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Chapter 153: The Fish Spirit Tide
Chapter 153: The Fish Spirit Tide
"Uncle Wan, what brings you here?" Li Yuan was surprised.
Only his family and a few classmates like An Nong and Gu Qianghan knew about his itinerary.
No one else was informed.
"Haha, I was fishing by the lake yesterday and ran into your uncle. We chatted about you," Wan Qinghe laughed. "I only found out you were returning today."
"It's a coincidence that I have to report to the City Martial Palace today. After finishing my business this morning, I thought I'd come and pick you up," Wan Qinghe explained.
"That's quite a coincidence," Li Yuan agreed with a smile. "It's good that I can get home quickly with Uncle Wan's aircraft."
Li Yuan didn't reveal his thoughts about the coincidence. Even if it was a genuine coincidence, Uncle Wan didn't need to come to the airport to pick him up.
The distance from the City Martial Palace to the airport was over ten kilometers.
"Let's go. Since your vacation is short, it's better to get home early. I'll give you a ride," Wan Qinghe offered. "With your rank, you could easily book a Martial Palace aircraft."
"I didn't think of that," Li Yuan laughed.
"Come on."
The two walked through the inspection channel and headed towards a small aircraft parked a few hundred meters away.
...
On the aircraft.
"The situation has deteriorated so much?" Li Yuan listened to Wan Qinghe's account of the Jiangbei situation.
Li Yuan had initiated the conversation.
He wanted to understand the situation.
"Yes, the attacks this year are different from the usual. Since the beginning of the year, when you encountered the young hero, the scale has been increasing. August is the flood season... According to past experience, during the dry season, the Fish Spirit Realm should calm down, but this year, they've intensified their attacks instead," Wan Qinghe nodded.
"Especially in the past month, it's been a chaotic mess. The attack on Jiangcheng City was small-scale, but the situations in Shizhou and Yizhou are dire," Wan Qinghe continued.
Li Yuan nodded slightly, as he had been keeping up with the news and was aware of the general situation.
"The Fish Spirit Tribe is a humanoid species, and they should have sufficient intelligence. Why are they so fearless and aggressive?" Li Yuan frowned.
"The authorities speculate that a new wave of the 'Fish Spirit Tide' is about to erupt," Wan Qinghe sighed.
"Fish Spirit Tide?" Li Yuan was puzzled.
He hadn't heard of it before.
"It's a new concept recently proposed by the Martial Palace."
"As far as I know, the Fish Spirit Tribe warriors you first encountered in the Fish Spirit Realm are similar to the 'worker ants' in ant colonies. They are absolutely obedient to their leader's commands, even if it means their death," Wan Qinghe explained.
"Worker ants?" Li Yuan instantly thought of various possibilities. This type of civilization model is not uncommon among the 'alien civilizations' encountered by human civilization.
"Their reproduction rate seems incredibly fast... In the past few decades, the Fish Spirit Realm has launched three large-scale attacks on Jiangbei Province."
"The first was fifteen years ago."
"Another one was thirty-three years ago."
"The earliest was forty-seven years ago," Wan Qinghe quickly added. "According to records, before each large-scale attack, the number of small-scale attacks would consistently increase."
"About every fifteen years?" Li Yuan asked, his mind racing with thoughts.
"Yes."
"It's speculated that a new wave of the Fish Spirit Tide is about to break out. However, the main direction of the Fish Spirit Tribe's attacks is still unclear. Based on current signs, it seems to be heading towards Shizhou and Yizhou," Wan Qinghe said.
"After all, those areas are closest to the entrance of the Fish Spirit Realm, and there are signs of large-scale Fish Spirit Tribe warrior movements."
"All three historical large-scale attacks occurred within a thousand kilometers of the Fish Spirit Realm's entrance."
Li Yuan nodded slightly.
The speculation made sense.
"Recently, the military and the two Martial Palaces have launched a large-scale operation in Xianghe River. Mechanical armies and Martial Dao Hall warriors from Jiangcheng have been secretly transferred to Shizhou and Yizhou," Wan Qinghe explained.
"What about the other directions in Jiangbei Province?" Li Yuan asked hesitantly.
"There's no other way," Wan Qinghe shook his head. "No one can confirm if the Fish Spirit Tribe will launch the Fish Spirit Tide, and if they do, where the main attack will be directed."
"Our forces are limited, so we can only focus on key areas. If there's a large-scale attack, we'll concentrate our forces to provide support... After all, the Fish Spirit Realm isn't a priority," Wan Qinghe said.
Li Yuan sighed inwardly.
Indeed, there were numerous star realms within Xia Guo, and even more within the entire human civilization.
There were many star realms that posed a greater threat than the Fish Spirit Realm... With limited human civilization resources, they could only focus on key defenses.
Some star realms, like the 'Robo Sea,' required large armies, and the resources consumed in conflicts with alien civilizations were astronomical.
In comparison, the Fish Spirit Realm was indeed less prominent.
"Don't overthink it. Jiangcheng is still relatively safe. Go home and spend time with your uncle and aunt today. Tomorrow at noon, come to my place for lunch," Wan Qinghe suggested with a smile.
"I've also arranged for Teacher Xu to join us. He lives nearby, so it's convenient," Wan Qinghe provided Li Yuan with a reason he couldn't refuse.
"Alright," Li Yuan agreed with a smile.
Soon, the aircraft returned to the Nan Hu Starfire Community and landed at the edge of Li Yuan's villa.
Li Yuan and Wan Qinghe disembarked.
"Uncle Wan, please wait a moment. I have a gift for you, let's take it back together," Li Yuan smiled. "The gift was sent in advance, and I intended to give it to you when I visited you."
At the villa's entrance, Li Changzhou and Chen Hui, who had been notified, greeted them with smiles.
"Uncle, Aunt," Li Yuan said as he put down the package.
And so, Li Yuan received the gift box from Li Changzhou and returned it to Wan Qinghe, "Uncle Wan, I'm not sure what else to bring, but inside is a set of 150th-anniversary alumni memorabilia from Kunlun Martial University."
"I asked the school to recreate this for you," Li Yuan smiled. "Although the anniversary has passed, it's still a memento."
Wan Qinghe was also a graduate of Kunlun Martial University.
"Thank you," Wan Qinghe smiled. He hadn't been able to attend the 150th-anniversary celebration last year.
He was rather regretful about it.
Wan Qinghe had only mentioned it to Li Yuan in passing, never expecting Li Yuan to remember.
Li Yuan had brought him a memento.
"Okay, then I'll take my leave." Wan Qinghe smiled. "Remember to come over tomorrow."
"Alright."
...
Wan Qinghe returned to his villa in the Nan Hu Xinghuo Community.
"Iron Tower," Wan Qinghe adeptly initiated a communication and smiled, "Li Yuan has agreed to come for dinner, so don't decline. Come along."
"Li Yuan has been talking about visiting you non-stop since he was on the aircraft. Why don't you two have a reunion?"
Wan Qinghe ended his communication with Xu Bo.
After some thought, Wan Qinghe sent a message to Song Yi, "Li Yuan has returned to Jiangcheng today."
He turned off his smart ring.
"This Song person owes me another favor," Wan Qinghe thought with a smile.
"Old Master Fei."
"Your status is too high, it's not easy to get close to Li Yuan's family." Wan Qinghe thought to himself, "My status and strength are just right."
"Hey! In some ways, you should learn from me."
...
Upon returning home, Wan Qinghe presented the gift to his uncle and aunt.
The family enjoyed a harmonious lunch, prepared early in the morning by Aunt Chen Hui.
"Uncle, do you often go fishing by the lake?" Li Yuan listened to his uncle's stories about the family while eating.
"Mhm," Li Changzhou nodded and smiled, "This Wan Palace Master may or may not like fishing, but he sure loves to chat."
Li Yuan couldn't help but smile.
His uncle's only hobby was fishing.
"Uncle, it's fine. You can talk about whatever you like." Li Yuan smiled, "In the future, I'll naturally help Uncle Wan whenever I can."
"That's how it should be. He has done a lot for our family," Li Changzhou said.
Slowly,
Li Yuan began to talk about some things at school. Although some things were confidential and couldn't be disclosed, most of the content was still shareable... However, Li Yuan didn't mention that he would be venturing into the Star Realm after the holiday.
Good news can be shared with elders early on, allowing them to be happy for a while.
For example, when Li Yuan returned home, he told his uncle and aunt a week in advance.
But for bad news or dangerous situations, it's best to delay sharing them to minimize their worries.
"Are Qianqian and Muhua staying at school?" Li Yuan asked, puzzled.
"Yes."
"The Martial Palace's affiliated middle school has a rule where, except for Wednesdays, students can only return home for one night on Sundays," Chen Hui explained with a smile, "They can come home tomorrow."
"In that case, I'll go pick them up tomorrow and give them a surprise," Li Yuan smiled.
It had been a long time since he last saw his younger brother and sister.
...
On the first day of returning home, Li Yuan felt particularly joyful. He spent a long time chatting with his uncle and aunt.
After dinner, a guest arrived at the house.
"Palace Master Song?" Li Yuan asked.
"Li Yuan," Song Yi smiled warmly, bringing several gifts.
After some conversation,
It became clear that she had no other purpose but to visit, and she left after less than a quarter of an hour.
"Those who can become Palace Masters are truly perceptive," Li Yuan marveled to himself.
Wan Qinghe was like this, and so was Song Yi.
Li Yuan could see Song Yi's intentions clearly, and he didn't refuse her kindness.
"All I need to do is make myself stronger," Li Yuan saw through her intentions at a glance.
...
Around 9 PM, Uncle and Aunt retired to their rooms.
In the underground martial arts room, the lights were bright.
"It's time to begin a new day of cultivation," Li Yuan smiled. "From now until 7 AM tomorrow, that's ten hours."
It was the same during the holiday.
Other students had social lives, family gatherings, and needed rest, so their cultivation time would decrease significantly. But for Li Yuan... a holiday?
It merely meant changing his cultivation time from all day to half a day.
"At least I can't neglect my visualization technique and source energy absorption," Li Yuan thought to himself.
As for his technique, Li Yuan had already reached the Fourth Stage limit. Even with intense cultivation, breaking through in a short time would be difficult.
A balance between work and relaxation was necessary, and sometimes, taking a break could be beneficial.
However, whether it was mental power growth or physical quality improvement, both required time and patience.
Not a day could be wasted.
"Multiverse Stars," Li Yuan sat in a meditative posture, closed his eyes, and with a thought, he activated the Life Star Vein within his body, causing countless source energies to surge in.
As the source energy circulated, it coursed through his entire body, continuously transforming his muscles and blood.
...
On December 16th, at noon, Li Yuan visited Wan Qinghe's home.
Among the guests were Xu Bo and a deputy palace master, the 'Left Palace Master,' from the Starfire Guanshan Branch Palace.
It was she who had represented the Starfire Martial Palace during Li Yuan's 'Young Hero Commendation Ceremony,' and they were quite familiar.
"Teacher, I heard you joined the 'Patrol Squad,'" Li Yuan listened to Xu Bo's story.
(End of Chapter)
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