War Merit Rewards, Heavenly Soul Dwelling in a Divine Temple!
Military Realm merits are determined by a combination of factors.
One method is to use recording devices in the military, such as Mirage Pearl, to record who killed the enemy. Soldiers would submit these to sergeants, who would then submit them to officers, and so on, reporting up the ranks.
Secondly, there are the Yin Spirit statues carried by the army, namely the Star Lord of Calculation. During battles, the Star Lord of Calculation in the Military Hall would lead a group of wandering gods to tour the battlefield and calculate everyone's battle merits.
Thirdly, there was direct monitoring by the Military Realm. For example, during the Cloud City period, the Military Realm could directly monitor every move and calculate how many people were killed.
The above three are the main statistical methods.
The calculation speed is also very fast, and the results are usually available on the same day.
There are many things that cannot be directly obtained or directly observed.
For example, how many people died when Zhao Xing led his men across the Flame Mountain and bombed the Round Moon City? It's unclear, and there are no direct records.
This will require time and verification from multiple parties.
First, the spies originally planted at Fire Dragon Pass reported the situation. On the Fire Demon Tribe's side, the spies naturally knew how many people had died.
Secondly, ask the Star Lord of Rebirth to check the number of Yin Soul at the original site of the Round Moon City. During this time, also send a letter to the Yin Realm to check if there are any extra alien souls.
All of the above only account for the merits of beheading.
Bombing a city, breaking through a pass, surrendering, etc., these cannot be accurately quantified, and thus must be judged by people.
The Hundred Soldiers Pagoda in the Military Realm calculates the actions of a certain person or team based on the deductions of the [Creation Disc], judges the subsequent impact, cross-checks, and the big shots arrive at a consensus, thereby increasing or decreasing the battle merits of each army and each person.
Therefore, in the Military Realm, the most intuitive way to judge combat merits is by decapitation; other methods cannot be calculated by oneself and must wait for the results from above.
After breaking through the city, Zhao Xing stopped after killing six Seventh Grade.
Cutting down a Seventh Grade only yields between one thousand and four thousand points.
As for cutting down to the Eighth Grade, the reward is only one hundred to four hundred points.
Having seen large sums of money before, Old Master Zhao disdained to argue with his brothers over such small amounts. After cutting down six Seventh Grade, he did not pursue the matter any further.
Our side had too many men, over a hundred thousand of them, charging through the pass and beheading people, while the garrison at Fire Dragon Pass numbered only forty or fifty thousand, not even enough to go around.
Even if the enemy was of the Eighth Grade or Ninth Grade, Zhao Xing didn't go and kill them. In this situation, if a high-ranking person killed a low-ranking person, it would be considered as competing with soldiers for merit. The merits awarded by the Military Realm would be greatly reduced, and in extreme cases, the reviewers might not even award any merits at all.
In addition, the soldiers would also feel dissatisfied.
It's a thankless task.
"My major achievements are still the three things: stealing back the Earth Fire Lotus, planting the Earth Fire Lotus, and blowing up the Round Moon City. These alone account for quite a lot."
Zhao Xing washed his face and ordered two Swift Steps Straw Puppet to carry him back leisurely.
At this point, Liao Rulong, Wen Shaoyang, Xia Jing, and Jiang Ming had all ordered their troops to retreat, with only a small number of troops still pursuing the enemy.
It wasn't purely for the purpose of pursuit; rather, they were gathering intelligence on the situation in the plains within the pass while pursuing, in preparation for heading to the Azuresteel War Zone.
Now, we're gathering all the commanders at the top level, questioning them one by one, and then recording some of their achievements that weren't directly counted.
Military Hall, a joyous atmosphere filled the air as people gathered.
Liao Rulong began to question and verify each of the 'battle merit points':
"Our troops were the first to South City Pass in this battle, and deserve the greatest credit for breaching the city!"
"Do our allies have any objections?"
Xia Jing and Jiang Ming shook their heads, indicating that they had no objections.
Indeed, Liao Rulong took the lead and charged up the south city wall, which attracted Yue Haisheng's suppression. However, he managed to withstand the pressure, which reduced the pressure on the pass and the north city wall.
No one objected to taking this battle point as the "first merit in breaching the city".
Liao Rulong nodded in satisfaction, cupped his hands in a certain direction towards the Military Hall, where sandalwood incense wafted through the air, and the phantom of the Star Lord of Calculation stood amidst the incense smoke.
This is how the commanders of each army corroborate each other. The commanders at this level should discuss it first and see if they agree. Don't wait until the Military Realm has made its judgment and then someone has objections and requests a review, otherwise things will get ugly.
"The defense of Fire Dragon Pass is another point of merit."
"The Sea Pacifying Army and the four infiltrated teams have made great contributions to the city walls and the underground mechanisms."
"As per our previous agreement, the timing of our actions will be the same, so we won't consider these time differences; we'll only focus on the extent of the damage caused."
"This matter will be judged by the Star Lord and the Military Realm. Do you all agree?" Liao Rulong asked.
"Agree."
"Agree."
Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming were the first to speak.
Xia Jing hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Agreed."
He only just found out that Zhao Xing had blown up Round Moon City, causing severe damage to the Magic Array in the southern section of the city gate.
Liao Rulong was a cunning fellow. He sent Zhao Xing's troops to Fire Dragon Pass ahead of time, ostensibly to scout ahead.
This gave Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's team more preparation time than the other three units.
Without these two and a half days of preparation time, how could he have grown so many Firecracker Bamboo to blow up Round Moon City?
What made Xia Jing even more dumbfounded was that the traitor he had originally bribed was directly intercepted by Zhao Xing.
This traitor should have been one of our own!
If Pang Guangyao hadn't led the way for Zhao Xing, it would have taken much longer just to get over the mountain and find Round Moon City.
With Pang Guangyao's help, they could avoid the patrol teams in advance and know which route was safer to take.
However, Xia Jing only hesitated for a moment and did not object.
It wasn't that Xia Jing was magnanimous or didn't hold grudges, but rather that Zhao Xing had helped him many times and they had a good relationship.
If Liao Rulong hadn't mentioned that Zhao Xing was in the team, and it was just Chen Shijie, Xia Jing would have been furious.
As Zhao Xing said, there is no difference between siding with him and siding with Xia Jing. Even if it was a fake, Xia Jing still deserves credit for the spy bribery.
The subsequent discussions became more trivial, mainly involving disputes over the contributions of subordinates in their collaboration after the breakthrough.
For example, two commanders simultaneously killed a Seventh Grade in an underground place.
There was no record of the Mirage Pearl, and there were no Priest carrying statues of the Yin Spirit in the surrounding procession.
The commander of the Black Armor Army claimed that he had killed him, while the commander of the Sea Pacifying Army claimed that he had delivered the fatal blow.
Although a mid-stage Earth Fiend Realm cultivator only has 2000 battle merits, it's not much in the eyes of the generals.
However, for those below, these contributions are much greater.
Maybe this is the greatest achievement they've ever made.
Therefore, we must fight for it, and we must fight until we get a result.
But none of this has anything to do with Zhao Xing.
He didn't bring a team; after breaking through the Fire Dragon Pass, he was free to act on his own.
The credit is fairly clear.
That afternoon.
Zhao Xing's achievements were thus surpassed.
Before he stole the Earth Fire Lotus, his battle merits were over 486,000, which placed him outside the top 500 on the Seventh Rank Merit Rankings.
Upon receiving the Earth Mirror's reminder, he immediately took it out to examine it.
[Zhao Xing Divine Might Army: Official Seventh Rank, Lower]
[Battle Achievements: 1,068,421]
[Ranking on the Pacifying Barbarians Merit List Ranking: 5421]
[Rank 69 on the Seventh Rank Merit Rankings]
"Awesome!"
"It hasn't even been six months since the start of the war, and I've already surpassed one million battle merits!"
Zhao Xing smiled happily.
How could one's past life's merits be so easily attained?
"This is truly a fulfillment of a vow." Old Master Zhao was so moved that he almost shed tears.
In his past life, he had incredibly bad luck. In major events like the pacification of the barbarians, he was either fighting Baboke of the Blazing Light Royal Court or being killed by Liu Tianning as Transportation Envoy.
It's so great now; in just a few months, I've amassed a million in battle merits.
Zhao Xing looked at it carefully; the Military Realm had given a brief assessment of his military achievements.
"Infiltrated Fire Dragon Pass, brought back Earth Fire Lotus seeds, and gained 30,000 battle merits."
"Open the volcano, lead the Sima Nong Camp to cultivate the fifth-tier Earth Fire Lotus, and gain 450,000 battle merits."
"Bombing the Round Moon City, plus the rewards from the Divine Might Army's victory, resulted in a total of over 100,000 battle merits."
"I originally thought that three or four hundred thousand battle merits would be enough, but I didn't expect them to give nearly six hundred thousand."
After stealing the seeds, Yu Ziqi, Chen Shijie, Long Xiao all had roughly 20,000 to 30,000 battle merits.
In the Military Realm, no one cares how much risk you take; they only care about the results.
Bringing back third or fourth-tier Earth Fire Lotus seeds can earn an average of 20,000 to 30,000 battle merits per person, which is considered a lot.
Because the Earth Fire Lotus seed is just a seed, only at the third or fourth level.
The merits of the battle, which could be cultivated and planted, were awarded 450,000!
Although Dong He also participated, thousands of Agricultural Official also contributed to the planting and cultivation of the fifth-tier Earth Fire Lotus.
But without a doubt, Zhao Xing contributed the most!
It just so happened that the Military Realm had just issued a task regarding fire-resistant materials.
In addition, the Fire-Warding Robe was particularly effective in breaking through the Fire Dragon Pass, so Zhao Xing was awarded a lot for his personal merits.
As for breaching the Round Moon City, that's a major undertaking, in addition to the fact that the Divine Might Army was the main force in Fire Dragon Pass.
All in all, it comes close to 600,000 battle merits!
It should be noted that there haven't been many opportunities to make significant contributions during this period, except for the Divine Thunder Army in the west, which broke through Yang Qilin's first line of defense, a major victory.
The main forces of the Black Armor Army, the Tigron Army, and the Blazing Sun Army in the north are still locked in a stalemate.
While most of the troops in the Fire Demon Tribe Clan's war zone were in a lull, Zhao Xing amassed nearly 600,000 battle merits.
That's why the rankings skyrocketed in an instant.
He ranked 69th on the Seventh Grade list and over 5,000th on the overall list!
Currently, there are over 60,000 Sixth Rank officials and over a million Seventh Grade officials on the entire Pacifying Barbarians Battlefield.
He was certainly happy to be ranked 69th!
"As long as the Military Realm establishes a temporary ceasefire, I can claim these war merits and rewards," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
What kind of rewards can you get for a million battle merits?
First, there's the Nobility Title. Zhao Xing didn't have any Nobility Title before, but now with a million battle merits, he can jump 10 levels: Baron Level 3, Viscount Level 3, and Earl Level 3.
If the war were to end now, he would have reached the threshold of being granted a marquisate.
Of course, now he is the lowest rank of marquis, with only a fief and no territory.
So how much fiefdom could one million military achievements entail?
According to the rules established by the Military Realm: 10 battle merits are equivalent to 1 mu of low-grade land.
Ninth Grade soldier could obtain one mu of land by killing one armored Ninth Grade barbarian. (One mu of land in the Zhou Dynasty was thirty paces on each side, approximately 200 square meters).
Zhao Xing now has a million military merits, and in theory he should be entitled to 100,000 mu of low-grade land.
In reality, the imperial court generally did not grant inferior land, because it was considered an insult, as the yield of inferior land was too low.
Therefore, a conversion is necessary.
The conversion between the three types of land—lower, middle, and upper—is based on the decimal system. This means that Zhao Xing could now receive a thousand acres of superior fertile land, but the reward would generally be a percentage of each of the upper, middle, and lower grades.
But this is only a reward for the land; if one is promoted to marquis, he will also receive a fief.
According to the minimum standard for a marquis, Zhao Xing would still have a fief of one thousand households. That is to say, he would find you a place where one thousand households would farm for you every year, and all the land taxes paid by these one thousand households would belong to you.
As long as you don't make mistakes, the fiefdom can be inherited, and your descendants can continue to eat it.
The title of Marquis of a Thousand Households was the lowest rank of marquis in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Zhao Xing has now reached this minimum standard.
In addition, Zhao Xing would also be granted various ranks and honorary titles, such as the Public Discussion Grandee, which was the eleventh rank of the...
Continuing to rise through the ranks, one can reach the level of "Court Discussion Grandee" (朝议大夫), which allows one to write directly to the emperor and offer suggestions related to the country.
What other uses does it have? First, once you obtain a random rank, you can still level up and cultivate even when you don't hold Official Rank position.
Secondly, it allows for open and aboveboard discussion of state affairs.
The methods for upgrading ranks are also varied, but they all boil down to two words: more money.
It will increase the soldiers' salaries while they are alive, and even after retirement, their pensions will be linked to this.
Here we can take Tian Hou's grandfather as an example.
Tian Yan's grandfather reached the rank of Second Rank official, but his honorary title was 45.
It is only one level lower than the highest level of forty-nine.
His annual salary, converted into the Military Realm points, reached an astonishing twelve million!
Even after retirement, he can still receive 6.34 million yuan every year.
When Tian Hou's father received this honorary rank, he lived for about two hundred years.
Although he lost this rank after his death, he still amassed an astonishing fortune during his lifetime.
So when Lu Bang introduced Tian Hou to Zhao Xing, saying that Tian Hou was "quite wealthy," he wasn't joking.
They are genuinely wealthy, and their wealth is perfectly legitimate and clean.
Of course, at this time, even the rank of honor is not easy to advance.
There are a lot of unranked officials, and as long as they reach the Fourth Grade, they are basically qualified to write letters to the emperor, which can reach the emperor's ears directly.
There's no real benefit to it.
However, since the war is not over yet, these rewards for meritorious service will not be paid out immediately.
If we ultimately win the battle, the rewards will be upgraded to a higher level.
If you lose a battle, you'll have your rewards deducted.
When will it be locked down?
Zhao Xing recalled that in the Jingxin Eighteenth Year, there would be a periodic awarding of titles and honors.
This was the first time Emperor Jing had considered ending low- and mid-level military training and starting high-level warfare.
However, some rewards will be redeemed immediately once the battle merits reach a certain threshold.
That is the qualification to Yin Spirit.
"The Fate Soul resides in the womb, while the heavenly and earthly souls are always outside."
"To Yin Spirit, one must first collect the Heavenly Soul into a temple; otherwise, it will be difficult to summon the soul after death," Zhao Xing pondered.
The Heavenly Soul, named "Rebirth Soul," now possesses a million battle merits, and the imperial court will send Yin Spirit to question him.
At that time, Zhao Xing could choose to give up the rank and random rank rewards brought by the "million battle merits" in exchange for a "posthumous reputation".
"I still need to buy insurance. The Heavenly Soul is useless to my cultivation. Even the convergence of the Three Souls in the Great Dream Spring and Autumn has little to do with the Rebirth Soul. It's mainly the 'Cause and Effect' Soul."
The Heavenly Soul is the imprint that each person has on the world.
One cannot see the existence of the Heavenly Soul unless one is below the first rank.
Even if one were to cultivate the Earth Soul, that would be a matter for the Third-Rank Yuan Soul realm.
The Great Dream Spring and Autumn is currently cultivating the Fate Soul, but the Karma Soul occasionally intersects with it, which can provide early warning, but the Heavenly Soul doesn't actually play a significant role.
Living in a temple is actually safer.
"Even if you die, you can still use the Heavenly Soul to summon the Fate Soul and Earthly Soul to be resurrected as Yin Spirit."
"You still need to buy this insurance."
The assessment of the Military Realm merits will conclude on September 20th.
Even if there are some fragments left, they have nothing to do with Zhao Xing.
Meanwhile, the three armies rested at Fire Dragon Pass.
Because Lu Yuanwei's Divine Thunder Army had not yet broken through Yang Qilin's second line of defense, their army was not in a hurry to head west.
The combined forces of Liao Rulong, Wen Shaoyang, Xia Jing, and Jiang Ming numbered 150,000.
This still includes the personnel from the supply city later on.
The Golden Feather Royal Court dispatched at least four million people from various tribes and the Fire Demon Tribe Clan to guard the Qinggang Mining Area!
Naturally, we have to wait for Lu Yuanwei to make the first move.
"The fifteen armies outside are trying to cross the river by following our Divine Might Army."
"We'll cross the river by feeling for Lu Yuanwei, this chosen one."
Zhao Xing looked at the fifteen miscellaneous armies outside the pass and couldn't help but smile.
"What are you laughing at? Take this!"
Xia Jing unleashed a powerful strike, the Essence Piercing Finger, which hurtled towards him.
Zhao Xing turned around, Xia Jing's fingertips stopped in front of his chest. His vital energy dissipated, and he bent his fingers into a fist, punching Xia Jing Zhao Xing hard in the chest.
"You, Zhao Xing, have already accumulated over a million battle merits. We've fought to the death and still haven't made as many as you."
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I am grateful for Brother Xia's kindness."
"You're even using my name to recruit people? Fine, you can recruit people, but why make an oath?" Xia Jing said in a low voice. "Now I can't assign Pang Guangyao any other positions."
"You're quite famous," Zhao Xing said. "If I said, 'I'm Zhao Xing from the Divine Might Army,' who would recognize me? People would probably just turn around and leave, having no idea who I am."
"It's not because I'm famous," Xia Jing said with a sigh. "It's because of my father's fame."
Xia Jing's military achievements have reached over 800,000.
This time, his spies sent back the military strategy and defense map, so the Guanfang formation didn't even offer any decent resistance, because it was bombarded with its weak points.
Although he won, Xia Jing was clearly still a little unsatisfied.
Zhao Xing knew what Xia Jing was thinking and immediately said, "You will surpass your father's achievements sooner or later."
Xia Jing waved his hand and said, "Surpassing my father is probably a bit difficult. Just don't embarrass him."
He clearly didn't want to dwell on that, and changed the subject, saying, "Things are different now. Your fame has probably spread far and wide by now!"
"You now possess a million merits, reaching the threshold for a third-rank marquis. Have you decided what reward you wish to receive?"
"I intend to forgo the honorary titles and ranks, and instead seek posthumous recognition," Zhao Xing said.
Xia Jing nodded; this choice wasn't surprising.
In fact, many qualified military commanders would make this choice.
After all, in the prevailing view at that time, becoming Yin Spirit meant that one could truly live and die with the nation, be worshipped by future generations, and live forever in the Yin Realm.
"If I had a million merits, I would also try to get one of these spots," Xia Jing said. "I just don't know how many merits I can get on the way to the Qinggang Mining Area."
Zhao Xing thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, it's enough for you to chop."
Just as they were about to exchange a few words, the token on Zhao Xing's body suddenly trembled.
"Zhao Xing, the transport Tower Ship is almost here," Liao Rulong's voice came through the token. "Get down here quickly."
"I'll be right there."
Zhao Xing said something to Xia Jing, and then immediately flew down the wall on a cloud.
The Transportation Department's Tower Ship was named the Flying Dragon Tower Ship.
It is a Tier 6 warship. Normally, the Flying Dragon Tower Ship is ten times larger than the Tier 5 Dragon Head Tower Ship.
However, the Transportation Department's Tower Ship are specially made, and their size is fifty times larger than that of Fifth-Tier Premium warship.
It's definitely a "Fat Dragon Tower Ship".
It looks like a small town flying in the sky.
This behemoth didn't follow the usual path, traveling directly through the 10,000-meter- Astral Wind layer.
When it landed, it felt as if a huge mountain had fallen into the pass.
The Transportation Envoy in the pacification of the Pacifying Barbarians Battlefield was Official Sixth Rank, Upper.
However, their status was unique; they would automatically be promoted one rank upon meeting someone, which could be considered equivalent to the Fifth Grade.
When Liao Rulong met Lu Tingzhi, the Transportation Envoy, he had to perform the rites of a subordinate official.
"This humble official, Liao Rulong, greets Lord Lu."
"Captain Liao, please rise quickly." Lu Tingzhi avoided the bow and reached out to help the bowing Liao Rulong to his feet. "We are both Sixth Rank, so why is there a distinction between superior and inferior?"
It's good to have won a battle; even officials in lucrative positions like the Transportation Department Guest Qi.
"Congratulations, Captain Liao, and congratulations to the Divine Might Army for capturing Fire Dragon Pass. You are now famous throughout the entire Pacifying Barbarians Battlefield."
"It is all thanks to the majesty of the imperial court that I have been able to achieve such a small merit," Liao Rulong said modestly.
However, this statement is indeed true. In terms of weapons and equipment, the Great Zhou has maintained a significant advantage in its campaigns against the Southern Barbarians.
"I've heard that a remarkable Agriculture Official has emerged from the Divine Might Army. I wonder where Zhao Xing is?" Lu Tingzhi asked.
Liao Rulong immediately introduced Lu Tingzhi: "This is Zhao Xing, the Nine Section Commandant of my Divine Might Army."
"This humble official greets Lord Lu." Zhao Xing bowed respectfully, but inwardly he was wondering why he had run into this person.
Lu Tingzhi lived into the early years of Wu Emperor.
At the height of his career, he was the Transportation Envoy of Pinghai Province and Daoyuan Continent, a high-ranking official of the Second Rank!
In his past life, when he was corrupt, this old man was the backer of his backer.
He was also the first Second Rank official that Liu Tianning had executed.
"Indeed a young talent! No need for formalities!" Lu Tingzhi said with great admiration.
"Thank you, Lord Lu." Zhao Xing was neither humble nor arrogant, and did not offer any flattery to Lu Tingzhi.
I had no choice before, but now I want to be a good person... Zhao Xing thought to himself, he had no intention of having anything to do with Lu Tingzhi in this lifetime.
He even considered using Lu Tingzhi's head to get promoted if given the chance.
A few polite words were exchanged as usual.
Zhao Xing followed the other generals onto the Tower Ship.
The arrival of the Transportation Department was mainly to provide supplies for the three armies and exchange some needed materials.
In addition, there is Zhao Xing, a genius who has already achieved a million battle merits.
As is customary, the Transportation Department will come to inquire whether Zhao Xing wants to exchange his quota for the Yin Spirit.
If you're going to change it, you have to do it as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you die later, you won't know where your Heavenly Soul is, and the cost of summoning it back will be even greater.
"This humble official is willing to give up the rank and rewards of a million-level battle merits in exchange for a position as a Yin Spirit," Zhao Xing stated his position.
"Alright, then you can go to the Rebirth Star Lord Hall to pray," Lu Tingzhi said. "A priest will guide you on what to do."
"Yes."
The Tower Ship was very large, and one of its palaces was the Rebirth Star Lord Hall.
This palace is of a much higher standard than the temple in the supply city.
If Zhao Xing's Heavenly Soul is to reside in the temple, then at least Third Grade branch of the Star Lord of Rebirth's soul must be here.
Zhao Xing cleared his mind of all distractions and entered the palace.
A priest led him in burning incense, worshipping, and praying.
It was not much different from the usual worship of gods, except that there was an extra step where Zhao Xing had to contribute a drop of blood as a medium to invite the Heavenly Soul to reside in the temple.
"Pfft~" This drop of blood was poured into the burning bronze furnace.
"The ceremony is complete. Lord Zhao may rise now," the Priest announced.
Is that all?
Zhao Xing felt nothing at all.
"We bow in gratitude to the Rebirth True Lord."
After bowing once more, Zhao Xing rose and left the Rebirth True Lord Hall.
He then checked the panel.
Sure enough, there was a record above:
[On the 20th day of the ninth month of the 17th year of the Jingxin Calendar; the Heavenly Soul resided in the temple and attained the position of Yin Spirit. After death, one can be Yin God Body.]
"The Heavenly Soul is staying in the temple, and the insurance has been purchased," Zhao Xing smiled. "Now we can go all out and get to work."
He was about to Tower Ship when he suddenly stopped.
"Um?"
Zhao Xing turned his head in confusion and took a few steps back.
His gaze fell on a young man sweeping the floor of the "Divine Weapon Hall" in the Transportation Department.
"This face looks familiar."
Zhao Xing pondered for a moment before entering the Divine Weapon Hall.
At this time, there were many officials coming and going to exchange goods. When they saw Zhao Xing come in, someone immediately came to greet him.
"Lord Zhao, are you here to exchange for Divine Soldier?"
"Just browsing." Zhao Xing pointed to the young man sweeping the floor. "The Divine Weapon Hall itself is a treasure trove, spotless. Why would someone be sweeping here?"
There's one more 6K chapter. We'll see how much of the backlog has been made up at the end of the month based on the word count for this month.