Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

As dusk was about to fall, the group entered Heyu County.

The county town wasn't large, but the streets were bustling. News from the Commerce Bureau had been circulating for days, and martial artists from all directions had filled several inns.

He Ming led the way, and the group turned two corners and stopped in front of an inn with lanterns hanging on it.

The plaque above the door reads three characters: Shanlinju.

After five days of travel, both the people and the horses were exhausted.

The exotic beasts of Xi Feng's cavalry were indeed full of energy, but the thirty Zhenfu Guards under Yi Yang's command were only riding ordinary exotic beasts, and they had already reached their limit by this point.

He Ming dismounted, tossed the reins to the waiter, and said, "This is it. This place has a stable in the backyard, and it's spacious."

Yi Yang looked up. It was a three-story building with two waiters standing at the entrance, smiling obsequiously.

He led his horse inside, with Xu Min and thirty Zhenfu Guards following behind. They were still wearing their black armor, and the armor plates rattled together.

As soon as Yi Yang and his group stepped across the threshold, the noise in the lobby subsided by a third.

There was no other reason than two groups of people suddenly poured in through the door, totaling nearly a hundred, all leading those strange, one-horned beasts that looked like they were not to be trifled with.

Especially the leader of the "Wind Chariots," whose silver-gleaming black armor made even ordinary thugs' legs tremble.

Meng Kuo, from the Punishment Division of Qingqu Prefecture, swaggered over to an empty table and sat down, shouting loudly to the waiter, "Waiter! Bring on the best wine and meat! And prepare the finest fodder for our mounts!"

The guards from the Punishment Division behind him also joined in the commotion, and in an instant, the once quiet hall was filled with a joyful atmosphere again.

Yi Yang ignored them.

He found a quiet corner by the window and let Xu Min and the Zhenfuwei men make their own arrangements.

He Ming, the commander of the Xifeng Cavalry, and He, the commander of the Xifeng Cavalry, also led their men to another table, poured tea for themselves, and ignored the noise around them.

Just then.

A group of people came down the stairs on the second floor of the inn.

The leader was a beautiful woman in palace attire, about forty years old, with a graceful figure, but her eyes and brows carried an inescapable coldness and murderous aura.

Behind her followed seven or eight young men and women, each carrying a sword and dressed in uniform light green outfits with a cluster of green bamboo embroidered in silver thread on their cuffs.

The token at his waist was engraved with the three characters "Zhuxi Gate".

Yi Yang's divine sense swept over them. The beautiful woman leading the group was at the peak of the True Qi Realm, and the young disciples behind her were also experts in the Inner Qi Realm.

The beautiful woman was talking to her disciple when she casually glanced at the main hall as she walked down the stairs.

Her gaze stopped when it fell on Yi Yang and Xu Min's table.

To be precise, it landed on the standard official uniforms of the Zhenfu Guard they were wearing.

The woman stopped in her tracks, and her previously calm face instantly turned cold.

That gaze, like shards of ice in the twelfth lunar month, pierced straight towards us.

A young disciple behind her noticed his master's unusual behavior and looked over. When he saw the "Zhenfuwei" official uniform, his face showed undisguised disgust.

"Master, they are from the Patrol Guard of the Heavenly Survey Division."

The disciple's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to Yi Yang's table in the noisy hall.

Xu Min had just picked up his teacup when he heard this, and his hand paused, his brows furrowing.

Yi Yang didn't say anything, but simply picked up the teacup and blew away the tea dust floating on top.

The beautiful woman moved gracefully and walked straight towards Yi Yang's table.

Her disciples immediately followed, forming a semi-encircling formation.

The atmosphere in the lobby quieted down once again.

Everyone sensed that something was wrong.

On the other side, Meng Kuo, who was playing drinking games with his men, also noticed the commotion.

When he saw that the people who came were from the Zhuxi Sect, especially Xie Tinglan, the leader, he instantly sobered up.

"The people from Zhuxi Sect?" one of Meng Kuo's trusted confidants asked in a low voice. "Boss, judging from their actions, they're heading straight for those people from Suining Prefecture."

Meng Kuo remained silent, his eyes flickering. He picked up his wine bowl, pretending to drink, but his peripheral vision was fixed on this side. He knew about that matter, and he was afraid there was going to be a good show to watch.

Xie Tinglan stopped three steps away from Yi Yang's table.

She didn't look at Yi Yang, but instead focused her gaze on Xu Min, then swept it over the official uniforms of the Zhenfu Guards at the next few tables, a cold smile curving her lips.

"The commander of the Zhenfu Guard?" Her voice was like shattered ice hitting a jade plate, clear but chillingly cold. "What a show of power, going on a long trip with so many people serving you."

These words were spoken to Yi Yang.

Yi Yang put down his teacup, raised his eyelids, glanced at her, and asked bluntly:

"What's up?"

In short, it was neither warm nor cold. Since the other party came with ill intentions, there was no need to be polite. A True Qi Realm Perfection cultivator like Yi Yang was not going to back down.

One of the male disciples behind Xie Tinglan couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and glared angrily:

"How dare you speak to my martial uncle like that!"

Yi Yang ignored him, his gaze remaining fixed on Xie Tinglan's face.

Having lived two lives, he had seen it all; he could tell the other party's intentions were hostile.

But he didn't understand why there was this unprovoked hostility.

His official uniform as a Zhenfu Guard was a symbol of status in Suining Prefecture, but here it had become a source of trouble.

"Who do we have here?" Xie Tinglan sized up Yi Yang, her gaze as if she were examining a piece of merchandise, filled with undisguised contempt. "So, just an old codger nearing his grave. What, is the Sky Patrol Division short of manpower? Even someone like this can be a commander?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Min jumped to his feet.

The dozens of guards behind him also stood up in unison, their hands on the hilts of their swords.

The sound of armor clashing was particularly jarring in the hall.

Yi Yang didn't move; he simply extended a finger and tapped it lightly on the table.

Xu Min understood and did not draw his sword, but he released the aura of his newly broken through to the True Qi Realm without reservation.

Xie Tinglan sensed Xu Min's presence, her eyes flickered, but the contempt on her face deepened.

"A mere True Qi Realm cultivator who has barely touched the threshold dares to be so insolent in front of me?"

She took a step forward, and an immense pressure, like a mountain, rolled down towards Yi Yang's table.

The bowls and chopsticks on the table began to vibrate slightly.

Xu Min's expression changed, and he barely managed to withstand the pressure by fully activating his true energy.

Yi Yang remained seated.

The oppressive aura descended upon him, but it vanished without a trace, not even stirring the hem of his clothes.

He picked up the teacup, took another sip, and then slowly spoke.

"Madam, why are you so angry? Is it due to an imbalance of internal energy, or is it because you've been deprived of sex for too long?"

"puff--"

A martial artist at the next table spat out a mouthful of tea.

Xu Min was also taken aback. He never expected that the seemingly calm and mature commander would have such a sharp tongue.

Xie Tinglan's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"You're asking for it!"

With a flick of her wrist, a soft sword as thin as a cicada's wing appeared in her hand. With a shake of the blade, she was about to strike.

Just then.

"Elder Xie, please show mercy!"

A figure quickly squeezed through from the side; it was Meng Kuo from Qingqu Prefecture.

He smiled broadly and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xie Tinglan.

"Elder Xie, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

As he spoke, he subtly moved two steps to the side, completely distancing himself from Yi Yang's table, as if afraid of being implicated.

"We are from the Punishment Division of Qingqu Prefecture, and we are not on the same side as these Zhenfu Guards."

Meng Kuo pointed at Yi Yang, then at himself, his attitude completely absolving himself of responsibility.

"We just met on the road, a chance encounter, a chance meeting."

His words made Xu Min and the other guards' faces turn ugly.

One moment they were saying they'd act together, the next they were turning their backs on each other. Meng Kuo is truly a despicable person.

Yi Yang's face remained expressionless, but his gaze towards Meng Kuo turned colder.

Xie Tinglan's sword was confiscated.

She glanced coldly at Meng Kuo, then looked at Yi Yang.

"Get out of here, this is none of your business."

Meng Kuo was rebuffed, but he wasn't angry. He smiled and stepped aside, giving his men a meaningful look. The meaning was clear: don't get involved, just watch the show.

It looked like a conflict was about to break out.

"Stop it, all of you!"

A cold shout came from the table where Xi Fengqi was.

He Ming, the head of the regiment, stood up and walked over slowly.

His black armor gleamed coldly in the lamplight.

"Elder Xie, Commander Yi." He Ming walked between the two groups, first giving a warning glance to the gloating Meng Kuo, before turning to Xie Tinglan and saying:

"On this trip, we are acting on orders from the Qingzhou General Command to escort the conscripted personnel from various prefectures to the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains."

"Lord Yi is on the list of those to be recruited."

"Having ruined such a major event in Qingzhou, can the Zhuxi Sect bear the responsibility?"

"Elder Xie, that matter happened more than a decade ago. Why take your anger out on others? Do you disregard the Sky Patrol Division?"

He Ming's words were devoid of any emotion, yet every word was piercing to the heart.