C-Rank Mission!

The next morning, Li Long returned to the mission counter.

This time, he did not turn to the D-rank page. Instead, he went straight to the C-rank mission list. There were far fewer entries than for D-rank missions; the Notting Sector had only three recent C-rank missions in total.

He read through them one by one.

First: Escort a batch of valuable goods from Notting City to Soto City, passing through a stretch of forest road frequented by soul beasts. C-rank, 30 points. Note: Requires strength above two rings, or one ring with extensive combat experience.

Second: Investigate the recent soul beast attacks in the western suburbs mining district, identify the source, and eliminate the threat. C-rank, 35 points. Note: A hundred-year soul beast may be present.

Third: Hunt a hundred-year Berserk Boar that had wandered into Area Three of Soul Hunting Forest. The soul beast had already injured three patrol members. C-rank, 40 points. Note: Berserk Boars excel at charging in straight lines; their hides are thick and tough.

Li Long's gaze stopped on the third entry.

Forty points—the highest reward among the C-rank missions.

He had visited Area Three of Soul Hunting Forest once during a previous defense assignment, so the terrain was not entirely unfamiliar.

Besides, Berserk Boars were known for their immense strength, sturdy defenses, and slow speed.

A head-on clash was exactly the sort of opponent his Iron Staff martial soul handled best.

"I'll take the third one," he said to the clerk.

The clerk looked up at him, seemingly surprised. "C-rank missions require a strength certification. How many rings do you have?"

"One ring."

The clerk frowned. "C-rank missions generally require at least two rings. Are you sure you want to take it? While one-ring soul masters are not explicitly barred from taking C-rank missions, if anything happens, both the mission issuer and the branch hall will be held responsible. I need to check your mission record first."

Li Long pushed his handbook over. "I've completed two D-rank missions before, both independently, with no casualties. You can check the files."

The clerk flipped through two pages of records, then looked at him again. After hesitating for a moment, he finally stamped the mission form. "Fine, but I'm adding a note: the mission taker is a one-ring soul master and assumes all risks. If you decide you can't handle it midway, you may abandon the mission without losing points."

"Understood."

Li Long collected the mission form, turned, and left the branch hall, heading straight for Soul Hunting Forest.

Area Three of Soul Hunting Forest lay southeast of Notting City, about an hour and a half away on foot.

This time, Li Long did not run. Instead, he maintained a brisk, even pace to conserve his strength.

Along the way, he closed his eyes and reviewed the Berserk Boar's traits in his mind.

Thick hide, powerful impact, sharp tusks. Its weaknesses were clumsy turns and poor endurance; after three or four violent charges, it would begin panting.

"Going head-to-head with me? That's exactly what I want," he muttered.

By the time he reached the edge of Area Three, it was midmorning.

Sunlight filtered through the canopy in mottled patches, while the air carried the damp scent of soil.

Li Long slowed down, lowered his center of gravity, and began carefully searching for tracks.

A Berserk Boar was massive, leaving obvious signs wherever it passed.

Uprooted tree roots, compacted mud pits, broken low shrubs.

He followed those traces for about the time it took to burn an incense stick before discovering his target beside a stream.

The boar was even larger than he had expected.

Its shoulder height nearly reached that of a man. Its body was covered in coarse gray-black bristles, and two tusks curved out from the corners of its mouth, their tips glinting with a dark yellow sheen.

At the moment, it was rooting through the mud by the stream for grass roots, completely unaware that someone was approaching.

Li Long did not attack immediately.

He first surveyed the surrounding terrain.

There was a huge boulder across the stream, an open clearing to the left, and dense trees to the right.

If the boar was startled, it would most likely charge toward the clearing, where no obstacles would block its path.

"Set the battlefield in the clearing."

He slowly backed away, circled around to one side of the clearing, picked up a fist-sized stone from the brush, and hurled it hard toward the boar's rear.

The stone struck a tree trunk with a bang.

The boar abruptly raised its head, its nostrils flaring as it turned toward the sound.

Li Long stepped out from the brush, his Iron Staff already in hand as he stood squarely in the center of the clearing.

The boar spotted him and immediately lowered its front half. Its rear hooves scraped twice against the ground, and it let out a short, sharp snort.

The next second, it charged at him like an uncontrolled mudslide.

Li Long did not dodge.

He took half a step back, held the Iron Staff horizontally before him, and braced himself.

When the boar came within five steps, he suddenly twisted aside. One end of the Iron Staff touched the ground at an angle, lending him leverage to shift sideways. The boar brushed past him at less than a foot's distance, the pressure of its passage snapping at the hem of his clothes.

He followed through with a staff strike to the boar's hindquarters. Golden light flashed, and the blow drew a pained howl from the beast.

"First strike. A test."

The pain only made the boar more frenzied. It turned around and charged again, faster than before.

Li Long used the same method, but this time he did not evade completely. Instead, he directly blocked a sideways ram.

The tremendous impact plowed two shallow furrows through the mud beneath his feet, but the stability granted by his physical strength kept him from being sent flying.

I can defend against it. He had his answer.

When the boar charged for the third time, Li Long did not retreat again.

He took a deep breath and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Golden light blazed from the Iron Staff in his hand.

He activated his first soul skill at full power, concentrating all his strength into a single strike.

Mighty Vajra Staff!

He swung the Iron Staff in a full arc, delivering a precise upward strike at the base of the boar's charging tusk.

Bang!!!

The thunderous sound echoed through the forest.

The tusk shattered, and half of it flew away.

The boar's momentum was forcibly halted by the blow. Its huge body rolled forward half a turn from inertia before crashing heavily to the ground.

It struggled to rise, but Li Long had already stepped forward. He raised the Iron Staff high and brought it down with one final blow onto the center of its head.

Crack.

A dull sound of bone breaking.

The boar's limbs twitched a few times before going completely still.

A yellow hundred-year soul ring rose from the corpse, slowly rotating beneath the sunlight.

Li Long stood where he was, breathing heavily.

The battle had been brief, but he had used all his strength in that final strike.

He had expended quite a bit of soul power, and his muscles ached slightly from taking the impact head-on.

But more than anything, he felt exhilarated.

The feeling of confronting an enemy head-on, of meeting force with force, was even more satisfying than he had imagined.

Just as he was about to crouch down and deal with the corpse, he suddenly froze.

Something inside him had loosened.

He closed his eyes. Soul power surged through his meridians, and the barrier that had held him at the peak of level fourteen cracked open amid the lingering force of that all-out strike. His soul power flowed through the fissure like mercury, rushing yet steady as it entered the path of the next level.

Level fifteen.

He opened his eyes and slowly exhaled.

"Sure enough, real combat is the best catalyst."

There was not much excitement—only a greater sense of solidity.

He crouched down and used a short knife to cut open the Berserk Boar's corpse, removing its beast core and tusks as proof of the mission.

The materials from a hundred-year soul beast were a full size larger than those from ten-year ones. They felt heavy in his hand and gave off a faint yellow gleam.

After finishing up, Li Long left the corpse where it was and headed back along the way he had come.