Chapter 964: Small Gathering

"Disciple Xiao Xinghe greets the Sect Master!"

The imposing man prostrated himself, head to the ground, kneeling without rising.

The Sect Master helped him up, his face filled with shame: "I am incompetent, old man that I am, and have made you suffer these past years."

Xiao Xinghe shook his head: "It is I who am useless; I have disgraced the Sect Master and nearly implicated Junior Brother Lu Ye."

The Sect Master said, "You are brothers; there's no need to dwell on such things. Your Junior Brother Lu Ye has great potential, but his cultivation period is still short, so he might be a bit lacking in his approach to things. In the future, when you work together, you must guide him more."

"Yes," Xiao Xinghe replied respectfully.

While the Sect Master spoke with Xiao Xinghe, Lu Ye stood still, focusing on his own breathing, for a sharp gaze was fixed on him, making him uncomfortable. This gaze clearly came from his direct superior.

Qian Wudang probably had something he wanted to ask him, but restrained himself from asking too much in front of the Sect Master. However, he was undoubtedly very displeased that Lu Ye, having only joined the Judicial Department two days prior, had taken Lin Yinxiu into such a dangerous place and undertaken such a risky task.

"Let's go, back to Haotian City first," Qian Wudang called out.

A short while later, two Grand Cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm, accompanied by three cultivators of the True Lake Realm, soared into the sky and sped towards Haotian City.

The journey was smooth. In less than two hours, they had returned to Haotian City.

Enveloped in golden light, Lu Ye naturally drew the attention of many passing cultivators, who stared in amazement. Those who recognized the golden light as a blessing from the Golden Body Token were even more astonished. After all, most people had only heard of something like the Golden Body Token; they had never seen it in person, let alone seen it used, so it was quite a novelty.

"Lu Ye, follow me," Qian Wudang said without turning his head, his hands clasped behind his back, as he flew in a roundabout way towards the main hall of the Judicial Department.

Lu Ye bade farewell to the Sect Master and quickly followed.

A short while later, in the main hall of the Judicial Department, Qian Wudang angrily slammed the table and roared into Lu Ye's ear: "Do you know who is in charge of Jinglan Lake Pass? Do you know who Liu Yuemei is? Hmm? You know? And you still dared to go! It would be one thing if you went by yourself, but you actually took Yinxiu with you! You are absolutely audacious, completely reckless!"

Lu Ye stood in front of the desk, not refuting or talking back.

Qian Wudang fumed for a while before his anger slightly subsided. He glared at Lu Ye indignantly and said weakly, "Tell me, who else do you want to requisition from the frontier passes? Hand over the entire list, and I, the Department Head, will personally figure it out for you."

He was truly terrified. This time, with a moment's carelessness, this kid in front of him had provoked Liu Yuemei. If he didn't take preventative measures, next time he might go and provoke Yu Huajin. It was also his own excessive carelessness. When Lu Ye had asked him to sign the warrant for freely requisitioning personnel earlier, he hadn't thought much of it. After all, in his eyes, who wouldn't show respect to the head of the Judicial Department? Who knew it would lead to today's incident? He had never imagined that Lu Ye would be so bold, daring to go to a place like Jinglan Lake Pass with only a True Lake Realm cultivation.

"Thank you for your generous concern, Sir. This subordinate currently has no one else to transfer," Lu Ye replied.

His small team currently had three members out of eight, and he was preparing to save the remaining five spots for his second senior brother and others. His second senior brother's situation was no better than his third senior brother's. When he joined the State Guard, it would naturally be more appropriate for him to join the Judicial Department with Lu Ye.

Hearing him say that, Qian Wudang's mind eased slightly. He raised a hand and pointed outside the door: "Stay far away from me for the next few days. Don't let me see you."

"Then this subordinate takes his leave!" Lu Ye clasped his fists, turned, and withdrew.

Leaving the main hall of the Judicial Department, Lu Ye headed directly to the nearest Heavenly Secret Hall.

A moment later, in the Merit Pavilion, Lu Ye stood before the stone platform for exchanging Golden Body Tokens. He sighed heavily, but still gritted his teeth and exchanged for a Golden Body Token. One always needed to have a life-saving item prepared, no matter how great the cost. Checking his own military merit, he only had a little over eighty thousand left...

Lu Ye remembered that not long ago, his military merit had been as high as seven hundred seventy thousand. In less than ten days, it had plummeted to only eighty thousand. Military merit, it seemed, was indeed never enough.

Fortunately, he had exchanged for many Golden Spirit Charms before, so he wasn't short of cultivation resources for now. Moreover, he had a fixed source of military merit each month. In a few days, once his monthly stipend was issued and the explosive Fire Spirit Stones were delivered and settled, he would be financially comfortable again.

Just as he was about to return to his small courtyard, a message suddenly arrived via his battlefield imprint. Lu Ye checked it and found it was a message from Geng Tao Yuan. He was invited to meet at the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

Lu Ye naturally agreed. The last time he had messaged Geng Tao Yuan, Alpha Eight Squad was on a mission, and they should have returned by now. The Hundred Fragrance Pavilion was where Lu Ye and Alpha Eight Squad had drunk last time, so he was familiar with the way.

Upon arriving, he was led through the main hall and into a small courtyard at the back.

Inside the courtyard, there were small bridges over flowing streams, and wine cups floated down winding waterways. Lush greenery surrounded them, creating a pleasant environment. In the center of the courtyard was a pavilion, with a single long table inside. Several people were seated on either side, namely Geng Tao Yuan and a few members of Alpha Eight Squad.

The table was laden with exquisite food, wafting fragrant aromas. When Lu Ye arrived, the seven members of the squad were drinking and enjoying themselves; the atmosphere was lively.

Basically, every time Alpha Eight Squad returned from a mission, they would gather here. Firstly, to celebrate the completion of the mission, and secondly, to support the business of the place.

When Lu Ye came last time, he had noticed that Geng Tao Yuan seemed to have an unusual relationship with the proprietress of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

Although everything in Haotian City belonged to the Haotian Alliance, such as the houses provided for rest and lodging (any State Guard could stay there as long as they didn't disturb others, and no fees would be charged), there were also some places not available for public rental. Cultivators with connections could rent venues from the Haotian Alliance to run their own businesses. The Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, for instance, rented many locations in Haotian City for business, bringing enormous profits to the Bingzhou Guard every year.

Lu Ye didn't know the background of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion's proprietress; their previous encounter was merely a brief meeting, and they hadn't had much interaction. Lu Ye wasn't particularly concerned about it, but to operate a restaurant in a place like Haotian City, she either had some background herself or Geng Tao Yuan had helped her.

Seeing Lu Ye arrive, the members of Alpha Eight Squad greeted him warmly and seated him to the right of Geng Tao Yuan.

Before any words were exchanged, eight bowls of wine were filled, declaring that he was late and had to be punished. Then the group watched him with smiles. Lu Ye had no choice but to accept the penalty, which drew cheers from everyone.

The atmosphere became lively. Although they had only fought side by side once, the battle had left an incredibly deep impression on Alpha Eight Squad, and who wouldn't want such a teammate?

This time, Geng Tao Yuan had messaged Lu Ye precisely for this reason.

"I heard the Department Head say that Junior Brother has joined the Judicial Department," Geng Tao Yuan asked, and the others also looked over.

"Yes, I joined a few days ago," Lu Ye nodded.

Xiao Xinghe exclaimed, "Since Lu Ye has joined the Judicial Department, why doesn't he join our Alpha Eight Squad? Our team has always been short one member." He turned to Geng Tao Yuan: "Captain, why don't you speak to the Department Head and ask him to assign Lu Ye to our team?"

Geng Tao Yuan shook his head: "It's too late. Lu Ye is now also a captain of a team."

Everyone was surprised. Lu Ye was also surprised: "Your team is still short one member, Senior Brother?"

Geng Tao Yuan nodded: "It's never been filled."

"That liar!" Lu Ye gritted his teeth. Qian Wudang had clearly told him last time that Alpha Eight Squad was already full and that no other teams in the Judicial Department had openings, which was why he was asked to take on the role of captain and start a new team. Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all. Qian Wudang simply wanted him to be a captain and start a new team. For what reason? Lu Ye was only at the first level of the True Lake Realm. If he truly wanted to serve in the Judicial Department, he could be assigned to any team; his appearance was quite good, so presumably no team would be unwelcoming.

Geng Tao Yuan understood and grinned: "Did the Department Head tell him something?"

Lu Ye said gloomily, "Originally, the Department Head said he would transfer me to Alpha Eight Squad, or so he implied, but for some reason, he then asked me to start a new team and take on the role of captain."

Geng Tao Yuan nodded: "The Department Head values you; that's a good thing."

Lu Ye always felt that things weren't as straightforward as they seemed, but he couldn't figure out the specific reason.

"But Lu Ye is only at the first level of the True Lake Realm! Our Enforcement Hall doesn't have captains with such low cultivation. The Department Head is being too biased," Xiao Xinghe frowned. After speaking, he realized his mistake: "Lu Ye, don't mind me. I speak without thinking. I wasn't saying your cultivation is high."

Lu Ye had a rough understanding of Xiao Xinghe's personality, so he naturally wouldn't hold any grudge because of it.

"True Lake first level?" Geng Tao Yuan slowly shook his head. "I don't think Lu Ye is only at the True Lake first level anymore."

Lu Ye hadn't activated his spiritual power, so Geng Tao Yuan couldn't discern his depth, but he had a feeling Lu Ye's cultivation was no longer what it had been when he first saw him.

Mu Zheng asked curiously, "Junior Brother, what is your cultivation level now?"

"True Lake eighth level," Lu Ye did not hide.

"Eighth level..." Kang Yuanqiao and Shangguan Qiu were both shocked. How long had it been? To actually ascend two levels in such a short time. Was cultivation in the True Lake Realm truly that rapid?

Lu Ye smiled: "It's largely thanks to all of your care last time. The previous mission earned me a lot of military merit, so I exchanged some Golden Spirit Charms for cultivation."

"That's too fast..." Mu Zheng still found it hard to believe. Even with sufficient cultivation resources, such a rapid increase in cultivation was unheard of.

"Lu Ye's talent is outstanding. What they can't do, others naturally can," Geng Tao Yuan raised his wine cup. "Come, let's toast to Lu Ye joining the Judicial Department, toast again to Lu Ye's swift progress in cultivation, and a third toast to the successful completion of our mission."

Everyone drank together.

Mu Zheng was clearly not good with alcohol; her small face was flushed from drinking, making her look adorable.

Just then, someone gracefully approached. It was a beautiful, well-built woman. Lu Ye glanced up and saw it was none other than the proprietress of the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion.

"Hello, Sister-in-law!" Seeing her arrive, the members of Alpha Eight Squad quickly greeted her.