Task

Complex thoughts flashed rapidly through Zhou Zheng's mind. Having regained his composure, he slowly lowered his right hand from the hilt of the sword on his back.

"In other words, we've become Cyclic Reincarnators of the Temporal Temple and are now undergoing our first mission?" Zhou Zheng asked the Demon who appeared to be a veteran.

"Looks like you adapted quickly. Once you enter the Temporal Temple, only people like you, who know how to read the situation, tend to survive!" The Demon chuckled in a rather strange tone before continuing:

"That's right. We are indeed in a mission—or rather, in its preparation period!

"The place we are in now has a time flow tens of millions of times faster than the outside world. Compared to this place, time outside is practically frozen! This period is for us to prepare. Once the time flow returns to normal, the mission will officially begin. So, we can leave the nonsense for later. Let's discuss business first!"

"You should all know the mission details. If you don't, think carefully about the information the Temporal Temple sent you!" the Demon said.

"In the Nine Yuan World, the Wang Family, rulers of Black Wind City, will soon face revenge from the newly ascended Transcendent Wilco. My mission is to protect the Wang Family from being exterminated for one month!" the female Mage said.

"My mission also says that another team will arrive in half a day!"

"This isn't just your mission. It's the mission of all of us!" the Demon said. "Therefore, we are companions and must work together!"

The female Mage said nothing, but it was not hard to see from her expression that she was somewhat unwilling to cooperate with a Demon.

"Heh heh!"

The Demon smiled calmly.

"How do we cooperate?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"This is our first time working together, so don't expect any deep coordination. But we can at least exchange our names, strength, and what we specialize in!" the Demon said.

"I'll start! I am Herk. I am a First Order Demon, roughly equivalent to a Flying Heaven-level Transcendent in your Material Realm. I specialize in frontal combat!"

Hearing this, Zhou Zheng grew slightly solemn. This Demon actually possessed Transcendent-level strength.

Why were Transcendents called Transcendents? Because they had completely surpassed mortals!

Even the strongest Title-level mortals could barely withstand a few moves against a true Transcendent.

Some Title-level experts might possess greater combat experience and higher realms than Transcendents, yet they would still be completely suppressed by one. Their power simply was not on the same level; the gap was far too great.

As Zhou Zheng pondered this, he did not hesitate and said directly, "I am the Lightning Swordsman. I am Title-level and specialize in frontal combat!"

Lightning Swordsman was the title Zhou Zheng had earned while challenging all sorts of experts in the Great Xia World. It was useful now.

"Title-level? That should be Mortal Sixth Tier!" Demon Herk nodded slightly, without much surprise on his face. He then looked at the female Mage and asked:

"What about you?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, the female Mage said, "Feng Zhuhong. Grandmaster level mage. I specialize in water- and ice-element spells."

"Grandmaster level? That should also be Mortal Sixth Tier!" Herk nodded again. At this point, his gaze fell beside the female Mage.

There was another figure there.

This figure was silver all over, with two legs and four arms. It had no mouth or nose, only a pair of pitch-black eyes exposed.

This person had been there from the beginning, but had remained silent all along.

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be a God Realm lifeform!" Herk narrowed his eyes and asked, "What is your decision? Cooperate with us, or act alone?"

"Cooperate!"

A voice came from within the lifeform. It continued, "I come from the Donghua Divine Realm. My name is Jit. I am Mortal Sixth Tier and specialize in defense and protection!"

God Realm, Abyss, Material Realm—the full set is here! This thought flashed through Zhou Zheng's mind.

The Tianyu Universe could roughly be divided into three parts: the God Realm, the Abyss World, and the Material Realm. He came from the Xia Clan World of the Material Realm, Herk was an Abyss Demon, and now a God Realm lifeform had appeared. Wasn't that the full set?

As for the female Mage called Feng Zhuhong, she might be from the Material Realm or the God Realm. Since she did not say, Zhou Zheng had no way to judge.

"Now that we know each other, let's talk about the mission!" Herk said.

"The various missions issued by the Temporal Temple can be divided into five levels: Simple Tier, Normal Tier, Difficult Tier, Hell Tier, and Nightmare Tier.

"In Simple Tier missions, as long as you proceed step by step and do not cause trouble, everyone can survive. Normal Tier missions have a death rate of around twenty percent. Difficult Tier missions have a fifty percent death rate. Hell Tier missions have a ninety percent death rate. Nightmare Tier missions have a ninety-nine percent death rate!"

"Our mission this time has been classified as Normal Tier. In other words, if things develop normally, one of the four of us may die, though it is also possible for all of us to survive!"

"What do you mean by 'develop normally'?" Feng Zhuhong asked.

"It means keeping a low profile and not provoking beings we cannot afford to provoke!" Herk said in a low voice.

"Our mission this time takes place in a world within the Material Realm. None of us knows what this place is like, but there is no denying that a complete world is bound to contain some incredibly powerful Transcendents, perhaps even Demigods, and possibly even Deities. If we provoke such beings, this mission, originally only Normal Tier, may instantly become Hell Tier or even Nightmare Tier!"

"In my hometown, your identity is the greatest variable. If people discover that you are a Demon, powerful Transcendents will likely come to kill you at once, and we may be dragged into it as well!" Feng Zhuhong said.

"I wonder whether the Nine Yuan World is the same!"

"Nearly all Material Worlds are like that. I've already encountered this once! So I must keep a low profile from now on. The task of negotiating with the people we are protecting will have to be left to you and the Lightning Swordsman!" Demon Herk said calmly.

Feng Zhuhong said nothing more, but Zhou Zheng suddenly said:

"If all we need to do is prevent the Wang Family from being exterminated for one month, then it's too simple. We can just choose one direct descendant of the Wang Family, take them away, and hide them!"

"Then, after one month, the mission will be completed easily!"

"You're right!" Herk nodded.

"But that way, we can only receive the fewest Time-Space Points. It would be practically wasting the opportunity of a Normal Tier mission for nothing!"

"Time-Space Points?" Feng Zhuhong asked.

"They are the currency used within the Temporal Temple. With Time-Space Points, you can exchange for all kinds of treasures from the Temporal Temple, ask powerful experts for guidance, or watch the battles of certain experts," Herk said.

"In short, within the Temporal Temple, without Time-Space Points, you can barely take a single step!"

"Then how can we earn more Time-Space Points?" Zhou Zheng asked.

"My guess is that after one month, the more members of the Wang Family survive, the more Time-Space Points we will receive!" Herk continued.

"Then there is the other team! If I'm not mistaken, their mission must be to help the newly ascended Transcendent Wilco take revenge on the Wang Family!

"Our two teams are in conflict. Therefore, if we kill members of that team, we will receive additional Time-Space Points. By the same logic, if the other team kills us, they will also receive additional Time-Space Points!"

How cruel! Zhou Zheng's heart tightened slightly.

"Most importantly, since the second team will not appear at the same time as us, but half a day later, then in the Temporal Temple's judgment, their overall strength must be greater than ours!" Herk added.

Feng Zhuhong and Zhou Zheng's expressions both changed slightly.

Though this mission was called Normal Tier, it did not seem all that safe!