3: Chapter 3 The New Corpse Collector

Li Yuan's speed of improvement was definitely unique in the world.

In just two days, he had advanced from a martial arts novice directly to a Second-Grade Martial Artist.

If others were to find out, it would likely shock the entire Da Shun Dynasty.

Li Yuan knew he had to keep a low profile for now.

Before he had enough strength to protect himself, he had to do a good job of hiding his identity.

After familiarizing himself with the Second-Grade Realm, continuing to rely on qi and blood pills for rapid improvement was the right path.

His Internal Energy and mental state were both at the level of a Sixth-Grade.

Before reaching the Sixth Grade, there wouldn't be any other difficulties.

But what about after the Sixth Grade?

How should he handle the improvements after that?

On the way back, Li Yuan was also thinking about this question.

Yingyang Pass was situated on the border of Da Shun, where it met the Jin Kingdom.

In this place, spying, assassinations, and battles occurred in endless succession.

Speaking of which, there would be many opportunities to use his Corpse Looting Technique.

But he needed an identity to justify his contact with the bodies.

Having formed a plan in his mind, Li Yuan stopped thinking about it.

In his mind, he began to carefully consider the Cloud Mist Step he had obtained from Senior Xie Zhou.

His Corpse Looting Technique was only at Level 1, so he had only obtained a set of movement technique Moves from Senior Xie.

movement techniques are a hurdle for those who practice martial arts.

Cultivation Techniques like the Tai Xuan Divine Art are difficult because of the comprehension required.

Whereas movement techniques are difficult because of their application.

What does it mean for the mind to understand but the body to not?

Anyone who has practiced a movement technique can feel this very clearly.

But for Li Yuan, the impact wasn't that great.

He had picked up Senior Xie Zhou's martial arts experience.

As the Cloud Mist Step was Senior Xie's frequently used movement technique, all the various application skills were now firmly etched in Li Yuan's mind.

During the journey back, Li Yuan had already become completely familiar with it.

He could even easily perform this movement technique in actual combat.

By combining the martial arts experience of the two Seniors and using Cloud Mist Step and the Heavenly Thunder Blade, he could face a Fourth-Grade Martial Artist with his current Second-Grade strength.

After all, Cloud Mist Step and the Heavenly Thunder Blade were both Moves used by Ninth-Grade Mortal Immortals.

The eyes of ordinary low-level Martial Artists below the Fourth Grade could hardly even track these movement techniques and Moves.

As he approached Yingyang Pass, Li Yuan found a hidden, desolate slope and buried the map he had obtained.

The servant's quarters where he lived weren't private; anyone could enter.

Medicinal Pills had to be taken at any time, so he had to carry them with him.

For now, Li Yuan had neither the ability nor the opportunity to explore this map.

Hiding it was the best option for him.

Li Yuan still had two days of rest, so during the day, he left the City Lord's Manor and found a quiet spot to Cultivate and practice martial arts.

In the eyes of the other servants in the City Lord's Manor, Li Yuan was out visiting brothels and enjoying himself.

When he returned to the manor at night, several servants were no longer as afraid of him and pulled him aside to ask for details.

Not wanting them to know what he was actually doing, Li Yuan told them some stories based on the erotic novels he had read in his past life.

After two days of cultivation, with the help of the qi and blood pills, Li Yuan's martial arts Realm advanced once more—Third-Grade Martial Artist!

His three days of rest ended, and Li Yuan started working again.

The increase in his martial arts strength brought a stronger physique and more abundant energy.

This was a great help even when doing menial labor.

To hide the fact that he was practicing martial arts, Li Yuan deliberately mimicked his former way of walking.

After gaining the martial arts experience of the two Seniors, Li Yuan's walking gait had changed significantly.

This kind of gait allowed him to react more quickly to sudden situations.

However, this style made it very easy for others to see that Li Yuan had practiced martial arts.

This was completely different from the information Li Yuan had provided when he first entered the City Lord's Manor.

Drawing suspicion would lead to all sorts of investigations.

Although he had found a path for cultivation and advancement, Li Yuan knew he still couldn't deal with the enemies he faced.

Keeping a low profile, lying low, and looking for opportunities to Cultivate quickly was the only way.

He still had to keep up the act.

After finishing his assigned tasks in the morning, Li Yuan had quite a bit of extra time to secretly do his own things.

Near noon, Li Yuan was called to the manor's main hall.

In the main hall, Master Jin, the instructor, was also present.

Hearing City Lord Liu speak, Li Yuan realized he had been summoned to receive a reward.

The City Lord's Manor had handled the burial of the two Seniors' remains, earning the gratitude of both factions.

Although the two factions were mortal enemies fighting to the death, it didn't stop them from being grateful to the Yingyang Pass City Lord's Manor.

With two Ninth-Grade Mortal Immortals' bodies left exposed in the wilderness, the juniors of their respective factions felt ashamed.

When expressing their gratitude, they surely sent generous gifts and owed a favor.

Master Jin, who had given the advice that day, and Li Yuan, who had gone to collect the bodies, naturally had to be rewarded as well.

As a servant of the manor, the City Lord rewarded Li Yuan with five taels of silver.

For a servant, this was quite a lot of money.

But now that Li Yuan had started practicing martial arts, five taels of silver couldn't even buy a single high-quality qi and blood pill.

Li Yuan took this opportunity to mention his own request.

As a border frontline, Yingyang Pass saw frequent assassinations and countless battles and raids.

On the frontline, people died every day.

The frontline army of Yingyang Pass had to do their best to collect the bodies of those who died and send them back to their hometowns.

This was called "falling leaves returning to their roots," something the people of Da Shun cared about deeply.

Although the dead have no consciousness, it had to be done for the sake of the living soldiers.

If those who died on the frontline were ignored, would the living soldiers still obey orders?

"You are willing to be a Corpse Collector?"

Facing City Lord Liu's question, Li Yuan bowed and nodded with certainty.

"After experiencing the events of that day, this lowly one feels the sorrow of the world.

I hope to use my meager strength to see the fallen soldiers off on their final journey."

Hearing this, City Lord Liu was somewhat moved.

At the Yingyang Pass frontline, he was the general leading the troops, and he had risen to that rank from being a common soldier.

These words reminded him of when he had first stepped onto the battlefield.

Back then, he could have lost his life at any moment, and he didn't even know how he had managed to survive.

"Good! Since you have such a heart, then starting tomorrow, you shall go to the army to serve as a Corpse Collector.

You will be responsible for bringing back those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country."

With City Lord Liu's words, Li Yuan joined the army the following day.

As a Corpse Collector, Li Yuan was strictly in the third-tier echelon.

His combat rank was on the same level as the army cooks.

But relatively speaking, Li Yuan could still encounter danger.

On the battlefield, there might be enemy soldiers feigning death, waiting for you to approach before launching a sudden sneak attack.

But these could not fool Li Yuan at all.

On a battlefield strewn with corpses, Li Yuan could tell at a glance between a dead body and someone who still had a breath left.

These dead bodies would emit a glow.

Telling Li Yuan that he could use the Corpse Looting Technique to obtain items.

Previously, when collecting the bodies of the two Ninth-Grade experts like Qin Fengzhan, they had emitted a golden glow.

At the time, Li Yuan had thought that all bodies compatible with the Corpse Looting Technique would float with a golden light.

Only upon arriving at the battlefield did he realize the light came in many colors.

The dimmest was white, which yielded the fewest items from looting.

Above white was green.

Further up were blue, purple, and gold.