Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Heaven-Rank Mission

The Enforcement Hall’s mission office was far more advanced and sophisticated compared to the Outer Sect’s Mission Hall.

That morning, after concluding his dawn cultivation, Wang Ran opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath of turbid air, feeling his body lighter and more agile. With a single step, he sped off towards the Fifth Mountain. Racing along, he soon saw the distant silhouette of the Fifth Mountain coming into view.

The Fifth Mountain had changed yet again. In addition to the banners of the Four Great Alliances fluttering in the wind, a new, prominent flag bearing the character for “Ran” now flew high. This was none other than the Haoran Alliance.

The Haoran Alliance was wealthy and powerful, its ranks filled with disciples, and with top geniuses like Xu Ke and Zhao Xiaobai among them, it had become an influential force within the Enforcement Hall.

Wang Ran, full of energy, rode his sword through the sky. Passing by the Chu Alliance, he happened to see a group chatting and laughing at the entrance, surrounded by admirers. At the center was Chu Yingxuan.

Sensing his presence, she looked up into the sky. Their gazes met briefly in midair; Wang Ran nodded and smiled, while Chu Yingxuan’s eyes flickered, her lips lightly bitten, lost in thought.

The Chu Alliance’s headquarters was not far from the Haoran Alliance. Just after passing by, Wang Ran saw the Haoran Alliance’s residence and descended immediately.

“It’s Senior Brother Wang!”

“We greet Senior Brother Wang!”

Many disciples inside the Haoran Alliance headquarters looked up and cupped their fists in salute. Wang Ran nodded politely, exchanged a few words of greeting, and entered the residence.

No sooner had he stepped inside than he saw a scholar in white robes, seated before a stone stele at the center of the courtyard, swaying rhythmically as he read.

Hearing footsteps, the scholar looked back and smiled, “Brother Wang.”

“When did you get back?” Wang Ran asked in surprise, recognizing the pale-faced young man before him.

It was Zhao Xiaobai. His robe still bore traces of blood, evidently not yet changed since his return. Grinning, he said, “I just got back. Junior Sister said you were about to take on a mission, so I came to help you strategize.”

“Strategize? What’s there to strategize about?” Wang Ran asked curiously, sitting beside Zhao Xiaobai and glancing at the stone stele.

This stele was one of the formation cores of the Fifth Mountain; each disciple’s residence had one, allowing them to draw upon the mountain’s spiritual energy for various wondrous effects. It was also where Enforcement Hall missions were posted, and at this moment, lines of text were scrolling continuously on its surface.

The stele was divided into four sections from top to bottom: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.

These four categories represented the difficulty of missions—Heaven being the hardest, Yellow the simplest. The harder the mission, the greater the contribution points awarded. A Yellow-rank mission might yield only a few thousand points, while a Mystic-rank mission could offer ten or twenty thousand.

Earth and Heaven ranks were in another league entirely, with rewards dozens of times higher than Yellow. In the Enforcement Hall, only missions posing a real threat to disciples’ lives were marked as Mystic; one had to be extremely cautious when taking such tasks.

As for Earth-rank and above, each mission was incredibly difficult. Upon completion, the sect would record it in the annals for posterity, and an announcement would be made to all disciples in the Enforcement Hall as encouragement.

Whenever an Earth-rank or higher mission was completed, it caused a sensation throughout the Hall.

As Wang Ran perused the mission list, Zhao Xiaobai remarked, “I’ve done quite a few missions recently, but the contribution points for Mystic and Yellow are really too few. I finished three Yellow and two Mystic, yet only accumulated forty thousand points—still a far cry from the one million required to become a Core Disciple.”

“So I think you shouldn’t bother with Yellow or Mystic—it’s a waste of time. Since our goal is to become Core Disciples, we should look further ahead and go straight for Earth-rank missions!”

“That’s the only way to gather a million Dao Points in the shortest time and qualify for the Core Disciple selection.”

A fierce energy radiated from Zhao Xiaobai, his eyes shining with determination.

Wang Ran stroked his chin thoughtfully, finding himself in agreement.

“What about Heaven-rank missions?” A soft voice interjected. The two looked up to see Junior Sister and Xu Ke entering from outside.

Zhao Xiaobai chuckled, “Heaven rank… Those are the most dangerous missions—not just in the Enforcement Hall, but in the entire Only Me Sect. Even the elders may not be able to complete them.”

“Because Heaven-rank missions… the targets are all at the Golden Core stage!”

At these words, everyone fell silent, Wang Ran’s eyes flashing with sudden intensity.

Golden Core!

Just two words, yet they carried immense weight.

One must understand, Golden Core cultivators were renowned wherever they went. The path of immortal cultivation was vast and endless; Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment were only the lowest stages, serving merely as groundwork for future advancement.

Those two realms were, in essence, still mortal. Only by stepping into Golden Core could one truly embark on the road of immortality, breaking free from the shackles of mortality and becoming more than human.

The power of a Golden Core cultivator was not something a Foundation Establishment disciple could hope to withstand.

Some small sects and clans only had cultivators at the Golden Core stage.

After Zhao Xiaobai’s explanation, silence fell. Junior Sister stuck out her tongue and said no more, realizing just how daunting Heaven-rank missions were.

Just then, the stone stele before them suddenly burst into dazzling light, so abrupt that it immediately drew everyone’s attention.

A line of shining characters appeared:

“Enforcement Hall disciple Ye Cang and his team have completed the Earth-rank mission ‘Sweeping the Thousand Beast Valley.’ Congratulations! A true dragon of the sect!”

The characters shone brilliantly for several breaths before fading.

At that moment, a clamor of voices echoed all around, as if the entire Enforcement Hall was abuzz with discussion.

“Senior Brother Ye has completed another Earth-rank mission!”

“I remember that one—though it’s only Earth-rank, the Thousand Beast Valley is full of dangers, as perilous as a Heaven-rank mission. No one dared to take it!”

“Heavens, that mission had a Dao Point reward of three hundred thousand—Ye Shixiong has struck it rich!”

Countless voices reverberated in the sky.

Hearing Ye Cang’s name, Wang Ran couldn’t help but shudder, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

Xu Ke interjected, “My goodness, Ye Cang actually completed the Thousand Beast Valley mission!”

“Is it really that hard?” Junior Sister asked, resting her rosy cheek on her hand, eyes blinking.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Zhao Xiaobai replied gravely. “The Thousand Beast Valley is infamous—even Golden Core cultivators face death there, with thousands of Foundation Establishment demon beasts lurking within. Though officially Earth-rank, in the minds of Enforcement Hall disciples, it’s considered a de facto Heaven-rank mission.”

“Heaven rank…” Wang Ran murmured. Then his eyes brightened, and he stood up resolutely. “Hmph, if even the Cangtian Alliance can complete a Heaven-rank mission, why should the Haoran Alliance shrink back?”

“Let us also attempt… a Heaven-rank mission!”