For a full half-day, the voices calling 'Region Prince Li Kuangren' echoed in the Azure Cloud region before finally ending.
Although the Emperor did not acknowledge him, within Azure Cloud region's territory, Li Kuangren was already the bona fide Region Prince!
Inside the Skyveil Hall.
"Stinky brat, are you trying to rebel? Who taught you to do this? Do you know what you're doing? You little bastard!"
Li Dalong was grabbing Li Kuangren and beating him fiercely, beating him until Li Kuangren covered his head and scurried away like a cornered rat. The feeling from years ago, when his messing around with Mi'er was exposed and he got beaten, came back again. He shouted with a pained expression, "Great-Grandfather, stop hitting! What's there to be afraid of? That bunch of dog bastards in the Heavenly Palace are truly rotten! What's wrong with us not submitting to them? Besides, this child is rallying the people's hearts! Anyway, the Emperor never even thought our Li family could really become Region Prince..."
"You still dare to talk back?!?!"
Li Dalong hit him even harder. "Even if you want to rebel, you should do it quietly! Why were you making such a scene? I let you be wild, and your wings have hardened, now you're completely out of control!"
"Alright, alright, husband, stop hitting! It's not like the rebellion has actually happened yet. Besides, compared to our battle with the Wu Clan here, what Kuangren did isn't such a big deal."
Xu Cuihua stopped Li Dalong, smiling, "It's just rebellion, not such a huge matter. No need to get so angry that you really hurt the child."
Li Yaotie also added his persuasion, "That's right, Dad. Just be careful not to publicize it in the future, and it'll be fine."
Li Yunbing stroked his beard, looking admiringly at Li Kuangren, who was kneeling with his head covered. "Good child."
"....."
Li Wei, who had been watching the Li family members' behavior the whole time, let his eyelids droop. It seemed like Li Dalong was the only normal person in the family; the other guys... were all eager for action.
"Sigh."
Li Wei and Li Dalong sighed in unison.
Li Dalong shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. You all remember this: slander is fearsome; do not give others leverage against you! Nowadays, we are surrounded by danger on all sides; how can we even speak of plotting to overthrow the Dynasty?"
"Understood!"
Everyone focused their minds and agreed seriously.
Seeing the clansmen's obedient appearance, Li Wei felt somewhat relieved. Actually, these fellows were quite shrewd; except for Li Yaotie and the Seven Ironclad who might cause trouble, the others present likely wouldn't really give anyone leverage against them.
Immediately, the Li family members got busy again, all participating in border defense matters in the border city.
Those experts who had come to support the Azure Cloud region also had no intention of leaving. They all began cultivating within the border city's 'Heavenly Secret Pavilion'. Righteous individuals with status, having come from all directions of the Azure Dynasty, joined its ranks. They even used spiritual power to raise a mountain near the border city and established cave dwellings upon it.
Daoist Shanchen, who came from Chenyuan, contributed the most effort. He established his cave dwelling in the most conspicuous place on the great mountain. Numerous cultivators came, drawn by his reputation, just waiting for this supreme Divinity Transformation stage expert to give a lecture on the Dao. For cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, even obtaining just a few words of guidance would be infinitely beneficial.
At this moment, Li Wei was right inside Daoist Shanchen's cave dwelling. Daoist Shanchen was meditating. Surrounding him were members of the Li family. Li Wei... was secretly learning his techniques.
[Your descendant Li Tianqi received guidance from Daoist Shanchen, gaining enlightenment on the steadfast nature of earth-elemental laws.]
[Your descendant Li Tianyue received guidance from Daoist Shanchen and obtained a Profound-rank technique suitable for herself, the Connected Mountains Falling Army Technique. The technique has three layers: it can allow the power of mountains to empower a thousand or even ten thousand people; it can also allow the power of a thousand or ten thousand people to enter one's own body, transforming into a mountain to resist the enemy.]
[Your descendant Li Yunlin had never grasped the true method of using the Skyveil Hall and asked Daoist Shanchen. Seeing the wonder of the Skyveil Hall, Daoist Shanchen recalled his battle with the Soul Duke that day. He then mentioned that the Skyveil Hall contains countless stars and can form illusory images of stars, but they cannot solidify. He suggested trying to incorporate mountains, rivers, and vegetation into the Skyveil Hall, allowing it to form a realm of its own. Your descendant Li Yunlin suddenly understood that a wondrous item like the Skyveil Hall might possess the potential to transform into a small world.]
The children of the Li family had always been very diligent in their cultivation.
At this moment, Li's family members were also seeking guidance from Wang Jinhu.
[Your descendant Li Yaotie, seeing General Wang Jinhu's extraordinary hammer technique, specifically came to seek guidance and obtained a Profound-rank hammer technique, Heaven-Ascending Hammer.]
"You're an artifact refiner? A Rank 7 Artificer?"
Wang Jinhu scanned Li Yaotie up and down at this moment. Seeing that the kid's four limbs were all spirit artifacts, he clicked his tongue in wonder. "I've seen many skilled artifact refiners in the Imperial City, but I've never seen an oddity like you – severing your own four limbs and replacing them with spirit artifacts! Truly an outlier among artifact refiners. What were you thinking, kid?"
Li Yaotie naturally wouldn't reveal that he had comprehended this cultivation method from the war puppets sent by the Ancestor. He grinned and said, "Naturally, I saw how sturdy those puppets were. I didn't have time to refine my body until it was as sturdy as a puppet's, so I simply refined myself into one. General Wang is experienced and knowledgeable; I hear the Heavenly Light Sect has some decent artifact refiners and puppeteers."
"Oh, that? My Heavenly Light Sect does indeed have a long heritage. I've cultivated for several thousand years and did indeed study that for a period of time."
Wang Jinhu immediately saw through Li Yaotie's little scheme and smiled, "There are some secrets that cannot be passed down which I cannot speak of. But, out of respect for your Li family's ancestor dying in battle for our Azure Dynasty's border city, I can indeed tell you some things. At the very least, enabling you to channel spiritual power into your limbs is achievable."
"Thank you, Senior!"
This session of seeking guidance resulted in Li Yaotie listening to Wang Jinhu teach for over half a month. The Heavenly Light Sect was truly worthy of being an ancient sect valued even by the Emperor in the Imperial City; Li Yaotie listened with rapt attention.
[Your descendant Li Yaotie, receiving guidance on artifact refining and puppet knowledge from Wang Jinhu, is making up for the deficiencies in his cultivation!]
[He suddenly had an epiphany! The bottleneck that had prevented him for many years from infusing spiritual power into his spirit limbs was instantly understood clearly. He even obtained some methods for infusing Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi into puppets!]
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