Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

The next morning, Li Yuan put down the book he had been reading all night and stretched his muscles.

The act is almost over; it's time for him to bravely move on from his pain and turn his grief into strength.

From that day on, he resumed his usual routine. However, having only recently lost his father, he was too embarrassed to joke and play with his classmates anymore, and appeared much quieter than usual.

To outsiders, it seemed as if he was just putting on a brave face. Yu Ling'er and the others tried their best not to bring up the topic in front of him, but secretly took extra care of him.

After class that day, Li Yuan walked back alone along the quiet blue stone path of the academy.

As he passed a wisteria trellis, a slender figure hurried by with her head down, nearly bumping into him.

"Feel sorry."

The two of them simultaneously stepped aside to avoid each other, and then spoke at the same time.

Li Yuan looked up and saw a pretty face. It was Ji Fanghua. When she saw Li Yuan, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she looked away guiltily.

"Senior Brother Li... I'm sorry..."

She lowered her eyes and said quickly, then turned and walked away. Just as the two brushed past each other, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying the faint fragrance of the girl.

The fragrance was cool and refreshing, with a hint of herbal bitterness, quite unlike the cosmetics used by ordinary women.

Li Yuan abruptly stopped, turned around sharply, and looked at the girl's slender back with a sharp gaze.

He would never mistake that taste.

It was last winter, the same injured man in black who sneaked into his cabin.

No wonder he felt inexplicably familiar with her during the last Spirit Awakening Ceremony. He never imagined that the girl who was being frantically chased would now possess an eighth-level talent.

Moreover, judging from her expression, she clearly recognized him, which is why she was in such a hurry to escape.

Li Yuan shook his head with amusement. Who doesn't have a painful past and secrets? He had no intention of meddling in other people's business.

He withdrew his gaze, calmly continued walking, and no longer took the matter to heart.

A few days later, he received another letter from Aji, saying that he had found another demon core and had entrusted someone to send it with the letter. He then talked about some recent events, all trivial matters that seemed quite ordinary.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the end of the letter. On Aji's name, there was a little bit of ink residue, as if a blob of ink had been accidentally spilled.

His heart sank suddenly.

This was a secret mark he and Aji had agreed upon, signifying that the other person was in danger.

A chill ran through his body from his fingertips, and a surge of anger rose in his heart. He had been cautious enough, yet he still couldn't avoid dragging Aji into danger.

Who is it?

Is it the Wang family? Or that so-called noble person, or perhaps the demons of the Dark Pavilion? Or even some other force that I don't yet know about?

The image of Aji's innocent and dependent eyes flashed before his eyes, and a strong sense of powerlessness gripped his heart.

He hated the feeling of powerlessness of being protected by others but being unable to protect those around him.

He had Mr. Mo's protection and the academy's shelter, but he couldn't protect the people he wanted to protect.

He can't hide under someone else's wing forever; he needs his own life and his own friends.

At this moment, he wanted power more than ever before, power strong enough to allow him to move freely!

We can no longer follow the established procedures.

He gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He arrived at Mr. Mo's courtyard, returned to his room, set up a simple soundproof barrier, and took out the demon core.

This is a level three water-attribute demon core, containing even more violent and powerful energy. Its dark color is mixed with blood streaks, and although the fierce aura on it has been processed, it still makes ordinary cultivators tremble with fear.

"bring it on!"

A resolute glint flashed in Li Yuan's eyes.

He sat cross-legged, holding the demon core in his palm, calmed his mind, and focused all his energy on communicating with the bronze palace deep within his sea of ​​consciousness.

hum!

The bronze palace sensed his intense will, emitted a resounding thud of longing, its surface shone brightly, and its rotation speed suddenly increased.

The next instant, a surge of immense energy violently rushed into Li Yuan's meridians, and an icy chill instantly assaulted him, accompanied by creaking sounds from his meridians as they struggled to bear the weight.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, the phantom of a black dragon roared wildly, and a strong killing intent assaulted his mind, trying to drag him into a state of mad chaos.

"town!"

He had foreseen this, and with a roar in his heart, he held fast to the last shred of clarity in his mind, immersing his entire being in the bronze palace.

The palace's radiance, like the flames of a furnace, quickly enveloped the surging, violent energy, leaving only the purest energy to flow back into the palace.

The barrier at the mid-stage of the Subtle Realm shattered instantly under the impact of this overwhelming energy, causing almost no resistance.

His true energy surged and rose steadily, quickly stabilizing at the late stage of the Subtle Realm, and its momentum showed no signs of slowing down, continuing its assault towards the Perfect Realm.

The energy of this level-three demon core was so immense that even Li Yuan was somewhat surprised. Thinking of the secret mark left by Aji, he couldn't help but have a bold guess.

It's very likely that someone has tampered with this demon core, and Aji is trying to remind himself of it in this way.

However, for Li Yuan, who possesses the extraordinary treasure of the Bronze Palace, everything is still unknown, whether it will bring good or bad fortune.

The surging energy was like a river overflowing its banks, unstoppable. The bottleneck of reaching the Perfected Subtle Realm was quickly broken, and his cultivation soared, soon reaching the Perfected Subtle Realm.

The next level of enlightenment, "Questioning the Heart," is just a hair's breadth away.

At this moment, in a secluded corner of Chang'an City, Shadow Thirteen was gazing in the direction of the academy, his eyes revealing a bloodthirsty madness.

"Li Yuan, no matter how talented you are, you will eventually die by my hand, hahaha..."

She laughed triumphantly, looking up at the sky, as if she had become a meritorious official of the Holy Clan, revered by thousands.

In the small courtyard, true energy surged and roared within Li Yuan's body, violently impacting an unseen barrier.

"what!"

Bloodshot veins appeared in Li Yuan's eyes, and his meridians swelled, as if the true energy was about to burst out and explode his body.

The extreme pain made him scream, but the soundproof barrier prevented it from reaching him.

The demon core, which had already been half-digested, suddenly became scalding hot, mixed with some kind of violent dark power, rampaging through his body.

Li Yuan felt as if half of his body was ice cold and the other half was burning hot. The extreme cold and heat tormented his mind, making him feel as if he were in hell.

The commotion quickly attracted several gazes, and Mr. Mo's expression shifted, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He sat on the roof tile above Li Yuan's head, waved to stop Liu Hongyan from rushing over, and shook his head slightly.

"In the end, he has to bear some things on his own."

Liu Hongyan paused, then sat down helplessly, looking worriedly into the room.

As the subtle energy reached its peak, a surge of powerful true energy rushed towards the sea of ​​consciousness, as if knocking on some kind of barrier.

This is the most difficult hurdle to overcome in the cultivation world: questioning one's own heart.

boom--!

Li Yuan's consciousness seemed to be struck hard by an invisible giant hammer, and the scene before him instantly became blurry and shattered before he fell into a blood-red chaotic land.

The shouts of battle were deafening, gunfire roared, and the huge flashes of explosions mingled with the angry roars of comrades, filling the air with the strong smell of gunpowder.

This is……?