Lu Ye couldn't recall the exact amount of his accumulated battle rit, but he had a rough idea.
Throughout the Spirit Stream battlefield, he hadn't co into contact with the concept of battle rit. It wasn't until he entered the Yunhe battlefield and ventured into the secret realm of Ten Thousand Beasts Domain that he first encountered battle rit.
However, the battle rit he gained within the secret realm wasn't substantial, only around thirty thousand points, mainly because the final battle had too many participants, and the rewards were divided.
Subsequently, during his trip to Xianyuan City, he gained three hundred thousand points of battle rit, which he exchanged entirely for soul water.
During his journey to the Soaring Dragon World, he gained two hundred eighty thousand points of battle rit.
Most recently, he gained over one hundred eighty thousand points of battle rit during the Unparalleled Continent trip.
In total, the battle rit he had accumulated so far amounted to approximately eight hundred thousand points.
For any cultivator in the Cloud River Realm, and even the True Lake Realm, this was a significant amount!
Take Yue Shan, for example, who had only accumulated little more than three hundred thousand points thus far. Compared to Lu Ye, the difference was more than twofold.
The amount of battle rit a cultivator obtained directly determined their rank and status within the Bingzhou Guard.
With Lu Ye's current capital, his initial rank had already reached the level of a lieutenant colonel.
This had never happened before!
It should be noted that Yue Shan was currently just a major, and the rank of lieutenant colonel was a step higher. On the front lines, should an ergency arise, Yue Shan would have to obey Lu Ye's commands, even if his cultivation was higher.
Of course, without a direct chain of command, Yue Shan could disobey and submit an appeal to the Justice Departnt.
The Recruitnt Departnt had the authority to determine a new guard's initial rank, but since its creation, no new recruit had ever attained such a high initial rank!
Under normal circumstances, a Cloud River Level 9 cultivator like Lu Ye would join the Bingzhou Guard at the rank of pentrarch or decarch. Only a few might achieve the rank of major.
However, Lu Ye's initial rank was lieutenant colonel, and the intensity of the color on the battle rit panel suggested it was close to ascending to the next level.
Above the rank of lieutenant colonel was that of a capital commandant, a rank only seasoned True Lake Realm cultivators could reach.
It could be said that the current situation was beyond their routine handling capacity.
Yue Shan rubbed his temples, feeling quite troubled. He hadn't expected such an extraordinary event to unfold right under his nose.
After so thought, he said, "Lu Yiye, wait a mont."
He then tapped on his battlefield marking, sending out a ssage.
It was clear he was calling soone over.
During the wait, Yue Shan asked curiously, "What have you done to accumulate such an enormous amount of battle rit?"
Normally, the secret realms the Cloud River Realm cultivators ventured into wouldn't yield such huge rewards.
"A bit of opportunity," Lu Ye replied casually. The secret realms he experienced weren't ones others could easily replicate. The rewards he reaped were the result of both luck and risking his life. Not to ntion the final battle against the Golden Corpse King in the Unparalleled Continent and the gift from the remnant origin of the Soaring Dragon World that saved his life.
As for Xianyuan City… that was beyond anyone's reach.
"Senior Brother Yue Shan, could you explain the difference in ranks?" Lu Ye inquired.
In the Righteous Blood Sect, Shui Yuan had told him a lot about the Xianyuan Guard but hadn't gone into much detail about ranks, probably assuming Lu Ye would quickly grasp the concept upon arrival.
Thus, Lu Ye didn't know this place could track a cultivator's past battle rit and use it to establish the initial rank.
There was no harm in explaining, so Yue Shan began, "The Bingzhou Guard operates in a military hierarchy, and there are nine ranks from bottom to top: foot soldier, pentrarch, decarch, major, lieutenant colonel, capital commandant, brigadier general, major general, and lieutenant general. The twelve Major Checkpoints of the Bingzhou frontline each have a lieutenant general, all of whom are at the peak of the Divine Sea Realm. These lieutenants are also the checkpoint lords, stationed permanently to safeguard Bingzhou."
"When determining the initial rank of new recruits, the two main factors considered are past battle rits and cultivation level, with battle rit being the primary consideration. The color shown on the battle rit panel corresponds to the rank. However, there can be exceptions; for example, if a True Lake Realm cultivator joins the Bingzhou Guard, even without any battle rit, the minimum rank would be decarch because starting a True Lake cultivator as a foot soldier would be inappropriate."
Lu Ye understood, "So, while rank is primarily determined by battle rit, cultivation level can also allow for discretionary promotion."
"Exactly," Yue Shan replied, adopting an expression of approval, "Discretionary promotions are not managed by our Recruitnt Departnt but by the Departnt of Appointnts."
Lu Ye nodded, "What about my situation?"
Yue Shan spread his hands, "Your initial rank is too high; we can't handle it here. I've already sent a ssage to Veteran Shi. He will probably take you to the Departnt of Appointnts, the only place capable of promoting beyond the major rank. Rember, future promotions will also require a visit to the Departnt of Appointnts."
"Understood," Lu Ye nodded.
As they spoke, a short old man with a red nose suddenly appeared and sized Lu Ye up, "Is this the kid?"
Yue Shan and the others quickly saluted, "Veteran Shi!"
Lu Ye followed suit, "Lu Ye of the Righteous Blood Sect, greetings senior."
The old man with the red nose might be short, but given the respect Yue Shan and the others showed him, he was undoubtedly a Divine Sea Realm cultivator.
"Righteous Blood Sect..." Veteran Shi stroked his chin and chuckled, "Always producing little monsters. How intriguing. Follow ."
With that, he turned and left.
Lu Ye quickly followed.
Once they exited the main hall of the Recruitnt Departnt, Veteran Shi soared into the sky and propelled Lu Ye with his spirit force. In an instant, Lu Ye experienced what it felt like to move at lightning speed.
Even with his wings and Move-Like-The-Wind spirit runes, he could not match the old man's casual flight speed.
Within just a dozen breaths, Veteran Shi brought Lu Ye to another large hall.
This was the Departnt of Appointnts in Haotian City, the place Yue Shan had ntioned for rank promotions.
The Departnt of Appointnts was much busier than the Recruitnt Departnt, with people coming and going—cultivators from the Bingzhou Guard seeking to promote their ranks.
The hall was spacious and simply arranged. Behind each table sat a cultivator, each with a battle rit panel. Bingzhou Guards stepped forward in sequence to submit their inscription tablets, placing the battlefield markings on the panels to have their ranks assessed and their tablet information updated.
The process was very efficient.
Veteran Shi clearly had no intention of waiting in line. He led Lu Ye directly to a side room and pushed the door open.
Inside, a woman was waiting. She glanced up, "Is it him?"
Veteran Shi nodded, "This is the kid. Do what you need to." He then sat to one side, pulled out a smoking pipe, and started to puff away.
The woman glared at him, then turned to Lu Ye, "Let's see your battle rit."
Lu Ye stepped forward and placed his hand on a battle rit panel.
Just as in the Recruitnt Departnt, the panel's color shifted continuously, from white to blue, then to green, and finally settled into a deep yellow.
Despite knowing this result was coming, Veteran Shi still couldn't help but sigh, "So young and already a master of slaughter. Truly extraordinary."
The woman remarked, "The battle rit checks out, but the cultivation level is a bit low." No Cloud River Realm cultivator had ever affected the panel's color so dramatically.
"What's the Departnt of Appointnts' decision?" Veteran Shi asked.
"We follow protocol, what else?" the woman smiled.
Veteran Shi nodded slightly.
During their conversation, the woman retrieved an inscription tablet, infused it with her ntal consciousness and spirit force, then handed it to Lu Ye, "This is your guard token, symbolizing your identity. Keep it safe and do not lose it."
"Understood." Lu Ye took it.
Every mber of the Bingzhou Guard possessed a guard token. While battlefield markings recorded various information, if a cultivator fell in battle, their marking would dissipate.
With a guard token, it was at least possible to confirm the identity of the deceased.
The guard token also supported communication, facilitating troop mobilization within the Bingzhou Guard, unlike the battlefield markings, which required mutual exchange of marking imprints for ssaging.
"What are you still standing here for?" Veteran Shi asked when he saw that Lu Ye hadn't left.
"Where should I go?"
"Anywhere you wish, just don't leave Haotian City." Veteran Shi waved him off, "Soone will notify you when it's ti to move out."
Lu Ye understood and quickly left.
After he departed, the woman sighed, "After all these years, still fixated on the Righteous Blood Sect—it's sowhat excessive."
She seed to have heard sothing.
Veteran Shi replied, "What can you do? Thang Yifeng doesn't like mundane affairs and won't co to Haotian City, so it's no surprise his disciples get bullied."
"If he's indeed sent to the Sky Gate Checkpoint…" the woman was visibly concerned.
"Why worry about that?" Veteran Shi took a drag from his pipe, "If Qian Wudang spoke up to pull this kid out, haven't you wondered why?"
The woman's expression shifted, "You an to say..."
"Hmph, you know the relationship between Qian Wudang and Fan Xiangyi, and Fan Xiangyi is close with that little girl from the Righteous Blood Sect. They wouldn't neglect a disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect. Locking the kid in prison was their ploy, probably intending to arrange his placent after those people left. But since he was already targeted, it may not be easy for that crazy woman to take him to the Sky Gate Checkpoint."
"I see!" the woman understood, "You truly have a broader perspective."
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