35: Chapter 35: A Generous Reward Establishes Authority; Cold Iron Appears in the World

Early the next morning, the square in front of Qingyuan Terrace was packed to the brim.

A great battle, capturing the horses, establishing the cavalry battalion—in just a few short days, everyone on Blue Moon Island felt as if they were being violently dragged forward by an invisible hand, without even a moment to catch their breath. Many had not yet recovered from the shock of the Purple Lightning Sea Cavalry Battalion taking shape when they suddenly received the Lord's order this morning, summoning all Centurions and above, all Dao soldiers, Outer Port gunners, and Workshop backbones to the scene.

Everyone knew that he was about to address the public.

High upon the terrace, Lu Changyuan stood in black robes, with over a dozen opened iron chests lined up behind him.

Inside the chests was nothing other than neatly stacked Spirit Stones. Their spiritual light reflected the morning glow, causing the breathing of the crowd below the terrace to grow noticeably heavier.

Su Qingli stood to the side, holding the compiled merit ledger, her clear voice carrying across half the square.

"Rewards will be distributed according to merit for the Inner Sea Great Battle, the Outer Sea Horse Capture, and the initial establishment of the Sea Cavalry Battalion."

"All gunners, laborers, and Workshop backbones who have recorded merits will receive a round of military pay today. Dao soldiers and the Sea Cavalry Battalion will receive double. Land deeds and compensation for the families of the fallen will be recorded separately and will not be announced here."

As soon as she finished speaking, an uncontrollable commotion rippled through the crowd below.

This was not some empty promise hung on a wooden board like in the past; it was cold, hard cash, with chests opened right before their eyes.

Lu Changyuan had always known that if you wanted people to risk their lives, you couldn't just rely on the phrase "I won't mistreat you in the future." Especially with only three months left until the beast tide, any empty words at a time like this were far less convincing than a chest of Spirit Stones slammed down in front of them.

When the first chest was flipped open, even the veteran Dao soldiers in the very front row couldn't help but swallow hard.

Lu Hu was the first to step forward.

Su Qingli announced his merits from the ledger: "For the Inner Sea Great Battle, commanding the ballista positions, holding the main line, and slaying routing enemies. For the previous Outer Sea Horse Capture, being the first to lasso a Purple Lightning Seahorse and leading the entire squad to cover the retreat. A total of two first-class merits."

"Rewarded fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, plus one qualification to exchange for a foundation establishment pill, recorded as the top merit of the Sea Cavalry Battalion."

The square fell silent for a fraction of a second, before exploding into a low uproar.

Fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones was a fortune that many Qi Condensation Cultivators would find difficult to amass in a lifetime.

Not to mention, it was accompanied by a qualification to exchange for a foundation establishment pill.

Lu Hu himself was stunned for a breath, before cupping his fists deeply and saying in a low voice, "Thank you, Lord!"

Next were Shi Jian, Leng Feng, the head of the Outer Port gunners, the master artisan of the Workshop, and several veteran Dao soldiers who had withstood the impact at the reef-strewn Outer Sea...

Each reward was handed out without the slightest hesitation or perfunctoriness. Those with great merits received heavy rewards, those with average merits received solid rewards, and those who made mistakes were completely left out. By the end, the eyes of those in the square who had been holding their breath began to turn red with excitement.

For they finally realized that when the Lord of Blue Moon Island handed out rewards, he was truly not just putting on a show.

Only after the last batch of Spirit Stones was distributed did Lu Changyuan slowly speak.

His voice wasn't loud, but it managed to twist the fervor in the square, which had just been ignited by the Spirit Stones, into something far tougher.

"Taking these rewards doesn't mean you go back and sleep with them in your arms."

"Three months from now, when the Scarlet Beast Tide arrives, whether you can still hold onto these Spirit Stones, land deeds, women, and houses will depend on whether you can stay alive and standing."

The square fell dead silent.

"I, Lu Changyuan, do not use empty words to trick you into risking your lives," he continued. "For those who survive, Dao soldiers will be allocated spiritual fields. Those who have achieved top merits will be granted wives, residences, and a secure future. As for the Mortal gunners and Workshop backbones, as long as you survive the beast tide, you will likewise be freed from your low status, and your children will have priority in joining the Dao soldiers, the Workshops, and the schools."

"But if anyone still harbors illusions when the real fighting starts, thinking of hiding in the back or shrinking to the side, I will show no mercy."

"Blue Moon Island now has ships, ballistas, sea cavalry, and a city."

"What we lack next are people who dare to stake their lives."

These few sentences, as they fell, burned in people's hearts even more than the Spirit Stones from before.

Those below who had just touched their actual rewards initially only thought the Young Lord was generous. But after showing his generosity, laying out so clearly "what you can get if you survive" instead completely ignited their desperate, death-defying spirit.

Especially the fifty men of the Sea Cavalry Battalion; fire practically burned in their eyes.

For they understood best right now that they were the sharpest blade of Blue Moon Island's future. And the sharper the blade, the more they wanted to be worthy of thicker armor and greater merits.

Below the terrace, someone soon began to beat heavily on their armor—first one person, then a whole crowd.

Those who had once dug trenches, carried timber, kept watch, and manned ballista positions at the foot of Qingyuan Terrace felt, for the very first time so clearly, that they were not abandoned pawns left to die in the Outer Sea. Instead, they were truly risking their lives for a foundation that would provide them a path forward and hand them a blade.

Even the veteran Dao soldiers, who were usually the most calculating about gains and losses, no longer stared solely at the Spirit Stones in the chests. Instead, they frequently cast their gazes toward the Outer Port. For everyone knew that if the Cold Iron Mine could truly be secured, then the next gear weighed down upon them would no longer be old leather armor and broken scale shields, but a suit of heavy armor that could help them survive several more times in the beast tide.

This fervor was not shouted out.

It was forged, inch by inch, by Spirit Stones, military merits, and a path to survival.

Just as the Aura in the square was pushed to its peak, Leng Feng suddenly strode quickly through the crowd from the periphery and went straight up the terrace.

His face still bore the wet salt of the sea breeze; he had clearly just returned from the Outer Sea.

"Young Lord," he said in a low voice. "The exploration of the Eastern Trench is complete."

Lu Changyuan's gaze darkened. "Speak."

Leng Feng did not try to hide it from anyone, speaking directly: "The mine is there, and there is a lot of Cold Iron. The bottom of the trench and the rock strata on both sides are buried with Cold Iron Veins. If we mine it all, let alone sea armor for fifty riders, it would be enough even for over a hundred suits of heavy armor."

The fervor in the square, which had just been ignited by the rewards, was instantly pushed a notch higher by these words.

A hundred suits of heavy armor.

For a newly rising island force, this was practically equivalent to completely replacing their bones.

But Leng Feng's next sentence immediately pressed everyone's hearts back down.

"But the vein is not empty."

"Coiled inside the trench is a Sea Demon Commander at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. It resembles a giant lizard with bone fins growing on its back, surrounded by an extremely heavy cold baneful Aura, and the sea demon pack numbers at least a thousand. It treats the entire trench as its nest, and the Cold Iron Vein is right beneath its belly."

"I only took a quick glance from the periphery and was forced back thirty yards by the cold wave it spat out. If I had explored any further, it would likely have pursued and killed me."

For a moment, the sound of breathing in the square grew faint.

Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

Over a thousand sea demons.

A scale like this was no longer something the current Blue Moon Island could bite off just by risking their lives.

Even though they had just defeated the Four-Family Coalition and plundered the Merfolk's seahorse herd, no one was stupid enough to think they could already pin down and beat a great demon of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage. That wasn't bravery; it was delivering meat to the trench themselves.

Lu Hu gritted his teeth and stepped forward first: "Young Lord, if it's truly worth this price, I will take the Purple Lightning Sea Cavalry along with another batch of ballista positions, and first try to whittle down the Outer Sea demons layer by layer..."

"Whittle them down until when?" Su Qingli interrupted him. "Deep water in the trench, cold baneful Aura, over a thousand sea demons, plus a commander at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage—how many lives are you going to use to fill that gap? Even if you really manage to wear down and kill several hundred sea demons in the end, once the beast tide arrives, how much blood will Blue Moon Island have left to bleed?"

Her words were merciless, but not a single word was wrong.

The wild frenzy that had just ignited in the square was also forcefully suppressed by these words.

Only now did everyone realize that while the treasure was indeed immense,

this time, the thing standing behind the blade's edge was far beyond what Blue Moon Island could swallow on its own right now.

Lu Changyuan stood on the high terrace, but his expression had barely changed from beginning to end.

He was neither enticed by the Cold Iron Mine like those below, nor did he show the slightest hint of backing down because of the words "Late Foundation Establishment Stage."

For from the moment the Jade Slip had revealed the third line of text, he had already thought it through.

This was indeed something Blue Moon Island could not swallow by itself.

But who said that if they couldn't swallow it, they had to leave it for others to eat?

He slowly raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to quiet down.

Once the entire square fell silent again, Lu Changyuan finally spoke: "It is normal that we cannot beat it."

"If we had to rely on ourselves to face everything head-on, then words like 'Family,' 'main branch,' and 'clans' would lose all meaning."

As he spoke, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a purple-gold Transmission Flying Sword.

The Flying Sword was barely a foot long, flowing with light all over, and its hilt was engraved with the direct lineage emblem of the Lu Family of Yunzhou. At a glance, it was clearly not something an ordinary urgent message could compare to.

Many below the terrace were seeing a transmission item of this level for the first time, and they couldn't help but hold their breath.

Lu Changyuan flicked his finger against the blade, his gaze as cold as a knife.

"Did you truly think this seat is a Loose Cultivator with no background?"

"If we can't beat it, then we let those who can beat it come."

The purple-gold Flying Sword rose at his command, turning into an extremely bright stream of light that shot straight toward the heavens.