Published: March 2, 2025
Chapter 160: Insignificance
Afterward, Hu Zhiwei led the nine reinforcements to clasp their hands in salute, then exited the formation and immediately activated their magical artifacts to ascend into the sky, transforming into nine beams of escape light that flew toward Moonlit City. In the blink of an eye, they became tiny dots on the horizon.
Yan Hongyu watched the retreating escape light, her smile gradually fading.
She glanced at several fellow disciples at the foundation establishment stage, lingering a moment longer on Liu Yu, then slowly spoke:
"Now that matters have come to this, all junior brothers and sisters must be extra vigilant. This concerns your lives and fortunes, so do not let down your guard and provide our enemies with opportunities."
"With everything settled, the three junior brothers currently resting may return to rest and come back for rotation after a month."
Speaking in her capacity as the head of the spiritual herb garden, and being the one with the highest cultivation and the most prestigious background present, everyone naturally complied with her arrangements.
"Yes!"
Liu Yu, Cao Mengyu, and Ding Hui clasped their hands in response.
The other group of three foundation establishment cultivators also echoed their agreement, then led another group toward the staircase leading to the spiritual herb garden.
Yan Hongyu looked around, seeing that the battlefield had been mostly tidied up, and she set aside her authoritative demeanor to chat a bit with Liu Yu and the other two.
Afterward, Yan Hongyu, Cao Mengyu, and Ding Hui left with the qi refinement stage disciples, returning to their respective posts.
Once the three had left, Liu Yu gathered his three qi refinement stage disciples, reprimanding them again and emphasizing the importance of being vigilant about their surroundings.
Finally, he turned to the disciple who had first discovered the enemy cultivator and promptly notified him, saying:
"You did very well. What is your name?"
The disciple's heart trembled—could it be...? Thinking of this, he immediately replied respectfully, "Replying to Uncle Liu, I am Yan Kai!"
Liu Yu clasped his hands behind his back, slightly nodding at the response. He took a bottle of Azure Spirit Pill from his storage bag and tossed it over, continuing, "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. You did well this time, and this bottle of Azure Spirit Pill is my personal reward for you."
"Good, keep it up."
His tone was calm yet carried the weight of having slain enemy cultivators, which made the three disciples feel even more in awe of him.
Gifts from elders should not be declined; naturally, they could not refuse what was given by their sect's seniors.
Yan Kai caught the bottle of Azure Spirit Pill, feeling both disappointed and happy inside.
He knew some of his hopes had been dashed, but receiving a bottle worth about eighty or ninety spiritual stones as a reward was still quite good.
"Thank you, Uncle Liu, for the gift. From now on, I will be even more diligent in my duties and will not let down your expectations!"
Yan Kai's internal thoughts were many, yet his response was swift; after receiving the Azure Spirit Pill, he immediately bowed deeply in gratitude.
The other two disciples looked at Yan Kai with envious eyes. That bottle of Azure Spirit Pill was roughly equivalent to their monthly salary for an entire year, and he had received it so easily.
Wanting one's subordinates to work diligently cannot be done through oppression alone; occasionally providing tangible benefits will have a better effect.
Liu Yu nodded secretly in approval, then encouraged them with a few more words before waving his hand, letting the three return to their posts.
He walked to the edge of the formation and looked outside.
After the cleanup by thirty or forty qi refinement stage disciples, the black marsh had mostly returned to its original state. The effects of various spells, both fire and ice, had disappeared, and the pits caused by clashes of magical artifacts and spiritual artifacts had all been filled in.