Chapter 377: The Sword Medal

The villa's living room had a somewhat serious atmosphere.

Shi Qianzhang and Liu Yunzhi stood with their hands behind their backs. They tried their best to appear calm, yet they inevitably looked a little stiff. On the tea table before them, cups and plates were scattered in disarray, and the lingering smell of wine still hung in the air.

Several elderly men with graying hair, dressed in military uniforms, sat upright on the sofa beside Chi Ling. Wang Sheng sat to the side, receiving their concise but forceful praise. One said he was courageous beyond comparison, while another said he embodied the spirit of dedication and sacrifice, serving as a role model for cultivators of the new era.

Wang Sheng felt slightly awkward. At the time, he had been only a second away from Yaoyun sending him back home. In truth, there had been no lofty spirit of "holding the line even if it meant death" or "sacrificing himself." He had merely done his best until exhaustion forced him to fall back.

Nevertheless, he chose not to correct this beautiful misunderstanding. Explaining himself would be troublesome, and the elders would certainly just dismiss it as modesty. As the forefathers once said, excessive humility was no different from true hypocrisy.

One of the old men rose to his feet and fixed his gaze on Wang Sheng. Smiling faintly, Wang Sheng quickly stood as well.

"Daoist Master Fei Yu, in just a year since you broke out of the Earth Qi Seal, you have made outstanding contributions to the stability of the Hua Republic's surrounding regions. We have witnessed all of it, and we fully acknowledge your merits. Many times, however, we did not know how best to commend you.

"We know that Daoist practitioners care little for fame or fortune. Nevertheless, we have to present you with honors befitting the extraordinary service you have given to our nation and our people, especially now. You alone rescued thousands of hostages, averted a catastrophic crisis, and dealt a heavy blow to the corrupt cultivators abroad. All of your accomplishments have to be rewarded! Chi Ling?"

"Sir," Chi Ling answered respectfully and extended her hand to the back.

A young girl quickly placed a small embroidered box into her grasp. Afterward, Chi Ling walked over to Wang Sheng and held it out before him, drawing Wang Xiaomiao, Shi Qianzhang, and Liu Yunzhi's curiosity.

Puzzled, Wang Sheng accepted the box and opened it. His lips curved into another faint smile. Inside was a medal about five centimeters long and three centimeters wide. Its design resembled a small shield, cool to the touch as if made from an extraordinary material. At its center hung a tiny ancient sword. Faintly concealed behind the sword was the character for "Hua," which was only visible from a certain angle.

Turning the medal over, he saw a grain-sized protrusion at the top, which appeared to be a chip. A cleverly crafted pin was at the center, and under it were two engraved lines of small characters.

The Sword of Hua – Wang Sheng Fei Yu

"Make sure to keep this medal safe at all times," Chi Ling said. "It is not only a symbol of honor. It also grants you extremely high authority within the Special Investigation Unit, the Special Affairs Unit, and the Special Warfare Unit.

"From now on, you may at any time use this medal to gain access to the Special Investigation Unit's intelligence network, consult the core secrets within their archives, request direct support from the Special Warfare Unit wherever you are, and draw upon official reserves of cultivation resources. You will also be free to make use of all items that the Cultivation Research Institute invents.

"In the years ahead, only six of these medals will ever be awarded. You are the first to be given one. We thought your master would be the first to earn this medal, yet you rose so swiftly that you've even outshone him."

Wang Sheng deeply asked, "Can't you give it to my master first?"

With a stern face, Chi Ling admonished, "This is no child's play. The decision has gone through many rounds of deliberation."

Wang Sheng accepted the medal calmly and carefully tucked it into his pendant. Chi Ling then inquired whether he wished to hold an official awarding ceremony. After considering for a moment, he declined the seemingly grand proposal.

The authority that the medal represented was already the finest reward the state could bestow, and the freedom to use official cultivation resources and access all research from the institute was worth far more than any amount of Spirit Stones or alchemical pills. An empty ceremony was unnecessary.

Liu Yunzhi and Shi Qianzhang could not help but be genuinely envious. There was no need for lemons this time, though. Wang Sheng had rightfully earned the medal, and his solid record of achievements served as proof. As his close friends, they had no reason to complain.

After presenting the medal, the elders each offered Wang Sheng words of encouragement before rising to leave with Chi Ling.

While escorting them out, Wang Sheng noticed that his mistress appeared somewhat unwell, as though she had been forcibly steadying herself. He asked her if she had any further duties scheduled. If not, she could rest at the villa for a while.

"I can rest for a bit right now," Chi Ling replied softly, "but I still have to return and keep watch since circumstances abroad may change at any time. I'll rest at the headquarters."

It was rare for her to be so warm to anyone but Qing Yanzi. She regained her usual composure right after, though.

She waved at Wang Sheng and the others. Accompanied by several young aides, she then boarded a new type of aircraft waiting nearby. Over the past decade, the Hua Republic's technology had advanced even further.

Back in the living room, Shi Qianzhang, Liu Yunzhi, and Wang Xiaomiao eagerly crowded around. Their eyes shone brightly.

Smiling brightly, Wang Sheng took out the medal once more and allowed the three to examine it.

"The Sword of Hua!" Shi Qianzhang tilted his head back and sighed with heartfelt emotion. "My life's goal from now on is to earn a Sword of Hua Medal myself!"

Liu Yunzhi snorted. "If you die heroically in some incident, you'll probably receive a martyr's medal. Strive to serve the nation and the people, not just brawl for glory."

"Little Liu, can't you at least wish me good luck?

Heh,

if I really did sacrifice myself for the nation, would you stay by my grave for thirteen years, just like Mu Wanxuan?"

"How can you be so shameless?"

"

Hahaha...

Wait, why are you blushing? Little Liu, are you—"

"Get lost!"

Ignoring the two Daoists scuffling, Xiaomiao asked excitedly, "Brother, can I take a photo of it? Can I tell our parents?"

Still smiling, Wang Sheng answered, "Of course. There is nothing shameful about it. Just remind them not to post it online."

"Yay!" Xiaomiao replied sweetly. Hugging her phone, she began snapping photos of the medal from every angle.

Wang Sheng soon started to ponder what he could do with his new privileges, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had already been enjoying nearly all of the benefits it offered.

The very first thing he did was send a message to Mou Yue for a phone that the investigation unit could not forcibly connect to calls. With such a phone, he'd be able to finally enjoy the freedom of making and accepting calls himself. He also wanted two new Celestial Combat Garments, two treasured swords from the Light-Edge series, and some rare materials for forging flying swords.

His Celestial Combat Garment had been destroyed in his fight against the Dark Faction's four experts, but not before proving its impressive defensive control. Having two more as spares could come in handy someday.

Meanwhile, Yaoyun had reforged Spiritless and refined it through the tempering of the Earth Qi Seal. It had already become a true immortal treasure, complete with a sword spirit. Naturally, it was no longer comparable to the original Spiritless. Still, it felt far more reassuring to have extras at hand.

The grandmasters' earnest teachings stated that when a book was needed, one would regret how little they had studied. When death was at one's doorstep, they would regret the lack of treasured artifacts.

No one was in the mood to drink anymore. Wang Sheng estimated when his senior sister and the others would return. Together, they tidied the living room and began planning a sumptuous late-night feast, which doubled as a celebration for Wang Sheng's accomplishments and new medal.

They divided the tasks equally. Xiaomiao took charge of cleaning and scrubbing, while Shi Qianzhang ran out to purchase food and wine. Liu Yunzhi quietly removed his Daoist robe, tied back his long hair, put on an apron, and began humming an ancient tune while moving about the kitchen with calm precision.

The sight was as beautiful as a painting.

Still recovering from his injuries, Wang Sheng simply sat on the sofa and directed their work. He also made use of his new authority for the very first time. With his phone, he entered the Special Investigation Unit's core intelligence archive to search for certain "news" that had always sparked his curiosity.

His findings unsettled him.

Excluding the Special Warfare Unit, the Hua Republic currently had over six million two hundred thousand cultivators. The vast majority were unaffiliated practitioners. Due to the spread of the Universal Cultivation Method, only those who had reached the Spirit Convergence Realm were counted.

The flame that the Fire Sage had ignited long ago never got extinguished.

Now that cultivation had become public and standardized, the immense number of cultivators was no longer an uncontrollable influence. Most practiced the Universal Cultivation Method just like ordinary people and did not cause too much disturbance.

The true foundation of the cultivation world still lay in the Daoist heritages. There were over sixty thousand cultivators registered to Daoist sects. Cultivators registered to cultivation clans were around one hundred forty thousand.

The sixty thousand cultivators registered to Daoist sects were the core of the Hua Republic's cultivation world. After all, most true experts were among them. The cultivation clans' one hundred forty thousand were often just considered unaffiliated practitioners.

Scanning the data further, Wang Sheng learned that every Daoist heritage had many outstanding disciples and masters who were not on the three rankings, yet all were recorded in the Special Investigation Unit's files. Since small frictions often arose between the heritages, easing those was now the investigation unit's primary duty.

Wang Sheng muttered to himself, "The population of the ancient Hua Republic was never that large back when the Heavenly Court ruled over the earth. They even had to open the Small Nether Realm and use reincarnation as a way to expand their numbers.

"I wonder what Emperor Ziwei would think if he learned that we have several million cultivators now. If they had this many cultivators in ancient times, the Heavenly Court probably would've had a chance to win."

He shook his head and then browsed for other secrets of interest. Before he realized it, several powerful auras had rushed over and descended outside the villa. He quickly closed the intelligence archive, rose to greet them at the door, but before he could take two steps, the door was pushed open.

Xi Lian stormed inside, laughing loudly and arrogantly, "

Hahaha!

I have returned laden with spoils! Little Fei Yu, Little Miaomiao, come quick! I've brought you countless treasures!"

Behind her, Mu Wanxuan's starry eyes filled up with delight. She unconsciously sped up until she was standing right in front of Wang Sheng, raised her hand, and pressed it lightly against his forehead.

Outside the door, Qing Yanzi gestured politely, inviting inside the Celestial Master, Qing Long, and Yuan Pu Zhenren, whom Wang Sheng hadn't seen at the Aukuili Mountains.

Wang Sheng hurriedly pulled his senior sister forward to greet them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Xi Lian proudly pulling out a heap of Crane-Spirit Treasure Pouches from her storage artifact and showing off to Xiaomiao and Shi Qianzhang.

At that moment, he remembered that he still had a nuclear bomb in his storage artifact.

Uuuhh... What am I supposed to do with that?