Chapter 53: The Brilliance Behind the Curtain
The ground around him began to tremble gently.
Li Hao froze, scanning his surroundings. In the distance, fragmented mountains and the crimson sky appeared to gradually fade.
"Cleared the stage? Is the Fengshan River of Death about to disappear?!"
Li Hao was dumbfounded. Everything was happening too fast, leaving him no time to react.
The ground was sinking, and even the small thatched hut he stood in began to collapse amidst the shaking. Without hesitation, Li Hao stepped forward and vanished, reappearing at the central theater stage in the village.
Pulling out the golden paper, Li Hao swiftly placed it within the eerie temple.
Suddenly, dazzling golden light burst forth from the temple, releasing a shimmering water-like barrier that enveloped him.
Standing within the barrier, Li Hao watched as the village outside experienced apocalyptic upheaval. The violent quakes tore everything apart, rendering it all a blur before the entire scene vanished.
He was back in the narrow mountain cave.
The ancient, small temple also dimmed as the golden light faded, becoming utterly ordinary. The two decaying statues of deities bore faint, enigmatic smiles.
The golden paper, like a thin thread, flew back into Li Hao's palm, emanating a slight warmth.
Li Hao felt as though an unfamiliar divine soul-like aura had fused into his body.
As his thoughts moved, the golden thread emerged in his palm, transforming into the golden paper once more.
On the golden paper, three lines of small characters appeared:
Name: Chong Er
Merit Value: 100 (Ranked 99 in the Great Yu)
Achievement: Cleared the Fengshan River of Death.
...
“So, this is Merit Value? It doesn’t seem particularly special.”
Li Hao scrutinized the golden paper. Recalling the conversations between Second Master and Feng Lao, he remembered that the River of Death battlefields were divided into five levels, each drastically different. The stage he had just experienced was likely the lowest, categorized as a Fragmentary Remnant-level River of Death.
Destroying a River of Death grants Merit Value. However, if one clears it entirely, causing the River of Death to vanish forever, the reward is exponentially higher—hundreds of times more than simply destroying it!
In other words, had he merely killed the black-robed scholar and destroyed the village, he would only have earned a small amount of Merit Value.
Beyond Fragmentary Remnant-level Rivers of Death, there were higher levels: Yin Fiend-level, Netherworld-level, and the fearsome Netherworld City-level, which even Second Master and Feng Lao dared not approach lightly.
As for the most terrifying Rivers of Death, even beings at the Title Saint level like Second Master would perish if caught within them.
Even Netherworld City-level Rivers of Death were designated as forbidden zones.
Netherworld-level Rivers of Death were dangerous enough that only Grandmasters of the Heaven and Man Realm dared to enter.
The Rivers of Death had existed for countless ages. Although the Li Family’s duty wasn’t to suppress the Rivers of Death directly, they had some related records. For example, destroying a Yin Fiend-level River of Death could yield around 10 Merit Value points, while destroying a Netherworld-level River of Death could grant roughly 100 points.
Clearing a Netherworld-level River of Death, however, would grant 10,000 points!
Yet the purpose of Merit Value remained a mystery. Even the Tianzhao Divine General Mansion, which had suppressed the Rivers of Death for generations, hadn’t deciphered its utility.
Rumors about Merit Value abounded. Some claimed it could be exchanged with gods for reincarnation after death; others said it could accumulate blessings for the afterlife or counteract karmic sins.
But rumors were meaningless in the face of true authority.
If both the elders claimed no one had yet discovered the purpose of Merit Value, then it had to be true.
For now, its only apparent use was as a kind of "point system." The quantity of Merit Value roughly indicated the number of powerful individuals currently active within the Great Yu.
Emphasis on "currently."
If someone with Merit Value died, their points would vanish, and their name would be removed from the list.
For top factions, this made Merit Value a tool to monitor the life and death of others.
The two elders were likely on the list as well, though Li Hao didn’t know their ranks. A thought occurred to him, and as if responding to his mind, the characters on the golden paper shifted, revealing a leaderboard:
Merit Leaderboard
The first name caught his attention: Wang Zhendong.
Merit Value: 9,372
Second place: Wang Tianchong.
Merit Value: 7,328
The third was also a Wang!
Fourth, fifth... As Li Hao scanned further, he noticed that six of the top ten bore the surname Wang.
Looking beyond the top ten, he found that 15 of the top 30 were also Wangs!
Li Hao’s expression changed slightly. Shocked, he felt a heavy weight settle in his heart.
While the Wang Family bore the responsibility of suppressing the Rivers of Death, the sacrifices they made were immeasurable.
Each number on the leaderboard represented not just a gleaming golden digit but also countless deadly battles and life-or-death struggles.
It was no different from the demon-slaying battles at the border!
The Li Family had lost six of the nine siblings from the previous generation to defend the borders, a tragedy unmatched in its brutality.
Now, it seemed other Divine General Mansions had fared no better.
For every Wang name on the leaderboard, who knew how many more had once appeared there only to vanish again?
This aging dynasty still thrived in its twilight years. The Great Yu remained peaceful. Its citizens lived tranquil lives, its girls enjoyed flower boats on rivers, and its youths rode horses in the countryside. Vendors called out their wares in bustling markets, free from worry.
This ordinary, everyday peace... was upheld by countless nameless heroes, their bones buried in the shadows, silently cradling the light.
“This prosperity… came at a great cost,” Li Hao murmured to himself.
His heart filled with solemn reverence for the names on the list, Li Hao continued scrolling. However, he did not find Second Master’s name. Perhaps it was hidden under an alias.
But Li Hao did spot a name that Feng Lao had mentioned in passing: Bu Liuxing.
Ranked 35th, with a Merit Value of 3,201.
Li Hao was taken aback. He could almost be certain that someone who had accumulated so much Merit Value and used such a name had to be none other than the legendary Thieving Saint!
“Feng Lao, always a lone wolf, has such a high Merit Value…” Li Hao’s expression grew serious.
Aside from Second Master, Feng Lao had few true allies.
This meant that his Merit Value was almost entirely earned through his own battles.
Alone, he had stood against the Rivers of Death.
Yet Feng Lao’s reputation was less than stellar. Known as the Thieving Saint, he was despised by the world’s powers.
Reviled by countless.
Why, then, would he willingly risk his life to undertake such a task?
...
Li Hao fell silent, realizing that the old man who had once laughed and joked while fishing with him might be someone he knew far less about than he had assumed.
After a moment of quiet reflection, he continued scrolling.
Soon, another familiar name surfaced: Jian Wudao.
Unlike others, this name was not an alias but his actual name.
Most entries on the leaderboard, excluding those from the Wang Family, were aliases. For example, the Thieving Saint’s moniker, Bu Liuxing, wasn’t tied to any real surname.
The Sword Saint…
Li Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Jian Wudao’s rank: 76th, with a Merit Value of 738.
This meant that he had either destroyed seven Netherworld-level Rivers of Death or cleared seven Fragmentary Remnant-level Rivers of Death.
It became clear to Li Hao that the Merit Leaderboard didn’t fully reflect a person’s strength. For instance, the Merit Value difference between the Thieving Saint and the Sword Saint was four or five times, even though both were at the Fourth Pillar Realm.
There were likely many powerful individuals who had never participated in suppressing the Rivers of Death.
After all, dealing with Rivers of Death brought no tangible benefits other than small rewards from the imperial court. The elusive nature of Merit Value made it an unappealing pursuit for most.
The world moved for profit, and few would act without gain.
This shortage of manpower left the River of Death Division in dire straits, exacerbating the severity of the situation.
It also explained how clearing a single Fragmentary Remnant-level River of Death allowed Li Hao to rank within the top 100 in the Great Yu.
Li Hao sighed softly, tucking the golden paper away.
Suddenly, his senses sharpened as he detected someone approaching.
His eyes flickered back to the temple before him. It was sinking slowly into the ground, as though vanishing along with the Fengshan River of Death it was connected to.
Now that the River of Death was gone, the temple naturally followed suit.
Wait.
Li Hao froze. Could this relatively simple River of Death truly have been the one meant as a trial for new recruits in a year’s time?
If it was now gone…
What would the recruits test themselves on a year from now?
He was stunned.
Had he just shredded their exam papers a year in advance?
Speechless, Li Hao could only shake his head. All he had wanted was to teach that scholar how to draw, not to accidentally clear the trial!
Time to leave.
Without hesitation, Li Hao summoned his power and disappeared from the scene in a flash.
...
As Li Hao made his hasty retreat, ripples of commotion spread across the lands.