A-Rank Evaluation

Chapter Ten: A-Rank Evaluation

"They must have heard the screams of those two Black Miao Minions before they died!"

After giving it some thought, Li Wei knew where the problem lay. He now had two choices: the safest was to end the mission, while the other was to stay.

What should he do?

The Wraith's summoning time had expired. Without the Lantern Ghost's help, it was nearly impossible for him and Zhao Ling'er alone to deal with the Black Miao Leader and more than four Black Miao Minions.

"Let's leave this room first!" After only a brief consideration, Li Wei dismissed the idea of ending the mission. He could not leave a woman behind and flee on his own, especially when Aunt Li was still in danger.

Li Wei and Zhao Ling'er entered the first-floor woodshed one after the other through the hidden passage.

At this point, there was no time to care about propriety between men and women. Li Wei took Zhao Ling'er's soft little hand and ran from the woodshed straight into the room where Aunt Li lay.

This woman, weathered and aged by the years, lay sleeping peacefully on the bed. Seeing this, Li Wei finally relaxed.

"Ling'er, where is Li Xiaoyao?"

Li Wei knew that Li Xiaoyao was the only one he could rely on now. With the help of the Sword Control Technique and Zhao Ling'er's Five Spirit Immortal Arts, they might still have a chance.

"Brother Xiaoyao?" At the mention of Li Xiaoyao, Zhao Ling'er's expression clearly changed. "He asked me for spiritual medicine, saying he was going to save his Aunt. He also said he would return soon... to propose marriage!"

By the end, her pretty face was already flushed red.

Li Wei's eyes lit up!

Right, how could he have forgotten? The girl before him was the young mistress of Fairy Spirit Island. She surely had spiritual medicine that could save Aunt Li.

Sure enough, after he asked, Zhao Ling'er took a white jade porcelain bottle from her robe and poured out a pill. "This is it... Grandma personally refined it. Ordinary people can take it to cure all illnesses!"

Li Wei reached out and accepted it.

"[Purple Gold Pill], derived from Bian Que's Heart Manual. A specially made Fairy Spirit Island pill. Can be taken out of the scenario world. Can be exchanged for 75 points!"

The pill was translucent black-purple, like a gemstone. It felt warm in his hand and gave off a strong medicinal scent.

Time was running out. Li Wei quickly poured a bowl of water, and together with Zhao Ling'er, they fed the pill to Aunt Li.

The Purple Gold Pill from Fairy Spirit Island was truly miraculous. In only a moment, Aunt Li's pale complexion improved, and she slowly began to awaken.

After drinking another large bowl of water, Aunt Li finally caught her breath. She first looked Zhao Ling'er over, then fixed her gaze on Li Wei.

"Little beggar, this old woman owes you one!" The wariness and disgust in her eyes were gone, replaced by a hint of gentleness.

"Random mission: 'Meticulous Care,' completed. Aunt Li's favorability toward you has increased by 75. Reward: [Coarse Cloth Bundle] ×1."

He had made a killing!

Li Wei was overjoyed and filled with curiosity about the contents of the Coarse Cloth Bundle. However, there were more important matters at hand.

Although Li Wei's wounds were no longer serious, his clothes were tattered, and the inn reeked strongly of blood. Aunt Li naturally asked about it. Li Wei's eyes rolled, and he hurriedly embellished the entire story. When he spoke of the relationship between Zhao Ling'er and Li Xiaoyao, Aunt Li's face darkened.

"That's outrageous! A bunch of Miao Border savages dare run wild in my place, and they even kidnapped my future niece-in-law. It seems I've endured in silence for far too long!"

As she spoke, an overwhelming aura surged skyward, startling Zhao Ling'er beside her.

At that moment, the wooden door was kicked open. The Black Miao Leader charged in with several Miao minions.

The moment they saw Li Wei, their eyes turned red. This despicable waiter had actually poisoned their food, making them visit the outhouse more than a dozen times. Most intolerable of all, the brat had even killed their men. The already hot-tempered Miao leader was now consumed by rage.

Unlike the Miao minions, the Black Miao Leader held a Miao Saber glowing red, clearly no ordinary weapon. His presence was also the strongest among them. With a furious roar, his body suddenly grew several sizes larger, muscles bulging as an invisible current of air swirled around him, making his black Miao clothes crackle.

Facing such a powerful opponent, Li Wei could not help swallowing. Even Zhao Ling'er wore a grave expression. Upon closer inspection, she was even trembling. Her instincts told her that this muscular Miao man was far stronger than she was.

Yet Aunt Li, who had only just recovered from a serious illness, paid him no mind. She merely said softly, "Not bad," and nothing more.

Then the Black Miao Leader made his move!

Though still several yards away, he raised the Miao Saber high above his head. Power flooded both arms as the blade split the air with unparalleled force, whipping up a sharp wave of energy that slashed toward Li Wei and the other two.

The wooden floor seemed to have been cut by an invisible blade beneath that wave, leaving a deep groove. The blade wave did not lose any momentum as it rushed straight at Li Wei, who stood closest.

Li Wei's pupils shrank to pinpoints. An extreme warning of danger rose in his heart. He knew that if the blade wave struck him, he would have no chance of survival. He would be cut to pieces.

Fortunately, Aunt Li was there. With a flash, she appeared in front of Li Wei. Crossing her arms in an X-shaped guard, she took the blade wave head-on. It left only a mark on her skin, not even breaking it.

The Black Miao Leader was shocked. His move had been taught to him by an expert, and its fierce blade energy could split rocks. How had an old woman so easily neutralized it? It was simply unbelievable.

What came next was even more unbelievable. Aunt Li took several quick steps forward and instantly appeared before the Black Miao Leader. Her left hand drew back while her right palm pressed against his chest. With a roar, a palm-shaped burst of force appeared on the Black Miao Leader's back.

"Cloud Piercing Palm, break!"

With a thunderous boom, the Black Miao Leader flew away like a kite with its string cut. Screaming miserably, he smashed through the door and was sent flying more than a dozen yards. Blood poured from his mouth. After struggling briefly, he stopped breathing. That single palm strike had killed him outright.

The Black Miao Minions were dumbfounded. Zhao Ling'er was dumbfounded as well. Only Li Wei was not.

He had long known that Aunt Li possessed extraordinary skills. Though he was somewhat surprised by the power of the Cloud-Piercing Palm, there was something even more important for him to do now.

He could not let these Black Miao Minions go either. The Yellow Paper had made it clear: every additional Black Miao killed would improve his evaluation when the mission ended.

Gripping the Refined Steel Miao Saber, Li Wei charged into the Miao minions. With several swift slashes, he cut down one Black Miao Minion.

"We can't let them escape, or these Miao Border savages will come back for revenge next time!"

Aunt Li and Zhao Ling'er snapped out of it, secretly thinking that Li Wei had considered everything thoroughly.

By then, the remaining Miao minions had been frightened out of their wits. Having lost all ability to resist, they were soon slaughtered by Li Wei.

Though it was not his first time killing someone, Li Wei's hand still trembled uncontrollably around the Miao Saber. Just as he killed the Miao men, prompts appeared in the Yellow Skin Book.

"Killed 5 Black Miao Minions. Reward: 500 points. Obtained [Refined Steel Miao Saber] ×1, 200 copper coins!"

"Black Miao killing mission completed. Mission complete. Leaving scenario world in 5 seconds..."

Li Wei only had time to glance back at Aunt Li and Zhao Ling'er before a mass of white light enveloped him. His body felt as though he were riding a roller coaster, plunging into weightlessness. Intense dizziness and blinding light forced him to close his eyes.

He did not know how long passed before the sensation of weightlessness gradually faded. Li Wei opened his eyes again and found himself in a secret chamber.

The surroundings were silent enough for him to hear his own heartbeat clearly. Li Wei touched the blood splattered across his forehead, momentarily at a loss.

If not for the bloodstains and the Miao Saber in his hand, Li Wei might have believed that everything he had experienced was nothing but a dream. Only after a long while did he summon the Yellow Paper and examine the information on it.

"Newcomer initial mission concluded. Reward: 500 points. Mission completion rate... 97%. A-Rank evaluation granted... Additional A-Rank evaluation reward: 5 basic attribute points, 2,000 points!"

"Item and point summary: [Lantern of the Wraith] cannot be taken out of the scenario world and has automatically been exchanged for 1,750 points... Remaining total points: 4,800. [Refined Steel Miao Saber] ×2, [Golden Trauma Medicine] ×2, 267 Xianjian scenario-world copper coins, [Coarse Cloth Bundle] ×1..."

An A-Rank evaluation sounded pretty good!

But what puzzled Li Wei most was the five basic attribute points.

With the Yellow Paper there, Li Wei quickly figured out what attribute points did. They could improve the four basic attributes. Even the slowest person would understand the significance of basic attribute points. For example, Li Wei's current Strength was 4. If he allocated all five extra attribute points to Strength, his Strength would more than double.

In other words, if he could originally lift an object weighing one hundred catties, he could now lift two hundred.

He had struck it rich!

Five attribute points were equivalent to 10,000 points. Considering that completing such a mission had only given him 500 points, the value of those five attribute points was obvious.

In truth, Li Wei had indeed made a tremendous profit this time. What he did not know was that earning an evaluation above C-Rank in a newcomer's initial mission required altering the original plot. This time, he had stumbled onto the right path by accident.

Still excited, Li Wei hurriedly checked the other items. Their list was displayed on the Yellow Paper, and with a thought, he could retrieve any of them at will. It was extremely convenient.

With a flip of his hands, a gray pouch wrapped in coarse cloth appeared in Li Wei's grasp. This was the [Coarse Cloth Bundle] he had received for caring for Aunt Li.

After opening it, something appeared before Li Wei's eyes!