Eternal Life through Drawing Lots

Dawn broke in the east as the sun ascended. Its brilliant rays pierced through the clouds, illuminating all of creation.

Fang Yang led his soldiers, riding out with Lu Yao and the other members of the White Feathered Eagle Tribe to complete a series of mandatory missions across the land.

The reason Fang Yang had become so busy was all because of the ’Dao Seed,’ Sen Yue.

Sen Yue was the type who remained still, but when he moved, he struck with the swift ferocity of a thunderbolt.

Ever since Sen Yue had subjugated Qingkong and absorbed his grand army, he had abandoned his previously defensive posture.

On the contrary, Sen Yue went on the offensive, forcing the ’Dao Seeds’ Lin Shenghuang and Yuxuan into a reluctant alliance to resist him.

And just like that, a great war erupted once more on the front lines.

Under these circumstances, Fang Yang’s daily routine, aside from practicing offensive techniques to advance his cultivation realm, now included leading the White Feathered Eagle Tribe to complete a series of mandatory missions and accumulate enough war merits.

Otherwise, the White Feathered Eagle Tribe under Fang Yang’s command would be disbanded and reclaimed, and even the manifestation of fortune he had refined would gradually dissipate.

At the same time, Fang Yang also wanted to seize this opportunity to strengthen the White Feathered Eagle Tribe.

This was partly for the White Feathered Eagle’s growth, but more importantly, for his own Fire Eagle Illusion!

’A Bronze Tribe requires a powerhouse strong enough to battle a Thousand Beasts King to stand guard—a Tier Four Great Cultivator.’

’A Silver Tribe needs an expert who can contend with a Ten Thousand Beasts King, meaning a Tier Five Great Cultivator. The most powerful Silver Tribes might even have a Tier Six Saint presiding over them!’

’The Golden Tribes, which are the eight great Golden Clans, are the bloodline descendants of the Thunder Saint Venerable and the undisputed masters of the Xuan Domain.’

’And the power above the Golden Tribes is Longevity Heaven.’

’Longevity Heaven is the orthodox lineage established by the Thunder Saint Venerable, the place that truly rules the Xuan Domain. Its members are almost all of the Golden Clan bloodline. Every person who enters must possess the cultivation of a Tier Eight Saint, putting them on par with the Great Xuan Dynasty’s Changsheng Pavilion!’

’It’s impossible for the White Feathered Eagle Tribe to become a power on the level of a Golden Clan or Longevity Heaven. I just hope that one day, the White Feathered Eagle Tribe I command can be promoted to a Silver Tribe.’

All sorts of thoughts flowed through Fang Yang’s mind.

He glanced back at the White Feathered Eagle soaring in the sky, a flicker of anticipation for its growth in his eyes.

To be honest, Fang Yang was still a bit baffled as to how the White Feathered Eagle had inexplicably become bound to the White Feathered Eagle Tribe, almost like a totem spirit.

He really couldn’t see what was so remarkable about it.

The White Feathered Eagle was just a Pet Beast with Tier Two potential, and a simple-minded, foolish one at that. Yet reality was proving to be so bizarre!

’Could it be that the White Feathered Eagle has some ability I don’t know about?’

Time passed, and in a flash, dusk had fallen.

In the twilight of the setting sun, Fang Yang led Second Uncle Fang and Lu Yao to War Merit Camp A-7 to report on the day’s missions and select new ones for tomorrow.

War Merit Camp A-7.

Luminous Pearls hung high overhead, casting a soft, white glow.

Below them, a crowd of people bustled about, constantly interacting with the tallying officers.

"Hello, here is our war merit token for today." Lu Yao stepped forward and began to handle the formalities with the officer.

Meanwhile, Fang Yang tilted his head up to gaze at the missions displayed on the watery light screen before them.

[Drive out the Green Insect Swarm from Yuyu Grassland. Reward: one minor merit. Available to unranked tribes and above.]

[Travel to Yunling Swamp and slay the pack of Four-legged Earth Dragons. Reward: three minor merits. Available to Bronze Tribes and above.]

[Follow the Cold Flood Dragon Banner as the vanguard on an expedition to the Snow Frost Mountain Range. Reward: one major merit, two minor merits. Available to Silver Tribes.]

[...]

Fang Yang studied the list of group missions, each assigned at the tribe level, and pondered silently.

’The White Feathered Eagle Tribe was originally a Bronze Tribe, but after suffering a great calamity, it was instantly demoted to an unranked tribe.’

’And an unranked tribe needs to earn three minor merits every day. If we fall short, we have to make up the difference, or else face severe punishment.’

’These minor and major merits are incredibly important; it’s impossible to survive under Sen Yue’s grand army without them.’

’In a way, this currency system for a special period complements the original Yuan Stone system quite well. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the fighting strength of Sen Yue’s army is so impressive.’

"Ah Yang."

Suddenly, Second Uncle Fang motioned for Fang Yang to look to his left.

To the left stood two young masters dressed in embroidered silken robes.

Fang Yang saw them.

Fang Yang’s eyes narrowed, especially when he saw the one with his head held high, looking down his nose at everyone.

This person was named Qingluo, a disciple from the same Qing clan as the ’Dao Seed’ Qingkong.

Coincidentally, Qingluo was the same age as Fang Yang. He possessed a ’B-Grade’ Wind Blade Spirit Body and was currently at the high-level of Tier One.

For some reason, this Qingluo fellow had been acting maliciously toward Fang Yang these past few days.

He kept snatching missions from Fang Yang, forcing him to spend more time completing tasks, which sometimes even interfered with his daily cultivation.

Just now, when Fang Yang saw Qingluo use his advantage in war merits to snatch away another mission he wanted, his expression remained calm.

But inside, Fang Yang’s killing intent intensified. ’Obstructing my path to the Dao... you’ve chosen the path to your own death!’

Meanwhile.

In a dim corner. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Watching Fang Yang leave, Qingluo smirked and said with disdain, "A man has to know his own limits. A toad shouldn’t dream of eating swan meat."

There is no love or hate without reason.

The reason Qingluo held such malice for Fang Yang was his deep dissatisfaction with the close relationship between Fang Yang and Sen Hui.

He believed Fang Yang had stolen something that should have been his!

In truth, Qingluo preferred Sen Wei over Sen Hui, but he didn’t dare approach Sen Wei, who carried herself like a high and mighty empress.

His original plan was to secure Sen Hui as a backup, then focus all his efforts on approaching Sen Wei and winning her heart.

Moreover, he had known Sen Wei and Sen Hui since childhood. They had attended the same school and learned from the same tutors; one could even say they were childhood sweethearts.

Unexpectedly, because of the Battle of Xuan Yu, he had been assigned to ’Dao Seed’ Qingkong’s army, while Sen Wei and Sen Hui went to ’Dao Seed’ Sen Yue’s army. This caused his plan to go awry, and in the end, Sen Hui had even given her heart to Fang Yang!

This was something Qingluo had never expected and found absolutely unbearable!

Greed took root in Qingluo’s heart. He was determined to compete with Fang Yang for war merits and outperform him in every respect.

He firmly believed that if he was superior to Fang Yang in every way, Sen Hui would realize that he was the more suitable man for her.

"Ah Luo, I still don’t think Sen Hui will like you, even if you are stronger than Fang Yang in every way.

It feels like you’ve lost your mind. This isn’t like you,"

said the other youth in embroidered robes, Qingmang.

Qingmang possessed an ’A-Grade’ Electric Python Spirit Body and was currently at the peak of Tier One.

It was rumored that Qingmang was considered the number one expert of his generation in the Changkong clan, second only to Sen Wei.

Qingmang had a Saint-level ancestor in his direct lineage, and it was thanks to this ancestor that he was able to evolve his Spirit Body from B-Grade to A-Grade.

However, even this Saint-level ancestor was powerless to help Qingmang’s constitution advance to a Sacred Body.

This was because it required a Saint Tier treasure for the Foundation Establishment, and the slightest mistake would result in the descendant’s death—a process with virtually no chance of survival.

"Brother Mang, our situations are actually different," Qingluo replied after a moment of silence.

Qingluo didn’t have a Saint-level ancestor in his direct line, and being in the same generation as Qingmang, he was fated to be overshadowed by Qingmang’s brilliance.

As for him, Qingluo, he wanted to take Fang Yang’s place—to be liked by Sen Hui and valued by Sen Yue.

If it were truly just a simple matter of affection, why would he go out of his way to target Fang Yang?

In the end, everyone had their own schemes.