Chapter 343: 342: The First Task of the Ace Team in the World!
Chapter 343: 342: The First Task of the Ace Team in the World!
There were three streets surrounding the plaza, the closest one was Street One, the middle one was Street Two, and the farthest one was Street Three.
Without a doubt, Street One was the most prosperous. It housed various categories of shops, and there were also many stalls hollering for business along the street. These stalls also required a fee and were reportedly contracted by the large guilds and then subleased out.
Or, it could be said that the guilds were the first to contract the storefronts and trading in the entire Communication Space. Only they were qualified to trade with the Heavenly Court.
Other individuals wanting to set up stalls or open shops had to trade with these guilds.
In essence, this covertly boosted the privileges of the guilds. From this perspective, It seemed that the Heavenly Court deliberately supported the guilds.
Interestingly, the shops on Street One were quite similar to ordinary worldly shops, with the majority being eateries.
However, unlike ordinary food and drinks, every morsel of food or drink here could boost one’s cultivation or enhance certain abilities. Although the effects were meager, they were indeed present.
Still, these shops were extremely popular, with people coming and going constantly. Whether they were socializing or discussing matters, they would go into these shops for a seat. Besides, the prices were relatively fair, ranging from about a dozen Merit Points and up.
After casually choosing a drink shop, the four of them ordered an energy drink each and began chatting.
“I found various shops around here while walking around earlier. There are those which sell pills that enhance cultivation, those which sell cultivation techniques, and those which sell secrets. Apart from these, there are also shops that sell equipment, weapons, talismans, and products exclusive to different worlds…”
Du Gang shook his head, “These things, they don’t have much use for us…”
In terms of the four of them present, their backgrounds were deep-rooted. Whether it was cultivation techniques, equipment, or secrets, they had the best of the best, hence they did not have much need for the aforementioned items.
“Additionally, we learned from that guy that the mortality rate in the True God Level’s promotion isn’t as high as we thought!”
Du Gang frowned, “There were four hundred of us in this promotion task, only four of us advanced to the next level, a success rate of about one percent. However, according to that guy, the success rate for others is not low, it is generally between thirty and forty percent…”
Kou Yingwu also looked confused, “Yeah, why is the gap so huge?”
“Could it be related to our potential?!”
Zhang Xinyi looked awkwardly, “I was actively recruited by the Heavenly Court, is it possible that due to my being here, the promotion rate has decreased?”
The other two were shocked and looked at Zhang Xinyi unbelievingly.
They only just remembered that Zhang Xinyi was a strong contender, previously ranked over 700 on the Human Ranking list. No matter how they saw it, she was stronger than them.
Du Gang laughed, “Don’t always shoulder all the burden, I feel that each of us is unique, I even felt it was because of me!”
“In short, the Heavenly Court probably believes that we four possess a great deal of potential, so the tasks assigned for promotion were harder, that’s why we had this outcome…”
“As for how it exactly is, we need to see how the first mission after becoming a True God goes!”
Du Gang laughed, “Thinking more about it now does no good. To promote to the True God stage, none of you have gone back right? First, let’s head back to our team space, then to reality. Learn everything you can about the True God stage as fast as possible. We’ll meet again during our next mission!!”
With that, the four of them returned to the team space and from there went back to reality.
Du Gang and Zhang Xinyi appeared at the same place. As soon as they showed up, Zhang Youwei was already standing in front of them with a joyful look on his face.
“Xinyi, have you become a True God?”
“Yes!”
Zhang Xinyi also smiled, pleased with her promotion to the True God.
Zhang Youwei finally heaved a sigh of relief, “That’s good, becoming a True God, leaving the true spirit in the Heavenly Court, even if you die, you can be revived…”
“Dad, why are you saying such ill-omened things…”
“Right right, I spoke wrong. Spit, spit, spit, my daughter will not die!”
Upon returning to Jiuyang Villa, even before Du Gang could say anything, Zhang Youwei handed Du Gang the subsequent books of the Nine Yang Divine Art.
“Now that you’re within the Heavenly Court, wait a little longer for the wedding…”
“I understand!”
Du Gang nodded, his original motive was the cultivation technique, whether or not the marriage happens was a minor issue.
“I have some experiences and insights about the True God stage here, you and Xinyi can come listen to them in my study later!”
Upon hearing this, Du Gang was overjoyed, quickly agreeing. Having someone to teach him would definitely be better than him groping in the dark.
The next three months, Du Gang learned a lot under Zhang Youwei.
Not only did he learn cultivation experience at the True God level, he also mastered some techniques.
Simultaneously, he learned many commonly used mantras that were extraordinarily useful.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed. Du Gang and Zhang Xinyi once again arrived in a secluded location and entered the Heavenly Court.
At the same time, in the team space, Tao Xuanzhu and Kou Yingwu emerged.
“This is our first mission at the True God level, I have something to say!”
Du Gang stood at the front of the energy sphere, looking at the other three who were listening attentively, and said: “First, do not expose our mission to anyone else!”
“When we enter the mission world, we can’t determine if others are indigenes or reincarnators like us, so we should try as much as possible to act like an indigene, and not do anything extraordinary!”
“Secondly, I will be leading. You chose to form a team with me because of my leadership capabilities, so I hope you trust me a hundred percent. Execute my instructions unconditionally. If you cannot do this, you can mention it now and we can part ways.”
Having said that, he looked at each one of the three.
Looking at Zhang Xinyi, she rolled her eyes and feigned innocence.
Du Gang knowingly averted his eyes and looked at Tao Xuanzhu.
She chuckled, “Naturally, once we enter the mission world, whatever you say, I will do!”
Kou Yingwu on the side also nodded, “You can be assured about this!”
Du Gang nodded, continuing, “Alright, let’s enter the mission world then!”
Soon, the four of them were standing around the energy sphere, Du Gang confirmed entry into the sphere.
“Whoosh!”
In an instant, the four of them were enveloped by the teleportation force. The next moment, they appeared in an unfamiliar area with an invisible cover around them.
“This is the mission world, it is just as that wily guy said, we appeared separately from each other, which suggests that other reincarnators are in a similar situation!”
Du Gang immediately said, “I just don’t know how many reincarnators are present in this world…”
“First, let’s check the mission!”
[Current mission world: Red Competition World, killing a reincarnator gives a reward of 10 Merit Points.]
[Mission one: Complete ten tasks from the Bounty List, reward of 10 Merit Points per person.]
[Mission two: The team must kill at least four reincarnators, reward of 10 Merit Points per person.]
[Mission three: Kill three demonic beings, rewards are calculated based on the strength, reputation, and connection with the protagonist of the demonic beings killed.]
“The first mission is in the Red Competition World, this means that we and the other reincarnators are naturally enemies!”
Du Gang sighs, he wanted to take it slow and get used to the missions, however, the Heavenly Court does not seem to allow it.
“Mission two is related to the reincarnators, missions one and three are connected to this indigene world…”
He looked around, and they were in a barren mountain range with no one else in sight.
“There are people to the west. Once the protective shield disappears, I’ll go over to check the situation. The three of you hide on the spot and make sure you’re not discovered!”
“Understood!”
The trio nodded quickly.
Furthermore, Du Gang gave a few more directions before the transparent shield disappeared.
“Stay here without moving while I’m gone!”
Saying this, he swiftly rose from his feet and, completely concealed, headed towards the distant area shrouded with human presence.
Soon, he arrived in front of a house built of wood. He quietly used Divine Thought to probe inside, discovering only a powerless old man inside.
After some contemplation, he didn’t reveal himself directly but used a technique he’d learned from Zhang Youwei.
Hypnosis Technique!
“After a day of labor, you are tired, you feel the sleepiness coming on, you decide to lie down on the bed, sleep for a while…”
This Hypnosis Technique was not a simple one; it included a truth-telling effect, something Zhang Youwei had spent a considerable asset to learn in his youth.
Truth-telling wasn’t as Du Gang had imagined before, that any True God could practice it.
Truth-telling effectively borrows the power of the Heavenly Dao; each truth-telling technique is unique and requires special cultivation methods to master.
Unlike Heavenly Level Cultivation Method, the circulation of truth-telling is narrower, and the difficulty of learning it is higher.
Not everyone can learn a truth-telling technique.
Heavenly Level Cultivation Method has relatively strong versatility, and those with strong talent could generally cultivate it.
However, truth-telling was different. Each truth-telling technique has different requirements, making it extremely difficult to master thoroughly.
Some True Gods have even attempted dozens of truth-telling techniques, none of which they succeeded in learning.
Du Gang was lucky, or rather adaptable. He learned all the truth-telling techniques commonly used by True Gods.
In addition, he learned quite a few unpopular truth-telling techniques.
In the wooden house, the old man yawned and naturally climbed into bed, falling into a deep sleep. Soon, he began to snore.
Seeing this, Du Gang smiled and continued, “Dream Entry Technique!”
Immediately afterwards, his Divine Thought flew out and entered the old man’s mind.
Only after a long time did his Divine Thought float back.
“Demons are everywhere…”
Murmuring, he didn’t linger but hurried back the way he came.
He had just flown halfway when his Divine Thought discovered that four people were walking towards the position of Kou Yingwu and the others.
Interestingly, these four individuals were also two men and two women. As for their cultivation, it was quite strange. Their cultivation systems were different from the origin, but their estimated Combat Power was around ten thousand.
“Take them down first!”
Even before Du Gang got to them, he sent a message to the three.
“Freezing Technique!”
Tao Xuanzhu softly commanded, and immediately, the four people on the ground froze as if nailed in place.
“Amazing!”
Kou Yingwu gave a thumbs up, “This freezing technique is one of the seventy-two transformations of the Heavenly Gang, right? It is incredibly difficult to learn. I never thought you would master it!”
At the True God Stage, the number of truth-telling techniques is beyond count. However, people still rank the seventy-two of the Heavenly Gang and the thirty-six of the Earthly Fiend as the most difficult among the 108 truth-telling techniques based on difficulty and power.
Even Du Gang couldn’t help but take two more glances at Tao Xuanzhu upon seeing this. After all, he hadn’t learned these 108 truth-telling techniques.
Of course, this was also because Zhang Youwei didn’t know them, so he couldn’t teach them.
Du Gang arrived at the rest of the group’s location, “The person we left behind is an old man who’s lived a pretty sheltered life, knows nothing much. These four people, they are clearly from some sect, let’s question them!”
Kou Yingwu quickly stepped up, smirked, “I’ll do it!”
“I’ve just learned a truth-telling technique, I’m going to test it on them!”
Seeing him wanting to show off, the rest had no objections.
Kou Yingwu assumed the position and rapidly initiated the truth-telling technique, “I ask, you answer, and only speak the truth!”
Immediately, an indistinct force emerged and enveloped the four.
“Who are you?!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the four spoke in unison, “We are disciples of the Five Elements Sect!”
“Your names and identities?!”
“Tian Lang!”
“Qisha!”
“Xuan Jing!”
“Beidou!”
Among them, Tian Lang and Xuan Jing were women, and Qisha and Beidou were men.
“Where are you going now?”
“Going to Misty Mountain City to pick up bounty tasks…”
Through a series of questions, the group finally understood this world a bit better.
This is a world infested with demons and devils, where the living conditions of humans are extremely hard. Encountering a demon usually equates death.
However, thankfully, in many places, there are powerful sects. The disciples of these sects master the art of demon hunting, often venture down the mountain to exterminate demons, thereby allowing humanity some breathing space.
This world doesn’t have complete kingdoms. It primarily operates on a city-state system, where each city is a country in itself.
Similarly, those who can establish cities are mostly related to these sects. Some cities are even established by the sects themselves.
Although every city has different rules, interestingly, the circulated currency is the same–gold and silver.
In addition, every city has a special organization: the Demon Suppression Office.
The office is responsible for defending the city and repelling demons. However, it limits its operations to within the city.
The world’s population doesn’t all live within the cities. Only a fraction actually resides in the city, while a large portion lives outside, in the countryside.
When these rural areas encounter demons, they gather money to go to the city and post tasks on the Demon Suppression Office’s bounty list.
Misty Mountain City nearby is controlled by the Five Elements Sect.
Tian Lang and her companions had just completed their training and were granted the qualifications to hunt demons outside their sect. They left their master and planned to go to the Demon Suppression Office to receive tasks for their trials. Little did they know they would be captured by Du Gang and his group.
Soon, Du Gang made a decision.
“Borrow their identities and capture them for now. We will release them when we are ready to leave this world…”
“Now, we are Tian Lang, Qisha, Xuan Jing, and Beidou. We will proceed to Misty Mountain City in the name of our master, take on tasks, and hunt demons!”