Chapter 862: Eight-Character Mustache Leshan

The new guards had originally been decided, and everyone had no intention of lingering in Haotian City. However, with this sudden turn of events, leaving casually was no longer an option.

Among the twelve individuals, some were sympathetic to the Jade Blood Sect. Seeing the old woman send a message, they frowned inwardly, pondering how to resolve the situation.

Given the old woman's capability, it shouldn't be difficult for her to retrieve a Cloud River Realm cultivator from the prison. Once Lu Yiye was released and registered with the Recruitment Office, acquiring the identity of a Bingzhou Guard, the old woman could justifiably take him to Tianmen Pass.

At that point, no one would be able to stop her, unless they were willing to snatch him from the old woman. But if they actually did that, given her animosity towards the Jade Blood Sect, it would inevitably lead to a complete fallout.

Several Grand Cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm, who leaned towards the Jade Blood Sect, all had a private headache over this.

Meanwhile, in the Command Office, as had been the case several days prior, Fan Xiangyi was delicately sipping fragranced tea when a figure suddenly burst in. It was Qian Wudang.

Fan Xiangyi didn't even lift her head. "What is it?" Qian Wudang sat down in front of her, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp. "That crazy old woman named Yu from Tianmen Pass wants to get someone out of prison."

"Lu Yiye?" Fan Xiangyi instantly understood.

"Who else could it be?" Qian Wudang scoffed. "A dignified Divine Sea Realm cultivator painstakingly scheming against a Cloud River Realm one—it's simply outrageous!"

"Hatred is like old wine; the longer it ferments, the more potent it becomes," Fan Xiangyi said calmly. "Especially for someone with one foot in the grave, it's not something that can simply be let go."

"Fortunately, he was initially imprisoned for ten days, and now five days remain. If I don't speak, not even a fly will get out of that prison, and that crazy old woman won't be able to wait another five days.""Release him."

"Hmm," Qian Wudang responded casually, then quickly realized something was off. "Release him? Are you sure? If he's released, he'll be taken to Tianmen Pass!"

"Release him. She won't be able to take him away!"

Qian Wudang frowned. "What are you up to? Don't tell me you want to recruit him into the Command Office?"

But that didn't make sense. Both his Law Enforcement Office and Fan Xiangyi's Command Office had very high cultivation requirements. Cultivators in either office had to be at least of the True Lake Realm; those of the Cloud River Realm were simply not qualified to join. This was because speed was paramount for delivering commands, naturally requiring high cultivation. Similarly, the Law Enforcement Office frequently dispatched personnel to apprehend errant Bingzhou Guards, and low strength was unacceptable.

Therefore, with Lu Ye's current cultivation, he was utterly incapable of joining either office.

"Of course, someone will fight her for him!" Fan Xiangyi smiled sweetly.

Qian Wudang looked at her profile, vaguely sensing her intent. "Then I won't meddle further."He immediately sent out a message.

In the Dragon Lock prison, Lu Ye sat upright.

His injuries from the punishment were almost fully recovered, a clear demonstration of the benefits of his strong physique. Even without being able to use spiritual power in this place, it didn't hinder his recovery much.

However, since he couldn't use spiritual power, he couldn't cultivate.

Just as he was meditating, his mind suddenly trembled. He quickly came to his senses and, opening his eyes, saw the same elderly man who had brought him in standing before him. "Young friend, you may leave now."

Lu Ye asked, surprised, "Hasn't the time limit expired yet? They said I'd be held for ten days, but it's only been five."

The elderly man shook his head. "I don't know either. I'm just following orders."

Lu Ye asked no further questions. He stood up, and Amber leaped onto his shoulder, crouching there.

He followed the elderly man out, and soon, he saw the light of day again.

Outside the prison, the elderly man said, "There are instructions from above for you, young friend, to proceed immediately to the Recruitment Office. It's in that direction."

The Recruitment Office was in a very conspicuous location. Lu Ye had passed by it a few days ago, at which time it had been swarming with cultivators rushing to register.

Today, however, it was quiet and deserted. The Recruitment Office was highly efficient; all the cultivators had already registered and even had their assignments settled. Now, only Lu Ye was arriving late.

As he rushed into the Recruitment Office hall, several pairs of eyes immediately fixed on him. They were clearly the cultivators on duty there.

Lu Ye instantly spotted a familiar face. "Lu Yiye!" The man had handsome features, with a neatly trimmed mustache that added a touch of dashing elegance. He smiled at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's face immediately darkened. He retorted, annoyed, "I really didn't expect to see you again!"

This fellow in front of him was none other than Le Shan of the Righteous Qi Sect! The moniker 'Lu Yiye' had originated from him. While Lu Ye was in the Cloud River battlefield, he had often thought about whether he would get a chance to settle scores with this guy.

He had long decided that if they ever met, he would give Le Shan a good beating. It was all because of this guy that his name had even changed.

Even the name on his battlefield imprint now showed as 'Lu Yiye'!However, Lu Ye hadn't encountered him on the Cloud River battlefield, so he never expected to meet him here.

Le Shan hadn't imagined that in just a few years, this youngster would achieve so much! Le Shan chuckled, noticing the hostility in Lu Ye's eyes. "Are you planning to beat me up?"

"No such thing!" Lu Ye denied it flatly. He probably couldn't beat Le Shan; Le Shan was now of the True Lake Realm. Although Lu Ye was invincible within the Cloud River Realm, if they truly fought, he might not be Le Shan's opponent.

Coming from the Righteous Qi Sect, his foundation was naturally formidable; Le Shan was much stronger than typical True Lake Realm cultivators.

"That's good then!" Le Shan enthusiastically patted Lu Ye's shoulder. "Come, come, we were waiting for you. Let's get you registered first."

As he led Lu Ye forward, he whispered, "Have you offended someone?"

"I'm new here; who could I have offended? What happened?"

Le Shan shook his head. "I don't know. We just received orders to quickly get you registered. Something's unusual. Just be careful."

Lu Ye nodded. He hadn't noticed anything before, but after hearing Le Shan say that, he indeed felt that something was amiss.

He was supposed to be imprisoned for ten days, yet he was released on the fifth day. And now, the Recruitment Office had received orders to quickly get him registered.

It was as if someone was impatient to do something to him.

Led by Le Shan, the two arrived at a desk where a cultivator was waiting behind it. The cultivator gave a slight nod to Le Shan, then looked at Lu Ye. "Name, sect, cultivation level. Do not conceal or falsely report anything. If any discrepancies are found, the Law Enforcement Office will come for you."Naturally, Lu Ye wouldn't falsely report anything. Le Shan was right there, and there was no need to lie about such basic information.

"Lu Ye, Jade Blood Sect, Cloud River Ninth-Level Realm." The cultivator immediately activated his spiritual power and input Lu Ye's basic information into a jade slip he held.

After finishing, he took out a disc-shaped object and said, "Raise your hand and place the part with your battlefield imprint here."

Lu Ye looked at the disc, somewhat puzzled.Le Shan kindly explained, "Here, they register people as Bingzhou Guards. The military rank is the second thing the Recruitment Office handles. The rank depends on two factors: your cultivation level and your past battle achievements. The higher your cultivation and the more battle achievements you've accumulated, the higher your military rank will naturally be. This affects how much monthly merit you receive in the future. With your current Cloud River Ninth-Level Realm cultivation, you can probably be a Squad Leader. Of course, if your past battle achievements are sufficient, you could even be a Decemvir."

He patted Lu Ye's shoulder. "Military rank is very important. It not only affects your monthly stipend but also your status within the Bingzhou Guards. However, this rank can be slowly improved, so don't worry too much about your initial rank."

Lu Ye nodded. "Understood."As he spoke, he placed his left hand, bearing the battlefield imprint, onto the disc.

The cultivator holding the disc activated his spiritual power, channeling it into the object. The disc immediately glowed, its light pouring into Lu Ye's battlefield imprint.

"The Battle Merit Disc has the function of checking a cultivator's past battle merits. Even if you've used them, there's still a record. Different tiers of merit cause the disc to emit different colors of light. White is the lowest, indicating you haven't gained much battle merit before. If your cultivation isn't high enough, you'll only be a common soldier, taking orders from others."

As Le Shan spoke, the disc indeed emitted a milky white glow, but that milky white quickly transformed into cyan.

"Cyan represents around ten thousand battle merits. Coupled with your Cloud River Ninth-Level Realm cultivation, Squad Leader is definitely settled..."Before he could finish, the cyan had already turned blue.

"Blue signifies up to fifty thousand points. Congratulations, Lu Yiye, you can be a Decemvir... Uh, if it's green, why did it turn yellow...?"

Le Shan's expression gradually turned to shock because, as he spoke, the color on the Battle Merit Disc was rapidly changing. After green came yellow, and it only stopped when the yellow became incredibly rich, on the verge of transforming into the next color.

Inside the Recruitment Office, several cultivators were utterly astonished, their gazes fixed on the dazzling yellow, not moving for a second.

Such a bright yellow glow could only be triggered by hundreds of thousands, or even close to a million, points of battle merit. Even they, True Lake Realm cultivators, had never obtained so many battle merits.

How could a Cloud River Ninth-Level Realm cultivator achieve this? Their first reaction was, "The Battle Merit Disc must be malfunctioning!"

Le Shan shook his head. "The Battle Merit Disc is linked to heavenly mysteries and connected to the battlefield imprint. How could it be wrong?"

If it wasn't wrong, then it meant Lu Ye's past battle merits were...immense!Several pairs of eyes simultaneously turned to Lu Ye, all utterly astonished.

Le Shan mumbled, then spoke, "Lu Yiye, did you... gain a lot of battle merits in the past?""I gained some."

"Do you remember the exact amount?"Lu Ye shook his head. "I don't remember the exact number, but it was probably several hundred thousand."