"Young Master, the mission is branded as urgent, meaning you have less than 24 to leave for the mission or face penalties, and the penalty is five times more severe than the normal missions of the same difficulty. Please don't miss the date, and I wish for your safe return."
Sherry said in a quiet voice and handed the token back to Ken along with some details on the quest he had chosen. Her last wish was more for her own sake than his, as she'd be executed by the Sue clan if he dies in a mission she gave him against the rules.
From the additional information, he learned that the tide is expected to include three waves. The first one is estimated to arrive at the city's walls in the next 12 hours and last for 6 to 8 hours. There would be an interval of a few hours between each wave, and the later waves will be longer and stronger.
The disciples taking the mission were expected to assist in the third wave and there would be bonus rewards for making it to the second one. The sect even offered tamed birds as mounts for a week, completely free of charge.
'Probably because the tide has a very short time notice and no elder of the seventh stage is interested in halting their cultivation to save mortals.'
Ken assumed that those in the Supremacy Phase were not interested in the lives of mortals anymore. It made sense; the mortals' lifespan was only 10% as long as theirs and the mighty cultivators could erase whole villages from existence in a single attack.
Furthermore, the mortals did not produce any value to those in the Supremacy Phase; cultivators of this stage did not eat regular food, trade in coins, or needed hospitality while traveling.
Thinking about it with this mentality would lead to an inevitable conclusion; it was hard for those people to care about the lives of some mortals.
"Henry, get Miles. We are leaving to fight a beast tide in the south. Tell him he has 12 hours to be here and we're heading out," Ken ordered. Henry moved into his house as par with his instructions, and his first duel against a descendant of the Han clan was set for 2 days later.
"Mm." Henry hummed with approval and got up from his meditation. Ken disliked this part about him.
"Talk when you are with me, you can shut up around others if you like it so much."
Henry did not reply. He quietly left to find Miles.
"Jake, Max, we are going out on a mission, and you are coming with me."
"Yes, Young Master," the two new bodyguards Miles had picked answered. Ken already inserted some truth drug into their food and tried to probe them with questions, he didn't find any hidden motives or evil intentions in their reasons to take the job, they simply needed money.
'I need a bigger house,' Ken thought to himself when the four men sat in his living room. The room was packed, and Soleil looked at them in judging eyes as if she wanted them to go home. She was already worried Ken will demand her to share her room with someone.
"We are going to fight a beast tide. We have 16 more hours to prepare and go, but unless you have something special to do, we will leave in four hours. Although the mission only requires us to defend the third wave, we are aiming to be there for the second wave."
Ken briefed them about the mission shortly. He still had one plan to execute before going. Too many people already knew about his ability to create formations, so it was pointless to keep it hidden at this point. With enough digging, people would find out about it.
Thus, he had to go to the Formation Mastery Division and become an official formation master of the sect. If he is known as a genius martial artist, alchemist, and formation master, the sect would not give up on him easily. Each reason might not be enough on its own, but he was stacking them.
"Yes, Young Master." The four of them bowed and agreed. They agreed to meet at the sects' stables in four hours and separated.
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'This is the Formation Mastery Division,' Ken stood in front of the towering building, his eyes filled with curiosity. It was made of white marble and divided into two halves by a long, central hallway. The left half had a sign that read "Runology Division," and the right half had a sign that read "Formation Mastery Division."
Both fields were reliant on runes, prompting them to stick together and become a source of inspiration for one another. Even if their application of runes was different, they could not avoid a connection between them, so placing them in different areas would be illogical.
Ken took a deep breath and walked up to the front gate. The gate was guarded by two statues of qilin, mythical creatures that were said to be messengers from the heavens that brought wisdom and enlightenment to those they encounter.
Beyond the gate, Ken found a large courtyard. The courtyard was filled with students, all of whom were dressed in blue or grey robes. He saw students practicing their formations, while others sat in the sun to read theories.
Passing through the courtyard, he soon entered the building and found himself in a spacious room that took a large part of the first floor.
"Hello, how may I help, Young Master?"
The receptionist could easily discern Ken's origins by his robes, even if she still didn't hear about him as 'Forbidden Fruit' or as the first-ranked inner disciple in an age group.
It was the effect of interest points. Those interested in Formation Mastery were not interested in the local news of the sect outside their field that don't affect them, and vice versa in other fields.
"I'm Ken Sue, I'm interested to register as a formation master," Ken said directly.
"Of course, I will write you as one of the examinees. The next exam takes place next Thursday at noon, please be here on time. Show this token when you arrive to take the test."
She spoke professionally and gave him an examinee token. Unlike when he went to take the Alchemy test, he looked now like a twelve-year-old, maybe even thirteen, so the receptionist did not make a fuss about his age.
"I see, thank you," Since Ken was not in a hurry, he accepted the date without arguing and left toward the stables.
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A/N:
I'm planning to generate some more illustrations for the main characters (Ken, Alaric, Tiara, Henry, and a secret!) with a better AI. If you want to participate in the choosing process with me, join my discord server via the link in the synopsis <3
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮