A Million Immortal Merit, a Summons from the Heavenly Master

"Slayed two Ancient Demons at the True Immortal Realm Ninth Layer, five at the eighth level, and nine at the seventh level---"

In the courtyard, Shi Tianjin sat at the head of the table, sword drawn, assessing his Immortal Merit. When he finished, a satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he said:

"Finally, I don't have to stay in the Wildfire Army training new recruits anymore. With the Immortal Merit I've accumulated, totaling 200,000, plus my cultivation at the True Immortal Realm Tenth Layer Perfection, I can apply to join the Peacock Army!"

Upon hearing his words, the veterans all looked on with envy and offered their congratulations.

If one joins the Peacock Army and returns to the inner realm of the Immortal Dynasty during their service on leave, their status is even comparable to that of an elder (Immortal Lord Realm) of the Heaven Four Sect.

After all, the Peacock Army represents the Imperial Clan of the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty, which is not to be trifled with. Even the elders of the Heaven Four Sect, whose cultivation is one realm higher, have to give them some face.

Furthermore, if one were to go for the Marriage Alliance, the chosen partner would at least be the eldest daughter of the Ten-Thousand-Year Aristocratic Clan or the daughter of a garrison commander from an Immortal City or prefecture.

The other new recruits were a little slower to react, but seeing the veterans' fawning and ingratiating manner, they all followed suit and began to flatter them.

In the cultivation world, it's both about individual combat and navigating interpersonal relationships; this applies to the Sect and dynasties alike.

"Xiao Qi, what about you? You killed quite a few this time too, didn't you?"

Shi Tianjin looked at the young man sitting to the side.

Although this young man was a new recruit, he owed a great deal to the enemy in this expedition, which allowed their Battle Battalion to hunt down so many Ancient Demons. Otherwise, his Immortal Merit might have been reduced by ten or twenty thousand.

"Yes, more than 100,000."

Huo Xiaoqi nodded, but her expression remained relatively calm.

"With over 100,000 Immortal Merit, plus your current level, you're qualified to join the Tiger Lion Army. If you work even harder, you could also join the Peacock Army!"

Shi Tianjin laughed and patted Huo Xiaoqi on the shoulder. Over the past few months, he had come to regard Huo Xiaoqi as one of his important connections and had made several overtures to him. Their relationship could be considered that of friends.

The others looked at Huo Xiaoqi with envy in their eyes. He had just arrived and had already accumulated so many Immortal Merit. They had seen the treasures in the Immortal Merit exchange vault, and these more than ten Immortal Merit were enough to exchange for a lot of cultivation resources.

Hearing Shi Tianjin's words, Huo Xiaoqi didn't feel happy. He didn't come here to join the Peacock Army, but to train himself and prepare for the Southern Region Assembly Battle ten years later.

Of course, if one can also achieve Immortal Merit along the way and gain a higher position in the military, that would be a good path as well.

However, at this moment, he couldn't help but think of that figure.

If he were still alive...

Knock knock.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Everyone turned around and looked towards the courtyard gate, where they saw a young man standing there. He gently knocked on the door and then slowly walked in.

"Chong Er?!"

Everyone was stunned when they saw Li Hao's face, their eyes widening in shock.

Shi Tianjin, who was sitting with his legs crossed in the chair, suddenly stood up. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly put on a smile and strode forward, saying:

"Chong Er, you're back! That's wonderful! We were so worried about you these past few months, we thought something had happened to you."

Ignoring the enthusiasm on his face, Li Hao nodded to Huo Xiaoqi when he saw him there.

Several months Past, Huo Xiaoqi's Aura is noticeably more composed than before, revealing a sharp and piercing spirit.

Upon seeing Li Hao, Huo Xiaoqi froze, but quickly recovered. He moved swiftly and appeared in front of Li Hao, exclaiming:

"Where have you been these past few months? I thought you were being too aggressive and had caught the eye of the leader of the Ancient Demon!"

Being too conspicuous on the battlefield would not be surprising if one were to be killed by the enemy's commander. This is one of the reasons why even the Heavenly Prodigy dare not easily set foot on the battlefield, as unexpected events could occur at any time.

Li Hao smiled and said, "The situation is similar. There have been some minor changes, but overall everything is fine."

Seeing that Li Hao ignored him, Shi Tianjin looked embarrassed. When Li Hao arrived earlier, he had also completely ignored this little guy at the True Immortal Realm Third Layer, too lazy to pay attention to him and treating him like a dead person. Now that he was being ignored by the other party, he could only feel helpless.

"We haven't had a chance to properly thank you for saving us earlier. Come, have a seat."

Shi Tianjin warmly greeted Li Hao, concealing his dissatisfaction and hoping to build a network of connections with Li Hao.

Li Hao didn't stand on ceremony and sat down. He noticed that there were significantly fewer people in the courtyard than before. He couldn't even recognize the faces of the missing people. This was perhaps the cruelty of Frontier war.

"With the strength of Brother Chong Er these past few months, they must have accumulated quite a bit of Immortal Merit, probably hundreds of thousands!"

Shi Tianjin smiled and poured tea for Li Hao.

Li Hao tapped the table lightly with his fingers as a token of gratitude, but didn't drink it. Instead, he looked at Huo Xiaoqi and asked, "What about you?"

"I can't compare to you."

Huo Xiaoqi shook his head, looking at Li Hao with a complicated expression. The initial surprise and excitement of seeing him had subsided, but recalling the strength Li Hao had displayed when he saved them, he whispered, "With your cultivation level, are you a disciple of the Heavenly Palace?"

Li Hao shook his head, thinking of the Southern Region Assembly Battle the other party had mentioned, and smiled, "You'll find out when the Southern Region Assembly Battle begins."

Huo Xiaoqi couldn't help but smile wryly, recalling how the boy had given him the same answer when he asked him the same question.

Seeing that Li Hao had no intention of befriending him, Shi Tianjin's eyes flashed with annoyance, but he still put on a smile and said:

"Brother Chong Er, with your Heavenly Talent, I can introduce you to the Demon Subduing Division. I have a brother there who serves as Demon Subduing Guard."

Upon hearing his words, everyone looked at Shi Tianjin in surprise, not expecting that he had a connection with the Demon Subduing Division.

Shi Tianjin's lips curled up slightly. Since Li Hao hadn't taken a liking to him, he could only resort to his connection with the Demon Subduing Division.

Although the "brother" he mentioned was merely a nodding acquaintance, who knew about this?

Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly. Demon Subduing Guard? That Eldest Senior Brother Ji Qingxuan from before seemed to be Demon Subduing Guard.

"How?"

Shi Tianjin asked with a smug look on his face.

Li Hao shook his head. "I'm not interested."

Shi Tianjin was stunned, a look of embarrassment appearing on his face, but he felt somewhat ashamed and annoyed.

Huo Xiaoqi secretly shook his head, knowing that with Li Hao's Heavenly Talent, it was impossible for him to be tempted by the Demon Subduing Division. Besides, there were plenty of ways to get into the Demon Subduing Division. He changed the subject and asked:

How much Immortal Merit do you possess?

"I haven't counted them yet."

Li Hao picked up his Identity Token and said, "Let me take a look."

He separated a wisp of his Divine Sense and infiltrated it into the token, beginning to assess his own Immortal Merit.

A hint of envy and anger flashed in Shi Tianjin's eyes. If he had known that Li Hao had such formidable combat power, he shouldn't have agreed when Li Hao said he wanted to act alone. In that case, Li Hao's Immortal Merit would have to be distributed through the Battle Battalion, and he would have been able to get half of them for free.

With Li Hao's cultivation level, if he works hard enough, he could potentially accumulate dozens of Immortal Merit over several months!

Thinking of him brings a pang of heartache.

Seeing Li Hao clearing away his Immortal Merit, everyone else stopped what they were doing and stared intently at the young man, their eyes filled with curiosity.

Quite a while.

Li Hao's Divine Sense finished clearing away the Ancient Demon essence absorbed from the Identity Token, and the final amount of Immortal Merit he obtained...

This surprised even Li Hao himself.

"How many?"

Upon seeing Li Hao put down the token, Shi Tianjin couldn't help but ask the question first.

Seeing Huo Xiaoqi's curious gaze, Li Hao said, "1.37 million Immortal Merit."

Silence fell instantly.

The courtyard seemed to have been suddenly frozen in ice, and there was not a sound.

Like a falling Falling Leaves breaking the silence, Shi Tianjin's eyes nearly bulged out as he exclaimed in shock, "How many?!"

Huo Xiaoqi was also stunned, her mouth agape as she stared at Li Hao in disbelief.

He initially followed Shi Tianjin in hunting Ancient Demon, but later, like Li Hao, he chose to fight alone.

This person has only accumulated 100,000 Immortal Merit, while Li Hao actually has... 1.37 million?!

How many Ancient Demons would one have to kill to acquire such Immortal Merit?

It should be noted that on this dangerous battlefield, if we consider cultivation level alone, True Immortal Realm Tenth Layer can easily sweep away an Ancient Demon True Immortal Realm First Layer cultivator, continuously accumulating Immortal Merit.

But in reality, it is not like that. First of all, the Ancient Demon can form a great formation, such as the Original Appearance Immortal Formation formed by the Peacock Army, which is enough to fight across borders.

Moreover, when something that can disrupt the battle appears somewhere on the battlefield, there will be a corresponding, or even stronger, entity to suppress it. It is not difficult to kill the Ancient Demon, but it is very difficult to survive while killing the Ancient Demon!

The fact that Li Hao, who had accumulated 1.37 million Immortal Merit, was still alive and back is extremely terrifying!

"This, this Immortal Merit, even if you applied to join the Chu Immortal Army, you'd be able to get in, right?"

"How many Ancient Demons would that take to kill? Did they just lie there and let you kill them?"

Everyone else stared at Li Hao in shock and disbelief.

After just one battle, the young recruits before them seemed to have entered a completely different world from the rest of them.

Shi Tianjin also came to his senses, staring at Li Hao's face to make sure the young man wasn't lying. His eyes reddened. If he hadn't agreed to let Li Hao leave back then, he could have directly obtained nearly seventy Immortal Merit for free!

With so many Immortal Merit, he could join the Dragon Battle Army and exchange them for a full set of Immortal Weapon and armor, greatly increasing his combat power!

His breathing became heavy, he felt a tightness in his throat, and he was filled with deep regret.

While everyone was still in shock, suddenly, two whooshing sounds came from outside the courtyard gate.

Immediately afterwards, there was another knock on the courtyard gate.

Two young men dressed in long black robes and wearing black pointed helmets stood at the courtyard gate, their gazes sweeping across the area, their eyes filled with a cold and murderous Sha Qi. They spoke icily:

Who is Chong Er?

Li Hao and the others turned around to look, and when they saw the two people's attire clearly, Shi Tianjin's heart skipped a beat and his expression changed.

"Demon Subduing Guard!"

Why would the Demon Subduing Guard be here?

"Could it be that Battalion Commander just said he was going to introduce her? But that's happening way too fast—."

Everyone looked at Shi Tianjin, then at Li Hao, with some surprise and doubt.

Shi Tianjin's heart was pounding; he hadn't even notified his "brother" yet.

"It's me. And who are you?"

Li Hao stood up, frowning as he looked at the two Demon Subduing Guards. He sensed that their approach was aggressive and not a good sign.

However, the moment the thought crossed his mind, the coldness and Sha Qi in the eyes of the two young men vanished when they saw Li Hao stand up. They smiled, bowed slightly, and said:

"Mr. Chong Er, we have come to summon you on the orders of the Celestial Master. Please come with us to see the Celestial Master."

Li Hao suddenly remembered what Xue Yao had said when they parted.

Could that Heavenly Master be the old man who fought against the Dijiang Clan's King Realm on the battlefield?

Why would they summon me?

Li Hao's mind raced, but he couldn't figure it out. Could it be that he was being seen as a good match because he was walking with Xue Yao?

However, he had a clear conscience and was not afraid, unless the other party acted indiscriminately.

"Good."

Li Hao agreed and stepped forward to the two men.

Shi Tianjin and the others were stunned. Even Huo Xiaoqi's expression changed. The Celestial Master was a name known to almost everyone in the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty. He was second only to the Four Great Demon Suppressing Kings in the Demon Subduing Division!

Let's go.

The two young Demon Subduing Guard nodded and turned to lead the way.

Li Hao followed them.

Shi Tianjin and the others exchanged glances. Considering Li Hao's million- Immortal Merit, there was no doubt that this trip to Demon Subduing Guard would be mostly a good thing.

Shi Tianjin's face burned, and he secretly clenched his fists. He had just said he would introduce the Demon Subduing Guard brothers to Li Hao and help him make the introduction, but in the blink of an eye, the other party received a summons from the Celestial Master. The difference in their status was indescribable.

Qinghe Fallen City, the Commander-in-Chief’s Residence.

This mansion is located in the center of the vast and boundless Mo River, like a majestic mountain, with a towering Heavenly Gate ten thousand feet high, guarded by the Demon Subduing Guard and the Dragon Battle Army.

Standing atop the Heavenly Gate of the Commander-in-Chief’s Residence, one can see signals coming from various city camps within the city, as well as the Sect Immortal Merit Board of immortal skills displayed throughout the city.

At this moment, in the Star Sea Hall within the Commander-in-Chief’s Residence.

The floor inside the hall was a dark Star Domain Miniature, within Star Domain were faint, grain-like lights. These were Immortal Array buried throughout the Star Domain, and the Immortal Platform used these Immortal Array to amplify Divine Sense, enabling it to cover half of the battlefield.

At this moment, within the Star Domain Miniature, countless rays of light flickered, and countless Immortal Arts exploded.

But these are all microcosms, appearing extremely small, yet as powerful as firecrackers. In the actual battlefields of the past,

It was a terrifying attack capable of shaking the Heaven and Earth.

In the main seat, an elderly man with snow-white temples sat upright, his eyes lowered slightly, seemingly closed, yet with a slit in them, looking down at the Star Domain Miniature.

He was surrounded by Immortal Power, and the phantom of the Immortal Kingdom appeared, displaying a variety of wondrous phenomena.

At this time, under the impetus of his Immortal Kingdom, the battlefield that had lasted for several months was gradually reviewed.

"This attack by the Ancient Demon was indeed aimed at us."

Beside him, the silver-haired youth in black armor stared at the battlefield being reviewed. Only now, by examining the overall situation, could he clearly see the various subtle actions of the Ancient Demon in this battle.

"On the surface, there were two loud noises, but in reality, King Realm was hidden within. If it weren't for the Celestial Master's prior warning, we might already be dead."

Beside her, the woman with heterochromatic Double Pupils spoke in a low voice.

The old man gently manipulated the space within the Star Domain Miniature, causing it to shift accordingly. He whispered:

"The Southern Region Assembly Battle is about to begin, and the disciples of these Sect are hunting Ancient Demon with even greater zeal. This time, the ranking of each sect and the redistribution of resources will not only be based on the ranking of disciples in the Southern Region Assembly Battle, but also on the combination of Immortal Merit. Your Majesty's move is brilliant."

By integrating resources, all sects were encouraged to voluntarily join the battlefield to slay demons and monsters!

"Indeed, these Sect are used to living a life of luxury and hoarding resources. It's time for them to make some contributions on the battlefield," the silver-haired, black-armored youth nodded.

"Without the valiant efforts of these Sect disciples, the Tiger Lion Army would likely have suffered even greater losses."

The woman with Double Pupils eyes looked at the Star Domain Miniature, where several battlefields of the Tianzong disciples were locked in fierce combat with the Ancient Demon.

The old man waved his hand slightly, and the battlefield shifted accordingly. A smile appeared on his lips as he said, "These are nothing special. But here, do you remember this little fellow?"

As the Star Domain Miniature rotated, at the Second Defense Line, a tiny figure was constantly slashing and darting between the various Battle Battalion and the Ancient Demon.

The woman with Double Pupils glanced at it and said softly, "Of course I remember."

This was the young man whom the Celestial Master had praised a few months ago, and she naturally wouldn't forget him.

What's so special about this young man?

Beside him, a tall, imposing middle-aged man dressed in a black Flood Dragon Robe asked with a slightly surprised expression.

He sat upright on a huge stone chair, surrounded by black dragon energy, a manifestation of the power of Immortal Dao, as if he Supreme of nine dragons.

The old man, upon hearing his words, smiled without speaking. Instead, he flicked his hand, turning the Star Domain Miniature back to the moment of the final battle, and said:

"Without this young man, King Zhao, your Peacock Army would inevitably have perished. Moreover, once this Peacock Army falls, this place, this place, and these places will all be affected. When I defeat Di Qiu, you will see the chain reaction of casualties that will follow."