Chapter 1062: Joining The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion (2)

First Profound said, "I'm only in charge of the ten of you, and I only know the identities of those directly subordinate to me. I lack information about those not directly subordinate to me. So I won't be able to give you an accurate number. But each department will be rather limited in size. There won't be too many white masks and black masks in each department. The rainbow masks and half masks will probably be higher in number.

"After becoming Profound Nine, you will be given the information of the ten black masks directly subordinate to you. You can check their locations through your Heavenly Hunt Directory."

Su Yu was in no rush to ask further about all that. Instead, he asked something else, "What is the White One's status in the pavilion? Why isn't he a heaven, earth, profound, or yellow?"

"White One...The Four Departments operate independently. Above the elders, there are four department leaders. And under the four department leaders are some members directly subordinate to them. Those directly subordinate to the leader of the Heaven Department use the white series of codenames. The direct subordinates of the Profound Department leader use the black series of codenames. Those under the Profound Department leader use the rainbow series of codenames. As for the Yellow Department—"

"Half series of codenames?"

Su Yu completed the sentence for the elder. This mask was much easier to use than the index copy. He didn't even need to write. He only needed to transmit his thoughts through the mask. It made communication seamless and convenient. It also allowed him to interrupt someone mid-sentence.

He was learning more and more about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Those codenamed heaven, earth, profound, and yellow are direct subordinates of elders. Meanwhile, people like White One are direct subordinates of the department leaders. In that case, it was logical for the Yellow Department leader to head those codenamed half since that was the next tier of the masks after the rainbow mask.

His interruption left First Profound somewhat speechless. Shortly after, the elder replied, "No. They are codenamed gray. The so-called half masks are actually gray in color."

Su Yu asked, "What's the difference between the four departments? Is the Profound Department weaker than the Heaven Department?"

If each department enjoyed a different level of status, with Profound Nine's strength as a seventh-stage Mountainsea, he shouldn't have remained in the Profound Department, right?

"Not really. Yes, the four departments differ in strength, but the gap isn't too big. The Heaven Department is indeed slightly stronger, but the departments mainly differ in roles."

First Profound gave a long explanation. If Su Yu was only a regular Mountainsea, he wouldn't have wasted his time. But Su Yu was not a regular Mountainsea. He was Su Yu. Thus, he received the personal attention of Profound Department's first elder.

"Externally, we are collectively known as the Heavenly Hunt Four Departments. The Heaven Department is in charge of gathering the auras and information of geniuses. They require a higher level of strength to traverse the Allheaven Battlefield.

"The Earth Department is in charge of logistics. For example, all your previous transactions with us were handled by them. The Profound Department is in charge of our branches. The previous Profound Nine was one such example. This is also a dangerous task. The Yellow Department is based in our headquarters, in charge of communication. They face the lowest level of risk among the four departments, so their members are also weaker in comparison."

Once again, Su Yu's understanding of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion deepened. Their roles had been clearly defined. The first Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member he encountered was the aura gatherer. That was a member of the Heaven Department.

His second direct encounter with them happened in Heavendoom City when he made a purchase from them. The person who had delivered his purchase was a member of the Earth Department.

The people who had been communicating with him through the index copy were from the Yellow Department. The North and South Spires were in charge of security and assassination services. The East and West Chambers were in in charge of undercover operations in the various realms.

Finally, a complete picture took form in his mind.

First Profound continued his explanation, "Naturally, some members are allowed carry out jobs outside their regular job scope in unique or emergency situations. For example, as the leader of our Grandstar Branch, you might be required to carry out our delivery and protection services in the city during the times when the city is sealed."

Su Yu nodded in understanding. For example, Profound Nine would serve as a shopkeeper most of the time. But during emergencies, he would need to serve as a delivery man or a hired thug.

"What do I stand to gain if I join?"

"Firstly, nobody can purchase any information regarding your whereabouts anymore.

"Secondly, you are granted access to our internal store. There, you can purchase items we don't offer to outsiders. Elders enjoy a fifty percent discount, white masks enjoy a forty percent discount, black masks enjoy a thirty percent discount, rainbow masks enjoy a twenty percent discount, and half masks enjoy a ten percent discount."

Su Yu's heart fluttered. Holy shit! Forty percent discount! That was quite big! That was quite tempting to him.

"Thirdly, with enough contribution, you can even apply for the protection. During crucial moments, even Invincibles will act to protect you.

"Fourthly, you will receive 0.1 percent of the transactions you complete as commission. For example, if you can complete a large transaction involving thousands of heavenearth profound light strands, you will receive several strands as your commission..."

This time, Su Yu grumbled inwardly. This was too low.

Only 0.1 percent.

"You will also receive 0.1 percent of the transactions your black mask subordinates complete as commission. With their yellow mask subordinates, the transaction volume of these black masks can be quite high."

Su Yu nodded. That was acceptable. He remembered that he only had ten black masks subordinate to him.

"Do I have access to the information of the rainbow masks under my back masks?"

"No. According to the rules of Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, only the direct superior of a member can know the identity of that member. This system is put in place to prevent a chain reaction in case of a disaster, resulting in an eventual destruction of the entire organization."

How strict. Su Yu nodded. That was actually quite a good rule for him. With that, this elder would be the only person to know his identity.

"What about the Invincibles? Does this rule apply to them as well?"

"Yes. Not even the Invincibles are exempted. Even the department leaders will only have the information about the elders directly subordinate to them."

First Profound said, "There is no promise of an absence of bias even if one is a department leader. Take you as an example. If our department leader is a divine or a devil, you will be in great danger. But with this rule in place, they won't even know who you are. No single decision maker will know everything about the organization. That will only make it easier for the organization to be destroyed in one fell swoop."

Once again, Su Yu nodded. This was a good rule, but it wasn't completely perfect either. For example, things might get troublesome when the elder perished...

While he was thinking, First Profound said, "Don't worry about my death. That won't cause you to lose all contact with the pavilion. Even if my mask ends up destroyed, the pavilion will produce a new mask for the new First Profound. The new First Profound will automatically assume control and reestablish contact with all of you. Naturally, if the position remains empty for an extended period of time, that might open up some new opportunities for you guys..."

"Opportunities?"

"Yes. Generally, only late-stage Sunmoons can replace a dead elder. But if an active position remains empty for too long, one of the ten direct subordinates will be selected as the successor. In that scenario, the successor does not need to be a late-stage Sunmoon."

So that was how it was.

"And what new benefits do an elder enjoy? How do I go about being an elder?"

"You will naturally learn about the benefits when you become one. To become one, firstly, you need to accumulate sufficient contributions to the organization. Secondly, you need enough strength. Thirdly, you need the recommendation of your direct superior before taking a test in the headquarters. If you pass the test, you will be promoted to an elder."

"So I can't enter the headquarters yet?"

The elder had the urge to roll his eyes. That was a given. Just from the tone Su Yu was using, it was obvious Su Yu was harboring evil designs against the headquarters.

"Yes. Apart from the Yellow Department due to the nature of their job, only the elders of the other departments can enter the headquarters."

"Are there Invincibles in the headquarters?"

"..."

First Profound was left speechless. Just what did Su Yu want to do? Why was he asking these questions?

"Yes."

"Oh."

Su Yu instantly lost interest. Since there were Invincibles there, he wouldn't be going. He wouldn't go even if they asked him to go. That would be way too dangerous.

It was tiring conversing with Su Yu. And First Profound was experiencing that first-hand. He patiently said, "After becoming the new Profound Nine, you will need to take over the responsibilities of the original Profound Nine as well. If you fail to complete your assessment three times, the mask will self-destruct."

What?

Su Yu asked, "What are the assessments? And how long will it be before one needs to take one?"

"It happens once every three years. A lot of our members are experts. It is normal for any of us to spend three years or more in seclusion. But it is not acceptable for someone to keep failing for nine years."

Su Yu nodded. That was actually quite generous.

"What are the contents of the assessment?"

"For the Profound Department, it's mainly related to sales. Since you're in charge of a branch, you need to sell our products and information. When the number of your sales reaches the required level, you will complete the assessment."

Su Yu asked, "So how many merit points do I need to make to pass the assessment?"

"Here in the Allheaven Battlefield, we don't use merit points as our standard currency. In any case, there is no common currency in the Allheaven Battlefield. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion has its own currency. Each heavenly hunt point is equal to a drop of first-stage Mountainsea blood essence in value. Thus, each heavenly hunt point is worth about a thousand human merit points."

Su Yu nodded. That was indeed the price of first-stage Mountainsea blood essence in the Human Realm. The price would only be cheaper if one bought in massive volumes.

"For white masks, you need to reach a thousand points to pass your assessment."

Su Yu converted that into merit points and noted that it was a million human merit points. In truth, that wasn't high at all.

Even the blood essence of a weak first-stage Sunmoon was worth ten thousand merit points per drop, or ten heavenly hunt points. In other words, he only needed to make a hundred drops of Sunmoon blood essence in sales over a period of three years.

On average, he only needed to make about thirty drops per year. But at this point, he realized that this was by no means a low amount.

First Profound continued, "If you can complete the assessment in a single transaction, you will be spared from further assessments for a period of thirty years. And you can keep accumulating your immunity. This allows someone to spend a long time in seclusion without losing their position."

That was a fair rule as well. With that rule, one only needed to make a few large transactions to stop worrying about assessments for a long time. Wait, why was he even thinking about all that? It wasn't like he was going to join.

Once again, Su Yu started cursing. The damn Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was filled with scammers. First, they scammed his money. And now, they were scamming his feelings.

He said, "Can I kill other members after becoming Profound Nine?"

"..."

Wow. How honest.

First Profound was left speechless. But soon, he said, "When both parties are masked, that's not allowed. If one or both of you aren't masked...you are naturally free to do whatever you want."

"Will there be punishment if one of us kills the other when both of us are wearing masks?"

"Yes." First Profound explained, "When both of you are masked, the direct superiors of both masks will be informed about the kill when it happens. In that scenario, you will face punishment."

"What sort of punishment?"

"The assassins of the two spires will be sent after you. Do you understand?"

"Yes. And what's next after I kill those assassins?"

"Stronger experts will be sent to kill you."

"What's next after I kill those stronger experts as well?"

What the fuck was wrong with this guy?

Was killing the only thing he knew?

Fuck!

First Profound was starting to feel like coughing blood from sheer annoyance. He still patiently answered, "If you can kill even the two leaders of the North and South Spires, the pavilion will stop going after you. You will be left alone. Do you understand that now?"

"Yes. So only strength matters. I understand now."

Su Yu nodded. Yes. Finally, he understood. If he could kill them all, they would naturally not go after him anymore. In other words, it was better for him to take his mask off if he wanted to kill a member before he was that strong.

Understood!