Chapter 897: 甲三小队

Winds of Kyushu

Whether it was for battle merits or not, Lu Ye didn't really care. He still had a large stash of unused battle merits and wasn't lacking for now. Compared to battle merits, he was more interested in the Enforcement Hall's methods.

He hadn't been in the Bing Province Guard long and didn't know much about its various aspects. What made him curious was whether this kind of impromptu conscription was permitted by the Bing Province Guard, especially since he wasn't allowed to refuse. With this thought, he spoke, "Senior Brother, please wait a moment. I've only been in the Bing Province Guard for just over a month, and I only took a one-day leave to come to Haotian City. I still need to consult my superior about this matter." The big man, who introduced himself as General Geng, frowned. "Who is your superior?"

"Nian Yuexian, the Lord of Cangyan Mountain Pass at Dayue Pass."

General Geng was very surprised. "It's her! No, I heard she holds down a pass by herself, without any other Provincial Guards. How could you..."

"Indeed, there weren't any a little over a month ago."

General Geng nodded slightly. "If it's her, you may certainly ask for instructions."

In other words, he trusted Nian Yuexian implicitly. If it had been anyone else, they might not have received such treatment. Lu Ye then used his guard token to contact Nian Yuexian and explained the situation he had encountered.

He quickly received a reply, a single simple word: "Approved!"

This meant she agreed.

With his direct superior's approval, Lu Ye naturally had nothing more to say and left with General Geng.

Meanwhile, at Cangyan Mountain Pass, Nian Yuexian raised her hand and tapped her battle imprint, sending a message out: "What are you doing?" Soon, she received a reply: "Sister Nian, you're finally willing to contact me! I thought..."

"Cut the nonsense. If you don't give me an explanation, I'll go to Haotian City right now and smash your skull!"

"Oh, come on! I'm the Chief of the Legal Affairs Department now. If you really do that, how will I save face?" The other party pleaded, then explained, "This kid of yours has been active in the Spirit Stream Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield since the beginning of his cultivation. He knows virtually nothing about the situation in Kyushu. And after joining the Provincial Guard, he happened to go to your place. You know what your situation is there. If he stays there long-term, he won't have many opportunities to earn battle merits or advance his military rank. I was just trying to give him some training and let him learn more about the local situation in Kyushu. They say a good man's ambition lies in all directions. He's a talent, after all. You don't want him to become a useless person by staying with you, do you? Of course, if you insist on raising him like a hothouse flower, I can order his release right now."

A hothouse flower.

Nian Yuexian sneered inwardly. 'You probably don't know what he's been up to. In just over a month since he arrived, he somehow managed to throw Gushan Fortress into complete chaos. He even saved my life right under the noses of several hostile Divine Sea Realm cultivators. Even if he were a hothouse flower, he'd be one covered in thorns.'

Of course, there was no need to elaborate on such matters.

"If anything happens to him, I'll twist your head off."

In the main hall of the Legal Affairs Department in Haotian City, Qian Wudang looked at the message from Nian Yuexian, unsure whether to laugh or cry. 'This senior sister has been as cold as ice in recent years, but her fiery temper has never truly been restrained. Her casual threats to rip off scalps and twist heads were truly terrifying.'

"And don't think I can't see what you're scheming!" Another message arrived.

'What schemes could I possibly have?' Qian Wudang smiled wryly to himself, knowing his intentions had been seen through. He dropped the subject and changed the topic. "What is this kid doing back in Haotian City this time?"

"Go ask him yourself!" Nian Yuexian's message concluded, and she could no longer be contacted.

Qian Wudang had merely asked casually, but Nian Yuexian's attitude made him a little curious. 'Indeed, this kid had only been on the front lines for just over a month, so what was he doing running back to Haotian City?' He hadn't thought much about it before, as Haotian City was a bustling place, and no one restricted True Lake Realm cultivators from entering or leaving.

Thinking about it now, something truly felt off.

He immediately sent someone to investigate.

Soon he received feedback. Looking at the intelligence report laid before him, Qian Wudang was stunned on the spot.

A Commander at the first level of the Martial King Realm.

Had the Personnel Department made a mistake, or was he seeing things?

If he remembered correctly, the kid was previously a Guard Officer. A Guard Officer at the ninth level of the Cloud River Realm was already astounding enough. Now, after just a month, how had he become a Commander?

Qian Wudang's first thought was that Nian Yuexian had used her authority as a Pass Lord to provide great convenience to Lu Ye, allowing him to accumulate a large amount of battle merits in a short time. But he quickly dismissed this idea. It wasn't that Nian Yuexian couldn't do it, but that she wouldn't do such a thing.

She was well aware of the consequences such an action would trigger; it would lead to a reckoning from Heavenly Secrets. If that happened, even a Divine Sea Realm cultivator like her wouldn't be able to bear it. In other words, this kid had gained a large amount of battle merits by his own true abilities in a short time, thereby getting promoted from Guard Officer to Commander!

Had he perhaps killed Wanzhang Gang, or destroyed Gushan City?

But if that were the case, there should have been a victory report from the front lines, and Haotian City hadn't received any recent good news.

Unable to figure out what Lu Ye had done, and itching with curiosity, he shamelessly sent Nian Yuexian another message, hoping to get an answer.

But there was no response. No matter how he inquired, there was not a single word in reply.

At this moment, Lu Ye had already joined his Squad Alpha Three under the leadership of Geng Lingzhou. Including Geng Lingzhou, the captain, the squad had only five members in total.

A sword cultivator with a seemingly rough face but a gentle smile, Xiao Ruyun.

A taciturn and cold-faced spell cultivator, Shangguan Qiu.

A ghost cultivator whose eyes occasionally gleamed with cunning light, constantly glancing at a female companion, Kang Yuanqiao.

A petite female cultivator with a well-proportioned figure, Mu Zheng.

Including Lu Ye, the temporary addition, the six-member squad was complete.

This was also the standard number of members for an Enforcement Hall squad.

Among the six, Captain Geng Lingzhou was undoubtedly the strongest, at the ninth level of the Martial King Realm, which was by no means weak throughout Kyushu. The others had varying cultivation levels, but all were above the third level of the Martial King Realm.

Each person reported their name and cultivation level, then all looked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye could only say, "Lu Ye of the Azure Blood Sect, first level of the Spirit Splendor Realm."

If he had announced his name, Lu Ye of the Azure Blood Sect, in the Cloud River Battlefield or even the current Spirit Stream Battlefield, it would definitely have attracted attention.

However, the people before him had long left the two major battlefields and had been fighting on the front lines, so naturally, they had never heard of Lu Ye's name.

Still, the three words "Azure Blood Sect" made their expressions serious for a moment.

Xiao Ruyun was surprised. "Junior Brother, are you from the Azure Blood Sect?"

"That's right," Lu Ye said, looking at him. "Is Senior Brother Kang from the North Profound Sword Sect?"

Xiao Ruyun shook his head. "The North Profound Sword Sect has extremely strict requirements for accepting disciples. I wasn't fortunate enough to join. I come from a fourth-rank sect."

"While the sword cultivators of the North Profound Sword Sect are formidable, Senior Brother Kang's methods are not necessarily inferior to theirs," the ghost cultivator named Kang Yuanqiao spoke. "Kid, don't assume every sword cultivator you see is from the North Profound Sword Sect. All the major sects in Bing Province have sword cultivators."

He then turned to Geng Lingzhou. "Captain, what's going on? Even if you're conscripting, you should pick someone with a higher cultivation level. This young fellow clearly just advanced to the Martial King Realm not long ago. How much use can he be?"

He was quite outspoken, directly stating his disdain for Lu Ye's cultivation without any pretense.

"You talk too much. What's wrong with the first level of the Spirit Splendor Realm? Didn't you also come up from the first level of the Spirit Splendor Realm?" Geng Lingzhou glared at him.

To be honest, if it were possible, he wouldn't have chosen Lu Ye either, but the order had come directly from the Chief, and he couldn't refuse.

He couldn't help but feel suspicious. He hadn't heard of the Chief having any close ties with the Azure Blood Sect, so why was he being so considerate towards this kid?

In his view, having Lu Ye join them on this mission was a form of care, as he could gain a good amount of battle merits without much effort, adding to his achievements. Otherwise, even though there weren't many cultivators in Haotian City right now, he wouldn't have specifically sought out Lu Ye.

"I was just saying," Kang Yuanqiao mumbled, shrinking his neck. He then turned to the female cultivator beside him and offered solicitously, "Sister Mu, after this mission, I'll take you to a fun place."

Mu Zheng smiled sweetly. "I'm not going!"

Kang Yuanqiao immediately put on a mournful face and began to act unreasonably. This was Lu Ye's first time seeing a Martial King act like this, and he couldn't help but frown.

Xiao Ruyun understood and smiled slightly. "We've been together for a long time, Junior Brother Lu, and we're used to being informal. You don't need to worry about it."

"Alright, everyone's here. Let's depart," Geng Lingzhou said, then summoned a flying vessel.

That flying vessel was clearly prepared for the squad; it was much narrower than Lu Ye's personal flying vessel but spacious enough to comfortably accommodate seven or eight people. Everyone boarded the vessel, and the taciturn Shangguan Qiu stepped forward to pilot it, soaring into the sky.

The others found places to rest.

"Old Kang," Geng Lingzhou ordered, "tell our new junior brother about the rules."

"Yes!" Xiao Ruyun replied, then looked at Lu Ye. "Junior Brother, feel free to ask me anything you want to know."

Lu Ye then voiced his question: "Can your enforcement squad just randomly conscript people in the city when carrying out missions?"

Xiao Ruyun smiled faintly. "Junior Brother, you may not know this, but compared to the entire Provincial Guard, the Legal Affairs Department has the most severe shortage of personnel. This is because the Legal Affairs Department only recruits those at the Martial King Realm or higher; those with lower cultivation levels cannot handle enforcement duties."

This was understandable.

Cultivators daring to commit crimes would certainly not have low cultivation levels, requiring the enforcement team to suppress them with stronger means. Cloud River Realm cultivators were clearly unsuitable.

"The missions undertaken by the Legal Affairs Department involve punishing those who violate military laws internally and eliminating enemies who betray their allegiance externally. Moreover, there are many obstacles during mission execution, and it is comparatively safe. However, the casualty rate is also high. As a result, the Legal Affairs Department is perpetually short-staffed. Our squad is no exception; it was originally six members, but one of our comrades died during a previous mission, leaving a vacant spot. Now that another mission has been assigned, we have no choice but to conscript someone. This is also permitted."