Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Not bothering with the matter of the gender ratio in the combat team, Li Weiguo continued:

"Aside from the team's affairs, don't fall behind on your own cultivation progress either. I heard you haven't been training much lately?"

"There's no need to worry about that," Yan Yu immediately promised. "Even if the team's overall strength collapses, my own will not falter. The reason I haven't trained much recently is mainly because I'm in a bottleneck period."

"The team's strength isn't allowed to collapse either!" Li Weiguo immediately bristled and glared sternly, saying, "As for you being in a bottleneck period... what do you mean by that?"

"How should I explain this to you?" Yan Yu showed a hesitant look. "After all, you're not a cultivator, right?"

Li Weiguo was amused despite himself and waved his hand, saying:

"While I may not be a cultivator, my word carries more weight than that of one, understand? Tell me what resources you need to break through the bottleneck, and I'll try to satisfy your needs as far as possible."

"Oh, thank you, Commander-in-Chief," Yan Yu chuckled and said, "I don't need any resources, mainly just lacking some actual combat experience, feeling that my skills have gotten a bit rusty."

"That's easy to fix," Li Weiguo said decisively, slapping the table and picking up a sealed document bag from the side. "Take a look at this."

Yan Yu took the document bag, carefully extracted the documents inside, and started reading intently.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

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Mysterious Realm.

As previously mentioned, they are dwelling places specially opened by ancient cultivation experts.

As for these cultivation experts, from which historical period they originated, and why they haven't left any records in historical materials... that remains unknown for now.

No matter what the initial purpose of these Mysterious Realms was, considering the probable storage of cultivation-related classics and resources, they undoubtedly possess extremely high exploration value.

So, who will be responsible for exploring these Mysterious Realms?

On June 14th, the authorities had already given preliminary directives:

Any discovered entrance to an open Mysterious Realm must first be sealed off by the military district in charge, and immediately reported to the military headquarters in Pingjing. Once approved and authorized, they should promptly arrange for exploration and surveying.

All resources obtained from a Mysterious Realm must be handed over in full. Cultivators from the military district who complete the exploration will be assessed afterwards and can receive recognition, awards, promotions, and cash rewards.

Yan Yu silently finished reading the document, which explained "what Mysterious Realms are," "how to explore Mysterious Realms," and the "national policies regarding Mysterious Realms." The first two were mainly penned by Mei Yingxue, and the policy aspect was largely consistent with his memory from a previous life.

Only to hear Li Weiguo ask:

"Everything obtained from exploring the Mysterious Realm must be handed over to the state once leaving the Realm, without any private retention. What's your view on this?"

"I wholeheartedly agree," Yan Yu replied earnestly.

"Really?" Li Weiguo asked with a chuckle. "Just be honest with me, it's fine. Even if you clearly oppose this directive, it won't leave this office."

"To be truthful, there's no need to oppose it," Yan Yu coolly shook his head. "Firstly, the cultivator teams currently capable of completing the exploration of Mysterious Realms are definitely the highest combat forces among our four armies, which means selection would come from the teams of myself, Liu Longtao, Zhou Hongyu, and Li Zhaojiang."

"Secondly, assuming I obtain any treasure in the Mysterious Realm that suits me, even if it's handed over to the state after leaving the Realm. Following the principle of making the most out of it, wouldn't it still be reallocated back to us for use? It's not like they'd be stored in a museum for display."

"You're a clever lad," Li Weiguo laughed heartily. "Your analysis is not far off."

"All resources obtained from the Mysterious Realm can be categorized into two types.

If it's artifacts, Flying Swords, Elixir Medicines, or other items you cultivators can use, they will, upon registration and completion of the corresponding scientific research, be returned in principle to the military district responsible for the exploration for distribution—so it's basically 'whoever finds it, gets it back'."

"As for resources that cultivators can't use, such as mines, herb gardens… which require manpower for development, of course, the property rights can't be given to you, but we will award you accordingly."

"I understand," Yan Yu nodded, saying, "Personally, I think there's no need to be so roundabout. We soldiers are very straightforward; we live for victory and glory. As long as we can win, any method works."

"If only everyone thought this way," Li Weiguo merely smiled, his expression neither confirming nor denying, then pulled out another sealed document bag from a drawer, casually tossing it to Yan Yu:

"A Mysterious Realm was discovered in the Nine Dragons Nest of Wuyi Mountains in Minhai Province. After the first batch of military cultivators entered, they lost all contact with the outside world. We need to arrange for rescue and exploration as soon as possible."

"I'll leave this mission to you. If you can't handle it, let me know in time."

"You must be joking," Yan Yu said without even looking as he took the folder in his hand and chuckled, "The team I've built is the highest combat force of the Zhendong Army at present. If we can't handle it, who can?"

He gave Li Weiguo a military salute and then quickly took his leave.

In his previous life, General Li Weiguo, the chief commander, had not had much interaction with Yan Yu, but because of his special care for Chen Lingyun, Yan Yu had a fairly good understanding of him—this nearly 70-year-old man could be perfectly described with "In this life, he has nothing else to seek but to serve his country with utmost loyalty."

Whether you treated him with utmost respect or were casual and lax, the elder wouldn't mind so much. After all, he could tolerate Chen Lingyun's crappy attitude, which was enough to show how broad-minded and magnanimous he was, far beyond what ordinary people possessed.

Once the team members were all gathered, Yan Yu took out the files that Li Weiguo had given him and passed them to Chen Lingyun, saying:

"Take a look at these."

The four girls huddled together and quietly read through the documents in the folder.

"Let me summarize the information from the file," Yan Yu began to explain slowly, "The so-called 'Mysterious Realm' can generally be understood as 'small worlds left behind by ancient immortals' where there may be treasures worth exploring and discovering."

"In each Mysterious Realm, there is a 'Control Hub' that can control the realm, a 'Gatekeeper' responsible for guarding this 'Control Hub,' and a 'Defense Mechanism' that spans the entire realm."

"The process of exploring the Mysterious Realm can generally be divided into four steps: First Arrival, Breaching Formations, Slaying the Gatekeeper, and Capturing the Flag."

"First, if there are multiple competitors exploring the Mysterious Realm, we need to enter the realm before everyone else, which is known as 'First Arrival.'

"Secondly, as uninvited invaders to the Mysterious Realm, we will almost certainly face the realm's own defense mechanisms during our exploration, which is 'Breaching Formations.'

"Next, we continue to venture deeper until we locate the position of the Mysterious Realm's Control Hub and eliminate the Gatekeeper guarding it, known as 'Slaying the Gatekeeper.'

"Finally, it is refining and taking control of the Control Hub, manipulating the realm's Defense Mechanism, allowing our military forces to come in and take over, which is 'Capturing the Flag.'

"First Arrival, Breaching Formations, Slaying the Gatekeeper, Capturing the Flag—you don't need to remember these steps. I'll guide you through the whole process this time, and it'll be easier next time with the experience... Any questions?"

"Yes," Zhao Yuanzhen said succinctly, "is it okay to kill people?"

Her question was so fierce that all the other girls instantly turned their heads to look at her, each with a different expression.

"There shouldn't be anyone for you to kill this time," Yan Yu pondered for a moment before replying, "The Mysterious Realm is now guarded by the Zhendong Army. The first batch of army monks who went in to explore have since disappeared. We are the second group authorized to go in, so all we face is the Mysterious Realm itself, without any hostile competing cultivators."

"Oh, sounds pretty boring," Zhao Yuanzhen immediately lost interest.

Lin Ning and Su Yunjin were both stunned. Are you saying the mission is boring, or is it "no people to kill" that's boring?

"When do we set off?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile, "Do we need to prepare anything?"

"No need," Yan Yu gestured dismissively, "This Mysterious Realm exploration should pose no risk, just think of it as a tutorial before the main questline of the game starts; all you have to do is perform well with the skills you've trained."

"How can there be no risk when there are already army monks missing inside?" Lin Ning protested with agitation, "Even if you want us not to worry too much, at least come up with a better-sounding excuse!"

Yan Yu looked at Lin Ning for a while, sighing:

"Little Lin Ning,"

"What?" Lin Ning asked irritably.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" Yan Yu said in a calm and measured tone, "If it were just the four of you exploring the Mysterious Realm, then yes, I'd admit there is some risk."

"But this time, I am personally leading the team. Do you understand now?" Your adventure continues at empire

Lin Ning was left speechless.

Although you were trying to come across as understated and tactful, why does it still sound so arrogant and asking for a beating?