The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Li Yi pondered for a long time and estimated that there should be very few Qi cultivation methods in the military merit list. Even if he assisted the three division commanders in calculating their military merits, the number of methods to choose from would be pitifully small.

Furthermore, the Taoist magic items exchanged for military merits must be reported before being given to others, which is quite troublesome.

"It seems difficult to acquire superior Qi cultivation techniques within the ranks. Let's wait a few days and see what Xiaoqing says..."

With Zhang Junyi not "under his nose," Li Yi felt a little uneasy and could only suppress his feelings and devote himself to cultivation to relieve them.

Fortunately, Xiaoqing received a reply from Shangyuan Peak the evening after sending the letter. The reply said that Zhang Junyi had just participated in the siege of a monster and was on her way back to the mountain gate. It also said that she was accumulating merits and would reply in person soon.

Correspondence in the cultivation world was maintained by a special office established by the Ministry of Revenue, with the participation of the Conferred Gods Division, making it extremely efficient.

After receiving the news, Li Yi was finally relieved. He continued to do his daily practice and travel around, but he felt much lighter.

……

With the help of a matchmaker, Li Erhu met with the young lady from the Wen family in private and seemed quite satisfied.

However, after two rounds of selection, it will probably take some time, and there's no rushing it.

The intermarriage activities in Manxing County were in full swing, and it seemed that no one noticed that one or two cavalry units of the Great Zhou were patrolling around, looking very dedicated.

At the end of the twelfth lunar month, Li Yi was summoned to the Thousand Household Office.

Meng Yunjie slammed a document on the table. "I was delayed for a while and didn't have time to verify the military merits."

He pointed to Li Yi's report requesting merit, "It's written in great detail. If it really was you who stopped the fire, you deserve a fifth-rank military merit."

However, this matter is of great importance. I must verify it with the three division commanders to confirm its accuracy before reporting it to Commander Liu. Otherwise, I too will suffer the consequences.

Meng Yunjie sized up Li Yi, secretly activating his "Mind Monkey Fiery Eyes," but couldn't detect the slightest hint of fear in the other party, so he suddenly smiled.

"Very well, I trust your character. Besides, Commander Liu should know about this matter, so I doubt you would dare to claim credit for it."

Meng Yunjie watched Li Yi leave with a smile, but suddenly his face darkened.

"Fifth rank..."

Even for him, a scout commander and a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the chances of obtaining a fifth-rank military merit were extremely rare.

Since joining the army, I have only earned thirty points in the battle against Zhu Xing. Since then, I have always received the third-rank military merit as usual, which is considered a "hard-earned merit" rewarded by each camp.

The money spent on exchanging Yang-attribute Fire Spirit Pills is already insufficient to cover the expenses.

Meng Yunjie calculated that, despite being extremely frugal, he had only managed to retain 30.5-point military merits.

To exchange for Yang Qi Daoist techniques, one needs at least 30 points of sixth-rank military merit.

"Military merits can only be converted downwards, not accumulated to the highest rank. I don't even have a single sixth-rank merit right now..."

Meng Yunjie clenched his fists tightly, then slowly relaxed them, grabbed the documents, and walked towards the commander's office.

Liu Tianyun picked up the document, glanced at it briefly, and showed no surprise. He only raised his eyebrows and gave the chief commander a brief look.

"I've been waiting for this commendation letter for quite some time."

Meng Yunjie's face turned pale instantly, and he hurriedly stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Your subordinate..."

Liu Tianyun raised his hand to stop him, then sighed to himself, "Back then, you burst onto the scene, and it was I, the Assistant Magistrate, who promoted you to the rank of commander. How radiant you were back then! Why have you wasted your life like this?"

Meng Yunjie lowered his head little by little, feeling speechless.

"Your Yin Five Elements talent is so high that even I am ashamed to admit that you are inferior. Your progress in the Qi Refining stage is probably not much different from that of Jiang Gaoqi of Dali."

If you could concentrate on the Yin Xing lineage, you would at least be a second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator by now; given time, surpassing Wei Shishuai would be a piece of cake. Why are you so stubborn and inflexible?

Just as Xu Xiaofeng had advised him that day, Meng Yunjie remained stubborn, saying, "If I am destined to only reach the level of Yin Dan Dao in this life, I would rather not have it at all."

Liu Tianyun pointed to the seat below, too angry to speak, and said helplessly:

"I went to see the commander a few days ago and he mentioned you, Meng Yunjie. He seemed quite regretful. Have you thought this through?"

Knowing that Meng Yunjie would likely not come to his senses anytime soon, he gave the order with worry and impatience:

"As the commander-in-chief has ordered, each battalion to select an elite scout team to venture deep into the Two Realms Mountain to conduct reconnaissance—this time you will personally lead the team and experience firsthand the Daoist cultivation of the former Five Elements True Man."

Meng Yunjie looked puzzled, clearly unaware of the origin of Liangjie Mountain. He listened to Liu Tianyun's endless flattery of the Five Elements True Man, his words filled with admiration.

"...The Five Elements True Man's talent in Yin and Yang Qi is astonishing. Even so, he couldn't gather Yin and Yang Five Elements, and due to his lifespan, he only formed the Yin Core. How much stronger are you?"

"The Two Realms Mountain is nothing more than the remains of a True Immortal, who has been dead for two hundred years. You should see for yourself the remaining power of the Yin Dan True Immortal!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Deep into the Two Realms Mountain?"

Li Yi was slightly taken aback. The intermarriage in Manxing County was in full swing, but he didn't expect it to provide cover for the scouts.

"yes."

Zhong Ming nodded, poured himself a glass of water without ceremony, and said with a wry smile:

"Commander Meng called me an elite soldier, and I accepted it without hesitation. But with you, Commander Li, in charge of our garrison's sentries, how could it possibly be my turn?"

"I think you don't want to miss your brother's wedding, do you?"

Li Yi chuckled, knowing exactly what was going on.

With his current military achievements, once all the records are tallied, he won't be far behind Meng Yunjie, even if he doesn't catch up; both will be at the rank of Grand Master.

It's too late to try to suppress them now.

Although Meng Yunjie was suffering from the five gods' distress and was currently going through a calamity, Li Yi would never feel pity for him.

The five spirits are an important part of the human body and will, and in fact they are indistinguishable from one another.

If someone does something bad, they can blame it on a certain organ in their body, saying that a part of their body committed the crime, and that removing that organ would solve everything.

Li Yi managed to squeeze out a small laugh through his airway.

After Zhong Ming led his team away with the message, Li Yi's daily life remained unchanged.

Eating, absorbing Qi, exercising, practicing martial arts—this cycle repeats itself.

Li Erhu went to the county town early in the morning with a large number of soldiers, and he probably wouldn't return until evening.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a conscientious cavalry unit had quietly changed their uniforms and slipped into the county town.

……

Today is a day for matchmaking, and also a day for scouts to explore the mountains.

Meng Yunjie personally selected the scouts, using himself as the flag bearer, and led ten cultivators who had entered the Dao, including Zhong Ming.

The group traveled along the river, heading straight for the valley.

Although the entrance to the mountain stream was blocked by huge rocks, it did not deter the group.

Eleven agile body cultivators tethered their scout horses, quickly climbed the stone wall, and leaped inside.

Meng Yunjie casually pinched a protruding piece of the mountain wall, paused for a moment, then looked over at it, and with a little more force, broke off a piece of rock.

He placed the gravel in his palm and squeezed it tightly, but instead of crushing it into powder as he had expected, he only produced some finer pebbles.

"Master said that among the Five Elements True Persons, only the Earth Element was able to cultivate to the Primordial Realm; so it's not unusual that this mountain is a bit hard."

Meng Yunjie didn't take it seriously and led his team westward down the steep slope.