Taking Down the Violet Cauldron Genius

"Immortal Master, take care!"

"Immortal Master Bai, stay safe! We shall remember your kindness for the rest of our lives!"

"Farewell, Immortal Master!"

Before a commandery city stood a crowd of townsfolk.

Their eyes were filled with gratitude, respect, and reluctance to part.

The Immortal Master had only been there for a few short days, yet he had changed the fate of the entire city and dragged that demonic family from its pedestal.

"There is no need to see me off any farther. Please, all of you, go home!"

Bai Jing waved, bidding the townsfolk farewell.

Then he mounted his fine horse. To the sound of hoofbeats, his figure gradually receded into the distance.

"The Immortal Masters of Shangqing Mountain are all good people. If any of my descendants possess immortal roots in the future, I shall surely send them to Shangqing Mountain to study the Dao. Mm, this ought to be added to our ancestral teachings."

Watching Immortal Master Bai's departing back, an old man of the city spoke, his gaze somewhat resolute.

"That may be true, but the temperaments of one's descendants must still be properly tempered. Otherwise, dragon-slaying youths will eventually become evil dragons, just like that demonic family."

"This mission alone took me nearly ten days." Riding toward the capital of Lingzhou, Bai Jing could not help but sigh.

He had completed his first mission in only around three days, yet this one had taken several times longer.

Of course, it was not because the mission had been excessively difficult. Rather, various factors had become entangled. For instance, the moment he arrived, the target had fled, and he had spent several days tracking him down.

Fortunately, everything had gone rather smoothly. He had emerged completely unscathed, so receiving a Grade A evaluation should not be a problem.

"By my calculations, there should only be around one month left before the assessment ends." Bai Jing murmured.

"I wonder how the stronghold is doing. Has anything major happened?" He lowered his head again and thought.

After that, Bai Jing gave it no further thought and urged his fine horse into a mad gallop.

At last, before the sun set, he arrived at the capital of Lingzhou.

Upon the vast plains rose a towering city.

Lingzhou was blessed with outstanding people and fertile land, and was far more prosperous than Yunzhou.

Whenever Shangqing Mountain recruited disciples, Lingzhou always provided the most. The selection sites were often placed within this province.

As the most prosperous city in the entire province, Lingzhou's capital was naturally the best place for Rogue Cultivators of all stripes to gather.

Thus, the city was filled with experts. Late-stage Qi and Blood Realm powerhouses were as common as oxen's hairs, and there were even a few Dao Platform Realm cultivators.

Leading his horse, Bai Jing passed through the southern gate and entered the city.

At once, an atmosphere of extreme bustle washed over him.

The streets were packed with carriages and horses, and most of those passing by came from wealthy and noble families. Refined young masters and ladies often strolled past.

In most cities of Yunzhou, Bai Jing's extraordinary bearing often drew sidelong glances from passersby.

But here, he did not seem particularly conspicuous.

Of course, Bai Jing himself had no desire to be a high-profile person.

Leading his horse, he stopped before an inn.

"Is the young master staying the night or dining?" A servant came out and proactively took the horse's reins.

"Back to Yunzhou!" Bai Jing took the initiative to display his identity token. The servant immediately understood and led him in through the side entrance, arriving behind the inn.

Behind the inn lay a vast open space.

Bai Jing looked out, and row after row of towering, massive Immortal Boats entered his sight. Each stood dozens of meters tall, their construction exquisitely delicate and truly a work of divine craftsmanship.

"This way, young master!"

The servant led him farther forward until they reached the very back.

"Junior Brother, hurry aboard! We're about to depart!"

From atop a weathered Immortal Boat, an older Senior Sister waved at Bai Jing.

"Compared to Shangqing Mountain's true Immortal Boats, these Senior Brothers' and Senior Sisters' are practically toys." Bai Jing looked at the deck, only a few meters high, and thought to himself.

He then paid five Ascension Coins and stepped onto the deck.

"There's only one month left before it ends. How many Grade As have you gotten? Do you have any confidence of entering Shangqing Mountain?"

"Who knows? I completed three missions in a row and never went to check the results on the Golden Ranking."

A group of assessment disciples gathered together, chatting among themselves.

At that moment, one disciple said in a gossiping tone, "Did you hear? Something major happened at the stronghold."

"What happened?" The moment those words were spoken, everyone's attention was drawn over.

"A disciple who came to Lingzhou for a mission told me that some fierce figure appeared at the stronghold. He was incredibly formidable."

"A fierce figure? How fierce? More formidable than Li Huai'an?"

"Not that much." The disciple continued, "I heard it was some kind of dispute. That fierce figure seemed to have taken out a genius."

"Huh? Took out a genius? Aren't disciples forbidden from killing each other during the assessment? How could he dare?"

"I don't know the details. The disciple who told me had been in a hurry to board the boat and did not have time to watch the show. Anyway, it seems that because of this, a Shangqing Mountain expert came in person, causing a huge uproar." The disciple shook his head. That was all he knew; they would have to wait until they returned to learn the specifics.

"Fine. We're heading back anyway. We can just ask when we get there."

The next day.

Afternoon.

Boom!

An Immortal Boat landed on the grass at the outermost edge of the Shangqing Mountain Stronghold.

"Hurry up, I want to hear the gossip!"

After enduring an entire day, the assessment disciples had finally returned to the stronghold. One after another, they hurried off the boat, eager to learn what exactly had happened there.

Bai Jing, however, was in no rush. After getting off the boat, he headed toward the inner district.

"It doesn't seem like anything major happened. I haven't heard anyone talking about it." As he walked, he found the stronghold calm, nothing like the sensation the person on the boat had described.

Before long, he arrived at the Ascension Tower.

"Name!"

The steward behind the window did not even raise his head as he spoke coldly.

"Bai Jing!"

Hearing this, the steward froze for a moment. At last, he raised his lofty head and carefully sized Bai Jing up.

To his disappointment, the other party seemed utterly ordinary.

"You are Bai Jing?"

"That's me. What is it, Steward?" Bai Jing was somewhat surprised by the question and asked in confusion.

Yet the steward said nothing more. He merely gave him a deep look before handing him fifty Ascension Coins.

At the sight of the Ascension Coins, a trace of excitement appeared on Bai Jing's puzzled, tense face.

He put away the Ascension Coins, then turned and entered the Mission Hall.

"Does this brat truly not know, or is he playing dumb?" Watching the youth's retreating back, the steward muttered.

About the time it took to burn an incense stick later, Bai Jing had selected his next mission and emerged from the Ascension Tower.

"I'll go check the Golden Ranking." He then headed to the square, wanting to know whether his previous mission had been affected after all.

"First on the Golden Ranking!"

The first name that caught his eye on the Golden Ranking was the one at the very top.

Li Huai'an!

"Impressive. Thirty-nine Level One missions, all Grade A!" Bai Jing exclaimed. Then, at the very bottom, he found his own name.

"Good, I got a Grade A!" He breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Having achieved his goal, Bai Jing retraced his steps and headed toward his thatched hut.

Before long.

Just as Bai Jing neared his thatched hut, he saw quite a few people standing before his door, causing him to frown slightly.

"Brother Bai Jing!" At the shout, all those people turned their heads in unison and looked over.

Clatter!

Bai Jing also noticed that the tightly shut windows on the second floors of the surrounding houses all flew open at that instant, several heads poking out from each one.

Xu Shan squeezed through the crowd and hurried over to Bai Jing, his face full of admiring smiles.

"Brother Bai, you're incredible! Without making a sound, you went and took down the Violet Cauldron Genius!"