Huanglong Prefecture bordered the Three Prefectures of Lingzhou. Besides Qingyang Prefecture, which Bai Yuan had visited before, there were also Bright Moon Mansion and Wuding Prefecture.

The border between Huanglong Prefecture and Bright Moon Mansion was a great river a hundred meters wide.

On both sides of the river were towering, forested mountains.

The river was named Qingshui River, so-called for its clear water.

But there were no boats or fishermen on the river. The Qingshui River’s current was swift and hid many undercurrents, so even the most skilled swimmers and fishermen had to be extremely careful.

Suddenly, ripples appeared in the center of the Qingshui River.

A young man emerged from the water, holding a great fish as tall as a person.

If any of the local fishermen had seen this, they would have paled in terror.

For this great fish was the very River God they had worshiped for generations.

Bai Yuan dragged the great fish ashore, built a bonfire on the bank to dry his clothes, and, while he was at it, roasted the "River God."

He had gone to great lengths to hunt this Fish Demon.

Nowadays, he was most interested in the local legends of Mountain Gods and River Gods, because they were almost always the work of demons. It was a sure bet every time.

He had chanced upon a nearby village just in time to see the villagers tying a young girl to a small boat.

Upon asking around, he learned it was their custom to sacrifice a maiden to the River God. A hole had been chiseled in the bottom of the boat.

Once the boat carried the girl into the middle of the river, it would sink on its own.

People live off the mountains if they’re by the mountains, and off the water if they’re by the water. Most places in Xuan Yang had customs of sacrificing to Mountain Gods and River Gods, leading to the unjust deaths of countless innocent girls.

So, he simply rescued the girl, then traveled upriver and killed the River God as well.

A Tier Five Demon. Not bad at all.

The enhancement points he gained were good, and the fish meat was even better.

Demon flesh was already more fragrant than ordinary meat, and the flesh of this Tier Five Fish Demon was exceptionally delicious. Paired with the spiciness from his Fire Spirit, it had a unique flavor all its own.

Before long, the entire Fish Demon had found its way into Bai Yuan’s stomach.

He looked at the enhancement points on his panel.

’Time to upgrade!’

[You have practiced the Broken River Saber for 610 years. You have completely repaired the Third Layer Heaven.]

...

[You have practiced the Broken River Saber for 670 years. Your saber technique has finally reached the Master level!]

...

[You have practiced the Broken River Saber for 681 years. Your ability to find crucial weaknesses has become godlike.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Profession: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker, Screen Master]

[Skills: Broken River Saber (Master), Demon Qi Lure (Master), Thousand Faces Art (Master), Sunflower Acupoint-Striking (Proficient)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

Bai Yuan had finally raised his Broken River Saber to the Master level.

He could now be called a master of the saber.

In terms of saber techniques alone, he could already be called the number one saber wielder.

Combining his various saber arts, he was an old monster who had practiced for a thousand years. Of course he was terrifyingly strong.

At that very moment—

Bai Yuan felt a shackle in his body break, and his internal strength surged by nearly thirty percent.

His eyes lit up.

’Entering the Realm!’

He hadn’t expected that advancing his saber technique would allow him to break through the Entering the Realm pass ahead of schedule.

Becoming a Junior Grandmaster at the young age of twenty-five was a monstrously fast pace.

He wasn’t like those Martial Artists from the Three Religions who only cared about breaking through to the next stage. He had forcibly surpassed the limits of the Blood Refining Pass, which compelled his breakthrough into the Entering the Realm pass.

Situations like his were truly rare.

During his conversations with Lu Yu,

Lu Yu had told him that training to the absolute limit in each pass and building an extremely solid foundation before breaking through would allow one to go further on the martial path.

This method was said to have been passed down from the Grand Ancestor Emperor. At the very least, the Grand Ancestor Emperor himself and the disciples of the Li Royal Family all practiced this way.

However, the drawback was significant: it was far too time-consuming.

Even a Sensing Powerhouse who had lived two lifetimes was only about two hundred years old. Who had that much time to waste?

Just like Old Dong, who had been unable to break through to the Knowledge and Sensation Pass for so long.

Fortunately, Bai Yuan had a cheat system...

He felt the power within him and was overjoyed.

What excited him even more was that his own limits had been raised by more than tenfold.

The limits for an Entering Martial Artist were frighteningly high. Otherwise, a genius like Old Dong wouldn’t have been stuck at the Entering the Realm pass for thirty years.

But it was precisely because of those thirty years of accumulation that Old Dong could kill other Entering Martial Artists as if chopping vegetables and achieve the terrifying feat of fighting against those in the Knowledge and Sensation realm.

Of course, taking another step forward after Entering the Realm was already extremely difficult.

Even a once-in-a-generation talent like Sect Leader Murong Tian took a full twenty-three years to break through.

In fact, very few Entering Martial Artists could break through to the Knowledge and Sensation realm; not even one in a hundred could do it.

Moreover, reaching the Entering the Realm stage was not as simple as just Body Refining.

Take the "sensation" required for a Knowledge and Sensation Martial Master. It was not of blood or bone, formless and intangible. Even internal strength could at least be perceived as qi, but "sensation" was utterly imperceptible to ordinary people—truly profound and mysterious.

It was not something that could be comprehended through hard work alone.

This was why sects prized innate talent and comprehension ability the most when selecting disciples. The further one went on the path, the more obvious the gap became.

Every person who became a Knowledge and Sensation Martial Artist was a one-in-a-million genius.

Most Entering Martial Artists who wanted to comprehend "sensation" would choose to enter secluded meditation, like Sect Leader Murong Tian. Not many continued to temper their physical bodies.

Only people like Old Dong, or the powerhouses in the army, rarely went into seclusion, instead using slaughter to break through their bottlenecks.

This was also why the realms of military Martial Artists were generally not very high.

For example, General Zhao Wu, currently stationed outside Huanglong Prefecture City, was only at the Entering the Realm stage. But his killing power was so great that even a Sensing Powerhouse would be wary of him.

He could kill a Three Religions Martial Master of the same rank with a single strike.

However, the Martial Artists who could break through to the Knowledge and Sensation realm were the elites among Entering Martial Artists, so their strength was naturally not weak.

And with the terrifying insight they gained after comprehending "sensation," other Martial Artists seemed full of openings in their eyes. How could anyone fight against that?

So, although the experts in the army were powerful, the most they could usually do was remain undefeated. It was still extremely difficult for them to kill enemies of a higher realm.

’Time to head back to the mountain.’

He had been away from Wan Jun Peak for half a month.

Bai Yuan’s clothes were now dry from the bonfire. He stood up and headed south.

...

As soon as Bai Yuan reached the foot of Wan Jun Peak, he saw You Shengnan.

"Senior Sister You, you’re back on the mountain too?"

You Shengnan pouted. "Senior Brother Xiong and I have been back for ten days already."

She sized Bai Yuan up as she spoke.

The aura Bai Yuan now exuded was somewhat oppressive to her. She knew that only experts on the level of the Thirteen Peaks Peak Masters could make her feel this way.

’Could it be? Did Junior Brother Bai break through again?!’

But then she remembered that Bai Yuan was only twenty-five... ’Impossible. There’s no way.’

You Shengnan shook her head.

She felt her own thought was ridiculous.

Bai Yuan was strong, and he had the terrifying achievement of killing Thunderbolt Hand Xu Kang to his name. But the Thirteen Peaks Peak Masters were more than just a single notch above Xu Kang; they couldn’t be compared.

Perhaps the future Bai Yuan could reach or even surpass their level, but definitely not now.

Bai Yuan asked, "How are things with Master?"

He had been gone for half a month, spending almost the entire time deep in the mountains, so he naturally knew nothing of the situation on the Northern Border Battlefield.

You Shengnan sighed softly. "The Demon Sect’s resources are more terrifying than we imagined. Master is tied down on the Northern Border Battlefield, and I’m afraid he won’t be back anytime soon."

Worry rose in her heart.

Although Old Dong was terrifyingly powerful, the Demon Sect also had its experts.

A single misstep, and even a Martial Artist of Old Dong’s caliber could die.

Bai Yuan nodded.

Just as he expected, the great war between Xuan Yang and the Demon Sect was bound to be a protracted one.

But he wasn’t worried about Old Dong. The old man’s strength wasn’t just in his combat power; his mindset was even more formidable. A person like that could survive anywhere and even thrive.

"It’s all because my strength is too poor. I can’t help ease Master’s burden."

You Shengnan’s face was filled with self-reproach.

Unlike Bai Yuan, she and Xiongshan had been on Wan Jun Peak for over a decade. During that time, Old Dong had led them on campaigns all over, so their feelings for him were deeper. He was both a teacher and a father to them.

Unfortunately, she was currently just a Strong Internal Martial Artist.

In a county town in Huanglong Prefecture, she might be a local hegemon, but in the Northern Garrison Army, she would be nothing more than an insignificant soldier.

Countless Strong Internal Martial Artists had died on the northern battlefields.

If she went, there was an eighty percent chance she would just end up as a pile of yellow earth, and she might even become a burden to Old Dong.

"Senior Sister You, don’t overthink it."

Bai Yuan could see You Shengnan was disheartened, but he could only offer a few words of comfort.

Although he had now broken through the Entering the Realm pass, with his current combat strength, he couldn’t influence the war’s outcome even if he went north.

...

"Young Master, you’re back."

The moment Bai Yuan returned to his courtyard at the summit of Wan Jun Peak, Liu Qing and Jiang Fei came out to greet him.

They saw Bai Yuan looking travel-worn, like a wanderer of the Jianghu.

Liu Qing and Jiang Fei quickly helped Bai Yuan bathe and change his clothes.

Bathing in ancient times was mostly inconvenient, but for a wealthy person like Bai Yuan, it was an exception.

In his backyard was a half-acre pool, steaming with hot spring water piped down from the mountain.

He didn’t need to heat water and change it like ordinary households, a process that could take up half the day.

Before long, Bai Yuan had changed into a light robe made of top-grade silk, the fatigue from many days of travel swept away.

Just then, Liu Qing approached again.

"Young Master, this letter is for you."

"A letter?"

Bai Yuan was taken aback.

’Linzhou, where Sister Qiao is, is a full hundred li from Huanglong Prefecture. Getting one letter a month is already pretty good. That Posthouse Soldier must be quite diligent.’

He took the letter from Liu Qing’s hand.

But when he saw it was sent from Ling Province, he grew even more confused.

’I don’t think I know anyone in Ling Province.’

Still, Bai Yuan opened the letter.

"Brother Bai, have you been well lately?"

"Your little brother has already gone north to Dingzhou. The scenery here is excellent, but there aren’t many interesting people like you, Brother Bai."

"Why don’t you join the Northern Garrison Army as well, Brother Bai? Wouldn’t it be glorious for us two brothers to ride into battle and slay our enemies?"

"Ah, forget it."

"One last thing, for the sake of our brotherhood: be careful of Ji Chang."

"I hope we brothers can reunite soon."

"From Xiaoyu."

"..."

Bai Yuan hadn’t expected the letter to be from Lu Yu.

What he expected even less was that Lu Yu had actually gone north.

Given Lu Yu’s disposition, he shouldn’t have gone to a dangerous place like the north. ’Could it be there was some opportunity there that I don’t know about?’

However, Bai Yuan was more inclined to believe that Lu Yu had been forced to go by the Lingzhou General.

Although he didn’t know the exact relationship between Lu Yu and the Lord General, he could tell from the few words in the letter that their connection was unusual.

Lu Yu had most likely written this letter with the intention of tricking him into joining the army up north.

Bai Yuan, of course, ignored all the previous content.

His gaze fell upon the name Ji Chang.

Ji Chang was the name of the General Zhao Wu stationed outside the city.

What did Lu Yu mean by telling him to be careful of Ji Chang?

’Was he trying to sow discord? Or was there really something to it?’

Bai Yuan’s brows furrowed.

But no matter what, it seemed he had to be on guard against that General Zhao Wu.

The Lingzhou Army had been stationed in Huanglong Prefecture for over a month and had coexisted peacefully with the Divine Mansion Sect. Everyone in Huanglong Prefecture City thought the Lingzhou Army was really just there to set up defenses.

But Lu Yu had a powerful background and was part of the Lingzhou Army. His information was certainly better than an ordinary person’s. Bai Yuan didn’t think he was just talking nonsense.

However, he now had the ability to survive in these chaotic times. An Entering Martial Artist would never fare too poorly, no matter where they went, not to mention he was no ordinary Entering Martial Artist.

In a fight between two Entering Martial Artists, a single strike could sometimes decide the victor. There was no helping it; the upper limit of the Entering the Realm pass was just too high. Take Old Dong, for example. Although he was just an Entering Martial Artist, in terms of true combat strength, not even a Knowledge and Sensation Martial Artist was necessarily his match.

The current Bai Yuan was very similar to the Old Dong of the past. Anyone who treated him as an ordinary Entering Martial Artist would suffer a great loss, perhaps even paying with their life.