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Otherworld, Jin Garden.
Lu Yao came back carrying two large bags of snacks he had bought from the supermarket.
This time, he was primarily back to get money. Yukolun, regardless of whether it was the underworld or legitimate business, preferred dealing in cash because it left no records to trace.
Lu Yao liked this too; he still had two tons of cash with nowhere to spend it, so waiting for Sanna to do her Kung Fu was the perfect opportunity to take some.
Another reason was to ask his senior sister for help checking his body. He felt that he was just a whisker away from cleansing his marrow—almost as if separated by a mere paper-thin barrier.
He faintly heard some noise coming from the training ground, the sisters must be there. When he went over to look, Liao Qe was practicing her boxing, and Liao Ya was on the phone, chatting away.
Liao Qe wiped the sweat off her brow and greeted him, "You're back~"
Seeing her sweat-soaked clothes, Lu Yao asked with a smile, "Working pretty hard, aren't you?"
The girl rolled her eyes and said, "You're about to cleanse your marrow, I can't be left behind~ I've always been at a higher realm than you~"
As she spoke, she took the pile of snacks from him, her face breaking into a sweet smile.
Noticing Lu Yao looking towards the phone, the girl explained, "Sister talks to the Commandery Princess on the phone every day."
Lu Yao said with a laugh, "Those two really hit it off."
By this time, Liao Ya had noticed the commotion here, quickly said a few words, then hung up and ran over.
"Sister is back. Just now, Sister Li Pei said that—her master is coming in a few days, and she will give us guidance on our cultivation!"
Liao Qe exclaimed, "Her master? It's 'Moonshadow Sword' Yu Yanmei!"
Liao Ya looked extremely excited, "An Innate Realm Grandmaster; just one piece of advice from her could save us endless hard work and help us avoid many detours!"
Liao Qe asked curiously, "What's Grandmaster Yu coming for?"
Liao Ya thought for a moment and whispered, "It's probably about the issue with the Dadhi Sect. She wants to come and check on her disciple along the way."
"The Imperial Court is going to focus on eradicating the Dadhi Sect?"
After a bit of gossip, Liao Ya turned her attention back to Lu Yao. She took out the Color Ultrasound Instrument to help with the checkup, while also transferring Inner Breath to assist in the examination.
After a good while, she expressed sincere joy, "Everything looks great, it won't be long before you officially enter the Marrow-Cleansing Realm!"
This was tremendous news! The Marrow-Cleansing Realm was a high level in any place, and starting a military career was at least a 7th-rank martial position.
The two sisters seemed even happier than Lu Yao himself, and they congratulated him together with a fist salute, "Congratulations in advance, Lu, the Marrow-Cleansing Martial Master."
Ping An gulped it down and flapped its wings joyously. Its size grew even larger, measuring half a meter in length with a wingspan of over a meter, looking extremely majestic in every glance.
Lu Yao stroked the feathers on Ping An's neck, and in return, Ping An affectionately nuzzled him twice and chirped before soaring back into the sky.
~~~~~~~
Lu Yao also stood up, ready to return to Blue Star for his appointment.
In the warehouse, two tons of neatly piled banknotes exuded a weighty presence that would have overwhelmed any ordinary person.
Lu Yao found a large travel bag and stuffed it with over a million.
"Yukolun is riddled with corruption from top to bottom and is also broke, this money should be more than enough to bribe the factory officials. Just let them build whatever I want on-demand!" he contemplated with ambition, holding a big bag of money just as he opened the Space-Time Gate. At that moment, Ping An, which had flown away, suddenly returned with half a snake in its mouth.
Being quite spiritual, it noticed its master didn't eat the half rabbit, so it brought a different 'dish' and eagerly presented it right up to his face.
The timing couldn't have been better, leaving Lu Yao with no choice but to take Ping An back to Blue Star with him.
~~~~~~~~~
Ping An seemed completely at ease upon arriving at Blue Star, curiously looking around while perched on its master's shoulder.
Kiev in October was already quite cold, and it was early in the morning with the temperature at only 5 degrees.
Ping An, a spirit born on the frigid high plateaus, especially enjoyed the cold environment.
After swallowing the snake that its master had disdained, Ping An soared gracefully into the high sky, flying about joyously.
Watching it fly freely lifted Lu Yao's spirits considerably, and he took some extra time to play with it until Sanna called.
"Sanna, I hope you're bringing me good news."
"Yes, sir. I've made contact with a... technician from Marshal Factory who's ready to meet anytime."
"Good job, let's go meet him now."
~~~~~~~~~
Sanna picked up Lu Yao in her car, and the two headed together to Marshal's Tank Factory.
The young lady was still dressed provocatively, seemingly not minding the cold at all, wearing only a black "nightclub dress" that left much of her chest exposed and her face heavily made up.
The car she drove was also quite interesting—a Geely Emgrand. Moreover, there were many of the same model along the way; this domestic car seemed to be selling quite well in Yukolun.
Upon arriving at the tank factory, Lu Yao saw that it was dilapidated and overgrown with weeds, a sight of desolation and decay.
It was nothing like the heavily guarded armament factory he had imagined. Only the T34 tank and the statue of a National Hero standing tall at the factory's entrance testified to its once glorious past.