The Quest for Immortality - Chapter 1150 (Patreon)

Chapter 1150: Bestowal of Rank and Title

Yang Jishan was puzzled, but Yang Jiyong at his side looked excited. Even with injuries all over him and his arm in a sling, he still greeted him warmly.

“Little Mo, this is your first time in the Dao soldiers’ camp, right?”

Mo Hua nodded.

“Then let me show you around.”

A military camp can be “toured”…?

Mo Hua glanced at Yang Jishan.

Yang Jishan thought for a moment. “All right. Let Jiyong help you get familiar with the place. If you’ve nothing else pressing, come with our Yang family to the Great Wilderness. Marching to war is dangerous, but in times like these, the outside world isn’t safe either.”

Mo Hua nodded. “Thank you, Commander Yang.”

“I still have matters to attend to.” Yang Jishan patted Mo Hua on the shoulder. “Take good care of yourself.”

“Mm.”

Yang Jishan inclined his head, gave Yang Jiyong a few instructions, and left.

Once he left, Yang Jishan returned to his command tent and began preparing for the upcoming suppression campaign.

The Dao Court’s army moving to quell the Great Wilderness rebellion was no small matter.

As a Golden Core–realm commander, the military coordination he had to oversee piled up like a mountain.

A stack of documents and jade slips awaited his review and execution.

Yet as he flipped through a jade slip, Yang Jishan couldn’t help frowning, musing to himself:

“That young man named… Mo Hua—who exactly is he again…?”

“Nanyue City…”

“The only thing I recall connected to Nanyue City… is the Lu clan’s corpse plague.”

“Over a decade ago, the Lu family ruled that region alone. The clan head, Lu Chengyun, opened corpse mines, refined corpse-slaves, and raised a Corpse King—his ambitions were great.”

“Later, the matter broke out. Nanyue City suffered a corpse outbreak inside and out—mountains of corpses and seas of blood. There were even signs of horrific corpse abominations taking root. Only through the Dao Soldiers Division and clan cultivators fighting to the last did they slay Lu Chengyun, subdue the Corpse King, and extinguish the corpse plague in Nanyue City…”

Yang Jishan fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help wondering:

“But what does any of that have to do with this youth named Mo Hua?”

“By the count, he’d have been only in his teens back then. A kid that age, meeting me in Nanyue City—there’s no way he was actually tied to that corpse plague, right? That would be… absurd.”

A fog lingered in Yang Jishan’s mind. After thinking for a bit, he still had no clue.

Mo Hua’s figure felt both familiar and strange, hazy and hard to place.

Yang Jishan shook his head and continued reading the jade slips before him.

Military matters were urgent. As for Mo Hua, he would think on it when he had time.

…

Meanwhile, in the Yang family’s encampment—

Yang Jiyong beamed with pride as he led Mo Hua around.

Mo Hua saw the Yang clan’s neat, imposing Dao soldiers; he saw all kinds of fine weapons and armor, the shifting battle formations they used in combat, and the many applications of arrays in warfare…

Even after only a short while, Mo Hua felt his eyes opened. He gained a deep respect for the Yang family’s Dao soldiers, and his tone brimmed with praise.

Hearing this, Yang Jiyong felt all the more proud.

Compliments raise men high, so he praised Mo Hua in turn. “Little Mo, I really didn’t misjudge you. You were gifted from childhood, and your eye is keen—no wonder Immortal-Passage City hasn’t seen such an array prodigy in centuries.”

Mo Hua smiled. “Uncle Yang, you flatter me.”

“Don’t call me ‘Uncle Yang’; that makes me sound old.” Yang Jiyong frowned. “Call me Brother Yang.”

If Mo Hua were still a little kid, “uncle” would be fine.

But now Mo Hua had grown into a youth as fine as a painting; calling him “uncle” made Yang Jiyong feel awkward.

“But…” Mo Hua hesitated. “I call Zhang Lan ‘Uncle Zhang.’ If I call you ‘Brother Yang,’ wouldn’t that put you a generation below him?”

Zhang Lan was of the Zhang clan; Yang Jiyong was of the Yang clan. The two families had some history between them, and their elders were connected by marriage to a degree.

The two had known each other since childhood. They were practically relatives, and yet they didn’t always get along.

Yang Jiyong froze, then ground his teeth. “Fine—when you’re with me, call me Brother Yang. When Zhang Lan’s around, call me Uncle Yang.”

“That way, out of his earshot I’m younger than him; in front of him, I’m still his peer.”

Mo Hua sighed lightly. “All right…”

They continued touring the camp.

After a few more circuits, something seemed to occur to Yang Jiyong. He asked, “By the way, where have you been these last ten-odd years?”

Back when the Qian clan was wiped out and a grand demon was suppressed, he had been reassigned to Immortal-Passage City.

After that incident ended, the Dao Soldiers Division dispatched him to the Great Wilderness to garrison Wolf Fang Pass.

So he knew nothing of Mo Hua’s later affairs.

Mo Hua answered simply, “I wandered for a time and studied arrays. Later I entered a sect and received a bit of cultivation inheritance. I’ve completed nine years of study and come down the mountain again—to travel, broaden my horizons, and temper myself.”

Yang Jiyong nodded.

He didn’t press for details.

Wandering likely meant staying within the nearby provinces; too far, and even with two legs, ten years wouldn’t suffice for a round trip.

As for joining a sect—

Nowadays the great sects were strict about spiritual roots and family background.

Mo Hua came from a small place with poor spiritual roots; he couldn’t have joined a famous great sect.

If he had truly entered a renowned sect, he would have said so outright—naming that sect when he introduced himself.

Skirting it like this clearly meant the sect’s name wasn’t illustrious.

Since that was the case, it wasn’t his place to pry.

On matters of social tact, Yang Jiyong had some sense.

Mo Hua, however, was waiting for Yang Jiyong to ask, “Which sect did you join?” So he could reply, calm and modest:

“Qianxue Province, fifth grade—the Great Void Sect.”

That way he could show off naturally and without forcing the subject.

But Yang Jiyong, polished in worldly ways, never asked at all. Mo Hua was a little disappointed.

It was a small thing, though.

After mulling it over, he asked about business. “Brother Yang, what’s the situation in the Great Wilderness? How far have the rebels advanced?”

Yang Jiyong paused, face growing pensive.

These things should have counted as military secrets; they weren’t for outsiders.

But he intended to bring Mo Hua aboard the Yang family’s ship sooner or later. Some things would naturally have to be shared.

Of course, he wouldn’t speak of anything too confidential.

He picked out what he could say: when the barbarian troops started their rebellion, where the front had spread from and to.

Which passes the Dao Court’s garrisons had lost, which they’d held, and which had yet to report.

Then he said, “Simply put, that’s the picture… For now the barbarians and Dao soldiers are split along Wolf Fang Mountain north of Wolf Fang Pass. Both sides hold their ground and clash constantly. Anything more goes into secrets I can’t share.”

“But none of that is the key. Whatever the situation, we Dao soldiers fight when ordered.”

“What’s more, the Great Wilderness is vast and sparsely populated, boundless and harsh—mountains run on without end, deserts and sinkholes cut the land in crisscross patterns, unimaginably complex.”

“Often, knowing the grand situation doesn’t help.”

“When the fighting starts, unless it’s a head-on decisive battle, most of it is skirmishing in wild mountains and badlands—small bands stalking and clashing again and again.”

“So for us front-line Dao soldiers, knowing the ‘big picture’ isn’t as important as knowing which mountain has a vicious demon, which marsh is rife with poison, and which ridge holds a barbarian ambush.”

“Obey orders. Cross mountains when you meet them, ford waters when you come to them. When you see the enemy, you kill. That’s all.”

Yang Jiyong spoke bluntly.

This was the experience he had gained from years as a Dao soldier.

Using armies on the level of grand strategy was for Feathering-realm commanders-in-chief and supreme generals.

For those charging and bleeding at the front, what mattered were the hills and rivers before their eyes, one enemy at a time, and the enemy’s blades and spears.

From a practical view: how to kill one foe, annihilate one squad, and win one battle.

All talk beyond that was paper strategy.

Mo Hua pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Brother Yang was right.

The so-called “grand situation” was only a broad outline.

In essence, final victory in war is accumulated bit by bit—from slaying one enemy after another, from winning one small engagement after another.

It was like constructing a great array: you start with one array pattern, then a single array, then layered composites. Only after drawing it all can the final grand array take shape.

In terms of cause and effect, it was stacking the causes of “victory” again and again until they accumulated enough to yield the fruit of “victory.”

Without gathering little streams, there can be no rivers.

Without accumulating small arrays, there can be no great array.

Without building up small wins, there can be no final, total victory.

Cultivation, arrays, war—each was the same.

Mo Hua asked, “And… what about the Great Wilderness Sect?”

“The Great Wilderness Sect?” Yang Jiyong didn’t quite follow.

“Isn’t the Great Wilderness Sect a directly administered sect established by the Dao Court to govern the Great Wilderness?” Mo Hua said. “Now that the Great Wilderness has rebelled, hasn’t the sect… been implicated?”

Yang Jiyong shook his head. “If the sky wants to rain and a girl wants to marry, and the royal clans of the Great Wilderness want to rebel—at the end of the day, the Great Wilderness Sect is but a fourth-grade sect. What can it do?”

“The territory is enormous and sparsely populated. The tribes are chaotic and unruly by nature, refusing restraint. The Great Wilderness Sect has done well to get things this far.”

“To lay the whole rebellion at its door would be unrealistic.”

“Besides, with the wilderness princes in revolt and barbarian armies at our borders, the Dao Court needs the Great Wilderness Sect’s assistance to quell the rebellion.”

“For the sect, this is also an opportunity…”

“An atonement of merit?” Mo Hua asked.

“Not just that…”

Mo Hua’s eyes moved. “The Great Wilderness Sect wants to raise its grade?”

Yang Jiyong gave him a surprised look, impressed once more by how sharp this kid had always been.

He nodded. “The Great Wilderness Sect is fourth grade. Out here on the frontier, that’s the ceiling. Without great merit, the Dao Court wouldn’t let it jump to fifth grade.”

“Now the situation is different. The royal clans of the Great Wilderness have rebelled. The chance to reach fifth grade has appeared.”

“As long as the sect renders outstanding service in the suppression, it may break precedent and be promoted to a fifth-grade great sect.”

“On the frontier, a fifth-grade great sect is basically a small principality.”

There was a lot of emotion in his voice.

Mo Hua’s thoughts turned. “The Yang family’s relationship with the Great Wilderness Sect—is it pretty good?”

“It’s all right.” Yang Jiyong nodded. “The Great Wilderness Sect administers the Great Wilderness. Our Yang clan is a Dao Soldiers Division lineage; in every generation we’ve had disciples stationed here. There’s plenty of interaction; over time, we’ve built decent ties.”

Mo Hua fell silent.

He hadn’t expected the Yangs to have that connection with the Great Wilderness Sect.

That made the Yang family a poor choice for his “backing.”

If he were to oppose the Great Wilderness Sect, the Yangs would be caught in the middle.

Even if they didn’t turn against him, they might not tear their face with the sect for his sake.

“Then… could we use the Yang family’s connections to make that Young Master Tuoba from the Great Wilderness Sect return my Great Tiger?”

He thought it over and shook his head.

His ties with the Yangs weren’t deep enough.

Young Master Tuoba’s standing within the Great Wilderness Sect, however, was high.

Besides, just saying a few words—what claim did he have for the sect to hand the Great Tiger back?

“What is it?” Yang Jiyong noticed Mo Hua drifting off and asked.

“Nothing.” Mo Hua shook his head, then added, “I spent some time in Desert City. The Great Wilderness Sect’s conduct… doesn’t seem very good.”

At least that Young Master Tuoba, who ran an underground Beast-Fighting Arena and treated servants’ lives like grass—he was no good person.

“That…” Yang Jiyong sighed, helpless. “There’s no helping it.”

“Among great families, it mostly comes down to ties and interests. Water too clear has no fish. We Yangs come from Dao soldiers, so we’re a bit upright—but sometimes we have to turn a blind eye. If you’re too particular about everything and end up at odds with the world, our Yang clan would be ostracized and unable to stand.”

“The Great Wilderness Sect’s affairs are its internal affairs. It isn’t our place to meddle.”

“Besides, this is the Great Wilderness.”

His expression grew grave. “Things here aren’t like the Dao Court’s Nine Provinces. Some things the Nine Provinces forbid are commonplace in the Wilderness.”

Mo Hua thought of the beast pit’s slaves who weren’t even treated as “people” and nodded slightly.

After a moment of silence, Yang Jiyong said, “Enough about that. Your timing is actually pretty good.”

“The rebellion is an opportunity for the Great Wilderness Sect to raise its grade. For the Dao Soldiers Division, the Yang clan, and us common Dao soldiers, it’s likewise a chance to earn merit.”

“For you too.”

He glanced at Mo Hua. “How far have you come with arrays?”

“I’m a second-grade formation master.”

Yang Jiyong lit up, praising, “I knew I hadn’t misjudged you! You were already a first-grade formation master at a very young age—your talent was extraordinary. Now, after just a bit over ten years, you’ve broken through the wall and become second grade.”

Between first and second grade lay a thick barrier.

To break first grade and enter second in one’s twenties was remarkable even in a great clan—real array talent.

Such gifts and such a person must not be wasted.

Yang Jiyong began to plan for him. “You’re perceptive, and your arrays are outstanding. You should shine in the Dao army’s campaign—build merit and make your name.”

“The only problem is that you’re a loose cultivator, with no household record. You need real, tangible achievements to secure a standing.”

“In the Dao Court’s world, nothing is more illustrious than military merit—especially merit in quelling rebellion.”

“If you rack up notable achievements…”

He paused, then asked first, “Would you consider marrying into someone’s family?”

Mo Hua shook his head.

“Pity.” Yang Jiyong was regretful but added, “If you did, you should prioritize our Yang clan. Of course, a regular alliance marriage is also possible—but then the partner’s family status, spiritual roots, and blood closeness may all be a notch lower.”

“Still, I’m guessing by your temperament you don’t want either of those.”

“If so, there’s another road—harder, but more dignified: founding your own clan.”

Mo Hua was taken aback. “Found my own clan?”

Yang Jiyong nodded. “If you earn military merit and receive the Dao Court’s favor, you might bypass the Heavenly Authority Pavilion’s review and be directly granted a titled rank. That kind of bestowal is almost only given for truly exceptional service.”

“Ordinary ‘family grading’ is having a family first, then applying for its grade.”

“But if you’re granted a titled rank, you have the grade first, then build the family.”

“In that case, once you’re ennobled, you can proclaim yourself founding ancestor, open a clan register, and place your name first on the Dao Court–bestowed genealogy—then branch and flourish.”

“That’s a colossal honor…”

Even as he spoke, envy crept into his voice. “Unfortunately, I’m a Yang. I can’t open a separate genealogy for myself—my father would break my legs.”

The Dao Court grants a title; you found a clan; you become the patriarch-ancestor; your name sits on the first line of the genealogy…

For any cultivator, that temptation was hard to resist.

Even Mo Hua’s heart stirred.

Then he asked, puzzled, “That… sounds hard.”

“Of course.” Yang Jiyong was frank. “Even for established families, getting a grade approved is difficult—it takes connections, queues, and luck. Direct ennoblement from the Dao Court—‘granting grade and title’—is rarer still.”

“For most cultivators it’s a long shot—but at least it’s a shot.”

“Honestly, this chance exists only because the Great Wilderness has rebelled.”

“If the Nine Provinces were peaceful with no wars, even that faint chance wouldn’t appear.”

He clapped Mo Hua’s shoulder. “This is your best opportunity.”

“Even if you can’t be ennobled, just accumulating some battle merit—later entering the Dao Soldiers Division and securing an official post—will let you stand tall. With real military merit, no matter how humble your origin, no one dares look down on you.”

He truly had Mo Hua’s interests at heart.

Mo Hua was grateful and bowed. “Thank you, Brother Yang.”

“In that case…”

“I’ll go with you to the Great Wilderness and help quell the chaos,” Mo Hua said with cupped hands.

Delighted, Yang Jiyong nodded. In wartime, what the Yangs lacked most were formation masters.

The Great Wilderness was harsh and war was dangerous.

On the front, formation masters were always in short supply.

“Men born into this world should ride into battle and build their legacy!”

“Tomorrow I’ll speak with my elder brother and work our Yang clan’s channels to get you an official billet among the Dao soldiers.”

“You’re new here, so it’ll likely be the most ordinary post—don’t mind it. Earn merit, and we’ll raise you step by step.”

Mo Hua nodded. “All right!”

And so, the Great Void Sect’s prodigy—the foremost of Qianxue Province’s array path—was about to join the Great Wilderness suppression as an ordinary Dao soldier.

Thanks for reading! If you’re enjoying the ride, please consider supporting—every bit helps keep these chapters coming. If you can, I’d be incredibly grateful for a pledge on Patreon; it’s the fuel that lets me push out more translations each week. And a quick rating or review on NovelUpdates would mean the world—those little stars help new readers find this story.

Next Chapter >