Mission Hall

Three days later, Ye Xiu slowly opened his eyes.

All around him lay spirit stones that had turned into crystals.

Feeling the spiritual power within him fully replenished once more, Ye Xiu nodded in satisfaction.

While cleansing the spiritual power in his body anew, he had also taken the opportunity to fill in several acupoints that had previously remained incomplete.

The Burning Soul Art truly raised one's cultivation at a frightening speed, but it also left behind a considerable number of flaws.

If he were only facing enemies of a lower realm, that would be one thing. With the advantage of his cultivation realm, Ye Xiu could ensure they would be unable to stir up any waves.

But in the upcoming advancement assessment, those eligible to participate would all be cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Condensation.

With everyone at the same realm, what determined superiority was the foundation one had built.

In the vast majority of battles between cultivators of the same realm, there was one principle they followed: the barrel-stave theory.

An enemy would always target your shortest stave. A head-on clash between the strong only sounded impressive; if there was an opportunity, who would not seek an easier solution?

Having patched up those missing acupoints added another layer of insurance for Ye Xiu.

At the very least, they would not become weaknesses in his battles later on.

After dealing with his injuries, Ye Xiu looked at the mess he was in, yet did not hurry to change his clothes.

Not only that, he even forcibly activated his ability and began rapidly draining his spiritual power.

After a quarter-hour had passed, Ye Xiu looked at his reflection in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

Although the Ye Xiu in the mirror wore clean and neat robes, his slightly disheveled hair, untrimmed beard, and bloodshot eyes would make anyone believe he was in poor condition.

Not to mention the right arm he had deliberately kept behind him, wrapped tightly in bandages, along with several scars left by burns. All of it gave the impression that Ye Xiu's injuries had yet to heal.

Ye Xiu believed that Fang Qiong certainly had no shortage of spies in the outer sect.

Since the other man had gone to such great lengths to weaken him, Ye Xiu would show him exactly what he wanted to see.

For someone plotting behind the scenes, what could make him lower his guard more easily than seeing everything unfold according to his plan?

Only after making these preparations did Ye Xiu leave his residence once again.

After all, if one was putting on an act, one had to see it through to the end.

Outer sect, Punishment Hall.

Fang Qiong sat upright in the seat of honor, studying a sect letter before him with rapt attention.

The letter was neither metal nor jade. When held in one's hand and caught by the wind, it fluttered and swayed with the breeze, yet always remained perfectly flat.

Its sheen was dazzling. At a glance, it was clearly no ordinary object.

Fang Ye looked at the sect letter in his cousin's hand, envy flashing in his eyes.

This White-tier Book was something only inner sect disciples could access. Inscribing it with spiritual sense not only prevented outsiders from prying into it, but also ensured that nothing would be lost even after decades of storage.

Other than its jaw-dropping price, this thing had practically no flaws.

No, it should be said that being expensive was not this thing's flaw—it was the flaw of poor outer sect wretches like them.

Take the letter's owner, Senior Brother Xu, who was highly renowned even within the inner sect. Did he not use such things without the slightest hesitation?

As Fang Ye was thinking this, he saw Fang Qiong set down the letter and quickly stepped forward.

"Cousin, how was it? What did Senior Brother Xu say?"

A faint smile appeared on Fang Qiong's face.

"Senior Brother Xu said that although he will not be presiding over this advancement assessment, arranging for a few people of the same realm to help me will not be a problem."

He had waited in the outer sect for so long that his accumulated cultivation had already reached its limit. With others deliberately helping him as well, he would surely win great renown in this advancement assessment!

For disciples advancing in rank, a good placement was something that could truly affect the rest of their lives!

Not only would the assessment rewards be more generous, but more importantly, the higher one ranked, the more easily one could earn the favor of the elders.

If he could seize this chance to enter under the tutelage of a hall master with real authority, he would soar into the heavens in a single leap. Regardless of everything before, he would instantly become part of the sect's core.

At this thought, Fang Qiong could not help clenching his fists in excitement.

Fang Ye at his side was equally thrilled.

Once Fang Qiong advanced into the inner sect, Fang Ye would rise with him—when one person attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascended to heaven. He had served as a Punishment Hall disciple on White Bone Mountain for so long, and he had long harbored ambitions for better positions.

Just as the two were celebrating, a sudden knock sounded outside.

"Come in."

Fang Qiong put away the letter, his face returning to its usual stillness, like an ancient well untouched by wind.

"Senior Brother, Ye Xiu, the one you ordered me to watch, has come out."

The Punishment Hall disciple who entered bowed his head respectfully. Fang Qiong immediately became interested upon hearing this.

"Tell me. What did he do after leaving seclusion?"

"This junior brother saw that Ye Xiu's aura was weak, and his whole person looked utterly dispirited. The moment he came out, he headed straight for the Mission Hall. It looked like he wanted to find a mission that rewarded medicinal pills."

Hearing this, Fang Qiong nodded in satisfaction.

Just as he had expected, after suffering Zhou Xuan's Bone Flame scorching, Ye Xiu, merely at the ninth level of Qi Condensation, had naturally been severely depleted. He had barely recuperated for three days before leaving seclusion, so he was surely anxious about the upcoming advancement assessment.

"Send people to keep an eye on him. When necessary, join the mission as well. If an opportunity arises, make your move."

The moment Fang Qiong finished speaking, Fang Ye eagerly jumped forward.

"Cousin, how about I go?"

Fang Qiong considered it, then nodded. "Then use notifying him about the assessment as your pretext to go along. Bring more people, and be careful in all things."

Excitement flashed through Fang Ye's eyes. Last time, he had lost tremendous face because of Ye Xiu. He had thought it would be difficult to take revenge against someone of Ye Xiu's cultivation, but now that Ye Xiu was seriously injured, had his chance not arrived?

With that thought, Fang Ye beckoned several people over and eagerly led them toward the Mission Hall.

Inside the Mission Hall.

Ye Xiu's expression remained unchanged as he felt the people around him pointing and whispering about him.

After the farce before the Alchemy Hall that day, he had gained a bit of notoriety in the outer sect.

It was simply not a very good reputation;

A fool who did not know his own limits, an idiot who did not understand the rules, a hanger-on who could not even cling to the right thigh...

The disciples who knew of the matter all mocked him. They said he had thought that once he latched onto Fang Qiong, everything would be smooth sailing, when in truth he did not understand the gulf between inner and outer sect disciples at all.

Unless one was like Fang Qiong, with an inner sect disciple having truly stood up for them before everyone, only then could it be considered genuine protection.

Otherwise, if one thought a few words alone could make others wary, then one would end up like a fool such as Ye Xiu, wasting a bright future for nothing.

Yes, although Fang Qiong's aid had not arrived that day, he had still fulfilled one part of the promise he made.

Ye Xiu's name was conspicuously listed among the disciples for the new round of advancement assessments.

Previously, everyone had thought Ye Xiu might have a chance of passing through luck and special consideration.

But now, seeing Ye Xiu gravely injured and still having to come out personally to accept missions for medicine, anyone with eyes could tell there was definitely not enough time.

"Is the lower Yellow-tier mission to intercept a merchant caravan, with a Rejuvenation Pill as the reward, still available?"

Ye Xiu cupped his fists toward the disciple handling mission registration and issuance before him and asked.

Among low-grade medicinal pills, the Rejuvenation Pill was one of the rare few capable of restoring the soul. It happened to suit his condition after being scorched by Bone Flame.

The disciple paused, just about to speak, when a burst of noisy voices came from behind him.

A hand draped itself over Ye Xiu's shoulder.

"Senior Brother Ye, why didn't you let us know you were coming out to accept a mission?"