Chapter 365: Life

Near midnight.

Only Li Rui and Yuan Xiong remained by the wine table in the courtyard.

Yuan Xiong finally spoke:

"Brother Li, you called me and Fu Tao here just to wrestle and drink?"

Li Rui's face was somewhat flushed.

Immortal martial artists drink only liquor potent enough to intoxicate an Immortal.

It was indeed strong.

He and Fu Tao had wrestled and drunk eighteen large bowls over two full hours before stopping.

Fu Tao walked in upright and was carried out lying down.

"Exactly."

"I was afraid Fu Tao might be a brute—if he lost and flew into a rage, he might resort to brute force, so I needed Brother Yuan here to keep him in check."

Yuan Xiong chuckled lightly: "It wouldn't come to that."

But Li Rui said nothing.

In all his years, he'd learned two rules: never assume your enemy is foolish, and never assume he's clever.

Martial artists aren't necessarily schemers.

Military officers especially not.

Always prepare for every possibility.

These past days, the Ox Guard has crushed the Peace Guard several times over; as deputy commander, he could only blame this debt on Fu Tao, the other deputy commander.

Directly fighting to the death would be too crude.

It hadn't reached that point.

But he knew he had to make Fu Tao understand he wasn't to be trifled with.

So he arranged this banquet today.

He had matched Fu Tao's eight-tenths strength purely through body cultivation, enough to intimidate him.

After all, he wasn't planning to reveal his breakthrough to the Heart Refining stage.

When the superior fears, the subordinate restrains.

Life for the Peace Guard would improve from now on.

Scolding and intimidation were one thing, but as his superior, he had to settle matters himself—he couldn't dump everything onto subordinates; that would make governance seem too simple, and he wouldn't last long.

Yuan Xiong was a smart man.

Connecting this with recent rumors, he quickly understood.

"Brother Li, you handle things with finesse."

You didn't shame anyone, yet you got the job done.

Li Rui: "Just a few small tricks."

"If I had the Marquis's power, I'd just kill him outright."

Yuan Xiong found this exactly to his taste: "True. We martial men must charge ahead, smashing a path with a single punch."

Li Rui chuckled:

"Alas, old brother here has mediocre martial skill—I'll still have to rely on you younger brothers in the future."

Yuan Xiong's expression turned strange; he muttered inwardly.

'You're just old-looking.'

In age, Li Rui was not especially old among Immortal martial artists—even by age, he ranked mid-tier.

Boundless potential.

There's a saying: Better to mock a fifth-rank elder than to insult a ninth-rank youth.

It means: never provoke someone still full of potential—you never know when they'll rise above you and make you suffer for it.

At his age, in the span of an Immortal's life, Li Rui was practically a boy.

After their sparring, Fu Tao drank so readily precisely because he feared Li Rui's potential.

"Brother Li, you should say less of that—you're not much older than me, only forty."

Li Rui coughed lightly.

He felt melancholy.

'Indeed, living on, I've reached an age where I can no longer rely on my seniority.'

'I'm regressing with every passing day.'

Days passed one by one.

Perhaps because the Zhenshe of An Nan Town had truly taken effect, the Purple Gold Palace made no further moves.

Li Rui had asked He Qianian.

What should be done with the exiled immortal?

He Qianian's reply: as long as the exiled immortal showed no open rebellion against Yu, leave him be.

The Yu Empire's Emperor formed the Shadow Guard precisely to prevent exiled immortals from disrupting court politics.

Killing an immortal was a last resort—only in direst necessity would even the Emperor issue such an order.

The Purple Gold Palace was in Wu Country.

As long as they didn't reach too far, the Shadow Guard would naturally ignore them.

One day.

Li Rui, as usual, trained the Great Iron Body in the courtyard.

Though he now had the Five Spirits Body Refining Scripture, he had never neglected his original techniques.

Moreover, he found that external cultivation benefited the Five Spirits Body Refining Scripture.

Not to mention anything else.

Had he not trained the Great Iron Body, how could he have forcibly seized the elemental energies of heaven, earth, and water so swiftly to complete the Mystic Water Body?

Internal and external cultivation together is the true path.

He knew He Qianian didn't practice internal arts because his talent was too limited—he couldn't even begin them. Li Rui bore the Dragon and Immortal Forms; his talent was exceptional—he would never bind himself with shackles.

After days of hard training,

his method of drawing spiritual energy from heaven and earth through the Great Iron Body had grown increasingly refined.

He was nearly becoming a thief of heaven itself.

Just as he reached the peak of his training,

a gatekeeper boy, panting, ran up: "Master, there are many people at the gate—they say they've come to deliver an imperial decree."

Li Rui heard this and said:

"Quickly bring them in."

Soon after,

Provincial Military Commander Zhou Ting and Regional Commander Xue Gui entered Li Rui's residence, accompanied by several deputy commanders.

Zhou Ting laughed heartily:

"Commander Li, congratulations! Good fortune doubles!"

Li Rui was puzzled.

What double good fortune?

As he pondered, Zhou Ting took a scroll from a nearby attendant.

He did not read it aloud like a Hanlin scholar or a eunuch of the Office of Ritual; he simply placed it in Li Rui's hands.

Unless it was a capital appointment, most local officials received imperial decrees read by their local superiors—Li Rui's earlier decree had been a special favor.

But for a second-rank Provincial Military Commander like Zhou Ting to come personally was extraordinary.

"His Majesty, moved by Commander Li's late-blooming diligence and self-improvement, and wishing to set an example for the people of Yu, hereby bestows upon you the title of Viscount."

Li Rui's expression brightened.

Promotion and ennoblement!

Though no grand eunuch was present, he still knelt down with a thud, crying "Long live His Majesty!" before rising to accept the decree. His household likely held the most imperial decrees in Yunzhou.

Several hung golden-yellow in the main hall.

He was well practiced in reading them.

As Zhou Ting said, the decree not only confirmed his post as Deputy Commander of An Nan Town but also added the words "Special Ennoblement as Viscount."

Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron.

Only dukes, marquises, and earls were truly hereditary; viscounts and barons were merely nominal honors.

Yet due to the feudal rebellions of the previous dynasty,

the Yu Empire strictly controlled noble titles—no third-rank titles, and even viscounts and barons of fourth or fifth rank were exceedingly rare, granted almost exclusively to fallen generals; very few living men received such honors.

Though the viscount title carried no fief or authority,

it was a clear sign of imperial favor.

!

Several deputy commanders and miscellaneous generals, upon hearing the Emperor had granted Li Rui a title, looked at him with new eyes, filled with envy.

Who among brave men hasn't dreamed of being ennobled?

Though a viscount is far from a marquis, it still lets one savor the taste, doesn't it?

Moreover, Li Rui is a living marquis—this changes everything.

They had long heard that Li Rui once traveled to the capital and met His Majesty.

Now it was clear: he was His Majesty's trusted agent in Yunzhou.

Zhou Dinghai stepped forward: "Lord Li, His Majesty's grace is immense; you must fulfill your duties faithfully to repay His Majesty's favor."

"Yes."

Li Rui replied respectfully.

Afterward, Zhou Dinghai offered a few symbolic words of praise before leaving with his men.

The courtyard fell silent once more.

At that moment.

Lines of small characters appeared before Li Rui's eyes.

【Congratulations, Host! You have completed the Intermediate Plot Achievement: Marquis.】

【Official rank is external; noble title is your own. Congratulations, Host, on earning your first noble title. Keep striving to become a hereditary lord.】

【Achievement "Marquis" completed. Reward calculation in progress.】

【Achievement rating: C.】

【Obtained 30 Achievement Points!】

【Name: Li Rui】

【Age: 15】

【Talents: Martial Bone, Extraordinary Comprehension, Insightful Eyes, Great Dream Immortal Travel, Demon Subjugation, Dao Seed】

【Cultivation Techniques: Changchun Art, Dragon Soaring Through Nine Heavens, Dragon-Elephant True Qi Power, Five Spirit Body Refinement Scripture】

【Item: Spirit-Ascending Book】

【Achievements: 40/100】

Li Rui stared at the words "hereditary lord" on the panel, his mouth twitching.

As far as he knew,

hereditary lords typically met only two fates: either they became emperor, or their families were exterminated—no other outcome existed.

The two remaining dukes in Yu State

had essentially cut off their own arms to survive.

Otherwise, why were both dukes crushed under the weight of two marquises?

At this moment,

Yang Yong and Liu Tiezhu walked over, drawn by the commotion.

They had heard every word.

Both men stared intently at the imperial edict in Li Rui's hand.

They had seen imperial edicts before, but never one like this—explicitly granting a title upgrade.

Yang Yong kept muttering under his breath:

"Old Li, you've really made it."

"Now you're a marquis. I've got to go visit your ancestral graves up north—see if they're smoking."

"Damn, this is a marquis!"

To ordinary people, duke and viscount were the same—both could be called "marquis."

Li Rui rolled his eyes.

Ancestral graves?

His predecessor had fled here; the graves were surely washed away by flood long ago—no chance of smoke.

Everything today,

he had earned himself.

When Li Rui and Yang Yong still served under the Zhu family,

once, after drinking too much,

Li Rui's face flushed as he boasted he was a reincarnated great master who would surely become a marquis.

Yang Yong had laughed at him.

"If you become a marquis, I'll at least be a grand general."

The past still lingered before him.

Too bad,

Li Rui had truly become a marquis—and Yang Yong would never become a grand general in this lifetime.

【Just youthful bravado.】

Li Rui felt a pang of nostalgia.

He could never say such bold words anymore.

Then Yang Yong sighed regretfully:

"Old Li, why don't you remarry? Dongmei's been dead for over thirty years. No heir—your viscountcy will go to waste."

Noble titles could only be inherited by children.

Disciples didn't count.

Li Rui had no children at all; when he died, the viscountcy would be revoked.

That was why Yang Yong said it.

Li Rui laughed bitterly: "Bullshit. I was pure with Dongmei."

"Come on, fool others if you want, but you think you can fool me?"

"Tell me—on the eleventh day of the first month that year, didn't Dongmei run out of your room?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Li Rui sneered.

As long as he didn't speak of it, it never happened.

He pointed at Yang Yong: "Old Yang, don't ruin my reputation."

(End of Chapter)