Order of Bestowal! Yang City County Court Greatly Shaken

Inside the tent, the sound of breathing was long and steady as Zhao Cheng closed his eyes to carefully sense the changes within his body.

After a thousand years of deduction, his body was now brimming with the Qi of heaven and earth, which was slowly and meticulously refining his sinews, bones, flesh, and internal organs. This process sent waves of extreme comfort through his body at every moment.

Since he began body refining, this was the first time he had felt so comfortable, unable to stop even if he wanted to.

An extreme vitality sprouted within him. Unlike the violent, volcanic power he had felt before, this life force was endless and radiant; it was as calm as the vast ocean, yet it could shatter the heavens and split the earth at a single thought.

He breathed deeply, every pore on his body inhaling and exhaling the wisps of Qi drifting between heaven and earth.

With each breath he took, more Qi flowed into his body, while at the same time, a portion of it was constantly dissipating.

In general, as long as he was practicing breathing techniques, the speed of absorption and storage was much faster than the rate of dissipation.

However, if he breathed naturally, the speed of absorption would slow down significantly.

And if he were in the midst of intense combat, the consumption would far exceed the rate of absorption.

But given the amount of Qi currently stored in his body and his absorption efficiency, he could fight at his previous intensity for three days and three nights without any issues.

After experiencing this for a while, Zhao Cheng decided to continue his deductive cultivation.

His life was something he had snatched from fate, but his power was his own; since he wasn't lacking for battles, he might as well keep refining.

"I estimate I'm close to the perfection of body refining. Let's test the waters with a small amount—invest five hundred and twenty-five years into practicing the Basic Body Refining Technique!"

[Beginning to invest lifespan into practicing the Basic Body Refining Technique.]

[Year 1: You continue to absorb Qi through breathing. Your body is now filled with Qi, which constantly refines your flesh, sinews, bones, and internal organs, all of which are steadily improving.]

[Year 100: The Qi continues to refine your body. You feel your vitality growing stronger, your lifespan increases by another fifty years, and your Qi Body Refining reaches minor completion!]

[Year 300: After centuries of Qi Body Refining, you feel that every corner of your body has accumulated a massive amount of Qi.]

[Year 400: Your body has been refined to the limit by the Qi. You are indestructible from head to toe, your life force is as vast as the sea, and your internal organs are like alchemy furnaces, with surging vitality constantly echoing within you. Your lifespan increases by two hundred years, and your Qi Body Refining reaches great completion!]

[Year 500: You feel that Qi Body Refining has reached a certain limit. Your sinews, bones, flesh, and internal organs no longer improve through refining, yet the Qi within your body continues to leak away. You realize that this path seems to have reached its end...]

[Year 525: Body refining no longer improves, and the Qi continues to leak...]

"Huh?"

"Have I reached the peak?" Zhao Cheng frowned, feeling that his body refining was far from perfect—in fact, it was still quite far off. "Add another hundred years..."

[Year 550: Body refining no longer improves, and the Qi continues to leak. Feeling that this is not the way forward, you begin to try other cultivation methods...]

[Year 560: You attempt to rapidly exhaust your Qi and then re-absorb it through breathing. The upper limit of your internal Qi remains unchanged, and your body refining remains stagnant...]

[Year 600: Over the past forty years, you have tried standing meditation, boxing, stopping your breathing, self-harm followed by recovery, and many other methods, but none have had any effect. You are extremely frustrated...]

[Year 615: With body refining making no progress, you begin to vent recklessly, throwing punches with all your might. As your Qi flows through your limbs and bones along with the explosion of your power, you suddenly sense something breaking open in the center of your chest and abdomen, and the Qi flows into it!]

[Year 616: After constant investigation, you discover that this area is very special. It does not belong to the sinews, bones, or flesh, and you had never sensed it in previous body refining. You begin to study this area.]

[Year 620: You conclude that this place is a Meridian, and you deduce that both Meridians and Acupoints are the most critical locations for storing the Qi of heaven and earth. You begin to try to start from the opened Meridian and store all your Qi inside it!]

[Year 625: You fail. The Meridian in the center of your chest and abdomen has only opened a little, and no matter what you do, you cannot force more Qi to flow in...]

"Meridians??"

Zhao Cheng was astonished.

He carefully sensed the area in the center of his chest and abdomen, a spot the size of half a fingernail. It contained far more Qi than any other part of his body; even his forearm did not hold as much as this tiny area.

Moreover, as the Qi flowed into it, the rate of dissipation slowed down significantly; perhaps a single breathing session would be enough to replenish whatever little had leaked out.

"So, the path to the perfection of Qi Body Refining lies here." Zhao Cheng's eyes brightened. "With the control I have over my body, I hadn't sensed it at all before; it was as if it didn't exist."

He could clearly sense and even control the smallest fascia in his body.

But only now did he know that such things as Meridians existed. It was clear that if not for this stroke of luck, even if someone told him where the Meridians were, he would be unable to sense them, let alone open them. He might have been stuck here for the rest of his life.

"Then the path ahead is easy; I just need to open up the Meridians. The one thing I don't fear is grinding, patient work."

Zhao Cheng didn't mind; he still had nineteen hundred years of lifespan left.

But after thinking about it, he decided to remain cautious.

"Let's test the depth first. Invest one hundred years of lifespan into practicing the Basic Body Refining Technique."

[Beginning to invest lifespan into deducing the Basic Body Refining Technique...]

[Year 1: You continue to breathe, attempting to force more Qi into the Meridian...]

[Year 10: You continue to breathe and open the Meridian, but fail...]

[Year 30: Attempt to open the Meridian fails...]

[Year 50: Attempt to open the Meridian fails...]

[Year 70: You try to open the Meridian using the method of throwing punches with all your might, but it is ineffective...]

[Year 90: Attempt to open the Meridian fails. This thing seems impossible to open...]

[Year 100: Through your persistent efforts, the Meridian is opened by a tiny sliver—faint, almost imperceptible. But after years of trying, you know it like the back of your hand and are absolutely certain that this Meridian has expanded!]

Zhao Cheng was stunned. "This is a bottomless pit."

A hundred years, and only a sliver has opened. At this rate, even if I poured in tens of thousands of years, I'd only clear a finger's length. As for opening the critical points, who knows when that will ever happen.

"Hiss, how can this be?"

"Did I walk the wrong path from the start?"

"Could it be that I should have cleared the Meridians first, then used them to circulate Qi to refine my physique?"

The more Zhao Cheng thought about it, the more he felt this logic was sound. But before, he couldn't even sense where his Meridians were, so how could he talk about clearing them?

He was utterly baffled, always feeling as though he had overlooked something.

Zhao Cheng sat cross-legged, stroking his chin in deep thought...

Zhao Cheng stood up, pacing around the tent in deep thought...

Zhao Cheng walked out of the tent, looking at the moon in the sky in deep thought...

After half a night of such bitter contemplation, until the moon hung high in the center of the sky, Zhao Cheng suddenly had a flash of inspiration, his expression turning extremely grave!

"Could it be... that my aptitude is poor?"

"In martial arts novels, they always say that to reach a high level of skill, one must open the Ren and Du Meridians. Daoist internal alchemy also emphasizes opening these two channels..."

"And these two have one thing in common: they both require excellent aptitude to cultivate..."

"If I can't cultivate, then it must be..."

"My aptitude is too poor!?"

Having figured this out, Zhao Cheng looked up at the moon, sighing in silence.

How melancholy.

How desolate.

I've already reached the Great Completion of Qi Body Refining, and you're telling me my aptitude is no good?

I've been thinking all along that the Basic Body Refining Technique was just too basic, which is why the progress was so slow!!

"Damn it all!" Zhao Cheng cursed, turned around, and went back into the tent. "I'll just have to save up my life to buy a Marrow Cleansing Pill. Relying on sheer life force to brute-force it clearly isn't enough..."

The next day.

The Qin State army set out from the pass, heading toward Ye County.

From Fang City Pass to Ye County, the march required detouring through the Kunyang Mountains and the Zhi River valley, a distance of eighty to one hundred kilometers.

Passing through mountainous terrain and tributaries of the Zhi River, the road conditions were complex; a standard march would take four days to reach Ye County.

The army departed at dawn, rested at noon, set up camp at dusk, and kept watch through the night.

As an Assault Cavalry Commandant, Zhao Cheng led over a thousand elite cavalrymen from Meng Tian's unit to scout and clear the path ten miles ahead of the main force. To his regret, he didn't encounter a single enemy along the way.

"Days without a battle are truly as bland as water."

Zhao Cheng lamented thusly...

While he was feeling as bland as water, the sound of urgent hoofbeats rang out outside Yang City.

A Flying Cavalry messenger with a conferred title decree hanging from his waist galloped into the city, heading straight for the County Court!

"Report! A conferred title decree from the army!"

Upon entering the County Court, the messenger leaped off his horse. Meng Wei walked out of the corridor with a face full of joy.

The messenger took the military report and the conferred title decree from the leather pouch at his waist and presented them to County Commandant Meng Wei. "Lord County Commandant, this is the conferred title decree sent by the General, with a military report attached."

Meng Wei took the decree with a look of surprise and delight; he had already guessed as much. "I wonder if it's that kid. This is far too fast—it's only been a few days, and the decree has already been sent back."

He took the silk scroll, and his expression suddenly changed drastically. "Fifth Rank Grandee!?"

This decree was backed with three feet of white silk, its edges dyed crimson with madder—this was the specification for a Fifth Rank Grandee!

Had he not seen the mud-sealed military stamp on the decree, he would have thought it was a forgery!

"This..."

Meng Wei's expression immediately turned anxious.

To achieve the rank of Fifth Rank Grandee in a single battle meant either a major conflict or an immense military contribution. Whichever it was, it was extremely perilous!

"Quickly report this to the County Magistrate!"

Clutching the decree, he hurried toward the County Magistrate's office.

County Magistrate Wang Yuan was in the back hall checking the grain ledgers. Hearing the urgent report, he immediately straightened his cap and went out to meet him.

When he broke the bamboo tube and saw the three vermilion characters "Fifth Rank Grandee" on the silk scroll, his eyelids couldn't help but twitch.

The County Magistrate and Meng Wei exchanged a glance. The former broke the mud seals at both ends, and they unfolded the scroll with grave expressions, their heads leaning together as they stared wide-eyed at the text.

The scroll was written in small seal script:

Zhao Cheng, Assault Cavalry Elite of Sanchuan Commandery, in the sixteenth year of King Zheng of Qin, during the campaign to attack the Han Fang City Pass.

Led two hundred elite assault cavalry to be the first to scale and breach the city, beheading two hundred and twenty-seven enemies, leading the troops to slay five hundred and forty enemies, beheading one deputy general, capturing one general, and seizing one banner.

In accordance with the Military Rank Code, he is granted the title of Fifth Rank Grandee, a fief of three hundred households, twenty-five qing of land, twenty-five dwellings, twenty-five servants, an annual salary of four hundred and fifty shi of grain, and a full exemption from corvée labor for his entire family.

Meng Wei shuddered violently, giving County Magistrate Wang Yuan quite a start.

"What are you shaking for!?"

"Are you not shaking?"

"I was startled by you!"

"Then hold it steady!"

"Enough nonsense!" Ignoring Meng Wei, Wang Yuan immediately turned to the County Assistant and said, "Summon Zhang Yu, the Village Head of Huaiyang Village, at once!"

"Also, send men to the Field Overseer to retrieve the household register slips and the land grant maps."

According to the Administrative Correspondence Code, the decree for granting titles must be executed within three days, or the presiding official shall be punished with the lash.

Of course, even without the Administrative Correspondence Code, Wang Yuan intended to finish the ennoblement process as quickly as possible.

He was joking; he had watched that lad enlist himself, and the boy had barely turned sixteen, having left the County Court less than half a month ago, only to become a Fifth Rank Grandee!

A leap of eight ranks in one go!

And look at those battle achievements.

First to scale the walls and break the city!

Slaying enemies and capturing generals!

Over two hundred kills in a single battle, and capturing the enemy commander alive from the heart of their formation!

With such a meteoric rise, how could he dare to be negligent?