I am a high-level martial arts master.

Just as Xiyue said.

Only the day after the lockdown inside and outside Guangming was lifted.

A steward from the neighboring Baibao Pavilion arrived immediately, and the girl was then escorted to the capital by his subordinates.

Before leaving, the deacon of the Acquired Realm stared at the two of them cuddling with a strange look.

Then came a massive collapse, like a mass exodus of refugees.

Guangming City has fallen into complete chaos and disorder.

The once bustling streets are now filled with anxious crowds, the noise of vehicles, and the constant cries and urging.

Wealth and belongings were hastily packed up, and the common people and wealthy merchants who had been imprisoned in Guangming fled frantically.

This world doesn't have the kind of travel permits that were used in ancient times, so escaping is quite convenient.

Away from the hustle and bustle, Ye Li's courtyard was quiet.

The courtyard gate was tightly closed, isolating it from the disturbances of the outside world.

Ye Li sat cross-legged in the quiet room, his heart as still as an ancient well.

Unaffected by the chaos outside, and after a faint sense of melancholy following the girl's departure, Ye Li devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

Previously, in order to fight against the Blood Corpse Disaster and Wei Wanxi, he devoted all his efforts to cultivating the Bone Aperture.

Now that he has some free time, the practice of "Yi Sui Jing" was immediately picked up again and began to be practiced with great difficulty.

Ordinary white and green cultivation techniques are incredibly easy to practice with Ye Li's current physique, and he can achieve perfection in almost a day. However, techniques like the "Marrow Cleansing Classic," which requires marrow cleansing and meridian transformation, are more difficult to practice and take much longer than before.

Of course, this slowness is relative to Ye Li.

For outsiders, it's still an incredibly fast pace that would make them green with envy.

Two days later, the technique was pushed to (500/500) perfection, and then progressed towards perfection according to the effects of the entries. On the tenth day of seclusion, the progress bar of the "Yi Sui Jing" finally reached 1000/500!

A cool, penetrating energy, reaching the deepest part of one's bones, suddenly erupted, washing away all impurities.

Ye Li's bone marrow seemed to have transformed into warm, smooth jade.

The body's ability to produce blood, bone strength, and even its efficiency in absorbing and converting energy have all reached a new level.

"Yi Sui Jing - Perfection" Ten

"Master a skill to perfection and unlock a special attribute enhancement +1."

Ye Li slowly finished his practice, opened his eyes, his gaze filled with a sharp inner light, his spirit full and vigorous.

Looking at the information on the panel, Ye Li breathed a sigh of relief:

"Finally, we succeeded..."

After ten days of seclusion, I finally mastered this technique to perfection.

[White Chalcedony]: Root Bone Aptitude +5%

[Bai Yuling]: Skill experience gain speed +5%

[White Jade Bone]: Increases the success rate of breaking through realm bottlenecks by 5%.

Looking at the results displayed on the entry, Ye Li raised an eyebrow, his eyes showing surprise.

The effect of [White Jade Spirit] can forcibly increase the speed of acquiring cultivation techniques.

In other words, after installing this entry, the time required to practice those techniques will be reduced by 5%!

Whether it's from basic to perfect, or from perfect to flawless, the growth rate is 5%!

The first skill Ye Li abandoned was [Jade Bone], because its effect was to break through bottlenecks, and in the eyes of other martial artists, it would definitely be the first choice.

But does Ye Li, with his extraordinary wisdom, face a bottleneck?

0 multiplied by any number equals 0.

He no longer considers this a useless item, but rather completely ineffective.

But he found it difficult to choose between the remaining two.

One is to increase the speed of cultivation, and the other is to increase the acquisition of cultivation experience.

One is more business-oriented, the other more sporty; it's hard to choose either one.

Just as Ye Li was struggling with the effect of the entry, Zheng Tong's voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

"Li'er!"

Zheng Tong's voice rang out from outside the courtyard, carrying an unusual solemnity, and even implying a subtle sense of awe.

Ye Li composed himself, got up, and pushed open the door to the quiet room.

Sunlight streamed down, illuminating his face, which appeared even more radiant after undergoing a marrow-repairing procedure.

Zheng Tong stood in the courtyard, his brows furrowed and his expression serious.

"Master, what is it?" Ye Li asked, already having a vague premonition in his heart.

Zheng Tong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"Someone from the capital has arrived! They are carrying His Majesty's imperial edict and the Grand Tutor's gold-embroidered warrant, and they specifically request that you depart immediately to the capital to meet the Emperor!" "It may be about the National Fortune Tournament following the Ten Cities Grand Competition."

As Zheng Tong recounted the story, Ye Li suddenly remembered that there really was such a thing.

The city lord of Yan City had mentioned that his achievements had broken previous records, so he might be invited to the capital. Little did he know that his words would come true.

He frowned almost imperceptibly for a moment, then relaxed, nodded, and spoke calmly:

"Very well, I was planning to finish up my business in the next few days and then head to the capital. I didn't expect the response from the capital to be so quick, which saved me a lot of trouble."

In the center of Guangming City, Wei Guanlan, the eunuch of the Xia Kingdom's Directorate of Ceremonial, sat in the city lord's mansion.

Holding the golden warrant, he rode swiftly to Guangming.

At this moment, City Lord Li Guancai was by his side, talking with him.

Recalling everything he had seen on his way here, his thin eyebrows furrowed, and he said in a slightly sharp voice:

"Lord Li, what disaster has befallen Guangming? How has it come to this state?"

"Replying to Your Excellency, a group of post-natal blood corpses from another country previously wreaked havoc in our city, but they have been wiped out by the concerted efforts of the entire city. The relevant information and the extent of the damage have already been reported to the Emperor recently," Li Guancai said calmly.

Wei Guanlan nodded indifferently, showing no concern for such matters.

Anyway, we're going to lose this national destiny tournament. Guangming is already on the edge of Xia Kingdom, and it'll probably be separated from us. Since that's the case, so be it. As long as we pay all the taxes we owe before that, it doesn't matter.

Just as the two were talking, Zheng Tong led Ye Li into the mansion from outside.

Upon seeing Ye Li, Li Guancai's eyes lit up and he said, "Eunuch Cao, this is Ye Li, the champion of the Yan City Grand Competition. He is exceptionally talented and will surely become a pillar of the Great Xia in the future."

"Hmm." Wei Guanlan glanced indifferently at Ye Li, who was following behind Zheng Tong.

He had a handsome appearance, dressed in white, and walked with his head held high, exuding confidence from within.

These outstanding individuals from remote areas were in no way inferior to the talented young people he had met in Kyoto.

Ye Li calmly met Wei Guanlan's scrutinizing gaze, nodded slightly in greeting, and his clear voice echoed in the hall:

"Ye Li is here."

"Very well, Ye Li, is that right?"

Wei Guanlan, holding a teacup, said in a matter-of-fact tone:

"Kneel down to receive the imperial decree!"

Quiet

Ye Li's expression changed slightly after hearing this, and he met the gaze of Li Guancai, who was standing next to Wei Guanlan.

However, the Lord of Guangming City showed no sign of displeasure and gestured to Ye Li to quickly accept the imperial decree.

"I'm sorry, sir."

Ye Li smiled and said:

"I'm just a country bumpkin, my knees can't bend, I can't kneel down."

"Please, Your Excellency, simply read out the imperial edict!"

[Requesting monthly votes]

[Requesting votes]

(Still three chapters, 8000 words each. It seems like I've already added all the extra chapters I was supposed to. You rascals! Where are your monthly votes? Hurry up!)

(I don't know whether to choose chalcedony or jade spirit, you guys pick one, the one with the most comments will be Ye Li's entry.)