Wei Yuan pointed at the line referring to the young chieftain and asked, “Why is his head so valuable?”

The Daoist flipped through his booklet and answered, “According to the rules, an ordinary Dao Foundation cultivator is worth a hundred merits. This base is doubled for every tier above it—Earth, Heaven, and Immortal—and it is further doubled for each stage of the Dao Foundation stage—foundation consolidating, vitality restoring, and spirit nurturing. This young chieftain is a Heaven-tier Dao Foundation, and he has reached the spirit nurturing stage. Thus, his worth is equal to the base value multiplied by thirty-two, or thirty-two hundred merits.”

Wei Yuan sighed internally when he heard this: If only he has more than one head....

The Daoist closed the booklet and said smilingly, “Barring any accidents, Kanbida was destined to become an Avatar. Thirty thousand immortal silver for the life of a future Avatar is a worthwhile trade, if I do say so myself.”

Wei Yuan threw out another question, “Why is provoking an internal dispute worth so many merits?”

“It is a bigger matter than you think. The entire war situation has changed because of it. After due consideration, the Truemen decided to award you two thousand merits for this deed.”

The Palace of Absolute Beginning had implemented the merit system for several thousand years. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they had encountered practically every situation. In Wei Yuan’s generation, the system had been perfected to the point where all kinds of factors had been taken into consideration. Fair evaluation of one’s merits had formed the very foundation upon which the Palace was established. This was why the reigning Immortal Lords had personally overseen its administration throughout the generations, disallowing even the slightest falsifications from occurring.

After Wei Yuan confirmed all of the merits, the Daoist put away the jade paper and handed him a different booklet. He explained, “This is the merits ranking for this major exam. Everyone’s merits are listed on it. The ranking is updated once every week. However, the booklet only updates itself when it is within a thousand li of the entrance gate. Beyond that, nothing will happen.

“It’s also the overall merit ranking for the Dao Foundation stage. It will activate on its own when we return to the entrance gate.”

Wei Yuan accepted the booklet and gave it a look. He was currently sitting at first place, followed by Bao Yun with a whopping total of eight thousand plus merits. This was incredible considering that he had to venture a thousand li into the Liao realm, slaughtered the entire Snow Hawk Cavalry including their late-stage Dao Foundation stage young chieftain, Kanbida, to earn a total of twelve thousand merits. Meanwhile, Bao Yun had done none of that and still earned eight thousand merits somehow.

Wei Yuan figured out the answer after pondering on it for a moment. During the battle where he had reinforced Bao Yun, the young woman and mustered all allied forces within a radius of several hundred li and kept the main Northern Liao force—almost ten thousand strong—occupied at her stronghold. During the final battle, she was able to deal a crippling blow to the Agula tribe’s main force on the east side of Bianning Commandery. In terms of impact on the war situation alone, her contribution was no less significant than his. In fact, if the young chieftain’s death had not triggered an internal strife within the Agula tribe, his contribution to the overall campaign would have been far less substantial than Bao Yun’s.

Bao Yun had multiple high cultivators and several thousand elite armored soldiers under her command. The large majority of the merits she had earned had to be distributed to them. Despite this, she still earned a whopping eight thousand merits in the end. That was how much damage the Liao had suffered.

In comparison, the second runner-up on the ranking only had a merit score of two thousand plus, and those below scored only several hundred or even tens. In truth, the major examination had only begun a few days prior, and the vast majority of Dao Foundation stage cultivators on the battlefield were merely pawns. Most of their achievements were limited to taking out a scouting squad or two like Wei Yuan did on his first night.

The Daoist stopped bothering Wei Yuan and took his leave after finishing his duty. It was only now the young man had the time to check out his newly forged Dao Foundation. He slipped into his sea of consciousness and gazed upon the boundless expanse before, feeling quite lost. Though his Dao Foundation had been established some time ago, and Wei Yuan had surveyed this land more than once, it never failed to leave a sense of surrealism in him. After all, did it make sense for a cultivator to own a Dao Foundation that even they could not see in its entirety?

The land stretched on endlessly, a desolate expanse of gravel and sand. Though the Dao Foundation was named The Great Realm—and it certainly was great—the things that made it a realm—mountains, rivers, and more—were nowhere in sight.

Wei Yuan picked up a few rock fragments and inspected them closely. He quickly confirmed that they were perfectly mundane and ordinary. The land surface was completely covered by this type of gravel. He found more sand than gravel when he dug deeper, and deeper still was an entire stratum.

Wei Yuan gripped a rock crevice tightly and attempted to pry off a piece. He succeeded in breaking off a fragment after exerting some strength. At the same time, searing pain shot through his mind. It was only then he recalled that the rock was his own Dao Foundation, and by forcibly tearing away a fragment, it was like he was ripping off a small piece of his own primordial spirit. Naturally, it hurt like hell.

Having unintentionally given himself a taste of the pain of ripping his own primordial spirit, Wei Yuan dared not continue as a matter of course.

The ground was lifeless. Not even the soil possessed a speck of vitality. The only difference was the small hill at the center of the continent. A little over a zhang tall, it was emerald green in color and polished like jade. It was obviously magical.

This small jade mountain was none other than the product of his Big Senior Sister’s decade’s worth of refinement. It looked small, but only compared to this whole continent. It would be different if compared to another cultivator’s Dao Foundation.

For example, Lee Zhi’s Four Symbols Tripod Cauldron was thick and dense, tall and massive. Eight chi tall, it shared the same height as Wei Yuan’s jade hill at first glance. However, the jade hill was solid and much wider than the cauldron, measuring over one zhang in radius. In terms of refinement cost, it was worth seven or eight Four Symbols Tripod Cauldrons. If the jade hill were broken down into ordinary flying swords, it would make several hundreds easily.

Finally, a particularly potent vitality was brewing at the summit of the jade hill. It was poised to sprout very soon. Wei Yuan recognized the vitality well—it originated from the fruit Bao Yun had fed him. Could it be that a Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree would one day grow upon his hill? Wei Yuan found himself genuinely anticipating that day.

Although he had seen Bao Yun’s Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree in the Myriad Manifestations Hall, it was just a simple image containing a sliver of its essence. The commentary on the Dao Foundation was rather vague as well. It was an immortal foundation, which was why its specific abilities were not revealed. The recorded image showed the earliest state of the Dao Foundation as well.

However, during the battle where he aided Bao Yun, he had seen the Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree sweeping away the yellow clouds within tens of li of it. Although it had borrowed the strength of an array, it didn’t change the fact that it was an incredibly powerful mystic ability. It was the most useful mystic ability one could have on the battlefield either as it changed the environment itself.

Wei Yuan would spend the next day testing his Dao Foundation until he had depleted primordial spirit. In the end, he was able to figure out a couple of its abilities.

First, Changing Heaven and Earth. Like all other Dao Foundations, The Great Realm could be manifested in reality. Unfortunately, Wei Yuan only possessed enough Dao energy to manifest a tiny, tiny piece of the core of his jade hill, ranging about a hundred zhang.

Upon manifesting, the environment within a hundred zhang of him would be transformed into something like the human realm. For example, if he was standing in the Liao realm right now, then its signature yellow clouds would not appear within a hundred zhang of him. The zone would be forcibly changed into a neutral zone.

At first glance, Changing Heaven and Earth possessed a similar effect to Bao Yun’s Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree. In reality, the function was completely different.

The Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree relied on clear qi to dispel the Liao realm’s yellow clouds by force. To give an example, it was like blasting water to wash away the soil and dust covering the floor. At the same time, it would suppress and injure all Liao within its range. On the other hand, Changing Heaven and Earth forcibly warped the very essence of the world. Although it was not as potent as the Seven Wonders Exquisite Treasure Tree, it was more transformative and enduring.

This was no ordinary ability. In a battle against the foreign races, if an enemy were to come within a hundred zhang of Wei Yuan, it would be as if a Liao barbarian were crossing from the Liao realm to a neutral zone. They would lose the ability to borrow power from the world and lose a whopping twenty percent of their full strength just like that!

If they came within ten zhang of Wei Yuan, then it would be as if they had entered the Pure Realm of Humanity. A foreigner would lose another twenty percent of their power, but a fellow human would gain a corresponding twenty percent of power instead.

If Wei Yuan was leading a human force in the Liao realm, and they ran into a Liao barbarian force of equal strength, then Changing Heaven and Earth would transform what should’ve been an evenly-matched battle into a one-sided massacre.