In a mysterious space filled with flames within a war base, a handsome young man with a bright red robe, resplendent like a star, sat in meditation. Flames danced around him like lively, sentient children.
He inhaled, and endless flames transformed into a flowing river that entered his mouth. A satisfied smile graced his fair face.
Vast amounts of information poured in from the war base. As the commander of the Purple Heaven Star Domain's war base, he possessed the highest authority, allowing him to review all its data. However, few on the battlefield captured his attention; even the demise of a few Nascent Soul stage cultivators didn't concern him much.
He filtered through the messages...
"Hmm?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the red-robed man's calm face. He turned towards the direction of the star river, his deep eyes seeming to pierce through the void.
"Ten Fiends True Immortal?" A smile played on his lips as he murmured, "I didn't expect another genius capable of comprehending the Great Dao's true meaning at the Spirit Refining realm to appear in just a few decades. It seems not long now before Ling'er will be less bored."
With that thought, he accessed Zhang Fan's enlistment information. Upon seeing he hailed from the Savage Star Domain, he fell into contemplation. After a long while, he began to transmit, "Qiongyu, elevate the evaluation of Ten Fiends True Immortal to Seven-Star Marquis and also promote his file to priority."
...
When Zhang Fan and True Immortal Pu Ji returned to the war base, True Immortal Qiongyu had been waiting for some time.
"Congratulations on your victorious return. The battle in the Fire Element World fought by Ten Fiends True Immortal has truly shaken the star river. Even True Immortal Pu Ji is now considered someone of note on this star river battlefield," True Immortal Qiongyu said with a smile, quickly approaching Zhang Fan.
"I am merely fortunate to have a captain like you. As a mere Five-Star General, becoming famous on this star river battlefield is not necessarily a good thing," True Immortal Pu Ji demurred.
Although True Immortal Pu Ji's evaluation was only Five-Star General, his strength had now fully reached the threshold of Six-Star General through his recent cultivation and insights. However, Six-Star Generals were as common as stars in the sky on this star river battlefield, hardly a dazzling presence.
True Immortal Qiongyu nodded, not saying more. He then turned to Zhang Fan, his expression serious. "Fellow Daoist Ten Fiends, I am here for one matter. After review by Immortal King Zhencang, the war base's evaluation of you has been raised to Seven Stars, along with corresponding privileges. Henceforth, you are qualified for independent operations."
Evaluations below Seven Stars could be determined by True Immortal Qiongyu, but those involving the evaluation of Marquis-level powerhouses required the review of the war base's supreme commander. Clearly, Immortal King Zhencang deemed Zhang Fan's current strength to be on par with a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Upon hearing this, True Immortal Pu Ji and the others looked at Zhang Fan with surprise. They had not expected someone like Immortal King Zhencang to notice Zhang Fan and even bestow upon him the title of Marquis.
After all, as the supreme commander of the Purple Heaven Star Domain's star river battlefield, Immortal King Zhencang's status was extraordinary, far beyond that of ordinary Harmony Immortal Kings. For such a figure to pay attention to a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator was indeed shocking to True Immortal Pu Ji.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qiongyu," Zhang Fan nodded. He wasn't overly concerned about this. He had already planned to enter seclusion for a period after returning to improve his cultivation to the Nascent Soul realm.
After bidding farewell to True Immortal Qiongyu, Zhang Fan and his group proceeded to the military depot within the war base, a place where military merits could be exchanged for various spirit pills and magical treasures.
The military depot was housed in an octagonal pagoda, hundreds of feet tall, with five levels. Its body was made of ancient black material, and one could freely enter with a battle token.
Besides the Grand Combat Arena, the military depot pagoda was the liveliest place in the entire war base. When Zhang Fan and his group appeared before it, many cultivators cast envious glances their way, clearly having 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 entirely focused on the military depot.
Upon entering the pagoda, they were greeted by a vast hall. A powerful oppressive aura permeated the air, and spiritual energy gathered within, coalescing into the form of a young girl.
"Greetings, Senior," True Immortal Pu Ji quickly bowed to the figure in the void, simultaneously transmitting to Zhang Fan and the others, "This is the artifact spirit of the military depot pagoda, responsible for verifying military merits and exchanging treasures."
Zhang Fan looked at the artifact spirit. She appeared very cute, with a pair of ponytails tied behind her head, giving her a lively demeanor.
"You little ones, are you here to exchange military merits or treasures?" the little girl asked in a clear, child-like voice, though her words carried an air of seniority.
"Whoosh!"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Fan made nearly twenty battle tokens float in the air, causing the little girl to pause slightly.
"Has there been another large-scale battle in the star river? I haven't seen someone exchange so many battle tokens at once in a long time," the little girl mumbled before extending her delicate hand and gently waving it, collecting them all.
"Two Five-Star battle tokens, ten Three-Star battle tokens, and six Two-Star battle tokens. You can exchange a total of five hundred and twenty thousand military merits."
After speaking, the little girl turned her gaze to Zhang Fan and asked, "Ten Fiends True Immortal, since you are the captain, the distribution of military merits is yours to decide. Have you finalized the plan?"
Hearing this, True Immortal Pu Ji, Southern Venerable, Blood Demon Jiao, and the Pang brothers all turned their attention to Zhang Fan.
"It has been decided!"
Zhang Fan smiled and nodded. "I will take forty percent, True Immortal Pu Ji will take twenty percent, and Blood Demon, Southern Venerable, and the Pang brothers will each take ten percent."
"Understood. For this battle token exchange, Ten Fiends 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, Southern Venerable, and the Pang brothers will each receive fifty-two thousand military merits. The military merits have been allocated to your respective accounts. If you wish to exchange for immortal treasures or pills, simply present your battle tokens after selecting them."
After the little girl finished speaking, she transformed into a shower of starlight and disappeared into the pagoda. Concurrently, Zhang Fan and the others sensed the changes in their battle tokens; the military merits had been credited.
"You may now proceed to exchange for what you need," Zhang Fan said, his gaze falling upon Southern Venerable and Blood Demon Jiao. "My rating is now Marquis, so I can no longer team up with you for expeditions. True Immortal Pu Ji will assume the role of captain of this team from now on. You should train diligently under him."
"Pu Ji, I will have to trouble you with this. If you encounter any insurmountable trouble, feel free to contact me anytime."
True Immortal Pu Ji nodded. "Captain, rest assured. With my current strength, recruiting teammates is quite easy. Before the next expedition, I will do my best to recruit ten teammates before setting out."
...