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

When Sanyizhuang Xiaoqi entered the Commander's Mansion, there was still a moment before the class was to begin.

After becoming familiar with his four brothers, Chung Wending never hesitated to talk to them. However, this morning he acted strangely, secretly observing Li Yi all the way.

He flicked his wrist, causing a fiery red bracelet carved with flame patterns to spin twice.

"Yi-ge'er seems a little different today?"

"My cultivation has made progress."

Li Yi responded calmly, and Erhu and the others didn't take it seriously either. Only Zhong Wending gave a meaningful "Oh".

"I've known Yi-ge for eight or nine days, and I've already experienced at least two different things. His cultivation speed... seems to be faster than mine."

Unbeknownst to him, Li Yi was previously only at the early stage of Qi Refining, which was significantly different from the information given by Zhong Ming.

As Zhong Wending was feeling sentimental, a person suddenly walked towards him. The person was wearing a woolen coat and paused when he saw Li Yi and the others.

This person was none other than Xiao Zhou, the Thunder Body Cultivator who lost to Li Yi in the competition.

"Li Xiaoqi is also here to see the Commander-in-Chief?"

"I'm here to listen to the lecture," Li Yi said, shaking his head.

Xiao Zhou was taken aback again. "Even the garrison sentries are taught by Lord Xu?"

The five soldiers of Sanyi Village looked at each other in bewilderment.

"I thought Master Xu only taught us, but it turns out the barracks are the same."

Doesn't this mean that Master Xu staggered the reading and writing lessons for the three scouts, teaching them from morning till night?

Xiao Zhou chuckled upon hearing this, "That's what I think too."

He gave a slight bow and said, "I was ordered to find the Commander-in-Chief. Now that my mission is complete, I will take my leave."

Li Yi returned the gesture with a fist salute, watched him leave the government office, and then hurried to the classroom.

Logically, on the last day of school, the sentries should have relaxed a bit, but surprisingly, not a single one was late or absent. Li Yi and the others were considered to have arrived late.

Master Xu is indeed Master Xu; his mere status as an ordinary lecturer inspired awe in these rough men.

In nine days, I gave a rough explanation of the Thousand Character Classic, but only covered about two or three tenths of it in detail. This was sufficient for basic reading and writing.

Halfway through the course, Master Xu suddenly put down his book, flipped his hand, and three flags appeared on the lectern: one large and two small.

"With less than half an hour left until graduation, I can't possibly cram too much into your brains. So I'll just say some idle talk, and you can listen to it as you please."

The slightly hunched, gaunt lecturer picked up a large flag and asked:

Do you recognize this flag?

Those present were all elite soldiers of the garrison; how could they not recognize this item?

"Isn't it just a 'banner' used for command?"

"Indeed, this flag represents instructions. When others see it during a march, they know where to go."

Xu Xiaofeng put down the "banner" and picked up a small flag with a red face and yellow border. The flag was decorated with a few simple embroidered lines, which depicted a phoenix spreading its wings.

"What kind of flag is this?"

"Flag!" someone shouted in unison. "Wherever this flag is planted, it is territory occupied by our army."

Xu Xiaofeng nodded calmly, and finally picked up a small flag with a red face and yellow border. Instead of a simple phoenix spreading its wings embroidery, it had two numbers on it.

The scouts were very familiar with this flag. "This is the garrison's small flag!"

Xu Xiaofeng nodded again.

"After you set out on your campaign, whether you are patrolling, surveying, or spying on the enemy, a junior officer will always carry this flag on his back. Wherever this flag goes, that is the direction the scouts will follow."

"With your merit in scouting the enemy and your ability to survey the land, the banners will have a direction to move and the signal flags will know where to be planted."

"Where the army goes, the 'small flags' go first."

A gentle breeze swept through the hall, yet it was not biting in the cold winter.

The small flag fluttered in the wind, and then Xu Xiaofeng said, word by word:

"This flag is the soul of the little flag. As long as the flag is there, the little flag is there; the scouts know where to go, and the army knows where to advance. You may be confused when learning to read, but if you pick up this flag, you cannot afford to be careless!"

Upon hearing this, all the scouts straightened their backs and showed great respect for the small flag in the teacher's hand.

Xu Xiaofeng raised her long sleeves and swept them across the lectern, revealing ten small flags.

He picked one up and said solemnly:

"Li Yi from Sanyi Village, step forward to receive the flag."

Li Yi stood up abruptly, strode to the lectern, stretched out both hands, took the small red flag embroidered with the words "Sanyi," and looked up, saying:

"Li Yi of Sanyi Village will certainly live up to this banner."

His voice was steady and powerful.

Xu Xiaofeng nodded slightly and took another flag.

"The bell tolls at Liusizhuang, the flag is raised."

……

Ten junior flag officers stepped forward one by one to receive the flag, as if the flag weighed a thousand pounds. Not one of them whispered; each stared at the flag representing their own village, as if they were performing a solemn ceremony.

The lecturer distributed the small flags and did not linger.

Just then, Meng Yunjie arrived and relayed the news that they would be setting off for the expedition the day after tomorrow and would be gathering at the Tiger Might Camp. Only then did the various squads depart.

As Li Erhu and the others left the government office, they couldn't help but exclaim excitedly:

"Did you notice? Our teacher can conjure objects out of thin air. Could he be a cultivator?"

Liu Zhi looked on with envy, "No wonder he can lecture us in the Commander's office."

"That's right, how could an ordinary lecturer keep a group of body cultivators in check?" Li Erhu said suddenly, "No wonder I, Erhu, was completely suppressed by him."

Chung Wending couldn't help but tease, "Clearly you're afraid of being disciplined with a ruler. A dignified Taoist practitioner, yet you're afraid of being hit on the hand."

Li Erhu's face stiffened, and he said indignantly, "If he were just an ordinary person, what would it matter if he beat me up!"

"Alright, alright, stop teasing Erhu."

Li Yi stopped the two with a smile, then turned to Liu Zhi and asked:

Have you shown any signs of catching a cold recently?

Liu Zhi didn't even need to answer; his embarrassed expression said it all.

Li Yi scratched his head, thinking to himself that he shouldn't ask too many questions in the future. He patted Liu Zhi on the shoulder and comforted him:

"It's alright, it's only been a month, there's still plenty of time."

Even so, Li Yi was somewhat puzzled.

Since he took over Sanyi Manor, Liu Zhi has had no shortage of meat every day, and he has three meals a day. Even if he doesn't get sick, his physical condition has changed only slightly.

According to Gongsun Ling, as long as one gets proper nutrition, it shouldn't be too difficult to catch a cold, which seems to be somewhat of an exaggeration.

Judging from Liu Zhi's situation, it will probably be the same as Er Hu's, requiring two months, or even longer.

This is the norm, isn't it?

The group of five returned to the village and then dispersed.

Li Yi couldn't find Zhang Junyi, so he assumed she was still at the Zhang residence. He didn't wait any longer, and invited the Wang family grandfather and grandson, along with Qin and her daughter, to have dinner together. When they had almost finished eating, he put down his chopsticks and said:

"The day after tomorrow we will be going to war with the army, and there will be no able-bodied men to look after the village. Old Wang, why don't you and your grandson go to the city with Aunt Qin for a while, so you won't be disturbed?"

Old Wang was aware of the feud between Li Yi and the Feng family, but he hesitated upon hearing this.

"The younger one still has to guard the house for the adults..."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Just talk to the two military households and let them move in."

"Then they..." Old Wang still had doubts.

"Don't worry, I've already made a clean break with the Feng family. Even if they order their soldiers to cause trouble again, the local earth god will come back to check on things from time to time, so there's no problem."

Old Wang was finally relieved and looked at Qin's chin, not daring to look up again.

"I'm afraid this naughty grandson will keep you quiet and disturb the madam and young lady."

Qin Yue'er secretly nudged Wang Ling with her hand. Qin Shi saw this and smiled, saying:

"Uncle Wang, you are overthinking it. Our three families have lived together for many days and are already inseparable. From now on, whether it is the estate or my place, you and Xiao Wangling are free to go wherever you wish."

Old Wang exclaimed "Hey!" and hid in the yard to wipe away his tears.

Li Yi felt relieved, exchanged a smile with Qin, and thought of sending a letter home before setting off on the expedition. He asked her to guide him and wrote the letter himself.

As it was getting dark, it seemed that Junyi should stay at the mansion. Suddenly remembering something, she put a bottle of blood-qi pills into her bosom and headed towards Liu Zhi's house.