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

Meanwhile, as Meng Yunjie was locked in fierce combat with the monkey spirit, the two garrison sentries also resolved their immediate troubles. The enemy cavalry numbered nearly twenty, with Zhong Ming and He Shouli each taking down a junior officer, leaving seventeen ordinary mortals.

The seventeen men, surrounded by nearly a hundred scouts, had all dropped their weapons and were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.

"Soldiers who surrender must not be killed"—this was a saying the soldiers in the army had heard more than once. Not only Xu Gong had said it, but also a group of commanders and captains had mentioned it repeatedly.

In terms of military merit, a head is worth 30% less than a prisoner.

Zhong Ming turned to look at Li Yi, reined in the restless horse's head, and whispered:

"These people, are they considered to have contributed to our shared military achievements?"

"Use the same method as yesterday." Li Yi nodded slightly and shouted, "Which squad leader is willing to escort them back to the pass?"

Although escorting prisoners is considered a military achievement, the two armies are currently engaged in battle, which is a crucial moment for gaining military merit. Moreover, the garrison scouts are currently in high spirits, so naturally no one is willing to take on the task voluntarily.

He Shouli opened his mouth slightly, about to speak, when he saw Ma Lian'er take charge and lead his men to drive away more than ten prisoners, whipping them away.

Li Yi's ears twitched. "The enemy just fired a signal arrow. There are two cavalry units on the north and south sides. Brother Zhong, let's each block one and meet up at Tongjiabao."

"good!"

Li Yi watched the two scouts ride off into the distance, then suddenly turned his horse around and shouted, "Xiao Guan!"

Guan Tian had already drawn his longbow, aimed at a figure to the north, and suddenly released it, saying, "Hit!"

The arrow shot out in an instant and reached the armored soldier. The man simply raised his spear and smashed the arrow in two, without diminishing the horse's momentum at all.

Junior officer Chang Heng, after assessing the enemy's numbers—estimated eleven or twelve—sneered, raised his sword, and shouted:

"My lord, just watch closely!"

Chang Heng took the lead and met the armored soldiers from the north. As soon as he swung his sword, the enemy soldier swung his spear backhand and, without even looking, knocked him away. He fell to the ground and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

Chang Heng felt a sharp pain in his chest and spat out a large amount of blood. Looking up, he saw that the cavalry had already charged another hundred meters.

Upon seeing this, Xu Rong, Sun Xueming, and He Shouli, who were still following behind, quickly slowed their horses and shouted:

"It seems to be a centurion!"

The prisoners mentioned yesterday that in the Great Yan Wu Dynasty, one with the initial Qi Refining cultivation level can serve as a captain; as for a centurion, one with the mid-stage cultivation level is sufficient.

Li Yi gripped the horse's flanks tightly with both feet, and passed over the group of junior officers. From a distance, he could clearly see the appearance of the armored soldiers.

"Where did you put my brother?!"

The armored soldier's face was contorted with rage. He roared and thrust out his spear, but Li Yi easily caught it and could not pull it away.

Li Yi gripped the spear shaft with one hand, the spear tip no more than three inches from his nose, yet he showed no fear. Instead, he took the opportunity to observe and discovered a trace of golden energy.

The armored soldier suddenly felt his spear loosen, and he jerked back his weapon, causing him to stagger.

When he looked at the young scout again, a sense of awe suddenly appeared in his eyes.

With a flick of his wrist, he thrust the spear into Li Yi's heart, shouting in his mind, "Golden Edge Technique!" A wisp of golden energy surged along the spear shaft to the spearhead, reflecting two sharp golden rays in the sunlight.

The spear thrust was short and powerful; an ordinary person would be pierced through if they were not careful.

Li Yi watched as the soldier crawled like a tortoise, dodging the attack by sidestepping. He then grabbed the soldier's wrist and pulled him backward, causing him to leap off his horse and into the air. He then struck the soldier's ear with a palm strike, instantly knocking him unconscious.

"Thump!"

The armored soldier fell off Li Yi's horse, and the remaining cavalrymen, seeing this, immediately lost their will to fight and surrendered one after another.

"Your Excellency is mighty!"

Chang Heng rode up, clutching his stomach, and offered a flattering remark with a pained expression before retreating back into the ranks and falling silent.

Xu Rong waved his riding whip in front of the surrendered soldiers and said sarcastically:

"You're incredibly arrogant. My commander is the bravest in the entire army, unmatched among cultivators of the same realm. How dare an ordinary mid-stage body cultivator be so overbearing?"

Li Yi glanced at him, said nothing, pointed to the unconscious armored soldier beneath him, and turned to give the order:

"Old He, sever his tendons and ligaments, then lead this cavalry force back into the pass."

"Understood!" He Shouli shouted to his subordinates, then spurred his horse and rode away.

Li Yi then rallied the remaining flag bearers and set off again.

Xu Rong caught up to him, falling half a step behind, and said with a smile:

"We are fortunate to follow you, sir; it is truly a blessing earned through three lifetimes of good deeds."

Li Yi glanced at him, then looked around and shouted, "We'll reach Tongjiabao in about 15 minutes. Do not harm the civilians; focus all your efforts on searching for enemy cavalry!"

Xu Rong's expression stiffened, and he and the others responded with "Yes," slowly slowing down their horses and returning to the ranks.

Li Erhu chuckled to himself, but didn't say anything sarcastic. He winked at his three brothers, Guan Zhong and Liu.

It's really out of stock. I thought Brother Yi couldn't see the filth in the barracks?

The squadron sped along at breakneck speed; if not for their exceptionally strong physiques, the biting winds of the three-nine-mile stretch would have been enough to give them a hard time.

……

Meanwhile, outside Tongjiabao.

A fire had already broken out inside the tree cage, but it couldn't burn through the dense forest no matter what it did.

Although Meng Yunjie was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had cultivated the Yin Fire in his heart, his cultivation was only in his physical body.

In terms of the power of the flames, it is not much stronger than Zhong Wending, who is a Qi cultivator in the Qi Refining stage.

Before encountering this Wood-elemental Earth element, Meng Yunjie was extremely satisfied with his foundational supernatural power, "Mind Monkey Fiery Eyes."

With this supernatural ability, whenever fighting someone, one can see through the opponent's movements beforehand, and even has the ability to confuse the mind. Once the opponent is affected, it often means that the outcome of the battle has already been decided.

But now, facing this clever monkey, "Heart Monkey Fiery Eyes" seemed to have encountered its nemesis.

His "spiritual root treasure" not only keeps his vision unobstructed, but even if he is affected by the chaotic spirit, he can instantly awaken with the help of his other four bodies and is almost unaffected.

The dense canopy of trees overhead is endless and grows incessantly; even if a breach is created with all one's might, it will be repaired in an instant.

While dealing with the tree claws, Meng Yunjie tried to break through the tree cage, but was repeatedly thwarted by the monkey spirit. By this point, he was almost exhausted.

To fight against the Earth God is to fight against the spiritual energy of the entire land!

Meng Yunjie felt bitter. He became famous at a young age and successfully established his foundation in just five years after entering the Dao. At that time, his subordinates admired him and his superiors valued him. He was so full of vigor!

Now, another five years have passed since he began his foundational studies, yet he has still been unable to cultivate his small intestine and achieve the harmony of Yin and Yang in his fire energy. He seems to be gradually fading into obscurity.

Even though the subordinates remained respectful and the superiors continued to favor them, their mindset had changed drastically.

He twisted and turned in the tree cage, then suddenly looked up at the sea of ​​trees, completely unaware of the tree branches that were cutting through the wind beside him.

If the supernatural powers I comprehended back then had been compatible with my physical body, or if I had been able to exchange them for a Yang Fire Dao technique earlier, would things be different this time?

"call--"

Meng Yunjie's face trembled from the wind of the palm strike, and only then did he realize the danger nearby. He turned his head sharply and saw that the tree palm had stopped a foot in front of him and was no longer moving.

The monkey spirit suddenly revealed itself, its face contorted in a ferocious expression, and uttered a few words to someone.

"You little brat, you dare to come back!"