The entire war base housed a staggering one hundred thousand cultivation caves. After Zhang Fan and his companions selected five adjacent caves, they bid farewell to True Immortal Mu Shan and parted ways.
Inside the cave, Zhang Fan produced the war token and easily refined it with his magical power.
Four characters, "Five-Star Warrior," materialized on the rhombus-shaped token. Zhang Fan realized with a start that the war base was constantly collecting and updating information on its warriors. Although his strength had only been assessed as a Four-Star Warrior, his performance against True Immortal Tie Hou had clearly demonstrated Five-Star Warrior capabilities. Thus, without requiring further assessment, the war base had automatically updated his information.
Zhang Fan gripped the black war token. A chilling sensation emanated from it. Though palm-sized, it weighed no less than ten thousand jin, forged from precious cold iron essence and gold, making it nigh-indestructible even for cultivators of the Divine Transformation stage.
He spent nearly a full day within the cave, digesting the intelligence acquired from True Immortal Mu Shan. Afterward, he summoned Nan Zun, Xue Mo, and the Pang brothers.
"Pang Qing, engage in a duel with Nan Zhou. Pang Yun, face Xue Mo," Zhang Fan instructed.
Despite their bewilderment, none questioned Zhang Fan's arrangements. They dutifully stepped onto the dueling platform and began their spar. In terms of strength, Pang Qing and Pang Yun were merely One-Star Warriors, while Nan Zun and Xue Mo were Two-Star Warriors. Naturally, the Pang brothers were no match for them. However, Zhang Fan had orchestrated this not for the Pang brothers to aim for victory, but to learn how to better cope with crises and prolong engagements when at a disadvantage.
The war base was vast, yet populated entirely by Divine Transformation cultivators. Information spread with astonishing speed. Within a day, excluding teams already engaged in adventures within the star river, over seventy percent of the cultivators had heard rumors about Zhang Fan. The news of his immediate victory over Tie Hou upon entering the war base, acquiring ten immortal treasures, naturally sparked envy, and more so, jealousy among many. Consequently, as soon as Zhang Fan appeared on the dueling platform, numerous cultivators took notice. Within minutes, hundreds of Divine Transformation cultivators had gathered around him. Most came merely to make their acquaintance and seek favor, while others, with peculiar gazes, observed him from a distance, their thoughts unknown.
"Fellow Daoist Shi Jue, I heard you defeated True Immortal Tie Hou a few days ago and won ten immortal treasures. How about we have a spar?" a middle-aged man clad in silver armor emerged from the crowd, fixing his gaze on Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan glanced at the man. Through the mutual sensing of their war tokens, he detected the man's evaluation as a Five-Star Warrior, his aura revealing him to be in the late stage of the Spirit Refining realm. A wry smile touched Zhang Fan's lips; another one seeking a beating.
"Very well. The stakes are twenty immortal treasures. Do you dare?" Zhang Fan's eyes locked onto the silver-armored man, his voice cold.
"Twenty immortal treasures?" Zhang Fan's words completely stunned the approaching man. Though his cultivation realm was higher than Zhang Fan's, he lacked absolute confidence in victory. Facing a wager of twenty immortal treasures, he dared not risk it and shamefully retreated from the scene.
Zhang Fan chuckled, "Esteemed colleagues, I am newly arrived at the war base. I presume many wish to spar and exchange techniques with me. I welcome challenges from any Five-Star Warrior. However, the wager must be twenty immortal treasures."
Zhang Fan's declaration sent ripples of excitement through the crowd. Five-Star Warriors were not uncommon in the war base, and Zhang Fan's words struck many as exceedingly arrogant. Within the entire war base, One-Star to Three-Star Warriors constituted the vast majority, accounting for ninety percent of the total population. Of the remaining ten percent, over ninety percent were at the Four-Star to Six-Star Warrior level. By this proportion, there were thousands of Warrior-level cultivators in the war base. In this light, it was indeed as Tie Hou had said; Five-Star Warriors were not particularly remarkable, easily found in abundance. Yet, Zhang Fan dared to proclaim his readiness to accept challenges from all Five-Star Warriors, with a wager of twenty immortal treasures. This news spread rapidly throughout the war base, as even for Six-Star Warriors, twenty immortal treasures represented a considerable amount of military merit.
In the war base, immortal treasures, immortal elixirs, and various rare and exotic treasures could be exchanged for military merit. Conversely, one could also use military merit to acquire immortal treasures, though the war base was quite rapacious. For instance, the most common immortal treasure could be exchanged for three thousand military merit points within the base. However, to obtain the most basic immortal treasure using military merit, at least three thousand nine hundred points were required, an increase of at least thirty percent from the original value. Nevertheless, many were willing to exchange immortal treasures for military merit, as their primary objective in the star-field battlefield was to enhance their strength, not to collect immortal treasures; a few readily usable immortal treasures were sufficient. Military merit, in contrast, held far greater utility. It could be used to acquire immortal elixirs and medicinal pills, as well as divine abilities and secret techniques, all of which were more crucial for cultivators heading into battle.
"Master is fleecing people again. I wonder if anyone will fall for it this time," Nan Zun, on the dueling platform, chuckled faintly upon hearing Zhang Fan's words. While most cultivators viewed Zhang Fan's actions as overly audacious, Nan Zun felt his master was still too conservative. For any cultivator below the Divine Transformation stage, be they Five-Star or Six-Star, they would generally be defeated one after another.
"Master is harvesting leeks again. If any more foolish individuals come to offer immortal treasures, I will definitely ask Master for one, no matter what," Xue Mo Jiao thought to himself. Although Nan Zun and Xue Mo Jiao were engaged in combat, the Pang brothers' strength was indeed a tier below theirs. Even without exerting their full power, they were still dominating the Pang brothers.
"Tie Hou, that True Immortal Shi Jue has issued a statement, claiming he can accept challenges from all Five-Star Warriors, with the only condition being a wager of twenty immortal treasures," True Immortal Chi Huo, upon receiving this message, quickly found True Immortal Tie Hou.
True Immortal Tie Hou was in his cave, meditating and adjusting his mindset. Over the course of a day, his inner turmoil had gradually subsided. While the loss of ten immortal treasures stung, it was not enough to crush him. His composure, which had been restored, flared up again at True Immortal Chi Huo's words. His eyes widened, "You're not tricking me?"
"Why would I lie? The news is already all over the place. I estimate that all Five-Star Warriors in the war base will receive this message today. Hurry and have True Tiger Immortal make a move; those who act fast get it, those who are slow miss out!" True Immortal Chi Huo urged.