Chapter 97: Merit Iron Scroll

A bronze iron scroll slowly drifted down where Green Goat Ancestor had disappeared. Ye Rong walked over and picked it up.

The Merit Iron Scroll recorded the achievements of killing evil cult followers. It could be handed to the Sect as proof to claim rewards.

System Notification: You have passed the Three Stars Cave, an Earth-grade C-class Immortal Manor. You received 350,000 Experience Points. You will be teleported away in ten seconds. Nine, eight…

Was that all the reward?

Ye Rong was stunned. Such a reward was truly unworthy of a Bronze Immortal Manor Key. It was essentially no different from a White Wood Tier Immortal Manor Key. He had even thought the System would reward him with the flaming Flying Sword from Green Goat Ancestor’s shadow.

“If I guessed right, if one could defeat Green Goat Ancestor’s shadow with real strength, that scroll should have been one of the rewards. Being able to summon a shadow in battle, and with the scroll in hand so its weakness of being easily destroyed was gone, it indeed seemed very useful.”

Ye Rong frowned. Even so, just a Merit Iron Scroll and 350,000 Experience Points were still too meager a reward.

Unless, in the System’s perception, the value contained in one Merit Iron Scroll was assessed extremely high, leading to this outcome.

The place Ye Rong emerged was right outside the elixir room where he had used the Immortal Mansion Key. He headed toward the Five Peaks Residence.

Handing in the Merit Iron Scroll to the Sect could yield rewards, but his master was elusive, hardly ever staying put in Qingcheng for even a day. Running into him that day to trigger the mission was truly a coincidence. Short Elder Zhu Mei was slightly better, but he was only in the Sect for half a day out of three days, so the chance of seeing him wasn’t much higher either. It was better to go directly to Senior Brother Chen Taizhen.

“Senior Brother, I have a Merit Iron Scroll and have come specifically to hand it in.”

“Well done! Junior Brother, it seems you have slain an evil cultist?”

Chen Taizhen didn’t wait for Ye Rong to reply. He excitedly took the Merit Iron Scroll and carefully examined it.

“Lately, I’ve heard many fourth-generation disciples speak highly of you. They said you lead outer sect disciples to slay demons, passed the Sect’s trials, and helped junior disciples in danger. Now you’ve even killed an evil cultist and obtained a Merit Iron Scroll. Junior Brother, you truly live up to being a disciple our master values!”

“The day after tomorrow is the Sect Minor Competition. Do not disgrace the reputation of our branch. Then I can speak up for you at the elders’ meeting, so no one raises objections.”

“Uh, speak up for me? About what?”

Ye Rong was confused. From Senior Brother Chen Taizhen’s tone, it seemed something good awaited him, provided he achieved a good ranking in the Sect Minor Competition. But that aligned with his original goal anyway, so there was no conflict.

Leading outer sect disciples to slay demons probably referred to Ye Rong helping Dongliu Cangshui and his group complete their Initiation Task.

Helping junior disciples in danger likely meant him saving fellow Players a dozen times on the Tuo River.

It seemed these actions had unknowingly earned him quite a few points, though he didn’t know what rewards or benefits they would bring.

Senior Brother Chen Taizhen ignored his question, wearing an enigmatic expression and giving a mysterious, slight smile.

The Merit Iron Scroll slowly softened in Chen Taizhen’s hand, turning into a thick, iron-juice-like liquid, and finally formed an iron ball the size of an egg.

“Handing in the Merit Iron Scroll: Reward 800 Sect Contribution Points. Granted one day of Ancestral Hall Refinement Time. You may freely choose when to enter, or accumulate multiple days for one-time use.”

“Ancestral Hall!”

Ye Rong’s heart leaped. He had heard this term many times before. Dongliu Cangshui had described it as extremely important, something Qingcheng Players relied on from early to late game, similar in role and status to Kunlun’s Thirty-three Heavens Ancient Path.

Various advanced Dao Scrolls, mind technique limits, Divine Thunder spells, and Peerless Forbidden Arts were all learned through the Ancestral Hall. There was no other way to obtain them.

“One day?”

Did that mean staying in the Ancestral Hall for a full day? But it didn’t specify what rewards could be gained.

“Junior Brother, prepare well for the Minor Competition the day after tomorrow. The Ancestral Hall is in the back mountain. You can enter anytime.”

Ye Rong slowly walked away from the Five Peaks Residence. Besides one day of Ancestral Hall Refinement, he also received 800 Sect Contribution Points. He could exchange these for many good things with the Sect Leader, including the “Ancestral Hall Manuscript” he had coveted for a long time, and the Substitute Paper Puppet.

But Ye Rong wasn’t thinking about how to use these Sect Contribution Points right now. Some Sect Missions required Players to have a certain amount of Sect Contribution before they could be accepted, so saving them wouldn’t be a waste. The key was deciding when to enter the Ancestral Hall.

“The day after tomorrow is the Sect Minor Competition. Practicing leveling up in this short time would only let me level up once at most. I might as well just enter the Ancestral Hall now. Even if saving it for later might bring greater benefits, improving my current strength is more practical. I absolutely cannot afford to lose the top spot in the Sect Minor Competition!”

From the current situation, it seemed no one among the Qingcheng Players could threaten him, but Ye Rong still didn’t dare let his guard down.

There were over a hundred thousand Qingcheng Players. Who knew if there were experts who had kept a low profile and hidden their strength? Or if someone recently had a lucky encounter and obtained some amazing treasure? Even if Ye Rong’s strength doubled, he wouldn’t dare say he had a hundred percent certainty of winning.

The winner of the Minor Competition not only received Flying Swords and Magic Treasures as rewards but also qualified to enter the inner hall, plus the unknown benefit Senior Brother Chen Taizhen mentioned. After thinking for a long time, Ye Rong finally made up his mind and headed toward the back of the main peak.

Deep in the back mountain grew a bamboo forest. All the bamboo stalks were as thick as a bowl, with golden markings—they were Golden Thunder Bamboo, the best material for refining bamboo swords.

Some Players had tried to secretly chop down a few stalks of Golden Thunder Bamboo but found their Flying Swords couldn’t cut them at all; they couldn’t even shake down a single leaf.

Furthermore, if caught by the mountain patrol children, they would be thrown out of the bamboo forest and deducted 1,000 Karma Points.

The bamboo forest swayed gently beside him, rustling in the wind. Ye Rong walked briskly, completely unmoved by these Golden Thunder Bamboos.

Materials for refining swords and treasures were entirely different from finished Flying Swords and Magic Treasures. The value of a piece of ninth-tier refining material wasn’t even one-tenth that of a ninth-tier Magic Treasure, maybe even less.

Refining Flying Swords and Magic Treasures required more than one material, and the success rate was limited. More importantly, currently, there were no Sword Refiners or Treasure Refiners with the ability to refine them, making the materials practically useless.

Passing through the bamboo forest, the Ancestral Hall became vaguely visible. Straining his eyes, he could make out the faint outline of a building.