Hong Ye's attention shifted as well, and her expression grew serious.
"As for that, I really should explain it to you properly. Let's go eat and talk as we walk."
"The task I took on this time is quite difficult. There is reliable news that a gang called the Flood Dragon Gang has appeared in a relatively remote area under Heavenly Fire Sect's jurisdiction.
This gang has run rampant, committing all manner of evil deeds. They have even looted territories controlled by Heavenly Fire Sect several times. The sect was furious and decided to send people to suppress them.
According to the reports, the Flood Dragon Gang's leader has reached the Qi Gathering Eighth Level. Anyone below the Qi Gathering Eighth Level would simply be walking into death. Inner Sect disciples have practically buried themselves in cultivation and do not concern themselves with such tasks, so only Outer Sect Disciples can take action. That is why I accepted it."
Lin Changkong nodded. "In that case, this task does have some difficulty. The Flood Dragon Gang's leader alone is at the Qi Gathering Eighth Level. There must be other experts beneath him too. Are just the two of us enough?"
Hong Ye said, "Two people definitely won't be enough, but don't worry, I won't overestimate myself. I invited a friend as well. Her name is Zhou Yue, and she is at the Qi Gathering Seventh Level.
With you included, the three of us should be enough. For gangs like this, usually only the leader and a few of his trusted subordinates are strong. The rest are nothing but a rabble.
As long as we take out the leaders, the others will be nothing to fear.
Of course, there is another reason. The reward for this task is quite good. The sect is offering three Fifth-grade Pills as the reward, so if there are more than three people, they will be difficult to divide."
Lin Changkong's eyes lit up slightly. He understood Hong Ye's intentions.
Three Fifth-grade Pills truly counted as an exceptionally generous reward.
He had the Crimson Flame Saber, which was also fifth-grade, and he knew exactly how powerful it was. If he could obtain a fifth-grade pill, it would definitely be a tremendous help.
"By the way, I heard from Elder Ye that you asked about body-refining techniques. The Outer Sect does not have high-grade techniques, but if we complete this task perfectly, you can request a pill that helps with body refinement.
The sect's reward is Fifth-grade Pills, but the specific pills are not fixed. Most of the time, you can choose for yourself. So after completing the task, you can make your own request as well."
Hong Ye added a few more words.
Hearing this, Lin Changkong became even more interested. He had now experienced the strength of Spirit and Body Dual Cultivation.
If his physical body could improve as well, he would be invincible among those of the same level. Moreover, he could alternate between improving his spiritual energy and his body, making it far more cost-effective.
"Fine, I'll go with Senior Sister. When do we leave tomorrow?"
"We'll set off around the beginning of the Hour of the Snake."
After settling it, the two had already arrived at the dining hall.
The Hour of the Snake, by the timekeeping of the world Lin Changkong had come from, was from nine to eleven in the morning. The beginning of the Hour of the Snake was just after nine, which suited his routine perfectly.
The night passed without incident.
In the morning, Lin Changkong got up. Rather than claiming his cultivation directly, he went to the training grounds, found a room, and sat down before extracting it.
The spiritual energy at the training grounds was denser than outside, so cultivation naturally progressed faster.
As someone with a cheat, he had to increase his strength every day to feel safe.
[Detected that the host is in an area enhanced by a spiritual energy formation. Cultivation speed increased by 6%.] [Distributing cultivation...] [First year: You painstakingly cultivated the Crimson Flame Blood Fiend Technique, but as your realm became increasingly difficult to raise, your progress was exceptionally slow.] [Second year: While cultivating the Crimson Flame Blood Fiend Technique, you continued improving your Blood Fiend Saber Qi.] [Tenth year: Your spiritual energy improved slightly, but you were still some distance from a breakthrough.] [Fiftieth year: Through day after day of accumulation, you finally gained a deeper understanding of saber qi. Your Blood Fiend Saber Qi advanced to the major mastery realm.] [Eightieth year: You once again launched an assault on a higher realm. After countless failures, you finally succeeded, stepping into the Qi Gathering Sixth Level. Your physical body improved as well, and you began diligently cultivating the Blood Fiend Saber Qi.] [One hundredth year: Your Crimson Flame Blood Fiend Technique reached perfection, and your Blood Fiend Saber Qi reached perfection. You gained a little fame. Once again, you felt like visiting a brothel to pass the time, but after years of bitter cultivation, all your resources had been exhausted. Without the money for whores, you could only give up.] [Name: Lin Changkong] [Realm: Qi Gathering Sixth Level] [Physical Body: Comparable to Qi Gathering Third Level; worthy of being called a humanoid bulldozer.] [Techniques: Vajra Body Refining Technique (Second Grade, Transcendent); Crimson Flame Blood Fiend Technique (Third Grade, Perfection)] [Martial Arts: Eight Extremes Collapse Fist (First Grade, Transcendent); Wind Breaking Saber (Second Grade, Transcendent); Blood Fiend Saber Qi (Fourth Grade, Perfection)]
Looking at the panel data, Lin Changkong confirmed that his guess had been right. The higher his realm, the slower his progress became. Today, his cultivation had only risen by one minor level.
Yet his gains were substantial. The Crimson Flame Blood Fiend Technique had reached perfection, and his Crimson Flame Spiritual Energy had clearly become far purer.
His Blood Fiend Saber Qi had also risen from minor mastery to perfection. With his current Qi Gathering Sixth Level cultivation, its power would probably be more than twice what it had been at yesterday's New Disciple Martial Competition!
He could clearly feel that the Blood Fiend Saber Qi within his body had become more vigorous and more razor-sharp.
In addition, his physical body cultivation had risen by a minor level. Though it did not seem like much, that was only in comparison to his spiritual energy cultivation.
But placed among the other new disciples, physical strength comparable to the Qi Gathering Third Level was already at the very peak!
Combined with the Crimson Flame Saber, its power far surpassed those of the same realm.
"Awesome!"
Lin Changkong shouted, then opened the door and prepared to leave to find Hong Ye and carry out the sect task.
The temptation of a Fifth-grade Pill was absolutely worth giving his all for.
With his current Qi Gathering Sixth Level cultivation, stacked with Blood Fiend Saber Qi at perfection and the Crimson Flame Saber, he would absolutely not fear the Qi Gathering Seventh Level. Even against the Qi Gathering Eighth Level, he had the strength to fight.
But the moment he opened the door to the cultivation room, he saw several figures blocking the way ahead.
One of them stared at him with a face full of vicious killing intent. Lin Changkong recognized him at once—he was Zhou Qing, the man who had picked a fight yesterday and been chopped flat by one slash from him.
Beside Zhou Qing stood another person, dressed in white. He possessed an extraordinary bearing and an indifferent expression, carrying an innate air of nobility, though he seemed especially arrogant as well.
"Senior Brother Zhao, he's the one who beat me yesterday!"
The instant Zhou Qing saw Lin Changkong, he gnashed his teeth and pointed at him.
Lin Changkong understood immediately. This trash had found someone to back him up and wanted revenge.
He was not surprised. Zhou Qing had said yesterday that he had someone backing him.
The person Zhou Qing called Senior Brother Zhao gave Lin Changkong a cold glance and said, "My name is Zhao Lingfeng. I rank thirtieth in the Outer Sect. Zhou Qing is my brother, so since you beat him, I must seek justice for him.
You severed one of his hands, so break one of your own arms and kneel here for three days.
Do you have any objections?"
Zhao Lingfeng's expression was indifferent, his tone unyielding. He was completely issuing an order, as though Lin Changkong had no choice but to comply.
Naturally, he believed Lin Changkong had only one path: obedience. After all, he had already said that he ranked thirtieth in the Outer Sect.
Anyone knew how much weight such a ranking carried. No matter how monstrous Lin Changkong was, he was only a new disciple. What right did he have to contend with him?
Lin Changkong looked at Zhao Lingfeng, merely chuckled, and lightly spat out one word.
"Scram!"
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