Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

The Great Qian Dynasty had a strict set of rites and administrative procedures for conferring titles upon generals, and there were two main categories: permanent generals and generals with miscellaneous titles.

Typically, the Ministry of War would submit a memorial based on merit, and then the emperor would issue an edict to determine the general's name, rank, salary, and scope of authority.

The permanent generals were usually officials of the second rank, such as the General of the Flying Cavalry and the General of the Chariots. The generals of miscellaneous titles were much lower, and some officials of the fifth rank could even be called generals.

General Jianwu was originally a general with a miscellaneous title, but things changed once he was ennobled as a marquis.

The conferment of a marquisate had to be held on an auspicious day in the main hall of the imperial palace, with the emperor ascending the throne and all officials paying homage. After the conferment, a sacrifice had to be offered at the Imperial Ancestral Temple to inform the ancestors and to announce the news to the world.

This position may become permanent and hereditary in the future.

Ye Ci knew very well that if it weren't for that general being granted a marquisate and being in such a good mood, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to get a spot to return home.

Given the status of this marquis, he wouldn't care about a mere soldier, and wouldn't even know his name.

When the name of Marquis Jianwu was mentioned, some traveling merchants in the restaurant began to whisper among themselves.

"Zhang Guan, the son of Marquis Jianwu, has just been appointed General Who Conquers the South. I heard that this wave of southern barbarian troops is coming for him. We won't ask about anything else..."

"It seems that Marquis Jianwu's military strategy was brilliant, and he hurt the southern barbarians badly, so they want to take revenge on his son."

As everyone was discussing, Ye Ci suddenly heard a different voice.

"I've heard that this small group of southern barbarian soldiers is extremely fierce, far from ordinary soldiers. They don't want to kill the Leopard Division of the Jianwu Army, but rather to capture Zhang Guan alive."

"What a joke! Arrest the commander-in-chief? You think our Great Qian Dynasty has no one to rely on!"

"So those southern barbarians are insane."

"Why arrest him?"

"I heard it's the army of Marquis Jianwu. They captured some nobles from the Southern Barbarians before, so the Southern Barbarians want to exchange Zhang Guan for them."

"What kind of nobles? They want to trade the Leopard Tribe's commander?"

Amidst the chatter, Ye Ci and Jiang Ding'an quickly finished their meal and were stopped by Master Shen when they tried to pay the bill.

The two thanked him again before taking their leave.

Chen San glanced at the two men's backs and snorted coldly.

"You little brat! All you do is use your sharp tongue!"

The two led their horses out of the town. Jiang Ding'an was pondering the next route when Ye Ci stopped and turned his gaze to a barren slope on the edge of the town.

The barren slope was covered with weeds, and in the middle stood several huge rocks, which were pitted and covered with moss by wind and rain.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Ding'an noticed his unusual behavior and asked him a question.

"It's nothing."

Ye Ci withdrew his gaze and said in a calm tone, "I'm going to use the restroom over there. Wait for me here for a moment."

Before Jiang Ding'an could respond, Ye Ci turned his horse and headed towards the barren slope.

After dismounting, he walked to the largest rock and carefully scanned its surroundings. There were three knife marks on the moss, which would be hard to spot if one did not look closely.

Even though Ye Ci was on guard, he only noticed it unintentionally.

Suddenly, his gaze stopped. At the base of the stone, half-hidden by weeds, was a patch of dark brown, fuzzy hair.

Ye Ci bent down, parted the weeds, and gently pulled out the piece of hair. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a complete cow tail.

Southern barbarian scouts!

Whenever there is a large force of troops, scouts are always deployed, and they will leave marks in hidden places.

In other words, this place has been scouted.

Ye Ci pondered: If there had been reconnaissance, the town couldn't have been so peaceful. Because this cow tail wasn't fresh; it had clearly been there for quite some time.

He considered it for a moment.

Ye Ci quietly tucked the ox tail into his bosom, stood up, suppressed his unease, and turned to walk towards Jiang Ding'an.

When Jiang Ding'an saw him return, he didn't even look up: "All done? Let's hurry up and pick up my brother-in-law so we can go back home as soon as possible."

Ye Ci nodded slightly: "Let's go."

The two ran another twenty miles in one go.

Jiang Ding'an remained talkative, cursing the restaurant owner for looking down on those who worked as镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), and then bringing up Shen Wanzhou.

"Mr. Shen is really going all out to make money, taking such risks... What other businesses does his family need to run? They're already rolling in money."

"Did you know that the Shen family is the head of the five major families? The other four families are not as good as the Shen family. They are nicknamed Shen Half-City."

"Do you know how much silver a half-city would cost?"

Starlight fell, illuminating the ground.

To Ye Ci's surprise, the journey was smooth sailing.

Traveling day and night, the two arrived in Lingshan County, where they were still safe and sound.

Jiang's father-in-law's family name was Huang, and they were actually quite wealthy. The father-in-law had the cultivation level of Dark Force. The brother-in-law was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old. When he saw Jiang, he rushed over.

"Brother-in-law, I missed you so much! Waaah..."

Despite their seemingly deep affection, Ye Ci heard everything clearly from the side:

"Hey, you surnamed Jiang! Hurry up... I can't stay home even for a day longer, take me away now, my dad's forcing me to practice martial arts, he's killing me!"

Ye Ci watched his eyes darting around and couldn't help but chuckle. Another Wang De.

Now that their family is better off, they think about being lazy all the time.

Now that Senior Brother Jiang has returned, it is natural for him to have a drink with his father-in-law. Ye Ci was polite on the first day and drank a few cups with him.

The next day, Master Huang invited Senior Brother Jiang to stay another day, and the two continued to drink and chat happily.

Ye Ci stopped drinking and was happy to relax, so he simply stayed at the Huang family to practice martial arts.

I even brought Qi and Blood Powder with me on this trip, but I haven't had time to practice it at all while traveling.

On the third day, Master Huang wanted to have a good chat with Senior Brother Jiang, and Ye Ci also advised him to stay a few more days. Seeing that Ye Ci didn't mind, Senior Brother Jiang readily agreed.

After finishing their drinks, the two sparred in the courtyard, breaking some items in the process.

The mother-in-law flew into a rage, becoming incredibly fierce, and smashed the vase with a single punch.

On the evening of the fourth day, the old man and the child went out for drinks.

They might have done it on purpose.

Ye Ci's analysis.

However, he could take this opportunity to break through his internal energy cultivation here, and also avoid Qin Duwei's duel.

The one who suffered was Jiang's brother-in-law.

That kid's name is Huang Guoshu. He looks like a cunning little devil. He practiced diligently when his father was around, but as soon as his father left, he changed completely.

"Little Ye..."

On the recliner, with half a cucumber dangling from his mouth, he commented, "You practice martial arts from morning till night, how can you possibly reach the Ming Jin level? Look at me... I'm only fifteen and I'm already at the Ming Jin level, and I've never even broken a sweat while practicing."

This kid is also a genius. It is said that he has excellent potential. He usually calls Ye Ci "Little Ye".

"Why didn't you try to persuade my brother-in-law how long he planned to stay at my house? It's been almost ten days... You're not going to stay for half a month, are you...?"

Ye Ci ignored him and continued to practice his boxing techniques diligently.

That evening, after he finished a set of stance training exercises, a subtle and strange resonant sound emanated from inside his body.

This reverberation was quite different from his previous breakthrough to Ming Jin. Only he could hear it. Accompanied by his powerful breathing, it produced a sense of resonance. This resonance then became tangible, transforming into an indescribable energy that flowed through his limbs and bones.

Ye Ci slowly opened his eyes, a flash of shrewdness appearing in them.

[Technique: Rock Stance Mastery (1/5000)]

The hidden strength has been formed!

Dark strength emphasizes the rounded power within, with a relaxed exterior and soft interior when exerting force. It is dominated by the Qi in the Dantian (lower abdomen), and once it erupts, it far surpasses obvious strength.

Immediately, Ye Ci exerted force with both feet, his spine arching and springing like a dragon, leaving two shallow indentations on the bluestone beneath his feet.

He raised his hand and clenched his fist, unleashing a powerful punch with a sharp, piercing sound that was several times stronger than before.

"puff……"

Huangguoshu, who was lying on a deck chair in the yard, saw this scene and spat out the cucumber he was eating.

"I'll go!" he said.