First Merit

This trial star was only a First-Order Star, after all, and the Spiritual Vein it nurtured was only a First-Order Spiritual Vein. Though the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk were powerful, they had not transcended the First Order to reach the Second.

As long as they were of the same rank, even ants could kill an elephant by swarming it. And Liang Ji and the others' Vassals weren't ants, but snakes—pythons, even.

With Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk Retainers holding Rune Artifact shields at the front, they tangled with the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk and blocked their way. Deprived of speed and room to maneuver, the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk, no matter how powerful, were merely beasts trapped in a cage, at the mercy of their hunters.

Rockets, ice arrows, poisoned arrows, crossbow bolts, and more rained in from every direction. Even the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk's scales and bone spurs couldn't fend them all off. It was like being cut to pieces by a thousand blades: scales, flesh, even tendons and bones were stripped away amid the storm of arrows.

Soon, arrows bristled from the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk's body. Blood streamed down its mangled flesh.

Hiss... Roar!

Pain and the threat of death drove it into a frenzy. Its wings, arms, and massive tail swept and smashed wildly around it. Even its huge, grotesque body charged and shoved with brute force.

Under the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk's desperate counterattacks and charges, the Rune Artifact shields were shattered. Even the Half-Dragonfolk, with their tremendous strength, were knocked to the ground. Their casualties mounted rapidly.

A handful, a dozen, dozens, a hundred... By then, the entire battlefield was strewn with nothing but the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk's blood, flesh, tendons, and bones, along with the mangled corpses of the Half-Dragonfolk.

The other Star Lords' Vassals attacked from a distance. Until the Half-Dragonfolk ranks were breached, they could hardly land a blow on the enemy.

But everyone could see how dire the situation had become.

"Hang in there, Liang! The corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk is almost finished!"

"Just hold on, and you'll earn the first merit in this battle! You can choose whatever treasure or Spirit Stones you want afterward!"

Yun Lai called out from the side.

"Everyone else, use whatever tricks you have!"

At his words, the Cloud Lightning Serpentfolk under his command brought out their trump card first.

It was a special crossbow bolt, marked with blood-red patterns. Dozens of Cloud Lightning Serpentfolk killed themselves, drenching the bolt in their lifeblood.

With a resonant hum, the blood-red bolt shot into the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk. It exploded on impact, releasing a faint flash of lightning—but even that was enough to pierce straight through the creature, ripping away a huge chunk of flesh and scattering tendons and bones.

At the same time, the other Star Lords' Vassals brought out their trump cards, too. Most were objects used in blood sacrifices. By drenching them in the lifeblood of many Vassals, they could unleash the power in their bloodlines and deliver their strongest attacks.

Ice, flames, poison, the razor edge of black iron, the erosion of shadows—each unleashed its most powerful attack. Several wounds were punched through the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk, tearing away huge chunks of flesh, tendons, and bones.

Hiss... Roar!

The corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk roared again, but this time it was a death cry. Even at the First-Order limit, it could no longer withstand the relentless blows. Its wings, arms, and massive tail made one final sweep before it toppled to the ground like a golden mountain collapsing, like a jade pillar falling.

"Kill!"

"Charge!"

Seeing this, the Star Lords' Vassals nearby surged forward in delight, eager to finish off the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk and carve it up.

Instead, Liang Ji ordered his Half-Dragonfolk Retainers to open ranks and retreat.

He had already secured the first merit. After this battle, his Half-Dragonfolk Vassals had suffered heavy losses; barely over a hundred remained. There was no point in wasting more of them.

"Wait..."

Zhang Liangpu seemed to have thought of something and spoke up, trying to stop them.

But before he could finish, a muffled explosion rang out. The corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk, sprawled on the ground and utterly unable to resist, suddenly burst apart. A vast wave of black qi swept up great chunks of flesh and blasted outward like cannonballs.

The Vassals near the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk, including Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk, were all badly hurt.

The number of Half-Dragonfolk, which had been over a hundred, instantly fell below that mark.

In the sky, Liang Ji's form, condensed from starlight, furrowed his brow at the sight.

But soon, his brow relaxed again.

Of the more than six hundred Half-Dragonfolk Vassals he had sent to battle, fewer than a hundred remained. Their casualties exceeded eighty percent!

But the price had been worth it. He had learned his Vassals' strengths and weaknesses and seen the gap between them and the top Star Lord students in Xiūshé City. More importantly, the treasures and Spirit Stones he had gained on this trial star would provide vital support for cultivating and improving his Vassals.

As for the Half-Dragonfolk Vassals he had lost, he could raise more on his Natal Star, Dragon Soul Star, in just one or two thousand years. In real time, that amounted to only a few days.

After that, the Star Lords' Vassals did not fight among themselves again. Instead, following Zhang Liangpu's earlier instructions, they looted the Feathered Serpentfolk's territory, mined its Spirit Stones, and divided the spoils according to merit.

The appearance of the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk had made them realize that, in the eyes of the school officials, Education Bureau officials, and other leaders watching the battle, they had already lost a great deal of standing.

They had worked together to kill the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk, which had clawed back a little of that lost standing.

But if they went back on their word after the battle and fought among themselves, then no matter how many treasures or Spirit Stones they acquired, the trial would be a dismal failure.

Most of the Star Lords present came from powerful, wealthy families and were not short of treasures, Spirit Stones, or other resources. What mattered more to them was their own performance and their ratings in the eyes of the school and the Education Bureau.

Those ratings would be recorded in their files. After the college entrance examinations, they would affect their chances of getting into their ideal academies and Star Palaces.

By the agreement, Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk Retainers had earned the first merit. They received three Spirit Roots, two Spirit Seeds, and fifteen thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

The corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk had devoured part of the trial star's Spirit Vein, along with some of its treasures. Otherwise, their gains would likely have been even greater.

Of course, without the corrupted Feathered Serpentfolk's appearance, Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk Vassals probably wouldn't have earned the first merit or received so many Spirit Stones and treasures.

Only Liang Ji could say whether the gains had outweighed the losses, or whether this had been fortune or disaster.

After the treasures and Spirit Stones in the Feathered Serpentfolk's territory had been divided, Liang Ji and the others' trial came to an end.

The school opened a Star Gate, allowing their Vassals to return to their respective Natal Stars with the corpses and spoils.

The school's Star Lord training curriculum clearly stated that when a Star Lord's Vassals fought outside their Natal Star, they should bring back the remains of as many fallen Vassals as possible and bury them on their Natal Star.

The remains of these Vassals offered little in return to their Natal Star, so they were not valuable in that regard. The most important thing was that when a Star Lord opened the underworld on their Natal Star, the fallen Vassals would make the best recruits for ghost soldiers.

Moreover, this practice helped foster unity, loyalty, and faith among the Vassals, among many other benefits.

All of this was clearly laid out in the Star Lord training and teaching curriculum.