Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"Go ahead, go ahead, I'm here."

Liu Hongyan waved her hand dismissively.

Li Yuan quickly ran back, took a shower, changed his clothes, and treated his wound before returning to the hall.

The battlefield had long been cleared away, and night had fallen. Li Yuan quickly ordered the dishes to be served, intending to eat and chat with his teacher.

"Teacher, what brings you here?"

He was very curious about how Liu Hongyan had suddenly come to the Northwest battlefield and happened to save him.

"The war situation is unstable right now. The imperial court has drawn a group of teachers from various academies and recruited a group of experts from various sects to form a reinforcement army to support the Western Regions battlefield. I am one of them."

Liu Hongyan's answer was concise: "Mr. Mo is leading the team this time. He is currently in Anxi City."

"Mr. Mo is here too?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan was both surprised and delighted.

"I had just arrived in Anxi City when I heard that the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor was going to cause you trouble, so I rushed over without even entering the city. Luckily, I arrived in time."

Liu Hongyan spoke calmly, but Li Yuan felt a warmth in his heart. If it weren't for her help today, he would have been badly injured even if he hadn't died.

"Luckily the teacher came, otherwise I would have been in big trouble."

Li Yuan joked.

"By the way, when I came here, Dean Su asked me to pass on a message to you."

"What did you say?"

Li Yuan was curious.

He said, "You have to come back alive no matter what."

Li Yuan was taken aback, then nodded heavily.

"I will."

After the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor retreated, Yuezhi City enjoyed a brief period of peace.

Taking advantage of this rare respite, Li Yuan hurriedly healed his injuries. Because he was worried that the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor might return, Liu Hongyan stayed behind for the time being.

Just like when they were in the academy, Liu Hongyan not only treated his injuries every day, but also gave him pointers on his cultivation problems.

The master and disciple had not seen each other for many days, and now, reunited on the smoke-filled battlefield, they were even closer than when they were at the Divine Martial Academy.

That evening, after inspecting the city's defenses, the two sat chatting by the crenellations of the city wall.

"Teacher, I haven't asked you yet when you broke through to the Dao Realm?"

When he set off from Chang'an last year, Liu Hongyan was still at the peak of the Condensation Realm. It is said that she had been stuck at this bottleneck for nearly twenty years and had not been able to break through.

Three months ago.

"Three months ago?" Li Yuan was slightly taken aback. "That was..."

"It was when you killed Lü Ming, shaking the court and the public." A smile appeared on Liu Hongyan's lips. "For so many years, I have been unable to find my own path."

She sighed softly, "The martial arts I practiced before emphasized fierceness and pursued unstoppable progress without fear."

"After years of reflection, I have slowly come to realize that excessive rigidity leads to breakage, and only by combining strength and gentleness can one achieve longevity. In this world, only ice represents the most perfect combination of strength and gentleness."

Li Yuan lowered his head thoughtfully. Although he had found his own path in the trials of the Myriad Realms Palace, his accumulation was insufficient, and he could not break through his realm in a short period of time.

On the battlefield today, he can instantly kill demon kings, but if he encounters a top expert like the Crimson Flame Demon Emperor, he still cannot save his life.

"Don't be impatient. Reaching the early stage of the Condensation Realm at seventeen or eighteen and the late stage at twenty is already an unprecedented talent in our Great Tang Dynasty."

Seeing his gloomy expression, Liu Hongyan guessed what he was thinking and offered words of comfort.

"I know that some things can't be rushed, and we can only let nature take its course."

Li Yuan was well aware of the reasoning behind it and nodded repeatedly.

Soon, military reports arrived from Parthia.

The Demon Court has reinforced its troops again, and the number of Demon Emperors on the Mengchi battlefield alone has reached eight, putting them under immense pressure.

Fortunately, Mr. Mo and his entourage arrived in time, which stabilized the situation.

After reading the battle report, Li Yuan frowned: "Eight demon emperors... can the imperial court still send reinforcements?"

Liu Hongyan shook her head: "It's difficult. You don't know yet, but the southern border is starting to fall into chaos."

"The demons in the southern border region have also started to frequently harass us recently. Since the imperial court is not deploying troops there, it will probably be difficult to send reinforcements to the western regions in the short term."

"unless……"

At this point, Liu Hongyan stopped.

"Is the teacher implying that unless the four academies are shut down and all sent to reinforce the frontier?"

Li Yuan understood instantly.

"Yes, but if it comes to that, my Great Tang Dynasty will probably be on the verge of collapse."

Liu Hongyan sighed. The four academies were the last guarantee of the Tang Dynasty and its source of confidence. As long as the academies existed, there would be a steady stream of cultivators graduating to make up for the losses.

"Also, I heard that Yu Ling'er disappeared near Yuezhi. After you arrived, have you found any clues?"

Yu Ling'er is the class monitor of Tian Shu Class and a rare genius. Her whereabouts are on the minds of many people.

Li Yuan's expression darkened: "No, after I came to Yuezhi, I looked for her comrades who fought alongside her. I learned that she led her troops out on patrol that time, but they encountered the enemy and all of them were killed in battle. Only she went missing."

Going missing on the battlefield generally has only two outcomes: either you are wiped out by the enemy, or you are captured.

Neither of these possibilities was good news for them. In fact, both of them knew in their hearts that the hope of Yu Ling'er being alive was extremely slim, but they were just unwilling to admit it and always kept a sliver of hope.

"That's enough. You don't need to look for it anymore. Take care of yourself first. I don't want anything to happen to the rest of you."

Liu Hongyan waved her hand. She herself had been on the battlefield when she was young and knew the cruelty of war. Since Yu Ling'er had chosen to join the army, she had long been prepared to sacrifice herself at any time.

The two fell silent for a moment.

Li Yuan was deeply worried. The Western Regions battlefield was too close to the core territory of the Demon Court, and the enemy could quickly mobilize troops at any time, while the human race would have to travel tens of thousands of miles to send reinforcements to the front line.

Geographical disadvantages determined that the war waged by the human race in the Western Regions would inevitably be a difficult and protracted war.

Two days later, Mr. Mo appeared in Yuezhi City.

He looked much the same as he had a few years ago, still wearing a drab gray Taoist robe and with gray hair, looking like an ordinary old man from the countryside.

Upon seeing him, Li Yuan's eyes lit up, and he then bowed respectfully, saying, "Sir."

Mr. Mo looked him over and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, you've reached the later stage. Your foundation is solid, your aura is steady, and you haven't become arrogant just because you killed a demon saint."

"Sir, are you complimenting me?"

The relationship between Li Yuan and Mr. Mo was more natural than that between Li Yuan and Liu Hongyan, and they spoke to each other without any formality.

"You're already getting cocky after I just praised you." Mr. Mo gestured for him and Liu Hongyan to sit down, then sat cross-legged on a bluestone. "I've already heard about how you killed the White Ape Demon Saint."

"Being able to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and old injuries to deliver a fatal blow cleanly and efficiently demonstrates that you are clear-headed and have a clear understanding of your own strength. This is more important than improving your cultivation level."

He took out a small cloth bag from his bosom and handed it to Li Yuan: "Here are some medicinal herbs and materials that will be useful to you at this stage."

"In addition, I have something to remind you: you can accelerate your cultivation to the peak of the Condensation Realm, but don't rush to break through to the Dao Realm."

Li Yuan immediately understood what he meant. With the Myriad Realms Palace in hand, as long as he had enough demon cores, he could theoretically advance at any time.

However, entering the Dao realm is different; it cannot be solved by simply increasing one's Yuan power.