New Mission

The cold glow of the mission center's screen was painfully glaring.

Mei Ye stood before the list, his fingertips hovering in midair, his brow slightly furrowed.

Just as Wen Siyi had said,

for the time being, he had no chance to break through. He had to wait until his martial foundation was complete.

Before then, to accumulate money and solidify his martial foundation, he should take on more missions.

"So, which of these available missions are you choosing?"

The mission center clerk, Wen Li, tapped at her keyboard as she spoke to Mei Ye.

She stared at Mei Ye's face and gave it a serious look.

Thanks to Mei Ye's exceptional looks, women always paid this guy a little more attention.

Lately, one piece of news about him had followed another, leaving people dizzy from trying to keep up.

Quite a few young girls who thought they had some looks of their own had developed thoughts about Mei Ye, and at gatherings, there was no shortage of regret in their voices.

"If only I'd bet on that handsome guy back then."

Wen Li often saw messages like that in the girls' internal chat group.

"These... have all been taken?"

Mei Ye frowned and tapped several missions on the list.

Without even looking, Wen Li knew he was referring to those popular missions. She gave a bitter smile.

"How could Jiangbei City have so many missions for newcomers? The pressure on our Demon Suppression Bureau is high, sure, but this isn't the border. There aren't that many demons for people to grind levels on.

The missions in North River are all difficult, tangled cases. The investigations themselves are hard enough; getting results within a month is already good."

After a pause, as though something had occurred to her, Wen Li gave Mei Ye an odd look.

"Like last time at Second High School, when you did it all in one day..."

Wen Li stopped halfway through, shook her head with an amused smile, her eyes full of teasing.

"Last time, if that principal and dean really hadn't been monsters, the Education Bureau would've fought you to the death." Wen Li covered her mouth. "Who goes into a school and takes out the principal and dean? Hehe..."

Wen Li had originally been a simple country girl, but when she spoke of those important figures being taken down, she still could not help wanting to laugh.

"You know, if Lieutenant Wei hadn't always been so domineering, you might really have had to give the Education Bureau an explanation."

Mei Ye lowered his eyes and said nothing, but thinking it over carefully, he had not done anything wrong.

He had merely been too eager to improve.

After all, one monster meant over a thousand merit points!

"I was only too concerned about the children's safety. After all, they're the flowers of the motherland..."

Mei Ye quietly offered a few words in his own defense.

"Enough, let's not talk about that. Take another look. Some missions may have already been picked up by several captains, but there are still a few scraps of meat left on the bone."

At that, Mei Ye refreshed the missions on the screen with his finger.

After several rounds, he had gone through missions of every rank.

Many of the available ones were D-rank missions that could be handled in the Body Tempering Realm, such as patrols and heading into the mountains to eliminate demons... The rewards were low, the monsters weak, and there was little in them for him.

The more important missions mostly required teams, and several captains had already claimed them. His rank was not high enough either.

"Is there really no suitable mission?"

Seeing Mei Ye's lowered head and melancholy, furrowed expression, Wen Li took the initiative to scroll through the list. Suddenly, she called out, "There is one. Recently, many people in Cloud Creek Town have been hospitalized due to physical weakness. The hospital's monitoring suggests this isn't a natural phenomenon, so they need a few people to investigate. Hmm... it's a C-rank mission, with a reward of 2,000 yuan. But one person has already signed up. Do you still want to register?"

"Sign me up."

Mei Ye answered directly. He felt he might not necessarily lose out to the other person.

"Alright."

Wen Li nodded and made a few operations on the keyboard.

"Much appreciated."

Mei Ye spoke to Wen Li, then left the mission center.

At the martial arts training ground, Captain Jiang gathered the members of Team Two as usual.

He trained Team Two for the entire afternoon, and Mei Ye's performance surpassed his expectations.

Even among those in the early Qi Gathering stage, judging by his blade techniques and fierce attacks, Mei Ye was no ordinary person.

Was this kid's talent actually this high?

Captain Jiang was astonished. He had not known Mei Ye for very long, had he?

Why did this kid look as if he was about to touch the peak of Qi Gathering?

After finishing martial practice with his teammates, Mei Ye took a towel and wiped away his sweat.

He saw that Captain Jiang was free at the moment.

He suddenly recalled what Wen Siyi had said about the list.

So he ran over to ask.

"Captain," Mei Ye walked over to Captain Jiang.

"Little Mei, what is it?"

Captain Jiang glanced at Mei Ye and spoke.

Although Mei Ye often caused all sorts of trouble for him and Lieutenant Wei in the team,

he had already given up on the idea of disciplining Mei Ye.

He felt he could not tame Mei Ye, this true dragon.

He should leave it to his colleagues and Lieutenant Wei to worry about Mei Ye, this thorn in their side.

"Captain, does our Demon Suppression Bureau have some kind of list?"

Seeing that Captain Jiang was in a good mood, Mei Ye asked frankly.

Captain Jiang gave Mei Ye a surprised look. This kid's political instincts were not bad. What a pity—he was simply too proud.

"A list..." Captain Jiang pondered for a moment. "We do indeed have such a thing. It's called the 'People's Shield.'

That list is the court's way of protecting and cultivating outstanding Demon-Suppressing Guards within the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Anyone who gets onto that list receives priority access to resources. Even dangerous missions are generally assigned with their circumstances taken into consideration."

Mei Ye nodded. The list really was as Wen Siyi had described it. Those who entered it would receive the court's focused cultivation.

"Then how does one get onto the list?"

"Heh."

Captain Jiang gave a meaningful smile. He looked at Mei Ye, and a trace of smugness seemed to flash through his eyes.

No matter how heaven-defying your talent was, beneath the great mountain of the court, you still had to drink the officials' foot-washing water!

He patted Mei Ye on the shoulder and said leisurely, "That thing is terribly complicated. Out of a hundred Demon-Suppressing Guards who apply, only one or two make it in at the end.

Whether you get in depends, in the end, on your personal contributions and awareness.

If the court's officials think you are material worth shaping, they will naturally let you in.

But if the officials are dissatisfied, then honestly do missions alongside everyone else, accumulating rewards and merit.

Work at it for ten years or eight, and that's still a path forward!"

With that, Captain Jiang shook his head and left.

Mei Ye watched Captain Jiang's departing back, his heart sinking.

He had understood Captain Jiang's implication just now.

The list's benefits were indeed generous, but who could get in and who could not depended entirely on the words of the powerful nobles within the court.

For someone from a poor family like him to enjoy the same benefits as the second generation was simply a fantasy.