Magical artifacts are ranked from one to nine, with the first rank being the lowest and the ninth the highest. Once you surpass magical artifacts, you reach the legendary spiritual treasures! Just by opening the outermost twelve minor Sumeru worlds, treasures poured out like a tide—one spiritual treasure and five ninth-rank magical artifacts!

On the third level, there were another twelve eighth-rank magical artifacts, and on the fourth level, twenty-eight seventh-rank magical artifacts!

Below that were piles of treasures of various ranks, stacked like mountains. The captains and battalion commanders had already extricated themselves from the mountain of treasures, their eyes filled with greed. Whether they had helped themselves to a few items was anyone’s guess. With their skills, they could easily evade the notice of the common soldiers on the city walls.

Brian Cooper glanced enviously at the precious items flying through the air, swallowed hard, and said, “Looks like we really might get a share of the leftovers.”

The garrison at Huangtai Fortress was the Seventh Town of the Northern Frontier Army, with more than fifteen thousand soldiers on the roster. Even if the treasures were divided layer by layer, there still wouldn’t be enough to go around. But now it seemed... these heaven-sent divine objects were truly terrifying—just opening twelve minor Sumeru worlds was enough.

“In that mountain of treasures below, there are also fifth- and sixth-rank magical artifacts. If we each get one, we’ll be able to fight back and forth in the Seven Kill Division’s ranks on the battlefield.”

In Huangtai Fortress, aside from the fortress itself, the highest-ranked magical artifact among the soldiers belonged to the commander Proud Tiger Soldier: the “General’s Sword of Loyal Valor Bestowed by the Sovereign,” which was seventh-rank.

The commander’s noble title was Loyal Valor General, which was the lowest rank among all general titles in the Hongwu Dynasty.

A seventh-rank magical artifact could only be placed on the fourth level of the treasure mountain!

Proud Tiger Soldier soon arrived, and the soldiers of Huangtai Fortress were not far behind him. After all, Proud Tiger Soldier had previously promised that everyone would get their fair share.

After Proud Tiger Soldier, the deputy commanders, the other battalion commanders of the five battalions, and some other officers also arrived. Upon arrival, Proud Tiger Soldier gazed obsessively at that jade Qiong beast for a full quarter of an hour. Barring any surprises, that spiritual treasure would be his.

But the treasure distribution the soldiers were hoping for never happened. The Tiger Roar Hall guarded the treasure mountain, with dedicated personnel in charge of sorting and organizing. For a full seven days, not only were all the truly valuable treasures in the air taken away, but even the mountain of treasures on the ground gradually disappeared.

Jason Clark and his four Netherhound Ghost Dogs grew just as restless. “What does the commander mean by this? Does he want to swallow all the treasures himself? I’m afraid the brothers in the battalion won’t stand for that.”

Ethan Hill and Eric King also looked displeased, but Brian Cooper was confident. He shook his head gently to reassure everyone: “Proud Tiger Soldier won’t do that. In other towns, maybe, but here at Huangtai Fortress, we have the Wolf Battalion. If he angers this group of toughs, even as a Mingjian Realm grand cultivator, he wouldn’t escape death. He wouldn’t take that risk.”

Ethan Hill and the others couldn’t help but nod. Brian Cooper’s reasoning made sense.

Brian Cooper looked toward the main command camp in the fortress and said slowly, “I’m afraid it’s because of disputes over the distribution—there’s been open and secret fighting, with everyone seeking compromise.”

Seven days later, news finally arrived: each battalion was to prepare for the treasure distribution! And it was made clear: it would all depend on luck.

Proud Tiger Soldier ordered the battalions: “These heaven-sent treasures are all gifts. We should be grateful and not distinguish between high and low. But people are worldly, always judging strength by rank. Since the mountain of treasures is hard to divide one by one, everyone will rely on their own luck—enter the treasure mountain and pick one item. No more than one. Whatever you get is up to fate.”

Chapter 0006: The Ancient Zhou Heaven Coin (Part 2)

The commander’s speech made everyone in the battalions secretly curl their lips. You, old man, took the most precious spiritual treasure for yourself, and now you’re telling everyone that heaven’s gifts shouldn’t be ranked, and that we should be grateful for whatever we get—of course you’re grateful! If you gave me that priceless spiritual treasure that could drive the entire Hongwu Dynasty mad, I’d be grateful from the bottom of my heart too.

But everyone was used to the superiors’ high-sounding rhetoric. As long as he kept his promise, the soldiers would put up with it.

However, the process of dividing the treasures was full of tension and not nearly as “harmonious” as the commander’s order suggested.

The rank-and-file soldiers were always unruly. Among the five main battalions, plus the Tiger Roar and Wolf Battalions, who would enter the treasure mountain first? The order was crucial—if you went last, all that was left really would be “scraps and leftovers.”

At this moment, the Wolf Battalion’s commander showed his strength. The Wolf Battalion didn’t have many men, but they were all desperados, and in the end, they were the first to enter the treasure mountain.

Ten people at a time, with only half a cup of tea’s time. If you didn’t choose in time, it was considered a forfeit. So basically, you had to go with your gut—grab whatever seemed right as soon as you saw it. There was no time to carefully ponder the function of each treasure.

Brian Cooper’s squad, together with another, made up ten people, but ended up blocking each other at the entrance, neither side willing to give way. Jason Clark rudely shoved the other group, making them stumble. The two groups faced off, and Ethan Hill really lost his temper. Spiritual energy burst from his body—no one knew when he had already broken through to thirty-seven ignited acupoints—and he forcibly suppressed the other side.

“Hmph!” The five of them swaggered in, with Brian Cooper still at the rear, warily keeping an eye on the other five.

Once inside, he reminded everyone, “Those guys probably hold a grudge. If we run into them on the battlefield later, everyone be careful.”

Eric King said indifferently, “That’d be perfect—old Clark can take the chance to kill them.” He himself couldn’t be bothered with such things.