Versatile Sword Cultivator

Chapter 22 – Hell-level mission

"Handsome expert!"

A female voice suddenly rang out from behind.

Many male players narcissistically turned around, wondering if they were the ones being called.

Including Lin Jichen...

Of course, it was indeed him they were calling.

"Wanling sister, it really is him!"

Two female players dressed in the attire of the Sword Sect's outer temple approached Lin Jichen.

Lin Jichen was also surprised; he hadn't expected to run into Su Wanling, the wealthy lady, here.

But he didn't have any other thoughts; he and Su Wanling were just business partners—he sold, she paid.

Their relationship was very straightforward.

Su Wanling had anticipated meeting Lin Jichen, after all, she had seen his letter, which bore the Sword Sect's mark.

"Why have you also joined the Tianyan Sword Sect?" Lin Jichen asked curiously.

Su Wanling retorted, "Is the Tianyan Sword Sect only for men?"

"Of course not, I was just asking."

Su Wanling still explained to Lin Jichen.

"Our Moon Shadow Guild has all sorts of professions, purely based on personal preference. I lean towards swordsmanship, so naturally, I chose the Sword Sect."

Lin Jichen nodded, indicating he understood.

Feeling there was nothing more to say, he politely excused himself, "I need to go on a quest, let's chat another time."

With that, Lin Jichen hurried off once again.

Su Wanling wanted to chat more with Lin Jichen, but just like last time, he was gone in a flash.

"This guy, he left before I could finish talking," Su Wanling couldn't help but mutter.

"That handsome guy is so cool, Wanling sister. Even someone as beautiful as you can't sway him. Seems like it's going to be tough for you to chase after him," the woman beside her said with a laugh.

Su Wanling rolled her eyes at her and said, "Which eye of yours saw me trying to chase him?"

"You've been staring at his back as he left, and you said he left before you finished speaking. Isn't that trying to chase him?"

Su Wanling gave her a knock on the head, annoyed, "I was looking at his Sword Sect clothes, they're different from ours. I just wanted to ask him about it!"

"So it's not that, huh? And here I was, fantasizing about a TV drama of a woman chasing a man."

"If only your gameplay was as imaginative as that, stop dawdling and go do your quest. We're only three contribution points away from exchanging for the Tianyan Heart Sutra."

"Many sisters from other sects have already exchanged for their techniques, we're the slowest. We need to hurry up, or the boss will dock our wages if he finds out."

Hearing this, the woman shrank her neck in fear, seemingly very afraid of the boss Su Wanling mentioned, and dared not joke any longer, obediently following along.

Lin Jichen arrived at the sect's quest distribution point, where a large wooden board was hung with many wooden plaques.

Each plaque had writing on it, all listing various sect quests.

Since there were no players at the Foundation Establishment Realm yet, these plaques only offered Qi Refining Realm quests.

The plaques were arranged in layers, from top to bottom, each layer marked with a red sword icon.

This icon indicated the difficulty of the quest: easy, normal, hard, very hard, and hell—five levels in total.

The tasks on the lowest plaques, marked with a single red sword, were the easiest.

The higher up, the more swords there were. The topmost layer had the fewest plaques but the most red swords, a full five, indicating hell-level difficulty.

Many players were in front of the quest board, all busy trying to earn contribution points to exchange for the Tianyan Heart Sutra.

After all, the allure of a full +5% boost to combat attributes was not small.

They didn't know that Lin Jichen had already learned the Tianyan Heart Sutra without having to do any contribution quests.

Lin Jichen looked at the tasks of varying difficulties. The ones at the bottom were the simplest, involving gathering mundane herbs, killing mundane beasts, or helping out in various sect departments.

The next layer up was a bit more challenging, requiring the hunting of Qi Refining Realm beasts, gathering spirit herbs in areas where beasts roamed, or doing some longer errand tasks.

The difficulty increased the further up he looked.

Lin Jichen originally just wanted to find a hard task and get it over with, but when he saw the top layer of tasks...

He took down a special task plaque marked with five red swords.

【Hell Quest】: Help the Tianyan Sword Sect retrieve the lost secret technique.

【Task Introduction】: A Qi Refining Realm disciple of the Sword Sect, Zhang Hai, was killed while out, and the secret technique he carried was stolen. Please avenge Zhang Hai and retrieve the lost secret technique.

【Task Reward】: +100 lower-grade Spirit Stones, +100 sect contribution points, +1 high-grade Gathering Qi Pill, +1 Spirit Grade Martial Arts Technique, +1 piece of Spirit Grade equipment.

【Task Warning】: This task is extremely dangerous, and the perpetrator is currently unknown. It is suspected that the culprit may be a late-stage Qi Refining independent cultivator. Disciples with low cultivation are advised to choose carefully!

No one dared to take on this task at the moment; after all, the average player hadn't even reached the Initial stage of Qi Refining and were still at the mortal level.

Moreover, the task warning mentioned an opponent at the late stage of Qi Refining—who would dare to take on such a task?

Furthermore, without any information on the opponent or location, it was a task without a starting point.

The sect rules stated that to avoid task duplication, each disciple could only take on one task at a time. Only after completion or abandonment could they take on another.

Thus, this task plaque with its rich rewards could only hang there, basking in the sun.

After Lin Jichen took down the plaque, many players saw it and began to mock.

"What's this kid thinking? Taking on this task?"

"He's joking, right? The task warning says the opponent is at the late stage of Qi Refining. Is he going to use his head to accept it?"

"Exactly, taking it now is purely seeking death."

"I bet this guy is just showing off. Just watch, he'll put it back soon."

...

The chatter of the crowd did not disrupt Lin Jichen's plan.

He neither held the plaque hesitantly nor put it back in its place, but instead handed it directly to the NPC disciple beside him for registration.

"Junior brother, are you really going to take on this task? It's extremely dangerous. I advise you to wait until you're at the middle or late stage of Qi Refining for better safety," the NPC disciple kindly advised, his attitude respectful and even reverent.

The other players looked on in astonishment; this NPC was at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He was usually arrogant towards these new disciples, barely giving them a second glance.

He didn't care what task anyone took, just registered it, unconcerned with what you chose or your life and death, and certainly wouldn't kindly advise you.

Yet, he was so attentive to Lin Jichen, treating him as if he were an elder, overly humble.

What was going on?

From the conversation just now, it was clear that Lin Jichen was also just a Qi Refining novice.

The NPC was male, so it couldn't be because Lin Jichen was handsome that he was treated so well, right?

Could it be a man-to-man thing? The kind that likes swordplay?

People speculated wildly.

Only Lin Jichen himself knew that these outer temple NPC disciples were not drawn to his looks or cultivation level.

It was because of the inner temple disciple's clothes he wore.