Chapter 60: Chapter 14 Awakening Degree 10%
Editor: Larbre Studio

The Taoist Boy cried and wailed, causing an awkward situation for everyone present.

Li Yan tossed a towel over his shoulder and approached the boy, first taking a moment to appraise the boy’s expensive silk Daoist Robe. Only then did he speak.

“What brings the young Mage here?”

Li Yan’s features were far easier on the eyes than Deng Tianxiong’s, and despite the Fierce Chaos Tattoo on his chest, the well-proportioned bones and muscle contours full of vitality could not be overlooked.

The Taoist Boy sniffled and asked in a childish voice, “Are you Li Yan, General Li?”

“Indeed, I am.” Li Yan replied without any change in expression.

The little boy stood up, patting his pristine white Daoist Robe, and then bowed deeply to Li Yan with utmost formality.

“My senior brother heard of General Li’s bravery, especially your heroics in breaking through the encirclement amidst the chaos of battle and returning to camp with a band of valiant soldiers. He admires your courage and noble heart, so he sent me to offer a welcome reception.”

“May I inquire who the brother of the young Mage might be?”

“A high disciple of Heavenly Master Tao, Yi Yu.”

After speaking, the little boy stepped in front of Li Yan, looked up at him with his round, wide eyes, and gestured to a seat nearby, inviting Li Yan to sit down.

Li Yan did as he was gestured, and the Taoist Boy pulled a light purple talisman from his sleeve, formed a hand seal with one hand, and stuck it to Li Yan’s chest.

A pale purple flame burst from the talisman, startling everyone else to step forward.

“Don’t move!”

Li Yan yelled out, his face a mix of surprise and joy.

Only then did everyone realize that, after the flames had passed, all of Li Yan’s various cuts and arrow wounds were healed, the skin restored to its original state without a trace of injury.

At the same time, the light purple talisman faded slightly in color.

Shangxiao Tongbao Purple Gold Nine Divine Flame Talisman

Category: Consumable

Quality: Legendary

???

What surprised Li Yan even more was the flood of information text that emerged in front of his retina.

He composed himself and then instructed, “Help Old Diao up.”

Several people rushed to assist Diao Xiayan to his feet, while Deng Tianxiong showed his gratitude to the Taoist Boy with a gesture of thanks, “We are indebted to the young Heavenly Master.”

Li Yan, meanwhile, moved aside, feeling a burning sensation in his eyelids as a carousel of images flashed before him: the black corpse-eating cat, Nanako, and the black baby, the red-skinned fierce spirits, the bear of black fury behind the spear-wielding commander, and finally, that purple talisman!

An agreeable female voice reached Li Yan’s ears.

“Your exploration of the Yan Fu event worldview has reached over 60%!”

A change of voice?

Li Yan clearly remembered that the last time the Yan Fu event was narrated, it was by a deep, hoarse male voice.

“You have unlocked all of Esteemed Walker’s exploration notes concerning this fruit!”

Name: Li Yan

Proxy: None

Yan Fu Events Completed: 1

Recorded Yan Fu Fruits:

Earth-Jiazi 259 (renameable)

Scale-Ding You Twenty-Four (Yan Fu event ongoing)

Li Yan recalled the words Mo had said.

“Yan Fu, more formally Nanyan Futi, is a legendary tree that nurtures worlds. Each fruit upon the tree represents a brand-new world~”

Li Yan tried to access the first fruit.

“Esteemed Walker, in the previous Yan Fu event, your exploration of the worldview reached 42%, insufficient to acquire the exploration notes of this fruit.”

“Please note! The access to this Yan Fu Fruit has been locked, barring all Esteemed Walkers entry or exit.”

Lock authority signed: Mo, Yu Shiqie, E…”

Li Yan’s gaze flickered for a moment before he opened the second fruit, which was the world he was currently in.

What appeared before him was a scroll of withered black bamboo, carrying the strong style of the pre-Qin period.

“Goddammit, the level of firearm technology in the Southern Ming here is at least fifty years ahead of Redbeard from Holland; it’s inconsistent with the information in my world!”

— Anonymous

“Hehe, this so-called inner strength is indeed deceptive, but the level of cold weaponry is high, which should yield a good amount of high-level close combat specialty essences.”

——Anonymous

“In Xinghua Village, Shanxi Lu’an Prefecture, I encountered the remains of a fish-headed humanoid. This fruit must not be an ordinary non-magical plane fruit.”

——Anonymous

So far, the records are very sparse, with large blank areas on the bamboo slips.

“Dragon Tiger Qi! The Dragon Tiger Qi that can break through the bottleneck of inheritance awakening degree! This is the secret of this fruit! Emperor, nobles, civil officials, military generals, anything works, as long as one receives the official imperial seal, they can obtain this thing!”

——Anonymous

The following bamboo slip seems to be covered with writing, filled with fervor in every word and line.

…

Many of the descriptions that follow are of no significance to Li Yan, who continued to flip through the records.

The last entry.

“Hehe, a gold rush, huh? Without the suppression of the Dragon Tiger Qi, when the time comes, gods and demons will run amok, and this fruit will surely become increasingly fierce.”

——Mountain Ghost

Li Yan pondered for a long time, he gained quite a bit of useful information from these records, but they weren’t of much help with his Yan Fu incident target.

In fact, judging from the notes, his life would have been much easier had it not been for these “ladybug” predecessors of his…

In the end, Li Yan named the fruit from the last incident Judy and then closed these things, turning to look at the crowd gathered around the mat.

Old Diao stroked his belly, slowly getting up, his wounds all healed, and even the scars from past injuries were so faint they were almost invisible.

Li Yan and his party of ten had three men killed in battle, excluding Song Translator, Li Yan had retrieved five lives on this trip; all were now cured of their injuries by the Taoist Boy’s talismans, each one a tough man able to endure, fight, and train again.

Deng Tianxiong flexed his wrists; he had ripped open his wounds repeatedly in the fierce battles before. Even with Li Yan’s Qi Healing Technique, full recovery would have taken a month, but now he was as vigorous as a dragon and fierce as a tiger.

“If we encountered She Mountain’s Red Guards now, it’s still uncertain who would win or lose,” he said in a low voice.

He muttered this to himself.

In the battle of She Mountain, it was almost entirely due to Li Yan’s efforts that they were saved from disaster. Kobayakawa and three Red Guards died at his hand; Diao Xiayan fought the Red Guards with severe injuries, the ferocity he showed when entering the abandoned hut with a human head in hand was moving, while the Ming Army lost two brothers just to take down one Red Guards member. Something that Deng Tianxiong, proud as he was, could hardly accept.

The Taoist Boy handed over a wooden box and a jade amulet.

“The box contains the reward money from my Senior Brother to all of you. As for the jade amulet, my Senior Brother specifically requested to give it to General Li, Li Yan, who killed young Kobayakawa.”

“The Tuanzu Waist Amulet, it has effects of calming the mind, aiding sleep, and dissolving impurity. This Yan Fu Talisman contains the power of Bai Ze and, when used, increases the awakening degree of any inheritance by 7%.”

Li Yan had some doubts in his mind. He didn’t understand why the Heavenly Master Tao from Dragon Tiger Mountain would join the military expedition, and even less so why it would be a Taoist from Heavenly Master Tao bestowing the reward on him.

The Taoist Boy opened the box, revealing three shiny gold ingots inside. The breathing of everyone in the tent became a bit heavier, Li Yan glanced at the faces of his soldiers and chuckled.

“Then I shall graciously accept.”

…

After the delicate-looking Taoist Boy left, Li Yan picked up the ingots and weighed them in his hand.

“Tianxiong, go ahead and distribute it among the men.”

“Then, will you take… forty percent?”

Deng Tianxiong looked at Li Yan’s expression.

These ingots could also be exchanged for Yan Fu points, but Li Yan waved his hand:

“I said back on She Mountain, my share should go to the brothers we lost on the way.” Having said that, Li Yan walked out of the tent, leaving with the words, “I’ll leave it to you to handle, I’m going to take a walk.”

The soldiers in the tent looked at each other, their eyes fixed on the gold in the box, swallowing their saliva.

…

Your inheritance, Gu Huo Bird Spirit, has devoured the power of Bai Ze!

Your current awakening degree of Gu Huo Bird Spirit is 16%

Hook Star status boost as follows: Enhances attack speed and explosive force by 160%!

Your inheritance: Gu Huo Bird Spirit·Hook Star breaks through the 10% peak!

Blood Dip gains a special attribute: Guaranteed Hit, effective range: ten meters

Li Yan quietly savored the slowly strengthening feeling within his flesh and blood, his eyes drifting over a wild grass beside the tent.

It was long into winter. Yet, this grass stubbornly swayed with the wind. A military boot stepped on the plant, drawing Li Yan’s gaze upward.

The man wore loose bell-bottom pants, with eyebrows standing tall like blades.

The two locked eyes for a long while.

“Haha, brother, we meet again!”

Shen Heyan stepped out from behind him, enthusiastically slapped Li Yan on the shoulder.