Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

As night fell, torches were lit in Shule City, and the soldiers, who had fought a bloody day, were now enjoying a hearty meal.

Hu Cheng hosted a banquet in the command post to welcome Li Yuan back.

It was called a banquet, but it was really just a whole boiled lamb and two jugs of local wine. With supplies scarce at the front, this was the best hospitality he could offer.

Besides Hu Cheng, the attendees included several generals from the city's defense forces and several key members of the Shule Demon Suppression Division.

Originally, Li Yuan was a newcomer and too young. Although he was famous, he might not necessarily catch the eye of these old generals. However, in today's battle, he showed the strength to fight against the Demon Saint, which made people look at him with new eyes.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere gradually warmed up, and Hu Cheng patted Li Yuan on the shoulder with great enthusiasm: "Brother Li, today's battle was fucking exhilarating!"

"Haha, Lord Li is truly a young hero!"

"You didn't see it! When you fought the White Ape Demon Saint, the brothers below were completely mesmerized, their morale soared!"

Several city defense commanders were full of admiration and praised him highly.

Wu Yu chuckled smugly, "That's right, my brother Li is no ordinary person. Back in Hexi, he single-handedly took on Lü Ming and seven others, fighting them to the death!"

Speaking of this earth-shattering battle, everyone knows about it. For a moment, everyone was curious and asked questions. Wu Yu was about to roll up his sleeves and brag about it, but Li Yuan interrupted him with a smile.

"Alright, alright, stop praising me. I almost lost my life; it was only thanks to the wind that I was saved."

He waved his hand, then turned and said seriously, "General Hu, I observe that the defensive formation of Shule City is broken. Why hasn't it been repaired?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Cheng's smile faded slightly, and he sighed: "The original formation of Shule was left behind by a master a hundred years ago. It was of a high level, but after several major battles, it was basically destroyed."

"It's not that we don't want to rebuild, but we lack suitable materials and manpower."

"That's not difficult. I have some materials," Li Yuan said. "I brought a batch of high-grade array materials. As for arrays, I know a little about them, so I can give it a try."

Hu Cheng was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Such a good thing! Excellent! If you can rebuild the protective formation, the defensive capabilities of Shule City will increase by at least 30%!"

Before he could finish speaking, a hearty laugh came from outside the door: "Hahaha, as soon as I got back, I heard that a ruthless guy came to Shule and chased away the White Ape Demon Saint."

"Who has such great abilities?"

Before the words were finished, a tall, dark-skinned young general strode in. He was dressed in light armor, with a curved sword hanging at his waist. He was covered in dust, but his eyes were bright and piercing, exuding a sharp and capable air.

Li Yuan looked up and couldn't help but laugh: "Brother Zhao? I was wondering why I hadn't seen you all day."

The person who arrived was Zhao Lingyun, who is now a capable subordinate of Hu Cheng. He had just returned from a mission.

Back in the Four Academies League, the two were rivals. Later, in the battle of Tiger Wolf Gorge, they not only fought side by side, but were also kidnapped by the Chen Su Demon Emperor together, experiencing a life-or-death test. Their old grudges had long since vanished.

Upon seeing Li Yuan, Zhao Lingyun was taken aback for a moment, then strode forward and punched Li Yuan on the shoulder.

"Junior Brother Li, it really is you!"

"I heard that a new inspector has arrived in Longyou Circuit, and I was wondering if it could be you. I didn't expect it to be you."

He pulled out a chair, sat down, poured himself a glass of wine without ceremony, downed it in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and joked, "What brings you to Longyou? Couldn't you stay in Hexi?"

Zhao Lingyun has changed drastically; he is no longer petty and narrow-minded, and now has the straightforward manner of a soldier.

"I'm tired of staying in Hexi, so I'm going to try something different." Li Yuan replied with a smile, "Judging from your appearance, you're doing quite well now, already a captain."

"Don't even mention it." Zhao Lingyun waved his hand. "I've been here for more than half a year, and my main job is reconnaissance and raid missions. It's incredibly boring."

His words earned him a slap from Hu Cheng: "I only did this because you're clever, and you're complaining about me now."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"To be honest, Li Yuan, back in the Four Colleges League, I never thought we'd be sitting together and calling each other brothers. Back then, I just couldn't stand you."

Zhao Lingyun clinked glasses with him and teased him.

Li Yuan laughed too: "Likewise, I also thought you were pretty rude back then."

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

After a few rounds of drinks, Li Yuan steered the conversation back to business: "Brother Zhao, since you're in charge of reconnaissance, you should be quite familiar with the terrain around Shule, right?"

"I know it well." Zhao Lingyun nodded. "I've traveled all over the area for hundreds of miles. I know where the oases are, where the water sources are, and where it's a good place to ambush.

"That's good," Li Yuan said. "I have an idea. Although the White Ape Demon Saint has retreated today, it certainly won't let this go. Given its personality, it will definitely come back again."

"I want to set a trap for it."

Zhao Lingyun's eyes lit up: "How so?"

"The White Ape Demon Saint has a grudge against Mr. Mo. I've heard him talk about it. This creature is short-tempered and easily angered, and it hates me to the core," Li Yuan said slowly. "Such people are most prone to acting on their emotions."

Zhao Lingyun frowned and pondered for a moment: "Although the White Ape Demon Saint is irritable, he is still a Demon Saint after all, not so easy to deal with. Are you confident?"

Although Li Yuan withstood the White Ape Demon Saint's attack today, he was clearly at a disadvantage. Killing him would be as difficult as ascending to heaven, so it's no wonder that Zhao Lingyun lacked confidence in him.

"That's why we need to plan this carefully." Li Yuan smiled mysteriously. "I'm at least 70% confident."

"Seventy percent?!"

Everyone was startled and exchanged bewildered glances. Zhao Lingyun's eyes lit up. "Alright, then I'll take the bet with you!"

"We can discuss this later. Let's repair the formation tonight. I remember you're quite skilled in formations, so let's work together."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it now!"

A protective array could save the lives of many soldiers. Upon hearing this, Zhao Lingyun could no longer remain seated and immediately stood up.

The two, along with the two existing array masters in the city, and Wu Yu and others, immediately began to discuss the matter.

The protective formation of Shule City is called the Four Symbols Mountain Suppressing Formation, a large-scale defensive formation based on the four divine beasts of the four directions.

When Li Yuan was at the Shenwu Academy, he had seen the record of this formation. He had a photographic memory and some knowledge of formations, so he immediately drew the formation diagram and improved it by comparing it with the diagrams preserved in Shule City.

With the blueprints in hand, the group spent half an hour inspecting the damaged array bases, drawing up repair plans, and then working together to repair the damaged array bases one by one.

This task is extremely tedious. The location of the spirit stones must be precise, and the array patterns must be drawn smoothly and continuously. Any slight error may cause the entire array to fail.

Li Yuan was in charge of inscribing the array patterns. His skillful technique allowed him to draw smooth lines with ease, leaving the two array masters dumbfounded. They had never seen anyone inscribe array patterns so effortlessly.

The group worked all night without closing their eyes.

In the early hours of the morning, the last array base was finally installed.