My dreams can simulate the future.

After Hou Ming's marriage was settled, Jiang Chen went straight to the Garrison Command to collect the token for an outer disciple of the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Upon arriving at the garrison headquarters, he immediately went to the Hundred Arts Room to pay his respects to Zhao Changzhou.

At this moment, in the main hall of the Garrison Command's Hundred Arts Department, besides Zhao Changzhou, there was also a young man with a cold and stern face.

Jiang Chen immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Steward Zhao, greetings, Lord Shangzong."

Zhao Changzhou immediately took out a brass token: "Your disciple token has been delivered. From now on, you are also a disciple of the Golden Cauldron Sect. You can call me Senior Brother Zhao."

He then pointed to the stern-faced young man and said, "This is Li Wusheng of the Guardian Hall, the personal disciple of the Guardian Hall Master. He is thirty-one years old and has reached the peak of Qi Refining."

Over the years, Jiang Chen has gained a fairly good understanding of the situation of the Golden Cauldron Sect.

To become a hall master, one must at least have the cultivation level of the early Core Formation stage. The guard hall masters are mainly responsible for combat, and their cultivation and strength are generally the highest among all hall masters.

This Li Wusheng is a genuine Core Formation disciple. He's only in his early thirties, yet he's already at the peak of Qi Refining, so his talent is naturally exceptional.

Jiang Chen immediately bowed and greeted Senior Brother Li.

Li Wusheng simply nodded coldly without saying a word.

Zhao Changzhou immediately tried to smooth things over: "Junior Brother Li is a sword cultivator, and his personality is too upright. He doesn't like social interactions."

He came here for two reasons: first, to escort new disciples into the sect; and second, to deliver the Heart-Searching Talisman and investigate Sun Yulin's case.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Wusheng's cold voice rang out: "We will depart at Chenshi (7-9 AM) in three days. We will not wait for those who are late."

Having said that, he stepped out of the Hundred Arts Room.

Zhao Changzhou looked a little embarrassed: "Junior Brother Jiang, please don't take offense. That's just his personality, but he's still a good person."

"Don't think he has an extraordinary background just because he has reached the peak of Qi Refining at a young age and is a disciple personally taught by the hall master."

Actually, he was also a rogue cultivator, and he came from our Black Stone Mountain Market.

Five years ago, he was conscripted to Changyuan Mountain to defend against the attack of the demon race, and he shone brightly in Changyuan Mountain.

With his Qi Refining Level 5 cultivation, he slew a high-ranking first-grade demonic beast and even grasped a trace of nascent sword intent.

"That's how he was discovered by the head of the guards stationed at Changyuan Mountain, who then took him in as a disciple."

After that, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. Just half a year ago, with his peak Qi Refining cultivation, he killed a disciple of the Ghost Soul Sect who was in the early Foundation Establishment stage, making a great contribution.

Now, he is the manager of the Guard Hall.

"All the disciples in the Guardian Hall are from outside the sect. If you cultivate a good relationship with them, you'll reap many benefits in the future."

Jiang Chen immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Zhao."

Zhao Changzhou nodded and handed him the disciple token: "This disciple token is also a magic artifact. You can use the same method as other magic artifacts to recognize their owners."

Jiang Chen accepted the token, which was very similar in design to the patrol token. The front featured a relief of a four-legged square cauldron, while the back was engraved with the words "[Jiang Chen, outer disciple of the Talisman Hall]" in small characters.

However, this token is made of refined copper, while the patrol token is made of black iron.

Over the next two days, Jiang Chen tidied up all the things he needed at home and gave away anything he didn't need to Hou Ming.

He also gave Hou Ming the new house in the Northwest Ward.

Upon learning that Jiang Chen was leaving, Hou Ming and Li Jia Nu's wedding was moved up.

[Day 17 of the Dream]

Early that morning, Jiang Chen bid farewell to his relatives and friends at the dock.

Then, together with more than ten Qi Refining cultivators, they boarded a shuttle-shaped fast boat more than ten zhang long under the guidance of Li Wusheng.

The shuttle boat is long and slender, with average cargo capacity, but it is very suitable for quickly transporting troops.

The dozen or so Qi Refining cultivators on the ship were all cultivators who had recently joined the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Some of them, like Jiang Chen, were recommended by the garrison commander and Commander Meng to join the Golden Cauldron Sect.

Others worked for ten years in the industries under the Jin Ding Sect before they could join the sect.

After everyone boarded the boat, the speedboat headed north along the Baisha River.

The Baisha River is quite large; the river channel near the Black Stone Mountain Market is over twenty zhang wide and the water is quite deep, with no bottom in sight.

The light boats and fast boats went downstream at a great speed, covering seventy or eighty li in an hour.

Looking at the white waves at the stern, Jiang Chen felt a little more relaxed.

"At this speed, it will only take three hours to reach the mouth of the Baisha River and enter the Jinlin River."

There was a Golden Scale Market there, overseen by a Core Formation cultivator from the Golden Cauldron Sect. Once they arrived, the Black Stone Society dared not act rashly.

An hour passed quickly, and the river ahead suddenly widened, the water became shallower, and the flow slowed down considerably.

Both banks were covered with reed beds, and many reeds even emerged from the water on the river surface. Only in the narrow waterway, several meters wide, near the center of the river, were there no reeds.

Looking at the reeds on both sides of the river, Jiang Chen felt a sense of foreboding.

"This should be the famous shallows of the White Sand River, the Green Reed Beach. The Black Stone Society will never let me go easily. If they're lying in ambush along the way, this is the perfect spot."

Thinking of this, he touched the talismanic armor of ten thousand blades and the Crimson Thunder Pearl for early warning, which were hidden in his sleeve.

In case of emergency, he can immediately summon these two items.

Suddenly, the chirping of insects and birds in the surrounding area completely disappeared, and even the schools of fish vanished without a trace.

The oppressive atmosphere sent chills down everyone's spine.

Li Wusheng, who was escorting everyone, also gripped his longsword tightly, ready to act at any moment.

Boom~~

A column of water shot into the sky, its power surpassing even the sword light emitted by the Thousand Blades Golden Armor.

The force struck the stern, sending the entire ship flying sideways.

The water column stopped, and a section of the stern broke off.

The central array of the entire ship is located at the stern. Now that the stern is gone, the entire ship cannot be controlled, and even the defensive array on the ship cannot be used.

The entire boat lost control, but instead of stopping, it crashed straight into the reeds.

Just then, more than twenty cultivators dressed in night clothes leaped up from the reeds and charged toward the speedboat.

These people all possessed considerable power; they were all late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

They jumped onto the speedboat and began to surround and attack Jiang Chen and his group.

Li Wusheng drew his sword and shouted, "Fellow junior brothers, follow me to fight the enemy!"

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of cold light appeared, and two heads flew off.

In just a few breaths, five or six men in black died by his sword.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen felt a chill run down his spine: 'Li Wusheng truly lives up to his reputation as a ruthless individual capable of defeating a Foundation Establishment cultivator; killing a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator is as easy as slaughtering a chicken.'

Jiang Chen drew a long sword, his entire body shrouded in a layer of blood-red mist, and he moved through the crowd like a ghost.

An occasional sneak attack can take the life of a man in black.

His swordsmanship and escape techniques were learned from Black Wolf, and with the defensive capabilities of the Golden Armor Pendant, dealing with ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators was not a difficult task at all.

Several dozen breaths later, all the men in black were killed.

Jiang Chen killed two of them; the rest died at the hands of Li Wusheng.

Seeing how weak this group was, Jiang Chen became suspicious: 'The Black Stone Society shouldn't be this weak, right? Could they be assassins hired by the Sun family?'

Just then, Li Wusheng suddenly leaped high into the air and landed on the mast of the shuttle boat.

He pointed his longsword ahead and shouted, "Who dares to challenge me? Show yourself now!"