chsdbacks 9. Joining and Benefits
9. Joining and Benefits
Qiao Lin struck up a brief conversation with the Nascent Soul True Person before him and quickly learned the other's name: Kui Mu True Person, a second-claw inner guard of Yinglong Guard.
Apart from a very small number of reserve officers, the Yinglong Guard was mainly divided into the Inner Guard and the Outer Guard. The Outer Guard was equivalent to a guest minister, with fewer restrictions and lighter tasks but lower pay; the Inner Guard, on the other hand, swore allegiance to the Xia Emperor and signed a service contract, but received better treatment.
"Young friend Qiao Lin, our Yinglong Guard was established by His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty. Its main purpose is to monitor the world and kill those who have committed crimes."
Master Kui Mu explained,
"Because we have the full support of the ruler of this world—Emperor Xia—our Yinglong Guard is incredibly powerful. Even the Anchan branch is always guarded by several Void Returning Immortals and Loose Immortals, and we have a wealth of resources, treasures, cultivation techniques, and supernatural abilities. Joining our Yinglong Guard is absolutely the right choice!"
The terms "Returning to Emptiness Immortal" and "Random Immortal" alone are enough to explain a lot; they represent the foundation that can support a super sect.
"What you say is very true. I also felt that it would be better to cultivate with the Yinglong Guard by my side, so I joined the Yinglong Guard early on!" Qiao Lin agreed, following the other person's idea.
"Young friend, you're right. Let's test your strength and cultivation first!" Before they knew it, Master Kui Mu had led Qiao Lin to a side hall of a palace.
Inside the side hall, there was a huge, lifelike statue of a dragon, as if it were alive. Its dragon eyes were bright and piercing, and Qiao Lin could even feel an extremely strong pressure through those eyes.
As Qiao Lin stared at the Yinglong statue in front of him, the Yinglong statue seemed to be staring back at Qiao Lin.
"This is the statue of Yinglong Daozu, the most respected elder brother of my Xia Emperor. It is mainly used to test the situation of those who join the Inner Guard. Now that Yinglong has not shown any hostility, it seems that you, young friend, did not join the Yinglong Guard with any ill intentions!"
Upon hearing Master Kui Mu's words, Qiao Lin couldn't help but ask, "This... the statue of Dao Ancestor Yinglong, can it see through people's hearts?"
"That's natural. That's the Dao Ancestor... Young friend, you may not know what the Dao Ancestor is, but in short, he is a super great being that we can look up to for eternity," said Master Kui Mu.
"Young friend, now, place a drop of blood on the dragon claw. No need for essence blood, ordinary blood will suffice!"
Qiao Lin nodded. In the Desolate Era world, if someone takes your essence blood, they might be cursed or subjected to some kind of secret technique, which could cause your body to suffer misfortune. Ordinary blood, on the other hand, is fine.
Squeezing out a drop of ordinary blood, Master Kui Mu examined it, then smiled and nodded: "Indeed, it is a being who has achieved the Innate Realm through cultivating the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram. Thus, there is no problem with its qualification to join the Yinglong Guard reserve force."
"Is that all?" Qiao Lin asked curiously, a look of doubt on his face.
"This step is merely to test your eligibility to join the reserve force," Kui Mu said, then took out a piece of animal hide.
"Young friend, take a look at this contract first!" Master Kuimu handed the contract to Qiao Lin.
Qiao Lin looked at the contents of the parchment and quickly understood that it was a pledge of allegiance.
The main content is that Qiao Lin pledges allegiance to Emperor Xia, joins the Yinglong Guard, abides by the rules and arrangements of the Yinglong Guard, and must become an inner guard of the Yinglong Guard after reaching the Myriad Manifestations Realm, and is forced to carry out missions without being allowed to refuse.
Out of respect for the strong, once Qiao Lin becomes a Returning Void Immortal, the contract will automatically become invalid, and at that time he can choose to leave Yinglong Guard.
The requirements are very strict. Before reaching the Void Returning Realm, one must almost entirely accept the assignments of the Yinglong Guard. Except for a few hours of cultivation, one must carry out various tasks and cannot refuse.
However, the advantage was that after giving up their freedom and military strength, the Xia Emperor treated them very well.
Take Qiao Lin's Yinglong Guard reserve as an example.
Every ten years, one receives a reward of 100 catties of Yuan Liquid and 10 points of merit.
Yuan liquid is a basic cultivation resource for Qi Refining cultivators. It can be absorbed to increase cultivation level. At the same time, it is also a universal currency. As for the purchasing power of one hundred catties of Yuan liquid... it can buy the lives of three to five late-stage Purple Mansion Divine Demon Body Refining cultivators in the outside world!
Qiao Lin's sixth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram only reaches the late stage of the Innate Realm. He needs to cultivate the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram to the ninth level to reach the late stage of the Purple Mansion Realm.
One hundred catties of Yuan Liquid could buy the lives of three to five late-stage Purple Mansion Divine Demon Body Refinement cultivators like this!
Of course, the "divine and demonic body refinement" mentioned here does not refer to cultivators who cultivate the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram. There are many methods of divine and demonic body refinement, but the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram is the strongest and most perfect. It requires a high level of talent, and cultivators who have successfully cultivated it are much more valuable.
Furthermore, a level-one magic weapon used by cultivators at the Myriad Manifestations Realm can be bought for about ten catties, and this hundred catties of Yuan Liquid represents the entire fortune of many cultivators at the Myriad Manifestations Realm.
This clearly demonstrates that it is a great fortune.
"You may not be able to judge the value of merit, but you should be able to understand the value of one hundred catties of Yuan Liquid, right?" Seeing Qiao Lin's surprised look, Master Kui Mu showed a very calm smile, as if he was used to it.
Let alone a cultivator like Qiao Lin with no background, even a disciple of a major sect would be astonished to see such treatment.
He was shocked by such treatment back then; otherwise, why would he have been so willing to work for Yinglong Guard?
The Black and White Academy, hailed as the top sect in Anchan City, requires at least the seventh level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram to enter. In reality, most cultivators only have a good chance of entering the academy when they reach the ninth level of the Crimson Bright Nine Heavens Diagram. This kind of sect only provides its Purple Mansion disciples with a mere 100 catties of Yuan Liquid every ten years.
Qiao Lin essentially received the same treatment as the super geniuses of the Black and White Academy.
Qiao Lin nodded honestly. He knew that joining Yinglong Guard would bring good treatment, but he didn't expect it to be this good.
"But I must tell you, fellow Daoist, what is truly precious is those ten points of merit!" The smile on Master Kui Mu's face faded, revealing a solemn expression. He disdained the Yuan Liquid, but he emphasized the word "merit" very heavily.
"When you see the cultivation techniques and treasures later, young friend, you'll understand that merit is ten or even a hundred times more precious than primordial liquid!"
Qiao Lin nodded: "Once I sign this contract, I'll be considered a member of the Yinglong Guard and a reserve member?"
"Yes, you will need to swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao and sign a blood pact to become a reserve member of my Yinglong Guard!"
"good!"
Qiao Lin immediately declared, "I, Qiao Lin, swear under the Heavenly Dao to abide by the contents of the blood pact. If I violate it, I beg the Heavenly Dao to punish me!"
After making a vow to Heaven, Qiao Lin signed his name with his blood.
Oaths to Heaven are common in the world contracts of the Desolate Era. Once violated, one will be annihilated by Heaven, suffering a tragic end with little power to resist.
Seeing Qiao Lin's decisiveness, Master Kui Mu laughed heartily: "Young friend Qiao Lin, from this moment on you are a reserve member of my Yinglong Guard! Come, I'll show you the treasure trove of my Yinglong Guard; it will absolutely drive you crazy!"