Chapter 82

The Northern Territory has turned into a battlefield for cultivators.

With the invasion of the otherworldly beings, the alliance's cultivators fiercely responded, and both sides amassed over a hundred thousand cultivators.

The battle raged for about a day from the onset of the invasion until now.

After an intense fight,

The invaders left tens of thousands of corpses behind and retreated hastily.

Looking at the alliance, although their losses were lighter compared to the invaders, they still lost over twenty thousand cultivators.

In detail,

Dozens of fourth-level cultivators perished.

Most of the other casualties were third and second-level cultivators.

The losses of first-level cultivators, although higher than those of the fourth-level, were still less severe compared to the carnage among the third and second levels.

This scenario was expected.

In this battle, the second and third-level cultivators served as the main force, while the fourth-level cultivators played the role of high-end combat power.

The invaders had formidable strength, with several fifth-level experts appearing, and even a sixth-level expert showing up.

In contrast, the alliance's strongest were only at the fourth level. Achieving victory in this battle was indeed rare.

Had it not been for the intervention of the key figure from the Ten Thousand Heavens at the critical moment, defeating the self-proclaimed Lord of Gu Huang, a sixth-level expert, the alliance would have been annihilated.

Thus,

The upper echelons of the alliance's military department immediately ordered the battlefield to be cleaned, ensuring all the fallen were given a proper burial.

A detailed list of the fallen was to be compiled, and those with families were to be generously compensated.

After all, the military department now held actual control over the alliance and could not afford to disappoint the common people.

The first invasion by the otherworldly beings was just the beginning; there would undoubtedly be a second, third, and more wars to come.

Compensation was essential.

"It's finally over!"

Zhang Ming leaned against a large stone, his black-brown robe soaked with dried blood.

A heavy scent of blood emanated from him. The bloodstains were both his and his enemies'.

Exposed skin bore several hideous scars. Though these wounds had healed and scarred, they had not fully recovered.

Meanwhile, a wound on his chest was still oozing blood slightly.

This battle

Was the most dangerous fight Zhang Ming had faced since stepping into the path of cultivation.

Even recalling the powerful beast tides from the third blood rain baptism years ago could not compare to this battle.

In just one day, Zhang Ming had lost count of how many otherworldly cultivators he had slain—maybe dozens, or hundreds, possibly even reaching a thousand.

Among those killed by him, the strongest was a fourth-level perfected cultivator.

The wound on Zhang Ming's chest came from a desperate counterattack by this fourth-level perfected cultivator, a sword piercing through his chest, nearly touching his heart.

Had the sword deviated by a hair, Zhang Ming would already be dead.

However,

This fierce battle also brought Zhang Ming many benefits.

Experiencing life-and-death combat and hovering on the edge of the underworld gave him deeper insights into cultivation.

Zhang Ming had a premonition that with some secluded cultivation, he could break through to the mid-fourth level.

Next,

He calmed his mind and looked at the Heavenly Court chat group, where discussions were abuzz.

Many cultivators who did not participate in the battle closely followed the situation, their discussions lively.

Zhang Ming merely glanced at this and then turned his attention to the merit ranking.

Instantly,

A line of text caught his eye.

[Name: Zhang Ming]

[Merit: 362,500 points]

[Rank: Ninth]

"Ranked ninth in the merit ranking, not bad!"

Zhang Ming was secretly pleased, a smile tugging at his lips, which then pulled at his wounds, making him grimace.

More than the physical pain, the merit ranking was what he truly cared about.

"According to the task rewards, the top ten in the merit ranking receive five million offering points. Along with the offerings from killing the otherworldly cultivators, I've accumulated over 5.36 million offering points in this battle!"

Merits are actually obtained by killing otherworldly cultivators.

The calculation of merits is closely linked to offering points.

For example, by killing a fourth-level cultivator, Zhang Ming could earn 50,000 offering points,

And thus also gain 50,000 merit points.

362,500 merit points meant Zhang Ming had accumulated corresponding offering points from killing otherworldly cultivators.

Adding the top ten merit ranking reward, Zhang Ming had accumulated over 5.36 million offering points from the Heavenly Court tasks alone.

However,

The actual offerings Zhang Ming received were far more.

During his battles, he often used sacrificial techniques to offer the slain cultivators to the Qingyang Xianmu in exchange for offering points.

With these sacrificial offerings, Zhang Ming's merit actually exceeded 5.5 million.

Adding his previous offerings, Zhang Ming's total offerings now amounted to 5.8 million.

"5.8 million offering points, enough to exchange for a top-tier fourth-level cultivation method. I won't be constrained by the cultivation method bottleneck until I break through to the fifth level."

The Nine-Jade Technique was only a lower-tier fourth-level cultivation method.

Zhang Ming had cultivated it to its peak. Even though he felt a breakthrough was imminent, without a mid-tier fourth-level cultivation method, he couldn't achieve it.

Now, with 5.8 million offering points, Zhang Ming could directly exchange for a top-tier fourth-level cultivation method.

Then,

He glanced at the top of the merit ranking, his eagerness slightly abating.

First on the merit ranking was Gu Fang, and second was Ji Xuan.

Zhang Ming was naturally familiar with these names.

Ji Xuan was the Grand Marshal of the First Alliance, highly esteemed in the alliance's military department.

Gu Fang was the Grand Marshal of the Ninth Alliance, now emerging as the strongest in the military department, rivaling Ji Xuan.

Gu Fang topping the merit ranking meant he would receive a generous reward of ten million offering points.

Such a rich reward made Zhang Ming envious.

However,

Zhang Ming knew that envy would not help.

Gu Fang and Ji Xuan could secure the first and second places likely because they intercepted the otherworldly fifth-level experts.

Even though that fifth-level expert was eventually killed by Lu Qingyang, the merits might also be credited to the two.

"If I had ten million offering points, I could become the top expert in the alliance. It's a pity this opportunity went to the military department."

"After this battle, the military department's influence will be stronger than ever, unchallenged by other forces."

Zhang Ming shook his head slightly.

Among the top ten in the merit ranking, several belonged to the military department. These spots alone could grant the military department an additional 20-30 million offering points.

Moreover, the military department occupied nearly half of the top hundred spots.

Estimating roughly, the military department's total offerings from task rewards in this battle might be close to 80-90 million.

Such a massive accumulation of offering points would undoubtedly foster a batch of strong cultivators within the military department.

Fortunately,

Zhang Ming had no intention of opposing the alliance's military department. The department's increased strength had little impact on him personally.

4o