Shenyan was led by the enthusiastic Elder Lu and soon, he was standing in front of the task board, but before he took a look at the task board, he could not help but think back to what happened earlier.
'So that was the power of an elemental affinity?! So strong!' Shenyan was inwardly surprised when he saw how effortless the student was taken down by Leng Lanyue. As he thought back to this, he suddenly turned and looked at the gleeful girl next to him and a sudden thought came to him.
'I should not get on her bad side. She did not hold back on that student at all, although that student kind of deserved it as he kept speaking nonsense ever since we came in here but still…' Shenyan felt an inexplicable fear towards this female student who always appears to be excited for some reason. Shenyan inwardly shook his head as he turned his attention to the task board, and he was welcomed with a variety of tasks.
…
[Chore section]
[My fragile hands will get damaged if soaked in water for too long. You don't want to see a lady(flower) like me loose her beauty(wither away), do you? Please, come wash my clothes for me, don't worry there will be benefits too. (~100 gold coin per batch of clothes)]
[My little pet has gone missing; Can you please look for it for me. I will definitely pay you. (~10 gold coin for each day spent searching)]
[We are in urgent need of servers in the cafeteria. Please sign up if you are interested. The pay is good (~1000 gold coins per month)]
…
[Escort Mission Section]
[My White Tiger Merchant Group is currently making our way to the neighboring city in the territory of the Yan family. Due to the dangers of going to other aristocratic territories. We are currently in need of cultivators who can protect us from bandits and spirit beast attacks on the way. (10,000 Spirit Stones and extra 10,000 gold coins for those that survive unforeseen attacks and successfully completes the escort)]
[We are from Blood Cloak Organization; We are currently in need of cultivators to protect us as we venture into an ancient ruin. Of course, you will receive a handsome pay but that depends on your contribution.(For base fee, 1000 Spirit Stones~ or more)]
…
[Spirit Beast Hunting Section]
[My village is being terrorized by a pack of wolves; they have eaten our livestock. As a chieftain, I could not let my village be destroyed. Please come and save my village from these ruthless beasts. (10 gold coins per wolf killed)]
[Hunt Giant Boars and bring their beast cores and meat. (100~or more Spirit Stones per beast core and 1000 gold coins for the meat)]
[There had been news of a ruler class Spirit Beast in the 'Grey Fog Forest,' causing terror to the villages near the capital city. Anyone who can find and defeat this Spirit Beast and bring its core, will be handsomely rewarded (Base fee: 100,000 Spirit Stones for successful subjugation of the Spirit Beast. And a separate fee for the beast core, which will be discussed after the subjugation.)]
[Hunt a rainbow-colored Armored Snake and bring me their beast core. You can do whatever you want with their hide (1000 Spirit Stones per beast core; The beast core should be higher than Fifth-Level Spirit Apprentice, at least a Sixth-Level Spirit Apprentice)]
[Defeat a Red-Skin Ape and bring me their beast core and hide (1200 Spirit Stones per beast core of a Seventh-Level Spirit Apprentice and above; Depending on the quality of the hide, the price will be discussed after completion.)]
…
Shenyan took a quick glance at the chore section of the task board and immediately turned his attention to the escort mission and the spirit beast hunting sections. The escort mission seems to give more money depending on your contribution during the escort, but there are dangers that come with this kind of mission. In the first place Shenyan never intended to take any escort mission since he would have to leave the academy and to go other cities just to complete the mission. And so, Shenyan turned his attention to the spirit beast hunting. When he took a quick glance, what caught his attention was the ruler class spirit beast mission which offered a hundred thousand spirit stones.
One had to know that a single spirit stone is equivalent to thousand gold coins. That is an astronomical amount for someone like Shenyan. Shenyan was shocked for a good moment before inwardly shaking his head and dismissed the thought, after all, he was only a mere Sixth-Level Spirit Apprentice, how could he face against a beast of this caliber, who had a title? The Spirit Beasts with titles are strong even if they are in the Spirit Apprentice Realm.
Usually, these titled beasts are at the peak of their Realm of cultivation, so you cannot look down on them. Even a human with the same Peaked-Level Spirit Apprentice cultivation base, would not dare to look down on these kinds of Spirit Beasts, because of their ferociousness.
After thinking things through, Shenyan decided to take [The Giant Boar's Task], [The Rainbow-Colored Armored Snake's Task] and [The Pack of Wolves' Task]. This Spirit Beasts usually had a cultivation base of at most Fifth-Level Spirit Apprentice and above.
The pack of wolves terrorizing the village were probably normal wolves and the giant boars were just low-leveled Spirit Beasts that had a cultivation base below Fifth-level Spirit Apprentice or less; The giant boars are delicacies that are served in some low-level restaurants, so this kind of beasts are no match for Shenyan.
As for the Red-Skinned Ape, the task said he should only bring a beast core of a Seventh-Level Spirit Apprentice and Shenyan was only a Sixth-Level Spirit Apprentice.
He would not dare to take such a risk even if he needed the money. So, in the end, Shenyan decided to go with these tasks instead.
When Leng Lanyue and Elder Lu saw the tasks that Shenyan decided to pick, they exchange glances and then looked at Shenyan before speaking.
"Shenyan, are you sure you want to take these many tasks?" Leng Lanyue asked with concern. Normally only those who had experience would take that many tasks.
"Eh… Am I not allowed to take multiple tasks?" Shenyan was confused by the question as he had never heard of a prohibition on the amount of tasks one can take.
Elder Lu cleared his throat and explained, "Ahem… Student Shenyan, it is not that you are not allowed to, but are you sure you can complete that many tasks by yourself? Usually only those who had experience would take that many task… but this is your first time, right?"
Shenyan finally understood why they reacted in such a manner and then he said in calm manner, "Although, this is my first time taking on mission tasks, but I am also confident in my skills to complete them. I appreciate your concern, but I don't think that I will fail to complete these tasks."
'Confident in his skills?' Both Leng Lanyue and Elder Lu thought in unison.
Elder said after a moment, "You should know that if you fail to complete the task you will have to compensate for your failure."
"Alright, I understand." Shenyan nodded with a resolute expression on his face. His confidence was not unfounded because right now, his sword techniques had reached the advanced mastery stage and that means his control of his techniques had improved greatly, so he was not afraid of low-leveled Spirit Beasts. Even if he were to face the late bandit leader, he was confident that he would be able to win easily without that strange thing happening.
"Shenyan, are really sure? Won't it be better to just take one for now, just to get the hang of how the mission works, before taking more tasks?" Leng Lanyue advised Shenyan and Shenyan only shook his in response before he spoke.
"I am. You don't have to worry. I can handle this much just fine." Shenyan said to her unyieldingly.
Leng Lanyue only let out a helpless sigh before speaking in a worried tone, "Haa… if you are really that confident then it's okay. Just remember, you have to be careful, the Spirit Beasts are sometimes smarter than they may appear to be. So don't let your guard down."
"Okay." Shenyan only curtly replied. He had no idea why she was worried about him, but he can sense the sincerity in her tone, so he did not mind her advice.
"Ah… This reminds me, have anyone heard about that ruler class Spirit Beast in the Grey Fog Forest? I tried searching for it during my mission, but I couldn't find its whereabouts." Leng Lanyue turned and suddenly said to Elder Lu.
Elder Lu shook his head at her sudden inquiry and replied, "There had not been any news of its whereabouts as of yet."
"We have to get rid of it before it causes damage to the villages near the capital city." Leng Lanyue said in a worried tone as she could imagine the damage, such a Spirit Beast could cause if left unchecked.
And then she turned to Shenyan and said, "Shenyan, don't venture too far into the Grey Fog Forest, there is a chance that the ruler class Spirit Beast is hiding in the forest."
"Alright." Shenyan replied to her.
Shortly after, Shenyan left the establishment after receiving a detailed map from Elder Lu with a marked location of missions. Shenyan still had a nonchalant expression on his face as he left the Task Hall but deep down, he was excited to try his techniques on Spirit Beasts without any restraint. In addition to that, the money he would make from successfully completing the mission put a smile on his face. He could not wait to get himself some Spirit Beast meat food after the mission completion.