171: My thoughts after eating wontons at a roadside stall!

The next day...

Li Shengyuan walked out of his room feeling refreshed and invigorated, stretching comfortably in the morning sun.

“Not bad, another beautiful day!” Li Shengyuan’s lips curved into a contented smile.

After a night of intense activity, much of the fire within him had dissipated.

Only Shen Xinrong and Princess Pingyang were exhausted, and they were still sound asleep in the room.

It was also a rare, truly peaceful sleep for them in over a year.

With Li Shengyuan by their side, they could sleep more soundly.

After disguising himself, Li Shengyuan planned to take a stroll outside. Shanhai Pass was vast, but almost everyone had seen his portrait, after all, he was the one who had protected Shanhai Pass.

If not all, many people were grateful to him.

Every face he encountered was filled with smiles.

The retreat of the Demon-Barbarian Allied Army meant that Shanhai Pass would enjoy a long period of peace, and the lives of ordinary people would be much better; they wouldn’t need to live in fear, nor would they be displaced.

For the common people of Great Qian, being able to eat, dress warmly, and live a stable life was a blessing.

The most discussed name was his, Li Shengyuan, all filled with praise and reverence.

This also made Li Shengyuan feel that his efforts had not been in vain.

And the tangible benefit of winning the hearts of the people was the feedback of the Power of All Beings, which caused his grandfather Li Cangsheng’s Cangsheng Brush to recover incredibly quickly!

There were no powerful Confucian cultivators here who could provide the Cangsheng Brush with Grand Righteous Qi for repair; it could only slowly recover by bitterly absorbing the Power of Heaven and Earth on its own.

But with Li Shengyuan carrying it, it was different. The Power of All Beings from Shanhai Pass and even the entire Northern Frontier continuously flowed into the Cangsheng Brush through Li Shengyuan, and there was even a hint of it wanting to transform.

Li Shengyuan had no intention of interfering; since the Cangsheng Brush had sentience, he would just let it do its own thing.

Strolling through the morning market alone was a bit boring, so Li Shengyuan decided to find a random street stall for breakfast and then head back.

“Customer, here are your wontons, please enjoy!”

“Hmm, thank you.”

Li Shengyuan smiled, took the wontons, and eagerly began to enjoy them.

This kind of street stall was a memory from a long time ago, something he had only eaten when he first joined the Demon Suppression Division and was still at the bottom.

Later, it wasn’t that he looked down on them; firstly, the work of the Demon Suppression Division became more arduous and busy.

Secondly, meals were already arranged for him, so he didn’t even need to lift a finger…

At this moment, a cold, clear voice appeared beside Li Shengyuan’s ear.

“To think that the distinguished Lord Li, a Golden Uniform, would actually come to eat at a street stall, how incredible!”

Li Shengyuan looked up and gave the newcomer a sidelong glance. It was Zixuan, dressed in a black dress, with a cold expression on her face.

“What’s wrong with a street stall? Do you look down on street stalls?!” Li Shengyuan glanced at her, then lowered his head and continued eating.

Although it was called a street stall, this particular one actually had a shop, with just the stall extending outwards.

Zixuan sat beside Li Shengyuan without any hint of disdain and said calmly:

“I didn’t expect Lord Li to be hiding here; you really made me search for a long time!”

“Why are you looking for me so early in the morning? Are you missing me again?!” Li Shengyuan said without raising his head.

Zixuan glared at Li Shengyuan, gritting her teeth, “His Majesty sent a message regarding the future arrangements and defense of the border at Shanhai Pass.”

“So fast?” Li Shengyuan was a little surprised, then said irritably:

“Such matters should be discussed in the public hall. Don’t disturb me while I’m eating wontons. You’re not trying to take advantage of this to be alone with me, are you?”

Zixuan’s delicate body stiffened, a faint blush appearing on her ears. Just as she was about to indignantly deny it, Li Shengyuan interrupted her with a beaming smile:

“Oh, by the way, these wontons are really good, even better than those in the capital. Let me get you a bowl; it’s on me!”

Li Shengyuan even grandly patted his chest.

Zixuan opened her mouth, but before she could refuse, Li Shengyuan called out to the waiter:

“Waiter, two more bowls of wontons!”

“Coming right up, customer, please wait a moment!”

Seeing this, Zixuan could only glare at Li Shengyuan through gritted teeth, no longer refusing.

Although she had abstained from food for a long time, watching Li Shengyuan eat with such gusto, she suddenly wanted to try some too.

“Customers, here are your wontons, please enjoy.”

The waiter didn't make them wait too long and brought the wontons to their table.

Now that the waiter had some free time, he enthusiastically started chatting with Li Shengyuan.

“Two customers, looking at your attire, you must be high-ranking officials guarding Shanhai Pass, right?”

“That’s right…”

Although Li Shengyuan had disguised himself, it was immediately clear that he was of extraordinary status and a practitioner of considerable cultivation, because there were too many people dressed like this in Shanhai Pass during this period!

Upon receiving Li Shengyuan’s affirmative answer, the waiter’s eyes instantly lit up, and he asked excitedly:

“Then, sirs, have you personally seen Lord Li Shengyuan? He’s General Li’s son!”

Li Shengyuan was slightly startled, then nodded, “Yes, I have. Why?”

Zixuan, beside him, glanced at Li Shengyuan without speaking, instead lowering her head and delicately tasting her wontons.

The waiter, however, said excitedly, “Those of us who were born and raised in Shanhai Pass are most grateful to General Li and Young Master Li. I heard that if it weren’t for Young Master Li turning the tide, Shanhai Pass would probably be littered with corpses by now…”

“It was General Li’s family and tens of thousands of defenders who helped us protect our homes. If you weren’t here, being displaced and homeless would be good; we might have already become food for the Demon Barbarians…”

Looking at the sighing waiter, Li Shengyuan paused, then asked:

“Knowing that if Shanhai Pass fell, you would die, why didn’t you escape earlier?”

“Escape?” The waiter snorted, patting his chest, “Although I, Zhao Sihou, haven’t studied in school for many years and have no cultivation, I am not a person who fears death!”

“If the city truly falls and our homes are gone, even if it means death, I will fight the Barbarians Outside the Pass to the bitter end!”

Li Shengyuan and Zixuan were stunned. The power of ordinary people was insignificant before cultivators!

Knowing it was merely a moth flying into a flame, they still walked towards death…

“Waiter, bill please.”

“Coming right up!”

The waiter walked over with a smile on his face.

Li Shengyuan’s heart, however, was greatly shaken. Having come into contact with various powerful cultivators in Great Qian, he had gradually forgotten that ordinary people could also do extraordinary things.

Li Shengyuan couldn’t help but recall Blue Star, a place where only ordinary people existed, yet going to the heavens, diving into the seas, defending their homeland—every single one of these feats was accomplished by ordinary people with their indomitable will and wisdom.

If ordinary people could unleash such immense potential, what about cultivators?!

In fact, Li Shengyuan knew that the Heavenly Tribulation he would face upon breaking through to the Second Rank would be incredibly terrifying, perhaps even unprecedented, and he was vaguely worried, which was why he had been holding back from directly breaking through.

But at this moment, Li Shengyuan fell into deep thought, his mind shaken. If mortals could face death without fear, what did he have to be afraid of?!

After a year of arduous cultivation, his perfected Third-Rank cultivation and bottleneck began to loosen at this moment, subtly hinting at a transformation…

The Power of All Beings continuously surged into his body, and the Cangsheng Brush in his embrace began to tremble.

Zixuan, beside him, looked at Li Shengyuan with a bewildered expression.

Just by eating wontons, he gained enlightenment and was about to break through?

Hadn’t he just broken through to the Third Rank not long ago?!

Before Zixuan could ponder further, the clouds above the nine heavens suddenly churned, and lightning flashed everywhere.

“Heavenly Tribulation?!”

Zixuan exclaimed in shock; this time, she was truly dumbfounded!

This scoundrel wasn’t making a minor breakthrough; he was about to break through to the Second Rank!