Chapter 922

Inside the garrison headquarters of Changxing Star Island, under the excited and eager gazes of Bai Changshan, Guan Laohei, Nian Qinggui, and Cao Bin, Xu Jin sank his spiritual sense into the battle merit rewards approved by the Tongxuan War Zone.

A single glance was enough for Xu Jin to understand why Guan Laohei had spoken so urgently in his starlight message.

Only if he deemed it acceptable could they claim it.

The main reason was that this battle merit reward was far richer and far more tempting than they had imagined.

The Tongxuan War Zone headquarters has approved the following battle merits: Garrison Commander Guan Xiaoxing of Changxing Star Island, primary merit, awarded two extraordinary merits and one million five hundred thousand battle merits.

Bai Changshan, Nian Qinggui, and Cao Bin, as secondary merit holders, each awarded two extraordinary merits and one million battle merits.

Xu Jin, as tertiary merit holder, awarded one extraordinary merit and sixty thousand battle merits.

Tao Tianqiang and another sixth-realm Spatial True Person, as fourth-tier merit holders, awarded twenty thousand battle merits.

All other participating True Persons and Spatial Star Juniors awarded ten thousand battle merits each.

Leaving aside the merits of others, the key point was that Guan Laohei and the other three—Bai Changshan, Nian Qinggui, and Cao Bin—had all been awarded two extraordinary merits each, plus one million battle merits.

Yet Xu Jin received only one extraordinary merit and sixty thousand battle merits.

In this great victory of capturing and securing Chifeng Star Island, all four of them knew full well who truly deserved the credit.

In fact, even before submitting their battle merit reports, they had already formed a basic judgment.

Theoretically, Grand Saint Xu Jin could have claimed at least eighty percent of this battle merit for himself.

Even if he had previously taken all the True Person blood crystals and all the True Person-level Numinous Spaces, and given the merits to them, he could not possibly have given away so much.

Now, they had taken the lion’s share.

Of nine extraordinary merits, Xu Jin received only one, and this made them uneasy.

Even though Xu Jin had previously monopolized the so-called opportunity granted by the Kongyuan Emperor, they still felt the weight of these massive battle merits, still felt uneasy.

They knew better than anyone what they had contributed in this great victory: primarily, they had psychologically tied down several True Persons and launched a surprise strike to slay the bloodline elite soldiers.

So although the Tongxuan War Zone had approved these merits, if Xu Jin found them problematic, they dared not accept them.

The instant Xu Jin raised his head after reading the battle merit decree on the jade tablet, the four of them looked at him with slight tension.

A mix of anticipation, nervousness, and shame—complex emotions.

“This merit distribution is fine just as it is,” Xu Jin said bluntly, understanding their intent.

“Grand Saint, you see, we all got two extraordinary merits, yet you only got one! Why not let us jointly petition to transfer one of ours to you? What do you think?” Guan Laohei asked cautiously.

“You mean I just took all those True Person blood crystals for free?” Xu Jin laughed. “And I took all the opportunities from the fusion of the two star islands! These merits are yours—deservedly so!”

Xu Jin spoke these words with sincerity.

He had taken the tangible benefits; the bulk of the battle merits were meant for these four, as previously agreed—and besides, the Kongyuan Emperor himself had publicly secured an opportunity for him.

Honestly, the extraordinary merits were within his expectations; it made sense that Guan Laohei, as commander, received two. He hadn’t expected the other three to also receive two each.

“Even so, these are extraordinary merits—I, Nian Qinggui, spent over a century in the Star Wastes and never earned one. Now I’m getting two thanks to you, Grand Saint! And crucially, without you, this battle would have had zero chance of success. Even though you took the True Person blood crystals, I still feel you’ve been shortchanged.”

Hearing this, Xu Jin laughed. “Nian Tou, you’ve simply underestimated your own roles.

You’re right—without me, this great victory would have been impossible.

But equally, without your support, I alone would have been nothing but meat for the chopping block.

You may not have fought many True Persons directly, but your very presence was a massive distraction and deterrent.

Besides, we agreed beforehand: I take the benefits, you take the merits. I don’t want to become a target for alien assassins—I need you to share the pressure, to take the blows for me.”

Besides, we agreed beforehand—I get the benefits, you get the military merits; I don’t want to become a target for barbarian assassins and need you to share the pressure and take the blows for me.

“Then we’ll accept these merits with gratitude,” Bai Changshan said.

“What gratitude? These are yours by right. And with this as a model, we’ll have countless future opportunities to earn merits together!

The key now is to convert these merits into power as quickly as possible,” Xu Jin said.

“Good! Grand Saint speaks truly—this is just the beginning!” Guan Laohei instantly brightened. “Hurry and decide what rewards you want to exchange your extraordinary merits for—get your power up fast!” He turned to Xu Jin. “Grand Saint, what reward do you want for your extraordinary merit? I’ll arrange it for you right away.”

“Continue exchanging for the Wuzi Tianbei,” Xu Jin said.

Hearing this, Guan Laohei was about to advise him—the fastest way to increase power wasn’t the Wuzi Tianbei, but the Star Vortex Shattered Realm.

But the words died on his lips, for he realized he no longer had the standing to instruct Xu Jin on cultivation.

“Alright, I’ll apply for you immediately and notify you the moment there’s news.”

“Thank you.”

That same day, Xu Jin received a starlight message from Guan Laohei.

His application to exchange his extraordinary merit for the Wuzi Tianbei had been arranged—scheduled for seven days later, on the fifteenth of November.

Because it was an extraordinary merit, he could cut the queue: as soon as the current cultivator finished their meditation, Xu Jin could step directly in, pushing everyone behind him further back.

Whether the Wuzi Tianbei session belonged to a True Person or an Emperor, all must yield—no matter how long they had waited.

That was the value of an extraordinary merit.

Xu Jin continued his intense cultivation in his meditation hall.

Aside from daily practices like forging the Zi Yuan Bone Veins and refining the Yuan Yu Divine Art, he devoted all his time to the True Person blood crystals in his possession.

Once he fully comprehended all the accumulated True Person blood crystals, his mastery of the Dao and Laws would rise another level, the number of stars in the Fighting Star River would double, and the boost to his power would increase dramatically.

At that point, Xu Jin’s combat power would grow again.

And during these few days, Zhu Linxiao had fully tested the properties of the Chaotic Elemental Material.

A personal sealing artifact crafted with Chaotic Elemental Material as its core can suppress the upper limit of manifested Dao and Laws to thirty-six, doubling the multiplier compared to using Primordial Treasure Materials.