Chapter 28: Trial Mission

A flash of green light about ten feet long shot out from the clouds atop the ten-thousand-step stone platform, arriving at the plaza in an instant. Four Daoist priests stood there, each occupying a corner.

“Wow, the head disciple Chen Taizhen is here too! I’m going to go get my Trial Mission from him. Don’t rush, Brother Yijian. These senior masters will stay here for a full hour anyway, so you can take your time to think and choose carefully.”

Bapi Choujin rushed towards the middle-aged Daoist priest. Above his head floated his personal info: Chen Taizhen, Qingcheng Disciple, Level ??? His expression was solemn, he didn’t smile easily, and his every move was proper and imposing, bearing the demeanor of an elder.

Ye Rong only glanced at the other three. Only Tu Lei, who had a face like the Thunder God, caught his attention for a moment.

If the master a Player chose to apprentice under was too weak, it could affect their status development within the Sect. Of course, if you were an incredibly powerful individual, you naturally didn’t need to worry about this. Although he couldn’t see the actual Levels of those two NPCs, judging by the lackluster glow of the treasures on them, all three seemed rather shabby. Only Tu Lei, who had unusual phenomena around him, might be a bit stronger.

Reality was just like that. The number of Players gathered in front of Chen Taizhen was also the largest, all receiving the Registered Disciple Trial Mission.

Ye Rong pondered for a moment, then also walked towards Chen Taizhen’s direction. Even if the Registered Disciple Trial Mission was difficult, it was at most just more tedious and time-consuming. Why not give it a try?

“I wish to join the Qingcheng Sect. Please grant me the Trial Mission, Daoist Priest.”

“Here.”

Qingcheng Registered Disciple Trial Mission: Slay ninety-nine Level 20 Whip Snakes, obtain one Thousand-Year Plantain, Player must have over five thousand Karma Points.

“Indeed… it’s difficult…”

Ye Rong looked at the Trial Mission and sighed. But it wasn’t because of the mission itself; he was thinking about the Initiation Task.

Everyone said the Initiation Task was ten times harder than the Trial Mission. Just from this small glimpse, he could infer the difficulty of the Initiation Task. It really wasn’t something that could be completed in a short time.

Thinking about how Xuan Yuan Tianxia, Blue Chariot, and others didn’t need to go through these mission tests and directly became Formal Disciples, Ye Rong felt an overwhelming envy, clicking his tongue repeatedly. Getting that head start was extremely important. It wasn’t just about gaining a few more Levels or killing more monsters; it was about accessing the Sect’s Dao Spells and Sword Art Forms earlier, building relationships with the Sect NPCs sooner, all to secure an important position within the Sect as a Player in the future.

“Yijian, did you also get a Trial Mission from Chen Taizhen?”

“Yes. How about your Trial Mission? Is it difficult?”

“Here, see for yourself.”

Bapi Choujin displayed the details of his Trial Mission. Ye Rong looked at it, and his expression changed, turning very strange.

“Could it be that even Trial Missions taken from the same Chen Taizhen have differences?”

At the same time, Ye Rong set his own Trial Mission to visible, allowing Bapi Choujin to see it.

“Wow, Yijian, you really have bad luck. Your luck is terrible.”

Bapi Choujin patted Ye Rong’s shoulder, speaking in a very sympathetic tone, while making a funny face. His own Registered Disciple Trial Mission was simply to kill thirty Level 20 apes and bring back one piece of Metal Essence.

“Although the monster targets for the Trial Missions Chen Taizhen gives might vary slightly, I’ve never heard of such a huge difference in quantity requirements. Looks like you hit the jackpot!”

“The apes for my mission are right at the edge of the Endless Forest Sea at the foot of the mountain. I don’t know which direction your Whip Snakes are in. Be careful yourself, don’t accidentally step into a high-level monster’s spawn area and get yourself killed for nothing.”

Bapi Choujin warned Ye Rong a couple of times, then said goodbye and left, eager to do his Trial Mission.

Completing it a moment earlier meant becoming a Registered Disciple sooner. Even a slight time advantage was good. That Bapi Choujin was willing to remind him at this time was already quite rare.

“Ninety-nine Whip Snakes… How long will it take to kill them all?”

Ye Rong cursed under his breath. As for the Thousand-Year Plantain, he didn’t even mention it; it was completely without any clues.

Whip Snakes were Level 20 monsters. Ye Rong was only Level 15. Even equipped with the Taixuan Ice Soul Sword, trying to kill higher-level monsters would still be very strenuous.

Ninety-nine Whip Snakes… he estimated it might take a whole day, and even that might not be enough.

But before that, the more critical issue was to first figure out the location of the Whip Snakes and whether there were any other high-level monsters nearby.

In Far Shore, the System didn’t provide maps. He heard that some Players had obtained maps of certain areas by doing tasks; they were special classless items, very rare. If Ye Rong ran around blindly like a headless fly, he was afraid he might just get killed by the big monsters on Mount Qingcheng.

What was more troublesome was that you needed at least the status of a Registered Disciple to have the privilege of setting your Resurrection Point within the Qingcheng Sect. This meant if Ye Rong died now, he would respawn in Chengdu City after reincarnation. That would absolutely be a huge blow for him.

“Daoist Priest, could you tell me the location of the Whip Snakes?”

By now, there were no other Players left on the platform except Ye Rong, but the four NPCs still stood stupidly in place, not leaving.

Ye Rong walked up to Chen Taizhen, bowed respectfully, and asked gently.

Chen Taizhen opened his closed eyes. His hawk-like sharp gaze swept over Ye Rong once, devoid of any emotion.

“Golden Whip Cliff.”

After faintly uttering the name of the place, Chen Taizhen closed his eyes again, resting and regulating his breathing.

“Thank you for your guidance, Daoist Priest.”

Ye Rong didn’t mind this NPC’s cold attitude. He completed the proper courtesy before turning to leave. For a high-level NPC like Chen Taizhen to say even one extra word to a mere Level 10-something Player outside of the mission was already quite rare. And it was obvious at a glance that this character was clearly set by the System to be taciturn.

He guessed that Chen Taizhen’s willingness to offer a single sentence of guidance was probably also because his Innate Attributes were quite high, which was quite exceptional.

But since he already knew the location, things were much simpler. He could just search the official game Forum using “Golden Whip Cliff” as the keyword, and he could roughly figure out the Whip Snakes’ location.

Golden Whip Cliff: To the left of Mount Qingcheng, borders the Endless Forest Sea. Snake-type monsters appear there. Moderate danger level.

This was an experience post from a Qingcheng Player during the Closed Beta. Ye Rong read it carefully from beginning to end. He definitely didn’t let his guard down just because the post said the danger level was moderate.

That was a Level 70+ Qingcheng Player. What he considered moderate danger would be very dangerous, extremely dangerous, for a Level 15 rookie!

Below Golden Whip Cliff, there were everything from Level 20 Whip Snakes to Flood Dragons over Level 100. It was practically a paradise for snake-type monsters.

After identifying the direction, Ye Rong headed straight for Golden Whip Cliff. Before becoming a Registered Disciple, he didn’t even have the right to buy supply pills from the Qingcheng Alchemy Hall, completely dashing his hope of stocking up properly.