Breakthrough

In a small room within the courtyard, Yu Yan sat across from Lu Sheng who stood straight like a pole.

"Did you get the march routine?" He asked.

"Yes, Master," Lu Sheng replied, according to what Yu Yan had taught him.

"Good," Yu Yan nodded with a smile.

"From today, those twenty soldiers are your responsibility. There will be no more leniencies for females, and I'll be checking on them from time to time. I don't care if you slack, but if I see even one of them with a crease in their collar during assembly or a misstep during a march, I will reduce your salary by one gold coin until there's nothing left," Yu Yan ordered calmly.

Naturally, before giving Lu Sheng this …borderline cruel routine, he had increased the salary for the squad. Previously earning 2 gold coins, which was equal to what mid-sized clans paid their guards, he had increased it to twenty gold coins for the members and fifty for Lu Sheng, which was a ridiculous amount for normal families. A single gold coin was enough to feed three people for three months! The Yu Clan was already generous in paying mid-clan wages while having small clan requirements, but now, he was paying almost as high as the Imperial Family!

"Yes, Master," Lu Sheng gulped at the threat.

There were twenty soldiers in the squad, if Yu Yan decided to do a check by the next day, wasn't that 20 coins gone?

"I'll give you a week to bring them up to standard." Yu Yan, naturally seeing through his thoughts, comforted the young man, but Lu Sheng's expression turned even more pitiful.

The routines Yu Yan had given him. . . For non cultivators. . . But who was he to complain to a Legacy.

"Dismissed." Yu Yan waved, and Lu Sheng saluted by placing a fist over his heart before leaving.

Yu Yan's expression turned wistful but with a bit of regret.

"If only I knew how soldiers actually trained" he had utilized his connections to get out of compulsory training back in his world. Many thought it was impossible, but they just didn't have enough money while he did.

He was about to say something to his attendants when he noticed Zi Han's uncomfortable expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked curiously.

As if given a new lease on life, Zi Han immediately started, his face turning extremely bitter.

"Young Master, although you haven't spent much of your allowance because of your previous condition, we still won't be able to afford this for more than two months!"

The Yu Clan was just a small clan that had control over a mine! Although the deposit now seemed to be worth a lot more than those controlled by the government, the Yu Clan was too small to fully utilize it!

They were rich, but they had no way to spend the money or increase their wealth, which meant they weren't that keen on mining! They just did it casually. Yu Yan was only a Legacy among four, and there were many others for the clan to take care of; his allowance wasn't so much that he could be willful.

"Then I just have to become Patriarch right?" Yu Yan replied nonchalantly before getting up. He decided to take a walk through the clan and see how things truly worked.

The work of the Yu Clan was quite simple; the Direct lineage of the clan, which made up eighty percent, resided on the mountain alongside Attendants who were graduates from Braveheart Academy. An organization run by the Yu Clan to give commoners the immortal opportunity.

The rest of the Yu Clan with diluted bloodlines resided outside the Clan in the nearby capital where they operated most of the clan businesses. Mining was left to the direct line of the Yu Clan.

The Deacons took care of the Clan's various Halls while the Elders above the Deacons were like protectors of the Clan, although above them were the actual hidden protectors, which included former Elders, Legacies, or even Patriarchs who decided to stay away from the limelight for various reasons.

Yu Yan eventually found himself in the Hall of Records.

"Glorified library" he muttered to himself as he entered.

"Third Master," a middle-aged woman greeted by the entrance to the library.

Yu Yan frowned as he did not know her but he felt an intense but subdued Qi from her body.

"You can read any book without the Library's first floor. The second floor contains cultivation experiences; you can read there, too, but you have to record your own experiences and present them to the Second Floor Deacon. The third floor has cultivation techniques; you can select any from there, but to take it out, you have to register with me here. Records from the third floor to the fifth cannot be taken out without permission from an Elder. As for the second and first floor, memorize the name of the Record and the floor Deacon will give you a copy"

Nodding to show he understood the confusing rules, he headed in. The Zi brothers expected him to head for the stairs but he actually stopped there and started selecting books on general knowledge from the shelves.

Although the system claimed to give him general knowledge, all he actually got was the 'common sense' of this world. He didn't even know who the Emperor was or what generation the Yu Clan was at.

For the next few days, Yu Yan spent his time reading in the library to understand the general situation of the world. Fortunately, while the Yu Clan was only a small clan, they had high standards in the way they managed things. He attributed this discrepancy to the Yu Clan ancestor who was a teacher to the Princess in the past.

The Hall of Records was called so because every major event that happened in the Western Continent was recorded there; techniques, cultivation methods, even those proven to be faked and useless, were recorded too. It truly lived up to its name. He learned later that the Yu Clan had the most accurate record of history aside from the Royal Family; it was one of the ways they aligned themselves with stronger powers. By providing records, they spread favors among many unaffiliated cultivators.

****

While Yu Yan was spending most of his time in the Library, his small squad of twenty soldiers caught a lot of attention within the clan. Their morning march startled many Yu Clan youngsters while the Deacons tried to intercept them. But given Yu Yan's status, especially his support from the Sixth Elder, there was nothing anyone could do but get used to the visual of twenty-one men performing drills in the Yu Clan training ground.

Although Yu Yan said he would check on the troops in a week, he didn't go through with it. He knew it was an impossible task to change the mindset of people and he wasn't determined to do so either. It was just an offhanded test from him.

The day of the Patriarch selection was drawing closer and Yu Yan was spending more and more time in the Hall of Records, scaring himself with the records of clans and towns being wiped out as collateral when powerful cultivators fought.

During this time he also met up more with Mei Hua Lin and learned more about the Clear Heart and surrounding Sects.

A few days before the Patriarch selection, Yu Yan was cultivating within the Pocket World when he felt a strange sensation wash over him. He felt as if his body had been incomplete and, at this moment, achieved a strange sense of perfection. The mist around him formed a whirl, and the space started to expand, only stopping once it was double its previous size. The soil changed as the mist sank into it turning it a deep brown color. Likewise, the sprout in the middle and the sleeping beast all absorbed most of the mist and went through varying changes, the beast showing signs of waking up.

Yu Yan slowly opened his eyes and felt the changes within his body, a contented feeling in his heart as he felt pride and satisfaction at his growth.

"Qi Condensation realm" he muttered to himself. It had barely been two months since he started cultivation and he had already broken through to the Qi Condensation realm. Normally, it would take one up to a year to break through to Qi Condensation from the Body Tempering realm as long as they had enough earthly treasures to support their cultivation. Yu Yan's speed could be considered fast and also not.

The Body Tempering realm was the easiest realm in cultivation; as long as they had a cultivation method, even mortals without spirit roots could cultivate it to the peak. While this was possible, it rarely happened, because mortals could not afford the cost of treasures.

But starting from Qi Condensation, things became less simple. The factors that determined one's cultivation speed included talent, location, cultivation method, bloodline, and luck.

Closing his eyes once again, Yu Yan started to channel Qi into his body, but this time, instead of using it to break down his flesh and bones, he allowed the Qi to flow into his meridians in the route directed by the Immortal Tome.

After getting a feel of it for a few minutes, he stopped. It was too slow!

Even with Serenity and the mist around him full of that strange Qi, it was still too slow.

Opening his eyes, he decided to check the changes his breakthrough had given him. As he felt the sensation of the Qi Condensation Realm First Layer, Yu Yan sensed a thin ripple on the surface of his body.

"Is this the defense from Undying Sage?"

His physique gave him defense two layers stronger than his cultivation levels, but he had never felt its presence. Turns out it was only activated from the Qi Condensation realm.

It made sense as Body Tempering could not be considered a real cultivation stage.

Sensing the intensity of Qi making up the shield, a smile formed on Yu Yan's face. It was equal to the third layer of Qi Condensation. His physique gave him a strong body but also this shield that was two layers higher than his cultivation; what would happen when he reached the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer? Would he get the defense of the next realm? He was looking forward to it.