Chapter 854: Departure

The Winds of Kyushu Rise

"Joining the Bing Province Guard means receiving different tiers of monthly stipends, depending on your military rank," Shui Yuan slowly explained. "However, these stipends are not spirit pills or spirit stones, but... battle merits!"

Lu Ye's eyebrows shot up.

For cultivators across Kyushu, the words "battle merits" held immense appeal. They could be directly exchanged for spirit tokens from the Heavenly Mystery Treasury, which was one of the primary ways cultivators rapidly increased their cultivation.

Furthermore, since these merits were issued as a monthly stipend, it meant that by joining the Bing Province Guard, members would receive battle merits every month. This fact alone was enough to attract countless cultivators from across Kyushu.

With such an attractive system, the Bing Province Guard didn't even need to conscript members from major sects. Cultivators from sects and families of all sizes across Kyushu, once their cultivation reached a certain level, would actively choose to join.

The Jadeblood Sect was an exception; Lu Ye had never known about the Bing Province Guard's existence before, so he hadn't considered joining.

"The monthly stipend is just the baseline," she continued. "You can also earn battle merits by carrying out Bing Province Guard missions or by slaying enemies in battle."

"That's quite a benefit," Lu Ye commented.

"That's why the Bing Province Guard isn't just for cultivators above the Cloud River Realm," Shui Yuan explained. "There are also many from the Spirit Creek Realm. Some sect disciples plan ahead, joining the Bing Province Guard as early as the Spirit Creek Realm to earn battle merits and prepare for their future."

Of course, Spirit Creek Realm cultivators aren't particularly strong and have limited self-preservation capabilities, so even within the Bing Province Guard, they aren't assigned overly dangerous missions. Most are tasked with guarding specific locations, coordinating with higher-realm cultivators to defend against external enemies. They don't usually stay for long; most return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield to cultivate after accumulating a certain amount of battle merits.

Relatively speaking, it's more dangerous than being on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but the opportunity to acquire battle merits is unparalleled.

The more Lu Ye listened to Shui Yuan describe the various aspects of the Bing Province Guard, the more enthusiastic he became. He had no initial aversion to joining, but now he actually looked forward to it.

However, he also knew that if he truly joined the Bing Province Guard, his days would no longer be as carefree as they were on the Cloud River Battlefield.

So far, whether on the Spirit Creek Battlefield or the Cloud River Battlefield, all his opponents had been cultivators of the same realm. But once in the Bing Province Guard, he wouldn't only face those at his own level; True Lake Realm and Divine Sea Realm grand cultivators also actively operated on the front lines of the two factions' conflicts.

"Little Junior Brother, are you confident you can ascend to the True Lake Realm within three days?" Shui Yuan asked.

Lu Ye shook his head. "I just ascended to the Ninth-Layer Realm. I'm still some distance away from reaching the True Lake Realm."

He had enough golden spirit tokens, but time was too tight; three days certainly wouldn't be enough.

"That's a shame," Shui Yuan remarked.

If Lu Ye could ascend to the True Lake Realm before joining the Bing Province Guard, his self-preservation capabilities would greatly improve. Moreover, everyone in the Bing Province Guard held a specific position; the higher one's cultivation, the higher the initial position they could assume, and consequently, the more monthly stipends they would receive.

The treatment for a Ninth-Layer Cloud River Realm cultivator versus a True Lake Realm cultivator in the Bing Province Guard was completely different.

Fortunately, Lu Ye was not far from reaching the True Lake Realm.

"Second Senior Sister, how should I cultivate once I ascend to the True Lake Realm?" Lu Ye asked. "The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in Kyushu itself isn't dense; it's not even comparable to the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Wouldn't my cultivation efficiency be too low if I absorb spiritual energy this way?"

Although he didn't primarily rely on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivation, sufficiently dense spiritual energy could still significantly boost his efficiency.

He needed to understand how True Lake Realm and Divine Sea Realm cultivators in Kyushu cultivated. He had originally planned to ask his Second Senior Sister after he ascended to the True Lake Realm, as it wouldn't be too late. However, with Haotian City's order requiring him to depart within three days, he feared he wouldn't have another opportunity to consult her face-to-face.

Seizing this chance, he wanted to clarify things immediately. Since Hua Ci and Ju Jia were also present, he decided to let them listen as well.

"Cultivation above the True Lake Realm requires enormous consumption..." Shui Yuan slowly began to explain.

Lu Ye and the other two listened intently, finally understanding how cultivators above the True Lake Realm cultivated.

He secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. Before this, he only knew that cultivation for cultivators above the True Lake Realm consumed vast amounts of resources, but he hadn't fully understood *how* they were consumed.

Only now did he fully grasp it!

No wonder Shui Yuan had remained in the True Lake Realm for so long; even with her remarkable talent, ascension was difficult. It wasn't until Lu Ye brought a large amount of resources back to the Jadeblood Sect that Shui Yuan finally broke through to the Divine Sea Realm in one go.

All of this was due to the Jadeblood Sect's chronic lack of resources.

Before Lu Ye arrived, the entire Jadeblood Sect only comprised Shui Yuan and the Sect Master. Even if she served in the Bing Province Guard and received a monthly stipend, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the vast resources her cultivation required.

From this perspective, he would need to prepare thoroughly before leaving.

Afterward, Shui Yuan shared many more details about the Bing Province Guard, which Lu Ye noted down carefully. These were her accumulated personal experiences, which might one day prove to be of great help to him.

Shui Yuan only stopped when darkness fell.

All necessary advice had been given; fledglings, after all, must eventually leave the nest and soar into the sky. The Sect Master had previously been unwilling for Lu Ye to join the Bing Province Guard too early, partly due to the Jadeblood Sect's dwindling numbers and partly for Lu Ye's safety.

But with Lu Ye's cultivation improving, taking this step was inevitable.

It was unavoidable.

Hua Ci and Ju Jia returned to Emerald Bamboo Peak, while Lu Ye followed Shui Yuan to the Jadeblood Sect's treasury.

A moment later, he stood before the Heavenly Mystery Pillar, connecting his mind with the Heavenly Mystery Treasury. He sold a large quantity of resources taken from the Jadeblood Sect's treasury to the Heavenly Mystery Treasury.

His own merits grew at an astonishing rate.

It wasn't until two hours later that Lu Ye emerged from the Heavenly Mystery Hall and swiftly headed towards Emerald Bamboo Peak.

He entered his bamboo dwelling and sat down cross-legged. Amber and Yi Yi were not present; Amber was with Ju Jia, and Yi Yi was with Hua Ci.

Lu Ye held a map in his hand, checking the location of Haotian City.

He had just purchased this expensive yet worthwhile map from the Heavenly Mystery Treasury; it was a complete map of all of Kyushu, and it would be essential for his future travels across the land.

According to the map, Kyushu was divided into nine major sections, which were its nine provinces.

Qing Province, Wu Province, and Cang Province were colored blue, clearly indicating, as Shui Yuan had mentioned, that these three provinces were controlled by the Haotian Alliance.

Yun Province, Lei Province, and You Province were red.

Tian Province, Bing Province, and Ding Province, however, were a mix of red and blue, indicating the contention and clashes between the two major factions.

Lu Ye quickly scanned the map, corroborating Shui Yuan's earlier words, and gained a slightly better understanding of the overall situation in Kyushu.

Looking again at the Bing Province map, in the areas where red and blue intersected, twelve formidable passes stretched across the land like towering mountains, forming the foremost defense line of the Bing Province Haotian Alliance.

These were the Twelve Passes of Bing Province, each garrisoned by a massive number of cultivators.

Beyond these twelve passes stood a majestic city: Haotian City.

This city was the central hub of the Bing Province Guard, where all orders and decisions regarding warfare were issued. The Zhao Che he had met earlier was from Haotian City's Command Division.

Haotian City also housed an Elder Council, led by Pang Zhen of the Righteous Qi Sect, whose members were all Divine Sea Realm grand cultivators from the major sects of Bing Province.

Sect Master Tang Yifeng was actually also a member of the Elder Council. Logically, he was qualified to reside in Haotian City and become one of the decision-makers, but he had never involved himself in such matters.

Due to a war decades ago, the Jadeblood Sect's reputation had plummeted, and many powerful cultivators from other sects harbored resentment towards them. In such a situation, how could the Sect Master possibly seek to be disliked?

For years, though he held a position on the Elder Council, he had never made any decisions, merely followed orders, maintaining such a low profile that the world had almost forgotten him.

If not for Lu Ye's sudden rise, which gave the Sect Master hope for the Jadeblood Sect's resurgence, he would not have changed his usual low-key demeanor.

Now, however, his revered and respected image had completely crumbled, and the major sects in Bing Province blanched at the mention of Tang.

What Lu Ye needed to do now was report to Haotian City within three days, officially join the Bing Province Guard, confirm his position, and then see to which pass Haotian City would assign him.

These matters were beyond his control; he could only leave it to fate.

However, someone in Haotian City was clearly watching him. The moment something went wrong on the Cloud River Battlefield, the order came down, demonstrating their efficiency.

Therefore, Lu Ye understood that once he joined the Bing Province Guard, he would certainly not be assigned an easy task.

Overthinking was useless; it was more important to focus on improving his cultivation. Although time was tight, it was still enough for him to use one golden spirit token.

Calling back Yi Yi and Amber, Lu Ye crushed a golden spirit token and sat cross-legged to cultivate.

After a day and a night, with the spirit token's effects exhausted, Lu Ye rose and pushed open the door.

"Time to go!" he murmured softly, his figure shooting into the sky.

There was no need to bid farewell to anyone; there would always be a day to meet again, and separations and reunions among cultivators were perfectly normal.

On Shou Zheng Peak, Shui Yuan opened her eyes, gazed into the distance in the direction Lu Ye had left, and slowly rose.

On Ming Xin Peak, two figures stood: the Sect Master and Madam Yun.

"Have you found out who it was?" Madam Yun's voice was chilling.

The moment the order came, even Lu Ye sensed someone was targeting him, so how could Madam Yun not feel it?

Although she and the Sect Master had been diligently repairing the Dragon Throne recently, they were not oblivious to outside matters. For Divine Sea Realm grand cultivators like them, if they wished, not even a rustle within a hundred miles could escape their perception.

The Sect Master shook his head. "Only a rough idea. Sigh, it's just those few families."

"Is it related to the Pillsoul Sect?"

"It should be unrelated," he replied. "Though the Pillsoul Sect has split from our sect, they wouldn't do something like this."

"Hmph, I don't care who it is!" she interrupted fiercely. "If anyone dares to harm my disciple, I will make them pay with their blood!"

"They are operating within the rules..." the Sect Master began.

"I don't care about their rules or no rules!" she snapped. "I only have this one disciple. If anything happens to him, no one else will live!"