Chapter 67: The Annihilation of the Family

  The sunset sinks in the west, and the bright afterglow sprinkles on the Clear Wind Mountain, dyeing it into a piece of pink.

  From the horse farm at the foot of the mountain, Ye Chen adjusted his clothes and walked up the mountain with some inner door disciples who had completed their tasks.

  On the road, everyone was discussing it.

  "Miao Shidi, I heard you took on a four-star white-level mission this time. You really surprised me."

  "Fang Shixiong is overpraising me, I just found a very ordinary four-star white-level task, didn't dare to take on anything too difficult. Compared to Zhang Haoran, I'm far inferior."

  "Zhang Haoran, he's a madman. The first time he took on a three-star white-level mission, the second time it was a four-star white-level mission, and this third time he actually took on a five-star white-level mission. I wonder if he'll be able to come back alive?"

  "It's tough! He may be a genius and can fight beyond his level, but he can't defeat another genius of the same level. Even for five-star white-level missions, cultivators who have reached the mid-stage of the Condensing Reality Realm are extremely cautious, and if they're not careful, they'll still fall. Last year's Yuan Shixiong died on a five-star white-level mission."

  "Indeed, Zhang Hao Ran's luck has been mostly bad, but if he can survive, his future achievements will be boundless. That kind of life-or-death experience, where one competes with the heavens for survival, is a rare opportunity that may not come again. If he endures it, a warrior's willpower will make rapid progress, advancing by leaps and bounds."

  On the side, Ye Chen seemed to be lost in thought.

  He couldn't have imagined that Zhang Hao Ran, an inner disciple, would be so desperate, literally playing with his own life. Such people are undoubtedly terrifying, as they fear neither death nor life, pursuing the most primitive form of power at all costs, forgetting about life and death.

  Similarly, Zhang Haoran and Ye Chen can be said to be similar in some ways, working hard but not blindly. The first time they took on a three-star white-level task was to accumulate experience and familiarize themselves with the task flow. The second time was a four-star white-level task, step by step improving and feeling their own limits. When they reached their limits, they challenged a five-star white-level task, breaking through their own limits and achieving the greatest transformation.

  Unconsciously, Ye Chen has already put Zhang Haoran on the same level as the Four Great Masters, a level that is not measured by strength, but by talent, artistic conception, and willpower. Zhang Haoran's willpower has undoubtedly won Ye Chen's appreciation and recognition. As for Ye Chen himself, time will prove it.

  Arriving at the Tengyun Grand Hall, Ye Chen directly walked towards the side hall.

  "Attendant, I'm here to hand in a task." The Tengyun Grand Hall had many attendants. These attendants weren't very powerful and mainly helped the Flowing Cloud Sect with handling tasks.

  The middle-aged steward sitting at the desk nodded and asked, "Where is the task list and voucher?"

  "Here."

  Ye Chen put the task list and the skull of the Butcher on the table.

  The middle-aged executor glanced at the task list, then opened the black cloth covering his head, carefully observed for a moment before saying: "Not bad, indeed it's the Blood Hand Butcher. Congratulations on completing the task, what's your name?"

  "Leaf dust."

  "Wait a minute, let me look." After becoming an inner disciple, personal information will be sent to the Tengyun Hall for the executive to find.

  Before long, the middle-aged steward found information about Ye Chen.

  He took out another black notebook from the drawer and began to record Ye Chen's data and task results.

  Name: Ye Chen

  Age: Fifteen

  Identity: Ye Family Disciple, Inner Sect Disciple

  Inner Disciple Assessment: Excellent

  Mission Score: Three-Star White-Level Mission Complete

  "Take a look and see if there's anything wrong?" The middle-aged clerk pushed the black notebook in front of Ye Chen.

  Ye Chen just took a glance and nodded, "That's right."

  "Now, let's talk about the reward. You've just been promoted to an inner disciple, so you may not be familiar with this yet. According to the Flowing Cloud Sect's rules, for white-level tasks, the sect takes 30%, for gray-level tasks, the sect takes 25%, and for black-level tasks, the sect takes 20%. The reward for killing the Blood Hand Butcher is 4,000 taels of gold. After deducting 30%, there are still 2,800 taels left."

  Put the black notebook in the drawer, the middle-aged steward explained.

  Withdrawing 30% of the reward is quite high, but it can't be helped. After all, the sect has cultivated you to this point, and you should make contributions to the sect. Moreover, when completing a mission target, there are usually additional rewards, which sometimes even exceed the original reward itself.

  Received two thousand eight hundred taels of gold from the middle-aged attendant, Ye Chen exited the side hall.

  The first day Ye Chen didn't receive any tasks.

  The second day is still the same.

  On the third day, Tengyun Hall became lively.

  Zhang Hao Ran, who was thought to have been killed, returned alive, his body covered in blood, and his fierce killing intent could be felt from a distance, attracting a large number of inner sect disciples to come and watch.

  Wu Zongming, who had already returned, saw this scene and his expression was complex. If things continued like this, he would never be able to catch up with Zhang Haoran. The determination of the other party even shocked him.

  Wiping the blood from his face, Zhang Hao Ran's gaze swept around in a circle and found Ye Chen's location. He grinned and said: "Ye Chen, I'm waiting for you at the ranking tournament."

  "Who is Ye Chen?"

  "Zhang Haoran said he had to wait for Ye Chen, is he very powerful?"

  "It seems like Ye Chen has just been promoted to an inner disciple! Why is Zhang Haoran taking him so seriously?"

  Upon hearing this, many inner disciples had doubts in their hearts. The vast majority of them hadn't seen Zhang Hao Ran and Ye Chen's battle, plus they were all very busy and hadn't heard the rumors before. However, after this time, as long as they asked slightly, they should have understood.

  Ye Ye said seriously: "Definitely."

  Time flies, and another half month has passed.

  During this period, Ye Chen only accepted a four-star white-level mission once, and the rest were used for cultivation. As for not accepting five-star white-level missions, it was because such tasks were not always available, either the difficulty was too low, below the four-star white level, or the difficulty was too high, jumping to the gray level task category, which was too time-consuming. More importantly, he felt that his pure yuan true energy was about to break through to the seventh stage. This opportunity was hard to come by, and taking a step forward would speed up his cultivation, while slowing down would be a waste of time.

  On this day, a shocking event in Tianfeng Nation spread to Liuyun Sect.

  Through layers of relationships and interactions, Ye Chen also learned about the content of the matter.

  The Di Sha Men in the northwest of Tian Feng Country was suddenly annihilated overnight, with all 78 Yuan Yuan boundary warriors killed and over a thousand disciples injured or dead, only a small number managed to escape.

  When he heard this news, Ye Chen's first thought was of the Five Ghosts Carrying Coffins incident that night.

  To know that the Earthly Gate and the Flowing Cloud Sect are similar, both being ninth-grade sects, only the latter is the strongest among the ninth-grade sects, even surpassing some eighth-grade sects. Because upgrading one's grade isn't just a matter of saying it, but also requires a long time to be verified, before staying in the ranks of the ninth-grade sects.

  Otherwise, the Tianfeng Nation would not have included the Liuyun Sect in the list of top three sects in one valley and one village. After all, there are four ninth-grade sects in the Tianfeng Nation, and if they were not strong enough, how could the Liuyun Sect be considered? In everyone's eyes, the Liuyun Sect was no different from an eighth-grade sect.

  Despite this, the destruction of the Jiǔ Pǐn Zōngmén's Diè Mén still left everyone stunned and terrified.