Su Lingyun was bent over her desk, writing furiously.
Today, she was wearing an Auspicious Cloud Dress in bright purple. Her face was as beautiful as a celestial maiden's, yet it showed a trace of weariness.
Looking at the mountain of tasks piled on her desk, Su Lingyun gritted her teeth.
By sheer coincidence, all the instructors of Little Rain Peak had business outside today, leaving every affair for her to handle!
Su Lingyun knew perfectly well that this was that fellow's doing. Did he think he could force her to surrender through a mountain of work? No way!
While Su Lingyun was working hard, Luo Zheng suddenly appeared at the door. When he saw that flash of purple beauty bent over the desk, he knocked.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Su Lingyun raised her head. Seeing that the visitor was actually Luo Zheng, a strange look appeared on her face. "Luo Zheng, what are you doing here?"
Luo Zheng walked over and said, "Instructor Su, I want to take a mission."
"Take a mission?" Su Lingyun blinked and smiled. "Actually, there's no need for you to be in such a hurry. The Outer Sect Disciples will be issued their pills soon, and those pills will be enough for your cultivation."
Generally speaking, newly inducted Outer Sect Disciples rarely rushed to take missions.
That was because Outer Sect Disciples were relatively weak at this stage. Even if they accepted missions, they could only take on simple ones.
The reward in points was too small, making it a losing proposition. They might as well cultivate peacefully on Little Rain Peak.
Luo Zheng shook his head. "I don't want pills. I need points."
With his marvelous Mysterious Artifact Body, Luo Zheng had long since stopped caring about ordinary pills. Although the Azure Cloud Sect was immensely wealthy, even the pills issued to Outer Sect Disciples were far better than those supplied by the lineages outside the sect.
But no matter how good those pills were, they could not compare to the Heaven and Earth Creation Pill. Luo Zheng was like someone swallowing Heaven and Earth Creation Pills whenever he took a beating, so naturally, he had no need for them.
"What do you need points so urgently for?" Su Lingyun was unusually long-winded today.
"I just need points," Luo Zheng said. How could he not be in a hurry? He needed to get a million points!
Of course, earning over a million points would presumably take an extremely long time. For now, however, he still needed to get a hundred points. It was true that with his current strength, he could not rescue Luo Yan from Purgatory Mountain, but surely he could at least go see her, right?
Seeing how stubborn Luo Zheng was, Su Lingyun said nothing. She reached out, opened a booklet beside her, and turned it toward Luo Zheng. Then, in her crisp voice, she said, "This mission booklet contains the most basic missions. You can choose one from it."
Luo Zheng looked closely. The missions had all been written with a brush, and each vertical column contained one mission.
"Guarding a residence, helping the Li Family of the Imperial Capital guard their home. Three days, three points..."
"Escort work, helping the Fuwei Escort Agency transport a shipment. Seven days, seven points..."
"..."
Seeing these points, Luo Zheng nearly vomited blood.
The rewards for these missions were far too small. At one point a day, if Luo Zheng wanted to earn points through them, it would take him more than three months just to accumulate a hundred.
If he relied on these missions to rescue Luo Yan, it would probably take a million days.
"What? You think the points are too few? Everyone feels that way at first, but you'll get used to it gradually." Su Lingyun smiled brilliantly.
Her smile was very beautiful, but to Luo Zheng, it carried a hint of a profiteer's air.
In truth, those points were not considered few. Three points could be exchanged for six Square Crystal Stones. For some small lineages, six Square Crystal Stones were already a colossal sum. Besides, the Azure Cloud Sect still had to take a certain percentage as a fee, so the actual expense on the client's side was even greater.
"Are there any missions with higher rewards?" Luo Zheng asked, deeply troubled.
"There are, but unfortunately, you can't take them." Su Lingyun waved her hand.
At this moment, Luo Zheng had nothing in his eyes but points. Where did he have time to worry about whether he could take them? He hurriedly said, "How do you know if you haven't tried? You can at least let me look first, right?"
Although Luo Zheng's request was somewhat unreasonable, Su Lingyun still took out another booklet and spread it before him.
Luo Zheng looked directly at the points listed below. The very first mission offered two hundred points!
But when he saw the mission requirements, he was instantly dumbfounded.
"Mission: Hunt a Shadow Beast and obtain one entire, intact Shadow Beast hide."
Shadow Beasts were a special type of creature in the eastern part of the Eastern Region. They lived in the Shadow Forest. Their reproductive ability was not strong, so there were not many of them, but each individual was terrifyingly powerful. It was said that even those in the Innate Secret Realm would find it difficult to return alive after entering the Shadow Forest...
He looked at the next mission. It also offered two hundred points, but its requirement was to capture a notorious fugitive who had been on the run for many years.
There was no way Luo Zheng could take these missions.
But as Luo Zheng continued looking down, he discovered another mission below.
The points awarded for this mission had no fixed number. They ranged from a single point to more than a thousand.
After reading it carefully, Luo Zheng finally understood. The mission requirement was actually to resist the Insect Tide!
The Insect Tide was a major problem that plagued the southern part of the empire.
Every year, in the fourth and fifth months, vast numbers of Blade Worms poured in from the scorching Southern Region, bringing devastating disaster to the southern territories.
Although the Blade Worms had the word "worm" in their name, they were absolutely not as simple as insects. Each Blade Worm was roughly the size of an adult human.
To resist the invasion of these Blade Worms, the empire dispatched large numbers of troops south every year to exterminate them.
But the empire's forces alone were not enough, so the Azure Cloud Sect also sent many people there.
That was why such a mission appeared in the mission list.
"Killing twenty Blade Worms earns one point, while killing one Blade Worm Leader earns one point..." The calculations in Luo Zheng's mind raced. Before long, he said to Su Lingyun, "Instructor Su, I plan to accept the mission to resist the Insect Tide!"
Hearing Luo Zheng's words, Su Lingyun blinked and said with a hint of mockery, "You certainly know how to choose. Of all the missions in this booklet, this is the only one you can accept, right?"
Luo Zheng smiled without denying it.
To earn points, he could no longer afford to worry about so much.
The smile was still on Instructor Su's face a moment ago, but her expression suddenly changed. "You are not going!"
Luo Zheng's smile froze on his face. He asked blankly, "Why?"
"Do you think Blade Worms are that easy to kill? It is true that some Half-Step to the Innate Realm cultivators accept these missions, but the mortality rate is as high as sixty percent. Do you understand what I mean?" Su Lingyun stared into Luo Zheng's eyes. With Luo Zheng's strength, going to exterminate Blade Worms was simply courting death.
"I understand!" Luo Zheng nodded silently.
"Good that you understand." Su Lingyun nodded in satisfaction and prepared to take the booklet away.
But Luo Zheng reached out and pressed down on the booklet. "But I'm still going to accept this mission."
Su Lingyun was rendered both amused and exasperated. She cursed, utterly abandoning all propriety, "You understand nothing! In any case, you're not going!"
Luo Zheng said solemnly, "Instructor Su, I know you're worried about my safety, but I really need points. So I have to accept this mission, whether you agree or not..."
Seeing the look in Luo Zheng's eyes, confusion appeared in Su Lingyun's beautiful eyes. "What on earth do you need the points for so urgently?"
Luo Zheng shook his head, unwilling to answer. He simply stood there like a wooden stake, not moving an inch. It seemed that unless he got this mission, he had no intention of leaving.
"You're not going to tell me? Then don't even think about accepting this mission." Su Lingyun was getting a headache. When this fellow became stubborn, he was just like an ox.
"Instructor Su, I have to accept this mission!" Luo Zheng repeated.
Su Lingyun could not be bothered to argue with him any longer. She lowered her head, picked up her brush, and began working.
And so Luo Zheng and Su Lingyun became locked in a stalemate right there.
The entire day passed, and the two of them did not say another word.
Su Lingyun simply busied herself with her own affairs, as though Luo Zheng did not exist.
Luo Zheng stood beside her like a statue, without moving at all.
This strange situation continued until evening. Su Lingyun stretched her body and cast Luo Zheng a cold glance.
To speak truthfully, Su Lingyun had admired Luo Zheng greatly ever since their first meeting.
But now, Su Lingyun began to feel some distaste.
It was true that Luo Zheng's displayed strength, his rate of improvement, and the perseverance he showed when facing enemies were all outstanding.
But in Su Lingyun's view, Luo Zheng wanted to take on missions as quickly as possible merely so he could temper himself faster and prove himself faster.
There was nothing wrong with that, but Su Lingyun felt that he was being somewhat too eager for quick success and immediate gain.
Su Lingyun could not be bothered to deal with Luo Zheng. She was preparing to leave.
But after reaching the door, her mind suddenly heated up. She turned around and hurled a gleaming token at Luo Zheng. "If you want to die, no one's stopping you!"
Su Lingyun was extremely confident in her own judgment. She knew that Luo Zheng's strength went far beyond what he had displayed, but the Insect Tide mission was extremely dangerous. There were more than ordinary Blade Worms within the tide—there were even more powerful creatures. The probability of Luo Zheng being wounded and killed was extremely high.
When Su Lingyun was calm, she would absolutely never allow Luo Zheng to participate in this mission.
The problem was that Luo Zheng's eagerness for quick success had angered her, making her lose her head.
Women were emotional creatures by nature. Throwing the token at Luo Zheng had merely been an act of spite.
Su Lingyun soon began to regret it. After all, Luo Zheng was a disciple she had painstakingly fought to bring back. Letting him go to his death like this was truly not worth it.
But when she turned her head and saw Luo Zheng happily accept the token, she once again gave him an utterly unladylike eye roll before disappearing into the courtyard.
Luo Zheng was no fool. He clearly sensed Instructor Su's mood.
But now, for the sake of earning points and for Luo Yan, he could no longer afford to care about so much.
Before you continue