127: Division of spoils

Chu Yuan had originally thought the most valuable item in the Secret Realm was the Legacy of the Three-Tailed Lizard Clan, having tasted the sweetness of it before.

However, after some explanation from Yuan Yang and Wang Ying, he realized that was not the case at all.

Not to mention that the Legacy of the Three-Tailed Lizard Clan had long been mastered by Great Qin; even if it hadn't, it was nothing special, as the grade was simply too low...

It was much like Great Qin's own Martial Arts Legacy, which hadn't been worth much when they first entered the Outer Heaven Battlefield.

It was only after the birth of the Ninth Realm, through constant refinement and development, that it gradually became precious.

In that case, the Blood Beast Clan... their ancestors were once wealthy?

Then how did they end up in such a state? Even the low-level clansmen had lost all intelligence?

...

There were no unexpected incidents on the return journey to Dawn City.

It was the Ninth Legion's territory, after all, and during non-wartime periods, few people would come here seeking death.

The first order of business upon returning to the barracks was not to submit the mission, but to divide the spoils...

Everything gained during a mission belonged to the individual and did not need to be turned over to the Ninth Legion; that had always been the rule.

Even if there were regulations requiring it to be turned over, the lack of effective supervision meant it was essentially left to one's conscience, which would likely only penalize the honest.

Therefore, the powerhouses of that time simply decreed that it did not need to be turned over, and the Ninth Legion would not interfere with how a squad distributed its internal spoils.

As for how the Ninth Legion maintained its operations, where its resources came from, and how rewards and punishments were determined... that was entirely the credit of the military merit System.

Regardless of how many resources you harvested, if you needed stronger Cultivation Techniques or Martial Skills, you had to honestly convert those resources into military merit and then purchase them!

Or, if the resources you harvested were useless to you and you wanted higher-level martial arts resources... those, too, were obtained through military merit exchange!

This System had a clear hierarchy.

For instance, Yuan Yang had collected a pile of Fifth Realm and even Fourth Realm martial arts resources this time, which were naturally useless to him; thus, he would convert the resources he collected into military merit to trade for Sixth Realm resources.

Meanwhile, the items he turned in would be used by the Ninth Legion to cultivate lower-level Martial Artists.

In this way, it progressed layer by layer, all the way up to the Ninth Realm...

Those of the Ninth Realm could be considered the controllers of Great Qin and no longer required the Great Qin's resources; everything they needed for their cultivation was obtained through their own fighting and seizing!

Conversely, whatever they let slip through their fingers would often be crazily snatched up by those of the Eighth Realm, who would have to pay vast amounts of resources and military merit to obtain it!

The resources turned over by the Eighth Realm could then support a large group of Seventh Realm, and so on...

As for the so-called dividing of the spoils, since everyone had acted alone this time, there was not much to divide.

They simply took out a portion to serve as the squad's share, organized the rest, and had Li Mengru help convert the unused items into military merit.

The squad's share was for the purpose of maintaining the squad's needs.

For instance, the Energy Gathering Array and equipment needed for daily training.

And the Medicinal Pills and equipment consumed during missions... these things certainly could not be paid for out of pocket, otherwise, it would be inevitable that some might slack off.

Although the members of the Bell Tower Squad were close and had spent a long time together,

there were some things that were best prevented in advance...

Seeing everyone else pour out the contents of their storage rings, Chu Yuan also began to clear out his own.

"Eh? Chu Yuan, why did you collect so much junk?" Wang Ying asked, holding back a laugh as she looked at the pile of Third Realm and even Second Realm resources on the ground.

Chu Yuan rolled his eyes just like she had. "What's the rush... everyone, step back."

Then, without waiting for the others to react, a massive pile of Medicinal Pills, weapons, protective gear, and plants surged out like a tidal wave!

It piled up into a small mountain in the spacious training room,

even blocking the light from the ceiling...

"..."

"..."

"Your storage ring is this big?"

"It's alright..."

The group was momentarily surprised, but then didn't think much of it.

It was just a slightly larger storage ring, right? They could achieve the same effect by wearing dozens of them... Only Li Mengru's face darkened instantly.

She was responsible for the squad's chores, and this many low-level resources... it would be a huge hassle to inventory! How long would it take to exchange them all?!

But the next moment, she had no time to be melancholy.

Two small piles of Medicinal Pills she had never seen before shimmered under the lights, emitting a dazzling, intoxicating glow!

She couldn't help but lean in closer, feeling the thrilling, trembling aura radiating from them!

"Chu Yuan... what are these!?"

"These are the finished products after blood-sacrificing the Three-Tailed Lizard Clan," Chu Yuan explained. "These Blood Pills are for strengthening the life origin;

and these spirit nurturing pills are for nourishing the Soul and strengthening Mental Energy."

"Blood-sacrificing!?" Yuan Yang's pupils contracted, and he glanced at Wang Ying. "So, is this why you had a Breakthrough?"

"Yeah..."

After a moment of silence, Li Qi suddenly smiled at Wang Ying. "You scared me; I thought your talent had improved. Turns out you were just basking in the glory of a big shot... Now I'm relieved."

"Go to hell..."

"Chu Yuan, what do you mean by this?" Yuan Yang asked again. He didn't think Chu Yuan had just taken them out to show off.

Chu Yuan said directly, "Let's divide them up."

Yuan Yang lowered his gaze, pondered for a moment, and then spoke. "This... being able to blood-sacrifice the Three-Tailed Lizard Clan is your own ability;

we didn't encounter fewer Three-Tailed Lizards than you, but we didn't have the ability to perform the blood-sacrifice. That is our own problem.

So... this shouldn't be counted as loot. Talking about dividing it up is inappropriate. Put them away."

Chu Yuan laughed. "You can't look at it that way. Wang Ying refines Medicinal Pills and heals injuries; Feng Hou repairs and maintains equipment... these are also their own abilities. Does that mean every time we use their abilities, they have to demand extra conditions?

The captain is in the Nirvana Realm, which is also your own ability. Does that mean every time we go on a mission, you should charge them a protection fee?"

Yuan Yang shook his head. "It's not the same..."

"What's different? It's nothing more than you thinking that since I just joined the squad and haven't really relied on everyone... you don't want to take advantage of me."

Chu Yuan looked at their awkward expressions and continued, "So, according to the captain's logic, we are just in a transactional relationship, not teammates who can entrust their lives to one another?"

Yuan Yang's face darkened instantly. "Hey, you kid, why is your tone so unpleasant... when did I ever think we weren't teammates? I've never seen someone so eager to give away money... fine, let's divide it!"

"Hehe, then I won't be polite~" Feng Hou chuckled and was the first to grab a handful of Blood Pills and a handful of spirit nurturing pills. Immediately after, he fished a key out from his person and tossed it to Chu Yuan. "I don't have as much skill as you... this is for you."

"What is this?"

"A big toy. Take it and play with it."

Chu Yuan casually pressed the unlock button on the key. In the corner of the training room, a low, wild engine roar erupted...