58: Chapter 58 Amber Venerable, Enemy

After resting for a night.

Just as dawn broke, Li Yuan was invited over by Vice General Wang Jiuxing.

The reason for Li Yuan's presence was, naturally, to receive task assignments.

It was almost impossible for anyone to suspect that a young man like himself was the true identity of that mysterious powerhouse.

Upon arriving at the City Lord's Mansion, the person in charge had already changed to Wang Jiuxing.

"The corpse of Imperial Commissioner Lord Zheng is still lying outside the city. Li Yuan, go and collect it for him.

Then have someone send it back to the capital.

There's no need to prepare any fine coffin for him; just wrapping him in that straw mat will do."

Li Yuan understood the meaning behind his words.

Sending Lord Zheng's corpse back in such a manner was a declaration of Yingyang Pass's attitude.

From now on, the Dashun Imperial Court's authority in this region would plummet even further.

"Also, inform the brothers.

Starting next month, the monthly pay for the soldiers in the army will increase by ten percent.

This City Lord's Mansion will be converted directly into the Military Camp's administrative office. In the future, if there's anything to report, just come here."

Wang Jiuxing finished these arrangements before letting Li Yuan go about his business.

Although he was taking over the position of City Lord for the first time, he seemed to handle everything with great skill.

Whether it was to win people's hearts or for some other purpose.

At the very least, the changes Wang Jiuxing made were beneficial to the general public.

Li Yuan shared the news with Uncle Chen and the others, then went outside to collect the body of Lord Zheng.

Regardless of anything else, he was still a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; one shouldn't be overly ambitious and think they are invincible in the world just yet.

Finding his remains, Li Yuan immediately used the Corpse Looting Technique.

[Corpse Looting Technique (Level 5): Picked up Zheng Hui's martial arts experience, forty years of martial Internal Energy, "Zhi Min Yao Shu", and "Diligent Blood Saber Technique".]

After using the Corpse Looting Technique, Li Yuan felt the improvement.

This improvement was truly humble.

The forty years of martial Internal Energy from a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist was like a basin of clear water.

Pouring this basin of water into Li Yuan's lake-like reserves truly felt like nothing at all.

A drop in the ocean, quite literally.

Li Yuan understood in his heart that if he wanted to improve further, looting the corpses of Martial Artists below the Eighth Grade had likely lost its meaning.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan felt he shouldn't have let Lady Sword go earlier.

He had overplayed the role of a mysterious expert a bit too much at the time.

He was also surprised that Su Mei was so adaptable.

Sensing that Li Yuan truly intended to kill her, she had compromised immediately.

Li Yuan didn't dwell on it too much.

He had already stepped into the Ninth Grade Realm; the improvement an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist could bring him was similarly limited.

Stepping into the Ninth Grade was not the Peak of the mountain that is the Martial Dao.

On the path of the Ninth Grade, there were still distinctions in strength.

He should take some time to think carefully about how to proceed on the path ahead.

After finishing his tasks and returning to the barracks, Li Yuan continued to listen to their idle chatter.

He had previously asked several comrades to look for information regarding the Ninth Grade, and it seemed some reliable news had finally arrived.

The incoming news mentioned the death of his father.

"I heard that the Provincial Governor of Xiangnan Province offended that side, and despite his deep roots, he was completely uprooted.

That Ninth-Grade expert is likely one of the top three in existence today.

Most of the time, he doesn't even need to take action; those below him will proactively do things just to curry favor."

In the barracks, they were discussing the Ninth-Grade Supremes of Da Shun.

The one currently being discussed was known as the Amber Sovereign.

It was said he had reached the limit of Ninth-Grade strength and was currently seeking the possibility of further advancement.

The descendants of the Amber Sovereign held high official positions, even reaching the rank of Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, wielding immense power.

Provoking them without a Ninth-Grade backer basically meant certain death.

Li Yuan listened to their discussion, occasionally asking a follow-up question to confirm the truth.

"Rest assured, the news is definitely true.

Regarding the case of that Provincial Governor in Xiangnan Province, others didn't even bother to hide it.

He originally accused them of imperial examination fraud, but they just turned around and pinned that very crime on his head."

The comrades continued talking.

They didn't know that Li Yuan was the descendant of that Provincial Governor.

Hearing this, Li Yuan spoke up again to ask.

"Tell me, how does the strength of this mysterious powerhouse at our Yingyang Pass compare to that Amber Sovereign?"

After a Ninth-Grade Supreme appeared at Yingyang Pass, everyone's discussion of the Ninth Grade was much higher than before.

But hearing this, the people around him still gave bitter smiles.

"How could we Third and Fourth-Grade Martial Artists have the ability to judge such things?

Where the true skill of a Ninth-Grade Martial Artist lies—even if we watched them strike a hundred times, we might not be able to tell.

As for which Ninth-Grade Supreme is stronger or weaker, it's better not to ask us such questions..."

"It's just idle chatter, let's just talk together." Li Yuan replied with a smile, indicating he was just passing the time and didn't require absolute accuracy.

Thinking about it, the others agreed and began to voice their own thoughts.

The view of Uncle Chen and most of the others was that the veteran Ninth-Grade Supreme, the Amber Sovereign, was more powerful.

That Amber Sovereign had lived for over two hundred years and already stood at the Peak of the Ninth Grade.

Although they didn't know the extent of the mysterious powerhouse's Ninth-Grade strength.

But such a suddenly appearing powerhouse had likely only recently stepped into the Ninth Grade.

At most, it would have been ten years.

Compared to a veteran Ninth-Grade Supreme, there was not only a gap in Foundation.

There should also be a clear distance in terms of Realm.

The limit of the current age was the Ninth Grade Great Perfection Realm.

In the entire Shun Kingdom, there were about thirty Ninth-Grade Supremes known to outsiders.

Among them, only five had truly reached the Ninth Grade Great Perfection Realm.

Under such circumstances, it was indeed reasonable for everyone to believe the Amber Sovereign was stronger.

The gap between Realms had always been vast and immense.

To cross Realms and defeat an opponent placed extreme demands on a practitioner.

Li Yuan didn't necessarily think he would lose.

Compared to others, he now possessed the martial arts experience of three Ninth-Grade Supremes.

He had also obtained a top-tier Cultivation Technique like the "Tai Xuan Divine Art".

At the same time, within the initial stage of the Ninth Grade, he would definitely surpass others with crushing strength.

Of course, Li Yuan was not the arrogant type.

Against a top powerhouse of the Ninth Grade Great Perfection, he wouldn't conceitedly say he would definitely win.

Furthermore, that Amber Sovereign had lived for so many years; his interpersonal relationships were complex, and his interests were entangled everywhere.

Having confirmed he was the backer of his enemies, Li Yuan couldn't just casually take action against him.

Pulling one hair moves the whole body; perhaps while attacking him, one would simultaneously encounter the assault of several Ninth-Grade Supremes.

Upon reflection, Li Yuan determined that he still needed to improve for now.

Only when he reached that position of a Ninth-Grade Supreme would seeking revenge be absolutely safe and smooth.

Lying on his bed late at night, Li Yuan began to search through the experience gained from looting corpses for opportunities to improve himself.

The border at Yingyang Pass, barring any surprises, should have a long period of peace.

Even if there were still battles, the gains from using the Corpse Looting Technique on low-level Martial Artists were a mere drop in the bucket.

Perhaps, it was time to change locations slightly.