Chapter Eighty-Nine: Class A Mission

April 6, 2118. Nanjing.

In the silent room, Hua Feng and Yun Meng sat with their backs against the bed, absorbing the intelligence that had come from the Flying Dragon Camp.

“Xiao Meng, do you know what this mission board is?”

Yun Meng looked a little blank and turned to him, her tone slightly languid. “I’ve never heard of it. Oh, right—should we ask Shen Qiu or Dan Qiusheng?”

“Yes, that works. I’ll ask Alliance Leader Dan Qiusheng right now. Shen Qiu may be an old hand too, but when it comes to the affairs of the Cultivators Association, I’m afraid no one knows more than Dan Qiusheng.” Hua Feng felt it would be best to ask the alliance leader directly.

He opened his communicator, tapped into Dan Qiusheng’s chat window, and typed a message.

“Senior, there is something this junior does not understand. I hope you can enlighten me.”

After a while, the reply came back. “Brother Hua Feng, there is no need for such formality. Whatever your question, ask freely. This old man will tell you all he knows.”

“Thank you, Senior! I wanted to ask how the mission board of our Huaxia Cultivators Association works.”

“Ah, that. Then you’ve come to the right person. The mission board is jointly managed by the Cultivators Association and the One-Current Dao Alliance. Any member who joins either the One-Current Dao Alliance or the Huaxia Cultivators Association may accept missions there. Everyone has mission points, and every person starts at zero. Each completed mission awards corresponding points based on its assessed rank.”

Hua Feng and Yun Meng stared at the screen, reading carefully. Outside the window, sunlight slowly crept across the sill. It was only seven in the morning.

“Points? What can points be used for?” Hua Feng replied.

“Points can be exchanged for pills, magical treasures, spirit talismans, money, and whatever else you may need. Most importantly, every time you complete a mission, the mission system will announce it across the entire server, so everyone will know what you’ve done. Missions are generally divided into ranks C, B, A, S, and SS. Only missions of A rank or above earn the honor of a global announcement. Of course, you may also choose to remain anonymous or cancel the announcement.”

“I see. Thank you, Senior!” Hua Feng now had a clearer idea.

“So, are you planning to accept a mission? If so, just log directly into the official service website of the One-Current Dao Alliance. The homepage has the mission board. You can use this ID to accept missions now, and once you achieve the mission objective, the system will judge it automatically.”

“Understood. Thank you, Senior! I was thinking that since I have nothing much to do these next few days, I might take on some missions and temper myself a little. It should help improve my practical combat adaptability.”

“Yes, for a young man to think that way is indeed commendable. As it happens, there are some rather troublesome targets on the mission board that have given many fellow cultivators in the alliance a headache. Now that you possess the strength of a Primal Emperor, and with the resources of the Agrarian School as well as Yun Meng’s assistance, you have a real chance of completing some of those seemingly difficult missions. I look forward to your performance. I won’t keep talking now. In these past two days, we’ve gathered the experts of the Primal Emperor realm and are preparing to rehearse a formation with Senior Zhang Sanfeng, so that on an appointed day we may seal the scattered primal soul of Qiongqi. I wish you both good fortune.”

“Understood, Senior. Goodbye!”

After closing the communicator, Hua Feng felt vaguely at a loss. Everyone else was occupied with important matters; he had even less reason to remain idle. No matter what, he had to keep training. If he did not continue to improve, he would surely be unable to bear the pressure of carrying the weight of the age in the future.

He opened the alliance’s official website and browsed it briefly, deciding that three days later he would accept a mission and depart at once. For these few days, he would first spend proper time with his parents and with Yun Meng. Ever since he had last felt the natural, effortless saintly aura-field of Zhang Sanfeng, Hua Feng, at level sixty-one of the Primal Emperor realm, had sensed the stirrings of a breakthrough. Yun Meng, too, seemed to have gained an answering inspiration, and lately there were faint signs that she was about to break through into the Primal Emperor realm herself. Because of this, Hua Feng did not dare relax. Aside from accompanying his parents through the three daily meals and the small talk of family life, he spent all his remaining time in the bedroom consolidating his cultivation.

On the morning two days later, after Yun Meng released a fierce and bitterly cold surge of aura, Hua Feng raised a shield of primal energy to block its chaotic overflow, preventing the household glassware and the like from freezing and shattering as they had the day before under the plummeting temperature.

“Brother Hua Feng, now I’m a Primal Emperor too. Compared with your level sixty-two Primal Emperor strength, I’m only a little weaker—but it certainly wasn’t easy! Back then, when you told me about entering the Primal Emperor realm, you said it took quite a few heavenly treasures before all that accumulation finally brought your breakthrough. As for me, I only relied on a portion of the power my father left behind. Everything else came from the deepening of my meditative insight as my realm advanced.” There was a trace of pride in Yun Meng’s voice. In truth, she longed for the approval of others, especially that of Hua Feng, now dressed in the black-and-white style of the Agrarian School.

“That is only natural. My wife is a genius seen but once in centuries; of course your advancement would be swift. It’s not like me—my gains in primal energy mainly depended on quite a number of heavenly treasures, spirit talismans, and golden elixirs.” Hua Feng stroked Yun Meng’s head, his eyes full of tenderness.

“Hehe, with the two of us both being Primal Emperors now, the missions ahead should be much easier, right? Brother Hua Feng, have you accepted a mission yet?”

“I looked through them yesterday and took on a two-person A-rank mission. The condition is to track down a flower thief named Wave-Rider Bloom, a level sixty-one Primal Emperor. As for the others—undersea treasure hunts, wish-fulfillment in the demon realm, searching for lost treasures—those things are all too vague and elusive. We probably can’t handle them in the short term, so I chose this one since the information is comparatively clear,” Hua Feng said quickly.

“Mhm, good. Then let’s catch this flower thief together and make our names in the cultivation world with a single brilliant feat!” Yun Meng laced her fingers tightly with Hua Feng’s, her eyes filled with resolute faith in the future.