Shining the Sword

On a high rock, Lin Xiao stood against the wind, his robes fluttering. He looked down at the ten young men and women below, who, though exhausted, had eyes as sharp as unsheathed swords. Finally, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

One month.

A full month of inhumane torture and tempering.

He had personally forged a group of weak lambs, once seen as trash, into a nascent pack of bloodthirsty wolves!

Their cultivation might not be top-tier in the entire outer court.

However, their combat instincts, already ingrained in their bones, their iron will forged through countless brushes with death, and the absolute trust that allowed them to have each other's backs... these were their most powerful and deadly weapons!

"The second phase of special training ends here."

Lin Xiao's voice, like a clear spring, flowed into the ears of everyone below, instantly washing away the exhaustion and killing intent that had almost solidified around them.

Upon hearing this, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.

It was over...

The nightmare, which had lasted a full month, a cycle of both physical and mental hell every single day, was finally over!

However, before they could even celebrate, Lin Xiao's next words made their hearts leap into their throats again.

"From today onwards, your special training will enter the third and final phase."

"I will personally lead you to accept academy missions. We will use the blood of real demonic beasts to hone the edge of this sword you are about to unsheathe!"

Half an hour later.

When the lockdown on the Yellow Class Nine dormitory area was lifted for the first time in a month, a team filled with a palpable aura of killing intent quietly emerged from the forbidden area, which had long been rumored among outer court disciples as the "madhouse" and "shura field."

Leading the group was a young man in black tight-fitting clothes, with a handsome face but eyes as deep as an ancient well.

It was Lin Xiao.

Behind him followed twenty-nine young men and women, also dressed in black tight-fitting clothes, in perfect formation.

They were the entire roster of Yellow Class Nine.

They were now completely different people from a month ago!

All traces of youthfulness and immaturity had vanished from their faces, replaced by a hardness and solemnity far beyond their years.

Their steps were synchronized and silent; thirty people walking together made not a single extraneous sound!

Although they weren't deliberately releasing their aura, the iron-blooded killing intent forged through countless bloody battles and trials of the heart enveloped them within a three-foot radius like an invisible force field, causing anyone who approached to feel an inexplicable palpitation and oppression!

How could these still be mere youths, with an average age of only sixteen or seventeen?!

They looked more like battle-hardened veterans who had just emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

As this incongruous team appeared on the main thoroughfare of the outer court, they instantly drew the attention of all passing disciples.

"That... that's... someone from Yellow Class Nine?" "My heavens! They actually came out? I thought that Lin Xiao had already driven them mad, or killed them!" "Look at their eyes... so scary! I feel like I'm being stared at by a pack of hungry wolves!" "It's an illusion! It must be an illusion! They're just a bunch of trash propped up by pills, putting on a show! Look at them, the highest cultivation is only Peak Body Refinement Fourth Level, what's there to be afraid of?!"

Various discussions and whispers came from all directions. There was shock, curiosity, but more than anything, there was still the deeply ingrained disdain and contempt.

However, the thirty members of Yellow Class Nine seemed oblivious to all the pointing and whispering.

Their eyes showed no fluctuation.

Their steps were not disordered in the slightest.

They simply followed their sole "alpha wolf"—Lin Xiao—like the most loyal pack, heading directly in a direction that no one could have expected.

That direction was the liveliest place in the entire outer court, the place that best reflected a disciple's true strength.

--The Mission Hall!

Cloud Creek Academy, Mission Hall.

This was the central hub where the academy posted various missions, and disciples accepted them to earn Merit Points.

The entire Mission Hall was divided into two floors.

The first floor was the mission posting area. A gigantic light wall occupied an entire wall. Countless mission details scrolled across the light wall, ranging from the simplest "gather herbs" and "find lost items" to complex "hunt demonic beasts" and "escort merchant caravans," covering everything.

These missions were strictly divided into four grades based on their difficulty and rewards.

D-grade missions had the lowest difficulty and reward, usually taken by freshmen at Body Refinement First to Third Level. C-grade missions had moderate difficulty, requiring some strength and teamwork, and were the main source of Merit Points for veteran students at Body Refinement Fourth to Sixth Level. B-grade missions were extremely difficult and full of unknown dangers, usually only dared to be attempted by elite teams composed of top students at Body Refinement Seventh Level and above. As for A-grade missions... those were already in the realm of legend. The outer court's Mission Hall had not seen an A-grade mission in years.

At this moment, the spacious Mission Hall was crowded with people, bustling with activity.

Hundreds, even thousands, of outer court disciples gathered in groups beneath the giant light wall, either discussing loudly or carefully scrutinizing, selecting missions suitable for them.

Just then.

An invisible, heart-stopping killing intent flowed quietly into the Mission Hall from the entrance like a cold current.

The originally noisy and chaotic hall fell silent.

Everyone instinctively stopped what they were doing and turned their heads towards the source of the aura.

Immediately after, they witnessed a scene they would never forget.

Thirty youths, clad in identical black martial attire, marched in neat formation. Their synchronized steps made them appear like a sheathed black sword as they silently entered the mission hall.

Their presence was starkly out of place amidst the surrounding clamor and noise.

"Y-Yellow Class Nine?!"

Someone in the crowd, unable to contain their disbelief, exclaimed the identity of the group, their voice filled with astonishment.

Like a single stone dropped into a vast lake, the exclamation sent ripples through the hall.

After a brief, deathly silence, the entire mission hall exploded like a powder keg!

"It really is them! That crazy team who vowed a month ago to lead the Yellow Class to become the best in the outer court!" "What are they doing here? Do they also want to take on missions? Don't make me laugh! What kind of mission could that bunch of trash, who rely on pills, possibly complete? Go pick mushrooms in the back mountains? Hahaha!" "I think they've just gone crazy from being cooped up inside and are out for some fresh air! Look at Lin Xiao, acting all high and mighty. Does he really think he's invincible just because he beat Li Tianyi?"

Scoffs and jeers echoed throughout the hall, filled with unbridled mockery and ridicule.

However, facing the malicious words that would have shamed any normal youth into utter embarrassment, the thirty members of Yellow Class Nine remained expressionless.

They simply stood in place, like a group of emotionless killing machines.

Their gazes were fixed solely on the slender figure leading the way.

It was as if, with just one command from that man, they would unhesitatingly tear apart all the noisy flies before them!

Lin Xiao stopped.

Ignoring the grating noise around him, he slowly raised his head and gazed at the massive mission light wall.

His eyes were calm and deep, bypassing the densely packed D-grade missions that occupied ninety percent of the display.

He also skipped the C-grade missions in the middle section, which offered quite generous rewards.

Finally, his gaze settled on the few B-grade missions at the very top of the light wall, emitting a faint bloody glow!

This was the forbidden zone for all ordinary students in the entire outer court!

"He's crazy... What does he want to do?!"

Lin Xiao's action was immediately noticed by some sharp-eyed students.

All the laughter abruptly ceased.

It was replaced by a look of absurd pity, as if they were watching an idiot.

Even the elder in charge of managing the mission hall poked his head out from behind the counter, looking at the ignorant freshman with a bewildered expression.

Under the deathly silence of the entire hall and the countless gazes filled with absurdity and confusion.

Lin Xiao slowly extended his finger.

He pointed to the bloody mission in the B-grade section that had been hanging there for three whole months, yet no one had dared to inquire about it!

"We'll take this one."

His voice was not loud.

But it was like a meteor capable of overturning everyone's understanding, crashing fiercely into everyone's heart, stirring up colossal waves!

B-grade High-level Mission: Exterminate the Black Wind Mountain Range!

Mission Content: Recently, the Black Wind Mountain Range, located three hundred miles north of the academy, has seen a large-scale outbreak of second-order demonic beasts – the Ironback Demonic Wolf Pack! The pack numbers over a hundred, and it even includes a third-order alpha wolf whose strength is comparable to a peak Body Refinement Seventh Level cultivator! Several student teams who went to the area for training have already tragically fallen victim and their whereabouts are unknown. Teams accepting this mission are required to venture deep into the Black Wind Mountain Range to exterminate this wolf pack and bring back the third-order alpha wolf's beast core as proof.

Mission Rewards: Thirty thousand Merit Points! One Profound Grade Lower Rank Martial Skill of your choice! One Inner Court Examination Recommendation Quota!

Mission Deadline: Ten days.

When everyone clearly saw what a terrifying mission Lin Xiao was pointing at, the entire mission hall fell into a state of shutdown.

Everyone stood frozen, as if petrified, their minds completely blank!

B-grade High-level!

This was already a death mission, infinitely close to A-grade difficulty!

Exterminate a complete wolf pack with over a hundred second-order demonic wolves and one third-order alpha wolf?!

Let alone them, the outer court students! Even the elite teams in the inner court, composed of Spirit Movement Realm powerhouses, would have to carefully consider their capabilities when facing such a terrifying beast tide!

And now, a team that had only been formed for just over a month, with an average cultivation level not even reaching Body Refinement Fifth Level, from the lowest-tier Yellow Class, dared to attempt this death mission that even the top teams of the Heaven Class treated as a venomous snake?!

This wasn't a challenge!

It was suicide!

"Pfft..."

Someone couldn't help but laugh first.

Then came the second, the third...

Finally, the entire mission hall erupted in earth-shattering laughter, filled with pity and mockery!

"Hahaha! This is hilarious! Did I hear that right? He said he wants to take on the mission to exterminate the Black Wind Mountain Range?!" "Has this Lin Xiao really gone stupid from being locked up in his dorm? Does he even know how to write the word 'death'?!" "Alright, alright, stop laughing. He's not stupid; he has 'self-awareness'! He knows his talent is insufficient and he'll never have hope of entering the inner court in this lifetime, so he wants to end his pathetic life in the most 'tragic' way! We should fulfill his wish!"

Amidst this malicious laughter.

A tall, arrogant-looking youth, wearing a "Heaven Class" badge on his chest, walked slowly towards Lin Xiao, surrounded by a group of people.

He looked down at Lin Xiao with eyes that treated him like a clown, a mocking smirk playing on his lips, utterly unconcealed.

"You're that Lin Xiao?"

Lin Xiao slowly retracted his finger, turned around, and calmly faced the uninvited guest before him.

[System Notification: Hostile target detected]

[Name: Zhao Wuji]
[Class: Heaven Class Three]
[Realm: Mid-stage Body Refinement Seventh Level]
[Cultivation Technique: Blazing Sun Technique (Profound Grade Middle Rank)]
[Martial Skills: Blazing Sun Saber Technique (Profound Grade Lower Rank), Chasing Wind Steps (Yellow Grade Upper Rank)]
[Overall Combat Power Evaluation: B-]

"Is there something you need?" Lin Xiao's tone was as placid as water.

"Nothing major." Zhao Wuji let out a scoff, pointing at the mission light wall behind him. "I just came to 'advise' you to know your place. That mission in the Black Wind Mountain Range isn't something you bunch of trash are qualified to touch. Our 'Heavenly Martial Society' has already reserved that mission."

"Oh?" Lin Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Reserved? Since when does the Mission Hall have such a rule?"

"Rule?" Zhao Wuji acted as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. The Heaven Class students behind him also burst into laughter.

"Kid, let me tell you! Here in the Outer Court of Cloud Creek Academy, our 'Heavenly Martial Society's' word is the rule!"

Zhao Wuji abruptly dropped his smile, his eyes turning incredibly stern. A powerful aura belonging to a cultivator at the Body Refinement Seventh Level erupted, crushing down fiercely towards Lin Xiao!

"Now, get out of the Mission Hall immediately with your trash! Otherwise, I don't mind letting you experience what despair is ahead of time!"

Facing the terrifying pressure that could make ordinary cultivators at the Body Refinement Fifth Level tremble in fear, Lin Xiao's expression remained unchanged.

Even the twenty-nine members of Yellow Class Nine behind him stood tall and resolute, their faces like still water, as if the oncoming terrifying aura was merely an insignificant breeze.

This composure caused Zhao Wuji's expression to shift slightly.

"Interesting."

He narrowed his eyes, about to say something.

However, Lin Xiao was already tired of wasting his breath on him.

He directly turned around, ignoring the arrogant Heaven Class genius before him, and walked straight to the Elder deacon in charge of registration, calmly placing his jade token, which represented his status as chief disciple, on the counter.

"Elder, Yellow Class Nine requests to accept the High-level B-grade mission to clear out the Black Wind Mountain Range."

"Please register it."