Chapter 177: Nine-Ring Mission Completed, The Three Kings' Evaluation and Wager!

The chieftain of the Hana tribe is named Lun Jing.

Such is the custom of the Southern Barbarians; most foreign tribes have only a given name, with no concept of a surname.

They still retain some primitive blood sacrifices and live human sacrifices.

Thus, they have long been regarded as barbarians by the Great Zhou.

Lun Jing's name means he was born and raised amidst a field of green thorns.

He is a Power Shaman, whose shamanic arts are equivalent to a martial artist's Wu Ji.

The selection of the Hana chieftain involves no inheritance; whoever is strongest becomes chieftain. Thus, Lun Jing secured his position as chieftain of the Hana tribe only after defeating numerous strongmen within the tribe and enduring many challenges.

He was very satisfied with his son, Zhao Ke, because Zhao Ke was a relatively prestigious Insect Shaman and had once been praised by a Silver Moon-level Lord.

The environment of the Southern Wasteland is harsh; Lun Jing had only this one offspring, whom he fathered after finding his twenty-seventh woman.

At the time of conception, a small pot cooking food happened to be nearby. Lun Jing felt that Heaven had bestowed a son upon him, and that it was by eating the food cooked in this small pot that the son was conceived, so he named him 'Zhao Ke'.

The Hana tribe has developed very well in recent years; the population has exceeded fifty thousand, with five thousand warriors.

Lun Jing himself is at the seventh-grade Earth Fiend Realm, and his son also reached the seventh grade last year.

Everything is developing in a positive direction.

"My son will become the most powerful Insect Shaman among the one hundred and eight tribes of the Southern Wasteland!" Lun Jing surveyed his territory, standing high to gaze at the mountain ranges. "In this summons from the Wang Ting, I must secure a sufficiently fertile land for him!"

Immersed in these fantasies, Lun Jing was in high spirits and involuntarily waved the great axe in his hand.

A gentle breeze brushed his face, the sky was blue with white clouds, and the tribe was flourishing; everything before his eyes was so beautiful that Lun Jing felt a strong urge to sing a song.

But the moment he opened his mouth, Lun Jing's smile froze.

"Woo~~"

Because the personnel responsible for alerting the tribe blew the ox horn.

"Enemies! From which direction are the enemies coming?!"

Lun Jing quickly hoisted the great axe onto his shoulder, ran down the mountain, and sprinted toward the tents below.

Because the horn sounds of the enemy attack rang out one after another from different directions.

Enemies! Enemies everywhere!

"Form a formation! Meet the enemy! Do not panic!"

Lun Jing shouted loudly, trying to make his voice reach the ears of his clansmen.

Yet the tents below quickly descended into chaos.

"Pfft~"

Upon entering the camp, Lun Jing saw a squad of Hana warriors suddenly shatter into chunks of flesh, their hard weapons in hand shattering into several pieces along with them.

Fifty warriors of the Qi Gathering Realm died so eerily.

Lun Jing looked up sharply but saw nothing in the sky; the sky was still as blue as ever, and the white clouds still as white.

But now, in Lun Jing's eyes, a trace of fear appeared, because the clouds in the sky were drifting far too fast!

In the blink of an eye, they completely shrouded the Hana clan's gathering camp.

Just moments ago there was only a gentle breeze, but after he came down, tornadoes appeared outside the camp.

"Thunder! Where is Elder Lei?!"

Lun Jing shouted: "Come out quickly, come out quickly!"

Lei was the shaman of the Hana clan who controlled the might of heaven; he could summon wind and rain and command the clouds.

But Lun Jing's voice could not get through at all, because thunder began to rumble in the sky, the surroundings were too noisy, the invisible cutting still existed, and since the enemy could not be seen at all, the entire Hana tribe fell into panic.

"Ah—"

"Run quickly!"

"No, do not run outside!"

"Hehe, save me..."

"Enter the stone houses! Do not run outside!" Lun Jing roared at those ordinary clansmen, then shouted to the warriors: "Scatter, all of you scatter!"

But the thunder completely drowned out his voice; he wanted to stop the clansmen from fleeing the camp because the area outside the camp was now the most dangerous.

He recognized that eerie method of killing: it was the Great Zhou's Mechanical Sky Net. This mechanism was area-based, falling from the sky at extremely high speed. Every net weighed over ten thousand jin, and the firing speed was extremely fast; once deployed, they were incredibly fine, almost invisible.

The Sky Nets were fired around the camp, specifically targeting his elite warriors.

The tornadoes outside moved at high speed; the powerful wind pressure not only reduced their ability to jump into the air, but anyone who got close would be directly sucked into them.

"Lei! Lei!"

Using the buildings for cover, Lun Jing finally found Lei, the most powerful Magic Shaman in the clan.

"Chieftain!" Lei stood beside a circular giant stone tunnel, his face showing anxiety. "Chieftain, you have finally returned. Run quickly! This tunnel leads thirty li away!"

"While the Great Zhou soldiers have not yet come down, let us run quickly!"

"Run?!" Fire seemed to喷 out of Lun Jing's eyes. "You want me to run like this? Abandon the clansmen of the Hana tribe?! Why do you not fight!"

"Chieftain, you do not understand!" Lei shouted, pointing at the sky. "I cannot borrow even a wisp of wind, nor summon a single cloud; my thunder magic has also been weakened!"

"The Nine-Section Agriculture Bureau! We have encountered a powerful Nine-Section Agriculture Bureau official from the Great Zhou! He is very likely at the sixth grade; his magic completely crushes mine, do you understand!"

"Let us run from here. Amidst the chaos, as long as we can escape, the clansmen can be found again at any time!"

Lun Jing fell silent. He looked at Lei and the squad of Magic Shamans behind him; they had all lost their courage.

"Lei, we grew up together since childhood. You run!"

"Zhao Ke is still on his way back; I must wait for him here!"

Having said this, Lun Jing raised a shield and charged out again.

"Pitter-patter~ Pitter-patter~"

Outside, it began to rain.

"Lun Jing!" Lei saw Lun Jing rush out, gritted his teeth, gripped his staff, and stood beneath the cave mouth, firing streams of blue light into the sky.

Raindrops were repelled at a height of fifty meters; a thirty-meter radius centered on Lun Jing was now rain-free, but that was all he could manage.

Expand further, and an invisible suppression would strike, as if the heavens and earth were only this vast.

Zhao Xing stood on the Swordfish Flying Boat, quietly watching the chaos below.

At this moment, fifteen floating flying boats hovered above the camp; they were completely invisible, with only a dozen people on each boat operating the mechanisms.

The Heaven Net cleared the way, Spirit-Breaking Crossbows fired in succession, bombarding the camp below.

"Is the Mirage Pearl activated?" Zhao Xing looked at Che Shihai beside him.

"All activated," Che Shihai said. "Rest assured, not a single mistake; this is all merit."

Three thousand li deep into Fengming Mountain, the Military Realm's mission statistics must rely on soldiers recording their own progress, for the Military Realm cannot monitor so far, and even if it could, it could not monitor so finely.

"Enough, stop watching and go down, cast a few spells," Zhao Xing smiled. "Don't fall short on enemy kills."

The Way of Clouds belongs solely to me; thus, while Zhao Xing sustains the clouds, others cannot.

However, other spells are not hindered; moreover, Zhao Xing's Cloud Art can amplify others' Heavenly Timing Arts.

He feared no one stealing his merit, for the Hana Clan had enough people to fully share it.

The War Merit List had not opened; monopolizing too many enemy kills alone would be useless.

"In that direction, a group of Spell Witches, some Ninth Rank, some Eighth Rank, and within them an Early Seventh Rank; weigh it yourself, do not get too close."

"This person can still cast spells beneath my Cloud Art; there is some method to it."

Zhao Xing pointed to a circular stone path; that was exactly where Lei was positioned.

"..." Che Shihai was left speechless; the other was also Seventh Rank, was it not expected to cast a spell under your hand?

Why make it sound so worthless?

Was the opposition truly weak?

Che Shihai stepped on clouds and mist, heading toward Lei's position.

Descending to a hundred meters, he began casting Heavenly Thunder at the enemy's location.

"Boom-Crack!"

Che Shihai was also Grade A, but at this moment he was only Eighth Rank; Heavenly Thunder Nine Turns, a thick Lei Zhu struck the tunnel entrance fiercely.

"Bang!"

碎石 flew, blasting open a corner.

"Pfft!"

Several Spell Witches were instantly knocked to the ground by the flashing Lei Guang.

"I'll risk it!"

Lei was providing cover for Lun Jing, but seeing the mysterious expert appear now, he too risked it all; waving his staff, a thunder dragon immediately flew out from within his body.

Boom!

Che Shihai clashed waves with him.

Unexpectedly, this Witch's thunder dragon actually swallowed his Lei Zhu in one bite, surging upstream.

"What?!"

Che Shihai was startled and immediately flashed toward the surroundings.

However, the thunder dragon suddenly reversed course, still quickly catching up to Che Shihai.

"Hmm?"

Seeing the enemy in such a state, Lei immediately showed a strange expression and instantly controlled the thunder dragon to pursue.

"Swish~"

Just then, Zhao Xing appeared before Che Shihai.

"Zzzzt~"

Lei Guang erupted from his fingertips; soon, a three-meter-long purple finger emerged from the lightning, pointing at the forehead of this 'Thunder Dragon'.

High-Grade Spell: Thunder Breaks Delusion Finger!

"Pop~"

A shockwave spread outward, sweeping away all falling rain, revealing a brief vacuum zone.

The thunder dragon instantly vanished without a trace, while Zhao Xing's Thunder Breaks Delusion Finger continued surging downward.

Both were spell clashes, but now Zhao Xing completely controlled the momentum of heaven and earth; he could borrow it, the opponent could not; that was the gap.

"So this one is the true expert!"

The last thought floated through Lei's mind, then he crashed down with a boom.

A huge hole appeared in his chest, pierced through by the Thunder Breaks Delusion Finger; the wound had not a trace of blood, for it was completely scorched.

After casting his Thunder Art, Zhao Xing did not turn to check the other's life or death; instead, he looked at Che Shihai.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful? Why pick the strongest to fight right from the start?"

"Cough... cough..." Che Shihai's hair was standing on end; in the clash just now, he had suffered a heavy loss.

Facing Zhao Xing's reproach, he was speechless.

"Boss, you described him as so weak, I thought..." Che Shihai could not finish.

During his time in the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, though not Top Grade A, he was a Grade A genius.

Zhao Xing used the Swallowing Cloud Art to control air superiority; he received the Cloud Art's amplification; fighting an Eighth Rank against a Seventh Rank himself, shouldn't that be basic operation?

How could it be like this?

An enemy trivial to Zhao Xing; was he really so hard to fight?

Che Shihai could not help but doubt life itself; just how great was the gap between himself and Zhao Xing?

"Don't overthink it. At the Seventh Rank Earth Fiend realm, spells carry fiendish qi, which amplifies their power. You haven't comprehended a high-grade spell; even with three cycles of realm comprehension, breaking through levels is difficult. This isn't your fault, so don't doubt yourself."

"When you reach the Seventh Rank, you could fight ten of that man from just now."

Zhao Xing's emotional value was instantly maxed out.

Che Shihai asked, "Boss, how many can you fight?"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, and a gust of wind sent him away: "Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and kill people; if you don't, Xia Jing and the others will finish them off."

He didn't answer Che Shihai's question, fearing his just-restored confidence would be struck again.

The shaman of the Hana tribe was merely an ordinary Seventh Rank; even by the Great Zhou's standards, his equipment and single spells were barely up to par.

Against opponents like this, Zhao Xing could fight as many as came, for this was a gap in quality, not something that could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Even if a hundred or a thousand 'Thunders' came, it would be useless. There was no concept of forced health deduction; under full power, the enemy couldn't even cast spells.

If it were a Force Shaman or another type, they wouldn't be powerless even as a Seventh Rank. But this person, equivalent to the Barbarian 'Military Agriculture Commissioner', was no match for Zhao Xing, no matter how many there were.

"You scum, come on! Come and fight me!"

Lun Jing roared desperately toward the sky.

He couldn't even touch anyone; he could only watch helplessly as warriors fell one by one. After the thunder died, rain fell on him again.

With disheveled hair, Lun Jing was like a desperate trapped beast, leaping into the air again and again, only to return empty-handed each time.

Under the suppression of Swallowing Clouds, he couldn't even manipulate yuan qi to fly briefly.

Where was there yuan qi for him to use? That was all yuan qi controlled by Zhao Xing!

Lun Jing was already desperate, but when Xia Jing descended, he learned what true despair meant.

"Brother Zhao, stop the wind and rain for a moment."

"And lift the suppression as well."

Xia Jing stepped on the air, descending step by step in front of Lun Jing.

On this massive stone roof, he and Lun Jing stood facing each other fifty meters apart.

Hearing this, Zhao Xing immediately cleared an area.

He knew what Xia Jing wanted to do.

In front of everyone in the Hana tribe, he would defeat the Hana tribe's strongest warrior in a one-on-one, direct confrontation.

Only thus could their will to resist be completely shattered.

After all, they numbered less than two thousand; wanting to wipe out the fifty-thousand-strong Hana tribe would still be very slow.

But if Lun Jing was defeated, the rest would be much easier.

"Barbarian leader, I give you the chance for a fair duel!" (Common Tongue)

"I am only Eighth Rank, while you are Seventh Rank."

"If you can last three moves under my hand, you may live, and everyone in the Hana tribe may live!" (Common Tongue)

"If you lose, you must order everyone in the Hana tribe to surrender." (Common Tongue)

Xia Jing used a sound-wave secret technique to broadcast his voice, and Zhao Xing, in perfect tacit understanding, cast a wind spell to carry his voice to every corner of the Hana tribe's territory.

"I am Lun Jing. I accept these terms! Please tell me your name!" Lun Jing had actually calmed down at this moment.

"When you are defeated, you will naturally know." Xia Jing smiled slightly and beckoned to the opponent, "Come."

"Die!" Lun Jing roared low, swung his massive axe up suddenly, and charged at Xia Jing.

Zhao Xing also watched the battle below quietly.

Xia Jing had not completed his Third Ring task, so he was currently similarly constrained, possessing only the realm of a perfect Eighth Rank Spirit Bridge.

But realm is one thing; Xia Jing was the number one man of the Azure Dragon Martial Office in the Ten Yang Grotto-Heaven, and even Fu Ying was slightly inferior to him.

Three moves?

One move is enough!

"Boom~"

Yuan qi surged from Xia Jing's body, condensing into a coiling azure dragon on his surface. Facing the oncoming Force Shaman Lun Jing, he did not draw the war blade on his back, but simply stood where he was.

"Slash!" Lun Jing, glowing with silver light, swung his axe as he charged, and several zhang of fiendish qi appeared.

Countless totem phantoms appeared behind him; these were refined by taking strange beasts as masters and absorbing the fiendish qi of various strange beasts.

This was his strongest explosive move, with speed and power that were incredibly formidable!

Swish~

Xia Jing tapped the ground with his right foot, and his entire body suddenly flickered in place.

Before Lun Jing's axe could strike down, he suddenly appeared before Lun Jing, catching the axe handle with one hand as Lun Jing's two hands chopped down.

The next moment, a booming sound rang out.

"What!" Lun Jing froze. Looking at his silver-glowing hands, then at Xia Jing's golden-glowing finger bones, he suddenly understood.

Golden Bones perfected, high-grade movement technique, speed of a single cry?! Zhao Xing was somewhat surprised. "Generally, only a Sixth Rank martial artist can achieve this speed, yet Xia Jing can do it? Although it was only a momentary burst, it broke the sound barrier!"

"Ahhh!"

Xia Jing pointed with his left hand; as if a clear dragon chant sounded, an azure dragon surged from his back into his fingertip.

This too was a high-grade Wu Ji—Azure Dragon Breaking Yuan Finger!

Zhao Xing had been sent away many times by this move of Xia Jing's during his 【Cannot Train】 period.

"Bang!"

The fingertip poked the armor on Lun Jing's chest; Lun Jing involuntarily released his war axe, and his entire body flew backward at extreme speed.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He crashed through more than ten buildings and was buried in the ruins.

All the Hana tribe members were stunned; seeing their usually invincible chieftain defeated, something in their hearts seemed to come crashing down.

One move! Just one move, and their strongest clan leader was defeated!

If the Great Zhou is full of such geniuses, what meaning is there in their resistance?

"Submit, or die!"

Xia Jing roared toward the surroundings.

"Submit, or die!"

The members of the Martial Bureau also struck their shields and weapons, roaring in unison.

The sky cleared, and the rain stopped.

Lun Jing could not climb out of the ruins; Zhao Xing could sense that his life force had completely vanished.

The Hanar people threw away their weapons and knelt on the ground, while the surviving warriors spontaneously gathered together, awaiting the verdict of fate.

"This kid." Zhao Xing used the Five Elements Observation to look at Xia Jing and couldn't help but shake his head.

To put on such a show, Xia Jing's primordial energy was now only thirty percent remaining.

It looked casual and effortless, but in truth, he had used his full strength.

But the effect was surprisingly good.

Apart from sporadic resistance, the Hanar tribe offered no further resistance whatsoever.

"Hah~"

Zhao Xing descended on a cloud and stood beside Xia Jing.

"You wouldn't actually want to take these tens of thousands of people back, would you? We don't have the time or the energy to transport so many people back."

"How could that be?" Xia Jing smiled lightly. "According to the barbarian surrender rules, all warriors must be killed. I'm just saving my brothers some effort."

"In a moment, let Zhang Yi go and recruit a batch of barbarian soldiers. Not many, one-tenth will suffice, about eight hundred people. Then let these people pick up weapons, separate the remaining warriors, and make them kill their own people batch by batch."

"Rank-holding warriors number at most seven or eight thousand; what about the rest?" Zhao Xing asked. "The Hanar tribe does not worship the Great Zhou."

"Release all the old, sick, and disabled," Xia Jing said. "The rest are to be buried alive."

"That's good." Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief; he had been afraid Xia Jing would be soft-hearted, so he had specifically come to ask.

Because among those present, apart from the Artificers and military doctors, the Fourth Ring through the Sixth Ring were basically enemy-killing missions.

In a war of races, there is no such thing as righteousness; unless Xia Jing wanted to recruit barbarian soldiers, but these barbarian soldiers were not qualified to be recruited, and they did not worship the Great Zhou, only the Wang Ting of Jin Yu.

As for filling the population to enhance fortune, there was absolutely no need for that.

After a thousand years of rest and recuperation and peaceful development under Emperor Wen, the population of the Great Zhou had already exploded in growth; they lacked no people, but what they lacked was actually land.

As long as a place was conquered and filled with Zhou dynasty subjects, the cost was far better than assimilating these barbarians.

As for harsh environments, as long as they were occupied and could be ruled for a long time, changing the situation for the Ministry of Agriculture was merely a matter of time, unless the conditions were extremely harsh and the time cost too high.

Once weapons are put down, they are hard to pick up again; once knees kneel, they are hard to stand straight again.

When the entire Hanar tribe surrendered, the mission for the more than eighteen hundred people from Yuncheng instantly became easy.

Eight people could drive more than a thousand barbarians to dig pits, and then bury themselves.

Crying and begging for mercy were useless.

Zhao Xing and the others had already undergone mental training in the Ten Yang Cave Heaven.

War does not concern itself with moral right or wrong; it is only a matter of stance.

When the barbarians invaded the lands of the Great Zhou, they did the same.

While others dealt with the Hanar tribe, Zhao Xing was checking the Soldier Realm missions.

The Fourth Ring mission required killing one thousand non-ranked barbarians, one hundred Ninth Rank barbarians, ten Eighth Rank, and one Seventh Rank.

The Fifth Ring mission required killing two thousand non-ranked barbarians, two hundred Ninth Rank barbarians, twenty Eighth Rank, and two Seventh Rank.

The Sixth Ring mission required killing three thousand non-ranked barbarians, three hundred Ninth Rank barbarians, thirty Eighth Rank, and three Seventh Rank.

The Seventh Ring mission required killing six thousand non-ranked barbarians, six hundred Ninth Rank barbarians, sixty Eighth Rank, and six Seventh Rank.

The Eighth Ring required a total kill count of eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight.

The Ninth Ring required a total kill count of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.

To obtain the highest evaluation, all the above requirements must be doubled, and not a single condition can be missing.

Why require killing those below one's own realm?

Because this time the goal was to leave the barbarians with no successors, and there could be no mercy whatsoever.

For Zhao Xing, these three ring missions were not difficult, because his strength far exceeded the Soldier Realm missions themselves.

In fact, the purpose of the Soldier Realm missions was not to make things difficult for these Grade A geniuses; the focus was on tempering, not on making them risk their lives for merit.

A Seventh Rank official position; if a Grade A genius still had to face nine deaths and one life to complete the mission, it would clearly be unreasonable.

Moreover, being on the battlefield to pacify the barbarians, no one could predict what kind of opponents they would encounter; the situation was already dangerous enough!

"Becoming a regular Seventh Rank official is a foregone conclusion; to seek higher, one must risk one's life. Seeking an official position in the middle three ranks, that is where one begins to receive titles of nobility, and the rewards of lifespan and fortune increase greatly... Starting from the Sixth Rank is the true threshold."

As for the Nine Ring missions, they were merely appetizers.

On April 12, the Hanar tribe was annihilated; Zhao Xing's Fourth Ring mission was completed, and Xia Jing's Third Ring mission was completed.

For the vast majority of others, the requirements were not as high as theirs; one Hanar tribe satisfied many people in completing the Third Ring mission.

On April 13, a straw dummy disguised as 'Zhao Chuo' appeared after the destruction of the Hanar tribe, leading the old, weak, sick, and disabled in flight, and was discovered en route by another tribe, the 'Walu' tribe.

The Walu tribe was slightly larger than the Hanar tribe, with sixty thousand people; the clan leader 'Walu' intended to take in this insect shaman.

But immediately afterward, they encountered the arrival of a massive army.

Thus, on April 13, the Walu tribe followed in the footsteps of the Hanar tribe.

Zhao Xing's Fifth Ring mission was completed.

On April 15, apart from the Zhao Chuo straw dummy, the Walu straw dummy also went online.

The same trick was repeated; one insect shaman and one strength shaman wandered aimlessly in the Fengming Mountain Range.

Soon, they encountered scouts from the Golden Horn Tribe.

On April 15, the Golden Horn Tribe was annihilated.

Zhao Xing's sixth-ring mission was completed.

That day, Zhao Xing returned to Yun City. Each department rested for half a day, then Zhao Xing entered the temple to complete his investiture.

He rose from Deputy Seventh Rank, Lower Grade, to Deputy Seventh Rank, Upper Grade.

His additional lifespan increased by 10 years; the increases in other aspects were not obvious.

After organizing the data on the Golden Horn and Walo tribes.

On April 16, at the Chen hour, they set out again.

Penetrating four thousand li deep into the Fengming Mountain Range, they annihilated two more tribes in succession.

Afterwards, the five departments of Yun City basically stayed in the Fengming Mountain Range. With the Military and Agricultural Departments present, supplies were no cause for worry; only Ling Yuan would lead a group to transport supplies for the Artificers.

At the depth of five thousand li, the group stopped and did not advance further, because ahead lay the one hundred and eight major tribes.

Thus, they began moving along this five-thousand-li horizontal axis, rapidly clearing out the barbarian tribes.

Because Zhao Xing and his group moved very fast, resting hardly at all, often before news of the destruction of the previous tribe had spread, they had already arrived at the next one.

Fighting until the ninth-ring mission ended, Zhao Xing had not encountered any worthy opponents or any worthy resistance.

"Brother Xia, it is time to return," Zhao Xing said. "The Pacification of the Barbarians Merit List is about to open, and the Southern Barbarians will also activate the Divine Court War Order. We should return to rest."

"Mm, it is time to return," Xia Jing nodded. "For so many days, we haven't encountered a single worthy opponent; the luck is too good. I also feel this good fortune will not last forever; I wanted to say this long ago."

Fighting until the end of April, actually, the brothers had all become bloodthirsty. Even those without ring-number missions had gained quite a bit of merit and spoils of war by now.

Though the barbarians are poor, they cannot withstand the plundering of tribe after tribe. By now, everyone is rolling in wealth.

Fighting only顺风 battles for too long is not necessarily a good thing; Zhao Xing and Xia Jing both vaguely felt that many people had lost the alertness they should have possessed.

"Moreover, I feel a team is tracking us," Zhao Xing looked at the sky. "They seem to be setting traps, luring us to advance deeper."

"I have this feeling too," Xia Jing said in a deep voice. "This is the intuition of a Seventh Rank martial artist."

"We must go."

The two were in perfect agreement and withdrew rapidly, not even looting anything, forcing everyone to board the flying boats and evacuate quickly.

And just half a shi after they withdrew from the gathering place of this tribe named 'Yang Lin'.

A bone-white ship appeared from the horizon; after searching in vain, it had to give up.

In the Soldier Realm, inside Gao Ta.

Before a wall of mirror screens.

"It is over," Ling De Wang said, watching Zhao Xing walk out of the temple on the screen. "This young man is already Deputy Seventh Rank, Lower Grade. He and Xia Jing completed the Soldier Realm's nine-ring missions in less than two months."

"Tian Yong, Zhuang Ziqing, Fu Ying, and other geniuses are still on the seventh ring."

"Among the officer reserves of the other four Great Cavern Heavens, only fifteen people have completed the nine-ring missions."

"Before the Pacification of the Barbarians Merit List opens, the others have little chance of completing it."

"If they cannot seize opportunities themselves and cannot even complete easy missions, who can they blame?" Luo Hou Wang said coldly. "Later, they will discover that the nine-ring mission is actually the easiest channel for promotion."

"If they miss the chance, once the Pacification of the Barbarians Merit List opens, the promotion standards will be different again."

"The nine-ring mission is a continuation of the Great Cavern Heaven training; its promotion is relatively easier."

"Like Zhao Xing, after completing the three-ring mission, he went straight to Deputy Seventh Rank, Lower Grade!"

"What did he actually do? He merely chopped down a batch of people, pushed over a few temples, and defended against an attack by a squad of Insect Witches."

"He was originally a Ninth Rank selected official, but after the three-ring mission, he went straight to Deputy Seventh Rank, Lower Grade!"

"After the nine-ring mission, he even crossed the threshold to the Full grade, becoming Full Seventh Rank."

Luo Hou Wang said, "There is no easier path to promotion under heaven. He seized this opportunity. And such an opportunity to be promoted immediately after training comes only once."

"If you miss it, it's gone."

Ling De Wang nodded. Indeed, the Great Cavern Heaven training was the easiest. If one waited until the Pacification of the Barbarians Merit List opened, wanting to gain merit again would become difficult, because hundreds of thousands of people would participate, and the standards for promotion would naturally be set much stricter.

Rewards for killing enemies mainly consisted of granting honorary ranks, granting honorary titles, awarding money, awarding land, bestowing heavenly treasures, and improving welfare benefits.

But for actual official promotions, one must select the very best to promote! One must establish great merit and rank high on the merit list to rise.

"Judging from the enemy-kill records submitted from Yun City, Xia Jing and Zhao Xing are both strategic talents," King Tianyan said. "If the two of them survive this great war, there is hope they will be enfeoffed as Marquises."

Ling De Wang nodded: "The Creation Disk has simulated the futures of all the geniuses who completed the nine-ring missions. These people all have the potential to be enfeoffed as Marquises."

"Only one month remains before the Pacification of the Barbarians Merit List opens," King Tianyan said. "Our duty is to monitor the growth of these geniuses, ensuring they are not corrupted by evil spirits and ensuring they do not suffer unfair treatment."

"As long as one-third of this fresh batch of blood can survive the next few years and be enfeoffed as Marquises, the Soldier Realm's training plan for this time will be considered successful."

"The Ten Yang Great Cavern Heaven is worth looking forward to; currently, there are only twenty or thirty people. Xia Jing and Zhao Xing, who completed the nine-ring missions the fastest, possess both hard strength and strategic talent. The others, although they can complete the nine-ring missions in the coming month, performed somewhat inferiorly."

"The Ten Yang Great Cavern Heaven is still weaker than the other four Great Cavern Heavens," Luo Hou Wang shook his head. "Only these two are outstanding. However, that is for now; whether they can adapt to the real battlefield remains unknown."

"Luo Hou, how about a bet?" King Tianyan said.

"Oh? What kind of bet?" Luo Hou Wang asked.

"Xia Jing and Zhao Xing have now returned to the Ten Yang Great Cavern Heaven to digest the gains from the nine-ring missions. They gathered quite a bit of spoils, so their starting point is higher than others, and they have more preparation time," King Tianyan smiled. "I bet the two of them will be enfeoffed as Marquises before reaching Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, and specifically as Second Class Wu Hou."

"I won't bet on that," Luo Hou shook his head. "Their chances are quite high."

"Then let's bet that the two of them will be the first batch to be enfeoffed as Marquises," King Tianyan said.

"I'll take that bet," Luo Hou said without hesitation. "To be the first batch enfeoffed, they must not only surpass the other top geniuses of the four Great Cavern Heavens but also compete with veteran generals. It is difficult."

"Very well, it is a deal," King Tianyan smiled. "How about the stake be a Seventh-Grade Divine Weapon?"

"Deal!"

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon; things might be a bit busy. I estimate my state will be adjusted well enough after the festival. I will make up the missed updates after the Dragon Boat Festival holiday.