: "I'm short on manpower here. Interested in lending a hand?"

Lu Ye didn't hesitate: "Where?"

It couldn't be Blue Water. After the last major battle, Blue Water wouldn't see significant conflict for several years.

This implied Zi Ying had been transferred from Blue Water. As for which war zone she had gone to, Lu Ye couldn't guess.

This was normal. A Fused Dao expert like Zi Ying would be overkill in the current Blue Water. After the last Blue Water Star Assault battle, the War Alliance must have made other arrangements for her.

However, during the last major battle, Zi Ying single-handedly charged into the Insect Hive and powerfully slew the Insect Queen. She had also sustained injuries and had been recuperating recently, so it was estimated that her injuries had now healed.

The reason she contacted him was undoubtedly because of the outstanding performance of the Crane Wing Battalion in the last Star Assault battle. If it were any other Dao Initiate, even one wielding a high-grade Dao artifact capable of exerting 14 Dao powers, Zi Ying would not have contacted them personally.