A Child's Play of an Assessment

Elven Forest, Traveler Camp.

Young Mistress, Qi Lin, Dun Qu Qi Yi, and Ali, the four who had eliminated the group of Dire Wolf monsters, arrived before a wooden house in the Traveler Camp. This was where Katheryne of the Adventurers' Association lived.

Even from far away, they could see Katheryne's busy figure.

When they reached the entrance of the Adventurers' Association, they happened to see Katheryne finishing the settlement for a player's quest.

Having just finished settling the quest, Katheryne looked up and saw the four Travelers walking toward her.

"Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Association. We meet again, four Travelers." Katheryne stood behind the wooden counter and spoke to the four of them with a warm smile.

Ali took out the Magic Core of the level-twelve Dire Wolf monster and said to Katheryne behind the counter, "Miss Katheryne, we're here to turn in a quest."

"Is that so?" Katheryne accepted the Magic Core from Ali, glanced at it, and said to the four of them, "This is indeed the Magic Core of a level-twelve monster. However, Traveler Ali accepted an official class assessment quest. From what I can see, Miss Ali's class should be mage. Are you sure you want me to issue a Qi Practitioner assessment certificate?"

"Miss Katheryne, don't worry. Look, what's this?" Ali waved a talisman in her hand.

"This is Liyue's [Spirit-Awakening Talisman]." Katheryne, worthy of being the Adventurers' Association's receptionist, recognized the item talisman in Ali's hand after just one glance. "I see. I understand now."

Ali: "?"

She really wanted to know what exactly Miss Katheryne understood.

Then Katheryne took out a peculiar card, retrieved a stamp from behind the counter, and pressed it onto the card.

Katheryne handed the card to Ali and said, "Thank you for completing the quest. This is your reward for this quest."

Ali took the card and examined it closely, but she could not sense anything from it. She only felt that its material was quite unusual, and it bore the Adventurers' Association's seal.

"Is this any different from your certificates?" Ali curiously passed the card to Qi Lin, Young Mistress, and Dun Qu Qi Yi beside her.

Ali's assessment certificate made a round through the hands of the three of them.

"Well?" Ali asked curiously.

"It does seem somewhat different." Young Mistress spoke after pondering it for a moment.

"It seems even the three of our assessment certificates are different." Qi Lin took out her dual-gun class assessment certificate for comparison.

Dun Qu Qi Yi saw that they were about to start studying it right there and could not help interrupting, "Shouldn't we look at who Ali needs to find to change classes after receiving that assessment certificate?"

"That's true." Everyone came to their senses at once. There was no need to fuss over such trivial details.

Ali opened the item description for the assessment certificate through the system.

[Name: Official Qi Practitioner Certification]

[Description: With this certification, you may become an official Qi Practitioner under a Qi Practitioner mentor.]

[Usage: Please seek out the "Traveling Merchant," Jiu Yue, to become an official Qi Practitioner.]

"Eh." Ali did not hide the item description from the other three. "I never expected the Qi Practitioner mentor to be Jiu Yue."

"That's perfectly normal. After all, Jiu Yue was the one who gave you the Spirit-Awakening Talisman, Ali." Qi Lin explained.

"That's true." Ali thought so as well. "Still, I didn't expect class assessment quests could be completed in a party."

"What's so strange about that?" Dun Qu Qi Yi tilted her head and thought about how to phrase it. "After all, every assessment quest has a monster above level ten. Monsters above level ten can detect bullets through their bodies alone."

"If parties weren't allowed, wouldn't completing them alone be very difficult?"

Hearing Dun Qu Qi Yi's speculation, Young Mistress nodded from the side and said, "Every upgrade to the World Tree feels incredibly real. I can genuinely feel my strength growing stronger."

"If Tianhe Sheriff attacked with ordinary bullets, I should be able to dodge them too. With [Peerless] activated, I should even be able to knock bullets away." Young Mistress said this after giving it serious thought.

Qi Lin: Why was she being used as the comparison?

Seeing Qi Lin's baffled expression, everyone chatted and laughed as they headed over to Jiu Yue.

Jiu Yue's place was not as lively as the Adventurers' Association. Instead, it seemed somewhat deserted, with only the occasional player coming over to buy items and equipment from her.

When they arrived at Jiu Yue's side, they saw her sprawled atop her cart, staring into space.

No one knew what she was looking at.

Before the four of them could approach, Jiu Yue came back to her senses. After all, she was at level fifteen in the Qi Refining Stage, so noticing weaker people approaching her was effortless.

"Hey, Travelers, we meet again." Jiu Yue waved happily upon seeing the four of them.

Before anyone could speak, Jiu Yue complained, "You have no idea. I thought Travelers from another world would be richer, but it turns out everyone's poor. You're practically just like that old gentleman from Liyue."

Dun Qu Qi Yi patted Jiu Yue reassuringly. "Don't worry. Everyone has already accepted commissions from the Adventurers' Association. I'm sure Travelers will soon buy out all your goods."

Hearing Dun Qu Qi Yi's comfort did not make Jiu Yue happy at all. She muttered, "By the time Travelers finish the Adventurers' Association's commissions and have money, it'll probably be ten days from now."

Qi Lin, who had been quietly listening at the side, asked curiously, "Ten days? How did you reach that conclusion?"

Jiu Yue tilted her head and explained, "After adventurers complete quests, they always rest for a while. I calculated it according to some workaholics in Liyue—work half a day, rest half a day."

But after she finished speaking, Jiu Yue noticed that three of the Travelers were smiling at her in an inexplicably strange way.

"What are you laughing at!" Jiu Yue put on a wary expression and leaped backward an exaggerated distance. "What do you want with me?"

Hearing Jiu Yue's words, Ali handed her assessment certificate to Jiu Yue. "I didn't expect you to be a Qi Practitioner mentor, Jiu Yue."

"What's so surprising about that? Isn't it perfectly normal for someone from Liyue to know qi cultivation?" Jiu Yue did not take Ali's certificate. She merely raised her head and casually glanced at Ali's strength. "Not bad. Your strength has reached the requirement. You can change classes."

"Aren't you going to look at this assessment certificate?" Ali asked strangely.

Young Mistress and Qi Lin: Was this perhaps the goodwill brought about by Ali's excessively high charm?

Jiu Yue was somewhat puzzled. "What's there to look at? Qi Practitioners aren't some rare inheritance. As long as you have the proper foundation and sufficient strength in the early stages, you can become a Qi Practitioner."

Hearing Jiu Yue's explanation, Ali waved the assessment certificate in disbelief. "Then what is this for?"

"This? It's merely an assessment created by the various nations for children, to tell them about the dangers of stepping onto the path of cultivation."

"So the quest we completed was just some children's game?" Ali was dumbfounded.

"Not exactly. Children from the Seven Nations need a long period of training before they can complete their assessment quests. But Travelers like you, according to what the great elf Skadi told me, have only taken three days to grow this much. That's already very impressive." Jiu Yue explained.

"Give me the Spirit-Awakening Talisman." Jiu Yue spread out her hand, signaling for Ali to hand it over.

Ali took out the [Spirit-Awakening Talisman] from her inventory space. The moment the [Spirit-Awakening Talisman] appeared in the outside world, it flew toward Jiu Yue.

Jiu Yue pinched the [Spirit-Awakening Talisman] between her index and middle fingers. Strands of spiritual light surged toward it, and as the light gathered in increasing amounts, brown light began flashing in Jiu Yue's eyes as well.

Just as the light dyed the [Spirit-Awakening Talisman] golden-brown, Jiu Yue pointed at Ali.

The [Spirit-Awakening Talisman] transformed into a streak of light and entered Ali's game character.

[System Prompt: Do you wish to use the Spirit-Awakening Talisman to change from Apprentice Mage to Qi Practitioner?]