Chapter 1737: The Team

Li Yan didn’t bother with cultivation. He collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep, clearing his mind of all worries.

Two days later, dressed in black robes, Li Yan flew out of his courtyard. He had been woken by an alert from his identity token. After a brief preparation, he headed straight for the Elite Mission Hall.

Following the instructions in the message, he made his way to a specific side room. Beyond the main hall were several rooms labeled with the heavenly stems; these served as temporary gathering points for mission teams. Li Yan walked past several doors before stopping at Bing Seventeen.

The door was closed, but Li Yan pushed it open without hesitation. The room was modest, containing a table and ten chairs, and was large enough for about twenty people. As he entered and closed the door behind him, he felt several pairs of eyes turn toward him.

Li Yan swept his gaze across the room. Four people were already seated. The first was an elderly man in brown robes, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He had a striking head of jet-black hair, but his face was deeply lined with wrinkles. Most peculiar were his eyes; his pupils were a scarlet-red, giving him a sinister aura. He scrutinized Li Yan with a cold, indifferent gaze.

The old man sat at the head of the table on one side. Two chairs down from him sat two young men, likely in their mid-twenties. Neither wore sect uniforms. One was in green, the other in yellow.

The last person looked incredibly young, appearing no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was tall and thin with fair skin, and his face carried a hint of nervousness. His narrow eyes flickered toward Li Yan. He sat opposite the other three, near the door.

Li Yan made a quick mental assessment based on their seating. As he felt the gazes upon him, a faint ripple of magical power emanated from his body. He paused for a fraction of a second, glanced at the red-eyed elder, and continued walking.

“Hmph. Another mid-stage Spirit Transformation. It seems I miscalculated by taking this mission,” the brown-robed elder snorted coldly.

As he withdrew his Divine Sense, he muttered the words just loud enough for everyone to hear. Upon sensing Li Yan’s cultivation, he had attempted a deeper probe, but his Divine Sense had been blocked by Li Yan’s own power. This displeased him greatly, but since they were within the sect, he didn’t lash out immediately.

“Oh? It’s Junior Brother Li. What a coincidence that you’ve taken this mission as well!”

As the elder spoke, another voice rang out, intentionally raised to drown out the old man’s grumbling. It was the youth in the yellow robe. He stood up with a smile and cupped his hands toward Li Yan.

Li Yan recognized him. His name was Xie Xingzhi, a late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator. They had been on a mission together before and were somewhat familiar with each other’s abilities.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Xie,” Li Yan replied, returning the gesture.

“This is my good friend, Jiang Tingye. He joined me for this mission. Senior Brother Jiang, Junior Brother Li possesses extraordinary means. We should all support each other during this task!” Xie Xingzhi introduced the green-robed man beside him, his words carrying a pointed meaning.

The green-robed youth stood up. Though his expression remained solemn, he performed a proper daoist greeting.

“Greetings, Junior Brother Li.” Since he was slightly higher in cultivation than Xie Xingzhi, he addressed Li Yan as Junior Brother without reservation.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang.” Li Yan returned the bow.

A quick glance at the room revealed Xie Xingzhi’s intent. Li Yan knew the man’s character; he wasn’t particularly good or bad, but he was driven by the need for Contribution Points to exchange for a specific pill recipe. His goal was a smooth mission, which aligned perfectly with Li Yan’s own. By highlighting Li Yan’s extraordinary means, he was trying to smooth over the tension caused by the red-eyed elder’s arrogance.

In truth, Li Yan’s performance in their previous team had been average—not the worst, but certainly not carrying the group. The three seated together were all late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators. The red-eyed elder, Yang Zun, appeared to be the strongest. Li Yan’s keen senses told him that Yang Zun’s aura was similar to that of Feng Hongyue—very close to the Void Refining stage. His arrogance clearly stemmed from his formidable strength.

The youth near the door, Xu Yihua, was at the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation, just like Li Yan. Despite his youthful appearance, he was likely hundreds of years old, and his reserved nature was probably just his personality.

The atmosphere in the room eased significantly thanks to Xie Xingzhi’s intervention, though Yang Zun simply closed his eyes, ignoring the others. Li Yan initially intended to sit near the youth, but Xie Xingzhi signaled for him to join them, so he sat and engaged in conversation.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. A lithe figure walked in, wearing a yellow dress that couldn’t hide her striking figure. It was a woman. She scanned the room just as Li Yan had done, and her gaze met his. Both were momentarily surprised before exchanging a bow.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Li.”

“Junior Sister Ming.” Since she had used that address, Li Yan followed suit.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this was Ming Qi. He judged this based on her cultivation level, though he couldn’t be certain if her sister, Ming Yu, had also advanced recently. The twins looked identical; without their previous cultivation difference, Li Yan found them impossible to distinguish.

Upon seeing another mid-stage cultivator, Yang Zun’s face darkened. He had expected some mid-stage cultivators to overestimate themselves, but he had hoped most would be sensible. He was only two thousand seven hundred points away from a high-level Fire-Controlling Art and had taken this mission specifically to reach his goal quickly. Seeing that half the team was mid-stage, his irritation grew.

Finally, a white-robed deacon at the Nascent Soul realm entered. He had been waiting for the full team to assemble.

“Seniors, now that everyone is here, are there any further questions regarding the mission?” The deacon’s tone was polite yet professional.

“Can I withdraw from this mission? What is the penalty?” Yang Zun’s voice rang out as he stood up, ready to leave. He wanted out, but he knew there would be a price.

The deacon shook his head immediately. “Senior Yang, this mission cannot be canceled.”

Fire seemed to dance in Yang Zun’s scarlet eyes. “What? Any mission can be abandoned by considering it a failure and paying the fine. That has always been the rule. Is the Mission Hall disregarding its own regulations?”

His aura flared, his scarlet gaze fixing on the deacon like a predator in the night. The deacon shuddered under the pressure, but he remained calm. No one dared to actually strike a deacon within the Mission Hall; that was a recipe for disaster.