Chapter 69: Rewarding Based on Merit

"Again." Ye Liuyun shouted, and again placed a pill at the array eye.

"Kid! Don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive!" the man in black robes shouted.

Ye Liuyun remained unmoved. He threw another punch, and the formation cracked open another gap.

This time, having learned from the previous encounter, the people inside were better prepared, and eight emerged.

Now only that Grand Hall guard and Shi Jing Tian plus five others remained inside. They were tasked with blocking the skeletons and covering the others' escape.

Then Ye Liuyun placed another pill into the array eye.

"Everyone, get ready!"

After speaking, he punched the pill again.

The Grand Hall guard inside also unleashed a full-force punch, sending the surrounding skeletons flying. Then the few of them, seizing the moment the formation split, leapt out together.

Everyone instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The disciples rescued by Ye Liuyun also showed grateful expressions and hurried toward him.

Seeing this, Ye Liuyun shouted, "Withdraw separately!"

The Grand Hall guard had been about to thank Ye Liuyun, but his shout snapped them back. A formidable foe was right before them; it was not the time for gratitude.

He immediately ordered, "Scatter and retreat!"

After speaking, he swiftly grabbed two low-level disciples and sprinted outward.

At this moment, Ye Liuyun had already leapt away. The Bald Vulture swooped down, caught up with Ye Liuyun, Yu Wenlong, and Lin Feng, and flew off toward the distance without a pause.

Meanwhile, Qi Xiong and Lu Wei also pursued the direction the Bald Vulture flew. The Grand Hall guard had just transmitted a voice to them, telling them to protect Ye Liuyun.

The man in black robes stood at the cave entrance, cursing aloud yet not giving chase.

This period was critical for the skeletons' resurrection; he dared not make any mistake, lest all prior effort be wasted!

"Kid! I've got you memorized!" the black-robed man's voice echoed from afar.

After the group escaped the Wan Zang Mountains, they each boarded different warships and returned to the staging camp in turn.

Upon returning, everyone gathered in the Grand Hall.

All the Grand Hall guards who had appeared in the Wan Zang Mountains were also waiting inside the Grand Hall.

Seeing that the staging camp now had only just over forty disciples left, the group couldn't help but sigh mournfully.

At this moment, the Grand Hall guard who had rescued Shi Jing Tian and others stepped forward and said, "My name is Song Tao, I am the third Grand Hall guard. I was in charge of this operation! It was my carelessness and underestimation that caused such heavy losses. I will personally plead guilty before the Prince and give everyone an explanation!"

At the same time, he also made public the facts Ye Liuyun had discovered early on and reported.

After hearing this, everyone realized that Ye Liuyun hadn't deceived them at all. Yet they had arrogantly thought Ye Liuyun was cowardly, which was utterly laughable.

Because of their arrogance, they lost over a hundred disciples!

Now they both respect and thank Ye Liuyun.

Afterwards, the Golden Armor Guard began awarding merit. Their rewards are clear and have always been a hallmark of the Golden Armor Guard. They cannot forget to give the due rewards just because the losses were great; otherwise, who would continue to exert effort later?

The Golden Armor Guard announced the reward points the group earned this time.

Ye Liuyun's points surprisingly approached three thousand.

Even Yu Wenlong and Lin Feng each had a few hundred points.

Shi Jing Tian and Wu Gang only had a few hundred each. Others had even fewer points, some only in the double digits.

That doesn't even include the bonus Ye Liuyun received for gathering information and breaking the formation to rescue people!

The Golden Armor Guard member in charge of tallying Ye Liuyun's squad points explained, "Among these bandits, all those of True Yuan Fifth Tier and above were eliminated single-handedly by Ye Liuyun! He also killed many of the True Yuan Fourth, Third, and Second Tiers!"

Upon hearing this, everyone admired him even more.

Finally, several Grand Hall guards unanimously decided to grant Ye Liuyun ten thousand points as a reward for his performance.

At the same time, all cultivation techniques were made freely available to Ye Liuyun without requiring point exchange, and Han Shan would help him choose techniques.

Ye Liuyun had never exchanged points for anything, so he didn't know their value.

But seeing the Grand Hall guards' solemn demeanor and the senior disciples' envious gazes, he could guess that the points could buy many things.

Moreover, he could redeem various techniques for free, with Han Shan's guidance. Such privileges aren't available to others. He then hurriedly thanked several Grand Hall guards.

Han Shan replied with the same line: "You earned it all yourself!"

After that, Han Shan told them to go back and rest.

But those few Grand Hall guards returned to report to the Heavenly Luck King.

After all, the man in black robes and the skeletons still needed to be dealt with, or else more people would die.

Currently the skeletons haven't regenerated, and the black-robed man cannot leave, making this an ideal moment to handle them. Once the skeletons recover, dealing with them will become difficult.

After the disciples returned, they naturally re-ranked and reassigned the Stone Houses.

Even Yu Wenlong moved into the fifth Stone House. Everyone placed Ye Liuyun at the front of the list.

But Ye Liuyun paid no mind to the Stone House rankings, still residing in the seventh Stone House.

Everyone thought Ye Liuyun at least deserved to move to the third Stone House. Only Yu Wenlong and Lin Feng knew that Ye Liuyun had the strength to occupy the first Stone House.

He relied on his own strength to slay so many high-level beasts, not on any pet.

Wu Gang, to force him to change his position, deliberately challenged him.

As a result, Ye Liuyun's casual Thunder Fist struck Wu Gang's chest, scorching it black; he lay stiff and numb for a long while before getting up.

"No need! I still have to give you a Healing Pill!" Ye Liuyun reluctantly gave him a low-grade Mysterious Tier Healing Pill.

Ye Liuyun's strike on Wu Gang was overwhelming! Wu Gang was three tiers higher than Ye Liuyun, yet couldn't even withstand a single punch!

This shocked even Shi Jing Tian, who ranked first. Even if he fought Wu Gang without weapons, it would take at least ten moves to render Wu Gang unable to counter.

Yet Ye Liuyun needed only one punch.

"Doesn't that mean Ye Liuyun can defeat me?" This thought greatly moved Shi Jing Tian. He immediately went back to exchange points for resources and threw himself into hard training.

"You don't need to worry about me! Wherever I am is the same. If you want to compete, go ahead; just give me a Stone House."

Having said that, Ye Liuyun returned to his own room.

Finally it was Yu Wenlong and Lin Feng who explained to everyone that Ye Liuyun basically doesn't take pills, so it's the same wherever he is. This only made everyone somewhat accept it in their hearts, and thus they let him go.

But from then on, the seventh Stone House became a taboo, and no one went there to challenge.

After returning, Ye Liuyun immediately took a Condensing Origin Pill, preparing to break through his realm.

Moreover, this breakthrough went very smoothly. After these days of actual combat, Ye Liuyun's realm had already risen to the peak of True Essence First Level.

After taking a Condensing Origin Pill, his realm naturally broke through, reaching True Origin Double.

After breaking through the realm, Ye Liuyun felt that the True Essence inside his qi sea became more condensed, and the light it emitted became more brilliant.

Even he felt that the glowing mass of True Essence seemed to have a temperature, and the temperature kept rising, containing terrifying energy within.

Ye Liuyun also delighted in himself becoming ever stronger.

Compared to before, his current self is truly worlds apart. When he now looks back at the strength of the Body Refining realm, it's like that of a child.

That night he cultivated until dawn, to consolidate the realm he had just broken through.