The Sovereign's Ascension

Disciples could only increase their token’s grades by using contribution points. Contribution points could be obtained by exchanging spiritual jades, but there was a limit to this. For example, no matter how many spiritual jades a disciple on the Mortal Ranking had, he or she could only increase the rank of his token to the third grade.

They had to complete missions issued by the Contribution Hall if they wanted more contribution points, but there weren’t any limitations to the contribution points obtained through missions. This was the main source of contribution points for disciples. After all, it was costly for them to increase the grades of their tokens with spiritual jades.

But it was completely different with missions. You could not only obtain contribution points through missions, but you could also obtain pellets, spiritual jades, and artifacts. This was the main source of resources for disciples.

Therefore, the Contribution Hall was always crowded on the day missions were distributed. The Mission Hall wasn’t far from Locket Mountain. It only took a brief moment for Lin Yun and Huangfu Jingxuan to arrive at the Contribution Hall.

There were hundreds of outer disciples gathered in the majestic hall and the number only increased as time passed. But despite having so many people in the hall, it didn’t seem cramped to Lin Yun at all. There were four ancient stone walls in the hall, decorated with wooden plaques.

The wooden plaques were the missions and removing them from the walls meant accepting the mission. While the reward was lavish, failing could also get you punished, This was especially so for the missions issued by elders. The consequences for failing those were terrifying.

The Sword Firmament Pavilion had a long history and there were many ancient existences in the sect. So if you accepted their mission and failed to complete it, the punishment awaiting would be horrifying.

The walls were graded into A, B, C, and D, which separated the missions into four grades. The A-ranked missions had the highest rewards and you could obtain at least a thousand contribution points for completing them. Furthermore, you would also be rewarded with spiritual jades, pellets, and even artifacts. Then again, A-ranked missions were naturally the hardest among all the missions.

There were only a few people at the A-ranked mission wall. Most of them were at the B-ranked mission wall.

“Are the A-ranked missions really that difficult?” Lin Yun was shocked when he saw that there was practically no one by the A-ranked mission wall.

“They are, not to mention that you will be severely punished if you fail. Furthermore, these missions are extremely rare and there’s an unspoken rule in the sect for them.”

“What rule?” asked Lin Yun.

“Only those in the top 10 on the Mortal Ranking can accept the A-ranked missions. If you accept the missions without being in the top 10, it’s equivalent to issuing a challenge,” Huangfu Jingxuan said with a grave expression.

“Who set those rules?” Lin Yun asked.

“No one. It’s just something that everyone has acknowledged and it’s been the tradition for the past thousands of years. The A-ranked missions might be tough, but the rewards are splendid, making it an alternate resource,” Huangfu Jingxuan explained. “Everyone has acknowledged that the missions are reserved for those in the top 10 on the Mortal Ranking. If anyone aside from those in the 10 ten accepts the A-ranked missions, it will be disrespectful to them.” 

Huangfu Jingxuan said this while looking at Lin Yun’s expression. He could tell that Lin Yun wasn’t too bothered by it. He continued, “Those in the top 10 are extremely powerful and they’re all at least in the fourth stage of the Profound Martial Realm, having grasped a transcendent profound martial technique. None of them are weak since they can make it into the top 10. If anyone accepts those missions, they might attract the attention of the top 10. At that time, not even the sect will be able to help you. This is a rule that even the sect has silently acknowledged.”

“It’s fine. I’m just going to take a look at them,” Lin Yun smiled.

Huangfu Jingxuan smiled bitterly. He would be a fool to believe that Lin Yun was only going to take a look. Since Lin Yun wanted to accept missions, he naturally had to find those suitable for him. So why wouldn’t he accept the missions if he had the strength to complete them?

As for the rules? Even someone like Wang Yan could violate the rules, so why did he have to care about them? Rules were meant to be broken. Cultivation meant following your heart. If you had to be tied down by shackles despite having the strength, then what was the point of cultivating?

“What’s he trying to do?”

“If I remember correctly, he killed Ye Liuyun who was ranked 36th of the Mortal Ranking, right? He did not challenge the ranking officially, so isn’t this against the rules?”

“Does Lin Yun think that his strength is comparable to those in the top 10?”

A commotion broke out when everyone saw Lin Yun heading towards the A-ranked mission wall. There were all kinds of missions, some were from clans trying to get help from the sect to resolve some problem for them, while others were issued by the sect.

Aside from being graded into A, B, C, and D, the missions were further divided into star values, one through five. A-ranked missions were rare and Lin Yun only saw less than twenty of them. As he looked through the wooden plaques, the missions were gradually being eliminated by him.

Some were impossible for him to complete independently, some took too much time, while some had a strict requirement on time. The A-ranked missions weren’t as tempting as he thought. But suddenly, Lin Yun’s eyes lit up when he saw a mission.

Mission: Collect 50 Blood Essence

Difficulty: Five Stars

Description: Bloodwolves are demonic beasts at the third stage of the Profound Martial Realm and they can be found deep in the Demoncloud Mountain. The bone located at the top of their heads contains boundless vitality, which is extremely useful. They can be forged into accessories, refined into pellets, or artifacts.

Reward: 3,000 contribution points, 100 Greater Profound Pellets, and 200 second grade spiritual jades.

Second grade spiritual jades? Lin Yun fell into deep thought. Spiritual jades were separated into the first and ninth grades. The higher the grade, the harder it would be to refine. It was nearly impossible for him to obtain second grade spiritual jades through ordinary means.

Lin Yun continued looking through the other five star missions and only A-ranked five star missions would reward a small amount of second grade spiritual jades.

“Since I’ve decided against using pellets for now, then the spiritual jades will be useful to me.” Lin Yun reached out and took four A-ranked five star missions. There weren’t many A-ranked missions on the wall, so the number of missions instantly dropped when Lin Yun took four of them. Even the deacon was dumbfounded when he looked at Lin Yun. But Lin Yun would no longer be able to put them back since he made up his mind.

“Where are the five star missions? Why isn’t there a single five star mission?!” A roar was suddenly heard just as Lin Yun was about to leave with Huangfu Jingxuan. Along with the roar, a terrifying aura could also be felt. A grey-clothed youth stood before the wall with a grim expression. “Which bastard took all the five star missions?!” 

There was a silent agreement between everyone in the top 10 that they weren’t allowed to take all the five star missions at once. So there was only one possibility. Someone went against the unspoken rule and accepted all the five star missions.

The other outer disciples in the hall trembled in fear. At the same time, they were shocked that Lin Yun took all the five star missions. They all exclaimed at Lin Yun’s appetite.

Even Huangfu Jingxuan, standing in front of the B-ranked mission wall had a drastic change in his expression. He recognized the grey-clothed youth as Zheng Lie, 10th on the Mortal Ranking. This fellow was also known for his fiery temper and ruthless means.

Furthermore, he had also achieved greater mastery in the Fieryjade Sword Art. Even the two companions beside Zhang Lei wore an unsightly face.

“Speak! Who took the five star missions?!” Zhang Lei roared and grabbed a random person.

The person who Zhang Lei held up was gasping for his breath as beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

“Speak!” commanded Zhang Lei.

“Senior Brother Zhang, I really don’t know… Please let me go…” He didn’t dare to reveal Lin Yun. After all, Lin Yun was an existence that he couldn’t afford to offend as well. It would be fine if Lin Yun wasn’t around, but Lin Yun was clearly still around! He would be offending Lin Yun if he told the truth and how could he dare to after knowing that Lin Yun slew Ye Liuyun.

“You’re courting death!” Zhang Lei’s face was grim as he emitted a murderous aura. The deacon in the hall paid no attention to this scene even after seeing it. This was normal to them and they were used to it. It would be fine as long as no one was killed. Deacons and elders generally wouldn’t interfere in the conflict between disciples.

The sect followed the jungle rule, where the strong preyed on the weak. It was already enough that the sect forbade any killing since it was only more brutal outside the sect.

“Release him. I was the one who took the missions.” Lin Yun stepped forward with furrowed brows.

Zhang Lei tossed the youth and  turned around. “Lin Yun?”

“That’s me,” he replied.

“Did you think that you can disregard those in the top 10 after killing Ye Liuyun?” Zhang Lei looked at Lin Yun coldly.

“Think however you like. I did not violate any rules by accepting the missions, so do something if you’re unhappy. Don’t involve the innocent,” Lin Yun replied.

“How impudent!” Zhang Lei snorted. “There aren’t any rules against that, but the Mortal and Earth Rankings have their own rules. Since you’re on the Mortal Ranking, then you should abide by them! Don’t think that we’re as weak as that garbage, Ye Liuyun. You won’t even have the opportunity to draw your sword before me.”

“Rules are meant to be broken. Since the A-ranked missions are hung on the wall, then they’re meant to be accepted. It’s not a privilege for a select few. And you shouldn’t be worried about me since I dared to accept it.” Lin Yun turned around after he finished speaking.

“Let me give you a final warning. Hand over the missions that you took or you will bear the consequences!” Zhang Lei said coldly.

“It appears that you can’t be reasoned with?” Lin Yun suddenly smiled. The sword box he was carrying fell to the ground, causing a faint tremor in the Contribution Hall.