As was his custom, after completing his morning exercises and circulating his vital energy, Jiang Wang escorted Jiang An’an to the academy. He then headed outside the city to bid farewell to Du Yehhu.

In these times, embarking on a long journey was no easy matter, but a hardship fraught with the pain of parting and the shadow of death.

The reason humans clustered together in villages, settled in towns, and found security in cities was largely due to the inexhaustible number of wild beasts, and even the ferocious beasts and demon beasts lurking in the mountains and wilderness.

Towns and cities were safe havens, as were the official roads. This wasn’t to say that the array patterns etched onto the official roads were infallible; the Zhuang court couldn’t possibly afford, nor was it capable of such a monumental undertaking. In reality, the effects of these array patterns were mostly deterrents.

A more effective measure was the Zhuang court’s periodic dispatch of powerful cultivators to clear these roads – officially called “plowing the land” – to ensure that those unintelligent but instinctively sharp ferocious beasts remembered the danger and dared not approach easily.

With Du Yehhu’s strength, as long as he stuck to the official roads, he would be in little danger.

When Jiang Wang arrived at the city outskirts, Zhao Rucheng and Linghe were already there, but no one else. Of the brothers, Du Yehhu was the most outgoing and had the most friends, but he disliked sentimental displays. Therefore, he hadn’t informed anyone else about his joining the army, but had entrusted Linghe to convey the message afterward.

A table laden with wine and dishes was set up in the open field, undoubtedly Zhao Rucheng’s doing.

Jiang Wang retrieved the *Four Spirits Body Refining Art*, which he had painstakingly copied out the night before, from his bosom and handed it to Du Yehhu.

Du Yehhu only flipped through two pages before his tiger-like eyes lit up. “Third Brother, this is a treasure!”

“Let me see, let me see,” Zhao Rucheng said with great curiosity as he leaned closer.

But after reading only a few lines, he turned his head away. “Body refining? That must be exhausting.”

“Such an amazing cultivation method!” Du Yehhu scolded him with disappointed frustration. “Just read a few more lines and you won’t be able to bear putting it down.”

Although he immediately recognized this cultivation method as a complete and improved version of the White Tiger Body Refining Art, he didn’t ask Jiang Wang about its origin. When Jiang Wang wanted to speak about it, he would naturally do so. Everyone had their own secrets, even Jiang An’an had her own little secrets she didn’t want to reveal, there was no need to pry.

He also had no intention of monopolizing it. He had fallen in love with this cultivation method at first sight, and he hoped that the other brothers wouldn’t miss out on it either.

Zhao Rucheng waved his hand dismissively. “Too long, didn’t read.”

Du Yehhu turned to Linghe, who shook his head. “I’m currently focused on stabilizing my Tongtian Palace with my pulse opening. I can’t afford to be distracted by other cultivation methods for now.”

He was a cautious and steady person, taking things one step at a time. With the combined merit points of the brothers, they were only twenty or so points away from getting him into the realm of extraordinary. These days, he had been taking on tasks, but tasks of high quality were difficult for him to handle, and he mostly followed his senior brothers around, doing some peripheral work. As a result, he earned very few merit points, usually one or two at a time, sometimes even nothing at all. But no matter what, he was ultimately getting closer and closer to the path of transcendence.

Jiang Wang then said with a smile, “I will also use this cultivation method for body refining. When we meet again, we’ll see who has cultivated it to a deeper level.”

“My swordsmanship talent is inferior to yours, but this military cultivation method… hehe, you just wait and see!” Du Yehhu said with great confidence.

“Then, see you in Xin’an!”

“See you in Xin’an!”

Jiang Wang and the others would naturally go to Xin’an City on the day they entered the State Academy. And for Du Yehhu to go to Xin’an City, he would have to become at least a general of real power in the Nine Rivers Black Armor before he could go to the Zhuang capital for military exercises.

Such grand imaginings of the future were all contained within the casual words of young men.

The brothers ate a few bites and chatted for a while. Apart from Linghe, who never drank, the remaining three each drank three large bowls as a farewell, but no one shed any tears.

Then, Du Yehhu raised another bowl of wine in the southwest direction, but said nothing, simply pouring it out.

Everyone knew who he was saying goodbye to.

Du Yehhu would be leaving for Nine Rivers from the south gate, taking the official road. And the small path leading to the Green Willow River was in the southwest direction.

The Nine Rivers Black Armor recruitment had the open support of the Ministry of War and the academies, as this army could be said to be the face of the Zhuang Kingdom. Therefore, he didn’t need to go through too many procedures to leave the city and the academy.

Everything that needed to be said had already been said. One must eventually part after sending a friend a thousand *li*.

“I’m off!”

In the end, Du Yehhu only said this one sentence, before carrying his bundle and embarking on his journey empty-handed.

At that moment, there was no wind or rain, and the clouds gradually parted.

And autumn was coming to an end.

…

Lin Zhenglun, as a member of a branch family of the Wangjiang City Lin family, had been in the limelight recently.

First, he married a widow and was ridiculed by others, but he didn’t care. After the marriage, the couple was loving and harmonious. After only a few days, he broke into the medicinal herb market of Fenglin City. In the commercially oriented Wangjiang City, this undoubtedly earned him considerable recognition and allowed him to start controlling the internal medicinal herb business of the Lin family.

It was said that a branch family member might become a direct descendant, and a sparrow might become a phoenix.

Only then did people realize that the widow he married was no ordinary woman. She came with a dowry! The medicinal herb shop with the best reputation in the entire Fengxi Town.

Who didn’t know that the medicinal herb business of Fenglin City depended entirely on the harvest of Fengxi Town? And in Fengxi Town, the Jiang’s Medicinal Herb Shop was well-known and held a leading position. Of course, it was now surnamed Lin.

In the past, the Lin family had tried every means to squeeze into the medicinal herb market of Fenglin City, but it was difficult to make progress. No one had expected that Lin Zhenglun would take a different approach and break the deadlock with a marriage. This made many people regret their hindsight. After all, the widow herself was quite attractive, not to mention the benefits she brought.

In Wangjiang City, there was the Wangjiang Tower. Sitting in the Wangjiang Tower and looking into the distance, the magnificent Qingjiang River writhed like a dragon before one’s eyes.

Lin Zhenglun sat in the main seat, exchanging toasts with his newly acquainted friends, and listening to the tidal wave of flattery from those present, he was extremely pleased.

Step, step, step!

The sound of footsteps going upstairs was so clear. Lin Zhenglun turned his head, about to see who was so ignorant. He, Lin, the great businessman, had clearly booked this entire floor.

At this sight, those sitting with him had already stood up one after another.

“Young Master Lin.”

“Young Master Lin!”

There were many young masters with the surname Lin, but there was only one who could make so many prominent figures bow and scrape: Lin Zhengli, the direct descendant of the Lin family patriarch and the appointed future patriarch of the Lin family.

Lin Zhenglun subconsciously wanted to get up, but he forcibly restrained himself. He remained seated and said with a smile, “Young Brother Zhengli, why are you free to come to Wangjiang Tower today? I’ve already booked this floor, so you can play as you like. The expenses are all on my account.”

Yes, in terms of seniority, he was still this Young Master Lin’s elder brother. In the past, when he was of low status and light influence, there was nothing to say. Now, with great merit, he had joined the direct line of descent. Therefore, it was right to discuss seniority and arrange seating.

Even though he couldn’t compete with Lin Zhengli for the inheritance of the Lin family patriarch position, he was about to control the entire family’s medicinal herb business, so he naturally had the confidence to sit and talk.

Hearing this, the young masters following behind Lin Zhengli all smiled. They were all the sons of various powerful figures. Even though their smiles were inexplicable, Lin Zhenglun didn’t dare to say anything.

Lin Zhengli himself, however, was very calm. He bowed to Lin Zhenglun and said, “Brother Zhenglun is too polite.”

At Lin Zhenglun’s enthusiastic invitation, Lin Zhengli sat down and smiled. “I haven’t had much of a chance before. Since I’ve happened to meet you today, I have something to say to my brother.”

Lin Zhenglun glanced around with self-satisfaction, as if to say, “Look, everyone, how respectful the future patriarch of the Lin family is to me.”

But he deliberately said modestly, “Young Brother Zhengli, you’re too polite. You can say anything. As your elder brother, I’m a few years older and have some life experience to share with you.”

“That’s good,” Lin Zhengli said with a smile. “Has the medicinal herb business in Fenglin City been consolidated yet?”

This question hit the nail on the head, and Lin Zhenglun laughed loudly. “With your brother taking action, how could I fail? Young Brother Zhengli, just watch, in three or two years, the medicinal herbs of the entire Fenglin City area will be surnamed Lin!”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Lin Zhengli said, nodding repeatedly. “In that case, brother can rest assured and go to Autumn Garden to recuperate.”

“That’s right!” Lin Zhenglun subconsciously echoed, then immediately reacted. “Wh… what?!”

Autumn Garden had a nice name, but it was just a place for the elderly and widows of the clan to spend their remaining days. What age was he, Lin Zhenglun? How could he be going to spend his days there already?

“Young Brother Zhengli, don’t joke like that,” Lin Zhenglun said with a forced smile.

Lin Zhengli’s smile disappeared. “I never joke. I will personally take over the medicinal herb business.”

The young masters who had come upstairs with him laughed again. Their laughter was light, but it sounded heavy.

The autumn wind blew across the surface of the Qingjiang River and into Wangjiang Tower, blowing on Lin Zhenglun’s body.

He realized that he couldn’t resist.

Only now did he feel cold.

So it was already late autumn, he thought.