Chapter 180: Cheated? (1/2)
Chapter 180: Cheated?
There was no time to overthink; the wooden token had already flown far away. If Xiao Chen did not catch up to it, he would likely be late. He leaped high into the air and soared away like a flood dragon.
The wooden token flew very fast, but it was also quite stable. As Xiao Chen chased it, he inadvertently realized the wooden token was not headed for the Hall of Contributions. Finally, after some time, it landed in an unknown courtyard.
Xiao Chen walked in filled with doubts. He discovered there were already close to ten people. The girl he saw at the towering tree earlier was also present.
When she saw Xiao Chen had arrived as well, she revealed a somewhat astonished expression. Xiao Chen made a quick headcount; including him, there were a total of ten people.
Each one of them had a cultivation of at least Medial Grade Martial Grand Master. The girl he saw had the highest cultivation, peak Superior Grade Martial Grand Master. Advancing from Martial Grand Master to Martial Saint was a threshold. The earlier one advanced, the more likely one’s achievement would be higher in the future.
As such, the Heaven Saber Pavilion had a rule: If one could not advance to Martial Saint before the age of 25, their status as an inner disciple would be eliminated.
Aside from Xiao Chen, the remaining people all knew each other. They gathered together and chatted in soft voices, “I wonder if we will survive this time; I nearly died the last time.”
“Indeed, if it were not for the fact that I lack contribution points, I would not risk my life. Recently, I feel my cultivation has reached a bottleneck. I have to get more pills to assist with my cultivation.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, his complexion changed. Looking at the collars of these people, he discovered there were only two gold lines embroidered on them; this was the mark of ordinary inner disciples. These people were not core disciples.
However, how did they receive a high-level sect mission? Could I have been cheated? Xiao Chen thought back to his experience on the second floor. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.
Truthfully, he had indeed been cheated. The list of high-level missions the person gave to him on the second floor of the Hall of Contributions was filled with dangerous missions, high-level missions that few wanted to take and were left behind.
Everyone had the right to accept the normal high-level missions, but that person did not show them to Xiao Chen. He was not aware of the shenanigans behind the event.
“Hey! Which peak are you from? What’s your name? You seem new. I am Mu Xinya from the Gangyu Peak; we met earlier,”the girl took the initiative and greeted Xiao Chen just as he was deep in thought.
The reason was unknown, but Liu Ruyue and Liu Suifeng did not wear the uniform of Qingyun Peak, not even when Xiao Chen came along. So, he was still wearing his own clothes. Thus, the others were not able to tell which peak Xiao Chen came from.
Xiao Chen recollected his thought and carefully observed the girl in front of him. This girl was about 16 or 17-years-old. She appeared to be above average in appearance. There was a smile filling her face and a pair of yuanyang sabers hanging at her waist.
[TL note: Yuanyang sabers are a pair of identical sabers. Yuanyang is another word for yin-yang.]
She gave off the feeling of the girl next door; she seemed very lively. Xiao Chen smiled and said, “Qingyun Peak, Ye Chen!”
Mu Xinya and the eight other men looked at Xiao Chen in shock. They examined him carefully, and after a while, Mu Xinya said, “Didn’t you barge your way to the second floor yesterday? Why did you take this mission? They did not show you the other high-level mission?”
Seeing as Xiao Chen did not understand what was going on, Mu Xinya explained everything carefully. After Xiao Chen heard this, he suddenly understood. No wonder that person left for a long time before bringing him the mission list.
Furthermore, the danger level of the missions were all very high; there was not much of a choice either. Given what Mu Xinya and the rest of them explained, when everything was pieced together, it only showed that Xiao Chen had been fooled.
Noticing something wrong with Xiao Chen’s expression, Mu Xinya advised, “Don’t think too much. Since you have already accepted the mission, you have to complete it. The penalties for failing a mission are quite harsh. “
The others were not core disciples either; they could completely understand Xiao Chen’s feelings, and they all gave him some advice. After a while, Xiao Chen became familiar with them.
Amongst these people, there was a Beichen Peak disciple called Ma Chen. He had the most experience with this mission; he had done this mission twice already. He did not hold anything back and told the rest of his experiences.
“The location of the mission is a few hundred meters underground. Our main mission is to protect the ordinary people mining in there. We will meet some strange things frequently underground, so be sure not to be careless. If it is something you cannot handle, immediately retreat and call an elder for help. Preserving your life is more important.”
“Pu Pu Pu!”
While Ma Chen was speaking, there was the sound of footsteps coming from the distance. Three old men wearing black appeared in front of everyone. There were two golden crisscrossing sabers embroidered on their collars.
The was the mark of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion Supreme Elders. The Supreme Elder was a position revered in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion; they had the rights to issue sect missions directly.
The auras of the three of them were deep and unmeasurable. Their auras were boundless and majestic like a large ocean. Xiao Chen estimated the three of them were at least Martial Kings.
Especially the old man in the middle, the impression he gave was even deeper. His face as filled with wrinkles, like dense dark clouds covering the sky. A cold light twinkled in his eyes occasionally; it looked very startling.
The old man looked at the group and frowned. He looked clearly displeased as he said, “The numbers become fewer and fewer… there is even an Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master. The Hall of Contributions suppressed our mission too heavily.”
The Inferior Grade Martial Grand Master mentioned was obviously Xiao Chen. Although Xiao Chen was not happy about it, he did not dare lose his temper. He kept silent, not saying anything.
“Never mind; we will just make do with what we have. There has been nothing major recently anyway; it's been pretty calm. Ten people should be enough,” one of them from the side commented.