In a mysterious space within the war base filled with flames, a handsome young man with a refined face sat cross-legged. His crimson robes were as dazzling as a star, and scorching flames danced around him, lively and spiritual like children with lives of their own.
He opened his mouth and inhaled, and endless flames transformed into a rolling river that flowed into him. A satisfied smile appeared on his fair face.
A flood of information poured in from the war base. He quickly scanned it. As the person in charge of the Purple Heaven Star Domain's war base, he had the highest authority and could access all information. However, few things on the battlefield captured his attention. Even the deaths of a few Nascent Soul stage cultivators didn't concern him much.
Messages were filtered one by one...
"Huh?"
A look of surprise flickered across the crimson-robed man's usually calm face. He turned his head towards the direction of the star river, his deep eyes seeming to pierce through the void.
"Ten Absolute True Immortal?" A smile played on his lips as he whispered, "I didn't expect another genius capable of comprehending the Great Dao's true meaning at the Spirit Refining stage to appear within just a few decades. It seems it won't be long before Ling'er stops feeling bored."
With that thought, he accessed Zhang Fan's enlistment information. Upon seeing that he hailed from the Savage Star Domain, the man fell into deep thought. After a long while, he began to send a message: "Qiong Yu, upgrade the Ten Absolute True Immortal's evaluation to seven-star Marquis and elevate his file information to priority."
...
When Zhang Fan and True Immortal Pu Ji returned to the war base, True Immortal Qiong Yu had already been waiting for a long time.
"Congratulations on your triumphant return. The Ten Absolute True Immortal's battle in the Fire Element World has indeed shocked the star river. Even True Immortal Pu Ji is now considered a notable figure on this star river battlefield," True Immortal Qiong Yu said with a smile as he saw Zhang Fan, quickly stepping forward to greet him.
"I owe it to the captain. For a mere five-star general like myself to gain fame on this star river battlefield isn't necessarily a good thing," True Immortal Pu Ji replied, shaking his head.
Although True Immortal Pu Ji's evaluation was only a five-star general, after this period of cultivation and insight, his strength had already reached the threshold of a six-star general. However, six-star generals were as numerous as stars on this star river battlefield, truly not a shining presence.
True Immortal Qiong Yu nodded and said no more. He then turned to Zhang Fan and said with a serious expression, "Fellow Daoist Ten Absolute, I am here for one matter only. After review by Immortal King Zhen Cang, your evaluation within the war base has been upgraded to seven-star, along with corresponding authority. From now on, you have the qualification for independent action."
Evaluations below seven-star could be made by True Immortal Qiong Yu. However, evaluations involving Marquis-level powerhouses required the review of the war base's highest authority. Clearly, Immortal King Zhen Cang had determined that Zhang Fan now possessed strength comparable to that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Upon hearing this, True Immortal Pu Ji and the others couldn't help but glance at Zhang Fan with surprise in their eyes. They hadn't expected someone of Immortal King Zhen Cang's stature to even notice Zhang Fan, let alone bestow upon him the title of Marquis.
After all, as the highest authority on the Purple Heaven Star Domain's star river battlefield, Immortal King Zhen Cang's status was extraordinary, incomparable to ordinary Dao Integration stage Immortal Kings. For such a figure to pay attention to a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator was truly astonishing to True Immortal Pu Ji.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qiong Yu," Zhang Fan nodded. He wasn't too bothered by this, as he had planned to go into seclusion for a period of time after returning to cultivate and advance his own cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage.
After bidding farewell to True Immortal Qiong Yu, Zhang Fan and his companions proceeded to the military depot within the war base, where military merits could be exchanged for various elixirs and treasures.
The military depot was housed within an octagonal pagoda, hundreds of feet tall and divided into five levels. The entire pagoda was a rustic black. Entry was granted freely with a battle token.
Throughout the entire war base, besides the arena for decisive battles, this military depot pagoda was the liveliest place. When Zhang Fan and his group appeared before it, many cultivators cast envious glances their way. It was evident that they had all heard about Zhang Fan's exploits in the Fire Element World.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang Fan, True Immortal Pu Ji!" Many cultivators also stepped forward to greet them warmly.
Zhang Fan and the others responded with smiles, but his mind was fully occupied with matters within the military depot.
Upon entering the pagoda, they were greeted by a vast hall. A powerful oppressive aura permeated the air, and the spiritual energy within gathered to form the figure of a young girl.
"Greetings, senior," True Immortal Pu Ji quickly bowed to the figure in the void, while also transmitting a message to Zhang Fan and the others: "This is the artifact spirit of the military depot pagoda, responsible for military merit assessment and treasure exchanges."
Zhang Fan looked at the artifact spirit. She appeared very cute, with twin ponytails swaying behind her head, giving her a lively appearance.
"What brings you little ones here? Are you here to exchange military merits or treasures?" the little girl asked with a childlike innocence and a clear voice, though her words carried an air of ancient wisdom.
"Whoosh!"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Fan caused nearly twenty battle tokens to float in the air, causing the little girl to pause slightly.
"Has there been another large-scale battle in the star river? It's been a long time since I've seen someone exchange so many battle tokens at once," the little girl murmured. After a moment, she extended her small, tender hand and waved it gently, gathering them all into her embrace.
"Two five-star battle tokens, ten three-star battle tokens, and six two-star battle tokens. That totals fifty-two thousand military merits for exchange."
After stating the count, the little girl looked at Zhang Fan and asked, "Ten Absolute True Immortal, since you are the captain, the distribution of military merits is yours to decide. Have you decided on a distribution plan?"
Upon hearing this, True Immortal Pu Ji, Nan Zun, Blood Demon Jia, and the Pang brothers all turned their gazes to Zhang Fan.
"It has been decided!"
Zhang Fan smiled and nodded, saying, "I will take forty percent, True Immortal Pu Ji will take twenty percent, and Blood Demon, Nan Zun, and the Pang brothers will each take ten percent."
"In that case, for this battle token exchange, Ten Absolute True Immortal will receive two hundred and eight thousand military merits, True Immortal Pu Ji will receive one hundred and four thousand military merits, and Blood Demon, Nan Zun, and the Pang brothers will each receive fifty-two thousand military merits. The merits have already been credited to your respective accounts. If you wish to exchange for immortal treasures or elixirs, simply select what you need and present your battle tokens."
After the little girl finished speaking, she transformed into a shower of starlight and disappeared into the pagoda. At the same moment, Zhang Fan and the others felt the information within their battle tokens change, their military merits having been credited.
"From now on, you should go and exchange for whatever you need," Zhang Fan said, looking at Nan Zun and Blood Demon Jia. "My current rating is Marquis, so I can no longer team up with you for expeditions. True Immortal Pu Ji will be the captain of this team from now on. You should follow him and hone your skills well."
"Pu Ji, I will have to trouble you from now on. If you encounter any trouble you cannot resolve, feel free to contact me at any time."
True Immortal Pu Ji nodded and replied, "Captain, rest assured. With my current strength, recruiting teammates is quite easy. Before our next expedition, I will try my best to recruit a full ten teammates before we venture out."