The Xianxia Average
The sect's Mission Hall offered assignments you would never find on a village bounty board — jobs exclusive to the sect. Completing them earned both rewards and contribution points.
The first difference from a village bounty board was difficulty. These missions were written for cultivators, so they ran far harder than anything posted in town.
The second was the pay. Unlike bounty boards, which paid only in spirit stones, the Mission Hall handed out talismans, spirit herbs, pills, and other items alongside spirit stones — plus sect contribution points on top.
Contribution points were the currency of advancement inside the sect. Stack enough of them and you could enter the outer-to-inner disciple tournament; the same rule held for every rank above that. Without contribution, you never got a shot at the next tier.
"Didn't expect to see you at the Mission Hall."
Daoist Yun, the man in charge of the place, took one look at Han Yuhyeon and burst out laughing in pure disbelief.
"I didn't expect to end up a disciple of the Baekun Sect either."
"Fair enough. I heard you made a bet with Senior Brother Jeong."
The wager between the inner disciple and Yuhyeon had only happened yesterday, yet it was already common knowledge across the entire White Cloud Sect.
"Things just sort of… happened."
"Tch, tch. Why not give up while you still can? You're new, so you wouldn't know — by the end of the month, nearly every mission is already gone."
Yun spoke as if he were concerned, but the amusement glittering in his eyes was impossible to hide. Ordinary mockery, nothing more.
"I'll take a look first."
"Suit yourself."
Like a bounty board, the Mission Hall had one massive panel covered in slips of paper. Compared to the size of the board, the number of slips still hanging was painfully small. Exactly as Yun had said — almost everything was already claimed.
Reward: Cultivation method from the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion
The moment Yuhyeon read it, he nearly swore out loud. The Gu Eagle was a great demon beast that nested in the northwest of Yeongil-ju.
Even in a backwater like Yeongil-ju, taking down a great demon beast required at least Qi Condensation Completion.
And the prize for killing one was… a technique from the third floor of the Baekun Sect's Scripture Pavilion? The third floor was open to ordinary inner disciples. Why would anyone who had reached Qi Condensation Completion need a technique meant for the White Cloud Sect's inner disciples?
Same damn sect, and they still try to fleece their own. No wonder nobody feels any loyalty. Yuhyeon clicked his tongue and scanned the remaining slips.
Just as the inner disciple had warned, the easy jobs — simple gathering runs, building repairs, recruitment drives — were long gone. Not that Yuhyeon had ever planned to take those from the Baekun Sect anyway. If he was going to do a mission, he wanted the hard ones with the good rewards.
And before long, he found exactly what he was looking for.
"Ah. I'll take this one."
Yuhyeon peeled a yellowed, crumbling slip from the board and handed it to Daoist Yun. Yun stared at it, blinking.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Reward: Crescent Moon Small Blade
The mission was to interpret a record believed to have been left by an ancient sect.
It had hung there so long because no one could solve it. That was probably the only reason this stingy sect had put up something as valuable as the Crescent Moon Small Blade for a reward.
"Do you even know what the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record is? Our sect has failed to decipher it for fifty years. You picked it because it looked like a non-combat mission, didn't you? This is one of the hardest jobs we have."
"Yes. I know."
"You know, and you still chose it? Even our current elders couldn't crack this secret."
"Yeah. I really want to do it."
"…Ha. You've been going to the training caves every day — I'm starting to worry you've lost your mind. Fine."
Daoist Yun gave a dry, booming laugh. In the end, the Mission Hall had no choice but to hand a disciple whatever mission they asked for.
If the boy failed and lost contribution points — or better yet, died — that just meant one fewer rival. Nothing to lose either way.
"Here."
Yun rummaged through a cabinet and produced a carefully folded piece of hide. This was the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record, the ancient sect's legacy. Even the leather itself radiated a black aura that made it clear this was no ordinary scrap.
"Thank you."
Yuhyeon slipped the record into his storage pouch. Yun watched him with open scorn, but Yuhyeon ignored it completely and walked out of the sect.
He found a secluded spot and pulled the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record free. He had never joined the Baekun Sect before, yet he knew exactly what this thing was. The reason was simple: Yeonhwa Seonrok was a game with absurd freedom.
The same Ink Spirit Cryptic Record event could spawn at the Baekun Sect's Mission Hall — or on the side of a random road. That was why you never got tired of replaying it.
Every run rewrote character relationships, shuffled events, and, depending on your choices, remade the entire world — which meant your build changed with it.
There was a reason the game threw up a message every month saying the world was being realigned according to karma.
"Alright. Pro player, coming through."
Yuhyeon swept his spiritual sense over the area, confirmed he was alone, and drew the record from his pouch. Without a second of hesitation, he tore the hide clean in half.
Riiip.
The sound of old leather splitting filled the air. The trigger for the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record event was dead simple: tear the thing.
Sure, there were drawings on the hide and lines of verse that looked like they hid some clever trick, but there was no need to study any of it. The answer was already fixed.
The two ragged halves of the record blazed black in Yuhyeon's hands. The moment he dropped them, the dark light began to take shape. Once the form solidified, the glow faded and the outline emerged.
When the light vanished, a pair of gloves lay on the ground. The two torn map pieces had become gloves.
Proving they came from the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record was easy enough. The gloves still reeked of its aura — denser than before, if anything.
And it was this easy.
Yuhyeon snorted. He understood, though. Looking at an ominous relic like that, most people would freeze before tearing it apart.
That boldness was the difference between a player and an NPC. He stepped forward to pick up the gloves — and his toe caught on a rock.
"Wha—!"
Yuhyeon yelped and went sprawling. For a cultivator to trip that hard was rare; he had managed it perfectly.
In the middle of the fall, he saw a thread of light lance through the space where his head had just been. The beam shot past and struck a tree behind him.
BOOM!
It was a filament of light, no thicker than a hair — and the instant it hit the tree, the trunk exploded.
"…You dodged that?"
While Yuhyeon stared blankly at the wreckage, a voice drifted out of the dark.
The speaker stepped slowly into view. The face was, of all things, familiar. It was the aide who served under Elder Mun Il-pyeong.
"Not bad."
The aide fixed Yuhyeon with a bleak stare. Of course Yuhyeon hadn't dodged on purpose. His absurd Luck stat had simply kicked in for once.
"Hah… haha. That was a pretty sharp attack."
Still, he made no effort to admit it had been pure luck. He smirked at the aide and rose to his feet with deliberate calm. Fights were about momentum. He refused to give any of it away.
"How does a Qi Condensation two-star see through the presence of a Hidden Soul Covering? Do you have some treasure that sharpens your spiritual sense?"
The aide tilted his head. The Hidden Soul Covering was an artifact that masked both spiritual sense and spiritual energy — common enough, and useful enough, that plenty of people carried one. With it active, Yuhyeon should never have detected him.
"That's none of your business, Senior. What I want to know is why you attacked me."
"Nothing special. Elder Mun ordered me to keep watch on you."
At a glance, the aide looked to be at least mid-stage Qi Condensation — five stars, minimum. Unsure when the next strike would come, Yuhyeon kept his guard up as he spoke.
"On someone like me?"
"Tch. That's what you get for getting on Elder Mun's bad side. I serve him, but once that man marks you, he never lets go. A truly exhausting person."
The aide clicked his tongue as if he genuinely pitied Yuhyeon. The pity, at least, seemed real.
"So why insult Elder Mun in the first place?"
"What insult did I give him?"
"He thought you had a Heavenly Spiritual Root and dragged you in front of the sect master — only to embarrass himself. That humiliation stuck with him."
"And for that he put a tail on me?"
"Well, strictly speaking, surveillance. Elder Mun ordered the outer disciples to ignore you. He told me to watch for anyone who broke that order — anyone who dared treat you with even a scrap of kindness."
"Even when I leave the sect?"
"Yes. You might run into sect members outside."
What a vicious bastard. Yuhyeon ground his teeth. The man had embarrassed himself with his own delusion, then dumped the blame on Yuhyeon and decided to make his life hell. He had never imagined that the outer disciples' cold shoulder had been an order from Elder Mun Il-pyeong himself.
It was petty beyond belief — but once he framed it as standard xianxia behavior, it made a depressing kind of sense.
"You're being awfully forthcoming, Senior."
"Why do you think I'm telling you all this?"
"Because you're going to silence me permanently?"
"Oh. You're sharper than you look."
The aide smiled. Yuhyeon shook his head.
"Did Elder Mun actually order you to kill me?"
"No. He did not."
Yuhyeon could read the man's thoughts like an open book. It was obvious enough.
"You just wanted the gloves that came out of the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record, so you decided to kill me for them."
"Ooh. Very sharp indeed. Correct. An artifact born from the secret of an ancient record — anyone can see it's extraordinary."
In other words, this guy had nothing to do with Elder Mun's orders. He simply wanted the gloves for himself. Another specimen of the xianxia average — Seonpyeong, pure and simple.
"But the Ink Spirit Cryptic Record belongs to the Baekun Sect. Aren't you supposed to turn the gloves in?"
"Heh heh. The Baekun Sect? I can always just walk away. The Crescent Moon Small Blade is a fine dharma treasure, sure — but I doubt it's better than an ancient relic."
"Usually true."
"Then be a good boy and die quietly. I still have a conscience, so I'll make it painless."
"You crazy bastard."
Yuhyeon laughed in sheer disbelief.
"I never imagined the word 'conscience' would come out of that filthy mouth."
"You're asking for death. I was going to make this easy for you."
Killing intent flooded from the aide. The pressure of his aura clarified his realm beyond any doubt. Just as expected: Qi Condensation five-star.
"A Qi Condensation two-star cannot defeat a five-star without a mythic-grade treasure. If you're clinging to any foolish hope, abandon it now."
"Yeah, usually."
Yuhyeon rolled his wrists. Slowly, he began to draw up his energy — and the True Dragon Ascending Heaven-Shocking Art with it.
"…?"
The aide had been smirking. As Yuhyeon's power kept climbing, the look in his eyes changed. He had expected it to cap out around two-star. It didn't stop.
"…You— you— what the hell—?"
A month ago, at the entrance ceremony, this same aide had confirmed Yuhyeon was only two-star. Jumping this many stages in a single month was impossible.
White energy from the True Dragon Ascending Heaven-Shocking Art spilled from Yuhyeon's breath, coiled around his body, and sank back into his skin. His eyes snapped open, blazing with light. The aide spoke in a daze.
"…Four-star?"
"One star difference. Manageable, don't you think?"
Yuhyeon smiled at him. Goosebumps raced down the aide's spine.