According to the Palace’s rules, a Human-tier Dao Foundation stage enemy was worth one hundred merits. By giving Wei Yuan eighty merits, the Daoist was confirming that the same injuries would have cost an ordinary Human-tier cultivator eighty percent of their life. The death of a Human-tier cultivator was only worth one hundred merits and a small sum of immortal silver as compensation.

The Daoist had just finished treating his wounds—he hadn’t even gotten to his feet yet—when two young Daoists carried a bloodied cultivator into the room and dropped him on the bed beside him. He wasn’t breathing. Knowing better than to linger, Wei Yuan hurriedly took his leave.

After he had left the medicinal hall, Wei Yuan checked his directions and strode toward the southern gate. A few moments later, he was out of the gate and approaching a flying vessel.

Two makeshift halls had been set up outside the flying vessel. Several Daoists were yelling repeatedly at the entrance, “Cultivators from Palace of Absolute Beginning should go to the left hall, and everyone else should go to the right hall!”

Cultivators were filing in and out of the halls. Those who entered the left hall came and left empty-handed, whereas those who entered the right hall went in empty-handed and came out with bags of varying sizes.

Wei Yuan stood at the back of the queue and waited for his turn. Moments later, he entered the left hall. There were only several tables in the hall, each of them occupied by a cultivator with a dry expression on their face. Every time an entrant walked up to them, they would point a booklet in their direction and announce a number. Then, they would shoo the cultivator out of the hall.

Wei Yuan’s attendant was a middle-aged woman. She had hawk-like eyes and an aquiline nose. Her mouth was permanently turned down at the corners like everyone owed her several taels of immortal silver.

Strangely, her expression loosened when she saw Wei Yuan. She looked him up and down a couple times before flashing him with her booklet. She then recited, “You’ve slain a total of… four centurions, eleven squad leaders, and one hundred and thirty seven ordinary cavalrymen?!”

Forget the female cultivator, everyone in the hall was stunned by the announcement. Wei Yuan didn’t glow like a Dao Foundation stage cultivator would, so he clearly hadn’t formed a Dao Foundation yet. In terms of cultivation level, he was on the same level as a Liao barbarian squad leader. A squad leader was worth twenty merits, but a centurion was equal to a human Earth-tier Dao Foundation stage cultivator and worth two hundred merits!

The battlefield was not a dueling arena. Considering Wei Yuan’s cultivation level, just killing several squad leaders would be enough to qualify him as an excellent fighter. There had been exceptionally talented or lucky cultivators who had managed to overcome the cultivation difference and slay a centurion as well. However, no one had ever slain several centurions, almost a dozen squad leaders, and over a hundred ordinary soldiers just three days after they had reached the frontlines like Wei Yuan!

As stunned as they were, there was no faking one’s battle merits. All Palace of Absolute Beginning cultivators learned a Dao spell that, if released before a battle, would automatically record one’s battle achievements in one’s primordial spirit. This was its only function, so the cost of the Dao spell, even if it was maintained for a long time, was next to zero. Thus, all the Palace needed to do was check the Dao spell’s record to confirm one’s battle achievements.

The female cultivator gave Wei Yuan a long look before recording this line in her booklet: “Wei Yuan of the Skyblue Hall, twelve hundred and thirty seven merits.”

In the Palace of Absolute Beginning, merits were much more useful than immortal silver as it could be used to exchange for nearly any resource. In fact, there were many immortal pills, valuable medicine, spirit materials, and mystic artifacts that could only be exchanged using merits. If there really was nothing a disciple wanted at the moment, they could still exchange their merits for immortal silver. The conversion rate of merit to immortal silver was one to ten.

In fact, a lot of disciples privately traded immortal silver for merits. The exchange rate fluctuated constantly, but generally ranged between twelve and fifteen taels per merit.

In other words, Wei Yuan had earned over ten thousand taels of immortal silver after three days of battle. If he privately traded his merits for immortal silver, then his earnings would go up to almost twenty thousand taels.

The left hall was meant for cultivators of the Palace of Absolute Beginning. Thus, there were no item exchanges. If a cultivator wished to exchange the merits for something, they could do so after returning to the Palace. The right hall was meant for the cultivators of all other sects. Thus, the Palace had prepared a batch of supplies that someone could exchange with their battle merits. Although the options were fairly limited, some of the supplies were valuables that could not be bought anywhere else. That was why many people chose to exchange their battle merits for supplies on the spot.

Seeing countless people beaming from ear to ear while carrying an armful of goods, Wei Yuan truly grasped the allure of immediate military merit settlement. It was probably the main reason why so many people spared no effort in coming to Bao Yun’s rescue. Even currying favor with the Bao Clan was secondary to this.

After leaving the merit hall, Wei Yuan went back to the fort and sought out the supply depot designated for military provisions, restocking his javelin boxes and arrows. With this, his post-battle recuperation and preparations were complete.

It didn’t take him much time to wrap up his business, so Wei YUan wasn’t sure what to do after he was done restocking his equipment. The fort was absolutely bustling with people right now—the roads were crowded, and Dao Foundation stage cultivators were as numerous as ox hair. No one paid any attention to Wei Yuan, a junior who hadn’t even reached the Dao Foundation stage yet.

The battle had just ended, and there were countless things to do such as cleaning up the battlefield, treating the wounded, restoring the city defenses, and more. Everyone was busy with their own thing. Bao Yun was nowhere to be seen, but it did not take a genius to figure out that she was being fawned over like the moon right now. There were numerous influential figures among the reinforcements. From Wei Yuan’s vantage point alone, he could spot multiple hundred-strong forces with young prodigies who had already solidified their foundation and entered the middle stage of the Dao Foundation stage. Some cultivators were even in the late-stage. No matter how he looked at it, he simply couldn’t hold a candle to them.

After all, he wasn’t even a Dao Foundation stage cultivator yet.

Wei Yuan didn’t linger for long. After circling around the fort once and learning about its defenses, he made his way back to Flying Sand Village. He hadn’t sent anyone to inform Bao Yun of his arrival either; leaving as silently as he came. He and Bao Yun belonged in different worlds now be it in terms of cultivation or status. The only bond they shared was his debt worth several hundred thousand taels, and he wasn’t sure if she still remembered about it.

Despite leaving the fort, Wei Yuan could feel the array disc inside his shirt shaking from time to time. It was because people were calling for help here and there. However, Bao Yun’s stronghold was obviously the Northern Liao’s main focus as even an enemy Avatar had shown their face. Now that both the Avatar and the main force had been repelled, only a handful of enemy cavalry were still roaming the battlefield. Even these remnant forces should withdraw shortly.

Wei Yuan’s primary duty remained defending his assigned zone, with external assistance limited to a certain range. Beyond that, it fell to other cultivators to provide the necessary aid. At present, he hadn’t sensed any unusual activity coming from Quyang’s direction. Everything seemed peaceful and quiet. That was why Wei Yuan was able to rest and recuperate with peace of mind.

Wei Yuan saw numerous corpses and carcasses on his way back to Flying Sand Village. The signs of terrific battles were everywhere. Although the eastern side of Bianning was not the main direction the Agula tribe was attacking, that did not mean that they were untouched by the fires of war.

Occasionally, he would spot a village or two amidst the mountains and fields on both sides of the road—all utterly abandoned. Skeletal remains lay scattered everywhere. He had no way of knowing when they had died, or what had killed them.

It had only been three days since he arrived at the frontlines, yet his heart was not what it once was. He was growing accustomed to the sight of fresh corpses and old remains, but there was a lingering hint of sorrow that refused to fade no matter what.

The northern horizon was as gloomy yellow as ever. Actually, no, it seemed to have receded a little, probably because of the recent defeat. It was impossible to see what was behind the sea of gloomy yellow. Heavens only know how many Liao were hiding behind it, licking their wounds and getting ready for the next assault. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

It didn’t take long before Flying Sand Village and the city of Quyang were within sight. It was at this moment Wei Yuan suddenly turned pale!

Many sections of the village’s walls had collapsed, and the gates were wide open. Those that were still standing were coated in blood from top to bottom. The village itself was completely still and silent.

The two villages farther back were in the exact same condition. Their walls were broken, and their gates were wide open.

Wei Yuan channeled the Qi Viewing spell and saw a thick cloud of blood and resentment circling above all tree villages, unceasing. Then, he saw it—a thin wisp of white qi was rising from the center of Flying Sand Village. It was tiny, but it was definitely present.

His eyes sharpened, and he grabbed his long spear tightly. He took off toward the village at full speed.

Wei Yuan reached the village entrance in the blink of an eye. He dismounted, but his footsteps slowed. There were multiple large holes on the breached wooden gate. The gate bolt especially was cut in half. Countless arrows covered the ramparts, some of them so deep that only the tail feathers were showing. The tail feathers were white-colored and nothing like what he had seen before.

The entire village was shrouded in death, blood staining nearly every path crimson. Most of it had dried, but there were deeper pools that were still coagulating. Corpses littered the roads, the houses, the courtyards, the backyards—and not a single one of them was intact. Only a handful retained an arm or a leg, while the rest had all four of their limbs chopped off.

Everyone was missing their heads.

Step by step, Wei Yuan slowly made his way forward. Every time his boots hit the ground, they would push aside some still wet blood and leave behind a clear trail of footprints[1].

1. Tragedy does not wait nor warn you before it strikes. ☜