Chapter 242

Yang Lingrui couldn’t yet heal a cultivator’s mind and soul on his own. To do this, he used the consciousness left by his Immortal Master in his sea of consciousness. After the Immortal Master achieved Condensing Essence, this consciousness had also evolved.

When Luo Zhuli chased him before, Yang Lingrui didn’t understand what was happening, but he knew surviving that ordeal depended entirely on the Immortal Master’s consciousness. From his perspective, his sea of consciousness shook violently, then everything went dark. When he woke, he found Luo Zhuli’s shriveled body—stripped of divine awareness and life—lying ten paces behind him.

Luo Zhuli’s body showed no injuries, but Yang Lingrui couldn’t preserve it during the chaos. By the time the Guhui Town incident ended, the body had already rotted and withered from lost spiritual power. Otherwise, an intact twelfth-level Gathering Qi cultivator’s body could’ve sold for at least ten thousand spiritual crystals.

Xue Qingluan knew none of this, assuming Yang Lingrui’s strange powers came from the West Concubine. He wasn’t healing her injuries with Chen Yang’s consciousness to manipulate her—he simply found her useful and didn’t want her slowed down.

On the First Level’s northern front, only three Eastern Wilderness prodigies besides Yang Lingrui could fight Xue Qingluan; everyone else fled. As long as Condensing Essence experts stayed out, she reigned supreme there. Her combat strength and sect-trained mind also saved him time analyzing strategies.

A year later, Yang Lingrui finally grasped the West Concubine’s intent. Among northwest Canglan’s three talents, Shen Yue excelled in everything—combat, wit, diplomacy, and vision. Yang Lingrui and Yue Shuwang, however, cared only for the Dao, scorning worldly matters.

This was why the Lanyue Sect assigned Xue Qingluan to Yue Shuwang early—to handle practical affairs and, if needed, sacrifice herself like in Guhui Town. The West Concubine gave Xue Qingluan to Yang Lingrui for similar reasons. She’d seen Yang Lingrui wasn’t an all-rounder like Shen Yue, and leaving him with He Shenglai or alone would waste his potential.

Without Xue Qingluan, Yang Lingrui couldn’t have fused dual Wind techniques this past year. He felt grateful, unaware another reason influenced the West Concubine: Li Qingwan’s sudden mastery of the Path of Martial Arts after her academy enlightenment. To investigate, the West Concubine visited ChengTian Academy and met Mountain Master Wei Kangping in its hidden realm.

The latter replayed for her the entire process of his enlightenment day. After viewing it, she comprehended everything.

The third-level purpose of deploying Xue Qingluan this time was to test Li Qingwan’s mental state – to verify whether she’d truly abandoned emotional attachments and worldly distractions.

The results proved remarkably effective. Within the following year, Li Qingwan’s cultivation level surged dramatically. She broke through two realms amidst battlefield slaughter, attaining the eleventh-level Gathering Qi.

Just days prior, she’d commanded a hundred thousand troops to repel a Condensing Essence cultivator in open combat, her Path of Martial Arts prowess beginning to emerge.

West Concubine’s scheme had simultaneously resolved two issues, unleashing two young Tiger-Chasing geniuses – truly a masterstroke.

Back in the tent, Yang Lingrui withdrew his palm after half an hour. "Well?"

"Thank you, Young Master, for healing Qingluan! My spirit has fully recovered!"

Xue Qingluan bowed fervently, genuine emotion stirring within her. Without Yang Lingrui’s intervention, the accumulated pain and complications would have remained hers to bear.

"As my companion cultivator, seek me whenever you face cultivation obstacles." Yang Lingrui reclined in his chair, summoning a breeze to raise her.

After rising, Xue Qingluan presented an organized battle report. She began dissecting key markers, first offering surface-level analysis before supplementing with battlefield realities. Finally, she synthesized intelligence from all three battlefronts to predict Eastern Wilderness’s next moves.

These bimonthly reviews had continued for a year. Yang Lingrui later compared them with eastern region strategists’ notes at Central Camp. Multiple comparisons revealed Xue Qingluan’s analytical prowess surpassed most imperial advisors. The few superior predictions came only from those privy to higher-grade intelligence.

"Young Master, these are Qingluan’s humble observations."

"So Eastern Wilderness reinforcements will arrive imminently?"

"Precisely." Xue Qingluan’s expression turned grave. "The Emperor’s personal expedition demonstrates Tiger-Chasing’s absolute resolve. Having inherited most of Eastern Wilderness’s legacy, the Great Prince won’t retreat honorably."

"Recent troop movements across three battlefronts mirror Eastern Wilderness’s historical reinforcement patterns."

"Estimated timeframe?"

"Within two days, based on mobilization speed."

"Good. Accompany me to Central Camp."

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