Vol.2-Chapter 119 – Rest

After listening to Ou Yezi’s explanation, Zhao Jiuge only listened to the last sentence.?“Could this Master Ou Yezi be a Nascent Realm cultivator? But he doesn’t look like it.”?Zhao Jiuge secretly thought this in his heart, but he wouldn’t dare to say it before Ou Yezi.

Some cultivators would give up on cultivation once they realized that a breakthrough was hopeless. They would instead specialize in other things like formation, alchemy, refining, or other things.

The trip to the Sword Casting Hall today was a real eye-opener for Zhao Jiuge. Even the three other people here seemed to have learned a lot.

Zhao Jiuge’s mouth was slightly open and he was about to ask a few more questions. However, Ou Yezi gave him a sharp stare, making him immediately swallow the words he was going to say.

“If you don’t have anything else, then get out of here. Just looking at a brat like you makes me angry. Deliver the rest of the materials later and don’t worry about anything else. I’ll design the appearance of the armor, you don’t need to choose.” After Ou Yezi finished speaking to Zhao Jiuge, he walked up to Brother Lu and said a few things. Then he strolled away while occasionally sipping wine from the gourd.

Zhao Jiuge was left dumbfounded. Ou Yezi was too overbearing. He wanted to design some cool-looking armor, but who knew that Ou Yezi wouldn’t even give him the chance. It has to be said that it was Zhao Jiuge’s material. Just because Ou Yezi wasn’t collecting a fee, could he act that arrogantly?

This made Zhao Jiuge feel a bit depressed and uncertain. He didn’t know what his armor would look like. This made him lose interest in checking out the treasures on display. He originally wanted to look at them to use as reference, but since Ou Yezi wouldn’t even give him a chance to speak, he no longer had any interest in checking them out.

There were a few unfinished things he needed to do. After saying goodbye to the sloppy young man and Brother Lu, he was going to head to the Duty Hall and the Treasure Pavilion. Then he was going to recuperate for a few days before going on the last mission. Then he would return and prepare for the inner sect selection.

Brother Lu just nodded with a smile and the sloppy young man escorted him out. At the door, he felt somewhat reluctant to part ways and almost wanted to leave with Zhao Jiuge. Today, he had gained great insight because he had followed Zhao Jiuge. The resources he gained from working at the Sword Casting Hall could not compare to what he would get from the wonderful world outside. However, that world was not for him because he lacked strength.

Perhaps before he met Zhao Jiuge, he just wanted to live a comfortable life like this. However, he suddenly realized that he could not continue like this. Although the outside world was harsh, it was also very exciting.

The sloppy young man looked at Zhao Jiuge’s back with a somewhat complicated expression. He clenched his teeth and his gaze became determined, as if he had decided something.

After walking up the spiral stairs for almost half an hour, Zhao Jiuge finally left the mountain.

After walking out, the sun shining on him felt very dazzling. The air seemed to become very fresh, completely different from the oppressive mood down at the bottom of the mountain.

The mountain was bathed in warm sunlight and the forest was filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers. Zhao Jiuge’s mood was very good. After tasting a hint of sweetness, he desired more. Aside from the urgent need to increase his strength, he had developed a yearning for the heavenly treasures of the world.

However, he had to be strong enough to obtain them. No wonder so many people went out on missions—those items were tempting them.

He let out a mouthful of foul air and let out a smile. Once he finished doing what he had to do, he could go back to his room and get a good rest. He could recuperate for a few days and wouldn’t be so tired anymore. After he completed this next mission, he would not go out anymore before the selection. There were still more than eight months until the selection, and he would spend that time properly cultivating. He needed to get a good result at the selection so a senior in the inner sect would be willing to take him as their disciple. Otherwise, even if he entered the inner sect, no one would be willing to teach him.

The Blue Plum Sword shined brightly under the dazzling sun. Zhao Jiuge skillfully stepped onto his sword and was ready to fly to the Duty Hall to collect the sect contributions for this mission, as well as pick up the mission to kill the late stage Foundation Realm spirit beast. Then he would go to the Treasure Pavilion to sell the more than 30 treasures he had looted during the previous mission.

He still had two precious treasures: the Twilight Drum and the Purple Gold True Fire Gourd. The Purple Gold True Fire Gourd was damaged in the battle against the Three-Tailed Yin Cat, but he just had it repaired at the Sword Casting Hall.

As of now, Zhao Jiuge was very satisfied. Compared to when he had to escape from the city of Dong Yang, he was in a much better situation. Back then, he was poor and naive. Thinking about the city of Dong Yang, his eyes became cold. He hadn’t forgotten about the Xiao family, and he would head back to get revenge soon!

Soon, Zhao Jiuge arrived at the Duty Hall. He had been here before, so he was already familiar with this place. After entering, he immediately headed toward the old man on the first floor.

He glanced at the staircase to the second floor and thought that the next time he came here, he would be able to get a mission from the second floor!

However, Zhao Jiuge found that something was strange. If the Sword Casting Hall was empty ?because no one needed treasures to be refined, that made sense. However, why was the Duty Hall so empty today? Had everyone stopped doing missions?

While Zhao Jiuge was walking toward the old man, the old man smiled back kindly and said, “Looking at your face, it seems like your reward from this mission is not small.”

Every time Zhao Jiuge came here, he would come to this kind old man, so he had an impression of Zhao Jiuge. Also, Zhao Jiuge was the only person who came to the Duty Hall today, so the old man immediately noticed him.

Zhao Jiuge smiled and modestly said, “It’s not bad. The mission was completed and the harvest was good.” The harvest this time was more than good, and just thinking about it made Zhao Jiuge’s smile even brighter.

“The same old rule, give an account of the mission and then hand over the wooden token to obtain your sect contributions.” The old man smiled kindly. When he looked at the vigorous youth working so hard, he felt very pleased. As an old man who had given his whole life to the sect, he felt emotional.

Zhao Jiuge honestly gave an account of the mission without concealing anything, nor did he exaggerate anything. However, he omitted the part about the Purple Ji Spirit Stone mine. After all, this matter was too important. From his trip to the Sword Casting Hall, he understood how valuable Purple Ji Spirit Stone was.

The old man peacefully listened to Zhao Jiuge recount the mission and nodded from time to time. He didn’t try to discern if what Zhao Jiuge said was true or false, because he believed the disciples wouldn't dare to lie. After all, the disciples of the Enforcement Hall would go investigate and the truth would naturally reveal itself.

After Zhao Jiuge finished speaking, the old man said, “The reward for this mission was originally 800 sect contributions. However, seeing how you eliminated a group of scum and took the initiative, I’ll give you 1,200 sect contributions. Hand over the wooden token.”

After a brief moment of shock, Zhao Jiuge quickly handed over the wooden token that represented his identity to the kind-looking old man. He kept saying, “Thank you, thank you, Instructor.”

Including the sect contributions from before, Zhao Jiuge had almost 2,000 sect contributions now. He could now buy materials with them. Zhao Jiuge felt gratitude toward Bai Qingqing since she had given him her share of the sect contributions.

Zhao Jiuge originally only wanted to forge a flying sword, but after listening to Ou Yezi’s words, he changed his mind. After he came back from the next mission, he was going to use all the sect contributions to buy materials to refine the armor first. Since he was going to refine an armor treasure, he was going to refine something good. As for the flying sword, the materials to refine a good one were too expensive to obtain at once.

There was a flash of light and then the old man returned the wooden token to Zhao Jiuge.

“Is the mission we looked at last time still available? It's the mission to kill the late stage Foundation Realm spirit beast.” Zhao Jiuge asked about the mission Bai Qingqing had told him to pick up.

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The old man slowly said, “It’s still available. When it comes to this kind of mission, the older disciples don't want to do them and it's too difficult for you new disciples who have only cultivated for around two years. Counting all three peaks, there are no more than 20 disciples who have reached the Foundation Realm. Including the mission you finished, no one else has taken an interest in them.”

After hearing that the mission was still there, Zhao Jiuge let out a sigh of relief. After hearing the old man talk about the other three peaks, Zhao Jiuge’s eyes lit up. He had been here for a while and still didn't know the situation of the remaining two peaks. Once the selection began, he would know.

Zhao Jiuge quickly said, “I’ll take this mission.”

The old man’s kind smile slowly faded and his expression became serious. “Zhao Jiuge, don’t think that just because you were able to successfully complete the previous missions that you can be overconfident. This mission is too difficult for you right now.”

“The girl that came with me last time will go with me this time as well. I just came here to pick up the mission. We will rest for a few days before heading out.” Zhao Jiuge felt somewhat embarrassed. He thought he had been very cautious and ready, but now someone had said that he was too proud and his self-confidence was swelling.

The old man pondered for a bit and then said, “Oh… So that’s how it is. However, it is still very dangerous. After all, spirit beasts are different from humans. Even at the same cultivation level, their powerful bodies are much more difficult to deal with.”

The old man seemed to remember something and was a bit puzzled. “By the way, are you going out on a mission soon?”

This time, Zhao Jiuge was confused. His eyes widened and he said, “Yes, is something wrong?” After he finished speaking, he looked at the old man, trying to find an answer.

“Do you not know the news? Did your instructor not inform you?” The old man was surprised.

Zhao Jiuge shook his head. “No, I just came back and I came here right away.”

“Oh, oh… Then you should take the mission and go ask your instructor.” The old man’s serious expression was gone and his kind smile returned. However, his smile was a bit mysterious this time.

Zhao Jiuge’s mind was filled with curiosity and doubt when he nodded. He thanked the old man and left with the jade tube containing the information about the mission. Because he was thinking about other things, he didn’t even look at the information about the mission.