74 Sect eradication mission. (2/2)
Li Yang put the items into his own interspatial ring, returning to quietly resting and preparing for tomorrow. Once the light of the sun shone in through the window of his room, he opened his eyes and took a quick shower. He put on a fresh robe and left the house, a voice greeting him the moment he closed the door behind him.
”Good morning, Junior Brother Yang.”
Li Yang glanced at the one that greeted him, finding two youths, one male and one female, waiting for him outside his home. The male was rather tall and had short brown hair, while the female was a more average height and had short black hair. Li Yang didn't feel like wasting too much time right now, so he cut straight to the chase.
”Can I help you with anything?”
He had a slight hunch at who these two were, or at least who they worked for, but he wasn't completely certain. The male youth cupped his hands in greeting, following Li Yang's example and moving right on to business.
”I am Long Jucai and this is Yuan Lanxia, we have come here under the orders of Senior Sister Yijun. She would like you to please hand over the monthly tax, a mere 5 Spirit grade Spirit Stones and a vial of Marrow-Washing Dew.”
Li Yang couldn't help but let out a slight sound after hearing the demands. This 'tax' was around half of everything he had received, it was little worse than straight up robbery. Long Jucai and Yuan Lanxia quietly waited for Li Yang to hand over the items, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and started walking past them.
”It seems your information network is quite excellent. You can return to Senior Sister Yijun and tell her that I can't pay her, I need all the resources I can get.”
The more resources he had the better, he couldn't afford to waste any on this tax. It might cause a slight amount of trouble if he didn't pay the tax, but what could he do, he needed to increase his strength as fast as possible, the grand competition was getting closer and closer. And even if he ignored the grand competition, once he met up with Fang Ying again, he would need the strength to protect her and fight alongside her. Long Jucai's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't stop Li Yang using force, giving him a low reminder.
”You don't wish to pay? Are you certain, you can still reconsider. I do believe that Senior Brother Chen should have told you the rules.”
Rather than calling it a reminder, it was better suited to be called a threat. But Li Yang didn't even bother turning around, simply shrugging his shoulders once more.
”He did. But I still won't pay. As I said, I need all the resources I can get.”
If it really did turn out that this ordeal with Yijun became too much trouble, he would either just pay the tax and hope that solved it, show some of his might to get a better position in the clan, or just leave the clan and find a better way to earn resources. Since Li Yang had affirmed his words, Long Jucai simply cupped his hands.
”Very well, we will bring your words to Senior Sister Yijun.”
Li Yang was just about to leave the area when he remembered that he had forgotten to mention something, something that Fang Ying had told him several times in the past. Because of that, he turned around and gave Long Jucai a quick reminder.
”Right, you can also tell her that I won't stand for anyone laying a hand on the people assigned to me.”
Fang Ying despised it when people laid a hand on those that worked for her, so since Li Yang was trying to treat his servants in a way that Fang Ying would find suitable, he, of course, couldn't forget that part. Long Jucai's eyebrows twitched again, but he didn't say anything, only giving a slight nod of his head.
Li Yang headed directly for the massive yellow dome that was the mission control building. There was a massive golden gate that led into the building, the doors already pushed open. The inside of the mission control building was surprisingly simple, various counters and enclosed booths lining the sides of the dome. The central area of the dome was mainly dominated by small stands set up by other disciples, so it seemed like one could even accept missions from other disciples.
Standing at the center of the room was a massive green jade pillar that stretched from the floor all the way to the ceiling that was several hundreds of meters above them, names covering the entire pillar. Around the jade pillar stood several tables covered in watermelon-sized orbs of white quartz.
Right past the entrance stood a small sign with a quick explanation of the rating system used by the clan, as well as how to accept and deliver a mission. It was a rather simple rating system, with each mission given a rating that ranged from 0-5 stars. The more stars a mission had, the more dangerous it would be, and the more contribution points it would reward. 1-star missions required the strength of the Ascending Heaven realm, 2 and 3-star missions required the strength of an Immortal Rebirth realm cultivator, and 4 to 5-star missions required the strength of a Primordial Rune realm cultivator.
Li Yang followed the instructions on the sign, walking over to one of the many orbs of quartz that were placed around the jade pillar. He placed his palms on an empty on, sinking his mind into it as if it was a jade slip or an interspatial ring. Once his mind entered it, countless lines of text floated into his mind, each one a different mission.
Li Yang quickly sifted through the missions, removing those that were too dangerous or those that didn't pay enough to be worth his time. After spending a bit of time searching, he found a mission that piqued his interest, mostly because it was a bit strange. He noted down the number of the mission, taking the number over to one of the numerous counters that lined the walls. He handed the number over to the yellow-robed female that stood behind the counter, asking his question.
”This mission, why is its difficulty only set to half a star? Shouldn't a mission that requires us to kill an Ascending Gate stage cultivator be ranked at around one star?”
The mission was to take down a small sect that had engaged in a few slaughters in the territory of the Yuan clan. The reward was 100 contribution points and a Fireplum Blossom, a type of herb that was useful not only for Li Yang but also Jinwu. But the mission stated that the leader of the cult was a cultivator at the Ascending Gate stage, so how could the mission only have half a star difficulty?
The female behind the counter checked the number, taking out a tablet made out of azure jade, sinking her mind into it. After making Li Yang wait a few minutes, the woman opened her eyes again and gave him a response.
”Normally it would indeed be so. But as this is a group mission, and the leader has already been set as Xiang Wuying, the clan has decided to lower the difficulty grade to half a star.”
Xiang Wuying was one of the five leaders of the outer disciples, a man was half a step into the Immortal Rebirth realm. With him taking care of the leader of the evil sect, the other people were no problem. Li Yang gave it a bit more thought after getting the response, but in the end, he nodded his head.
”I see, I'll accept this mission then.”
He didn't have the strength to take on someone at the Ascending Gate stage, but as long as Xiang Wuying was there to serve as his shield, he felt that the mission was a safe and profitable choice. The woman nodded her head, noting down Li Yang's information, which she had gotten from the clan mark that had been placed on him when he joined the clan.
”Very well. Your group will set out at dawn tomorrow, so please arrive at the Ascending Carp Staircase before the appointed time.”
The deadline for accepting the mission was midnight today, which was another one of the reasons that the mission had caught Li Yang's eye. Li Yang didn't stick around any longer after accepting the mission, returning to his own house. He had Blackstone cook up some more food once evening rolled around, eating a light dinner alongside his three servants and his beast companions.
A bit before the dawn of the next day arrived, Li Yang had already arrived at the Ascending Carp Staircase, which was the name given to a long staircase that went from the foot of the main mountain, all the way to the top of the mountain. When he arrived, there were already four other people standing there and waiting. The eyes of the man who seemed to be the leader of the group landed on LiYang.
”You are the last member of our group?”
The leader, Xiang Wuying, had a surprisingly short body, even smaller than the still young LiYang, he couldn't be over 1.40 in height. But his short body clearly held tremendous power, rippling with muscles that caused his yellow robe to bulge slightly. He had rough features, brown eyes, and golden hair that hung down a little past his ears. Li Yang cupped his hands in a quick greeting, introducing himself.
”That would be me, Li Yang.”
Xiang Wuying and the three other people, two men and one woman, looked Li Yang up and down. The three other people had all entered the Ascending Heaven realm, leaving Li Yang as the only person who was still in the Human Rune realm. They frowned slightly but didn't say anything, leaving it to Xiang Wuying to make a decision about the newcomer.
”Since you were accepted as an outer disciple, you should have something special about you, so I won't say anything against you joining. But if you end up dragging us down, I will send you back to the clan, understood?”
The clan would not accept someone at the late stage of the Houtian Rune stage as an outer disciple if there wasn't something special about him, so it was clear that Li Yang was not as simple as he looked. Li Yang nodded his head to show his understanding, so Xiang Wuying introduced the rest of the group.
”I am Xiang Wuying, the leader for this mission. This is Yu Chao, Huang Yong, and this is Deng Guo.”
Yu Chao was a slim male youth with quite a beautiful face, silky black hair, lightly red lips, and crystal clear blue eyes. Huang Yong was a bit chubby, had unruly crimson hair that hung down to his shoulders, a burn scar that was faintly visible on his neck, and pitch black eyes. Deng Guo was a rather muscular woman with green eyes and azure hair that hung all the way down to her buttocks.
Once the introductions were done, Xiang Wuying did not have the group waste any more time, immediately setting out to cleanse the territory of the Yuan clan, ridding it of the evil sect.