The great arrays in each hall of the Palace of Absolute Beginning were extraordinary—enormously costly yet incredibly powerful. All of these arrays shared a fundamental requirement: they must be able to directly draw origin qi from Heaven and Earth and convert it into spirit qi or use it to perform other functions.
These great arrays did not draw origin qi from within the mountain gate. On the contrary, they released spirit qi to replenish it. Therefore, the more great arrays there were, the greater the benefit to the mountain gate itself. True Lord Xuan Yue’s installation of two great arrays at once not only benefited the Skyblue Hall, but also noticeably improved the environment of the mountain gate itself.
Wei Yuan was utterly awestruck by Founder Xuan Yue’s attainment for three whole seconds. Then, the True Lord shattered that feeling and said, “Come, come, come—play a game of Go with me, and then I’ll be on my way.”
And so Wei Yuan set up a Go board, set aside all worldly concerns, and played against Xuan Yue purely based on his own skill.
After playing for a while, Wei Yuan realized that, influenced by the ten consecutive games he had just played, his playing style had begun to resemble the Fire of Humanity’s slightly. His skill had improved dramatically before he knew it, and Xuan Yue was on the verge of collapsing right from the opening. At this rate, he wouldn’t even make it to the mid-game.
Wei Yuan quickly held back and played a few stupid moves. Only then Xuan Yue was able to slowly turn the tide of the game.
Bao Yun sat quietly to the side, watching without saying a word.
In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in a fierce battle, their clash vividly showcasing the brutal nature of a fight between two greenhorns: every swipe drew blood, yet after fighting for a long time, both sides were still only slightly injured.
In the end, Wei Yuan suffered a narrow defeat.
True Lord Xuan Yue let out three hearty laughs. His thoughts felt clear, his state of mind elevated, and his cultivation actually took a small step forward. Without another word, he took a single stride and shot off into the sky.
In truth, Wei Yuan had crushed Monk Qiuyue and Mister Chen Zhou so hard that their Dao hearts had nearly shattered. How could he possibly lose to Xuan Yue? Xuan Yue knew this fully well in his heart, but he still enjoyed winning the game.
Only after Xuan Yue had left did Bao Yun roll her eyes at Wei Yuan and say, “You’re shameless, you know that?”
Wei Yuan let out a chuckle and replied, “What does a little loss of face matter to me if it makes the founder happy?”
Bao Yun suddenly reached out to pinch Wei Yuan’s cheeks. Although he was taken aback by the sudden action, Wei Yuan did not flinch. Little did he know that Bao Yun wouldn’t let go. Gritting her teeth, she tugged his cheeks back and forth, distorting it into all sorts of shapes.
It didn’t hurt Wei Yuan, but being this close to Bao Yun immediately caused his Dao heart to waver like it was being battered by a storm. After all, he was no longer an innocent child who knew nothing.
His sword, after being repeatedly honed by the First Consort, had already been sharpened to a razor’s edge.
Seeing that Wei Yuan showed no reaction, Bao Yun snapped angrily, “Can’t you be a little more shameless when you’re with me?”
Wei Yuan instinctively sensed that this was another no-win question. He had already raised his hands, but he obediently lowered them back to their original position and offered a wry smile. “I’ll do my best.”
“You better!” Bao Yun growled through gritted teeth, then tried to leave claw marks on Wei Yuan’s face to no avail.
Eventually, Bao Yun was panting from exhaustion. Her warm, sweet breath blew against Wei Yuan’s face, tormenting him once more. Finally, just as Wei Yuan was about to reach his limit, the girl suddenly let out a soft laugh, pushed him away, and drifted off into the distance.
Wei Yuan seethed with frustration, but there was nothing he could do. Their tussle just now wasn’t without reason.
A lot of work had piled up after the great battle as usual. It was during this time a major issue was presented before Wei Yuan: compensation.
Previously, the backbone of the main force of the Realm of Qingming had consisted of independent cultivators from the Western Regions, displaced refugees, human sacrifices, and the Xu Clan youngsters. When casualties occurred, most of the soldiers were loners with no family. Moreover, the first few battles had been extremely brutal, and victory had been achieved almost entirely through a life-for-life exchange. There were even times where ordinary mortals had to take up arms and fight under the effects of Life is a Flash. There was simply no way they could have held back the tidal wave that was the Shamans’ army otherwise.
At the time, children were almost non-existent within the Realm of Qingming, and many families had been wiped out entirely over the course of the endless battles. Thus, the issue of compensation had never arisen.
But the situation is different now. Many refugees had shown up with their entire families in tow.
Furthermore, those who had originally been able to scrape by had, upon hearing the tales of Qingming, sold off their possessions and relocated here with their entire households.
At the moment, the population of the Realm of Qingming had reached over 1.6 million. There was basically no need for ordinary mortals to take the battlefield any longer. For those with households and families, just contributing able-bodied male members who had undergone Body-tempering was enough. Today, many cultivators who had joined the Realm of Qingming later—including those from the Palace of Absolute Beginning—felt that compensation was only fair.
Military officers from all sides compiled the number of households requiring compensation, totaling over 5,000. The figure was neither large nor small, but it could not be ignored.
The officers submitted not only lists of beneficiaries for compensation, but one of them also included a petition. The petition was written entirely in the style of a memorial to the Western Jin court, but it was a little out of place considering the circumstances.
According to the Rites of Tang, only petitions addressed to the King of Jin could be called memorials, and only court officials of the fifth rank or higher were permitted to submit such memorials to the King of Jin. The military officer, however, was a self-made man who had risen through the ranks entirely through his own effort. He was not even included in the list of officers Wei Yuan had submitted to the Western Jin court.
The petition was incredibly lengthy, primarily detailing how the battalion of soldiers under his command had fought valiantly and the heavy casualties they had suffered. It then requested compensation to be made in the form of farmland.
Wei Yuan read the petition over and over again, his brow furrowing deeper with each reading. He tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers, fell silent in deep thought, and began to recall relevant passages from historical records.
Wei Yuan pondered for a full hour before summoning Cui Yu and showing him the petition.
After reading the petition, Cui Yu remarked, “This is perfectly normal, and they not asking for much. What’s the problem?”
Wei Yuan did not answer. Instead, he said, “Go find out how many men are left in the Third Battalion of the Left Army and what their backgrounds are. Also, find out how many other units are similar to the Third Battalion.”
“Understood.” Cui Yu sensed something from Wei Yuan’s expression, grew serious, and hurried away.
In truth, Wei Yuan didn’t need to investigate at all. He kept a mental record of every single person in every unit, from top to bottom. During major battles, he was constantly keeping an eye on the entire battlefield with his Avatar, the Fire of Humanity. Therefore, a single glance was enough for him to determine how many soldiers from each unit had been killed or wounded.
The reason he had Cui Yu personally investigate the unit’s personnel was in hopes that he would discover the problem on his own.
After some deliberation, Wei Yuan summoned Yu Zhizhuo, Sun Yu, Trueman Chu He, Hsu Henshui, Bao Yun, and Feng Tingyu over as well. He then showed them the petition.
After reading it, Hsu Henshui paused to think for a moment before saying, “You’re the one who built the Realm of Qingming from the ground up. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll always have my support—you needn’t worry about that. If anyone tries to cause trouble, I’ll naturally stand by your side.”
Yu Zhizhuo and Sun Yu echoed in agreement as well. Trueman Chu He in particular radiated a murderous aura and declared loudly, “If anyone tries to cause you trouble, this old Daoist will be the first to object.”
Feng Tingyu just stared at Wei Yuan with wild, bewildered eyes while occasionally flashing her pectoral muscles at him.
Bao Yun said nothing, lost in thought.
Just then, a cultivator outside the door announced, “Liu Fei of the Third Battalion of the Left Army requests an audience!”
Wei Yuan left his fellow Palace cultivators in the study and went to take a seat in a side room in the front courtyard.
According to the Realm of Qingming’s current military system, each battalion consisted of 1,000 men. The battalion commander was of course a Dao Foundation, but there was generally a Dao Foundation squad leader for every 100 men as well. This battalion was composed partly of surrendered soldiers from the Xu Clan and partly of former official troops. Together, they made up about 70% of the force. The remaining 30% were refugees from various regions.
Liu Fei was tall and burly. After entering the room, he bowed in greeting before sitting down on a chair to the side.
Wei Yuan asked a few questions regarding the battalion’s casualties before starting, “The Third Battalion had fought valiantly in this campaign, and they will certainly be rewarded according to military regulations. However, there are currently no established precedents for compensation to bereaved regulations. For now, we will compensate them with military merits, immortal silver, and promotion slots.”
Liu Fei sprang to his feet and exclaimed, “My lord, my brothers don’t want anything else—we just want some land! Only with land will we feel the security and peace of mind to fight to the death for you! My brothers who fell in battle wanted this, their families want this, and my brothers who are still alive want this too, Lord Wei!”
Wei Yuan took out the petition and asked, “Is everything written here your idea?”
Liu Fei replied, “That’s right, I wrote it all myself! Lord Wei, the reason we risk our lives in battle—isn’t it all for the sake of a little family property? We’re not asking for much either, just that patch of farmland next to our camp will suffice. I’ve already got my eyes on it?”
WeiYuan asked again, “Are you sure that everyone in the camp feels this way?”
Liu Fei paused for a moment before answering, “I haven’t asked around, but I don’t think there’ll be a problem. No matter what I say, my brothers will always listen to me.”
“If you don’t get the farmland, what do you plan to do?”
Liu Fei dropped to his knees with a thud and said, “If you do not grant our request, then please let me and my brothers leave. From then on, we’ll simply fend for ourselves.”
Wei Yuan’s voice took on a chill. “Are you planning a mutiny?”
Liu Fei remained prostrate on the ground as he replied, “This subordinate would never dare! It’s just, Lord Wei, over two hundred of our brothers have fallen in this battle. I can honestly say that we’ve done our duty to you and to Qingming! If you do not grant us the compensation we ask for, honestly, I truly cannot understand it, and I believe it would be better for me and my brothers to seek a new path! If you believe that my brothers have fought valiantly for Qingming, then please grant them a way out!”
“Who told you to say that?”
Liu Fei paused again before replying, “Many people share the same thoughts as I do. Granting land as a reward for military achievements is a standard practice under Heaven, yet you won’t allow it! This subordinate simply cannot understand it, which is why I spoke as I did.”
Wei Yuan said calmly, “You are indeed a man of honor, still shielding others even at a time like this. Go cool down your head for a while. Guards, arrest him and lock him in the dungeon to await his sentence!”