Chapter 151: The Task of Breeze Clear and Clouds Light

“Lao Feng, sorry I came a bit slowly and kept you waiting.”

When Ye Rong reached the estuary of Fu River, he saw Breeze Clear and Clouds Light standing in the air, looking around.

Several Qingcheng Disciples were watching him from a distance, but none dared approach or drive him away—they lacked the confidence. When they saw their Chief Disciple arrive, they finally flew over.

But this was normal; aside from Emei, which Sect had the capability to turn the entire area around their Sect into their own territory and forbid other Sects from entering?

“No problem, I only arrived a short while ago.”

“This friend is here to complete a task in the Dujiangyan Waters. You don’t need to interfere if you see him later.”

Just as the two Qingcheng Disciples flew closer, Ye Rong turned and spoke to them.

“Understood, Boss Yijian! With your word, who would dare disobey?”

One of the two Players, who had a long face somewhat resembling a horse’s, grinned obsequiously and nodded repeatedly.

Among ordinary Qingcheng Disciples, most weren’t aware of or concerned about the disputes between top experts; they merely followed whoever could bring them benefits. Very few Players now belonged to specific factions; most formed small, scattered groups of three to five or seven or eight Players.

The name Yijian Kurong represented Qingcheng’s top expert and the Tianshu Hall Chief Disciple. To most Players, he was like an idol; following him was undoubtedly the most promising path within Qingcheng.

Watching other Sects grandly preparing for their Guild Creation Quest while Qingcheng remained stagnant—with no opportunity or even rumors of any faction having the strength to establish a Guild anytime soon—Qingcheng Disciples couldn’t help but feel both murmurings and yearning.

“Boss Yijian, could you let us join your team? We’re both over Level 30, have plenty of time to grind every day, our leveling speed won’t lag, and we guarantee participation in all team activities!”

The other round-faced, small-eyed Player spoke in a soft, almost breathless voice, as if he might run out of air at any moment.

“Hmm… go find Pecking Chicken and tell him I approved your entry into the team.”

Ye Rong agreed without much thought—adding two Players was no big deal. Even if these two had ulterior motives, they couldn’t cause any trouble; they simply wouldn’t be given the opportunity.

“Thank you, Boss Yijian! Thank you, Boss Yijian!”

They excitedly shouted a few times, then sensibly flew off to find Pecking Chicken.

Their excitement was understandable. In recent days, numerous rumors had circulated claiming that Elite Members in Yijian Kurong’s team were given Fifth-Rank Flying Swords or Third-Rank complete Magic Treasure sets.

Initially, most people scorned and dismissed such claims—how could that be possible? Even the poorest Fifth-Rank Flying Sword or Third-Rank complete Magic Treasure set could be resold for thousands of RMB; within Qingcheng, only true experts possessed such items. Only someone with money burning a hole in their pocket would do something so foolish.

But when over a dozen Qingcheng Disciples appeared before everyone, uniformly equipped with identical Flying Swords or Magic Treasures, all fell silent, replaced only by thick envy and resentment. Regardless of how they obtained them, these Players had them and were already using them.

Instantly, a frenzy swept through the ordinary Qingcheng Disciples, all hoping to join Yijian Kurong’s ranks. However, Pecking Chicken strictly controlled recruitment, accepting only a limited number. Precisely because of this, the frenzy didn’t subside but grew even fiercer.

Ye Rong had no idea that an idea he’d casually conceived would create such a response and effect.

“Brother Yijian, your prestige in Qingcheng is remarkable—truly befitting a Chief Disciple.”

Breeze Clear and Clouds Light watched from the side, showing a slightly enlightened expression, reinforcing his earlier judgments.

On Huashan, he was no ordinary Player either—he held a special identity. Huashan had Seven Senior Disciples, all students of the Sect Leader, Ancestor Liehuo; Breeze Clear and Clouds Light was one of them.

But perhaps because he had too many disciples, Ancestor Liehuo paid little attention to his students. Aside from accessing flag-type Magic Treasure crafting quests earlier, they had little advantage over ordinary Players.

Thus, a strange situation arose in Huashan: among the three Players currently holding the most power, only one was a Senior Disciple; the other two were merely disciples of Huashan Elders.

Compared to these three, Breeze Clear and Clouds Light had shallow foundations and had always played a lone wolf role, with only a few close friends at most. He couldn’t rally thousands with a single call and stood no chance competing against them.

Therefore, Breeze Clear and Clouds Light mostly developed outside, rarely staying within the Sect. He didn’t even grind levels at the usual spots near the Sect favored by Huashan disciples.

“Just average. Lao Feng, how about betraying your Sect and joining Qingcheng? It’s much more promising than your Huashan.”

Ye Rong casually joked. For stronger Players, the cost of Sect betrayal was terrifying—almost unbearable, equivalent to wasting months of gameplay and previous efforts, leaving only Level and equipment behind.

“If I could betray my Sect, I’d want to join Emei! My master has a terrible temper—he thinks he’s incredibly powerful, some leader of a Heterodox School, but he really has no such strength. He even spends all his time with folks from the Demonic Path; he probably won’t end well, and sooner or later Emei will attack him.”

Breeze Clear and Clouds Light chuckled, then initiated a trade with Ye Rong, giving him the agreed three hundred taels of gold from the Herbal Hall.

“By the way, Lao Feng, what exactly is your task? Do you need my help?”

“Take a look at this water map. I need to go there and kill 999 Inkfish Spirits with this sword to succeed.”

Ye Rong took the water map Breeze Clear and Clouds Light handed over; the waterway depicted looked very familiar, and he recognized it at a glance.

“This place is a tributary of Tuo River—Black Water River. Just 999 Inkfish Spirits—that shouldn’t be too troublesome.”

The Tuojiang River Basin was a massive river with huge flow; it had its own tributaries: Black Water River and White Water River.

These two tributaries weren’t the main operational areas for Ye Rong’s team; currently, they were occupied by casual Players, and sometimes even Players from outside Qingcheng appeared.

With the limited manpower under his command, they could barely manage the main sections of Tuojiang River Basin, let alone bring both tributaries under their control.

“I… This task is designed to torture people, isn’t it?”

Before Ye Rong finished his previous sentence, he saw the Flying Sword in Breeze Clear and Clouds Light’s hand and immediately changed his tune without hesitation.

Dry Flame Sword Embryo, special class, no rank, attack power 10-10, fire damage 10-10.

Inkfish Spirits were only Level 40-plus Aquatic Demonic Creatures. If Breeze Clear and Clouds Light could cut loose freely, killing 999 would take only about two days. But being restricted to only those killed with the Dry Flame Sword Embryo counting, with its pitifully low attack power, each kill would take who knows how much effort; it might take ten days to half a month to complete.

“It’s not as bad as you think. Only the final blow needs to be dealt by the Dry Flame Sword Embryo; I can still use my usual Flying Sword for the initial attacks. So, it’s just a bit troublesome—I need to calculate the Inkfish Spirit’s remaining HP accurately. The time spent won’t increase that much.”

Breeze Clear and Clouds Light put away the Dry Flame Sword Embryo and said with a smile.

“I’ve completed four stages of tasks for this Dry Flame Sword Embryo, refining it to this point. After finishing this phase, only the final step remains to truly turn it into a Flying Sword. Although the Dry Flame Blazing Sword isn’t top-tier, it’s a Sixth-Rank Flying Sword—well worth the time and effort I’ve invested in refining it.”

“So the final product of the Dry Flame Sword Embryo is a Sixth-Rank Flying Sword—that’s pretty good.”

Fifth Rank was a threshold; the number of Flying Swords and Magic Treasures above that rank dropped sharply. That’s why masses of ordinary Players still had to use outdated, unsuitable equipment even at Levels 70-80.

A single Sixth-Rank Dry Flame Blazing Sword would at least allow Breeze Clear and Clouds Light to continue using it for a long time after reaching Level 50, making all that effort worthwhile.

But this also revealed Huashan’s relative poverty. Graceful Dream Butterfly already had a Seventh-Rank Taiyi Five Smoke Net, and Ghost-devouring Taoist also possessed a Seventh-Rank Hundred Venoms Asura Banner. Even Ye Rong had a Sixth-Rank Nine Glazed Golden Lamp—and it was still sealed. Once it absorbed enough Karma Points to unseal, its rank would rise further.

“I’ll accompany you to Black Water River—it’s not far from here.”

“Thank you, Brother Yijian. I appreciate the trouble.”

Although the Tuojiang River Basin was considered Ye Rong’s base, he had never actually visited its two tributaries and was quite unfamiliar with them.

Whether Black Water River or White Water River, their water flow and Aquatic Demonic Creatures couldn’t compare to Tuo River, but each stretched over a hundred miles, winding continuously.

This was Ye Rong’s first time here. Black Water River truly lived up to its name; looking down from the air, it appeared entirely ink-black, shimmering with glints of dark scales.

Rumors said both Black Water River and White Water River contained an Immortal Manor of the River God, though it was now abandoned.

This Immortal Manor naturally hid some treasures left by the previous River God and could also serve as a Guild Stronghold. It was this rumor that attracted batches of non-Qingcheng Players.

“This is Black Water River, but this area is quite chaotic—it’s not fully under Qingcheng’s control.”

Ye Rong pointed downward, not hesitating to admit that Qingcheng’s strength was limited and they couldn’t dominate all territory around the Sect.