What a Coincidence

Rota had not forgotten his real purpose. He had come to see whether there were any commissions he could take on. Ordinary commission jobs were most commonly found in taverns, so he set his sights on finding one.

Not long after entering the village, Rota found several taverns. He casually picked a livelier one and walked inside.

The tavern was filled with shouting and commotion, with scattered wine bottles all over the floor. Rota's first impression was that it was a complete mess. Still, that was perfectly normal for a tavern; it was a place where all sorts of people mingled.

Rota walked straight to a wooden board beside the counter that was covered in papers. He had noticed it the moment he entered. Sure enough, it was filled with commission notices.

"Sir, are you looking to accept a commission?"

As Rota carefully read through the notices, a tavern attendant came over and asked.

"That's right. This old man is looking for some commissions that pay well~"

"I see. There is a commission here with quite a high reward. It was posted not long ago, yet no one has accepted it."

Hearing this, Rota immediately became interested. Commissions like that generally did not offer low rewards. Completing just one should be enough to support him until he reached Heaven Dou Imperial City.

"Then please, give this old man a detailed introduction to this mission! This old man is quite interested, you know~"

"Certainly. Please come with me. It's too noisy here!"

It seemed the tavern attendant was quite well-mannered. Otherwise, it would have been hard to remain patient in such a noisy environment.

Led by the attendant, Rota soon entered a room with excellent soundproofing.

Not only was the room highly soundproofed, but its interior decorations were also incredibly luxurious. It could rival the upscale hotels back on Earth.

"Oh~ It's much quieter in here!"

"Of course. This is the highest-grade private room in our tavern, sir!"

Without wasting any time, the attendant took an exquisite commission document from a cabinet behind him. Clearly, this elegant document was on an entirely different level from the papers posted outside.

"It looks so valuable, this paper~" Rota remarked.

"Yes. This is commission paper exclusively used by Spirit Hall. Naturally, it is different from ordinary commissions."

What a coincidence. He had run into a Spirit Hall commission right away. It seemed he truly had some fate with Spirit Hall!

"Sir, please have a look!"

The attendant respectfully handed the commission document to Rota.

After reading it carefully, Rota realized why this commission was so difficult.

Its contents stated that the recipient would accompany Spirit Hall's specialized Soul Hunting Team to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

The very mention of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was enough to deter countless people. To deal with one, one needed at least a Titled Douluo.

Rota fell into deep thought...

From the plot Rota knew, Bibi Dong had obtained the seventh Soul Ring for her Soul Devouring Spider Emperor martial soul after hunting Xiao Wu's Mother. Could this commission be connected to her?

Though the reward listed below was highly tempting, he still needed to think it over carefully~

The most puzzling part was that Spirit Hall's priests and elders should have been more than sufficient. Why did they need to issue such a commission?

"How strange~"

"What is it, sir? Is there something you do not understand?"

"Yes. This old man finds it a little strange. Spirit Hall should not need help from outsiders! They should be able to handle something like this internally."

The tavern attendant walked over to Rota. Since Rota was seated, the attendant could lean close to his ear and tell him some secret details regarding the commission.

After a long while...

"So that's how it is. How interesting~"

Thanks to the attendant's revelation, Rota learned the origins of the commission. It was not related to Bibi Dong, but rather to Qian Xunjie.

Qian Xunjie was about to break through to the Titled Douluo rank. He wanted to obtain even greater power, so he intended to gather some powerful independent experts and hunt an extremely high-level Soul Beast together.

On the other hand, it was also meant to fill the Spirit Hall elder positions lost last time.

The story behind this was rather thought-provoking. It was a development Rota had never heard of before. It looked like a new plotline had emerged.

If he accepted this commission, could he become an elder directly without having to participate in the selection? If that was the case, it would save him a lot of trouble.

"Young man, this old man will accept this mission. As you said, this commission has not expired yet, has it?"

"Of course not. If it had expired, I would not have brought it out for you. It was previously posted on the notice board, but hardly anyone paid attention to it, so I put it away."

After Rota accepted the exquisite commission document, the tavern attendant kindly offered him a few words of advice.

"Sir, this commission is extremely dangerous. It will be fine even if you fail to complete it; Spirit Hall will still provide a reward."

Rota took the advice as nothing more than the attendant's goodwill. He was quite confident in his own strength, and this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be perfect for testing his abilities.

"That's all, then. May your martial fortunes prosper!"

Rota did not linger and left the tavern. His next destination was Spirit Hall's camp near this small village.

Ten minutes later...

"Hello, hello. I heard this is the place to join the commission. Is that right?"

Rota had already arrived at Spirit Hall's temporary camp by following the route on the commission document, but he asked anyway just to be safe.

Soon, two Spirit Hall guards ran out. They were first startled by Rota's height, then quickly led him into the camp after seeing the commission document.

"My lord, someone has accepted the commission. I have brought him here!"

"Very well. You may leave now."

"All right, His Holiness the Pope has agreed to see you. Hurry inside!"

"Thanks for your trouble~"

Before long, Rota met another plot character after Xiao Wu's family—Qian Xunjie.

"Are you the one who accepted the commission?" Qian Xunjie asked as he looked Rota over.

"If there is no one else, then this old man should be the one!"

Qian Xunjie should have been around the same age as Kizaru at this point. Kizaru was already fifty-eight in the plot, while Qian Xunjie became a Titled Douluo at sixty.

"This old man? Do you know how old I am? You dare call yourself an old man in front of me?" Qian Xunjie was amused by Rota's manner of address.

"Not exactly. This old man merely feels that his appearance makes him look rather old, so that is how he refers to himself. In truth, this old man is no longer young either—fifty-eight already~"

Qian Xunjie was somewhat surprised upon hearing Rota's age. "That does make some sense, but you should know that I am already sixty!"

"Is that so? Then how does Lord Qian Xunjie maintain himself? This old man feels that even constantly drinking health-preserving tea cannot stop one from growing old!" Rota deliberately joked with Qian Xunjie.

Qian Xunjie was a little dumbfounded. Was the person before him really here to accept the commission, or was he just messing with him? Don't tell me the guards randomly found some lunatic. But surely they would not dare fool me like that?

After considering everything, Qian Xunjie decided that this bizarrely dressed and strange-looking man before him had indeed come to accept the commission.

"I believe we should get to the point. May I ask for your name, sir?" Qian Xunjie asked politely.

"Oh dear, look at this old man's memory. This old man forgot to introduce himself. Lord Qian Xunjie may call this old man Borsalino! Of course, you may also call this old man by his nickname—Kizaru!"