Sage of Humanity

At the entrance of the Justice Department's main hall, several members of Team A-5 were waiting.

Seeing Zhou Kui walk out, they hurriedly stepped forward to meet him.

"Captain, what did Lord Department Chief say?"

"What punishment did Lu Yiye get?"

"He won't escape a whipping, the sting of the Reversed Dragon Spike is no joke."

They all chimed in one after another, but only the magic cultivator noticed that Zhou Kui looked off and frowned, "Captain, did Lord Department Chief not stand up for you?"

Zhou Kui slowly shook his head, "It wasn't him!"

"What?"

"Lu Yiye was drinking tea with Lord Department Chief for one incense stick's time, it wasn't him who attacked me!" Zhou Kui said.

Everyone was extremely surprised, "If it wasn't him, then who could it be?"

Zhou Kui shook his head, he too wanted to know who it was!

While they were talking, Lu Ye leisurely walked out of the Justice Department's main hall, carrying a box of tea leaves in his hand.

The members of Team A-5 all looked at him.

As Lu Ye passed by them, he paused and said, "Remember to take your captain to the medical clinic for treatment later, the sting of the Reversed Dragon Spike... tsk tsk!"

He walked away further and further.

Everyone was puzzled, and the magic cultivator vaguely sensed something, saying, "Captain, does he mean that..."

Zhou Kui gave a bitter smile, "Lord Department Chief accused me of slandering and framing a colleague, fined me a month's salary, and ordered me to receive ten lashes in the punishment prison!"

Everyone winced at those words, clearly recalling the pain of being whipped a few days ago.

The captain's injuries had just healed, and now he'd be whipped again, this is just endless!

Lu Ye didn't return to his own courtyard; after covering some distance, he soared into the sky, flying straight toward the distance.

He wanted to test how closely linked his main body and doppelganger were.

Just now, the doppelganger was in the Justice Department's main hall, while the main body went to attack Zhou Kui. Though separated by about 30 miles, the main body could still clearly sense everything from the doppelganger's side without any discordance.

No problem within 30 miles, but what about 90 miles, or 180 miles?

How far would it have to be for the connection between the main body and doppelganger to break?

Lu Ye didn't know, but he would find out by trying.

Racing along the way, he flew toward the distance.

Soon Lu Ye noticed another problem: the doppelganger's spirit force was continuously depleting, and if it ran out, it might not be able to sustain itself.

Can the doppelganger replenish spirit force?

This issue hadn't occurred to him before, which resulted in the doppelganger only being equipped with a Boulder Mountain Saber, without carrying Spirit Stones or elixir pills.

It wasn't a big deal though, he found a Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union nearby, borrowed the Heaven's Augury Pillar, and spent some merit points to buy some elixir pills.

In a secluded place, Lu Ye concentrated his mind, activating the powers of the Talent Tree; invisible roots extended from the palm to probe into the elixir, quickly draining the spirit force of one elixir pill.

He could clearly sense that the spirit force within the doppelganger had been somewhat replenished.

The doppelganger can replenish spirit force!

Reasonably so, since the foundation of the doppelganger is the combination of Split Shadow and Single-Stalk Twin Lotus, and inside the doppelganger, there is a root of the Talent Tree, and with roots, the powers of the Talent Tree can be activated to naturally replenish spirit force.

Lu Ye was delighted, so long as he wished, a doppelganger can be maintained, even engage in combat, though how much power the doppelganger could manifest from the main body still needed verification.

This matter was not urgent; confirming the distance issue came first.

While flying, Lu Ye also tried to activate various spirit runes, finding that they all came to him readily without any difficulty.

Thus it seemed that the doppelganger possessed nearly all the abilities of the main body, and even a Divine Sea Realm would have difficulty distinguishing between them. Such a doppelganger likely exceeded the comprehension of Nine Provinces cultivators.

90 miles, 180 miles, 360 miles...

Lu Ye kept flying forward non-stop, draining and replenishing spirit force with elixir pills as needed.

The connection between the main body and doppelganger remained as tight as ever.

There's no need to continue testing; Lu Ye had a feeling that as long as they were in the same world, the connection wouldn't sever, no matter the distance.

As for what would happen if they were in different worlds, that was uncertain.

But Lu Ye faintly felt that if they were indeed in two different worlds, the connection would undoubtedly sever, and whether the doppelganger could be maintained was anything but certain.

This matter could not be tested anyway.

The doppelganger headed back toward Haotian City.

Meanwhile, the main body was busy forging Explosive Fire Spirit Stones. He had just delivered a month's batch a few days ago, but now had some free time, so it was natural to prepare for the next batch to avoid rushing later.

Moreover, Explosive Fire Spirit Stones might come in handy for himself, so Lu Ye intended to forge a few more.

Amidst the hustle, the rustling of clothes suddenly sounded, as if someone had landed in the courtyard, followed by a familiar voice: "Junior Brother, we're here!"

Lu Ye was taken aback for a moment, quickly realizing, and hurriedly got up to go out the door.

In the courtyard stood three figures, two men and one woman.

The foremost was a handsome and dashing figure, with a head of white hair, wearing a white robe with red clouds, making him look celestial. A large wine gourd hung at his waist. Just this charming and elegant demeanor alone was rare in the entire Nine Provinces; it was Li Baxian.

On his left, Feng Yuechan was glancing around, while on his right, the towering Giant Armor stood like an iron tower, its frame as robust as a ferocious beast.

Hearing the door open, the three turned their heads simultaneously.

Meeting eyes, Lu Ye exclaimed joyfully, "Fourth Senior Brother!"

The door to the adjacent room also opened, and Xiao Xinghe emerged, followed by Yiyi and Amber, who had heard the commotion.

"Senior Sister Feng!" Yiyi chirped excitedly, dashing towards Feng Yuechan. The two women had spent quite some time together on the Cloud River battlefield, becoming very familiar, and had missed each other after months apart.

Amber followed Yiyi, leaping towards Giant Armor, who caught and gently stroked it in his palm, making Amber close its eyes in delight.

On ordinary days, besides being close to Lu Ye and Yiyi, Amber was closest to Giant Armor.

"Third Senior Brother!" Li Baxian looked at Xiao Xinghe, saluting solemnly.

Xiao Xinghe nodded slightly, looking Li Baxian up and down: "True Lake now?"

"True Lake indeed!" Li Baxian replied.

He had only left the Cloud River battlefield because he had advanced to True Lake and come to Haotian City.

"Then you must hurry in your cultivation; Junior Brother's cultivation is quickly outpacing us."

"What cultivation does Junior Brother have now?" Li Baxian asked, and Feng Yuechan also looked on curiously.

Lu Ye slightly urged his spirit force.

Li Baxian was dumbfounded: "How are you cultivating?"

How had he reached True Lake Level 5 in just a few months? Such a rate of growth was terrifying.

Even on the Cloud River battlefield, he noticed Lu Ye's fast progress and was pushing himself to catch up, but now it seemed, despite not being slow himself, he was far behind Lu Ye.

Feng Yuechan was equally amazed: "Junior Brother Lu, you're truly incredible."

Even though she hailed from a 2nd-grade sect and had seen many young talents, compared to Lu Ye, they were mere fireflies next to the brilliance of the moon.

"I've recently gained some battle merit, which sped up my cultivation a bit," Lu Ye explained, glancing behind them.

Feng Yuechan caught on, giggling, "Looking for Junior Sister Hua Ci? She's still in the Cloud River battlefield."

Though anticipated, he felt a twinge of disappointment.

Just like in the Spirit Stream battlefield back then, Hua Ci, despite having the ability to break through to the Spirit Stream Realm, suppressed her cultivation to continue in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, only advancing leisurely once the forest was nearing disappearance, and moved into the Cloud River battlefield.

It seemed the same now; with environments like the Five Poisons Pond in the Cloud River battlefield, Hua Ci would surely utilize them well.

Her cultivation differed from regular cultivators; she had little thirst for Spiritual Energy or spirit force, and even spirit fortune sticks meant little to her. Instead, special environments like the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest and the Five Poisons Pond greatly benefited her.

Though she was suppressing her cultivation now, once she left the Cloud River battlefield, her cultivation would surely rise quickly.

Feng Yuechan added, "Junior Sister Hua Ci asked me to tell you to cultivate well and take care of yourself."

Lu Ye twitched his eyes, "She's being nosy."

Feng Yuechan chuckled softly.

In the courtyard were stone tables and stools, and they each took a seat.

"Have you paid respects to the sect master?" Xiao Xinghe asked.

Li Baxian nodded, "We just came from the old man, or we wouldn't have known Junior Brother lived here." He turned to Lu Ye, "Junior Brother, the sect master's intention is for us to join you. He said you're now a captain in the Law Enforcement Hall under the Justice Department, with three open slots in your team."

"These three slots are reserved for Senior Brothers."

"Thanks to Junior Brother for being considerate. I must thank you," Li Baxian laughed heartily.

When he set out, he wondered where he would be assigned in the provincial guard. Upon meeting the sect master, he learned Lu Ye had arrangements, which put his mind at ease.

Lu Ye inquired about the situation at Great Reversal Valley Spirit Ground, learning that a batch of disciples from the sect had advanced to the Cloud River and entered the battlefield there, now cultivating in Great Reversal Valley Spirit Ground.

Most of the sect's disciples were in the Spirit Stream Realm; with the first batch already advancing to Cloud River, soon there would be a second and third batch, continuously...

In a few years, the sect surely would slowly recover its vital energy.

The Great Reversal Valley Spirit Ground, crafted personally by him, was guarded by wolves, so safety was assured. The disciples could cultivate peacefully on the Cloud River battlefield, improving their self-defense abilities as they grew in cultivation.

Having ventured alone from the Cloud River battlefield himself, he knew the challenges of solo adventuring. He didn't want his Junior Brothers and Sisters to endure the same hardships.

"Have you gone to the Recruitment Department yet?" Lu Ye asked.

Li Baxian shook his head, "We just arrived here, paid respects to the old man, and came straight here. We haven't had time to report to the Recruitment Department."

"I'll take you there." Lu Ye stood up, inviting them along, intending to also report to Qian Wudang at the Justice Department.

His awaited team members had arrived!