Chapter 152: The Tide of Fish Spirits
"Uncle Wan, what brings you here?" Li Yuan asked, quite surprised.
He had only informed his family, and a few classmates like An Nong and Gu Qianghan about his itinerary. No one else knew.
"Haha, yesterday I was fishing by the lake and happened to run into your uncle. We talked about you," Wan Qinghe laughed. "That's how I found out you were coming back today."
"It so happened that I had to report to the city's martial hall today. After finishing my work in the morning, I thought I'd come pick you up," Wan Qinghe explained.
"That's quite a coincidence," Li Yuan replied with a smile. "It's great, I can get home quickly in your aircraft, Uncle Wan."
Li Yuan didn't expose him. Was it really such a coincidence? Even if it was, Uncle Wan didn't need to come to the airport to pick him up. The martial hall was over ten kilometers from the airport.
"Alright then, your vacation is short. It's good to get home early, I'll give you a ride," Wan Qinghe laughed. "Actually, given your level, you could have booked a martial hall aircraft."
"I didn't think of that," Li Yuan chuckled.
"Let's go."
They passed through the security checkpoint and walked toward the small aircraft parked a few hundred meters away.
...
On the aircraft.
"The situation has deteriorated that much?" Li Yuan listened to Wan Qinghe recount the situation in Jiangbei. Li Yuan had initiated the topic, wanting to know more.
"Yes, this year's attacks are unusual," Wan Qinghe nodded gravely. "Since you were awarded the title of Young Hero at the beginning of the year, the scale has been increasing. August was the flood season... Normally, during the dry season, the Fish Spirit Realm should be more peaceful, but this year the attacks have intensified."
"Especially in the past month, it's been chaotic everywhere," Wan Qinghe sighed. "Jiangcheng has faced minor attacks, but Shizhou and Yizhou have been hit hard."
Li Yuan nodded slightly. He had been following the news and was aware of the general situation.
"The Fish Spirit Tribe are humanoid creatures. Given their intelligence, are they really so fearless of death?" Li Yuan frowned.
"The higher-ups speculate that a new 'Fish Spirit Tide' is about to erupt," Wan Qinghe sighed.
"Fish Spirit Tide?" Li Yuan was puzzled. He had never heard of it.
"It's a concept recently proposed by the martial hall. As far as I know, the Fish Spirit Tribe warriors you encountered initially are similar to 'worker ants' in an ant colony. They absolutely obey the orders of their leaders, even to the point of death," Wan Qinghe explained.
"Worker ants?" Li Yuan immediately thought of many possibilities. This type of civilization structure wasn't uncommon among the 'alien civilizations' that human civilization had encountered.
"Their reproduction rate seems very high... In the past few decades, the Fish Spirit Realm has launched three massive attacks on Jiangbei Province."
"One was fifteen years ago."
"Another was thirty-three years ago."
"The earliest was forty-seven years ago," Wan Qinghe quickly said. "According to records, before each large-scale attack, the number of small-scale attacks would continuously rise."
"About every fifteen years?" Li Yuan mused, thinking deeper. Fifteen years... that was the year his parents died...
"Yes."
"So it's speculated that a new Fish Spirit Tide is imminent," Wan Qinghe said. "But the main direction of the Fish Spirit Tribe's attacks is still unclear. Based on current indications, it's likely to be towards Shizhou and Yizhou."
"After all, those areas are closest to the Fish Spirit Realm entrance and show signs of large-scale Fish Spirit Tribe warrior mobilization."
"The previous three large-scale attacks in history were all within a thousand kilometers of the Fish Spirit Realm entrance."
Li Yuan nodded slightly. The speculation made sense.
"That's why the military and the two major martial halls have launched large-scale operations along the Xiang River," Wan Qinghe said. "Some mechanical armies and reserve martial artist units from Jiangcheng have been secretly transferred to Shizhou and Yizhou."
"What about other directions in Jiangbei Province?" Li Yuan hesitated.
"There's nothing we can do," Wan Qinghe shook his head. "No one can be sure if the Fish Spirit Tribe will launch a Fish Spirit Tide, and if they do, where the main attack direction will be."
"We have limited strength and can only secretly prioritize defenses. If a large-scale attack does happen, we'll concentrate our forces to provide support... The Fish Spirit Realm is not a key astral realm after all."
Li Yuan sighed lightly. Indeed, there were many astral realms within China and even more across human civilization. Many astral realms posed greater threats than the Fish Spirit Realm... Human civilization had limited strength and could only focus on key defenses.
Some astral realms, like 'Luo Bu Sea,' had large armies stationed there year-round, engaging in large-scale battles with alien civilizations... The resources consumed annually were astronomical.
In comparison, the Fish Spirit Realm was indeed less significant.
"Don't worry too much, Jiangcheng is still relatively safe," Wan Qinghe smiled. "Spend today with your uncle and aunt. Come to my house for lunch tomorrow."
"I've also invited your teacher Xu, he lives nearby," Wan Qinghe provided a reason Li Yuan couldn't refuse.
"Alright," Li Yuan smiled.
Soon, the aircraft returned to the Starlight South Lake District, arriving at the edge of Li Yuan's family's villa.
Li Yuan and Wan Qinghe got off the aircraft.
"Uncle Wan."
"Wait a moment, I have a gift for you. Take it with you," Li Yuan smiled. "I sent the gifts home in advance. I planned to give them to you when I visited."
At the villa's entrance, already informed, Li Changzhou and Chen Hui came out with smiles on their faces.
"Uncle, Aunt," Li Yuan put down his bag.
He took the gift box from Li Changzhou and handed it to Wan Qinghe. "Uncle Wan, I didn't know what else to bring, so inside is a set of commemorative items from Kunlun Martial University's 150th anniversary."
"I asked a teacher at the school to remake it for you," Li Yuan smiled. "Although the anniversary has passed, it's still a memento."
Wan Qinghe was also a graduate of Kunlun Martial University.
"Thank you," Wan Qinghe smiled. Last year was Kunlun Martial University's 150th anniversary, and he regretted not being able to attend.
Wan Qinghe had mentioned it to Li Yuan, not expecting Li Yuan to remember and bring him a commemorative gift.
"Alright, I'll head back now," Wan Qinghe smiled. "Remember to come to my house tomorrow."
"Okay."
...
Wan Qinghe returned to his villa in the Starlight South Lake District.
"Ta," Wan Qinghe skillfully made a call, laughing. "Li Yuan has agreed to come for lunch. Don't decline, join us."
"Li Yuan kept talking about visiting you while we were on the aircraft. You two should spend more time together."
After ending the call with Xu Bo, Wan Qinghe thought for a moment and sent a message to Song Yi: "Li Yuan has returned to Jiangcheng today."
He turned off his smart wristwatch.
"This Song family owes me another small favor," Wan Qinghe smiled slightly.
"Old Fei, your status is too high to easily get close to Li Yuan's family," Wan Qinghe muttered to himself. "My status and strength... are just right."
"Heh! In some ways, you should learn from me."
...
Back home, after giving gifts to his uncle and aunt, the family enjoyed a cheerful lunch prepared by Aunt Chen Hui.
"Does Uncle Wan often go fishing by the lake?" Li Yuan asked while eating, listening to his uncle talk about family matters.
"Yes," Li Changzhou nodded with a smile. "Whether or not he really likes fishing is hard to say, but he sure enjoys chatting."
Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
His uncle had no other hobbies but fishing.
"Uncle, don't worry, talk about whatever you want," Li Yuan smiled. "I will naturally help Uncle Wan wherever I can in the future."
"That's right, he has been kind to our family," Li Changzhou said.
Gradually, Li Yuan talked about some school matters. Although there were things he couldn't disclose, he could share most of it... However, he didn't mention that he would venture into the star realm after the vacation.
Good news should be shared early to let the elders be happy longer. For example, he had informed his uncle and aunt a week in advance about coming home.
But bad or dangerous news is best told late, to reduce their worry.
"Qianqian and Muhua are boarding at school?" Li Yuan asked, puzzled.
"Yes."
"The martial hall's affiliated middle school is like this. Except for weekends, they can only come home on Wednesday nights," Chen Hui smiled. "They can come home tomorrow."
"Alright, I'll pick them up tomorrow and give them a surprise," Li Yuan smiled.
It had been a long time since he saw his younger siblings.
...
On the first day home, Li Yuan was particularly happy, chatting with his uncle and aunt for a long time.
After dinner, a guest arrived.
"Hall Master Song?" Li Yuan smiled. "Please come in."
"Li Yuan," Song Yi smiled warmly, carrying several gifts.
After a brief visit, she left within fifteen minutes, having no other purpose than to pay a visit.
"These hall masters sure have sharp noses," Li Yuan thought to himself.
Uncle Wan was like this, and so was Song Yi.
Li Yuan understood Song Yi's intentions clearly and didn't reject her goodwill.
"My goal is simply to become stronger," Li Yuan saw through it all at a glance.
...
Around nine o'clock, his uncle and aunt went to bed.
The underground martial arts room was brightly lit.
"Time to start a new day of training," Li Yuan smiled. "From now until seven in the morning, that's ten hours."
Even during holidays, other students socialized, caught up with family, and rested at night, significantly reducing their training time. But for Li Yuan... holidays?
It just meant shifting his training time from all day to half a day.
Genuinely all day, half a day.
"At least I can't neglect visualization and source power absorption," Li Yuan thought.
His techniques had reached the fourth-stage limit, and even with intense training, it would be hard to break through in a short time.
Alternating between effort and relaxation, relaxing now wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
However, both mental and physical growth... were gradual processes.
Not a single day could be wasted.
"'Heavenly Stars'," Li Yuan sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. With a thought, he activated the life star meridian within him, causing a surge of source power to flow through his body, transforming his muscles and bones.
...
December 16th, at noon.
Li Yuan went to Wan Qinghe's house.
The guests included Xu Bo and Vice Hall Master Zuo of the Starlight Guanshan Branch Hall. She had represented Starlight Martial Hall at Li Yuan's 'Young Hero Commendation Ceremony' and was quite familiar with him.
"Teacher, you joined the 'City Patrol Team'?" Li Yuan listened to Xu Bo.