The war was still ongoing, but Wei Yuan’s major exam was over.

He had just returned to Flying Sand Village when a flying vessel sliced through the air and descended slowly before Wei Yuan and his companions.

The hatch opened, and several Daoists stepped out. The man taking the lead possessed an unusually red complexion and looked naturally intimidating. Behind him, clear qi was growing by leaps and bounds and pushing back the yellow clouds at least a hundred zhang away. He was clearly an accomplished cultivator even among his fellow avatars. When his gaze swept across Zhang Sheng and Bao Yun, his expression softened, and he gave them a nod. When he looked at Wei Yuan, his gaze turned gentle, and a smile spread across his face.

The Trueman’s gaze had, in fact, touched Lee Zhi as well, but it had moved right past him like the youngster was made of thin air. Clearly, the son of a duke was not visible enough to be seen by a Trueman.

The Trueman said, “This poor Daoist is Trueman Hu Xing[1]. The Immortal Lord has commanded me to summon Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng back to the Palace of Absolute Beginning immediately without delay.”

“But... my brother’s funeral...” Wei Yuan hesitated.

Trueman Hu Xing’s expression became even gentler. “I have heard. Let’s do it this way. You may linger for another two hours. This old Daoist is not so decrepit that he cannot suppress the heavenly mysteries for two hours.”

Although Trueman Hu Xing had not given him a clear explanation, Wei Yuan understood that this was no laughing matter. Trueman Hu Xing was only strong enough to suppress the heavenly mysteries for another two hours. Zhang Sheng also wore a thoughtful expression as he said, “Since the Immortal Lord has summoned us, we should return on time.”

Wei Yuan nodded and started toward Flying Sand Village. Meanwhile, Sun Chao’en was leading several hundred men to move out the corpses inside the village. Some were carrying the severed heads. Most of them threw up violently after seeing the carnage, but they went right back to work after emptying their bellies.

With Fang Hetong’s head in his arm, Wei Yuan said slowly, “Thankfully, I managed to retrieve Brother Fang’s head and kill everyone responsible.”

Sun Chao’en nodded a little woodenly as he led Wei Yuan to the village entrance. There, Fang Hetong’s body was resting quietly inside a wooden coffin. Wei Yuan placed the head inside the coffin and took a few careful moments to reconnect it to the body. Then, he sealed the wound with Dao energy.

“What are your plans for Brother Fang’s funeral arrangements?” Wei Yuan asked.

Staring at Fang Hetong’s body, Sun Chao’en replied, “I will deliver Junior Brother’s body back to the academy. That was where he had lived for most of his life, and he was originally planning to spend the latter half of his life teaching as well. He deserves to rest in his favorite place. Burying his body in the academy would also show the students of the academy how the books should be read, and what a true scholar looks like. As for his family, the academy will take good care of them, so don’t worry.”

Sun Chao’en’s plans were sound, so Wei Yuan felt at ease.

While brushing a hand against the coffin, the county magistrate suddenly said, “Allow me to address you as my worthy little brother. In the days to come, my actions may be fraught with wickedness. Should you find them intolerable, I ask that you do not rush to kill me and wait until I have finished what I must do. When the time comes, I will naturally give you a proper account.”

“Why do you say this?”

Sun Chao’en pointed upward and replied, “The world is like this, the imperial court is also like this. That is why I would like to climb up and have a look. I want to find out why those people are doing this.”

As for what he was planning to do after he got up there, Sun Chao’en did not explain. There was no need to.

“There’s still some time, so feel free to say whatever you wish to say to Junior Brother, worthy little brother. I’ll give you some privacy now.”

Having said that, Sun Chao’en dragged his heavy body and moved step by step toward the distance.

Looking at Fang Hetong, Wei Yuan did not say anything for a very long time. Finally, he said, “Brother Fang, my Dao Foundation may not be what you wished to see. The things I will do in the future may earn many rebukes from you as well. Even so, I must see this through, so I apologize in advance. Now get some rest. When I have subdued all the barbarians until they’re dancing and singing, when the world is finally at peace, I will return to drink with you again!”

Having said that, Wei Yuan slowly closed the coffin with both hands.

A flying vessel slowly rose into the air before taking off toward the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

The flying vessel wasn’t a giant ship like the one he had ridden on the way here. It was a light boat like the one he had ridden at the end of the unified exam. Trueman Hu Xing was piloting the flying vessel as well. Thus, it had taken him a week to come here, but only one day to return to the Palace of Absolute Beginning.

A cultivator was reborn after they forged their Dao Foundation. Thanks to the lively fruit Bao Yun had fed him, his injuries had fully healed by the time he was flying back to the sect. Ironically, Zhang Sheng was the one who had to recover from his injuries. That was why he shut himself in a quiet room as soon as he boarded the flying vessel. Physical injuries were easy to heal, but damage to one’s primordial spirit was a different story. It was going to take him months to replenish the wisp of primordial spirit he had lost.

Not long after the vessel took off, a middle-aged Daoist went over to Wei Yuan and showed him a piece of jade paper. He said, “The reason this poor Daoist came today is to finalize the tally for your merits and the results of your major exam.”

“Isn’t the exam still ongoing?”

The Daoist replied while stroking his beard, “Deputy Palace Lord Pei has specifically summoned you for an audience. Hence, you no longer need to participate in the latter parts of the exam. Also, the Agula tribe descended into chaos after you had slain Kanbida, their young chieftain. Kanbida was the undisputed heir apparent when he was still alive, and his numerous brothers were content to stay out of his way. Now that he is dead, some of them are already eyeing the seat he left behind and gathering their forces, no longer interested in advancing south. I’m sure it won’t be long before the peril looming over the two commanderies of Gan Province would resolve on its own. Naturally, this great merit is credited to your account. Even if the war were to continue, I have no doubt that you will either remain as the top scorer, or rank among the top three considering your military achievements.

“Besides that, Kanbida was the favorite son of the Sky Snow Hawk, Hulehachi. Not only did you kill him, you even blocked a couple blows from the old bird and survived. I’m sure that he’s beyond furious right now, furious enough to do anything under the sun. If you remain here, a Trueman would have to watch over you at all times. Also, you taunted the Liao realm. A normal Trueman does not have what it takes to protect you from a world. This is why the Immortal Lord decided to summon you back to the Palace immediately. Who knows, that old bird might lose his marbles in a fit of impotent rage and commit something stupid. Should that happen, you’ll be able to earn another sum of merit then, Junior Brother.”

It made sense. If the snow hawk abandoned all dignity and snuck into the human realm to ambush him, and assuming that Wei Yuan was completely unguarded, it would be incredibly difficult for him to survive. Although Hulehachi would surely suffer a huge blow for daring to launch an ambush within the human realm, Wei Yuan would still be dead. Naturally, the Palace could not allow this to happen. This was why they decided to summon him home.

The Daoist tapped a finger against the jade paper, causing lines and lines of words to appear. He carefully verified each and every merit with Wei Yuan.

“126 common cavalrymen slain, earning 126 merits.

4 squad leaders slain, earning 80 merits.

1 centurion slain, earning 200 merits.

90 common Snow Hawk cavalrymen slain, earning 1,800 merits.

9 Snow Hawk decurions slain, earning 2,700 merits.

Kanbida slain, earning 3,200 merits.

The Sky Snow Hawk Hulehachi injured, earning 1,000 merits.

Provoked internal strife within the Agula tribe, earning 2,000 merits.”

The long list of numbers were such that Wei Yuan felt a little dizzy. His mind was more or less blank when he advanced north to retrieve Fang Hetong’s head, and when he retreated south to escape his pursuers. He hadn’t bothered to count how many he had killed at all. On the way back, he had encountered several waves of enemies and broken through all of them.

The young chieftain’s warhorse was a godlike steed, galloping like wind and lightning after it was empowered by Outlawed by Heaven and Earth. In fact, it was just a tad slower compared to the Snow Hawk Avatar. Moreover, every time Wei Yuan blocked a blow from Hulehachi, he would use the momentum to put some distance between them. That was the only reason he managed to fight his way across a thousand li and ultimately return south.

Wei Yuan truly had no idea he had killed so many enemies and achieved so much. If he combined this with his previous merits, then he had earned over 12,000 merits in total, or several hundred thousand of immortal silver!

1. Meaning Tigerwalk. ☜