The fairy forced me to marry into her family, so I retorted by throwing myself into the Pool of Fate

The next day, before dawn, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Li Ping had just completed one cycle of his practice when he opened his eyes, got up, and opened the door.

A disciple of the Mu family stood outside the door, dressed in a short blue robe, and bowed to Li Ping.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Senior Brother Fang Xu invites you to the Linhai Courtyard for a meeting."

Li Ping nodded: "Wait a moment."

He went back to his room, tidied himself up briefly, and then followed the disciple out the door.

The market was quiet in the early morning, and the stone-paved road was still damp with the sea mist from the previous night.

The two walked through two alleys one after the other and arrived at the seaside courtyard.

At this moment, there were already seven or eight people in the courtyard.

Li Ping glanced at them; he recognized most of these people—they were all captains of various patrol teams.

Those who can become captains are either in the late stage of Qi Refining or have extensive experience.

The former wins people over with their abilities, while the latter relies on seniority.

Li Ping, however, did not indulge in either.

With a cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi Refining, he was at the bottom among the team leaders, not to mention his seniority. He had only been married into the Mu family for two years and had only been in Xikou Market for a little over half a year.

Li Ping pondered for a moment, and a guess formed in his mind.

People in the courtyard were standing in twos and threes talking. When Li Ping came in, some nodded, some glanced at him and then looked away, and some didn't even notice him.

Li Ping didn't mind, found a stone stool in a corner to sit down, and waited quietly.

A few moments later, five more people arrived.

Li Ping counted them; there were fourteen people in total.

The Mu family has a total of 24 patrol captains in Xikou Market, and a little more than half of them came today.

It seems that not all team leaders participated in this operation.

Just then, the door to the inner room was pushed open, and Mu Fangxu walked out.

Today he was wearing a dark blue robe with a black belt around his waist, making him look smart and capable.

When everyone saw him come out, they stopped talking and looked at him.

Mu Fangxu looked around, his gaze lingered on Li Ping for a moment, he nodded slightly, and then looked away.

"Gentlemen, the reason for gathering you here is to clear out the bandits surrounding the market."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone asked in confusion, "Senior Brother Fang Xu, weren't the Tribulation Cultivators cleaned up just last year? Why do we need to clean them up again?"

Mu Fangxu glanced at the man, a middle-aged man in his forties named Mu Guang, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining and was considered a veteran among the team leaders.

"This time is different," Mu Fangxu said. "Last time we cleaned up the surface-level Tribulation Cultivators, this time we're specifically cleaning up the 'stubborn problems' that we didn't get rid of last time."

These words immediately sparked a murmur in the courtyard.

The group looked at each other, their expressions varied.

The so-called "stubborn problem" refers to those old, cunning cultivators.

These people have been in the Black Sea for countless years and know this area like the back of their hand.

They knew exactly where the reefs were, where the sea caves were, and where they could hide.

During the last raid, these old foxes either fled beforehand or hid in some nook or cranny. The disciples who were searching were exhausted, but they didn't even catch a glimpse of them.

In the end, when the results were tallied, most of those killed and captured were newcomers who had just entered the industry; not a single veteran thief was caught.

This has always been a thorn in everyone's side.

As a result, some people questioned it on the spot.

"Senior Brother Fang Xu, is this time we've all just made a wasted trip?"

The speaker was a tall, thin man with prominent cheekbones and gleaming golden eyes.

Li Ping recognized him as Mu Jizhou, who was at the eighth level of Qi Refining and was one of the veterans among the team leaders.

Upon hearing this, several captains who had participated in the previous crackdown nodded in agreement.

Mu Fangxu waved his hand dismissively and said calmly, "No need to worry. I am fully prepared this time. Just go back and inform the team, and wait for guidance. There's no need to wander around; we'll go straight for the enemy's lair."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up.

The meaning of this statement couldn't be clearer: Mu Fangxu now possessed accurate intelligence, not the vague "I heard there are Tribulation Cultivators appearing somewhere," but a concrete and precise location.

Mu Guang couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother Fang Xu, where did this information come from? Is it reliable?"

Mu Fangxu glanced at him, but did not answer. He simply said, "I have my own channels."

Upon hearing this, Mu Guang immediately shut his mouth.

At that moment, someone asked, "Senior Brother Fang Xu, what about the reward?"

"The same old rules apply: a Tribulation Cultivator is guaranteed at least 50 contribution points, and if their cultivation reaches the late Qi Refining stage, they will receive an additional 100 contribution points."

Everyone nodded, their faces showing satisfaction.

Mu Fangxu then gave a few more instructions, telling everyone to go back and organize their teams, check their magical artifacts and pills, and be ready to be deployed at any time.

Everyone took notes and then dispersed.

Li Ping also stood up, preparing to leave.

Just as he turned around, he suddenly heard Mu Fangxu's voice transmission in his ear: "Li Ping, stay here for a moment."

Li Ping paused, and only after everyone else had left did he turn around and go into the inner room.

The inner room was small and simply furnished.

A wooden table, two chairs, and a nautical chart hanging on the wall, marking the sea area hundreds of miles around Xikou Market.

Mu Fangxu sat behind the table, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

Seeing Li Ping come in, he smiled and handed over the paper: "Take a look."

Li Ping took it, looked down, and saw that the paper was covered with dense writing, all of which was intelligence about Mandu and Feng Yuan.

He read on, line by line, and the more he read, the more alarmed he became.

This information is far too detailed.

The magical implements, personality, habitual tricks, hiding places, number of subordinates, and even interpersonal relationships are all clearly described.

This isn't intelligence; it's like they've completely exposed the true nature of Mandu and Feng Yuan.

Seeing that he had finished reading, Mu Fangxu smiled and said, "I specifically picked these two out for you. Are you confident in your abilities?"

"I certainly wouldn't have been confident before," Li Ping said, raising his head calmly. "But now that I've broken through, these two are no longer a threat."

Mu Fangxu looked at him with a mixture of scrutiny and satisfaction in his eyes.

After a moment, he nodded and said, "I have faith in your abilities."

However, these two are quite skilled and not to be trifled with. You should still be careful; I don't want to see you get hurt.

Li Ping's lips curled slightly as he said, "I'm not a greenhorn who only knows how to fight alone. With Mu Ming and the other two cooperating, we can catch each other off guard. It'll be fine."

Mu Fangxu didn't reply. Instead, he reached out and patted the storage bag at his waist, and a long sword appeared in his hand.

The sword is two feet and seven inches long, and its entire body is blue-green like jade.

The sword has faint frost patterns flowing along its blade, its spiritual energy restrained, yet it gives people an extremely sharp feeling.

"This sword is named Qing Shuang." Mu Fangxu handed over the sword. "It is a high-grade magic weapon. Its sword light is sharp and concentrated. When it hits, it can cause the opponent's magic power to stagnate slightly."

Li Ping took the sword, and the moment he held it, a chilling sensation came from the hilt and spread along his arm to his entire body.

He looked down and saw that the patterns on the sword were slowly flowing, as if they had come to life.

With a gentle swing, the blade sliced ​​through the air, producing a crisp sound.

"A fine sword."

Li Ping withdrew his gaze and looked at Mu Fangxu: "If I give it to you, what are you going to do?"

Mu Fangxu waved his hand: "I'm here coordinating things, so I don't need it. I'll return the sword when I get back."

Li Ping remained silent for a moment before putting the Frost Sword into his storage bag.

When I returned to the courtyard, it was already broad daylight.

Li Ping stood in the courtyard for a while, then went into the house and called Mu Ming and the other two over.

The three of them entered Li Ping's room and each found a place to sit down.

Mu Junyi plopped down on the prayer mat and asked curiously, "Brother Li, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Li Ping didn't waste any words and said directly, "Senior Brother Fang Xu convened a meeting of the team leaders this morning to discuss how to clear out the bandits around the market."

He briefly recounted Mu Fangxu's words, and the three of them were all invigorated upon hearing them.

Mu Junyi jumped up from the futon, his eyes shining: "I've been so bored these past few days, staying indoors every day, I'm practically rusting."

Mu Ming remained calm, but a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

Mu Chengyuan clenched his fist, pursed his lips and didn't say anything, but the excitement on his face was impossible to hide.

Li Ping nodded inwardly as he observed the three people's reactions.

I'm not afraid of wolf-like opponents, but I'm afraid of pig-like teammates.

Although Mu Ming and his two companions were not top-tier in terms of cultivation, they excelled in their excellent teamwork and were both bold and meticulous.

Mu Ming, in particular, is experienced, calm in the face of adversity, and a very capable person.

He first looked at Mu Junyi and asked, "Is your injury completely healed?"

A month ago, thanks to the efforts of Li Ping and Mu Fangxu, they successfully asked someone to buy a portion of the Cold Lotus Root from Qingfeng City.

After taking the medicine, Mu Junyi's blood evil energy was removed from his body. He has not been patrolling for some time and has been resting in the courtyard.

Mu Junyi patted his chest and said casually, "Don't worry, it's all better now."

Li Ping looked at his complexion; his face was rosy and his voice was full of energy, indicating that he had indeed recovered.

He nodded, then looked at Mu Ming: "I was supposed to lead the team, but Brother Ming has more experience than me, so I'll have to give you lots of advice."

Mu Ming smiled upon hearing this. He knew Li Ping's abilities and had no objection to Li Ping being the captain.

After a moment's thought, he said, "The four of us are at the sixth level of Qi Refining, the fifth level, and the eighth level. In terms of cultivation, we can only be considered below average among the twenty-four teams, but we have our own advantages."

"What advantages?" Mu Junyi asked.

Mu Ming glanced at Li Ping and smiled, "Of course it's Brother Li."

Mu Junyi was taken aback, then realized: "That's right, Brother Li's strength cannot be calculated based on his cultivation level."

Li Ping waved his hand, not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer.

He reached into his pocket, took out the piece of paper, and spread it on the table: "Our first target is Mandu."

The three of them huddled together and looked down.

The densely packed small characters on the paper clearly explained the details of Mandu.

Mu Ming read through the lines one by one, his expression gradually becoming serious.

He looked up at Li Ping: "Is this intelligence reliable?"

"It was given to me by Senior Brother Fang Xu," Li Ping said.

Since it was given by Mu Fangxu, its reliability was beyond doubt, so Mu Ming didn't ask any more questions.

The four of them sat around the table, looking at the information about Mandu over and over again.