In truth, in the Ink Battlefield, merits were an extremely important resource. They could be used not only to exchange for cultivation resources and secret techniques, but also to commission powerful experts to offer personal guidance on one's cultivation. If one had enough merits, it was even possible to request an Ancestor's direct instruction.
Of course, such expenditure was something ordinary people could barely afford.
Similarly, the modifications being made to the Palace Artifact before Yang Kai required an enormous amount of merits. In virtually every squad and every company, so long as merits were plentiful, the Palace Artifacts they possessed had undergone significant alterations to better complement the fighting styles and strengths of their accompanying members.
Squad and company members were more than willing to spend their merits on such things. A well-modified Palace Artifact meant better survival odds on the battlefield when clashing with the Ink Clan, and it made killing enemies that much easier.
Yang Kai was new to all of this and had no idea about any of it, but Feng Ying knew it all too well. Since Yang Kai was the captain of Dawn, she spent his merits without so much as batting an eye.
Naturally, Yang Kai had no objections. He nodded and said, "It's fine. My merits aren't good for much anyway. Spending them here is exactly right."
Others might still need their merits to exchange for cultivation resources, but he did not. His reserves were more than enough to sustain his cultivation all the way to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven with plenty to spare.
As they looked things over, Yang Kai's expression suddenly became somewhat complicated. "But why are we building this warship? Didn't the Ink Clan retreat? Weren't they supposed to stay away for a hundred years?"
Feng Ying chuckled. "The Ink Clan did retreat, but they'll inevitably return. When that happens, this warship will come in handy. Besides, every time the Ink Clan pulls back, Biluo Pass sends personnel out to gather cultivation resources and scout for Ink Clan intelligence. All of that requires venturing deep into Ink Clan territory."
Yang Kai's eyes lit up at the words. "Gathering cultivation resources and scouting Ink Clan intelligence?"
Feng Ying nodded. "During all the years you were busy with the Ink Expulsion Warships, the Pass has been conducting these operations continuously, mostly on a squad basis. Since the Ink Clan suffered a crushing defeat not so long ago, they're still in a period of recovery. So as long as you don't push too deep into their territory, there's generally very little danger. And while gathering resources, if you happen to run into Ink Clan forces, you might even pick up some merits."
Yang Kai couldn't help feeling a spark of eagerness. "This resource-gathering and intelligence work — is it ordered from above, or can anyone volunteer?"
Feng Ying glanced at him sideways. How could she not know what he was thinking? She smiled softly. "Basically, as long as you submit an application, it won't be refused."
Yang Kai was immediately invigorated. "Have we already applied?"
"Who do you think we've been waiting for this whole time?" Feng Ying shot him an exasperated glare.
Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. "Good, good. Senior, please go submit the application then."
Feng Ying's smile slowly faded, replaced by a trace of worry. "Submitting the application isn't the problem. The question is whether the Corps Commander and the others will let us go."
"We won't know unless we try. If they really won't let us, I'll go have a word with the Corps Commander. There's no reason others can go but we can't." Yang Kai spoke, then suddenly remembered something. "Right, how many people have you recruited for our squad?"
After Dawn had been officially established as a formal squad, Yang Kai had thrown himself into the matters of the Qiankun Paradise and Qiankun Grotto-Heaven outside the Pass, and then without a moment's rest had been consumed by the Ink Expulsion Warship project. He had never had a chance to ask about any of it, leaving everything to Feng Ying to handle.
He had no idea how many people they had now, or who they were.
"The recruitment is nearly done. I'll have them come meet you later so everyone can get acquainted." Feng Ying finished speaking, then pointed toward the ship's cabin. "A spot's been reserved in there for you to set up the Qiankun Grand Formation. I've already prepared the materials. You can start on that first. Also, you should give this warship a name."
"Senior, you've thought of everything." Yang Kai reached out and took the space ring Feng Ying offered him.
A short while later, Feng Ying departed — presumably to submit the application for an external mission. Yang Kai remained on the plaza, then walked into the ship's cabin and began setting up the Qiankun Grand Formation in the pre-designated area.
Having spent the past several years setting up Qiankun Grand Formations on four hundred Ink Expulsion Warships one after another, Yang Kai had long since become thoroughly proficient.
In just a few days, the warship's Qiankun Grand Formation was fully in place. He then branded two large characters on the prow of the vessel.
Dawn!
Returning to Feng Ying's quarters, Yang Kai stored the warship in his own mini Great World.
Half a day later, the members of Dawn arrived one after another to meet their captain.
They were all familiar faces. Aside from Shen Ao, Ning Qizhi, and Qi Taichu — the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven masters who had fought alongside Yang Kai and Feng Ying all the way back from the heart of Ink Clan territory — the remaining thirty members were also drawn from that same group.
When Zhong Liang and the others had first appointed Yang Kai as Dawn's captain, they had declared that among anyone below the Eighth-Order within the Pass, Yang Kai could recruit whomever he wished, up to a maximum of fifty members. In other words, if Yang Kai wanted to, he could have forged Dawn into an all-Seventh-Order lineup.
But doing so would be a tremendous waste of talent. Operating a warship didn't require Seventh-Order Open Heaven — Fifth or Sixth-Order was more than sufficient.
After careful consideration, aside from the three Seventh-Order Open Heaven masters Yang Kai had previously named, Feng Ying had not recruited a single additional Seventh-Order. All thirty remaining members were Sixth or Fifth-Order.
The current composition of Dawn, including Yang Kai and Feng Ying themselves, stood at five Seventh-Order, twenty Sixth-Order, and ten Fifth-Order.
This was an extremely well-balanced configuration. It neither weakened Dawn's combat effectiveness nor wasted precious talent.