The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Chapter 510: Conscription Chapter 515: Chapter 510: Conscription “I am Shen Luo, a monk from the Spring and Autumn Pavilion in Chunhua County.” Shen Luo replied with a bow, introducing himself.

“Master is virtuous, admirable indeed. I am He Wenzheng, a clerk from the Ministry of War.” The man in the middle seemed to have never heard of the “Spring and Autumn Pavilion”, hesitated a bit, but still respectfully replied.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. He.” On hearing this, Shen Luo greeted him.

“I don't dare to claim any honorable titles. May I ask about your cultivation level, Master?” He Wenzheng hastily waved his hand and then asked again.

“Early Stage of Soul Condensation.” Shen Luo replied.

Upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashed across He Wenzheng's eyes, then he said:

“During this recruitment of monks, our arrangement operates according to the military system. As Master Shen is a cultivator of the Soul Condensation Stage, you can directly be promoted to the position of a 'Company Commander', leading ten cultivators who are below the Grain Avoidance Stage.”

“Company Commander? There is such a rank?” Shen Luo was somewhat surprised.

“Master may not know, five people make a team, with a monk at the Grain Avoidance Stage serving as a 'Team Leader', two teams make a 'Company', led by a Soul Condensation Stage cultivator as a 'Company Commander'. Three Companies make a 'Banner', led by a Nascent Soul Cultivator as a 'Banner Commander'. Each level commands the level below it, the hierarchy is clear, and instructions flow smoothly.” He Wenzheng explained.

“I see, thank you Mr. He.” Shen Luo nodded.

During the conversation, He Wenzheng sat down and proficiently took out an empty scroll, asking about Shen Luo's various situations, and began to write on it.

The recorded content was extensive, including Shen Luo's place of birth, cultivation history, and even the skills he practiced.

Upon hearing this, Shen Luo's eyebrows slightly knitted together, showing a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Please don't misunderstand, Master. Given the unpredictable dangers of this recruitment task, the reason we record such details is to deal with some unexpected situations, so as not to let the court's relief efforts go without a recipient.” Realizing that Shen Luo was showing impatience, He Wenzheng quickly explained.

Upon hearing these words, Shen Luo somewhat understood, but he couldn't help but ask:

“Why should a practitioner's skills also be registered?”

“No need for details, just briefly say the characteristics of the skills and what you're good at. It's only used for reference when forming teams, so the cultivators with compatible attributes can team up.” He Wenzheng quickly replied.

Listening to this, Shen Luo nodded in agreement to his explanation.

He Wenzheng secretly wiped a bead of sweat. Seeing that Shen Luo was reasonable, he felt somewhat at ease.

“Master Shen, in order to coordinate everyone uniformly, all the recruited cultivators will temporarily live in a separate garden owned by the government. Let me show you the map. There are still plenty of rooms available in Ya Ji Yuan. You can choose according to your preferences.” He then said.

“Please assist me in finding a more secluded residence.” Shen Luo said.

“Okay, please wait a moment, Master.”

After saying that, He Wenzheng searched for a while and pointed out several secluded locations on the map, allowing Shen Luo to choose.

Shen Luo picked an independent two-story building in the southwest corner, took the key, registered, and prepared to leave.

“Master, don't rush. This is your waist badge. Whenever you kill a demon, your merit points for carrying out the task will be recorded on this. With this, you can collect the corresponding rewards.” He Wenzheng quickly stopped him, took out a palm-sized token from the drawer, and handed it over.

Shen Luo took it and saw that it was somewhat similar to Lu Huaming's badge, yet different. There was an additional piece of dark green crystal inlaid on it, and an extra character 'Lin' was carved on it.

“How does this small token record merit points?” Shen Luo asked.

“After the Immortal Master kills a ghost, all you need to do is store a strand of the Yin Sha Ghostly Qi on this token to record a merit point. The more Ghostly Qi stored, the more merit points are recorded, and the more rewards can be exchanged later. However, these are just petty merit points, the main merit is obtained by performing tasks. This is settled on a team basis, with team leaders and company commanders earning about 20% more than regular members.” He Wenzheng explained.

“What exactly are the rewards?” Shen Luo asked again.

“Under normal circumstances, merit points can be used to exchange for Immortal Jade. But if the Immortal Master has any special requests, such as wanting to buy land or fields for the family, it is also possible. In addition, the Great Tang National Treasury will also dole out some treasured spiritual materials and magical instruments as rewards, but the merit points required are even higher. The specific situation will be known when Mr. Immortal goes to the exchange place later.” He Wenzheng explained.

Shen Luo nodded, then suddenly thought of something and asked, “Where do I accept these tasks?”

“For this recruitment, everything is done according to the rules of the military. You don't have to accept tasks, they are directly assigned by the military according to the difficulty of the tasks. When it's time to execute tasks, your token will react, you just need to gather here. Under normal circumstances, unless there are special circumstances, Immortal Masters are not allowed to refuse the summons.” He Wenzheng explained.

“I see. I understand.” Shen Luo nodded, said goodbye, and left.

He hung the token around his waist and left. Following the map's instructions, he went directly towards Ya Ji Yuan.

Along the way, the government officials who saw the token on his waist didn't stop him. Instead, they saluted him respectfully.

Ya Ji Yuan was located to the southwest of the Great Tang Dynasty Government. Shen Luo quickly followed a stream that ran through the garden towards the southwestern corner, and found his small building.

The small building was quite secluded, surrounded by no walls, it was just a lonely wooden structure.

Upon entering, Shen Luo found that everything inside had been tidied up. On the desk was an unlit three-legged incense burner, but a faint scent of agarwood lingered in the room.

Feeling a bit tired, Shen Luo surveyed the furnishings in the room. After setting up array techniques on the first floor, he headed directly upstairs.

The second floor was a quiet room. Besides a desk in front of the window, there was only a soft couch against the wall, and nothing else.

Shen Luo sat on the couch and began to meditate and regulate his breath.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. His whole body's energy and spirit had finally returned to its fullness.

With a wave of his hand, a porcelain jar appeared in front of Shen Luo. Inside was the Milk Spirit Pill for healing injuries, which he planned to use again for the Xuan Yin Opening Vein method.

This time, he didn't opt for any collateral meridians but tried to open up the Hand's Yang Ming Large Intestine Meridian of the Twelve Channels.

Compared with the collateral meridians, the Twelve Channels have more points where energy flow takes place, and are longer and more essential to the human body, hence posing greater potential risks.

But having several experiences from his dream and one successful attempt previously gave Shen Luo quite a bit of confidence.

He tapped on his Qiankun Bag, and the silhouette of the Ghost General once again floated out. The black light on his body was more solid, and his breath was even more stable. It seemed as if he had become somewhat stronger than before.

“It seems your strength has grown?” Shen Luo asked, sweeping the Ghost General with his divine sense.

“Yes, Master. I don't know why, but after you almost completely drained the Yin Sha Qi from my body last time, I replenished it much faster than before, and after this back and forth change, I found that my ghostly body seems to be more stable.” The Ghost General replied with a fist and cupped hand salute, unable to hide his joy.

“Oh, really?” Shen Luo was also a little surprised.

“Absolutely true! Master… I wonder when you will practice yesterday's method again?” the Ghost General cautiously asked.