15: Chapter 15 Rewarding Merit and the Rise of the Common People

The overnight purge continued for an entire day and night.

The Dao Soldiers split into ten squads and dispersed into the mountains and forests to hunt down the fleeing ape pack.

Leng Feng wandered deep into the area alone, specifically hunting down the second-tier Water Apes that were attempting to regroup.

The able-bodied Mortals followed behind to deliver the finishing blows, transport spoils, and clear out the dens, familiarizing themselves with the island's terrain while forcibly tempering their own courage.

By the second morning, the beast roars in the jungle had finally fallen completely silent.

Lu Changyuan stood on the high ground, listening to Lu Hu report the battle losses.

"Two Dao Soldiers were seriously injured and eleven were lightly injured, with no deaths. Seventeen Mortals were killed in action, thirty-six were seriously injured, and one hundred and twenty-seven were lightly injured."

Lu Changyuan remained silent for a moment, engraving those numbers into his mind, then asked, "Battle results."

"Over four hundred first-tier Water Apes and four second-tier Water Apes. The remnants have scattered and pose little threat. The Ape King's den has also been taken." Lu Hu paused here, then added, "Also, among the Mortals, someone truly fought their way to prominence on their own."

"Follow the ledger." Lu Changyuan turned and looked toward the clearing in the center of the high ground. "Today at the hour of the Dragon, we shall reward merit. Everyone is to be present."

As the news spread, the entire camp erupted like boiling water.

Many Mortals did not sleep all night, repeatedly counting the ape ears they had cut off and hung at their waists, confirming that their military merits were not miscalculated.

Some clutched iron spears still stained with wet blood and giggled, while others stared blankly at the high platform, as if waiting for a dream they never dared to have.

Shi Jian sat by the campfire, head bowed, counting his five ape ears.

One, two, three, four, five.

Five.

It exceeded the threshold of three.

"Thick Earth Manual," Qi Induction Pill.

He had never dared to even think about these two things before, but now they were right before his eyes, separated by only a single morning.

At the hour of the Dragon, on the high ground plaza.

Three thousand Mortals and fifty Dao Soldiers stood in neat rows, all eyes fixed on the high platform.

Lu Changyuan stood at the very front, his tone clear: "All those who participated in the battle yesterday and have merit shall have their rewards fulfilled according to the agreement. Burn the contracts, grant the fields, and distribute the Spirit Stones. No one shall receive less than their share."

The old steward held the register and called out the names one by one.

Whenever a name was called, that person would walk up to the high platform, and Lu Changyuan would personally burn their slave contract, then hand them a land deed or a bag of Spirit Stones.

On the plaza, someone broke down and cried on the spot.

That was the shackle that had pressed against their necks for a lifetime, finally broken by fire.

Watching those people clutching the thin land deeds, Lu Changyuan realized for the first time that this step he was taking was changing not just the lives of thousands, but the very roots of this island.

When the register reached the end, the old steward hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Young Lord, there is one more. They claimed five, but the situation is somewhat special."

"Speak."

"This person is sixteen years old, named Shi Jian. During the battle, he triggered earth light, gathering earth into a wall to block a sneak attack from a Water Ape."

On the plaza, several Dao Soldier squad leaders' eyes flickered instantly.

Gathering earth into a wall.

This was no longer something a Mortal could do.

"Call him up."

A moment later, Shi Jian walked quickly onto the high platform, still covered in unwashed bloodstains, standing straight.

Lu Changyuan raised his hand and pressed a finger to the center of his forehead.

The moment his Divine Sense probed in, Shi Jian felt his entire body jolt, as if a stream of cool water were flowing through the gaps in his bones.

A moment later, Lu Changyuan withdrew his hand, a faint trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Latent Earth Spiritual Root.

And his foundation was not bad.

If such a person continued to work as a laborer, he would be buried for a lifetime. But if given a path, he might just find a way out.

"Shi Jian," Lu Changyuan said calmly, "Your Spiritual Root has undergone Awakening."

As soon as these words were spoken, the plaza instantly erupted in an uproar.

Shi Jian froze, his throat bobbing, his voice trembling: "Young Lord, are you saying… that I can also cultivate immortality?"

"Yes." Lu Changyuan's tone was plain, yet it sounded like a final verdict. "According to the agreement, I grant you the 'Thick Earth Manual' and a Qi Induction Pill. Furthermore, I am breaking precedent to promote you to be my personal attendant; from this day forth, you will follow by my side."

This time, the commotion below was greater than all the burning of contracts and granting of fields combined.

In the eyes of the Mortals was shock, fervor, and disbelief.

In the eyes of the Dao Soldiers, there was a bit more pressure.

The position of personal attendant had always been something fought for within the ranks of the Dao Soldiers. Now, a Mortal youth had stepped into it in one leap; this was not just a reward, but a resounding lash of a whip across everyone's back.

Lu Hu whispered, "Young Lord, this will cause many to be dissatisfied."

"If they are dissatisfied, let them earn it," Lu Changyuan said faintly. "Here, I do not look at background, only at capability."

Lu Hu was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands. "Understood."

Shi Jian clutched the "Thick Earth Manual" and the Qi Induction Pill, his hands shaking.

He looked up at Lu Changyuan, his eyes burning like fire. "Young Lord, Shi Jian's life belongs to you from this day on."

"Keep your life for now," Lu Changyuan said, turning to leave the platform. "It will be useful later."

After these words fell, the restlessness that had been suppressed on the plaza finally exploded completely.

Those who had just burned their slave contracts and received their land deeds no longer looked at Shi Jian with mere envy, but realized for the first time that every word Lu Changyuan had said on the high platform yesterday was not empty talk meant to trick them into risking their lives.

The ten mu of fertile land was real, the cultivation techniques were real, and even a Mortal youth, originally just like them, could step right by the Young Lord's side.

Several Dao Soldier squad leaders straightened their backs silently. They certainly would not be jealous of a Mortal youth who had just had an Awakening of his Spiritual Root, but the feeling of being lashed by a whip in public had truly settled into everyone's heart.

Since the Young Lord dared to give the position to a Mortal, then from now on, if anyone still prided themselves on being a Dao Soldier, they would truly be trampled by those who came after.

Lu Hu saw all of this, said nothing, and just made a mental note.

This reward ceremony distributed not just Spirit Stones, fields, and cultivation techniques, but also a new set of rules.

From now on, whoever climbs up on this island will not be judged by their background, but by whether they have the capability to earn merit from a pile of corpses.

However, Lu Changyuan did not let the rewards stop at the excitement.

Before the crowd under the high platform had dispersed, he spoke again: "For those who died in battle, double the compensation. Their families are exempt from three years of forced labor and will be given priority in the distribution of houses and land. Those seriously injured will be cared for by the island, and Spirit Medicine will be given first to those who rendered meritorious service in battle."

As these words fell, the crowd, previously immersed in wild joy, fell silent for a moment.

Because many people only then remembered that in yesterday's victory, it was not that there were no deaths.

On the west side of the plaza, some people were quickly brought out.

These were over a dozen households that had lost husbands, brothers, or sons last night.

They had originally been huddled on the edge of the crowd, not daring to step forward. For serfs, the death of the family pillar often meant the entire family would rot in the mud from then on.

But now, the old steward was reading out the prepared compensation list one by one in front of everyone.

Those whose names were called were stunned at first, and then some fell to their knees on the ground, crying until they could no longer hold themselves up.

Lu Changyuan did not help them up; he only had people distribute the land deeds, Spirit Stones, and wooden plaques one by one.

He wanted everyone to see clearly that by risking their lives for him, there was a way to live, and if they died, it would not be in vain.

Lu Hu stood behind the side of the high platform, watching the faces below—some crying, some laughing, but none of them numb anymore—and for the first time, a very clear thought arose in his mind.

These three thousand Mortals, after this battle, were no longer simple serfs and laborers.

They were becoming the very roots of Blue Moon Island.

Subsequently, Lu Changyuan ordered people to mark out a piece of flat land near the outskirts of the camp on the spot, setting up wooden stakes and inserting wooden plaques to first designate the residential lots for those who had rendered meritorious service yesterday and the families of the fallen.

The area was not large, and it was still just a roughly outlined contour, but once the wooden plaques were inserted, the meaning was completely different.

That was no longer a corner of a temporary camp, but the first batch of residential land on the island that truly belonged to them.

Shi Jian stood to the side, clutching the cultivation technique, looking at that row of wooden plaques, his chest feeling tight.

Before yesterday, he was still just a serf whose life did not even belong to himself.

But today, on this island, people had already begun to receive their own land, their own status, and even things that could be passed down to their descendants because of a single battle.

He suddenly understood why the Young Lord insisted on letting Mortals go to the battlefield.

Because only by letting these people see blood, receive rewards, and burn their slave contracts would they truly treat this island as their home, rather than just a harsh land where they had simply changed masters.

After the reward ceremony ended, Lu Hu brought up the spoils of war scavenged from the Ape King's den.

Most of them were inner cores, scales, demon bones, and a few broken stones permeated by a cold chill.

Lu Changyuan picked up one of them at random. As soon as his fingertips touched it, he felt a clear, cold chill flowing inward along his Meridians.

He looked down closely; the stone's surface was covered with frost, and inside, it faintly revealed a hint of cyan-white spiritual light.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the heavenly secret jade slip vibrated slightly.

Lu Changyuan's gaze sharpened. He looked up toward the direction of the rock wall behind the high ground and said faintly, "Indeed, there is a big prize."