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

The garrison sergeant was the same as the battalion sergeant; one sergeant or squad leader commanded ten men, for a total of eleven.

There were over a hundred scouts present, representing ten small flags, eight of which were fully staffed. Excluding the four from Sanyi Village, there were a total of ninety-seven people.

These people were chatting and laughing in the training ground. As the time approached, they gradually calmed down and formed a line.

Li Yi, along with Zhong Ming, Ma Lian'er, and other junior officers, stood at the front, watching the commander stride into the drill ground.

Half a step behind Shi Jin was an adult wearing fish scale armor.

"The prize for the competition has already been offered, but I now regret that I forgot to discuss with the two commanders about a separate military merit."

"Li Yi's victory brought glory to the garrison, but it also owes much to the help of his colleagues..."

Shi Jin, a smile playing on his lips, pointed at the armored soldiers behind him and cursed:

"Therefore, Commander Meng 'coerced' me to contribute funds; Li Yi and Zhong Ming were each awarded twenty points of third-rank military merit, the rest of the junior officers were each awarded ten points, those who entered the Daoist cultivation within the junior officers were awarded five points, and ordinary soldiers were awarded one point."

The hundred or so scouts were overjoyed and exclaimed in unison:

"Thank you for your generous reward, Commander-in-Chief and Commander-in-Chief!"

This military merit was practically earned for nothing!

The third-rank military merit symbolizes the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and many soldiers can only dream of the second-rank military merit.

One point of third-rank military merit is equivalent to ten points of second-rank military merit, and one hundred points of first-rank military merit is enough to be exchanged for one hundred taels of silver!

However, if we were to exchange the "Jia Mu Shao Yang Jing" that Li Yi was so concerned about for money, it would only be worth 10,000 taels of silver. Even if it were ten or dozens of times more, it would still be priceless and unavailable.

This is the value of high-ranking military merit, and it is also the reason why many physical cultivators in the Martial Dynasty are willing to join the army and fight for their lives.

Shi Jin did not linger. After offering a few words of encouragement, he left the training ground and gave the place to Commander Meng Yunjie.

Meng Yun's spotlight fell on Li Yi, and she said with a smile:

"I have heard of Li Xiaoqi's exploits. He was able to easily defeat Xiao Zhou and can be called the fiercest warrior among the garrison's sentries. Ten sentries will be equivalent to one hundred households."

The commander paused, then said solemnly:

"Li Yi and Zhong Ming, listen to my command. You two are hereby appointed as scout captains, each leading five squads, directly under the command of me, Meng Yunjie."

"Understood!" the two shouted in unison.

Meng Yunjie's expression relaxed. "Let's treat this as an internal arrangement for the scouts for now. Once your ranks are promoted, we'll report it to the military and the prefectural government."

Li Yi had an idea. He handed over the spell "Lingmingqing" and, with the subsequent military merits, he had a total of eighty points. He wondered how many military merits he would gain for assisting Gongsun Ling in killing the fox demon.

Although Li Yi personally killed the fox demon, it was entirely thanks to Gongsun Ling holding off the opponent.

I estimate it will be ranked at the second rank, so it won't be very useful.

Meng Yunjie disliked empty talk, so he said what needed to be said and then sent his scouts to the school to learn reading, writing, and surveying. Of the two hours, only 30% of the time was devoted to riding and archery.

Horse Face was the first to enter the classroom. He immediately tried to drag his mischievous friends, Zhong Ming, and Li Yi to the back seats, but the latter two politely declined, exclaiming in surprise:

"Brother Zhong, Brother Li, we have different paths, so we cannot work together!"

Zhong Ming rolled his eyes and pulled Li Yi to sit in the front row.

"Ignore him."

Li Erhu remained silent and was about to follow Ma Lian'er to the back seat when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He turned around and saw Li Yi staring at him, so he awkwardly sat down nearby.

No one needed to bring textbooks; each person had a copy of the Thousand Character Classic on their desk.

A moment later, a person strolled leisurely into the school.

The man had his hands behind his back, slightly hunched over, and looked quite leisurely, like an ordinary old man taking a stroll in his own garden.

Many of the scouts didn't recognize him, but Zhong Ming and Ma Lian'er gaped in disbelief.

The old man, who looked to be over fifty, walked leisurely to the desk. His two whiskers, like two fine strokes of ink, rested on either side of his nose. His cheeks were slightly high, making him appear somewhat thin.

This man is none other than the Prefect of Qifeng County, and also the commander-in-chief of this expedition, Lord Xu, Xu Xiaofeng.

His eyes swept across the classroom, landing on the back of the classroom, and he gave a curt rebuke:

"Liu Yunzhi, get into the front seat."

Horse-faced scurried to the front row, clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, and awkwardly took his seat.

Xu Gong ignored him and suddenly laughed:

"All of you selected as sentries are the best warriors in the garrison. Even if you have not entered the Daoist path, you must be outstanding among ordinary people."

"Of the four skills of a scout, bravery and archery need no further explanation, and surveying is also a rare skill. But in this lesson, I will focus on reading and writing."

"To be a good sentry, you need to be able to read and write and express what you want to say accurately in words. But as a human being, you have to be a little more 'greedy'."

"Reading can enlighten one's mind, but it is not only through reading that one can enlighten one's mind. Ordinary people have difficulty reading, so they can only understand something by experiencing all aspects of life and being accustomed to human relationships, joys and sorrows. If one is dull-witted, one will have to struggle in the mortal world for a lifetime and still live in ignorance."

The resources you've accumulated may not be enough to buy provisions for spiritual practice or methods of cultivation, but they are sufficient to purchase a few classic texts of sages and saints. Use reading—the most convenient and effortless way—to clarify your aspirations and conduct yourself as a person.

Seeing that everyone present was sitting upright, Xu Gong chuckled.

"I am not stubborn, and I am not determined to guide people to goodness and to regulate your lives. I only have one expectation for you all."

Regardless of wealth or poverty, or spiritual cultivation, the ultimate goal in life is happiness and fulfillment. All the hardship and suffering you endure for this physical body—can you find some compensation or solace for your soul?

"Excuse me, Master..." Li Erhu asked, his eyes filled with confusion, "If someone is naturally lazy, but a family member suddenly falls seriously ill, forcing them to work hard to earn money, what is that?"

Xu Gong stroked his beard and smiled.

"Good question. It depends on whether that person would be happy to win back their family."

Li Erhu frowned. "Hearing it this way, it seems that what Master said is somewhat selfish?"

Horse Face and Zhong Ming were secretly worried for this arrogant fellow. Fortunately, their teacher did not get angry and remained calm.

"People are all selfish, but there are good and bad in their hearts, so it cannot be generalized."

Returning to the topic of reading, if a person does not want their family to fall into a state of exhaustion due to illness, and has never read and understood principles, they will only take things one step at a time and wallow in the mundane world.

If one were well-educated and understanding, one should have long ago assessed one's family circumstances and the situation of one's family members, and thus strived to improve the family's circumstances, preparing for any eventuality.

Before anyone could refute him, Xu Gong continued:

"How many people in the world know the misery of their own circumstances, yet still do not strive for progress, or only have a three-day enthusiasm. This is because they have read some books and understood some principles, but are trapped by mental and physical distress and cannot be enlightened. They are dull and suffering people."

All beings suffer, and among the six realms of the underworld, the human realm is the most entangled, precisely because the vast majority of sentient beings only cultivate their life force, not their nature.

Thus, regardless of wealth or poverty, or the depth of one's spiritual cultivation, in the end, everyone is merely recorded in the Book of Life and Death, destined for a life of hardship, devoid of fortune, prosperity, and longevity—a final judgment upon death.

Xu Xiaofeng remained silent, waiting for time to pass, until a quarter of an hour later, when she spoke again:

"Alright, open your books and let's begin the lesson."

Xu Gong acted as usual, but for some reason, Li Yi felt that he seemed somewhat disappointed.