Completing the Mission

"This is..."

When Li Xin looked expectantly beside Jiang Li, she did not see what she had hoped to see.

She froze on the spot.

What was going on?

Wasn't his mount a man?

How had he suddenly become a woman, and an exceptionally beautiful woman at that?

"Sis, this is what Senior Brother's mount really looks like. What you saw back then was a disguise."

Seeing Li Xin's shocked expression, Long Haochen could not help telling her the truth.

"How... how is that possible?"

The instant Li Xin learned the truth, she felt as though the sky had collapsed.

In other words, the person she had fantasized about all these years had actually been a woman.

In that instant, she felt she had lost every last shred of face.

"Haochen, don't tell anyone about this!"

"Not even your teacher or your senior brother."

Li Xin desperately suppressed her emotions, a cold glint surfacing in her eyes as she looked at Long Haochen.

This time, she had utterly disgraced herself.

If word of this ever got out, she truly would not have the face to see anyone again.

"Don't worry, Sis. I absolutely won't tell anyone."

Long Haochen hurriedly promised.

Li Xin and Long Haochen did not mind, since they knew Jiang Li well, but the other three were somewhat displeased to see him arrive so late.

"So this is the guy who not only skipped last night's banquet but also kept us waiting so long."

The siblings Chen Si and Chen Chen exchanged a glance, displeasure in their eyes.

They soon spotted Qian Renxue beside Jiang Li and were immediately stunned by her heavenly beauty.

"All right, since everyone is here, it's time to complete the mission."

"Jiang Li will lead your six-person team this time."

City Lord Nalan Shu was also very surprised when he saw Jiang Li.

How much time had passed? This young fellow had already reached the fifth order.

Moreover, he could sense that Jiang Li's aura was no weaker than his own.

Jiang Li had done this deliberately.

Releasing a fifth-order aura could spare him a great deal of trouble.

In this era, no organization that snuffed out other geniuses had emerged within humanity's alliance of the Six Great Temples. On the contrary, they hoped for as many geniuses as possible. Under these circumstances, there was no need to conceal too much.

After all, he was already seventeen. Having fifth-order cultivation at this age was still plausible.

What surprised him somewhat was that something unknown had happened to his junior brother Long Haochen, concealing his aura so that Jiang Li could only discern the cultivation of a Fourth Order Knight.

Jiang Li could understand that.

A Fifth-Order Knight at fourteen-that was truly too heaven-defying.

Keeping something hidden was only natural.

"Temple Master, why should he be our leader?"

Chen Si, who came from the Warrior Temple, was somewhat unconvinced and voiced her objection.

"Because he's a Fifth-Order Knight. What, do you have a problem with that?"

Nalan Shu spoke in a deep voice, but his face was filled with a smile he could not suppress.

The fifth order-there could not be many people throughout the entire alliance who had reached the fifth order at this age.

Perhaps they really could win the championship when the time came.

Having nurtured such an outstanding genius, their Haoyue City would also receive many benefits.

Just thinking about it was exciting.

"The fifth order... he's actually at the fifth order..."

After learning that Jiang Li was a Fifth-Order Knight, the siblings Chen Si and Chen Chen immediately fell silent.

Strength reigned supreme. No matter the world, that was an immutable truth.

As for Long Haochen, who was also at the fifth order, he naturally had nothing to say. It was only right for his senior brother to be the captain.

Even if his senior brother had not broken through to the fifth order and was still only a Fourth Order Knight, Long Haochen would have considered him qualified to be captain.

After all, he knew his senior brother's battle record.

He had dared to venture out and slay members of the Demon Race while still only a Third-Order Knight.

"Let's go. I'll arrange the rest of the journey."

For Jiang Li, handling something like this was as easy as driving a light carriage down a familiar road.

Even without the route Nalan Shu and the others had arranged, he could easily find the targets he wanted.

All the more so with a route already planned out.

At first, some of them had been dissatisfied with Jiang Li becoming captain, but after learning of his cultivation and his experience with Demon Race encounters along the way, no one had anything more to say.

Jiang Li was simply too familiar with these surroundings, so familiar that it was as though this entire place were his home.

"Careful. There's also a fifth-order Jade Twin-Blade Demon underground."

"This type of demon belongs to the Zelin. A fifth-order Jade Twin-Blade Demon has a body about two meters long, an entirely jade-green shell, and a pair of enormous, sharp forelimbs growing from its shoulders..."

Jiang Li had no intention of joining the battle. Against a demon like this, he was completely confident he could kill it.

This was a good opportunity to temper his junior brother.

In the original timeline, his junior brother had been able to kill it through teamwork with fourth-order strength, much less now that he had broken through to the fifth order ahead of time.

Soon, they slew the Jade Twin-Blade Demon.

During this process, Jiang Li merely killed some of the demons required for the mission.

"Very good. You've completed the mission for this assessment."

After they had killed enough demons, Inspector Feng Yangmu appeared before them.

After appearing, he glanced, seemingly casually, at Qian Renxue beside Jiang Li.

Although the registration clearly stated that she was Jiang Li's mount, he still could not detect any characteristics or aura of a mount from her.

Moreover, if his senses were correct, this woman was also a Fifth-Order Knight.

Once the group reached a safe location, he began introducing the specific rules of the Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament.

"The Demon Hunt Squad Selection Tournament is held once every five years. An Inspector is dispatched to every medium-sized city or larger to oversee the entry assessment and evaluation, and to lead those who pass to participate in the tournament."

"After arriving at the temples, contestants will be assigned to their respective temples for the preliminary selection. There are a total of one hundred and twenty-seven medium-sized or larger cities under the temples, and each city will send its most outstanding people to compete."

"The preliminary rounds will select the ten strongest contestants from each of the Six Great Temples to advance to the finals. The sixty finalists will draw lots to compete and determine their final rankings. The top three contestants may each also choose one contestant outside the top three to accompany them. After that, teams must be assigned through the Demon Hunt Roulette..."

Feng Yangmu explained these matters in detail. Jiang Li already knew all of this, so he paid little attention, instead pondering what sort of people his future teammates would be.

Soon, Feng Yangmu finished explaining everything in detail.

"Jiang Li, come here for a moment."

After explaining everything, Inspector Feng Yangmu called Jiang Li aside.