A cold morning dawned on Cloud Edge City, with Chen Wentian and Peng Lingxi sitting side-by-side watching the sunrise. That same sun also dawned on another city far away to the south. Named Snake River City, it was much smaller in size than Cloud Edge City. It was situated near the banks of an endless, snaking river that cut a path across a vast plain. This was the frontier. To the north lay wild barbarian lands that had to be subjugated.
Long Yifei stood on the city wall, an orange glow covering half her face, as she gazed at the rolling hills of yellow grass. This was her task for the end-of-year examination. Snake River City was just one of many cities that bordered the central region.
A hundred top-ranking sacred daughters from the first half of the examinations were chosen for this competition. This time, it wasn't a test of the sacred daughter's talent and hard work. It was a test of their acolyte's strength and ability. Sacred daughter and acolyte, they were inseparable partners. This was the way of the Virtuous Order and the end-of-year examination reflected this truth.
This time, each sacred daughter and their acolyte had to head north and defeat bandits. For every ordinary bandit killed or captured, they would get one point. They would get ten points for bandits at the Lesser Realm of Spiritual Growth, fifty for bandits at the Lesser Realm of Spiritual Formation, three hundred for those at the Lesser Realm of Spiritual Awakening, and two thousand for one at the final Lesser Realm of Spiritual Ascendance.
As for immortals, if they were lucky enough to kill or capture one, a Spirit Lord Realm bandit would net one million points. The massive jump showed the gap that still remained between the Lesser Realm of Spiritual Ascendance and the immortal realms. Although cultivators at the level of Spiritual Ascendance were close, they were still so far away.
The points for higher immortal realms were even more ridiculous. A Spirit King would net twenty million points. A Spirit Emperor would award five hundred million points. Any higher and the points weren't even listed. It was considered impossible. Such immortals would never casually get themselves killed.
The scores would be recorded using a familiar method. Each sacred daughter had to make a spiritual oath that they would honestly report their scores or face the consequences of heaven and earth. Long Yifei was used to such oaths from the Immortal Sect Competition.
Of course, there was still room for mischief even with such spiritual oaths. Even if everyone involved in this event took the oath, there were still ways to circumvent it. However, it created a veil of fairness and that was enough.
"You're up early," Chen Wentian said as he joined Long Yifei on the wall.
"Morning, master," She greeted.
"Mmm, this event is quite interesting. I didn't think the Virtuous Order could come up with something like this."
"Mmm," She nodded.
He waved toward the north and said, "We'll start slow. No need to rush. Although there are also points gained for how much distance we cover, I can't see too many advantages. Those who rush into the bandit lands first will draw the ire of more powerful bandit gangs. "The first one thousand kilometers are worth one point per kilometer. The next one thousand kilometers are worth two points. The next three thousand is worth three points, so on and so forth. Although it doesn't seem worthwhile at first, it can make a difference for the frontrunners. But that doesn't have anything to do with us. Going too deep into bandit territory is extremely dangerous. We'll have our own challenges to deal with, even if we are not in the lead. The goal is survival, first and foremost."
"Understood, master." Long Yifei replied.
"As for Abbotess Dong's words, we can only take it step by step. I don't like taking unnecessary risks based on the speculations of a stranger. Who knows what her true intentions are?"
"Yes, master."
"Good, let's meet your helpers. Everyone has gathered." Chen Wentian said.
He held onto his disciple's waist and flew into the air. A few moments later, they landed before a large encampment outside the walls. Tents of all shapes and colors were arranged in an open field.
These were Long Yifei's forces for the bandit subjugation effort. They represented Chen Wentian's capability to support her in this endeavor.
The first group was the most eye-catching. They took up the central position among the tents. Each tent bore a familiar mark of Glacier Palace.
Chen Wentian and Long Yifei landed here and greeted a few familiar faces.
"Senior Sister Long."
"Senior Sister Long."
Many Glacier Palace women called out as they bowed. The sect brought one hundred top disciples at the Spirit Initiate Realm. Among them were many elders, including three women whom Long Yifei knew well.
"Ma Rong, Jiang Qingqing, Sheng Huizi, you guys came?" She said, greeting the three women at the head of the party.
These three were past members of her group of ten top disciples who accompanied her in cultivation, training, and missions. They served as her attendants, as future elders for the future sect master. They were all talented and beautiful, even now.
After Murong Aiyin died and Long Yifei joined Ten Thousand Flower Valley, those ten women chose their own paths. Some left the sect to explore the subcontinent to seek their fortunes. Some got married; one to the crown prince of a neighboring province, one to the young master of an immortal sect. Another even died at the hands of a demon…
As for these three, they chose to become elders of Glacier Palace.
"Senior Sister Long, when we heard about this matter, there were many who wanted to come and support you," Ma Rong said, "But we could only bring this many."
"Senior Sister Long, three of us will be fighting with you once again!" Jiang Qingqing said.
Long Yifei smiled and greeted them one by one, "You have all come a long way. I am reassured to have you here. I will have to rely on you once more."
"Yes, Senior Sister!"
After Glacier Palace, Chen Wentian took Long Yifei to greet the other forces. Divine Blazing Mountain also brought around a hundred people. In fact, some of them were dao companions of those from Glacier Palace. Thus, they had come to fight as a pair. These two sects were now tightly intertwined. In the past, they were terrible enemies. Now, they were family.
The next group was a mishmash of various sects. All of them cultivated the sword and numbered around one thousand in total. They came from the sword sects that had lost their sect masters during the Convocation of Swords, including the Tower of Swords. Although Chen Wentian didn't hold that much authority over them, he enticed them to come with money and trickery. These used to be immortal sects so they had a fair number of strong cultivators. After all, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
These people had questionable loyalties so he couldn't trust them with important tasks. They would be the frontline fighters, the first to charge into the fray. He wouldn't care if they lived or died. But if they performed well, he wouldn't mind rewarding them.
The third and last group was the largest and numbered about three thousand. They came from the Beast God Sanctum. There were even two Spirit Lords among them, Immortal Tempest Badger Qiu Chuyi and Immortal Dust Scorpion Tie Buqun.
"Lord Qiu, Lord Tie," Chen Wentian laughed, "With you two here, I am reassured."
"Lord Chen."
"Lord Chen."
The two men greeted respectfully.
"Our people are yours to command," Qiu Chuyi said.
"And so are we," Tie Buqun added.
"Good, then let's get started." Chen Wentian said.
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