Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 33: Sect Mission
If the power of these seventeen Cold Ice Talismans were unleashed all at once, while it might not freeze everything for miles, encasing a hundred-meter area in ice would be no problem at all.
It would be enough to make even weaker Qi Cultivation Late Stage cultivators panic for a good while. If caught off guard, they could even be killed!
The Cold Ice Talisman is extremely difficult to create.
At first, Jiang Xu failed over fifty times in a row before he successfully created the first one. freeweɓnøvel.com
He was practically sweating bullets.
Just like that, six Spirit Stones were gone.
But with the powerful boost from his panel, as his Skill Level continuously rose, his success rate also increased bit by bit.
From one success for every fifty-odd sheets of Talisman Paper at the beginning, it improved to one for every twenty-odd, then ten-odd, and finally just a few...
In the end, after all the Talisman Paper was consumed, Jiang Xu was left with these seventeen Cold Ice Talismans.
However, Jiang Xu didn’t plan to keep all these Cold Ice Talismans for his own use.
Because he had run out of Spirit Stones.
He was desperate to trade these Cold Ice Talismans for Spirit Stones.
But selling these Cold Ice Talismans within the Sect was rather difficult.
First, the Sect has a Talisman Pavilion. Anyone who wants to buy Talismans goes there.
They’re official, cheap, and convenient.
Second, you weren’t allowed to conceal your appearance when setting up a stall in the Sect, a rule meant to prevent disciples from scamming their peers.
But if Jiang Xu were to set up a stall selling Cold Ice Talismans, just the thought of it promised endless trouble.
He had just entered the Outer Sect and only recently started learning Talisman Making. For him to be able to create the most difficult Cold Ice Talismans within a month... that was far too flashy, far too conspicuous.
’For someone with a big secret, being in the spotlight means I can’t freely use the panel to improve myself.’
’If I use it and get discovered by an Elder or someone, my life will be forfeit.’
’But not using it is a waste of time, a waste of life.’
So, after much thought, Jiang Xu decided to sell the Cold Ice Talismans at the Marketplace outside the Sect.
However, it wasn’t easy for an Outer Disciple to leave the Sect.
Aside from accepting a Sect mission that specifically required leaving the grounds, there were very few opportunities to do so.
Jiang Xu didn’t really understand why this was the case; it was just one of the Sect’s rules.
’Perhaps the Sect feels that Outer Disciples would be too difficult to manage if they could come and go as they please.’
’Even if it weren’t for the Cold Ice Talismans, I’ve been wanting to leave the Sect and see the outside anyway. This is the perfect chance.’
Jiang Xu checked the date. Today was also the day the monthly stipend was distributed to Outer Disciples, so he could take care of everything at once.
...
Collecting the monthly stipend and accepting Sect missions both required a trip to the General Affairs Hall.
In the Outer Sect area of the General Affairs Hall stood a massive crystal tablet, which listed all the Sect missions available to Outer Disciples.
After arriving at the General Affairs Hall, Jiang Xu began to browse the mission postings.
[Title]: Long-term Sparring Partner Needed for Celestial Sword Peak Inner Sect Disciple
[Requirements]: Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer or higher. Body Refining Cultivators preferred.
[Description]: Serve as a practice partner for the disciple for at least one month. Compensation to be discussed.
...
[Title]: Forging Assistants Needed for Artifact Dao Pavilion
[Requirements]: Qi Cultivation Third Layer or higher. Those with prominent Gold and Fire Spirit Roots have priority.
[Description]: At least one month commitment. Compensation: five Spirit Stones.
...
Jiang Xu searched for a long time, but found that most of the missions were of this type.
After searching for what felt like an eternity, he finally found a mission that would allow him to leave the Sect.
[Title]: Outer Disciples Needed for Guard Duty at Sect Mining Area
[Difficulty]: Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer or higher.
[Description]: Guard duty for at least three months. Compensation: 20 Spirit Stones.
...
’...You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been searching all this time, and I can’t find a single mission that lets me leave the Sect. The one I finally find requires the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.’
’Besides, even if I met the Realm requirement, I wouldn’t go! A mining area... that doesn’t sound like a good place at all!’
Jiang Xu was thoroughly frustrated. Man proposes, but Heaven disposes. He hadn’t expected to find no suitable missions at all.
’Forget it. If it can’t be done now, I’ll try again later.’
Jiang Xu scanned the remaining missions, looking for any random one he could complete just to satisfy the Sect’s requirements.
But after looking through the rest, he found that the tasks for Outer Disciples didn’t seem all that different from the work done by servants.
’The only differences are that the pay is a bit better and the duration is shorter.’
’But the work itself is basically just forging, cultivating Spirit Plants, or helping with Alchemy.’
’I still have two months. Maybe I should just wait and check for missions again later. I didn’t even see any postings from the Talisman Pavilion; they must be fully staffed.’
Jiang Xu muttered to himself, leaving the General Affairs Hall in disappointment.
’If there’s still nothing suitable next month, I’ll really have to just pick one at random. Sigh, why does being an Outer Disciple still feel like manual labor!’
...
Not long after Jiang Xu left, Yan Chunyu entered the General Affairs Hall with several members of the Jade Heart Association.
She had also come to accept a mission.
After becoming an Inner Sect Disciple, Sect missions were no longer a strict requirement. However, that didn’t mean they could be ignored completely. Disciples would still be held accountable if they went too long without completing one.
Upon entering the Inner Sect, disciples gained a certain degree of authority, including the ability to post basic missions themselves.
At the same time, the missions posted for Inner Sect Disciples were considerably more dangerous and not easily completed.
Correspondingly, the rewards were also much greater, and missions could be completed by several Inner Sect Disciples working together.
However, if multiple disciples participated, the reward would not increase; they would have to split it among themselves.
Yan Chunyu had come this time precisely to accept a mission with the other members of the Jade Heart Association.
In just a few moments, Yan Chunyu found the mission she was looking for. But when she submitted the list of participants, she suddenly added Zong Ziqi’s name.
Even though Zong Ziqi wasn’t present and hadn’t chosen to accept the mission, Yan Chunyu submitted his name anyway.
This was a privilege of the Top Ten Inner Disciples.
They could force a designated Outer Disciple to participate in a mission.
"Chairman Yan, you’re...?" a member of the Jade Heart Association asked in confusion.
"I want to test him and see what his situation is really like now."
Yan Chunyu answered. Then, as if thinking of something else, she added another name.
That person was Jiang Xu.
’I’d like to see if this subordinate you chose has anything special about him, Zong Ziqi. Having fallen to such a state, you couldn’t have just picked someone at random, could you?’
In total, the Jade Heart Association accepted two missions this time.
One was to search for a particular Spirit Medicine in the outer regions of the Endless Forest.
This Spirit Medicine couldn’t be transplanted and didn’t grow in the Sect’s Medicine Fields, so disciples had to be sent out to harvest it on an as-needed basis.
The other was to investigate the mysterious disappearances of Outer Disciples at a mining area outside the Sect.
Within the Sect, any Outer Disciple who failed to break through to the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage within twenty years would be expelled from the main grounds and reassigned to one of the Sect’s external industries to contribute their efforts there.
