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

A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold; a beautiful woman can corrupt even the most heroic bones.

No matter how unwilling Li Yi was to get up early, he had to obediently set off at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

When he led his horse out of the mansion, it was still dark, but he didn't have time to think too much. He mounted his horse and turned to look at the woman beside him.

Zhang Junyi was also leading a tall, black horse, hidden in the night, with only its two eyes still shining. It was the second horse assigned to Li Yi by the garrison, and it was named Jueying.

As for the jujube horse that Gongsun Ling and the tall man gave him, its physique, endurance, and horsepower were in no way inferior to most pedigree horses.

Li Yi also gave it a name, Chitu (Red Hare).

Zhang Junyi wanted to see the horse off, but the two steps from the side room to the outside of the mansion were too awkward to walk, so he had no choice but to hand over the reins.

"May Brother Yi achieve a resounding victory and return in triumph."

The woman had a smile in her eyes and a clear, gentle voice.

Li Yi suddenly smiled and said, "Junyi, once I've made a name for myself, I'll go to Dahan Mountain to find you and formally marry you."

After saying that, he suddenly yanked the reins, gave a low shout, and with a clatter of hooves, disappeared around the street corner in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Junyi watched the two horses and one person depart into the distance, the smile in his eyes gradually turning into a look of worry.

Madam Zhang, supporting herself against the gate, strode out and sighed softly, "Since you can't bear to part with Yi-ge'er, why are you letting him leave?"

"A man's ambition lies in all corners of the world. Junyi should be Yige's nest, not his cocoon."

Zhang Junyi withdrew his gaze and turned to return to his residence.

Zhang Ling hid in the eastern waterside pavilion, listening through the wall, and remained silent for a moment.

Yesterday, after finishing his shift, he spoke briefly with Li Yi and finalized the "Zan Niao" title for him. All the necessary documents and land details will soon be sent to Hanshan County, where officials will be dispatched to Li Family Village to implement them.

I heard that Yi-ge'er has already broken through to the next realm. With this talent, as long as he doesn't actively get involved in something, he's almost certain to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. After the two of them get married, the Li and Zhang families will become one of the most prominent immortal clans in Qifeng County.

Unfortunately, human desires are endless.

Li Yi's dismissive attitude toward Zhang Ling's vision inevitably annoyed the latter.

The Nine Provinces are teeming with exceptionally talented individuals, yet over the centuries, how many have actually achieved the Golden Core stage?

A lifetime of busy work, yet it all ends at the foundation building stage; some even die young. What a waste!

……

Red Hare was indeed a fine horse. It was not inferior to the sentry horses specially bred by the garrison. Even with multiple people on its back, it was unwilling to be overtaken by Jueying and accelerated repeatedly.

Li Yi chuckled softly, wanting to test Jueying's skills. He braced himself on the saddle with both hands, then leaped to the left, landing perfectly on Jueying's back.

The black horse raised its head, snorted loudly, and began to gallop, overtaking several meters in an instant.

The jujube horse was even more unwilling to give up, so it took off galloping and covered the distance from the north of the city to the south in just a quarter of an hour.

The guards at the South Gate were already familiar with Li Yi and knew he was on official business today. As usual, they checked his waist tag, opened the small gate, and sent him out of the city.

"Commander Li!"

Li Yi gently reined in his horse and turned around to see a familiar face: Xu Rong, a junior officer from the Fourth and Fifth Villages.

Of the ten sentry detachments in the garrison, Li Yi had four more sentry detachments besides the one from Sanyi Village, with Siwu Village being one of them.

"At least I ran into someone I know. It's so dark outside, I was really afraid of bumping into some kind of monster or ghost."

Li Yi couldn't help but chuckle. This man's speech was often exaggerated and always carried a self-deprecating tone.

"Look at what you're saying, what evil spirit dares to offend military might today?"

Xu Rong chuckled, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "From now on, I will be Commander Li's henchman. But if any monster wants to get close to you, sir, it will have to step over my corpse first!"

Li Yi felt somewhat uncomfortable. He waved his hand, spurred his horse on, and soon spotted the scouts on the official road. He quickened his pace and joined the group.

Meng Yunjie looked at Li Yi from afar, nodded slightly, and said nothing.

Li Erhu rode closer and shoved all the items piled on the saddle into Li Yi's hands.

There was a large bow, a quiver of arrows, a change of clothes, and most importantly, a small flag.

This small flag has a three-foot flagpole for carrying the flag on its back, or it can be pulled out and held in the hand.

Li Yi slung his bow and arrows and small flag over his shoulder, then exchanged glances with his three subordinates, Guan Zhong and Liu, before settling down to wait.

After a while, the ranks gradually became orderly, and Meng Yunjie then called out:

"Each squad leader counts the number of people and reports to the head squad."

"Reporting to the thousand households, a whole team has arrived."

"Report to the commander-in-chief, both teams are assembled."

Meng Yunjie nodded in satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over the hundred-plus sentries.

"The army is about to set out, and we will be at the forefront. Remember Xu Gong's teachings: as long as the flag is there, people will have a direction to charge—but I, Meng Yunjie, also have something to say."

Qianhu paused.

"All 103 scouts of my garrison went there, and we will return with the same number."

Zhong Ming's eyes were filled with excitement as he clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"We will certainly live up to the high expectations of the thousand households!"

"We will certainly live up to the high expectations of the thousand households!"

The scouts marched in a grand procession along the official road, passing several rivers, and arrived at Fengxia Pass around noon, their momentum still lingering.

Fengxia Pass is not large in area, with a circumference of less than eight li. There are two military camps inside the pass, and there are also quite a few villages, counties, and fortified villages in the surrounding area.

Li Yi gazed at the city gate in the distance, where a troop of soldiers was waiting at the foot of the city wall. In the distance, there were beacon towers and watchtowers, which must also be guarded by soldiers.

"The two barracks at Fengxia Pass are probably also staffed, but it's unclear whether any soldiers will accompany the army on the expedition."

Chung Wending followed beside Li Yi and responded in a low voice:

"I estimate there will be. The county town has 4,000 garrison troops, so sending 12,000 troops is not too many. Although Fengxia Pass does not border Dali, it is still a border pass, so the number of soldiers should be no less than 20,000."

"It seems there are more than three hundred scouts..."

Li Yi murmured to himself, "Zhong Wending seems quite familiar with the war affairs of the Wu Dynasty. He must be a son of a military family."

But since he is suited to the Five Elements Golden Elixir Dao, why didn't he join the Immortal Sect and was instead forced by his elders to enlist?

How strange!

Before they knew it, the cavalry had approached the city walls.

A man came to greet them, exchanged a few words with Meng Yunjie, and then ordered the gate to be opened, leading everyone inside.

The garrison scouts were arranged to rest in the barracks. Less than a quarter of an hour later, the scouts from the Tiger Might and Vanguard Battalions also arrived one after another and joined the garrison.

Meng Yunjie gave the order that all the scouts must eat as soon as possible, so they all wolfed down their food. During this time, someone delivered a map and a small flag to each of them.

The five people from Sanyi Village huddled around a table to observe, and Zhong Wending pointed to the simplified city gate on the right:

"This is Fengxia Pass. To the left is a flat area of ​​fifty li, with the Qiu River flowing directly into the border of the Great Yan Kingdom. Further to the left is the border of the Great Yan Kingdom."

When the time came, Meng Yunjie immediately straightened the ranks, exchanged glances with the other two scout captains, and ordered the map to be unfurled.

"The army of Qifeng County set out on the expedition, and the soldiers of Fengxia Pass were also ready to go."

Our army will not remain in the pass to reorganize. After meeting up with the generals and soldiers of Fengxia Pass at noon, we will immediately send troops to press on the border within three days.

What you need to do is, before dawn tomorrow, ascertain the territory of the local earth god on the border of the Great Yan Kingdom.