Accepting a Mission

The next morning, Ning Buhui went to the martial arts training ground.

As expected, all three were there. Xie Yue leaned against the low wall, arms crossed, watching Yan practice his punches shirtless; the air seemed to buzz with every punch Yan threw. Hu Liena leaned against the wall, reading a book, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Brother Xie Yue." Ning Buhui walked over.

Xie Yue looked up, the Moon Blade twirling between his fingers. "You got the Fourth Soul Ring?"

"Got it."

Yan withdrew his fist and turned around. He had just finished physical training, his muscles still bulging, and sweat was dripping from his face. "How many years?"

"Thirty thousand years."

Yan was stunned for a moment, then cursed in surprise, his voice so loud that half the training ground could hear him. Hu Liena put down her book, looked him up and down, and slowly curled the corners of her mouth. "Junior brother, you really dare to do anything."

"There's nothing I can do, that's probably the difference between a genius and an ordinary person," Ning Buhui said shamelessly. "But I couldn't beat a 30,000-year-old Soul Beast on my own, so my teacher took me."

"What specific Soul Skill did you acquire?" Xie Yue asked directly, retracting the Moon Blade into her body.

"This will be a secret for now," Ning Buhui smiled. "You'll know when it's used."

Yan pouted. "Still keeping us in suspense."

"A pleasant surprise!" Ning Buhui said. "I guarantee you'll be even happier than I am!"

Xie Yue didn't press further, nodding in acknowledgment. Hu Liena raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more. Ning Buhui walked over and found a Shitou between the three of them to sit down.

"We agreed to go on a mission together, but I've been putting it off for almost a year. Are there any suitable missions available recently?"

Xie Yue pondered for a moment, "I haven't looked at many Grade A ones lately. There are a few decent ones in Grade B, but with our current setup, Grade B is a bit lacking."

"Let's go straight for Rank A." Yan draped his shirt over his shoulders. "The four of us are currently at levels 42 to 43, and our Fourth Soul Ring are all Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. A more difficult Rank A mission isn't out of the question."

Hu Liena closed the book in her hand, stood up, and gestured with her chin towards the Mission Hall: "Then let's go check out the Mission Hall. The orders in Area A change quickly; if we go too late, the good ones will be taken."

The four headed towards the Mission Hall. On the way, Ning Buhui asked a few questions about the Spirit Hall's affairs over the past year. Hu Liena said that Bibi Dong launched a new training program last autumn, selecting more than twenty teenagers from various branch halls to gather in Spirit City for special training, directly managed by the Pope Hall. Xie Yue said that there were two promising talents among them, one ten years old and at level thirty-two, and the other nine years old and at level thirty, Bibi Dong valued highly. Yan interjected that those two promising talents combined were not even half Ning Buhui.

Upon arriving at the mission hall, the four headed straight for Area A. The notice board in Area A was much smaller than in Area B, displaying only about ten notices, each marked with a red border indicating a danger level. Ning Buhui scanned them; most were for hunting Soul Beast over ten thousand years old, the most difficult requiring the hunting of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and some required venturing into dangerous areas to collect rare materials. Several notices were yellowed and curled at the edges, clearly indicating extremely high difficulty and having been hanging there for quite some time.

Xie Yue reached out and peeled off a slip of paper. It read, "Located in the Jade Pool Hidden Valley within the Heaven Dou Empire, hunt down a 20,000-year-old Jasper Flood Dragon. Mission requirements: Obtain its Flood Dragon Pearl and Flood Dragon Skin. Reward: 20,000 points, plus a specially made Soul Tool from the Elder Hall." A note in red pen stated. "The Jasper Flood Dragon possesses both water and poison attributes, can create poisonous mist domains, and excels in underwater combat. It is recommended that this mission be carried out by a team of Soul King or higher."

"Twenty thousand years." Xie Yue handed the list to Ning Buhui. "Water and poison attributes combined. The environment of the Jade Pool Hidden Valley is complex, and fighting in the water is disadvantageous for us."

Ning Buhui took the list and glanced at it, his mind racing. A 20,000-year-old Jasper Flood Dragon with both water and poison attributes—the water attribute meaning its home turf is water, and the poison attribute meaning it possesses sustained damage and area-of-effect suppression capabilities. Their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced in water. He thought for a moment and asked Xie Yue, "Do you have any information on the specific terrain of the Jade Pool Hidden Valley?"

"It's not on the mission list," Xie Yue said. "However, the Jade Pool Hidden Valley is located in the north of the Heaven Dou Empire. I saw it when I was looking through the maps before. It's a low-lying wetland with a deep pool in the middle, where the Jasper Flood Dragon dwells. It's surrounded by dense forest, and the terrain is narrow, making it unsuitable for maneuvering."

Hu Liena took the list, glanced at it, and frowned. "Underwater combat is indeed troublesome. My Charm's effect weakens underwater, and Yan's fire-type Soul Skill are also countered by water."

"But it always comes ashore," Ning Buhui said. "The Jasper Flood Dragon isn't a purely aquatic Soul Beast; it's an amphibian. It usually stays at the bottom of the pool, but comes ashore to hunt. We can set up an ambush on the shore, lure it out, and then attack it."

Xie Yue glanced at him. "How do we lure him?"

"I read in a book before that the Jasper Flood Dragon likes to eat Phoenix Flower. We can use Phoenix Flower as bait to lure it out," Ning Buhui said. "Once it's out of the water, it'll be easy to deal with."

Yan clapped his hands. "Alright, let's do it this way. Junior Brother knows a lot."

Hu Liena flipped the form over, confirmed the mission conditions and rewards, and had no objections. Xie Yue put the form away, and the four of them walked to the counter. While registering, the steward behind the counter glanced at Ning Buhui a few more times, clearly recognizing this young prince who had disappeared for almost a year. He didn't ask any questions, lowered his head to register, and handed back a bronze token.

"The task has been registered. Best of luck to all four of you."

After leaving the mission hall, it was still early. The four agreed to set off early the next morning and went their separate ways to prepare. Ning Buhui returned to his quiet room and checked the contents of his ring. He still had dry rations, medicine powder, a hunting knife, a tinderbox, and a water pouch. He then went to the general store to replenish some seasonings and a few flints, before returning to his room to fix his leather armor.

The Soul Suppressing Pagoda has unlocked another level because he obtained his Fourth Soul Ring. As expected, the fourth level is no different from the first two levels, both being a hazy gray expanse.

Because another third level of cultivation has been unlocked, the cultivation speed can be adjusted even further, up to a maximum of 15 times that of the external environment.

He entered the tower as usual that night, but instead of focusing on cultivating his Soul Power, he concentrated on the method of Heart Separation Control.

Previously, because his innate mental strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, he was able to cultivate Heart Separation Control ahead of time. However, he had always been stuck at the first level of the Three-Aperture Control Heart. Now that he has reached level 42, his mental strength has finally reached the standard for cultivating the next level. This mission is quite difficult, and his Soul Power Level cannot be improved in the short term, but he can improve his combat power in other ways.

Therefore, he focused his attention on Heart Separation Control. After entering the second level of the Four-Aperture Constant Heart, his Soul Power would be used more precisely, and his mental power would be stronger. In any case, it would be a significant boost to his combat power.