Chapter 678: Reward Accordingly
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh_
Burning one's own immortal soul was the trick used by immortals in their desperation. But, after the soul burned, even if the immortal successfully killed the enemy and escaped, the cultivation base he had worked on hard all his life would be gone, and his only option would be to reincarnate in the state of a soul and begin cultivating again. Regardless, once an immortal burned his soul, he would possess ten times as much power as he had at his peak for a short period. Although this period of time would not exceed a quarter of an hour at most, it was enough for an immortal whose immortal soul was burning to destroy a lot of things.
By the time Wu Qi managed to calm the disordered energy in the formation, neutralize the two energy bombs in the north and south, and flew over the gradually subsiding volcanic region, the battle between Bo Yunting and the hundred fleeing Gold Immortals was over.
All the Gold Immortals and the immortals they had taken with were killed, but the triple layer of armors mounted outside Bo Yunting's flying ship was completely destroyed, and hundreds of Oracles on board were either killed or seriously wounded. Fortunately, the ship itself was not damaged in any way, and as long as it was sent to a workshop under the Military Court in Liangzhu to be remounted with triple layer of armors, it would continue to be a powerful flying ship.
Although hundreds of Oracles were killed or wounded, Bo Yunting was still very excited. In a single battle, he had killed more than a hundred Gold Immortals, thousands of Heaven Immortals, and tens of thousands of itinerant cultivators, while his army only lost thousands of soldiers and hundreds of Oracles. This was a dazzling achievement, one that no other province had ever achieved.
More than a hundred Gold Immortal were wiped out in a single battle!
Gold Immortals were not potatoes that one could dig out of the soil by the roadside, neither could they be cultivated as quickly as the generals of Great Yu. Each one of them took a very long time to cultivate, usually countable in Aeons [1]. In addition, strong perseverance and luck, as well as incalculable resources, were also the essential part in their journey of becoming a Gold Immortal. They were the backbone of the immortal community, and the most important part of the system of immortal cultivation.
Generally, three hundred out of a thousand people cultivating immortality could form their Gold Cores; about a hundred out of a thousand Gold Core cultivators could form their Nascent Souls; about a couple dozens out of a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators could form their Nascent Divinities; about ten out of a thousand Nascent Divinity cultivators could become Heaven Immortals. But, for every ten thousand Heaven Immortals, only one could step into the realm of Gold Immortals. Throughout the outer heavenly realms, the ratio of Gold Immortals to Heaven Immortals was almost one to one hundred thousand!
There were many, many Heaven Immortals out there. In the community of immortals, they existed just like the common people in a mortal kingdom, while Gold Immortals were the nobles who were born high to rule them!
More than a hundred Gold Immortals were killed in a single battle, which was a feat that could only be described as glorious. Although Myriad Immortal Alliance was a very large organization, according to the top-secret intelligence obtained by Great Yu's spies, they only had eight hundred Gold Immortals, and were internally referred as 'the eight hundred immortals of the Stealth Immortal Hall'.
In other words, this battle alone had wiped out one-sixth of the alliance's strength!
With the comprehensive strength of Great Yu, if the two sides were to fight head-on, any of its first-grade provinces could easily cripple the alliance by concentrating all its military forces. But, the superior immortals in the alliance rarely confronted the regular military forces of Great Yu. Therefore, it was rather perplexing that more than a hundred Gold Immortals were sent to construct a formation here and ambush Bo Yunting's army.
Luckily, Wu Qi was here. Not only did he easily destroy the formation laid out by the Gold Immortals, but he even used its power to drain their energy. Bo Yunting, on the other hand, just waited patiently outside for the weary preys, and was able to wipe out more than a hundred Gold Immortals with various vicious traps he had prepared in advance.
The report of the battle was sent back to Zhong Ning City by Bo Yunting at the fastest speed. After reading it, Bo Zhongfu, who could hardly believe what he had just read, sent out eighteen groups of civil and military officials to verify the results. When everything was confirmed, and the remains of the Gold Immortals as well as their identity medallions were delivered to Zhong Ning City, Bo Zhongfu immediately sent the report to Liangzhu through an array.
Ever since the war between Great Yu and Myriad Immortal Alliance broke out, the immortals of the alliance had been making hit-and-run guerrilla-style attacks on random targets. Pangu Continent was vast, and these immortals were always able to find places with weak defense and give Great Yu a head-on blow. Over the years of warring, Great Yu had lost nearly a million soldiers, and the number of innocent civilians killed was astronomical. The officials of Great Yu did not even dare to report the loss of civilians to the Human Emperor.
Although Great Yu's military was extremely powerful, the only thing they could do in the face of such a cunning enemy was to sweep around savagely. Countless native demons and cultivator clans on Pangu Continent were exterminated, and countless unfortunate itinerant cultivators and itinerant immortals were trapped and killed by Great Yu's armies. But, the core strength of the alliance, the Gold Immortals in the Stealth Immortal Hall and the Divine Hall, as well as the existences who were stronger than Gold Immortals, had scarcely been hit.
That was why Bo Zhongfu had a hard time believing the report when he read it. His son had killed more than a hundred Gold Immortals, thousands of Heaven Immortals, and tens of thousands of itinerant cultivators in one battle. He did not care too much about those Heaven Immortals and itinerant cultivators, for they were almost worthless; but, killing more than a hundred Gold Immortals was a massive contribution to Great Yu! So, he hurried to claim the credit for his son. With the influence of Bo Clan in Liangzhu, perhaps Bo Yunting could be made a marquis for his excellent military service!
Soon, nine consecutive official documents arrived from Zhong Ning City. Bo Zhongfu ordered Bo Yunting to return to Zhong Ning City with the army at once. Although Wu Qi's ten thousand soldiers were not part of Bo Yunting's army, he was happy to take them to Zhong Ning City, because Bo Zhongfu requested all those who had contributed in the battle to receive their reward from him.
It was always good to be rewarded, and Wu Qi could use the occasion to go to Zhong Ning City and personally direct his revenge on Yu Miao. Although the assassins under Luo Kedi's command had thrown the members of Yu Clan in Yu Miao's branch into great confusion, he thought his hatred could be better vented by personally watching Yu Miao's people being killed than to read the report Luo Kedi passed on to him.
…
Right behind Bo Zhongfu's field headquarter, Wu Qi and the other generals ordered their soldiers to arrange all their flying ships of varying sizes in a neat marching formation, before they sped away toward their destination, Zhong Ning City.
To the surprise of Wu Qi and the others, the Prefecture Overseer of Zhong Province, Bo Zhongfu, unexpectedly brought all his officials to a place hundreds of miles away from the city to welcome Bo Yunting's army. He even brought all members of his guard of honor: a huge platform made of cloud floating in midair, above which stood a magnificently arched door and a great palace. In front of them stood the guard of honor, consisting of thirty thousand men, all brightly armored and majestic in appearance.
In addition to Bo Zhongfu's guard of honor, officials from Zhong Province's Military Court, Directorate of Celestials, Punishment Court, and others also brought varying numbers of guards according to their ranks. Even Bo Yunting, who knew he would be handsomely rewarded for the great merit, was taken aback by the grand welcoming parade.
The rewarding ceremony was carried out on the spot right after a lively welcome ceremony. The soldiers who served Bo Yunting, as well as the ten thousand soldiers Wu Qi had brought with him, were awarded a great deal of money, fine wine, sheep, and cattle. All the generals who took part in the battle were promoted in rank, and Bo Zhongfu also generously awarded them millions of acres of the most fertile land near Zhong Ning City, including the villages and towns and people in those lands.
The only thing that was odd was that Wu Qi did not get any rewards at the ceremony. Bo Zhongfu seemed to have forgotten that it was his hard work that destroyed the formation. But then, he noticed the kindness Bo Zhongfu was showing him through repeated smiles and nods, so he stood silently among the generals and waited patiently.
As the Left Minister of Directorate of Celestials, Yu Miao naturally joined the crowd at the welcoming ceremony.
It was clear that the recent assassinations targeted at the junior members of the Yu Clan from his branch had upset him. The two bags under his eyes were very striking, and he had dark circles around both eyes, which indicated that he had spent a lot of energy lately. When he saw Wu Qi, the venomous look in his eyes was so intense that he could have killed ten thousand bulls with them. If this were not the place to welcome Bo Yunting's victorious return, Wu Qi had no doubt that Yu Miao would have attacked him right at the moment their glances met.
After smiling at the resentful Yu Miao, Wu Qi shrugged and followed Bo Zhongfu and Bo Yunting into Zhong Ning City, along with all the other generals. As soon as he had put his ten thousand soldiers in the barracks, a confidant sent by Bo Zhongfu came to him and invited him to the Prefecture Overseer's Mansion.
Inside the side hall of the mansion, Wu Qi met Bo Zhongfu in his everyday robe, with a look of exhaustion on the latter's face.
Bo Yunting was nowhere to be seen; Wu Qi and Bo Zhongfu were the only two people in the hall. After bowing at him, Wu Qi stood aside and quietly studied the man who was sitting cross-legged on a hassock made of black jade.
Wu Qi had seen Bo Zhongfu from a distance several times, but this was the first time he had been able to observe him from such a close distance. He was a very elegant middle-aged man, and everything about him read nobility, even his hair. He looked dignified but not bullying; gentle but not approachable. In brief, he looked like an amiable man who had his ferociousness well-hidden, making no one dare to show him any disrespect.
He was a noble of Great Yu whose manners and bearing were almost perfect, and deserved to be the Human Emperor's newest confidant.
Wu Qi lowered his head and began to wonder why Bo Zhongfu had asked him to come here.
Bo Zhongfu was studying Wu Qi too, though he did not think as much and just briefly glanced at him with the admiration of a superior. "Your meritorious service has allowed us to exterminate a total of 143 Gold Immortals from Myriad Immortal Alliance, General Tan Lang!" He said brusquely.
Cupping his fist and bowing, Wu Qi smiled humbly as he said, "It was all due to the good command of Commander Bo and the cooperation of all the generals and soldiers that we were able to achieve such a dazzling result."
Bo Zhongfu nodded and praised, "It's nice to see that you did not become cocky with the success."
After pondering for a moment, he stroked his beard and said, "If truth be told, you have no small part in this success, and by rights, I am supposed to report your meritorious service to His Majesty, so that you will be rewarded accordingly. But...my son Yunting needs the title of Marquis, and if all the credit goes to him, His Majesty will certainly make him a Marquis!"
Bo Zhongfu looked up at Wu Qi and said indifferently, "I'm asking you to give this credit to Yunting! With your background and your current position, the most His Majesty can give you is land, beautiful girls, money, and other things of similar value. But, you'll never be given a title of nobility. And, of all those rewards, I can give you exactly the same in Zhong Province!"
Wu Qi finally knew what Bo Zhongfu wanted of him. "I'll do as Your Excellency asks of me!" He said with a smile on his face. "Well, I do have a few small requests...Can the land Your Excellency give me be right next to my current territory, Dong Hai County? Of course, I want money too, but can Your Excellency substitute beautiful girls with common people? I need more people in my land!"
Bo Zhongfu laughed pleasingly at Wu Qi's judiciousness.
Just as he was about to agree to Wu Qi's requests, he heard footsteps coming from outside, and then a group of men barged straight into the side hall where he used to host his guests.
Bo Zhongfu could not help but fly into a great rage. What rude fellow dared to barge in when he was seeing someone?
But as soon as he saw the face of the leading person, he put on a big smile and rose to meet him.