Chapter 179: Is this rate of increase in his battle merit reasonable?

【Zhao Xing of the Divine Might Army, you have completed the mission of planting 'Sand Essence Fruit' (20,000 units) and obtained 10,000 points of battle merit (this mission cannot be submitted again this month).】

【Zhao Xing of the Divine Might Army, you have completed the mission of planting 'Golden Radiance Pillar' (1,000 units) and obtained 10,000 points of battle merit. (This mission cannot be submitted again this month).】

……

The notifications from the Earth Mirror scrolled rapidly across the screen. In the blink of an eye, once the tally was complete, Zhao Xing had gained 71,000 battle merit.

"Pati, this generous gift of yours is truly too well-timed."

"I'll find an opportunity to send more of you Sand Tribe people down to keep you company."

Zhao Xing looked at the rising battle merit, unable to help but feel moved.

Pati of the Sand Tribe had raided two cities, and when he looted them, he had dragged everything out of the inner treasuries in one go, including the inner treasuries of the Agricultural Officials within the cities.

Originally, these were all materials for other military garrison Agricultural Officials to complete their missions, but now, they had all become Zhao Xing's gain.

Seventy-one thousand battle merit!

Even killing eighteen Seventh-Rank Earth Fiend Realm experts at the perfection stage would only net that much!

If he were killing those at the early stage of the Earth Fiend Realm, he would have to kill seventy-one of them!

At this current stage, the Seventh Rank was the second tier of combat power; they were either main generals or deputy generals, and staying inside defensive fortresses, how could they be killed so easily?

Zhao Xing had hit the jackpot with this wave.

"Robbery really is the fastest way."

Zhao Xing watched his battle merit climb rapidly and smiled happily.

Normally, going to raid the various tribes of the Southern Wilderness wouldn't yield much battle merit now, and killing people might not be this fast either.

It was just that those three Pati brothers had raided two other Great Zhou cities first and hadn't had time to return and process the spoils before Zhao Xing cut them down.

"Let's check my ranking."

Once the Earth Mirror's mission notifications stopped refreshing, Zhao Xing immediately opened the battle merit leaderboard.

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing: Proper Seventh Rank, Lower Grade】

【Battle Merit: 86,000】

【Overall Ranking: 65,712】

"Over sixty thousand?"

"Before I came, I was still at over five million. This one jump has surpassed over five million people."

"Sixty thousand on the overall list, even surpassing some Sixth-Rank officials, but the Imperial Court is constantly increasing troops now, and the competition is fierce," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

When the Barbarian-Pacification Battle Merit leaderboard first started, the number of people involved was around seven million.

At that time, Zhao Xing had not yet come out of seclusion.

Now, a month later, that number had doubled, approaching fifteen million.

It continued to increase thereafter; at its peak, the total number of people exceeded fifty million!

The effect of the conquest was good, the efficiency of troop training was high, and the Military Realm had added many more soldiers to expand the war results.

Although nominally it was still the Five Great Cave Heavens, in reality, many people had already been filled into them.

It was a one-sided battle, after all; everyone wanted to fight, and on top of that, various princes and marquises were vying to fight, stuffing the soldiers and generals from their own fiefs inside.

This led to a rapid increase in numbers.

"It won't be long before the number of Sixth-Rank officials increases from fifty thousand to over sixty thousand."

"The number of Seventh-Rank officials will increase from two hundred thousand to one point five million."

"Eighth and Ninth Ranks combined will exceed thirty million."

"By the end of the eighteenth year of Jingxin, this number will exceed fifty million."

"Ninth to Seventh Rank are all low-tier combat power; only the Sixth Rank counts as mid-tier combat power, so the increase in Sixth-Rank officials isn't that much. The Military Realm is intentionally controlling the pace; even at the peak, it didn't exceed eighty thousand," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

"Let's look at the Seventh-Rank leaderboard again."

【Divine Might Army Zhao Xing: Proper Seventh Rank, Lower Grade】

【Battle Merit: 86,000】

【Seventh-Rank Battle Merit Leaderboard Ranking: 4,524】

"Already broken into the top five thousand," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "The number one on the Seventh-Rank battle merit leaderboard, the Qiyuan Army, has broken through 330,000 battle merit. It's truly exaggerated; in less than a day, he's added over 60,000 battle merit again."

The strong remain strong; the Seventh-Rank officials at the top of the list are basically main generals on the front lines, commanding strong armies.

Charging on the front lines and fighting one-sided battles makes earning merit fast.

"Dropped twelve places again." In the time it took Zhao Xing to blink, his ranking had dropped twelve spots.

"Now, because of this batch of materials, most of my primary duties are completed."

"Next, I'll quickly finish this month's primary duties, max out my base battle merit, and then set about completing 'General Missions' to earn extra battle merit. General Missions are where the gap is widened; they are difficult, but they can be farmed infinitely."

South of the Canglan River, Tiger Dragon Army war zone.

City Number 162.

Zhuang Ziqing was planting 'Spirit Wing Bamboo' in the city. This was one of the main materials for crafting 'Silver Wing Battle Armor', which allowed even martial artists to possess the ability to fly.

A Fourth-Rank Spirit Wing Bamboo could bring Zhuang Ziqing a hundred points of battle merit per plant. He was currently planting a bamboo forest, but there were relatively few that had reached the Fourth Rank, occupying only a small half.

Zhuang Ziqing had previously followed the Wei Hong division of the Tiger Dragon Army in two containment battles, but later he was sent here to serve as an Agricultural Supervision Commander.

The Tiger Dragon Army was a strong army, and Zhuang Ziqing's talent was not bad, but he still couldn't compare to those veteran Seventh-Rank Agricultural Officials. Seeing that he couldn't earn any major merit, he voluntarily applied to return to the city to farm.

"Li Feng, Feng Qiu," Zhuang Ziqing called over his two adjutants. "Rest for a bit first; there's no need to push yourselves so hard. You've both been busy for twenty-four hours without closing your eyes."

Li Feng and Feng Qiu were both from the Tiger Dragon Army, and now they had both come to serve as adjutants for Zhuang Ziqing. As for Shi Yong, he was following the Tiger Dragon Army fighting on the front lines.

"I can still go on," Feng Qiu said indifferently.

Li Feng didn't stop either, continuing to cast spells.

They had also followed the front lines for two battles before being sent back.

Unlike Zhuang Ziqing, Li Feng and Feng Qiu had been persuaded to return.

Because on the front lines, they hadn't really exerted much influence at all.

The strong army was full of talent, and the two of them, as newly trained Agricultural Officials, were considered geniuses in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven reserve, but once they reached the battlefield, compared to those veteran Seventh-Rankers, their competitiveness weakened.

The Tiger Dragon Army had given them a chance, but Feng Qiu and Li Feng hadn't seized it. That was why, after being sent back, they were both working with all their might.

"You two can hold up," Zhuang Ziqing said helplessly, "but I don't want to be this tired. If you both don't rest, how can I rest alone?"

"I have a way." Feng Qiu took out his Earth Mirror and shoved it into Zhuang Ziqing's arms.

"What is this?" Zhuang Ziqing asked suspiciously, taking the Earth Mirror to look. The Earth Mirror displayed a query page, which was currently showing Zhao Xing's ranking and battle merit.

"What? Zhao Xing's battle merit is at 86,000?!!" Zhuang Ziqing's eyes widened. "Didn't he just come out of seclusion three days ago?"

"No matter how fast the travel, it would take a day or two to get to the destination, right? How long has it been, and he's already broken into the top five thousand of the Seventh-Rank list?!!"

Feng Qiu and Li Feng didn't say a word, because they also couldn't understand why Zhao Xing could be so fast.

Feng Qiu and Li Feng had one thing in common: they had both been bullied by Zhao Xing.

Naturally, they were very concerned about Zhao Xing's movements.

They didn't know until they looked, and once they looked, they were shocked.

Eighty-six thousand battle merit! Over four thousand ranking!

Feng Qiu was still ranked over seventy thousand, and Li Feng was even at one hundred thousand; only Zhuang Ziqing and Shi Yong had broken into the top ten thousand.

But Zhao Xing had only just come out of seclusion, and he had already entered the top five thousand!

Feng Qiu was now slapping the Earth Mirror into Zhuang Ziqing's hand, the meaning obvious: Are you still tired?

How can you sleep?

Now do you understand why we are working so hard!

Zhuang Ziqing was indeed awake now: "Damn it, in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven he was like this... to use his words, he was 'grinding', and now that he's on the battlefield, he's still grinding this hard?!"

Zhuang Ziqing threw the Earth Mirror back to Feng Qiu, murderous and determined: "Work! Everyone, get to work! I'm not sleeping anymore!"

Tiger Dragon Army war zone, front lines.

A marching palace was hidden in the mountainous area.

Shi Yong, who had just finished a battle, dragged his exhausted body back to the camp.

He had just wanted to rest, but discovered his Earth Mirror vibrating slightly.

There was a message on it.

It was sent by Zhuang Ziqing.

【Look at Zhao Xing's ranking, look quickly!】

"Let me look at Zhao Xing's ranking?" Shi Yong was a bit puzzled. "Zhao Xing only just came out of seclusion; what's there to look at?"

However, since Zhuang Ziqing had said so, Shi Yong also opened the leaderboard to check.

After reading it, Shi Yong fell silent.

He wanted to send a message to Zhuang Ziqing, but for a long time didn't know what to send. In the end, he could only silently put away the Earth Mirror, give up on his plan to rest, and start running to the marching palace to cultivate.

One passed it to ten, ten to a hundred.

Soon, Zhao Xing's abnormally soaring battle merit count caught the attention of Xia Jing, Cao Shuang, Jiang Tianming, Feng Qi, and others.

"He just arrived on the battlefield, and he's already broken into the top four thousand?" Xia Jing looked at this ranking, suspecting his eyes were playing tricks on him. "I'm only at three thousand, but I've been fighting for over half a month."

"Brother Xia, why are you looking at me?" Guan Junyang said helplessly. "How could I understand such a thing? Maybe it's luck?"

"Luck?" Xia Jing smiled. "You haven't stayed in Yuncheng; you don't understand Zhao Xing."

"Give someone else the same luck of facing a Seventh-Rank alien team loaded with spoils, and they might not necessarily be able to kill them."

"Or rather, they might not necessarily be able to discover them."

"Eighty-six thousand battle merit—that must be seventy or eighty Seventh-Rankers. Such a team configuration must be riding a warship with extremely high stealth capabilities." Guan Junyang shook his head. "I would find it very hard to discover them. If I were in the Divine Might Army and not teamed up with you, facing such a team, I would have to run."

Xia Jing didn't say anything more; to say more would be to demoralize Guan Junyang.

But in his heart, he still missed teaming up with Zhao Xing in Yuncheng.

Why didn't the Black Armor Army dig him over back then?

I'd be willing to trade ten Guan Junyangs for one Zhao Xing... Xia Jing thought silently in his heart, but on his lips, he smiled and patted Guan Junyang on the shoulder:

"Hahaha, what is Brother Guan saying? You aren't just anyone; you definitely could have done it! Your potential is infinite; ten Zhao Xings might not even compare to you."

Military Realm, the Heavenly Derivation King and the Lingde King were meditating inside the Hundred Soldiers Tower.

"Hum~"

Suddenly, the figure of the Rahu King appeared on the top floor.

When he appeared, the surrounding air seemed to turn icy, and the expression on the Rahu King's face was like thousand-year-old ice.

"Hmm? Rahu, what's wrong with you?" The Lingde King looked at the Rahu King in confusion. "Why is your killing intent so heavy? Who provoked you?"

"Hmph, who else could it be?" The Rahu King said coldly. "It's none other than our beloved Prince Liang."

"Rahu, did Prince Liang come to see you?" The Heavenly Derivation King asked. "Is he trying to use your connections to stuff people in?"

"Yes." The Rahu King nodded. "He wants to stuff two hundred Sixth-Rank martial generals into the armies of the Five Great Cave Heavens."

"He came to me and said five hundred," the Heavenly Derivation King laughed. "It seems he thinks you, Rahu, are not to be trifled with, so he even reported a smaller number."

"He came to me and said one thousand," the Lingde King gave a bitter laugh. He was a Commandery Prince among the three, and in terms of royal titles, his status was one level lower than Rahu and Heavenly Derivation.

"Then did you give them?" The Heavenly Derivation King asked.

"No." The Lingde King shook his head. "After much persuasion, I finally managed to get him to take the people back."

"What else is there to say?" The Rahu King threw his hand and sat down. "If I don't agree, I don't agree. The rules of the Military Realm are here; what else is there to say?"

Clearly, Rahu and Prince Liang had had an unpleasant encounter, and the tone in which he mentioned Prince Liang was very stiff.

"Forget it, let's not mention him." The Heavenly Derivation King smiled slightly. "Let's talk about something happy, like the bet from last time."

The Heavenly Derivation King and the Rahu King had once made a bet based on the performance of Xia Jing and Zhao Xing, setting the stakes at a Seventh-Rank Divine Weapon.

The Heavenly Derivation King bet that the two would be in the first batch to be enfeoffed as marquises, and second-class marquises at that; the Rahu King bet that they couldn't.

"Zhao Xing has come out of seclusion," the Heavenly Derivation King laughed. "And in one day, he earned over 80,000 battle merit. Now, on the Seventh-Rank leaderboard, he has already entered the top five thousand."

"……" The Rahu King was speechless.

It turned out the happy thing only applied to himself.

However, Rahu wasn't angry; he had a good relationship with the Heavenly Derivation King, and with this interruption, the unpleasantness from Prince Liang just now faded.

"Zhao Xing only came out of seclusion after such a long time, and earned over 80,000 battle merit in one day?" The Rahu King asked. "How did he get it? A Seventh-Rank Military Agricultural Official couldn't possibly complete the monthly primary duties that fast."

"According to the battle report, it was when the kid and Long Xiao of the Divine Might Army were rushing to the military garrison that they discovered a group of Sand Tribe people who were about to ambush a supply city of the Sea-Suppressing Army."

The Lingde King explained: "As a result, they were followed by Zhao Xing and Long Xiao and caught off guard."

The Rahu King waved his hand, and an Earth Mirror floated in front of him, on which Zhao Xing's merit record soon appeared.

The Arrow-Fish Flying Boat had a recording function similar to a Mirage Pearl.

Even outside the territory of Great Zhou, away from the monitoring range of the Military Realm, the method of recording battle merit was very complete.

"Hmm? A Fifth-Rank Nether Flame warship hiding in the gale layer, and he was actually able to detect the residual tail flame left by the Nether Flame warship?" The Rahu King looked at the Earth Mirror.

"After coming out of seclusion, his strength is more than a little bit stronger than during his time in Yuncheng."

"There is also an element of luck involved," the Heavenly Derivation King said. "If it had been a quarter of an hour later, no matter how capable he was, he wouldn't have been able to detect the traces of the Nether Flame warship from the gale layer."

"Luck is also a part of strength," the Rahu King said. "There are three types of people in the world. One type is the mediocre who cannot grasp an opportunity even when it is placed right in front of them; when they are lucky, their lives don't undergo any major changes, and they have no idea how many opportunities they have missed in their lives. When they are unlucky, they encounter major setbacks."

"The second type is the genius; when an opportunity comes, they grasp it immediately and create a great situation."

"This Zhao Xing is the second type."

The Lingde King laughed: "Rahu, what about the third type?"

The Rahu King said: "The third type is the peerless genius who can actively create opportunities even when there are none."

The Heavenly Derivation King said: "Rahu, looking at the Seventh-Rank leaderboard, who can be called a peerless genius?"

The Rahu King shook his head: "Among the Seventh Rank, there isn't one. However, Lu Yuanwei of the Sixth Rank can be considered a peerless genius."

"He earned a million battle merit in twenty days. Looking at his expansion route, it was impossible for the Divine Thunder Army to achieve such great results."

"The Golden Feather Royal Court retreated very quickly, and there were no enemies in his direction."

"However, Lu Yuanwei led people to cross the Extreme Flame Desert and forced the 'Ha'er' royal family of the Golden Feather Royal Court to take the bait and pursue him."

"As a result, Ha'er jumped into his encirclement instead; two hundred thousand people were beheaded, and even Ha'er didn't escape."

The Lingde King nodded: "Indeed, he beheaded Ha'er, not only establishing great merit but also disrupting the deployment of the Golden Feather Royal Court."

"Three thousand miles further in is the mining area rich in 'Green Steel Crystals'. Before they could even finish mining it, they were threatened by Lu Yuanwei."

"Now the Golden Feather Royal Court is moving its troops there, trying to slow down Lu Yuanwei's pace."

"The Western Commandery route originally had no opportunities to earn merit, but this Lu Yuanwei forced a situation open. He is not short of heads to cut now."

The Heavenly Derivation King said: "I was talking about the Seventh Rank; why are you talking about Lu Yuanwei? Are the Qiyuan Army and Pang Zheng of the Zhaoshi Cave Heaven, and Yi Rong of the Yuanhua Cave Heaven not peerless geniuses? They also have proud battle records."

Rahu shook his head: "They are strong armies and tough troops; they just grasped the opportunity. Although they are geniuses, they cannot yet be called peerless geniuses."

"How do they compare to Zhao Xing?" The Lingde King also joined the discussion.

"In terms of talent and strength, naturally these people are stronger," the Rahu King said. "In terms of army strength, the Zhaoyuan Army and the Yuanhua Army are also stronger than the Divine Might Army."

"Zhao Xing is staying in City Number 92, and there aren't many opportunities for him to earn battle merit."

"Unless he is lucky enough to encounter such things every time, and can grasp the opportunity every time, only then would he have a chance to surpass the geniuses in these strong armies."

The Heavenly Derivation King also nodded. Although he bet that Zhao Xing would be in the first batch to be enfeoffed as a marquis, he still agreed with the Rahu King's analysis.

"That might not be the case," the Lingde King suddenly said. "Look, the kid's battle merit is starting to rise again."

"Just now, the Military Realm Earth Mirror showed that two hours ago, he submitted a General Mission and obtained 5,000 battle merit."

"Now that two hours have passed, he actually submitted another one, another 5,000 battle merit!"

The Rahu King and the Heavenly Derivation King looked at the Earth Mirror in surprise. Sure enough, Zhao Xing's battle merit had become 96,000!

The Lingde King was a bit puzzled: "Isn't it said that the General Missions distributed by the Military Realm to Military Agricultural Officials are generally very difficult? His speed... is this reasonable?"

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