A faint whistle cut through the air. Before Yun Shu's very eyes, the fragment turned into a streak of purple-gold light and shot straight toward the door, moving so fast that even he, its wielder, could only make out a blurry afterimage.
After the sound faded, the two doors that had stood there had been sliced cleanly down the middle, leaving four.
Yun Shu: "..."
How was that any different from having a window?
Yun Shu walked over and picked up the broken pieces. A hint of delight appeared on his face. Though he still lacked the ability to melt the metal shard, driven by Sword Intent, it truly could cut through anything.
"It's this." Yun Shu murmured to himself. "A fragment of one of the Ten Provinces Famous Swords, the very foundation of the Myriad Sword Pavilion, forged from the finest immortal materials."
It had shattered a thousand years ago and scattered across the world. Now Yun Shu had obtained one of its fragments, making him practically a true inheritor of the Myriad Sword Pavilion.
Originally, this had been the Female Protagonist's opportunity. Only someone with her heaven-defying fortune could piece the sword back together across the land of Yunzhou, relying on one opportunity after another. But now, one fragment had fallen into Yun Shu's hands.
Yun Shu might not have been heaven's chosen one, but with the plot on his side, nothing could stand in his way!
"But I can't use it lightly." Yun Shu thought. "It'll make a good trump card."
He couldn't even remove the rust on it yet. He was still far too weak.
Still, he had plenty of time. There was no need to rush.
This was the first opportunity he had seized for himself. He really did have to thank Chu Huangyue.
He had sensed Chu Huangyue's current strength: Body Refining Stage Seven!
She was a little weaker than him. But he had risen all the way to his current level in one go, while Chu Huangyue had advanced through sheer talent. There was still a difference between them.
It was a little unfortunate that the plot had burned. Otherwise, he could have pinpointed exactly which day Chu Huangyue would leave and which day she would find an opportunity.
Thinking of this, Yun Shu couldn't help but mock his own greed.
He put away the fragment and, his expression back to normal, headed for the Scripture Pavilion.
He still needed to read more and learn more. Even though he hadn't managed to sell his Martial Techniques at the Marketplace this time, he had gained something far more important. That was enough.
As soon as he stepped outside, he heard people talking.
"The Outer Sect Disciple Ranking's monthly challenge is about to start. Senior Brother Du, are you going to compete for a spot?"
The speaker was a duty disciple from the Outer Sect's residential area.
"The Outer Sect Disciple Ranking probably won't change much this month either. They used to hold an assessment every month, but now it's once every three months. This is only the second month. Most disciples won't have improved much since last month. As for competing, I'll wait until next time. I just broke through to Late Body Refining Stage, and I'm still nowhere near strong enough."
"Exactly. There are too many tough ones this time. I heard even the weakest of the top hundred has reached Body Refining Ninth Level."
Three people were talking in all, and Yun Shu stopped without thinking.
"After the three-month selection, the top ten Outer Sect disciples can become Inner Sect disciples directly. But the top ten? Easier said than done."
"Those disciples who've reached Fourth Layer of Qi Refining have to take the assessment directly. The top ten are all only at Third Layer of Qi Refining. There's still hope."
Yun Shu was even more curious. The top ten could become Inner Sect disciples directly?
He had always thought that only those who reached Fourth Layer of Qi Refining could pass the Nine Peaks' Inner Sect assessment and become Inner Sect disciples.
That hadn't been mentioned in the plot, because the Female Protagonist had skipped that stage entirely.
The first three layers of Qi Refining were only a process of transforming the Qi and Blood Power within the body into Spiritual Energy. They weren't overwhelmingly powerful. Yun Shu thought this might be worth competing for.
With his aptitude, he definitely wouldn't pass the Inner Sect assessment. His aptitude was too poor: all three of his Spiritual Roots were low-grade.
If his Golden Spirit Root had been mid-grade, he would have been confident enough to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Now, with the top ten Outer Sect disciples promoted directly, he could give it a shot.
Still, it had nothing to do with him for the time being. In a few days, he planned to find Lin Yang and learn more from him. As for actually competing, he would wait until he broke through to Qi Refining.
After reading for a while, Yun Shu felt a little tired and went down to the first floor.
The same Fat Steward was there.
"Here to take a mission?"
"Mm."
"Perfect timing. I've got a mission here that only disciples in Late Body Refining Stage can take. The reward's pretty generous," the Fat Steward said with a grin.
Yun Shu's expression shifted slightly. "Late Body Refining Stage?"
"That's right." The Fat Steward smiled. "Not sure if you've got the guts and the strength for it, though."
"Let me take a look," Yun Shu said after a moment's thought.
"All right." The Fat Steward handed him the bamboo slip.
A B-grade Mission?
Yun Shu's gaze sharpened.
With his strength, C-grade Missions were a piece of cake. They couldn't be called much trouble.
But a B-grade Mission might be beyond him right now.
Most required disciples at the Qi Condensation Stage, and even then, they had to be at the Middle Stage of Qi Condensation. Only Inner Sect disciples like that were qualified to get involved.
"Capture a Diamond Demonic Ape alive?" After reading the requirements, Yun Shu's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?"
"This is a mission for someone in Late Body Refining Stage?"
The Fat Steward pretended to take the slip and glance over it, then smiled. "It is. The Diamond Demonic Ape may be as strong as a human at the peak of Body Refining, but it's just a little stronger and thicker-skinned. Besides, the deadline's half a month. Surely one Diamond Demonic Ape that hasn't undergone Demonic Transformation can be dealt with in that time."
"Alive, though." Yun Shu didn't hesitate for long and kept reading.
A thousand Qi Nurturing Pills?
He drew in a quiet breath. That was a standout reward, even among B-grade Missions.
Most of the other missions were dangerous, beyond his ability, and didn't pay much besides.
This one didn't seem too risky. It was just extremely difficult.
"If I can't bring it back, won't I have to pay two thousand pills in compensation?" Yun Shu pondered.
He wasn't a reckless fool. There were a lot of Qi Nurturing Pills on offer, but he could earn that many by taking a few more C-grade Missions.
Still, if he broke through to Body Refining Ninth Level and perfected his Body Refining Technique, it might not be impossible to fight the Diamond Demonic Ape.
As for capturing it alive, he naturally couldn't use Sword Intent too often.
The Fat Steward seemed to see Yun Shu's misgivings and added, "If you fail a mission above C-grade, you don't have to pay compensation. Only C- and D-grade Missions require it."
"Most B-grade Missions can't be completed in a short time. Some even require a group of people to take them on together. Of course, if one remains unfinished for too long, the sect will directly assign a high-ranking Inner Sect disciple to complete it."
That put some of Yun Shu's concerns to rest.
"All right, I'll take it," Yun Shu said, nodding.
"That's more like it. The Diamond Demonic Ape's bulky, so it won't take much effort to capture it alive. Hand me your Jade Token, and I'll register you for the mission."
The Fat Steward handed him the black wooden token, about the size of a palm.
As for the Fat Steward's words, Yun Shu didn't believe a single punctuation mark.
The Diamond Demonic Ape was bulky?
Tell that to a ghost. A tiger weighed plenty, too, but in the forest it moved as if on level ground, swift as the wind.
And that was just a beast. What kind of ability might an ape on the verge of Demonic Transformation have? It could be beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.
"I wonder who came up with this mission. What do they want with a live Diamond Demonic Ape?" Yun Shu mused as he left the Scripture Pavilion.
It had to be the work of those Beast Tamers.
Compared to Auxiliary Professions like Artifact Refining and Talisman Crafting, Beast Taming was a much stranger profession.
Beast Tamers formed contracts with Demonic Beasts and relied on those beasts' advancement to improve part of their own strength. A Demonic Beast was like an external Spiritual Root to a Beast Tamer.
What he didn't know was that after he left, the Fat Steward leisurely put away the bamboo slip and glanced toward the door Yun Shu had walked through. "Old fellow, I've kept my promise to you."
"But you really trust him that much?"
"He's been in the Outer Sect for less than half a month, but his Qi and Blood Power has certainly climbed at an impressive rate. Every time I see him, he manages to surprise me."
No one answered. The Fat Steward seemed to have been talking to himself.
Over the next two days,
aside from spending two fixed hours a day reading, Yun Shu devoted the rest of his time to practicing the Body Refining Technique at the Training Ground.
His Body Refining progress was also advancing by leaps and bounds.
He didn't rush to do the mission. With his previous strength at Body Refining Eighth Layer, he might have been slapped flying before he even reached the Diamond Demonic Ape.
The Diamond Demonic Ape excelled at Body Refining, and it was hot-tempered. Capturing it alive would be no easier than the Seven Captures of Meng Huo.
The sun blazed high above the Training Ground, pouring down its scorching heat.
It was as if it would roast everyone alive.
Most of the people at the Training Ground were drenched in sweat as they practiced the Body Refining Technique.
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