Chapter 35: Missions, Plans and Secret Hier

Yu Liang stood in front of the mission hall, scanning the notice board. Dozens of tasks were pinned to the wooden surface, each one marked with difficulty levels and contribution point rewards.

He wasn’t here because he needed the money. His system inventory held more spiritual stones than most outer disciples would see in a lifetime. But doing missions served a different purpose, as it established normalcy and made him look like everyone else.

The sect’s rules were simple. Every outer disciple had to complete at least one major mission every three months, scaled to their cultivation level. The monthly allowance of fifty spiritual stones was enough to survive on, but barely. Most disciples needed more for pills, techniques, equipment, or anything that might give them an edge.

So they fell into a pattern. Cultivate for a while, take a mission to earn contribution points, use those points to buy resources, then return to cultivation. The cycle repeated endlessly, each disciple grinding forward one small step at a time.

Yu Liang could skip all of it if he wanted. His wealth made missions unnecessary. But skipping them would raise questions that he didn’t want to answer.

He pulled a task from the board.

Task: Moondew Herb Collection

Location: Outer Forest, Mistleaf Valley

Objective: Collect 20 Moondew Herbs growing near the streams of Mistleaf Valley.

Difficulty: Low

Danger: Minimal, though low level spirit beasts may be encountered.

Reward: 30 Contribution Points

Requirements: Qi Condensation realm

Deadline: 3 days

Exactly the type of task he was looking for.

The mission clerk stamped his token and handed him a small pouch containing a jade slip with the herb’s description.

"Three days," the clerk said flatly. "Return before then, or it counts as a failure."

Yu Liang nodded and left.

The mission itself was uneventful. He spent half a day in the forest, located the herbs without trouble, and returned the next morning. The clerk verified his haul, credited his contribution points, and dismissed him without a second glance.

Perfect.

Back in his cave, Yu Liang set the token on the table and sat down. He had completed his first mission as an outer sect disciple, fulfilling the minimum requirement. For now, that was enough.

But his mind was already working through the next steps.

The Iron Marrow Refinement Method required expensive materials such beast marrow, rare herbs, and even spiritual minerals. Buying them openly would draw attention. A former handyman suddenly purchasing high grade resources? People would notice and not many but still some people ask questions.

Yu Liang sighed inwardly. These thoughts were starting to tire him out. He had spent most of his previous life acting without having to worry about such things. Now, every decision seemed to come with another question to consider. He had never thought this much in his entire life.

But he couldn’t avoid it entirely.

Coming back to the technique, it required those materials, and there was no substitute. But he could control how it looked.

Yu Liang leaned back, thoughts settling into a plan.

Money wasn’t the issue. The system ensured he’d never run out. The real problem was explaining where it all came from. Disciples with wealth weren’t questioned if they had a background to support it. Family clans, merchant houses, influential sponsors, those things provided cover.

He didn’t have any of that. Not yet.

But he could build it.

The idea had been forming for a while, sharpening with each thought and interaction. If he wants to move freely and spend without suspicion, he needed a story. A believable one at that.

The simplest answer was a hidden backer. Someone wealthy, someone influential, someone who had taken interest in his potential. It wasn’t uncommon. Disciples with unusual talent sometimes caught the eye of elders or retired cultivators looking for a worthy investment.

The challenge was timing. Revealing such a background too early would seem convenient. Revealing it too late would make people wonder why he had hidden it.

No, the right moment would come later. After he completed the Iron Marrow Refinement Method and began taking missions outside the sect, where fewer eyes would be watching.

When he returned from those missions with resources in hand, questions would naturally arise. And when they did, he would already have an answer ready.

’Clan training,’ he thought, testing the phrase in his mind. The most powerful yet common reason. Some families sent their descendants to sects under false pretenses, hiding their true status so they could experience hardship. The idea was that struggle builts character, and only after proving themselves would the family reveal their support.

It was plausible.

And if someone still refused to let the matter go, Yu Liang had another solution.

People could be surprisingly reasonable when given the right ’incentive’. A few spirit stones, a useful pill, perhaps a rare herb that happened to be "left over" from one of his missions though ’Nothing Excessive.’ Just a small gesture of goodwill, wrapped in enough polite words to make it feel like a favor rather than a transaction.

After all, everyone had something they wanted. He only needed to find out what it was.

Yu Liang’s lips curved slightly. The plan was simple, but more than enough. Most disciples wouldn’t care enough to dig deeper. As long as his explanation sounded reasonable on the surface, no one would bother looking further.

The real work would come later. Building that background into something tangible, something people could point to and accept without question.

But first, he had to finish the technique.

He glanced at the scroll sitting on the shelf. The Iron Marrow Refinement Method would take months to complete, twelve cycles in total just like Bone Forging Scripture.

For now, simple missions would keep up appearances. It’s Boring, but safe.

His gaze fell on the jade token. Tomorrow was different. Tomorrow was for the sect’s lecture.

The lecture.

Outer sect lectures were held twice a month, covering various aspects of cultivation. The information shared was often useful, especially for newer disciples.

Yu Liang hadn’t attended one yet as he has been too focused on the breakthrough, too absorbed in preparing for what came next. But tomorrow’s lecture was on cultivators foundation, a topic directly related to his current situation.

It would also be his first real appearance among the outer sect disciples since his promotion.

Yu Liang stood and walked to the small window, gazing at the darkening sky. Evening had settled over the sect, and disciples were returning to their caves as lights flickered on one by one.

He wondered about the lecture as who would give it. At his current stage, even a small piece of knowledge could save him a great deal of time. He’s looking forward to see what the sect had to teach.

Yu Liang turned away from the window and began preparing for the night. His body still carried faint traces of fatigue from the breakthrough, and rest would help settle the remaining imbalances.