The First Mission

Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he felt was that something was wrong—he had no feet.

Lowering his head, he saw a snake tail wrapped in pitch-black scales. Only then did he remember that he had descended into the body of a Blackscale Naga chieftain. With a thought, he opened the status panel to inspect it.

Race: Blackscale Naga (Saint Descent Body).

Category: Demi-human Race.

Rank: Intermediate Race.

Level: Level 2.

Class: None.

Talents: Underwater Breathing, Intermediate Brute Strength, Intermediate Regeneration, Hard Scale Shell.

Skills: Bloodthirst, Momentum Strike, Basic Evasion LV1.

Specialties: Advanced Swimming, Intermediate Swift Steps, Ape Arms.

Constitution: 2.8+1 (You are a strong barbarian.) Strength: 2.7+2+1 (Born with immense strength, nearly six times the strength of an adult man.) Agility: 1.9+1+1 (You are already a top professional sprinter.) Spirit: 1.1+1 (Your spirit is stronger than that of ordinary people. With training, you may be able to become a spellcasting class.) Evaluation: A never-before-seen amphibious humanoid race with monstrous strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

"Not bad!"

This Blackscale Naga chieftain had been an Apostle Lin Xiao selected long before descending. Just as he had once chosen that Murloc chieftain to lead his kinfolk, he had specifically picked the strongest Naga for this Final Exam so he could command his kinfolk more effectively. He had spent a large amount of Faith Points to enhance it.

It was still Level 2, but both its talents and specialties had been strengthened.

Elementary Super Strength had become Intermediate Brute Strength, and its Strength bonus had risen from one point to two.

Elementary Regeneration had become Intermediate Regeneration. He had not tested its effects yet, but judging by the name alone, it was certainly stronger.

Scale Shell had become Hard Scale Shell, which should mean improved defense. With its powerful Constitution and boosted defense stacked together, the results should be even better.

There was no need to mention Advanced Swimming. It simply meant swimming faster.

Elementary Swift Gait had become Intermediate Swift Steps, and its Speed bonus had increased from 0.5 to 1 point.

Together with the one-point boost to all attributes from Divinity, his overall strength now surpassed that of ordinary Level 3 creatures. In terms of Strength, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Level 4 creatures.

Moreover, this Apostle could still advance normally. If it could advance to the racial limit of Level 4, then with all these bonuses, its strength would likely rival that of a Level 5 creature.

Closing the panel, Lin Xiao looked around. Numerous Nagas and Murlocs were watching him expectantly.

When he had selected the Apostle earlier, Lin Xiao had already issued a Divine Revelation. All his kinfolk clearly understood their objective, so there was no need for him to waste words explaining anything. He grabbed two Short Spears and, with unfamiliar movements, swam onto a boulder over two meters high on the beach. Raising the spears high, he shouted in the Common Tongue, "By our Lord's divine might, we have been sent to this plane to slay heretics. My children, heed my command. Move out!"

He jumped straight down from the boulder and followed the route on the map in his memories, heading toward the right side of the beach. His thick snake tail crushed winding trails into the sand.

The many Nagas and Murlocs followed close behind, a dark mass sweeping across the snow-white beach.

When he had examined the map, Lin Xiao had specifically checked the area around the mission site. Their drop point was within a stretch of Coral Reefs north of that large Murloc tribe. Traveling south for roughly three to four kilometers would bring them there.

However, he was not taking his kinfolk straight to the Murloc tribe. Less than a kilometer south lay another rocky beach, and he planned to establish a home there first.

This Final Exam would last ten days, which translated to ten years in outer-domain time.

For some unknown reason, the flow of time in the Main World, the Divine Domain, and all Crystal Wall Systems within the Chaotic Void Sea was synchronized: one day in the Main World equaled one year in the outer domains.

With so much time, they could not simply fight and move on. That Murloc tribe had around twenty thousand Murlocs. Even if they did not fight back, it would take quite a while to kill them all, let alone when they would resist. They definitely could not win in a frontal battle. They needed a base and had to conquer them gradually.

Before long, the group arrived near the rocky beach. From afar, they could see a vast stretch of sea dotted with reefs protruding above the water. The sea breeze carried the ocean's distinctive fishy scent straight at them, but to Nagas and Murlocs, it smelled wonderful.

At Lin Xiao's command, the Murloc laborers leaped into the rocky beach and began clearing the area.

The Nagas, meanwhile, swam into the sea and began patrolling around the rocky beach, which stretched roughly 1,700 to 1,800 meters in length and extended less than 500 meters into the sea.

The Murlocs served the Nagas as both cannon fodder and laborers, while the Nagas provided protection for the Murlocs.

Lin Xiao also moved into the rocky beach. Cool seawater slid across his body, its chill seeping through the gaps between his scales. It felt extremely comfortable.

He swam to a giant boulder five or six meters tall in the middle of the rocky beach, climbed up a gentle slope along one side, and looked out over the surroundings from above.

To the east lay the boundless sea, wave after wave rolling toward the shore with the wind.

To the west was the continent, where the mission targets of most of the students were located.

To the north stretched a flat beach. Even with his eyesight, he could see nothing at its end, only faint, enormous shadows that were probably distant mountains.

To the south was a less even stretch of beach, where even the sand was coarser than in the north. Under the clear skies and gentle sun, he could vaguely see a low shadow extending out above the sea in the distance. It was probably the Coral Reef occupied by that large Murloc tribe.

The Murlocs diligently hauled up stones one by one, using the scattered reefs as support to build foundations. Over the next few days, they would bring in more stones, gather wood, leaves, and grass from the land, then mix them with mud, sand, and fish flesh to construct simple houses.

By Lin Xiao's estimate, completing this first mission would take at least one or two years.

There was plenty of time, so there was no need to rush. The first step was to understand the surrounding situation.

Nearly six days later, the rocky beach was gone, replaced by Murloc huts built against rocks protruding from the water, along with large grass huts in the center of the former rocky beach where the Nagas lived.

As for Lin Xiao himself, he lived beside a stone pavilion built from piled rocks at the very center.

His Holy Symbol was enshrined in the pavilion. His kinfolk prayed there normally when they were home, but every ten days, they held a large prayer ceremony to reinforce their faith.

On the first day the stone pavilion was completed, Lin Xiao gathered every Naga and Murloc in the tribe for a large prayer ceremony, gaining a number of Faith Points. The next day, he left with more than a dozen Nagas.

It was time to begin conquering the nearby Murloc tribe.

Over the past few days, Nagas and Murlocs who went out to fish had occasionally encountered Murlocs from that large Murloc tribe who had come out to fish. They had specifically captured several and brought them back. They were the same species as the Gray Mist Fishmen, with only slightly different scale colors, and their combat strength was about the same.

However, every one of his Gray Mist Fishmen knew Salted Fish Thrust, Momentum Strike, and Basic Footwork. They were far stronger than wild Murlocs.