Chapter 103 - 102: Normal Mission
Chapter 103: Chapter 102: Normal Mission
「Three months passed quietly.」
In that time, he had managed to grasp a corner of the inner workings of this massive Sect.
The towering edifice of the Merit Hall, with its exchange list dazzlingly full of Magical Artifacts, Pills, and materials, was a testament to the Sect’s profound resources. But each item was also marked with a cold, hard number of Merit points. With his pockets empty, Lu Zhao could only look on and sigh.
The General Affairs Hall was even larger, with numerous branches, each with its own duties. Over the three months, he had familiarized himself with the locations and operational procedures of the various mission posts.
At the same time, Lu Zhao also learned that the Library Pavilion within the Cultivation Hall held the answers to his questions about his Cultivation Technique, along with records of insights and everything related to the Magic and techniques he practiced. However, without Merit to pave the way, the doors of the Library Pavilion remained, for the moment, closed to him.
Today, Lu Zhao decided he would wait no longer. He was heading to a mission distribution point in the General Affairs Hall to officially accept a mission and earn some Merit.
The mission distribution point was located in a side hall on the west wing of the General Affairs Hall, and it was bustling with noise. The hall was spacious, with several enormous jade discs embedded in the walls. Spirit Light flowed across their surfaces, upon which countless lines of mission information scrolled by.
A sea of people milled about below, mostly Outer Disciples at Mid-stage Qi Cultivation and a small number of Outer Sect Stewards. They were either staring intently at the discs, conversing in low voices, or squeezing their way to the counters at the front to turn in missions and receive their vouchers.
The air was a noisy mixture of sweat, dust, and the faint scents of Spirit Grass, ore, and other materials.
A few General Affairs Hall Stewards sat behind the counter, their expressions cold and numb, rapidly processing the scrolls spread before them and the Tokens, Jade Bottles, and Spiritual Materials handed over by the disciples, occasionally asking a question.
Lu Zhao squeezed his way in front of a jade disc, his eyes scanning the flickering text. The moment he saw it clearly, a ripple of speechlessness washed over him.
’No wonder the Jade Scroll said you’re guaranteed to complete them...’ he complained inwardly.
The most numerous missions on the jade disc were the time-consuming but extremely low-difficulty "manual labor" tasks:
"Assist the General Affairs Hall’s Logistics Bureau in finding a lost Tier One Middle-Grade Demon Beast, a ’Black Feathered Eagle.’ Provide a clue to its general location. Time limit: one month. Merit: Two."
"Refine one hundred jin of ’Red Copper Ore.’ Impurity removal must reach ninety-five percent or higher. Time limit: half a month. Merit: One."
"Tend the ’Clear Heart Herb Garden’ for ten days. Must cast the ’Spirit Rain Technique’ three times daily to keep the soil moist. Time limit: ten days. Merit: One."
"Sort one thousand jin of a mixture of ’Star Patterned Sand’ and ’Iron Essence Sand.’ Time limit: ten days. Merit: Two."
It was obvious at a glance that these tasks were designed for newly-joined Outer Disciples with low Cultivation and no special skills. They were purely a way to exchange time for a meager amount of Merit. For a Cultivator like Lu Zhao, who was at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer and possessed advanced Puppetry skills, the cost-benefit ratio was outrageously low.
Another category of missions explicitly required expertise in one of the Cultivation Hundred Arts:
"The Pill Hall’s ’Hundred Herbs Garden’ requires a Spirit Plant Cultivator proficient in the ’Spring Breeze and Rain Skill’ to care for three acres of ’Dew Flower’ for one month. Merit: Three."
"The Beast Taming Bureau’s ’Fire Cloud Steed’ stable requires someone who knows the ’Basic Beast Taming Technique’ to assist with feeding and cleaning for half a month. Merit: Three."
"The Artifact Hall’s ’Quenching Workshop’ requires a Cultivator skilled in a Fire Control technique to assist in smelting ’Cold Iron’ ingots for ten days. Merit: Four."
"The Array Hall’s ’Talisman Workshop’ requires a Tier One Lower Grade Talisman Master to create one hundred ’Basic Fireball Talismans.’ The success rate must be at least sixty percent. Merit: Six."
These missions offered slightly more Merit, but the entry requirements were also higher. They were clearly intended for Outer Disciples and Outer Sect Stewards who had mastered one of the Cultivation Hundred Arts.
Lu Zhao searched carefully but found no missions directly related to Puppetry.
There were a few missions related to Arrays, such as "Maintain ten ’Small Gathering Spirit Arrays’ in the Outer Disciple residences, repairing simple damage," and "Assist Array Hall disciples in laying the foundation for a ’Warning Array’." However, the requirement for all of them was "must be a Tier One Lower Grade Array Master or higher." Although Lu Zhao had a superficial understanding of Arrays, he was still a long way from being an entry tier array master and could only give up on them.
The last category of missions was small in number, but the rewards were relatively generous, usually marked as "Three" or higher:
"Travel to the outskirts of ’Luoxia Valley’ and collect one bottle of ’Purple-striped Bee’ Spiritual Honey. Note: The Purple-striped Bee swarm is quite aggressive. It is recommended to form a team or prepare adequate Defense. Time limit: five days. Merit: Four."
"Explore the shallow regions of ’Black Wind Stream’ and collect ten Yin Soul Stones. Note: The Yin Qi within the stream is heavy, and Low Tier Yin Souls may be wandering about. Time limit: seven days. Merit: Three."
"Clear out twenty demonized ’West Slope Iron Wire Vine’ plants. Note: The demonized vines possess great tenacity, and their sap is mildly poisonous. Time limit: seven days. Merit: Four."
These types of missions usually required leaving the safety of the Sect and venturing into the outer regions. They came with a certain degree of risk, but the danger level was manageable. Lu Zhao guessed that Outer Sect Stewards who lacked special skills and were unwilling to do manual labor would most likely choose this type of mission.
After letting his gaze wander over the jade disc for a moment, Lu Zhao had a plan. He walked to the counter and said to one of the Stewards, "Sir, I’ll take the ’Gathering Purple-striped Honey in Luoxia Valley’ mission."
Without looking up, the Steward passed him a Jade Token engraved with the mission number and a brief description. "Depart within three days, turn in the mission within five. If you exceed the time limit, the mission is a failure."
"Understood." Lu Zhao took the Jade Token.
「Three days later, on the outskirts of Luoxia Valley.」
On a hillside covered in a brocade of blooming flowers, an incessant buzzing filled the air. Hundreds upon thousands of fist-sized Purple-striped Bees, their stingers glinting with a dark purple light, darted busily among the flowers. They built their nests in the crevices of a steep cliff face, the entrance to which was heavily guarded.
Lu Zhao didn’t approach the hive. Instead, he found a hidden spot a hundred yards away. With a flick of his sleeve, three Ice Mouse Puppets silently scurried out.
Divine Sense Threads extended from his Sea of Consciousness, and the three Ice Mouse Puppets nimbly darted into the flower bushes, avoiding the patrolling Purple-striped Bees and silently closing in on the hive entrance on the cliff face.
An hour later, the three Ice Mouse Puppets returned. Astonishingly, each one’s sharp front claws were tightly clutching a piece of honeycomb twice the size of a fist, dark in color. Pale golden Spiritual Honey, so thick it was almost stringy and overflowing with Spiritual Qi, was slowly dripping from the damaged parts of the honeycomb.
Lu Zhao quickly took out a smooth, lustrous white jade bottle and carefully poured the viscous, golden liquid from the three pieces of honeycomb into it.
The pure Spiritual Honey quickly filled the Jade Bottle, emitting an alluringly brilliant Treasure Light. The total amount of Spiritual Honey from these three honeycomb pieces far exceeded the single bottle required by the mission. The moment the Jade Bottle was full, he immediately took out three more bottles of the same quality and carefully stored the rest of the Spiritual Honey.
Looking at the three extra bottles of top-notch Purple-striped Honey, the corners of Lu Zhao’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. ’This mission was practically tailor-made for me.’ The Puppets were immune to the bee swarm, their efficiency was astonishingly high, and the harvest far exceeded his expectations. In the Marketplace, these three extra bottles of Spiritual Honey were worth at least thirty Spirit Stones.
Returning to the mission point in the General Affairs Hall, Lu Zhao handed over the mission’s Jade Token and the Jade Bottle filled with Spiritual Honey. The Steward behind the counter inspected it, confirmed the quality was correct, and nodded. He took Lu Zhao’s Identity Token and, using a special Talisman Brush, dotted a tiny mark on a specific area on the back.
"The delivery is complete. To have your Merit tallied, you must go to the Merit Hall yourself," the Steward’s voice was flat as he handed the Identity Token back to Lu Zhao.
Lu Zhao said his thanks and immediately rushed over to the Merit Hall. Compared to the General Affairs Hall, the main hall of the Merit Hall was far more solemn and grand.
At a dedicated settlement window in the Merit Hall, a Steward inspected the delivery mark on his Token, then recorded in a thick Jade Scroll: "Outer Sect Steward Lu Zhao, completed General Affairs Hall Mission C-7, awarded Merit: Four." At the same time, Lu Zhao felt his Token grow slightly warm, as if a faint, imperceptible record of Merit had been added to it.