May 22, 2017, Sunny
Despite Li Qingming expressing unwillingness multiple times, she finally had no choice but to let her Sword Spirit out.
Her body was too frail, even walking was a problem, and the deadline for paying rent was as unyielding as iron. Weighing the two, she could only pin her hopes on the Sword Spirit, treating a dead horse as if it were still alive.
Before Wang Jiu left, Li Qingming, despite her illness, cobbled together a flashy yet fashionably loose robe from a few old clothes.
The plain, body- and face-covering robe that Wang Jiu had previously transformed into was standard attire for the Evil Cult, despised even in the most open-minded places...
After solving the clothing issue, Wang Jiu just needed to slightly adjust his physique to disguise himself as Li Qingming and head to the Mutual Aid Association to collect the package. Before setting off, Li Qingming, filled with unease, chattered on for a long time about precautions, until she was utterly exhausted, reluctantly letting Wang Jiu leave.
Stepping out of Shen Garden, Wang Jiu felt a sudden sense of clarity and openness.
This wasn't his first time leaving that small courtyard — just last night, he rushed to the outskirts of the city with Li Qingming for an exam. But his mindset on these two occasions of going out was completely different. After all, this was the first time he was wandering independently in a new world.
Everything in QingCyan Cloud yun City felt novel to him. If it weren't for the main task binding him, he would indeed like to roam around the city for a few days.
But now, getting things done took precedence. Resisting the many temptations along the way, Wang Jiu headed straight to the headquarters of the Cyan Cloud Mutual Aid Association.
This was a wooden high tower located in the center of QingCyan Cloud yun City, divided into three sections from bottom to top. The bottom section alone was over a hundred meters high; looking up from below, the top was nearly out of sight. The middle section floated high in the air, accessible only to those who could Sword-Control and Fly Immortal. The topmost layer was already shrouded in clouds. Unless one's cultivation was extremely high to withstand the fierce winds or received a special invitation to enter through a specific entrance, access was impossible.
Reportedly, this was the third tallest structure in all of Xiangzhou, second only to the headquarters of the Saint Sect in Heaven-Reaching City and the newly built Yingyue Platform in Golden Jade City. It was a pride of the Cyan Cloud people.
Seeing the three-section high tower, Wang Jiu suddenly recalled that Aerial Sanctuary on the Jiuzhou Continent, the same type of cloud-shrouded structure where only those truly ranked among the immortals could enter, discussing matters affecting the whole of Jiuzhou. It had endless mysterious Immortal Techniques, serving as both a building and a Magical Treasure; it was, in Wang Jiu's view, the Tier closest to his treasure across the Jiuzhou Continent. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the final Immortal Demon battle. The only consolation was that when the Aerial Sanctuary fell, it took over a million Demon Army soldiers with it, not a loss to mourn...
If it weren't for his current task, Wang Jiu really wanted to fly directly to the highest layer to see what marvels this third tallest structure in the world held. However... it was better to help the penniless Li Qingming resolve her financial crisis first.
A moment later, Wang Jiu reached the entrance of the high tower, only to find it was already a sea of people, with more than a third being cultivators, much to his surprise.
Before he fell asleep, back when he was still human, the entire Jiuzhou Continent's Immortal Dao civilization was at its most prosperous, with the ratio of cultivators to mortals being about one to a hundred. But now, although this Xiangzhou wasn't as advanced as the Jiuzhou Era, the proportion of cultivators seemed not low.
"Indeed, cultivators still have to rely on reproduction to win the future. Speaking of which, I remember Yuming and I had agreed to discuss the topic of the Celestial Divine Sword's reproduction after the war, but unfortunately, she didn't make it to the end, what a pity..."
Thinking as such, Wang Jiu, maneuvering his body and the illusion along with the robe on the illusion, squeezed into the bustling high tower. Once inside, his view suddenly broadened. The internal space of the high tower had been expanded several times using the technology of dimensional expansion, with the main hall setting up over a hundred service windows to split the crowded people from outside. Following Li Qingming's instructions, Wang Jiu held the number card from her previous mission application and went directly to the VIP window, where a sweet-smiling young girl was in charge of reception.
"Hello, esteemed cultivator... madam?" The young girl, after receiving the number card, looked puzzled at the small, fully-robed mysterious person in front of her, greeting cautiously with a slight lack of confidence, "Customer 124 at your service."
Before she finished speaking, a slip of paper was handed out from within the robe.
"Inquire about the mission application result."
Seeing the handwriting on the slip, the young girl's smile slightly froze. She comforted herself that there's no shortage of eccentric cultivators in the world, especially among the young of large families, not worth making a fuss over...
"Last time, you applied for five Hundred Tasks, three of which were successful: Martial Arts Instructor, escort mission with Lifeng Escort Agency, and witness for Huashan's Sword Debate. Which one do you wish to take?"
As she spoke, the young girl handed three mission documents through the window to Wang Jiu, who flipped through them casually and immediately felt troubled.
Before coming, Li Qingming had repeatedly advised which types of missions, even if selected, should never be accepted.
The first was overworked and underpaid ones since, although Hundred Tasks generally offered rich rewards, some unscrupulous ones loved publishing subpar missions that manipulated newbies' feelings, which must be carefully discerned.
The second was time-consuming ones, as the rent's deadline was only 8 days away, so long-lasting tasks would be meaningless.
The third involved interacting with people, as in Wang Jiu's current state, excessive interaction would indeed reveal flaws.
And the three tasks Li Qingming got selected for perfectly fit these conditions. The Martial Arts Instructor required interaction with a group of Mortal Martial Artists, the escort mission only paid a thousand taels of Silver, and the Huashan Sword Debate witness role continued until the middle of next month...
"Is it possible to exchange for another batch?"
The service girl looked troubled: "It's possible, but it will take a long time."
Wang Jiu definitely didn't have time to wait, but if he waited for the new batch, he could only choose from the three unreliable tasks. After much consideration, Wang Jiu thought persuading Li Qingming to apply for a job as a hotel public relations officer seemed better. According to the advertisement, working hard for three to five days could earn thousands of silvers. He really couldn't understand why she was so resistant to it.
While he was pondering, he suddenly heard someone next to him exclaim with joy: "Haha, I drew a winning lot! Just organizing the Qian Family's arsenal gets ten Spirit Stones and Golden Pattern Jade!"
Friends beside him immediately congratulated him enthusiastically.
"Congratulations, Brother Liu! Just entered the Immortal Realm and already had a fortuitous encounter. Working for the Qian Family not only has lucrative rewards but also establishes a relationship with the richest in Cyan Cloud, which will be beneficial endlessly in the future."
"I remember the third son of the Zuo Family was noticed by the steward of the Qian Family and was rewarded with a Cloud Ascending Pill when he advanced to the Cloud Flipping Realm from the Cloud Surge Realm. It was truly a godsend."
"Indeed, Brother Liu managed to draw the Qian Family task among the Hundred Tasks for newcomers. Truly enviable to others."
"Although the rewards for the Hundred Tasks are generally generous, there are quite a few unlucky ones who draw inferior tasks like being a Martial Arts Instructor, guarding as an escort, or being a witness to martial disputes, which just sounds funny. Luckily, Brother Liu drew a winning lot, and later we will host a feast to absorb some of Brother Liu's good luck."
This conversation made Wang Jiu's heart move. After thinking for a while, he turned his head and handed over a note to the customer service girl, asking: "Excuse me, if I can get someone else's number plate, can I complete their task and then receive their reward?"
The customer service girl was shocked and quickly shook her head: "No, no, that would be a serious violation."
Wang Jiu found it strange since he was now using Li Qingming's number plate to receive tasks, what violation was there?
As Wang Jiu was writing a note to inquire, the customer service girl suddenly saw a flash of light on the manual in front of her and said excitedly: "This Cultivator, please do not worry. A batch of additional tasks has just been issued by the association."
She paused and explained: "Additional tasks are because previous applicants repeatedly failed to complete them and returned them more than three times. These tasks are more challenging. However, although they are more difficult, the advantage is that the rewards are generous, and since few people take them, you can freely choose the type of task you like. What type of task do you want?"
"Pays well, low workload, quick payment, and no need to interact with people..."
Looking at this shameless note, the customer service girl almost snapped the pen in her hand, forcing a smile as she said: "I'll check for you..."
However, after a moment, the customer service girl exclaimed loudly: "Oh my, it actually exists! The reward is twenty high-grade Spirit Stones and a Pine Patterned White Jade Seal, working three days with payment settled on the same day, and you only need to work alone continuously in a study!"
"Then I'll take this one." He handed over the note.
The customer service girl hesitantly said: "Think it over, such a good job becoming an additional task must have some difficulties... Although there's no punishment for failing to complete tasks during the novice period, the failure record will remain."
Wang Jiu wouldn't be bothered by the difficulty in the mount world. Moreover, Li Qingming had mentioned beforehand that no matter how difficult the Hundred Tasks were, she had the confidence to finish them. If Li Qingming, with her level, could complete it, he, as the Celestial Divine Sword, undoubtedly wouldn't have any problem. So he nodded, indicating to bring it on.
The customer service girl pouted her lips and began checking seriously. After a moment, the result appeared, and her expression became incredibly strange.
"The task is to transcribe books."
"Alright."
The customer service girl had to confirm once more: "Listen carefully, transcribing books! Handwritten transcription!"
Wang Jiu was bewildered: "I never considered using my feet to write."
"That's not the point here!" The customer service girl, somewhat agitated, gathered all the notes she had just received, displaying them to Wang Jiu, "See for yourself, do you really want to transcribe books for someone else?!"
"Of course."
"Hand transcribe, are you sure?!"
Wang Jiu was silent for a moment: "I don't understand why you need to repeatedly confirm a simple question so many times. If you particularly like this robe, personally designed by everyone's darling and full of fashion spirit, I can mail it to you after going home, but for now, please hurry up..."
"No one likes your robe!"
"If you like me, I have to say..."
The customer service girl, somewhat collapsing, quickly finished sorting the procedures, firmly stamping the confirmation seal.
"Alright, take these materials and find the task issuer to transcribe your book!"