Chapter 60: Exposure

"Harbinger?" Yaoguang glanced at Zong Yan.

On the way here, he had already gained a rough understanding of the World-Saving Society's internal structure. Leaving aside the three roles of president, director, and supervisor, among the members, there were probationary members, official members, potential martial paragons, and then Harbingers, who were raised as martial paragons capable of defeating the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons and seizing entry slots to the Artifact Sect.

In theory, this represented the World-Saving Society's highest standard for members. However, Yaoguang felt that as long as the presidents had even a little sense, they would never show their true hand. There had to be more hidden cards.

"The directors have already reviewed his file and reported it to the president. After discussion, and based on Director Liao Ming's recommendation, the president issued three task benchmarks. As long as he completes these three benchmarks, he may be cultivated as the next-generation Harbinger," Fang Lu said.

"Three task benchmarks?" Zong Yan's gaze shifted to another person in the conference room, Liao Ming.

He had another identity, the twelfth prince of Dayu, who had fallen among the common folk. For various reasons, he had been unable to inherit his title and had instead been assigned by the royal family to serve within the World-Saving Society.

He was responsible for auditing finances and materials. Together with Fang Lu, who represented Dayu's martial world, and Zong Yan, who represented the central headquarters and was in charge of operations within the Dayu branch, the three formed the leadership of Dayu's headquarters.

"Given Yaoguang's talent, strength, and battle record, his application to be cultivated as the next Harbinger should have been approved directly by the president," Zong Yan said.

"I am responsible for World-Saving Society's material circulation. Please forgive me, Director Zong," Liao Ming replied calmly. "Moreover, Yaoguang also needs concrete achievements to prove himself, so that the potential martial paragons on the competition rankings will be convinced. Only then can the World-Saving Society's system continue to operate fairly and impartially."

"A nineteen-year-old grandmaster who has slain no fewer than ten fiends. I believe those achievements are already more than sufficient to prove himself," Zong Yan said. "Unless you are questioning the competence of the intelligence department."

"The information provided by the intelligence department does not contain direct evidence. It is not as conclusive as Director Zong suggests," Liao Ming replied. "Once Yaoguang becomes a Harbinger, he will inevitably enter the ranked competition. This ranking not only concerns the allocation of Dayu branch's resources toward him, but also involves the headquarters' generous rewards for top-ranked individuals. Therefore, to demonstrate the Dayu branch's commitment to fairness and responsibility regarding the rankings, it is necessary to set cautious benchmarks for evaluation."

When Zong Yan thought of the interests represented by the ranking board, he ultimately refrained from saying anything further.

"Yaoguang—" He turned around, intending to speak, but Yaoguang spoke first.

"If I do not become a Harbinger, will it affect the World-Saving Society's provision of intelligence for eliminating fiends?"

"Of course not," Zong Yan replied. "However, once you become a Harbinger, not only will you receive no less than a billion per month in routine cultivation resources at the grandmaster tier, but if you perform well on the rankings, those resources will increase substantially. In addition, certain equipment that would normally only be prepared for you when facing the Crimson Star Empire's martial paragons, such as divine weapons and combat suits, will be issued in advance. Furthermore, a martial paragon will provide you with one-on-one instruction. Access to all kinds of cultivation methods and manuals will also be completely unrestricted."

"A billion? Dayu?"

"Yes."

"Forget it," Yaoguang replied. He did not need one-on-one instruction or access to cultivation manuals.

As for a billion per month, he had just obtained 10 billion asters, more than he could possibly spend. It did not matter. In another one or two months, once he advanced to the martial paragon tier, he would receive another 300 billion asters.

With those 300 billion, by reallocating nutrients, the progress of the Martial Dao branch would quickly be filled, with a very high probability of skipping the seventh tier entirely and reaching the eighth tier.

Moreover, the so-called heavenly will was refined from psychic will through a Flawless Body, which had perfectly synchronized essence and qi. It was just a question of whether one could achieve the feat of using psychic will in the place of heavenly will.

If his realm ever reached the eighth tier of God-Fiend Body Refinement, then through high-dimensional oversight and by leveraging the techniques of "forging the flesh with the heaven-and-earth furnace"... Yaoguang was confident that blood renewal, marrow cleansing, nurturing psychic will, and forming a Flawless Body could all be done simultaneously, reinforcing one another and advancing at astonishing speed.

As long as his cultivation advanced quickly enough, what benefits could he possibly lack?

"Forget it?" Zong Yan was momentarily stunned.

Fang Lu and Liao Ming exchanged glances as well, with clear surprise in their eyes. Liao Ming could not help but speak up, "In truth, these three benchmarks are not particularly demanding. One could even say they are meant to serve as motivation for your cultivation."

"What exactly are the benchmarks?" Zong Yan asked, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

"At present, there are three confirmed candidates for the next generation of Harbingers. Even the weakest among them, Zhou Yunfan, has battle records of facing top-tier grandmasters. The first task requires him to assassinate the leader of an anti-government armed group in Feiyu within one month. The target is merely an ordinary grandmaster. At most, the presence of surrounding soldiers will increase the difficulty somewhat, but that also falls within the scope of ability assessment."

Liao Ming continued. "The second benchmark evaluates his ability to confront a martial paragon directly. Prince Liao Zhenguo of the Dayu royal family will personally test him. He will draw a three-meter-wide circle. As long as Yaoguang can force him out of the circle within one minute, it will be considered a pass. The third benchmark examines his comprehension. He must choose one from several designated high-level combat arts and reach the beginner stage within three months."

After hearing this, Zong Yan nodded slightly. These requirements did not seem excessive. He then turned his gaze toward Yaoguang. "Yaoguang, these three task benchmarks..."

"No rush," Yaoguang replied.

He felt that this was unnecessary. Rather than spending a month traveling to Feiyu to assassinate some anti-government leader, he would be better off staying home and entering secluded cultivation.

"This will have to wait at least two months," Yaoguang said, estimating how long he'd need to advance and giving himself some extra time.

With 10 billion asters on hand and a bottle of Snow Ginseng Pills not yet finished, becoming a martial paragon within two months should be inevitable.

"You mean that you are not accepting the three Harbinger task benchmarks for now?" Fang Lu asked.

"I have gained some insights in my cultivation and plan to enter seclusion for a period of focused training. At the fastest, one month. At the slowest, two months. As for Harbinger treatment, we can discuss it again after my cultivation ends," Yaoguang replied.

Fang Lu and Liao Ming exchanged another glance. They had vaguely guessed something. Considering Yaoguang's age of nineteen, and the fact that Commissioner Zhou had personally verified his grandmaster-tier strength, the two of them did not say anything further. They simply nodded in agreement.

"Sure." After responding, Fang Lu glanced at Zong Yan and felt that he had been a little too rash. That 10 billion asters had been handed over far too readily. It should have been paid in installments. Who settled all outstanding payments for the grandmaster tier in one go like this? What if it turned out to be a scam? Anything could be fabricated.

The ten-level Martial Dao rating system promoted across the Eastern Continent was the best example. Many level 7 martial artists did not actually possess grandmaster-tier strength at all.

"Two months, then... until that time, we'll treat you according to potential martial paragon benefits." Seeing that Yaoguang had made his stance clear, Zong Yan did not press the issue further.

He simply said, "Next, we'll record your information."

Yaoguang nodded. Following their arrangements, he spent a little over half an hour completing the identity registration.

Afterward, Liao Ming personally handed him a chip no larger than a fingernail, along with a communication device that looked little different from an ordinary smartphone on the market. "This is your identity chip and your dedicated encrypted communication device. There is software on this device that can only run on this unit, allowing you to view certain intelligence within the World-Saving Society's information network in real time..."

He gave a brief explanation, then added, "If the communication device is damaged, you can obtain a replacement at a local branch. If the chip is lost, you must report it immediately."

"Understood." Yaoguang accepted them.

Zong Yan added from the side, "I know you plan to use fiends as live combat targets to build experience. See the radar icon on the screen? The red dots indicate suspected fiend locations. Anyone can head there and eliminate them."

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Yaoguang nodded. Soon after, he noticed a shopping icon. Upon opening it, he quickly discovered that a vast array of supplies was available for purchase. Divine weapons, battle armor, pills, cultivation methods—everything was there.

There were also other functions such as logistics, intelligence, recruitment, and justice services. In the lower-left corner, Yaoguang even saw an option labeled "Apply for fire support."

"Can we even use something like this?" Yaoguang was a little surprised.

"Of course." Zong Yan smiled. "Although we're a civilian organization, we still have cooperative ties with the military."

He placed extra emphasis on the word "cooperative."

Yaoguang nodded. Soon, he found Snow Ginseng Pills. He even discovered medicinal materials that were superior to Snow Ginseng Pills. Many of these materials could not even be purchased on the open market.

"Oh? There are divine weapons as well?" Yaoguang remarked.

"Divine weapons can also be referred to as refined artifacts. They allow a martial paragon to unleash their full combat potential," Zong Yan explained. "Your Chengying Sword is actually a damaged divine weapon, and it is severely damaged at that. A complete Chengying Sword is forged from an extraordinary material. It is said that it can be refined into the body itself, forming qi resonance with the wielder, moving in accordance with one's will, truly formless, making it impossible to guard against."

Yaoguang immediately thought of his Formless secret technique. So...

"Are there any for sale?"

"The complete Chengying Sword and the Ten-Thousand-Fiend Blood Soul Banner are of the same level. They are considered nation-suppressing divine artifacts. However..." Zong Yan helped navigate through the interface and quickly pulled up a page. "There is a Chengying Sword replica, the Divine Shadow Sword. For grandmasters and martial paragons who have not yet cultivated psychic will, its effectiveness is no different from that of the Chengying Sword."

Yaoguang took one look.

Good grief, 3 billion asters! You can buy dozens of fighter jets with that.

However, Yaoguang had always believed that money only truly counted once it was spent. Without hesitation, he placed the order. Not only did he buy the Divine Shadow Sword, but he also purchased large quantities of various pills, as well as a combat module that could be installed on a level S combat suit.

Ten billion asters were spent in the blink of an eye. This left Zong Yan at a complete loss for words.

After finishing his purchases, Yaoguang asked, "When will the goods arrive?"

"They'll be transported by air. They'll arrive tomorrow," Zong Yan replied.

"Then I'll wait a day." Yaoguang nodded.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call. Yue Xingzhou's urgent voice immediately came through. "Yaoguang, have you seen the news online? Xia Wuyuan... He exposed the existence of daemons!"