***
At noon, in the lobby of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Zuo Yuning supported her head with one hand and let out a bored yawn.
This job was good, but it was far too leisurely on a normal day.
Her other hand held a mobile phone, and she was currently flipping through a novel that had been very popular recently.
She could not help but wonder in her heart when she would be able to become a great cultivator like the one in the book, traveling freely with a sword while slaying demons and protecting the Dao.
Thud! Thud!
A sudden sound caused her to shudder and give a violent start.
When she turned her head, she saw a weirdo whose head was wrapped in bandages, leaving not even a single gap, standing outside.
Zuo Yuning stood up abruptly.
"Bold monster! How dare you cause trouble in the Sword Sect's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall?"
"???"
He wondered if the new generation of Sword Sect disciples all spoke in this manner.
Li Fengping took out the blue jade plaque that represented his identity.
"I am not a monster; I am here to handle business."
"..."
This was very embarrassing.
"So it is Martial Uncle; do you have any requirements?"
Zuo Yuning’s face turned red, and her toes gripped the ground as she wished she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.
She hurriedly took the jade plaque and pulled up the identity information.
Name: Li Fengping.
Boundary: Nascent Soul.
Identity: Inner Disciple.
Subsequently, she once again took out that instrument for identifying magical power.
"Please inject a wisp of magical power, Martial Uncle, to confirm your identity."
Li Fengping had performed many missions in the past, so he was quite familiar with the process.
As he injected a wisp of magical power, text immediately appeared upon the computer screen.
"Authentication passed."
It was quite fast this time, Zuo Yuning murmured in her heart.
"May I ask what business Martial Uncle needs to handle?"
"Two of my Senior Brothers and I came to Xuanjian City to perform a mission, but a bit of a situation occurred with my two Senior Brothers' side by accident."
"Therefore, I wish to contact some fellow disciples of the Nascent Soul stage in the vicinity to help."
As he spoke, Li Fengping also took out that token of the Lin family.
"The specific mission content and rewards can be negotiated after we meet."
Something of the Lin family?
Emm...
It seemed that among the people caught for speeding last night, there was one surnamed Lin.
Could it be that the two Senior Brothers he spoke of were the two sword cultivators caught for speeding last night?
"Alright, I will notify the nearby Nascent Soul Martial Uncles of the news. Please wait a moment."
Zuo Yuning wore a professional smile upon her face.
"I will trouble you then."
Li Fengping nodded his head and turned to walk out, preparing to sit in the lobby of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall to wait for news.
It was impossible for him to go outside; it seemed that he and his two Senior Brothers had been quite unlucky recently.
Inside the Sword Sect's villa residential area, Xu Xing had spent the entire morning arranging everything using the identity of Xu Sandao.
At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa browsing the Spirit Network.
However, since Xu Sandao was ostensibly an outer sect deacon of the Nascent Soul stage, he naturally received the message sent by the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
"An inner disciple looking for people to perform a mission."
There was also the photograph that came along with the message, which showed an exquisite golden jade plaque with the character for 'Lin' engraved upon it.
Xu Xing rose from the sofa and looked outside.
"That is fine too."
After replying to the message, he walked directly outside.
The Miscellaneous Affairs Hall building.
"Martial Uncle Sandao, please follow me this way."
Zuo Yuning was right outside the building, and upon seeing Xu Xing, she immediately stepped forward to lead the way.
However... What kind of address was 'Martial Uncle Sandao'?
Normally, should it not be Martial Uncle Xu?
However, it was only a minor matter, so he did not pay it much attention, following Zuo Yuning into a prepared reception hall.
Li Fengping’s special appearance caused him to take a few extra glances.
The reputation of the Lin family was still very useful; aside from himself, five other Nascent Soul sword cultivators had arrived.
The auras of the five people were uneven; the strongest was a burly man wearing a suit, who was already at the late stage of the Nascent Soul.
His robust muscles stretched the suit tightly; if not for that piercing sword intent, others might have mistaken him for a body cultivator.
The auras of the other four were also not weak, and among them were two who should be brothers, as their appearances looked as though they were carved from the same mold.
They were all observing people other than themselves.
Seven Nascent Soul sword cultivators; this was already an extremely powerful force within Xuanjian City.
"Greetings to several Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters; I am Li Fengping."
Li Fengping cupped his hands.
The youngest person here was older than him, and since everyone's cultivation realm was similar, there was no problem with addressing them in this way.
"Are you not a member of the Lin family?"
The burly man asked directly.
"I am not, but my Senior Brother is. My Senior Brother said that as long as you are willing to help, all the contribution points for this mission will belong to you, and there will also be additional rewards."
So good?
Had a meat pie fallen from the sky?
"Junior Brother Li, if I am not mistaken, you seem to be injured."
The one speaking was a sword cultivator with a deathly pale face, who should have practiced an Yin-type baleful sword art, as a wisp of baleful aura lingered between his brows.
"Is your injury related to this mission?"
"It is unrelated."
Li Fengping gritted his teeth; he felt aggrieved whenever he thought of this.
"I was beaten by a madman who popped out from who-knows-where."
"Since that is the case, how can you be certain, Junior Brother, that the person was not coming for your mission?"
"..."
He truly did not want to say it, but given the current situation, he had no choice but to speak.
"Because after that person attacked me, he said he mistook me for someone else and even gave me a pill. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for my injuries to heal so quickly."
It was actually the truth; Xu Xing felt a bit amused, as this unlucky child truly had been beaten.
Quietly stalking someone's sister; if you aren't beaten, then who is?
However, from his perspective, it was indeed very baffling.
Xu Xing knew the cause and effect, but the others were not clear and all felt that Li Fengping was hiding something.
Ultimately, it was a heroic-looking female sword cultivator who spoke: "Please first introduce the mission content, Junior Brother."
She carried a black longsword upon her back; her features were heroic and upright, and her eyes were a beautiful amber color with divine light flowing within them, indicating that she had practiced a corresponding divine ability.
"Alright."
Li Fengping hurriedly explained, fearing that the people would leave.
"The investigation mission that my two Senior Brothers and I accepted was issued by an Elder. That Elder once discovered a secret realm within Xuanjian City."
"After he made a great effort to enter it, he found nothing. After returning to the sect, he researched the sect's ancient records and only then discovered that the secret realm was actually someone nurturing a sword."
"He originally wanted to come and investigate personally, but there were matters within the sect that required his attention and he could not leave, so he issued the mission."
"If several Senior Brothers are willing to go, I will send the information of the secret realm to you."
He introduced the mission simply without any extra words; he truly was not very good at socializing with people, as such matters were usually handled by Senior Brother Feng.
"I am not interested."
The burly man shook his head, turned around, and left.
The two sword cultivators who looked very similar exchanged a glance and also turned to leave.
"I am also not interested."
The pale-faced person also left.
The conditions were good, but he did not trust them, and since Li Fengping was not a member of the Lin family, there was no need to take risks for this small amount of contribution points.
Li Fengping could only look at the remaining two people; if they also left, he would truly have no way.
"I am quite interested."
Naturally, it was impossible for Xu Xing to leave.
"Count me in."
That female sword cultivator also had no intention of leaving.
Phew—
It was fortunate that, including himself, three people had finally been gathered.
"Thank you, Senior Brother and Senior Sister," Li Fengping said solemnly.
"You're welcome."
The female sword cultivator nodded her head and then extended her hand toward Xu Xing.
"Jiang Jing."
Xu Xing shook hands with her.
"Xu Sandao."
Hmm?
Jiang Jing and Li Fengping were both startled at the same time, just like Zuo Yuning had been previously.
As a sword cultivator, you have such a name?
I have updated the internal glossary with "Jiang Jing" and the "Sword Nurturing" secret realm plot point. I am ready for the next segment.