Accepting his First Mission

In the air above Soaring Sword City, watching Xue Bai have fun reuniting with his old friend, were two figures.

"Husband, do you think it's okay for Bai'er to continue on his path." Li Rou asked softly as she witnessed Xue Bai run off with Huo Long.

While she was Xue Bai's biggest supporter, she also worried the most about him. Li Rou knew better than well how fraught the cultivation world was. And though she wanted Xue Bai to prosper and rise above his peers, she also didn't want him to fall halfway like all the geniuses before him.

"Rou'er, sometimes things are fated to happen, and any attempts to stop it prematurely would only delay the inevitable." Xue Feng sighed as he pulled the melancholy Li Rou into his arms, "Bai'er is talented, and whatever changed his fate after his fall is something beyond our comprehension. He is a dragon in a pond, and keeping it in the pond would do more harm than good."

Xue Feng knew what Li Rou was talking about, but he couldn't truly bring it up. He knew that she was afraid of what would happen when Xue Bai figured out her past.

Whether he becomes a mindless shell wanting only revenge or something even worse.

"I know, Husband, but still. While I hate those scum with every fiber of my being, they are strong. No matter how talented Bai'er is, he can't grow fast enough to threaten them before they find out." Li Rou spoke sadly, her voice choked up, "While Big Brother and I escaped, they still know that we're here. The only reason they haven't followed us to unroot the weeds was because of the Transcontinental Agreement stopping them."

Xue Feng couldn't think of a response to her words and only silently comforted her by stroking her hair. Sometimes answers weren't needed but instead comfort.

"Let's go back. Brother-in-Law can protect Bai'er here. We have to just go back and make sure the Wang Clan scum don't lose their minds." Xue Feng said after a few minutes of silence.

"Um." Li Rou nodded and started flying back to the dukedom. While she did hate Yue Zifeng, she also knew he was strong enough to keep Xue Bai safe. They weren't needed here.

—

Xue Bai had fun that day and managed to connect with the protagonist. And while he still couldn't truly become sworn brothers with Huo Long, he didn't feel bad at all.historical

Ever since he had resolved not to blindly follow the plot of the game, his desire to mooch off of Huo Long's coattails also greatly lessened.

As long as he could be normal friends with Huo Long and not become mortal enemies, Xue Bai was content.

Xiao Mo still waited in the Central Continent, and Xue Bai didn't want to waste his years fighting against Huo Long before that.

After bidding the protagonist goodbye and promising to find each other again, Xue Bai teleported back to the Soaring Sword Sect shakily.

He also learned that his alcohol tolerance was something he needed to work on. Thankfully he was still young, so hopefully, like his height, that would grow as well.

However, after returning to the sect, Xue Bai didn't go back to his peak but instead made his way to the Outer Sect.

While he was traveling to meet Zhu Que, he had also resolved to temper his willpower and also his killing power by taking a few missions.

Xue Bai knew that of his many weaknesses, one of them was his lack of true fights to the death, and before the Southern Continent was engulfed in a war, he wanted to fix that. And the best way to do that was, of course, bounty hunting missions.

This way, he could hit two birds with one stone, one by riding the continent of scourges of humanity while also giving himself a miniature trial by fire.

Feeling confident about his plan, Xue Bai walked into the Mission Hall and started to look at the many requests that were available.

Though he was a Core Disciple, the Core Region didn't have its own Mission Hall. Only the Inner and Outer Sects had one.

Yue Zifeng's Master arranged it like this to hopefully get rid of some of the separation between the two regions.

And since Xue Bai wasn't strong enough to take on requests from the Inner Sect's Mission Hall, he was forced to make another appearance in the Outer Sect.

Arriving in the Mission Hall did cause a few waves from the many Outer Disciples who thought of Inner Disciples as experts. So when a heavenly beauty, Core Disciples, arrived in their Mission Hall, it wasn't weird for them to feel excited.

Sadly they were all extremely scared and socially inept to talk to such a high-standing figure, so Xue Bai stayed undisturbed as he looked for a suitable mission.

"Find and kill the flower picker that plagues the Iron Fang Base southeast of the Soaring Sword City." Xue Bai mumbled, "Estimated power of target, early stages of the Organ Tempering realm."

"That'll do." Xue Bai nodded as he ripped off the mission slip from the wall.

The Southern Continent was hundreds of thousands of miles in size and was shaped almost like an upside-down diamond, with the pointed side pointing north toward the Central Continent.

So while the directions on the mission slip seemed simple, Xue Bai knew that he would have to work hard in order to find this man.

However, Xue Bai also had a deep disdain and hatred for rapists. Especially ones in cultivation worlds.

Brothels and red light districts were legal and very popular in this world. So why did they have to go out and ruin a poor innocent girl's life?

And flower pickers were even worse in his mind. So when he found this mission, Xue Bai was filled with a small fire of righteousness. Thankfully the criminal's cultivation base matched Xue Bai's target.

While he was only at the 8th stage of the Bone Strengthening realm, taking on a rogue cultivator who was in the early stages of the Organ Tempering realm wouldn't be hard whatsoever.

So after registering himself for the mission, Xue Bai thanked the receptionist and once again left the sect.

Before he left, however, he did send a message to Xiao'er and Zhu Que not to go to his courtyard tonight.

He also left the Soul Sublimation Golden Lotus with Xiao'er before he left so they could cultivate with him as well.

Xue Bai would spend the next week or so hunting someone and not be able to cultivate much. And Zhu Que was also very close to the Blood Exchange realm and needed it more than him anyway.

Back in Soaring Sword City, Xue Bai grabbed a nearby disciple.

"Junior Brother, do you know a nearby store that sells or rents mounts for use?" Xue Bai asked as he tapped the young man on the shoulder.

The Outer Disciple he questioned was stronger than him, but it wasn't by much. Xue Bai could tell his cultivation was at most in the middle stages of the Organ Tempering realm. And since Xue Bai was also a Core Disciple, it was reasonable for him to call the young man a Junior Brother.

Turning around, the young man saw Xue Bai, and his eyes lit up, but after seeing the black and gold robes that he wore, the fire in him also died.

"Senior Sister, there is a shop only a few miles away from the Clear Skies Restaurant." The Outer Disciple responded respectfully. And after giving Xue Bai directions that could've guided even a blind man, he left as quickly as his legs could take him.

He was afraid that his loose mouth would say something impudent and would destroy his life.

Xue Bai also sensed that and didn't ask any follow-up questions and made his way to the store in question.

There, after showing his Core Disciple token, he was welcomed with wide arms. And after choosing a Wind Chasing Horse in the Qi Sea realm, he left once more toward the Iron Fang Base.

A Wind Chasing Horse was an extremely tame and docile demonic beast that could travel thousands of miles without rest. And coupled with their extremely fast speed that matched even Law Engraving cultivators, they were eventually the staple mount for any young cultivator.

The Iron Fang Base wasn't too far away from Soaring Sword City, and with the Wind Chasing Horse, Xue Bai estimated he would arrive in about two days.

Giving the map another good look, Xue Bai rode off like the cultivator he always aspired to be.

"When riding a horse with a jug of wine, even a thousand miles isn't too far." Xue Bai mumbled, "No, that sucks. I don't even have a wine jug with me."

Along the way, to sate his boredom, Xue Bai tried to write some poems, but since he always sucked at that, he often found himself disappointing his elementary teacher more and more.

"How does Xiao Mo make such good poems?" Xue Bai was angered at his lack of poetic ability, "It's just words."

As Xue Bai descended into larger and larger tangents, the Wind Chasing Horse under him ran like the wind, traveling nonstop until they finally reached their target.

Iron Fang Base