'I've made most of the necessary arrangements to acquire allies and have a strong backing in the sect,' Ken mused. He had gained the first rank in an age group much older than him, and he submitted a top-tier alchemy theory.
'Next, I should take a quest. Those spies had some good information for it. Since today is Wednesday, it's a good chance to go to the Mission Hall.'
----------
A month ago:
"Young Master, congratulations on your return to the sect."
"Who are you?"
Ken asked the approaching man. It was a young man, looking at his late teens.
"I'm Tony, I would like to offer you to have a look at my pills. I'm sure you will find some of them to your liking, they're shiny like the stars above."
Ken raised his eyes in surprise. It was the password Elmer had passed him before they split up, meaning the young man was a spy of the Serene Lotus Sect.
"The stars were aligned in my favor last night, perhaps those pills are meant for me."
Ken replied with his half of the password and the young man led him to a small stall where a few boxes of pills were presented.
"Which one would be my lucky star?" Ken asked the man, sticking to their code. With this question, Ken asked which pill he should purchase.
"I believe the auburn star in the north matches your personality, it can enhance your thinking speed and concentration," the spy replied.
"Haha, I don't believe in such superstitions."
Ken seemingly went against the instructions and took a blue pill from the right box. The color and the direction were only meant as a distraction, while the other words told him which pill to choose.
"That'd be 180 medium Qi Stones," the spy said. He was disguised as a stall owner, and it'd be suspicious if he gave a customer a pill for free.
"Keep the change."
Ken just threw a large tablet worth 200 Qi Stones and continued on his way after storing the blue pill in his storage ring.
'Let's see what the Serene Lotus Sect has to tell me,' Ken thought to himself as he sat in his room and the pill floated in front of him.
He moved his finger carefully around the circumference of the pill, and it was cut into equal halves, revealing a small storage ring inside. Inside it, was only a single document containing information.
'Supreme Elder Zion Sinclair of the Phoenix Feather Sect is originating from a big family of Soft Feather City. He is currently under close door seclusion and will come out only in two months. We will help you gain his approval, so search for relevant missions.'
The document included a map of the city and its surroundings, information about Supreme Elder Zion Sinclair, and the local powers controlling the city.
Intrigued, Ken instructed Miles to open an eye on missions related to Soft Feather City and update him if one meant for the fourth or the fifth stage appears.
He didn't have to wait long; four days after receiving the message, Miles came to report.
"Young Master, there's a mission related to Soft Feather City as you expected. There has been an outbreak of beasts in the forest south of the city, and now they expect a beast tide against the city. The area is relatively on the outskirts of the continent so there aren't many powerful beasts there, and the requirement is a team of five Nascent Soul cultivators."
Miles gave the full report at once and remained silent to let Ken ask questions.
"All right, thank you. You may leave."
"Young Master, may I ask a question?" Miles asked hesitantly. He was curious about how Ken knew such a mission would appear.
"No."
------------
Back to the present:
"Hi Sherry, long time no see!" Ken smiled at the jumpy receptionist at the Mission Hall.
Sherry instinctively took a step back before remembering she was at the counter, forcing herself to wear a fake smile and bow.
"Hello, Young Master, it's good to see you here," She said with an unstable voice. Although she had to face threats from other young masters and mistresses all the time, Ken was the only one who consistently made trouble for her every time he arrived, and the only one who seemed to always come specifically to her.
"I remembered you work on Wednesday afternoons, so I came now to get served by my favorite receptionist," Ken said, the beautiful smile still plastered on his face as if trying to hypnotize her to the point of forgetting about the troublemaking.
'So he does come to find me on purpose!' She thought to herself, half happy for being the favorite of one of the most promising disciples of the young generation and half frustrated by the fact he saw her as a pushover. This time she won't let him have it his way, she decided.
"I'm flattered that Young Master Ken remembers someone like me. How may I be of any help today?" She asked with a straight face, trying to remain professional and strict.
"I'm here for this mission, please write it under my name," Ken placed a mission token on the counter in front of her, letting her inspect it.
"I can't, Young Master. This mission requires 5 disciples at the lower Nascent Soul stage while you are still at the Core Formation stage. Please pick another mission."
True to her decision, Sherry pushed the token back to Ken. She refused to let him take another mission he should not take after he practically declared that he came to her since he knew she was bad at arguing.
"Don't be like that, did you not give me plenty of missions beyond my stage already?"
"That was a mistake from my end, I-"
"And you don't want me to tell your superiors about a mistake that might have resulted in the death of a talented descendant of an elite clan, right?"
"I don't, and threatening me won't help-"
"Besides, didn't I come out unscathed every time? Didn't I complete them all successfully?"
"You did, but-"
"And you know I have powerful bodyguards to keep me safe, and that I don't have a death wish."
"I know, still-"
"So register this mission under my name please," Ken finished with a smile as he leaned over the counter.
"I… Okay…" she surrendered in a quiet whimper.
----------
A/N: I'm conducting a voting for a possible cover change to attract more readers. Join my discord server to participate!
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on fre ew𝒆bnovel.com