Qi Rushes to the Dipper

In cultivation, it's not the case that secluded bitter training day and night will yield rapid progress. In fact, worldly experiences and various battles are equally important. This is also one of the reasons the Zhuang Emperor established the Dao Merit Board to encourage cultivators to complete various tasks—it's not that the court cannot handle those matters, but that such tempering can improve cultivation efficiency. Nor is this unique to Zhuang Kingdom; all states and schools across the world have similar systems.

Take the battle at Small Forest Town as an example. After slaying the Resentful Ghost, Jiang Wang's Heaven-Connecting Palace gave birth to more than a dozen new Dao Essences. These were not completed through Pulse-Opening cultivation, but naturally conceived in the lingering rhythm after intense combat.

Dao Essence is the perfect fusion of intent and power, the true reflection of the spiritual beings of all things upon the origin of heaven and earth, and the foundation of all strength, the root of transcendence.

This is the reason Zhao Rucheng invited everyone to drink flower wine—as cultivators, they need to complete their life experiences.

A man of upright character like Ling He naturally refused to wallow in the mire, so he was responsible for picking up Jiang An'an from school that day and taking her out to play.

Du Yehu couldn't have been more eager, while Jiang Wang was half-persuaded, half-reluctant. He had initially hypocritically refused on the grounds of needing to take care of little An'an, but after Zhao Rucheng quickly "arranged" for Ling He, everything was joyfully settled.

There was also Huang Azhan, who had been drinking with Du Yehu at the time. When he heard about such good fortune, he was practically dragged along clinging to Du Yehu's thigh. Fortunately, Young Master Zhao was wealthy and generous, and didn't mind a few extra hangers-on.

The best brothel in all of Maple Forest City, the Three-Part Fragrance Pavilion. The most luxurious private room, the most expensive girls.

Ever since moving out to live with An'an, aside from attending classes at the Dao Academy, they rarely had time to gather privately. After a few rounds of wine, Jiang Wang asked the girls to leave first.

"Hey hey hey, don't go!"

"Sister, dear sister, let me go home with you!"

The one with a flushed face, crying and wailing, was naturally Huang Azhan. He had just pestered each girl for no fewer than seven or eight rounds of drinks, and was now quite tipsy. He practically wanted to see them off for ten li, deeply reluctant to part, very eager to lose his virginity right there. But the girls all giggled and refused, filing out one by one.

They were all cultivators, after all, so it was hardly possible for them to truly indulge in debauchery. For cultivators, before opening the Heaven and Earth Gate, maintaining one's virginity was quite necessary.

So Jiang Wang remained clear-headed throughout.

As for Du Yehu, he really just wanted to drink. Where he drank and with whom were secondary.

Only Huang Azhan was reluctant to let go. He looked pleadingly at Zhao Rucheng, thinking that the two of them were kindred spirits. But Zhao Rucheng just shook his head. The girl he had specially requested hadn't come, and he couldn't hide his disappointment. "Common, vulgar beauties. How boring."

"These are common and vulgar? These!" Huang Azhan nearly jumped to his feet. "How big those cups were! No, how round those clothes were. No, how white those hairpins were..."

He finally gave up and burst into tears. "Wuwuwu, what's so vulgar about them?"

Jiang Wang: "..."

Zhao Rucheng: "..."

Du Yehu slapped him on the head. "You've had too much to drink, go to sleep. You can have whatever you want in your dreams."

Ignoring Huang Azhan, who had taken the opportunity to collapse onto the table and was now snoring like thunder, Jiang Wang did some mental calculations and said, "I've been doing some tasks here and there lately and earned fifteen points of Dao Merit. Adding what I saved up before, I have about forty points total. I don't need the Dao Merit for now, so I'll transfer it to you first. Whoever among you has enough Dao Merit can exchange it for a Vein-Opening Pill first. After all, once you transcend, earning Dao Merit is easier."

By "you," he naturally meant Zhao Rucheng and Du Yehu, and of course included Ling He, who wasn't present. They were all brothers. If they had to argue about an order, it would only create distance. So it was best to give it to whoever had the most Dao Merit first.

The external manifestation of the Dao Vein was a major event, the first step toward transcendence, so the sooner the better.

"I don't want any." Zhao Rucheng was lazy, half-leaning against his chair. He always seemed indifferent about cultivation, getting by purely on talent.

"I don't need any either." Du Yehu downed a cup of wine and suddenly said, "I'm leaving."

"Leaving? Going where?" Jiang Wang asked.

"Earlier, Wei Yan asked if I wanted to join the military. I thought about it for a few days and I've already decided. I'm leaving tomorrow."

This was truly sudden. Zhao Rucheng sat up straight immediately. "Brother Hu, you need to think this through."

"I've thought it through." Du Yehu grinned. "Wei Yan said I'm more suited for the path of the Military School, and I think so too."

That was true enough. Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng both knew that Du Yehu's physique was extraordinary, his blood and qi abundant—he was indeed a seed for the Military School. But the entire Zhuang Kingdom was primarily Daoist in cultivation, and there were truly few Military School experts in Zhuang.

Even the current nominal supreme military commander of Zhuang Kingdom, General Huangfu Duanming, was actually a Daoist cultivator. The entire Zhuang Kingdom lacked the soil for cultivators of other schools, including the Military School. Even Wei Yan himself cultivated Dao techniques.

If Du Yehu chose this path, it meant he would have no systematic cultivation space for a long time, only scattered Military School cultivation methods.

It wasn't that the Military School was weak. The reason was that the reason Zhuang Kingdom had been able to maintain peace for so long under the tigerish gaze of Yong Kingdom was largely due to the support of the Daoist Sect. The Zhuang Court's backbone wasn't strong enough to be as inclusive as the Qin Court or Chu Court. Zhuang Kingdom was primarily Daoist in cultivation, and could only be primarily Daoist.

But Jiang Wang simply couldn't find words to stop him. Because he knew Du Yehu's character too well. This man had a fire burning in his heart, fierce and wild. He refused to admit defeat, refused to lose, and certainly didn't want to be left further and further behind by Jiang Wang. But those Daoist scriptures gave him a headache just looking at them; their natures simply didn't align. And his physique, his blood energy—he was truly gifted by nature. If he were in Mo State, or some other place where military cultivation flourished, he would undoubtedly be a highly regarded genius.

"Who was Wei Yan recruiting you for?" Jiang Wang asked.

"There are quite a few vacancies in the Jiujiang Black Armor. A few slots were allocated to our Maple Forest City. Wei Yan thought I was suitable and recommended me."

Probably because Du Yehu's bravery and straightforwardness appealed to soldiers, after the Small Forest Town mission, Wei Yan had struck up a friendship with him.

As for the Jiujiang Black Armor... that was practically the pride of Zhuang Kingdom, the most lethal army in all of Zhuang, its reputation surpassing even the White Feather Army that guarded the capital, Xin'an.

In fact, precisely because of the existence of the Jiujiang Black Armor, Jiujiang City, despite being just one city, was often called the fourth prefecture of Zhuang Kingdom. Nominally under the jurisdiction of Daishan Prefecture, it was in fact highly autonomous. The city lord of Jiujiang City was also the leader of the Jiujiang Black Armor, a tradition that had continued since the founding of the kingdom, showing its special status.

"Even if you go to the Jiujiang Black Armor, you'll still need Dao Merit." Because Du Yehu was about to join the army, Jiang Wang had already decided in his heart to transfer his own Dao Merit to him first.

"Not needed." Du Yehu still shook his head. He wasn't being insincere, nor was he the type to be insincere. He said casually, "Since I'm taking the Military School path, I don't plan to take the Vein-Opening Pill. Of course, I'll take the most traditional and oldest path of the Military School!"

The so-called Military School tradition referred to cultivators not relying on pills, but choosing to use blood and qi to rush open the Dao Vein. The reason it could already be called "ancient" was that among those who succeeded on this path, fewer than one in a thousand succeeded. The best outcome for failures was to become cripples; more died on the spot.

One must understand that twice-daily Pulse-Opening cultivation, sublimating blood and qi, and condensing Dao Essence, was already the limit of ordinary cultivation. To gather vast blood and qi and directly rush open the Heaven-Connecting Palace, manifesting the Dao Vein externally—how dangerous was that?

But precisely because of its danger, it was revered as orthodox by that group of madmen in the Military School, held in the highest esteem.

Once successful, the benefits were also enormous. Military cultivators who succeeded in opening their veins through this method often achieved beyond the ordinary.

Jiang Wang and Zhao Rucheng both fell silent. They could feel the determination of this tiger.

"So, transfer the Dao Merit to the boss first. Mine too, give it to him." Du Yehu casually cut off his own retreat, directly grabbed the wine jug, and downed half a jug of wine.