TL: Etude
Holy Maiden Xiyue had issued a task that did not require a specific mercenary level. It only required candidates to possess advanced beast control talent and the strength of a King's List powerhouse. Thus, Ye Tian submitted an application to the Battle Axe Mercenary Hall and demonstrated his advanced beast control abilities. In less than half a day, the Battle Axe Mercenary Hall confirmed Ye Tian's qualifications, and he successfully accepted the task.
The Battle Axe Mercenary Hall promptly notified Holy Maiden Xiyue of the Moon God Sect that someone had accepted her task. The Moon God Sect was a major force in the Zhonghai Super Base. While not one of the top four powers, it was still among the elite. Shui Qianyue, ranked eighth on the Saint List, was also one of the high-ranking members of the Moon God Sect.
The Moon God Sect, established by modern humans, only recruited female disciples with exceptional talents. Even if a female disciple married and had a male child, the boy, upon reaching adulthood, could not join the Moon God Sect but could only become a member of its peripheral forces. Such was the tradition of the Moon God Sect!
Inside the Moon God Sect, in a pavilion, a woman dressed in green was reading a message from the Battle Axe Mercenary Hall.
"Someone has accepted my task?" she mused. This woman was Holy Maiden Xiyue!
"Come here!" she called out.
Several King-level women appeared beside Holy Maiden Xiyue, bowing respectfully and asking, "Saintess, what are your instructions?"
"A person with King's List-level advanced beast control talent has accepted my task. We can depart now!" declared Holy Maiden Xiyue.
"Yes!" the women replied in unison.
In the Mirror Lake District, at the Moonlight Restaurant, one of the properties under the Moon God Sect, Ye Tian was waiting according to the task's meeting location. Soon, a group of women arrived, led by Holy Maiden Xiyue herself. Ye Tian did not recognize Holy Maiden Xiyue, but her arrival caused a stir among the onlookers, signaling her fame.
Hearing the exclamations of the crowd, Ye Tian recognized her identity and approached her.
"Holy Maiden Xiyue, I presume? I have accepted your task," Ye Tian said calmly.
Holy Maiden Xiyue looked at Ye Tian and remarked, "So you are Ye Tian, who recently made a name for himself in the Zhonghai Super Base. I didn't expect you to possess advanced beast control talent. You have seen the task requirements, right? If you help me subdue the beast and extract its Soul Light for me, I will reward you as promised, and your task will be complete."
"I would like to know exactly what kind of beast it is," Ye Tian inquired.
Holy Maiden Xiyue glanced around and then whispered, "You will know once we get there. For now, I can only tell you it's a King Beast."
After a few seconds of silence, Ye Tian nodded, "Alright."
"Then let's go," said Holy Maiden Xiyue.
Ye Tian followed her, leaving the restaurant and heading towards the outskirts of the Zhonghai Super Base.
On the way, Ye Tian observed the talents of Holy Maiden Xiyue and her group of maidservants.
"The talent of Holy Maiden Xiyue is indeed formidable!" Ye Tian thought to himself with a hint of surprise. He had previously met Fairy Yueling, whose talent was also impressive. She was of Morning Star level talent and was also incredibly beautiful, on par with Holy Maiden Xiyue, yet her talent still fell short in comparison.
Human: Wang Xiyue
Cultivation Talent: Moonlight
Moon Body Talent: High
Speed Talent: Pseudo-Mystic (10%)
Swordsmanship Talent: Top
Strength Talent: Intermediate
Defense Talent: Pseudo-Mystic (30%)
"Having two Pseudo-Mystic level talents, she must have used treasures to forge a perfect foundation. Coupled with top-level swordsmanship talent and intermediate strength talent, such talents are truly worthy of the Moon God Sect's Saintess!"
Ye Tian clearly remembered that the 27th ranked King-level figure on the Kings List was named Wang Xiyue, affiliated with the Moon God Sect. It must be her.
In terms of strength, Ye Tian was not yet a match for Wang Xiyue. However, with his current rate of progress, he would soon surpass Holy Maiden Xiyue. Aside from her, the talents of the other women were also strong; each was extraordinary, possessing one or two special talents, clearly ordinary geniuses.
Now, Ye Tian was uncertain whether to use his two remaining copy opportunities. He greatly desired the Pseudo-Mystic level speed talent and Pseudo-Mystic level defense talent. However, once used, he wouldn't be able to copy other talents for a month. If the beast that Holy Maiden Xiyue wanted to subdue had extraordinary talents, wouldn't he miss a great opportunity?
"Let's copy one first, and decide on the other after determining the beast's talent."
Thus, Ye Tian copied Holy Maiden Xiyue's Pseudo-Mystic level speed talent. He chose to copy this talent because his speed talent was only top-level and comparatively weaker than his other talents. As for the Pseudo-Mystic level defense talent, he already possessed it, and even if he copied Holy Maiden Xiyue's Pseudo-Mystic level talent, it probably wouldn't successfully transform into a full-fledged Mystic level talent. Therefore, there was no rush; he could always copy it next time.
After successfully copying, he acquired the Pseudo-Mystic level speed talent. It wasn't the right time to integrate it; Ye Tian would wait for an appropriate opportunity to do so.
Before long, Ye Tian and Holy Maiden Xiyue's group left the Zhonghai Super Base.
"Where is our destination?"
Ye Tian curiously asked.
"A secret realm!" Holy Maiden Xiyue answered truthfully: "That secret realm is only a three-star level, allowing only King-level individuals to enter. The beast we are going to subdue is hard to capture alive. Otherwise, I would have directly captured it and found a powerful beast control talent in the Zhonghai Super Base to tame it for me, and there would be no need to issue a task. Unfortunately, there are not many with advanced beast control talents in the Zhonghai Super Base, and those at the King's List level are even rarer. Now, only you meet the requirements."
Ye Tian nodded, grateful for such a coincidence; otherwise, he would have missed the opportunity for a third-rate top-level yuan force cultivation manual. With the speed of Kings, Ye Tian and the others flew swiftly, unafraid of attacks from beasts. The powerful beasts near the super base had been mostly cleared, and humans had the upper hand near the five-star spatial rift, so there was no need to worry.
After a few hours, a massive floating fortress appeared before them, bearing three large characters – Moon God Fortress!
"This is a secret realm occupied by our Moon God Sect, and that three-star space rift is inside the Moon God Fortress!" Holy Maiden Xiyue explained.
Ye Tian was genuinely surprised, "The Moon God Sect actually occupies a secret realm!"
But then he thought, if the Demon Sea Base occupied a secret realm, even a single core genius of the Moon God Sect would be enough to sweep the Demon Sea Great Base. Hence, it wasn't strange for such a powerful force to occupy a secret realm.
The group entered the Moon God Fortress and soon arrived at the three-star spatial rift. The fortress didn't have any Saint-level guardians, only some King-level ones, and not a single genius with Morning Star level cultivation talent, indicating this place wasn't given much importance.
Without hesitation, Ye Tian and Holy Maiden Xiyue's group passed through the three-star spatial rift, entering the three-star secret realm.