Through the efforts of the Institute Master, the Training Institute's senior figures, and its disciples, the sudden disaster was finally brought under control.
Fang Qianyuan and the others returned to the surface. Looking up at the clear blue sky, they could not help feeling as though a lifetime had passed.
Fortunately, no one in their squad had died. Only Wei Wu had carelessly injured himself yet again, while even Ding Long had been grazed by a bone spear. None of these injuries were serious, however. After a period of rest, they would recover completely. Treatment with medicinal pills and spells would help them heal even faster.
Fang Qianyuan discussed it with them, and they decided to report back to Elder Gong first.
Just then, Gong Yuan also sent someone to find them.
He had heard what had happened and had been equally anxious, but the Training Institute had assigned him other duties. Rather than joining the fighting, he had remained on the surface to oversee operations and coordinate personnel. Only when Fang Qianyuan and the others emerged did he learn that they were safe.
Not only were they safe, but Fang Qianyuan had also made a breakthrough and advanced. This pleased him immensely.
After Gong Yuan had met with them, administrative disciples from the Training Institute came looking for them as well. This time, they wanted a detailed account of the incident.
To everyone's surprise, they insisted on separating the five of them and questioning each individually.
Fang Qianyuan frowned but said nothing further. He complied with their request, submitting to a private interview and recounting everything that had happened.
The administrative disciples asked about various details from time to time, taking handwritten notes as they questioned him. When they finished, they placed a thick stack of records before Fang Qianyuan and asked him to sign and affix his fingerprint.
Fang Qianyuan leafed through the records. Finding nothing wrong, he did as requested.
"Junior Brother Fang, how did things go on your end? It looks like the Training Institute really intends to put serious effort into investigating this. They made it so formal!" By the time Fang Qianyuan came out, Ding Long had more or less finished as well. He walked over and spoke to him.
"It seems the Training Institute wants to make something of this," Wei Wen said thoughtfully.
"Senior Brother Wei, what do you mean?" Ding Long asked curiously.
Wei Wen said, "Think about it. This was a huge incident. Four Inner Court disciples died, more than ten were injured, and all sorts of spirit creatures fell in battle. How could the institute's elders and stewards not be burning with anxiety? They have to find a way to salvage the situation and turn a bad thing into a good one."
"How do they turn a bad thing into a good one?" Ding Long was listening with great interest and hurried to ask more.
"By setting up role models and singing the praises of heroes, of course! Losing disciples is a bad thing, but producing heroes is a good thing. Not only would the sect be unable to punish them, it would have to reward them and offer its condolences!" Wei Wen said. "Junior Brother Fang, I suspect good fortune is coming your way. If I'm not mistaken, you'll be named a Meritorious Disciple too and receive a generous reward!"
Understanding dawned on Ding Long. "Right! Those disciples asked about everything in great detail. I told them how Junior Brother Fang took the initiative to lure the demons away and help us relocate. I imagine everyone else said the same."
Wei Wen said, "There you have it."
Fang Qianyuan had not thought that far ahead. When he had stepped forward, he had only been doing what lay within his power.
At the time, everyone had been trapped. They would rise or fall together, and none of them could escape.
Events unfolded just as Wei Wen had predicted. Before long, rumors spread throughout the Training Institute that someone had turned the raging tide during the Demon Calamity, making an enormous contribution by buying time and reducing casualties. The institute intended to reward him generously.
But the next day, Gong Yuan summoned Fang Qianyuan and Wei Wen again. His face was frosty as he asked, "What exactly did you tell the Merit Hall disciples?"
Wei Wen looked startled. "We simply told them the truth."
Fang Qianyuan also realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere. "Elder Gong, what happened?"
Elder Gong said, "This is closely tied to your own interests. I had intended to use this opportunity to secure support for you from the Training Institute and obtain the spirit creature you'll need for the next stage of your cultivation. But I never expected that old bastard Ye Li to stab me in the back!"
At the mention of that name, inspiration struck Wei Wen, and he understood at once. "Elder Gong, do you mean the Merit Hall erased Junior Brother Fang's contribution?"
Elder Gong snorted coldly. "Would they dare? With so many eyes watching, could he blot out the sky with one hand just because he's the Merit Hall elder?"
Then, however, he sounded helpless. "But he does control the Merit Hall, after all. It's far too easy for him to manipulate things. Isn't that exactly why he's preparing to downgrade Qianyuan's second-class major merit to third-class?"
Under the sect's regulations, merit was divided into first, second, and third classes, each further divided into major and minor merit.
Generally speaking, major merit could only be earned through significant achievements in battle or other matters involving the vital welfare and interests of the sect or Training Institute. Minor merit was much easier to obtain. By diligently carrying out administrative duties and working for a few years without complaint, one could usually pick up an award or two.
The sect strictly controlled assessments of major merit precisely because the rewards for such contributions were exceptionally generous. When an ordinary Training Institute disciple earned major merit, it had to be reported to the sect and subjected to rigorous scrutiny to rule out fraudulent claims before it could be confirmed.
Gong Yuan said, "My original plan was to use this opportunity to obtain the spirit creature you need for your future cultivation, allowing you to grow more quickly. But with Ye Li meddling like this, your merit will be downgraded, and the spirit creature you can receive will be downgraded along with it."
"Put simply, I originally had a chance to get you a high-grade spirit creature as your reward. Now it's going to be reduced to a mid-grade one!"
Before Fang Qianyuan could say anything, Wei Wen cried out, "How can they do that? Junior Brother Fang risked his life to do so much, and now they're going to cheat him out of his merit? What kind of world is this?"
Gong Yuan snorted coldly. "Do you think he's the only person in the world who took risks and accomplished anything? Ye Li's son, Ye Tianming, fought the Insect King too, and even wounded him!"
Only then did Wei Wen realize that the matter was not as simple as he had imagined.
Indeed, Fang Qianyuan was not the only disciple who had distinguished himself this time. There was also Ye Tianming.
If Ye Tianming had merely been a vicious wastrel, Elder Gong might not have found this so troublesome. Both his usual reputation and the other disciples' statements could have been used to persuade the Inspection Envoy sent by the sect to award the second-class major merit to Fang Qianyuan. But Ye Tianming was also a favored son of heaven, and he had genuinely made a contribution. That made things much harder.
The hardest matters in the world to judge were precisely those that could be argued either way.
"Qianyuan, what do you think? This directly concerns your own interests, so your wishes matter most."
With the matter giving him quite a headache, Gong Yuan simply asked Fang Qianyuan.
"If you want to fight for it, I can lend a hand. But to tell you the truth, this is rather tricky, and the support I can offer is limited. If you don't want to fight for it yourself, we might as well let it go. I'll find a way to speak with Ye Li privately and have him compensate you elsewhere, though it certainly won't be as good as a high-grade spirit creature."
After a moment of silence, Fang Qianyuan said, "Elder Gong, I believe my actions were worthy of second-class major merit. Then let's give it our best shot."