After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

The next morning, Jiang Yan led Jian Li into the training ground of the city lord's mansion.

At this moment, Jian Li changed into a clean training uniform, with the cuffs tightly tied. She stood in front of Jiang Yan, staring at him intently.

"Sword cultivation begins with a solid foundation," Jiang Yan said calmly. "Without a proper foundation, no matter how fancy your sword techniques may be, they will all be castles in the air."

He first taught Jianli the basic breathing techniques, then had her sit cross-legged to sense the spiritual energy.

Jian Li did as instructed, and in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sparse spiritual energy around her began to gather towards her.

"Master, I think I can sense it."

Jiang Yan nodded; the innate sword physique was indeed extraordinary.

He handed her the old wooden sword.

Just like Liu Qingyi taught him back then, he started with the most basic techniques: chopping, stabbing, picking, striking, and flicking.

Holding a wooden sword, Jiang Yan demonstrated each move separately, showing where to generate force for a chop, how to lock the wrist for a thrust, and how to rotate the shoulder for a lift.

Jian Li stood beside him, her eyes following the tip of his sword, so focused that she didn't even bother to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead.

After he demonstrated it once, Jianli took the wooden sword and tried it herself.

The movements were still a bit clumsy, but the point of force application for each move was quite accurate. After only one mistake, the second time I was able to do it quite well.

Jiang Yan was very satisfied with how quickly she grasped the concepts.

However, the fact that she was accepted as a disciple so suddenly gave her a headache after she calmed down, as there wasn't much she could actually teach her.

The Haoran Cultivation Technique is based on official skills and popular support, which is not very suitable for her.

The Two Elements Dividing Light Sword is also not suitable. Although Jian Li has the aptitude, this sword technique is more suitable for someone who is equally dexterous with both hands.

She is a pure swordsmanship talent, but she doesn't have a top-level sword technique that suits her.

However, we are currently in the foundation-building stage, so there is no need to rush. We just need to pay more attention in the future.

On the other side, Ao Tianxin sat on the stone table, holding a wine cup in her hand.

She looked at Jian Li's sword-wielding posture and then at the sword intent that subtly flowed around her as she absorbed spiritual energy, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes.

"Where did you find such a promising talent?" Ao Tianxin picked up his wine glass. "Innate sword physique. If those old fogies from the Lingxu Sword Sect knew about this, they'd probably go crazy fighting over him."

Jiang Yan had finished teaching her, so he let Jian Li practice on her own. He then turned around, walked to Ao Tianxin's side, picked up the wine glass on the table, and gave her a polite toast.

"Not bad, right? You found it."

Ao Tianxin returned the toast by tilting his head back and taking a sip.

Suddenly, she put down her wine, looked at Jiang Yan, and a smile slowly appeared on her lips.

She remembered something: she had come to the Demon Realm to help the Heavenly Wolf Dynasty in exchange for Xuan Tianjian's attempt to find Lin Chu's reincarnation.

Before she could even obtain the Xuan Tian Jian, she unexpectedly found the servant first, which she found quite strange.

Jiang Yan was about to say something.

A powerful aura burst forth from the south.

Before the people arrived, the wind arrived first, and the flags on the drill ground fluttered in the wind.

The azure light landed in front of the city lord's mansion, and when the light faded, an old man was revealed.

He was thin, with half-white hair and beard, and a slightly hunched back.

What is most striking are the folded wings on his back, the feathers bluish-gray with a pale golden sheen at the edges.

Feathered race.

Jiang Yan stepped forward and bowed.

"Jiang Yan greets Senior."

Cangwu waved his hand, looked him up and down, his eyes filled with undisguised interest.

"I heard about your achievements back in the capital, and Tu Shan Jing even praised you at length in the military report. I was curious to see what kind of young man His Majesty would send me to protect." He smiled, "So I made the trip myself and brought the imperial edict over."

The content of the edict was very clear.

Tushan launched a full-scale counterattack against Tianlang, and reinforcements from the capital were on their way. Jiang Yan's Northern Expeditionary Army was expanded to 10,000 men, and the entire country entered a state of war preparedness.

Jiang Yan was surprised; this time, His Majesty was so decisive.

"His Majesty said," Cangwu put away the imperial edict, "that this time, young marquis will serve as Tushan Jing's deputy, and will be greatly rewarded after the victory. I will also protect you in secret, so go ahead and fight."

As Cangwu spoke, his gaze inadvertently swept across the training ground, and then he saw Ao Tianxin sitting in the corner, holding a wine glass.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and the wings on his back involuntarily tensed up.

"Ao..." Cangwu almost instinctively stepped forward, bowed, and clasped his hands to the ground. "Junior Cangwu greets Senior Ao."

Ao Tianxin raised her eyelids and glanced at him, then nodded slightly.

"No need for formalities."

After saying that, he continued drinking, showing no intention of talking any further.

Jiang Yan stepped forward to introduce them.

"Senior Cangwu, this is an elder of mine."

Cangwu straightened up, nodding repeatedly on the surface, but the turbulent waves surging in his heart could not be calmed down for a while.

The Lord of the Dragon Court, the one who is on par with the Lord of the Myriad Demon Realm.

Even among the great beings in the Mahayana stage, her strength is exceptionally high.

Jiang Yan actually knew this person, and judging from the casual and natural manner between them, their relationship must be quite special.

Just as he was suppressing these thoughts, Ao Tianxin suddenly spoke.

"I'll protect Jiang Yan," she said, looking at Cang Wu. "You can go and protect the others."

Cangwu was stunned for a moment.

He glanced at Ao Tianxin, then at Jiang Yan, and then cupped his hands in greeting.

"With Senior Ao here, it would be even better. Then this old man will go and meet Tu Shan Jing."

After speaking, he bowed again, spread his wings slightly, and transformed into a streak of azure light, flying towards the Northern Border Camp.

Jiang Yan turned to look at Ao Tianxin.

Ao Tianxin put down her wine glass, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Of course I will protect you. What will happen to Cang Yao if something happens to you again?"

"...Thank you."

"There's no need for these words between us," Ao Tianxin waved her hand.

Hearing this, Jiang Yan felt a warmth in her heart.

He gave a proper salute, then turned to arrange military affairs.

……

Three days later, at dawn, spiritual energy fluctuations spread out like a tide in Jiang Yan's room.

Ao Tianxin was leaning against a pillar outside the hall when he suddenly sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from inside the hall. He turned his head to look, and then paused in the hand holding the wine pot.

Late stage of Golden Core at age fifteen.

She couldn't help but recall that Lin Chu was unable to cultivate in her previous life and relied entirely on luck to survive.

It seems that all of this talent for cultivation has been compensated for in this lifetime.

That same afternoon, a deafening horn sounded outside Broken Monument City.

The demon soldier on lookout on the city wall suddenly turned around and shouted loudly into the city, "General Jing has arrived!"

Tu Shan Jing led the main force of the northern army to arrive.

One hundred thousand demon soldiers lined up outside the city, their colorful banners fluttering in the wind and sand.

The north gate of Duanbei City opened wide, and the generals and officers of the central army entered the city in turn. Tu Shan Jing walked at the front, followed by several retainers.

He already knew that Ao Tianxin was currently guarding Jiang Yan's side, and the first thing he did after entering the city was not to convene a military meeting, but to pay his respects.

After Tu Shan Jing and several other worshippers finished their greetings, Ao Tian Xin simply said, "Don't worry about me, just do what you need to do."

When Tu Shan Jing came out of the side hall, his expression was obviously a bit strange.

He glanced at Jiang Yan standing next to him, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then stopped, and finally he just patted Jiang Yan's shoulder heavily.

No wonder this kid could unleash the aura of a true dragon when he attacked the city. It's not surprising that the Lord of the Dragon Court was personally guarding him.

This kid is quite lucky.

He clearly misunderstood.

But Jiang Yan didn't know how to explain her relationship with Ao Tianxin, so she could only shrug and walk towards the main hall together.

On the way, the military affairs of the past few days were handed over, and the deployment of the Northern Expeditionary Army, the defense of Duanbei City, and the deployment of the front-line outposts were all arranged clearly.

Tu Shan Jing nodded in satisfaction after listening.

When I entered the main hall, it was already full of people.

Pei Xiao and other generals were on the right, while Cang Wu, Lu Zhanshuang, and the rest of the retainers stood on the left.

A huge map was spread out on the central table.

Tu Shan Jing walked to the map, turned around, and looked at the people inside the tent.

"Gentlemen, it's time to discuss how to launch a counterattack."