Behind the fort, Liao Jingwu was throwing a banquet. He and his generals were sweating from all the food and wine they were chugging.

“A toast to you, general!” Commandant Wang Delu cheered. He was currently away from the county. After draining his wine in one gulp, he asked, “Are you sure we shouldn’t rescue General Lee, General Liao?”

“Who will lead the troops? You?” Liao Jingwu stared at him.

Wang Delu ducked his head and chuckled awkwardly, “I don’t know how to lead a cavalry. Wouldn’t it be suicide if I run into a large force of Liao cavalrymen?”

“I thought so. If you don’t dare to go, then why bring this up at all?” Liao Jingwu replied before gulping down his wine. Alcoholic vapor rose out of his mouth as he said, “A duke of Southern Qi has no jurisdiction here! Besides, these immortal sect disciples are here just to polish their credentials and earn some fame—they’ll all return to where they came from in the end. I don’t have many forces to begin with, and every single one of them is my future asset. If I burn them all, who will I turn to in the future?”

Another commandant echoed in agreement. “The general speaks wisely! We’ve already earned our battle merits—why push ourselves so hard? If you ask me, we should just hold our ground quietly till winter. The Liao barbarians will retreat on their own then. On the other hand, if we insist on fighting and happen to run into a large Liao force, we’ll almost certainly lose our heads! Besides, Sun Chao’en isn’t a fool. He won’t lose Quyang County. As for those living beyond the walls, they can die for all I care. Besides, the Liao barbarians won’t withdraw unless they get some spoils.”

Wang Delu kept quiet. He wanted to curry favor with Lee Zhi as well, but there was no chance he was going to lead a force against the enemy.

Another commandant said, “We’ve received the military pay from the court, but we are still a long way from meeting the quota. What should we do, general?”

“How much more do we need?”

“We’ve received thirty thousand taels. As per the old custom, half of it goes to you, and the other half goes to everyone else. The outstanding military pay and compensations amount to seventy thousand taels, but we are still over sixty thousand taels short.”

Liao Jingwu grew a little irritated after listening to the end. “Is this really the time to be talking about such depressing things? We’ve dealt with this before, and we’ll deal with it the same way! We’ll pay out a small sum and keep the rest hanging. If someone riots, then we’ll capture them and kill the leader. Are you done? If you are, then let’s drink!”

The military officials resumed clinking cups and exchanging toasts after that, drinking from afternoon until nightfall.

After Wei Yuan and Lee Zhi made it to Flying Sand Village, the rest of the reinforcements began arriving one after another. In fact, they would keep showing up for the next few hours or so; the farthest one rushing from two hundred li away. In the end, a total of nine forces—over eight hundred soldiers in total—were assembled in Flying Sand Village, allowing Lee Zhi to regain his lost confidence.

Alas, Flying Sand Village was too small, and the reinforcements had their own territories to protect. After exchanging pleasantries and making connections for a while, most of them returned back to their defense zones. The rest were reinforcements who came from distant lands. They decided to spend a night in Quyang before returning home.

In the ancestral hall of Flying Sand Village, Wei Yuan was sitting bare-chested while surrounded by medicinal ointments and bandages. Lee Zhi was personally treating his wounds.

Three arrows were embedded in his body. At the time, he had simply cut off the shafts with a Dao spell and gone right back to battle. Now that he was back, they required treatment as a matter of course. Most of the arrows used by the Northern Liao sported serrated arrowheads and thus could not be removed thoughtlessly.

Wei Yuan’s physique was nothing short of perfect—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and skin that glowed with a subtle radiance. It was flawless, which made the three arrowheads even more conspicuous and jarring than they already were.

First, Lee Zhi inspected the shape of an arrowhead with his perception. Then, he used his mystic energy to alter their shapes and smooth out the serrated edges. Next, he gripped an exposed shaft and unleashed a small burst of mystic energy, separating the metal from Wei Yuan’s flesh. It was only then he carefully extracted the arrowhead.

A hole the size of a teacup was removed after the arrowhead was removed. Naturally, blood started pouring profusely out of the wound.

White light shone from Lee Zhi’s free hand. The standard procedure for such a wound was to cast a Rejuvenation spell on the wound before applying a Wound-healing talisman specially produced by the Four sages Academies on it. With a two-pronged approach, a flesh wound like this usually healed in two days or so.

However, he failed to cast the Rejuvenation spell before the blood pouring out of Wei Yuan’s wound turned gooey and light pink in color like a lump of gelatinous substance. Then, it crawled back into the wound of its own accord! Not done yet, the young man’s flesh squirmed like it had a mind of its own and sealed the wound shut, leaving behind only a light pink dot. A few moments later, even the small dot had disappeared completely.

Lee Zhi wordlessly dispelled the Rejuvenation spell and ripped out the remaining two arrowheads directly, not even bothering to process the serrated edges. Again, Wei Yuan’s blood climbed back into its own body, and his wounds sealed shut on their own.

The young general stared at the arrowhead in his hand for a moment. In the end, he could not resist giving it a lick. As soon as he did this, a sort of numbness immediately started spreading from his mouth, and his head grew dizzy. At the same time, his Dao Foundation grew dimmer, and his aura became erratic. He hurriedly gulped down a mouthful of antidote and eventually recovered from the ordeal.

With this experiment, Lee Zhi confirmed that the Liao barbarians had not, in fact, stinted on their arrows. Every single one was envenomed with a poison that could threaten even a Dao Foundation stage cultivator. He himself had taken quite a number of shots of his own, but his armor was of such incredible quality that the arrowheads only managed to break his skin after piercing through. Whatever poison it managed to transmit through the contact was immediately cleansed via the armor’s innate ability as well. Thus, Lee Zhi hadn’t felt a thing during the battle. He didn’t really have a sense of how deadly the poison was until he stupidly licked it with his tongue.

Lee Zhi tossed the arrowheads aside. While draping a robe over Wei Yuan, he couldn’t help but ask, “Just how many body-refining elixirs have you consumed, Brother Wei?”

Wei Yuan listed them one by one, “The Vigor Nurturing Pill, the Bone Tempering Pill, and the Spirit Nurturing Pill.”

The duo had just fought a bloody battle side by side. Naturally, their bond was much stronger than what it was, and Wei Yuan felt no reservations in telling Lee Zhi the truth. That said, he wasn’t sure exactly what kind of medicine his Big Senior Sister had used to refine his foundation. There were certain parts of the refinement process that were best left unsaid as well.

Lee Zhi wore an odd expression on his face. “Those are all just ordinary pills that replenish your spirit energy and hasten your progress. Is that everything you ate?”

Wei Yuan nodded.

The young general raised a finger and pressed it against Wei Yuan’s back. Then, he slowly slid it down his skin while focusing his senses on his fingertip. Finally, he tried to inject a bit of mystic energy into the young man’s body. It was completely repelled.

Lee Zhi exclaimed in admiration, “Ordinary pills like the ones you listed are almost useless in improving the caliber of one’s physique. You must have suffered a lot during your time in the Palace of Absolute Beginning[1], and everything you’ve achieved today is purely out of your own merit[2]. As for me, forget the valuables my clan had prepared for me, the academies had given me two handwritten scriptures of the sages and afforded me every type of physique-enhancing elixir. My foundation was originally eight chi, but it was forcefully increased to over nine chi.

“But even with all these external aids, my physical prowess still falls far short of you. My defeat at your hands back then was truly well deserved, Brother Wei!”

Wei Yuan recalled what happened back then and thought that Lee Zhi was about to launch into a recruitment spiel as he had back then. But to his surprise, the young general continued, “Considering your capabilities, you would have risen to the heavens no matter where you walk your path to immortality; not even when your competition are the high cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning. And no matter how blind they were to your talent back then, I’m sure they are affording you the cultivation resources you deserve now. Thus, I’m not going to do the stupid thing of recruiting to the Four Sages Academies. That said, there is a suggestion I would like to make.”

Lee Zhi looked at him and said seriously, “According to the Palace’s rules, the day you forge your Dao Foundation is the day you begin building your own achievements, and there is no higher honor than expanding the human realm. I was fortunate to have advanced further in cultivation, and I have spent several years honing my skills in the military, gaining some insight into territorial expansion. Should Brother Wei be interested in such deeds after achieving your Dao Foundation, then let us fight side by side once more—just as we did today!”

Wei Yuan, still very young at heart, felt his blood boil at the impassioned words. He declared without hesitation, “Very well!”

“It’s a promise!” Lee Zhi reached out and slapped hands with Wei Yuan, sealing their pact.

Throughout their joint campaign, Wei Yuan had been observing Lee Zhi closely. The young general was a man who could put himself in front of his fellow soldiers and face down formidable enemies without showing a hint of fear. He might have taken three three arrow wounds, but Lee Zhi himself had taken an arrow wound and a blade wound. One could not call that a minor injury. Besides that, the young general did not panic when the Northern Liao reinforcements showed up. He had also acted decisively in accepting Wei Yuan’s suggestion and retreating toward Quyang County.

Back during the martial test, Wei Yuan could already tell that Lee Zhi had a passion for military strategy and tactics. A decade later, he was no longer the boy who merely theorized on paper. He had truly led troops into fierce battles, and his conduct already showed the makings of a great general.

Yet, Wei Yuan couldn’t help but feel that Lee Zhi’s ability for warfare was still lacking. Though, he could not say exactly what he was lacking. After all, his genius for military strategy had only truly shone during the martial test years ago. Over the subsequent decade of cultivation, he’d never found another opportunity to apply it. Thus, his skills had gradually grown rusty.

Meanwhile, Lee Zhi was imagining the two of them conquering land after land and defeating countless armies in the future. It was a future he very much looked forward to. A short while later, he asked somewhat reservedly, “What do you think of my military skills, Brother Wei?”

“You’re kinda lacking, though I can’t say what. I could probably do a lot better than you.” The reply nearly sprung out of his mouth then and there, but he was lucky that he had only begun to familiarize himself with the ways of the Skyblue Hall. The reply only circulated inside his heart but did not make it out of his mouth.

Wei Yuan pretended to think for a moment before replying, “You’re able to put yourself before your soldiers and remain calm despite danger. I believe you have the makings of a great general!”

Lee Zhi was both overjoyed and a little embarrassed to receive such high praise from Wei Yuan. He hurriedly returned a humble reply, “You flatter me, Brother Wei! I really only have a rough understanding of military affairs at the moment.”

The young general wasn’t aware of how Zhang Sheng tutored Wei Yuan. Every time the scholar used the words, “Has the makings of” or “Rivals that of”, he really meant that the person was still a far ways away from measuring up to the great person in question.

As of now, Wei Yuan could not tell exactly where Lee Zhi was lacking. However, it did not stop him from believing that he would definitely do better than his comrade.

1. No, it was the other way around. ☜

2. No, he was basically raised with an immortal spoon. Like holy shit he nearly bankrupted his Hall. Would bankrupt his Hall if his future turned out to be dim. XD ☜