Chapter 56: Chapter 53: Behind the Brilliance
The surrounding earth began to tremble gently.
Li Hao was stunned, looking around, he noticed that the distant, damaged mountains and the crimson sky seemed to be gradually fading.
Had he cleared it? Was the Mo River Battlefield about to disappear?!
Li Hao stood agape, everything happened too fast for him to react.
As he watched the ground sink and his little thatched hut about to collapse shaking, Li Hao quickly stepped out. Then, with a flicker, he appeared at the stage in the center of the village.
Pulling out the Gold Paper, Li Hao swiftly placed it within the eerie temple.
The temple suddenly burst forth with splendid golden light, unleashing a water-like Barrier that enveloped him.
Standing inside the Barrier, Li Hao watched as the outside village shook violently, like the world ending in destruction, everything tearing and blurring until it all vanished.
He found himself back in that narrow cave.
The old, humble temple had also quieted its golden light, becoming utterly ordinary, with two corroded statues with half-smiles on their faces.
The Gold Paper flew back like a thread, entering the palm of Li Hao’s hand, giving a warm sensation.
Li Hao felt as if there was an extra wisp of Divine Soul-like breath in his body.
As his mind willed it, the golden thread emerged in his palm, transforming back into the Gold Paper.
There were three lines of small characters on the Gold Paper:
Name: Chong Er
Merit Points: 100 (Ranked 99 in the Great Yu Dynasty)
Meritorious Deeds: Cleared Fengshan Mo River.
“So these are Merit Points? Doesn’t seem like anything special.”
Li Hao carefully examined the Gold Paper. He had heard from second master and Feng that the Mo River Battlefield had five levels with huge differences. The one he had just experienced should be of the lowest level, the Remorse Level Mo River Battlefield.
Destroying the Mo River Battlefield would yield Merit Points, and if one were to clear it, causing the Mo River to disappear permanently, then the Merit Points obtained would be hundreds of times more!
That is to say, if he had just killed the black-robed scholar and destroyed the village, he would have only gotten one Merit Point.
Beyond the Remorse Level.
There was also the Shadowy Ghoul Level Mo River.
The Ming Domain Level Mo River.
And the Ghost City Level Mo River that even second master and the rest didn’t dare to enter lightly.
As for the most terrifying Mo River, second master and the others didn’t mention it; it’s a place where being involved means doom even for their level of Saints.
Just the mention of the Ghost City Level Mo River had already put it on the list of forbidden places.
And only Grandmasters of the Tianren Sect dared to enter the Ming Domain Level Mo River.
This Mo River had existed for a long time; although it was not the responsibility of the Li Family to suppress it, they had some related materials. If one destroyed the Shadowy Ghoul Level Mo River, about ten Merit Points could be obtained.
Destroying the Ming Domain Level Mo River would yield about a hundred Merit Points.
But if one cleared the Ming Domain Level Mo River, then one could get ten thousand points!
As for what Merit Points are used for, no one knows at the moment. It is said that even the Divine General Mansion, which has suppressed the Mo River for generations, hasn’t been able to figure out the use of Merit Points.
And there are many rumors about Merit Points. Some say they can be exchanged with the gods after death for a reincarnated body, some say they can accumulate blessings for the afterlife, offsetting the karma of killing, and so forth.
But rumors end with the bigshots.
If both old masters say that no one has found the use of Merit Points, then it must be so.
For now, the only use seems to be similar to a “score” that provides a rough estimate of how many strong beings exist in the Dayu Realm, based on the amount of Merit Points.
Yes, existing ones.
If the person holding Merit Points dies, the Merit Points will disappear as well, and their name will be removed from the list.
Therefore, for many top forces, it’s a way to check if someone is alive or dead.
The two elders must be on the list too. I wonder what their ranking is… With a thought from Li Hao, the Gold Paper seemed to sense his intentions, and the characters changed, expanding into a list.
Merit Ranking.
The first name that caught his eye was: Wang Zhendong.
Merit Points: 9372.
The second person, Wang Tianchong.
Merit Points: 7328.
The third person was also surnamed Wang!
The fourth, the fifth… Li Hao glanced through and noticed, to his astonishment, that six of the top ten bore the Wang surname.
Continuing down, within the top thirty, there were fifteen of the Wang surname!
Li Hao’s expression changed subtly, his surprise laced with a tinge of heaviness in his heart.
Though suppressing the Mo River was the duty of the Wang Family, he couldn’t imagine how many lives of the Wang family members had been sacrificed for this responsibility.
Behind each name on the list, the Merit Points, which looked like mere cold, glittering numbers, represented countless life-and-death struggles and perilous encounters.
There is no difference between this and slaying demons on the border.
You should know that the Li Family defended the country by slaying demons on the border, with six out of nine sons from the last generation dying in battle, a truly extreme tragedy.
Now it seems that the other Divine General Mansions probably did not have it much easier.
After all, he could see so many from the Wang Family on the merit list; who knows how many more there are who had once been on the list but then disappeared?
This aging dynasty still enjoys a prosperous era, with peace within its borders, the common folk are healthy and content, young girls play on flower boats, young lads ride horses in the suburbs for leisure, peddlers carry their wares everywhere to sell, free from worries. Yet how many unnamed brave souls hold high this everyday scene of a thousand households’ lights in the darkness, cradling it silently?!
“This era of prosperity… it did not come easy,” murmured Li Hao to himself.
Deep in his heart, he felt a solemn reverence for the names listed above.
His gaze continued downward, yet he did not see the name of Second Elder; perhaps he used a pseudonym.
But Li Hao did see a nickname mentioned by Elder Feng: Bu Liuxing.
Ranked at number 35, with a conspicuous merit value of 3,201.
Li Hao couldn’t help but pause, almost certain that anyone who has earned such a high merit value and is called by this name has to be the Thief Saint!
“Elder Feng lives a hermit life and still has such a high value of merit…” Li Hao’s eyes became solemn.
Apart from Second Elder, Elder Feng had few friends.
Which means, his merit value was mostly earned through his own battles.
Alone in suppressing the Mo River.
However, Elder Feng has a poor reputation; he is the Thief Saint despised by the powers of the world.
The target of thousands of pointing fingers.
Why then would he bother taking risks to do such deeds?
Perhaps there is an answer, perhaps no answer is needed.
Li Hao fell silent, suddenly feeling that the fishing elder who joked and laughed with him was only familiar in interaction, but not truly understood.
A moment later.
He continued to look further down the list.
Soon, he saw another familiar name, Jian Wudao!
Incredibly, like the Wang Family, he used his real name.
You should know that apart from the Wang Family, most of the names above are pseudonyms.
For example, Thief Saint’s Bu Liuxing, who has the surname Bu?
Sword Saint… Li Hao’s eyes narrowed a bit when he saw his ranking, number 76.
With a merit value of 738.
This means he has at least destroyed seven Ming Domain Level Mo Rivers or cleared seven Regret Level Mo Rivers.
Li Hao had already realized that the merit list does not represent the full extent of one’s strength. For instance, the Thief Saint and the Sword Saint are both of the Four Stands Realm, but their merit values differ by four to five times.
There are also many other masters who most likely did not participate in the suppression of the Mo River.
After all, other than the rewards from the dynasty, dealing with the Mo River brings no other benefits. No one knows what use these ethereal merit values have.
The world thrives on interest.
One does not rise early without a benefit.
This also leads to a severe shortage of manpower at the Mo River Authority, creating a tense situation.
At the same time, it is also why he could rank within the top hundred of the Great Yu Dynasty by merely clearing a single Regret Level Mo River.
Li Hao sighed quietly, putting away the gold paper.
Suddenly, he felt a slight disturbance in his perception, noticing someone approaching.
Li Hao quickly realized what was happening.
Looking again at the divine temple in front of him, it was slowly sinking into the ground as if it was about to disappear.
This temple was connected to the Fengshan Mo River.
Now that the Mo River had disappeared, it was natural that the temple would also vanish.
Wait a minute.
Li Hao was suddenly alarmed, wondering if this Mo River was so simple to deal with, could it be the one that was meant for the test of the new disciples a year from now?
If it disappears now…
What will they test a year from now?
Oh, boy.
Isn’t this equivalent to ripping up the exam papers of these candidates in advance?!
Li Hao was speechless. He only wanted to teach that scholar how to paint, but he never intended to clear the barrier!
Time to slip away.
Li Hao quickly moved, vanishing from the spot in an instant.
As Li Hao fled in a hurry, in various parts of the world, many people were disturbed.