Chapter 530: Bestowal of Rewards

Zhu Xiaocun gradually saw light, and his memories of what had happened began to return. However, he only remembered overwhelming attacks landing on him, then his Dharma Form seemingly inhaling some poisonous smoke, and after that, he remembered nothing.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was in a prison cell. His Dharma Form was tightly bound, and his physical body was limp and powerless; he couldn't even move a finger.

Standing before him was a young man with a strange sense of vicissitudes in his brow, who was watching him.

"Who are you? This official is an Imperial Censor of the current dynasty, an imperial envoy! Do you know that kidnapping an imperial envoy is a crime punishable by the extermination of your nine clans?" Zhu Xiaocun spoke sternly, showing no fear.

The young man smiled slightly and said, "Envoy Zhu, since I dared to capture you, naturally I am not afraid of clan extermination."

Zhu Xiaocun sobered up a bit, and the young man before him gradually matched the portrait he had seen. He gasped, "You are Ji Weiwei Yuan!"

Ji Weiwei Yuan laughed, "That's right, I am Ji Weiwei Yuan, and this is Qingming. I heard that Envoy Zhu intended to seize my military authority, act as the Regional Commander, and incidentally investigate my crimes?"

"This is the decree of the King! Do you dare to defy the imperial decree?!" Zhu Xiaocun glared at him.

Ji Weiwei Yuan had a precious sword in his hand. He drew it out to take a look, then sheathed it again, saying, "Envoy Zhu dared to accept this mission—is your confidence based solely on this Shangfang Sword?"

Zhu Xiaocun sneered, "This official's mission relies on more than just a Shangfang Sword! I rely on the ten-thousand-year orthodoxy, the system of the Son of Heaven, and the hearts of the people under heaven! Ji Weiwei Yuan, it is easy for you to kill me, but can you block the mouths of all the people under heaven?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan smiled and said, "Originally, I wanted to ask what confidence you had to withstand the three-million-strong Shaman army. Now it seems there is no need to ask. You cannot withstand them; when the time comes, you will simply flee and abandon the people of Qingming to the Shamans."

"The 'hearts of the people under heaven' in Envoy Zhu's mouth refers to the hearts of the 'Pure Stream' scholars. The 'mouths of the people' are the mouths of the remonstrating officials. Ordinary commoners don't count as people."

"Commoners are ignorant and stubborn, only capable of seeing the petty gains right before their eyes. What do they understand? It is naturally up to us scholars who have inherited the teachings of the Sages to speak for the world, to speak for the myriad people!"

"Has Envoy Zhu ever thought about whether what you call 'speaking for the myriad people' is truly the voice of the commoners? Have you ever chatted with them, visited their homes, or experienced even half a day of their lives?"

Zhu Xiaocun snorted, "What they think about is nothing more than firewood, rice, oil, and salt. One can know it just by thinking about it; why bother asking or looking?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan did not argue with him, saying, "I have learned much from Envoy Zhu's words today. In the future, the people of Qingming will have their own way to speak; they do not need anyone to speak for them."

"This is overturning the heavens and defying the earth, a great rebellious act!" Zhu Xiaocun raged.

Ji Weiwei Yuan said calmly, "Does Envoy Zhu know why I went to such trouble to bring you all to Qingming?"

"Why?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Because in Qingming, your souls cannot escape."

Zhu Xiaocun finally realized he was doomed. He struggled and shouted, "Ji Weiwei Yuan, you are acting perversely! You will surely stink for ten thousand years and be reviled by all the scholars under heaven!!"

Ji Weiwei Yuan smiled, "By the way, I forgot to mention: Envoy Zhu dying in Qingming has one benefit—that is, your death will be utterly worthless, not even worth mentioning!"

"How will history books write of Envoy Zhu's death? Died in a bandit raid, whereabouts unknown?"

"No, Envoy Zhu's rank is not high enough. History books won't even mention a single word."

Zhu Xiaocun was furious. He roared madly at Ji Weiwei Yuan's back, shaking the chains until they clattered, his wrists and ankles bleeding. But Ji Weiwei Yuan had already walked away, leaving only his impotent roars in the cell.

At the Weapon Forging Workshop, Ren Suxing had just finished cutting a cannon barrel. He was quite satisfied with it, picked up a brush to write 'Superior' on it, and carefully placed it on the shelf.

This batch of long barrels would be used to manufacture the new generation of city defense cannons. Currently, only four or five people in the entire workshop could manufacture them.

A cultivator hurried over and asked, "Ren Suxing, Senior Brother Ren?" "That is me."

"The latest rewards have been issued. Senior Brother Ren has performed meritorious service, and your name is on the list. Please gather at the foot of the main peak at high noon to receive your reward. Do not be late."

Ren Suxing was a bit puzzled, not understanding why he had received a reward. Seeing that it was almost noon, he tidied up and headed toward the main peak.

High noon.

Ren Suxing stood in the open space at the foot of the main peak. Around him were a dozen other people, mostly disciples of the Profound Heaven Sect, along with six or seven cultivators he did not recognize.

At this moment, Cui Yu appeared and said, "You all have high military merit and other achievements, and you are loyal to the realm, so you deserve to be rewarded. This reward consists of Heavenly Merit from the Profound Heaven Sect and gifts from Heaven and Earth. In a moment, there will be two prison cages. Everyone, stand in the designated positions and attack with the specified spells. The first cage will be finished by Xu Yi, and the second cage will be finished by Ren Suxing."

In the blink of an eye, two cages were pushed out. They were covered by spells, so nothing inside could be seen; it was unclear whether they contained Dharma Form cultivators or Great Shamans.

In the past, Ji Weiwei Yuan often distributed Heavenly Merit during battles, but now he had evolved to directly capturing people to wholesale Heavenly Merit.

Including Ren Suxing, everyone had participated in more than one major battle, and their own cultivation bases were not weak, otherwise their military merits would not have ranked so high. No one would refuse Heavenly Merit, and the temptation of gifts from Heaven and Earth was something no one could resist.

No matter how small the gifts from Heaven and Earth were, they offered a glimmer of hope for improving one's Dao Foundation aptitude. Even the faintest hope was still hope; it was the future of a person who cultivated the Dao.

(No errors in the original text!)

The reward process went very smoothly. Until Ren Suxing cast his final Dao spell into the cage, Heavenly Yuan Qi poured down from above. No one knew exactly what was inside the cages.

Everyone was very excited. Ren Suxing felt the Heavenly Yuan Qi tempering his body and mind, and felt his internal spiritual energy becoming increasingly pure; his spirits lifted, and his eyes regained their luster. Having been in Qingming for so long, he had finally taken another small step forward on his Dao path.

Ren Suxing had been stuck before the Dharma Form realm for many years. He had thought his Dao path had reached its end, waiting only to attempt the Dharma Form realm when his lifespan was nearly up, but he had not expected to actually have a chance to advance further.

At this time, the two cages were carried to a remote area, and then Sun Yu appeared, using his elixir fire to reduce the cages and the people inside to ashes. Ji Weiwei Yuan appeared, inspected the ashes, and calculated the karmic causality; seeing no flaws, he nodded.

Sun Yu asked, "How should we deal with the escort soldiers of the envoy mission? Should we kill them all?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "Killing them all is too wasteful. Besides, these ordinary soldiers are acting under orders and have committed no major crimes. Incorporate them into the front-line troops first. If they can survive three battles, then incorporate them into the regular troops."

"Will the news leak out?"

Ji Weiwei Yuan smiled slightly, "What news could leak? These people were bought by us from bandits; that is what we will tell anyone who asks. Besides, for the time being, no envoy should dare to come to Qingming. After all, the so-called 'Pure Stream' scholars are not truly unafraid of death."

Sun Yu nodded, and he and Cui Yu noted this down, preparing to go and handle it immediately.

"Is my seclusion area ready?" Ji Weiwei Yuan asked.

"It is ready. Senior Brother Xu will personally guard the outer layer."

Ji Weiwei Yuan nodded and said, "My Dharma Form puppet guards the inner layer, so it should be foolproof. I am going to the Youhan Realm this time, and I don't know how long I will be gone. If I haven't come out of seclusion in three days, find a way to wake me up."

Sun Yu nodded, then said, "Bring back more local specialties from there, such as rare Great Shamans."

(End of chapter)