Taking a Mission

"This token can be regarded as your identification within Star Tower."

The branch master spun the token around his fingers, his tone unhurried. "For someone like you who has just joined the tower, it will be quite useful."

"For instance, you can directly inherit this token's codename. Star Tower recognizes tokens, not people. Whoever holds it is 'Night Ghoul.'"

Cheng Yang caught the meaning behind his words. "In other words, as long as I'm willing, I can directly inherit this identity?"

"That's right." The branch master nodded. "Of course, you can also choose to establish an entirely new identity. In that case, your assassin rank will have to start from scratch."

"How are assassin ranks divided?" Cheng Yang pressed.

The branch master answered casually. "Star Tower's assassins are divided into seven ranks.

"Newcomers to the tower all begin at one star.

"Seven stars is the peak. Those people, without exception, are true experts."

After hearing this, Cheng Yang roughly understood. This system was much like the games from his previous life.

Either create a new account and start from zero, or inherit someone else's old account. How high the level was depended entirely on luck.

He did not hesitate.

Leveling up again from scratch would take too much time. His Third Senior Brother Yang Zheng had at least been a Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, so his rank could not possibly have been too low. Besides, the codename "Night Ghoul" sounded rather pleasing to his ears.

"Senior, I choose to inherit this token's identity."

The branch master gave a slight nod. "Would you like to come to the tower with me now?"

"Then let's go, Senior."

Cheng Yang followed behind the branch master as the two passed through three streets and alleys, one ahead and one behind.

The night had grown deep. Qinglin County's streets lay empty and deserted. The occasional bark of a dog drifted from afar, making the surrounding silence all the more pronounced.

The branch master led him into a narrow alley. Moss covered the walls on either side, while the eaves overhead nearly blotted out the night sky.

Upon reaching the end, he stopped before an ordinary-looking wall of blue bricks.

He neither pushed a door nor knocked on a window. He merely raised his hand and tapped a spot on the wall three times, neither too hard nor too softly.

The rhythm was strange.

Two short taps, one long tap, with precise intervals between them.

The wall did not budge. Just as Cheng Yang was wondering about it, a faint tremor suddenly came from beneath his feet.

The center of the blue-brick wall sank inward, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to slip through sideways.

"Keep up. Don't touch anything."

The branch master slipped in sideways, his movements clean and swift. Cheng Yang followed closely behind.

Beyond the gap was a descending stone stairway. An oil lamp was set into the walls every few steps, its dim yellow light stretching their shadows long.

Cheng Yang silently counted the steps. After they had descended more than thirty, the slope gradually leveled out.

The sight before him suddenly opened up.

An underground hall appeared in his field of vision. The space was far larger than he had imagined, roughly the size of two rooms, with a ceiling nearly a zhang high. Its walls were built from bluestone and polished exceptionally smooth.

Several square tables stood in the hall, with several figures seated loosely around them.

Some were wiping down weapons, some were conversing in low voices, and one person sat alone in a corner, engrossed in a yellowed dossier spread out before him.

The instant Cheng Yang stepped into the hall, several gazes silently swept over him.

Those looks carried scrutiny and appraisal, but no obvious hostility. They seemed more like the instinctive reaction of assassins recognizing one another.

"A newcomer?"

A man seated near the entrance raised his head. His gaze fell on Cheng Yang, then shifted to the "Night Ghoul" token hanging at his waist. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Why is Night Ghoul's token on you?"

"I killed him." Cheng Yang's tone was flat.

The man stared at him for two breaths, seemingly judging whether his words were true. Then the corner of his mouth curled into an unreadable arc. "Interesting."

Ignoring the gazes around them, the branch master led Cheng Yang straight toward a counter at the depths of the hall.

Behind the counter sat an old man with graying hair. He was lowering his head, writing something in a thick ledger with a fine-tipped brush.

"Old Zhou, a new recruit. Register him." The branch master tapped the counter.

Old Zhou raised his head. His gaze lingered slowly on Cheng Yang's face for a moment, then he glanced at the token in Cheng Yang's hand. Taking it, he turned it over and examined the string of numbers on the back.

"Inheritance, or rebuild?"

"Inheritance."

Old Zhou nodded. He took out an even thicker ledger from beneath the counter and flipped to a certain page. His finger slid down the dense list of names before stopping on a line of small print.

"Night Ghoul, formerly a Two-Star Assassin. Completed six missions, with a sixty percent success rate. Three points remaining." After reading this aloud, Old Zhou looked up at Cheng Yang.

"What can these three points be exchanged for?" Cheng Yang asked.

"One point exchanges for two taels of silver. Three points makes six taels." Old Zhou smiled. "What good things do you think that can get you?"

Cheng Yang's mouth twitched slightly. Third Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother... you really didn't leave me a shred of wealth.

He turned, looking hopefully at the branch master. "Senior, didn't you say you would compensate me?"

The branch master stood with his arms crossed, and when he spoke, he was quite generous. "Old Zhou, transfer three hundred points from my token to his."

"Tower Master, how generous." Cheng Yang's eyes lit up.

Old Zhou lowered his eyes and lifted his brush, swiftly recording an entry in the ledger.

"Now my points should be enough to exchange for something good, right?" Cheng Yang leaned closer to the counter.

Without saying much, Old Zhou took out a booklet from beneath the counter and handed it over.

The booklet was not very thick. Several words were clearly written on its cover: Points Exchange Catalog (Exclusive to Two-Star Assassins).

"Assassins of different star ranks have different permissions, and the treasures they can exchange for also differ." The branch master's voice drifted over from the side.

Cheng Yang nodded slightly and opened the booklet, examining the entries one by one. Even with merely a Two-Star Assassin's permissions, there were still many things available for exchange: exotic beast meat, heavenly treasures, pills, cultivation arts, secret manuals—everything one could want.

With three hundred points in hand, Cheng Yang did not hesitate long before selecting two items: an advanced stake art, the Great Dragon Stake, along with a special cultivation art, the Breath Concealment Formula.

After purchasing the two cultivation arts, his points were nearly depleted.

"You sure spend points quickly, brat." The branch master's mouth twitched.

The points he had just given him had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, Star Tower had copied editions of the cultivation arts readily available. Before long, Cheng Yang received handwritten copies of both manuals, the paper still carrying the scent of fresh ink.

Old Zhou added, "There are people in the tower who know these two cultivation arts. Do you need to spend some points or silver to hire someone to guide you through the basics?"

"No." Cheng Yang refused decisively.

What a joke. As a peerless genius, did I need someone to teach me how to get started with cultivation arts?

"Next, I'd like to see what missions are available." He closed the booklet and turned to Old Zhou.

His purse was empty, and there were still plenty of things in Star Tower that he coveted. He needed to find a way to earn some points.

Old Zhou handed over another dossier. It listed missions one after another, each accompanied by a brief description.

"Kill Wei He. Three-star mission. Reward: ten thousand taels of silver or five thousand points."

"Kill the head of a certain Lineage. Two-star mission..."

Cheng Yang's gaze traveled downward until it suddenly stopped on a line of text. Hm? This mission looked a little familiar...

"Purge the remaining members of the Bamboo Gang outside the city. Two-star mission. Reward: eight hundred taels of silver or four hundred points."

"This one." Cheng Yang did not hesitate, pointing at that line.

Old Zhou swept his gaze over it and confirmed, "You're certain?"

"Certain."

"Once a mission is accepted, it must be completed within one month. If it expires, it becomes void, and you will receive a punishment from Star Tower. The penalty will be roughly one-tenth of the reward." Old Zhou clearly explained the rules.

"Understood." Cheng Yang nodded.

Old Zhou closed the ledger and added, "You are currently a Two-Star Assassin. Complete another five two-star missions or two three-star missions, and you may advance to three stars.

"Furthermore, you must undertake at least one mission every three months. If you have no mission record for four consecutive months, your assassin rank will automatically drop to one star. If you violate this again after reaching one star, the token will be voided and you will be expelled from the tower."

Cheng Yang committed each of these rules to memory. His gaze lowered to the mission dossier he had just received.

The Bamboo Gang remnants...

As it happened, he had also promised the Guo Household this matter.

That meant if he wiped out the Bamboo Gang, he could collect two rewards in one go.

This was simply bliss beyond measure.