Scourge Messenger

Chapter 240 Speaking in unison
In the case of the theft of the Heaven Sword, Yan Qing had the most thief points, with 30 points, while Yao Shiyuan was second with 20 points. The difference between them was very small.

Although Yan Qing killed the three constables of the Divine Marquis's Mansion in this mission, Yao Shiyuan also killed Duke Chu Luoyan of Wei, so the difficulty of the two missions was roughly the same. However, Yao Shiyuan was responsible for the most important part of the mission: obtaining rare iron from the lava pool.

Safeguarding mission items is already a major bonus point in missions, especially given the difficulty of obtaining them. No one but the pharmacist would be willing to do it, so it's only natural that she gets a lot of points here. Later, she even kicked Yan Qing aside to protect her teammates, causing herself to be entangled by Jin Suo. Disguise, fight, acquire, protect—she participated in every aspect of the mission. Adding all these up, it wouldn't be surprising if she got 100 points.

Logically, since they have the same number of points, it means they are both eligible to compete for the legendary token reward of this mission.

But the atmosphere in the Thieves' Hall was quite subtle at this moment. Ying Rushi and Shang Xinlei's gazes swept back and forth between the two of them, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

If we only look at the merits of this mission, Yaoshiyuan is undoubtedly in first place with 80 points; looking at past accumulation, Yaoshiyuan has never slacked off in a single mission; looking at strength, Yaoshiyuan has absorbed the third transformation of the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends, making him the closest to Foundation Establishment among thieves; looking at equipment, Yaoshiyuan also lacks suitable weapons and tokens.

In any other mission, it would be perfectly reasonable for the apothecary to bid for the legendary item, without any room for argument... but this time is a little different.

Because the Thieves' House only needs to calculate points, while the thieves have much more to consider.

Even though the pharmacist was willing to take 80 points in the mission, everyone knew that Yan Qing paid the most in this mission: he crushed the only remaining return token and used it to cheat Master Suolong.

It can be said that without Yan Qing's decisive action, not only would the mission have failed, but Ying Rushi and Yaoshiyuan would also have been left in the enraged Chang'an City, awaiting the wrath of Master Suolong.

How should the value of a Return Order be measured? As long as you can activate the Return Order first, no one in the world can stop you, not even a Foundation Establishment messenger can only watch you escape... At least, it should be measured in this way, because nothing in her understanding can compare to the Return Order. If someone is willing to sell it, the Foundation Establishment members of the three royal families should be happy to exchange their entire country for a Return Order, right?
Moreover, Yan Qing used his last Return Token, and from then on, he would never have such a life-saving means again... This was more than just a Return Token; it was practically his only way out!
Although the Thieves' House operates on an auction system, with the best winning, everyone has their own sense of right and wrong. Everyone knows who has been wronged and who deserves the reward. If Yan Qing is the only one with the highest score, he will undoubtedly receive the biggest reward for this mission.

However, everyone knew that the pharmacist needed this custom-made keepsake even more than he did.

Yan Qing already possessed the Bingzi Pepper Forest sword, which, even after being enhanced to a second-tier legendary weapon by the Red Furnace Fire Essence, remained the most formidable weapon in the Thieves' Clan, surpassing even the Heaven-Slaying Sword. For him, acquiring another third-tier legendary weapon would be merely icing on the cake, but for Yao Shiyuan, it would represent a qualitative leap in his strength.

Whoever receives the customized keepsake is truly deserving, while whoever receives it is letting the other person down.

In the unspoken silence, the glowing disc on the ceiling of the Thieves' Hall opened, and four tokens fell down, placed alongside the rare iron.

"Based on the thieves' performance in completing their missions, the Thieves' House will select four items from the vault, as well as a legendary token made from rare iron, as a reward."

"Rare Iron"

"Rank: Sixth-Rank Rare Item"

Purpose: To create a unique legendary token based on the messenger's abilities.

/
"Earth's Vein Inauspicious Energy"

Conditions of use: None

"Effect: Transforms into the Earthly Fiend Spirit Object designated by the user."

"Evaluation: This is a rare treasure extracted and refined from the earth's veins by an immortal, containing seventy-two transformations."

/
"Red Furnace Fire Essence"

"Usage conditions: Legendary tokens only"

"Effect: Increases the tier of a Legendary item by one level, but permanently reduces its durability. The higher the Legendary tier, the greater the durability reduction."

"Comment: True gold is not afraid of a red-hot furnace, and a red-hot furnace is not afraid of true gold."

/
"Mastering Peerless Secret Techniques"

"Usage requirements: Must have mastered at least one advanced skill"

"Effect: Based on your skill level, immediately comprehend and master a peerless secret technique that you have not yet mastered."

"Evaluation: What suits you best must be the best, and what suits you best must also be the strongest!"

/
"cluster amaryllis"

Conditions of use: None

"Effect: When a living being dies around you, the Spider Lily will absorb its overflowing life force. The higher the level, the more life force it will absorb. Depending on the degree to which the Spider Lily is in bloom, your health and spirit will be increased accordingly. The more life force it absorbs, the greater the Spider Lily's benefit will be, with no upper limit."

"Comment: The road to the underworld is covered with fields of spider lilies, but this is the only withered one. Perhaps it holds the secret to the underworld."

Everyone gasped as they looked at the stuffed green peppers. Almost everyone leaned forward instinctively, their eyes filled with longing as they gazed at the reward.

They truly deserved the reward for completing such a difficult task; the quality of the reward was so high that even Enlightenment Pills weren't qualified to enter the pool.

"Earthly Vein Qi" goes without saying; aside from those like Yaoshi Yuan who have already absorbed the Heavenly and Earthly Qi, any messenger aiming to establish a foundation would find it hard to look away. Specific Earthly Qi means that finding any Heavenly Qi guarantees the formation of a foundation!
"Red Furnace Fire Essence" is an old face, but unlike Enlightenment Pills which are just extras, no one would be surprised if this thing stayed in the reward pool. After all, it can directly raise the token to a higher realm at a very low cost, and no one would be without it.

The "Mastery Book of Peerless Secret Techniques" is also something they desperately need. Even after the third reincarnation, they still rely on secret techniques to increase their level until their strength can no longer advance. Comprehending and mastering secret techniques can immediately increase their level by a large margin, saving them a lot of time... and time is exactly what they lack most.

Moreover, this isn't just any ordinary secret technique; it's an unparalleled one. While the exact nature of its unparalleled power remains unknown, it's enough to make everyone's hearts race with anticipation.

The "Red Spider Lily" is the most unfamiliar reward, but its value is undeniably high based solely on the description of "unlimited potential." Moreover, unlike the previous three rewards, the Red Spider Lily can be used even after Foundation Establishment, making it a long-term investment that will never lose money.

However, no matter how good these things are, they all pale in comparison to "rare iron".

Customize your own legendary token based on the messenger's abilities!
"The rewards for this mission are as follows: Rare Iron, Earthly Fiend Spiritual Energy, Crimson Furnace Fire Essence, Peerless Secret Technique Mastery Book, and Otherworldly Flower."

"Now is the auction phase. You can bid for items using your thief points. The minimum bid is 15 points, and each bid increment must be at least 5 points. Thieves who have already bid on an item will have priority bidding in the next round."

"The first item is rare iron. Thieves, please make your bids."

The moment the auction was announced in the Thieves' Hall, Ying Rushi and Shang Xinlei held their breath, listening intently to see who would be the first to bid.

A second passed, and the Thieves' Hall remained silent.

Everyone stared in astonishment at Yan Qing and Yao Shiyuan. They looked at each other in surprise, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes—wait for the other to bid first, then pretend to be a step behind and naturally give up the legendary token.

It's only natural that the pharmacist would back down here.

Although she desperately needed a legendary token, how could she ignore Yan Qing's sacrifice when even others could see it? Even if he was responsible for completing the mission, the credit for the Return Token had already been attributed to the Thieves' House, but without the Calamity Organization's [Love Lock], the Pharmacist would have long since turned into charred remains in the lava pool.

No matter how important the legendary token is, it can't compare to her life.

This doesn't even include the Bunny Girl incident... However, Yan Qing never asked if the Bunny Girl was alright from beginning to end. Even knowing that Yan Qing could communicate with the Bunny Girl, Yao Shiyuan was still very unhappy, so this credit will not be mentioned for now.

All of this means that even if the pharmacist had more points than the pharmacist, she would still willingly give up the custom-made keepsake.

But why did he do that too?
Aren't you a cold-blooded and ruthless mysterious leader? Aren't you a selfish and self-serving mastermind? Why would you give up the most lucrative reward from the Thieves' House for nothing? The Pharmacist stared at Yan Qing's dog-head mask, as if trying to see through his eyes to his thoughts.

However, Yan Qing pretended not to see her, his eyes fixed on the rare iron above the stone table, avoiding any eye contact, as if the ore was something special to him. The pharmacist was both amused and annoyed. "Weren't you very assertive during the mission? Why are you softening up now?"
Do I really have to tell you out loud that I'm giving it to you? You jerk...

"I'll bet 50!"

Shang Xinlei's voice broke the unprecedented silence in the Thieves' Hall, and Thieves' House immediately responded: "50 points for the first time."

Everyone stared at Shang Xinlei in astonishment. Shang Xinlei blinked and said, "Since none of you want it, I'll gladly accept it. Although I'm currently using a legendary token, I think the custom token from the Thieves' House will definitely suit me better."

The pharmacist stared intently at Yan Qing, gesturing for him to quickly announce his price. Yan Qing's eyes flickered; he looked at her, then at Shang Xinlei.

The thief's house said slowly, "50 points for the second time."

You're not thinking of just giving it to the Red Serpent like that, are you?
The pharmacist was indeed willing to give the rare iron to Yan Qing, but why should the Crimson Serpent give it to him? Even if Yan Qing was willing to give it to the Crimson Serpent, it was still not allowed... It was simply not allowed!
If even I'm not worthy of it, then Red Serpent is even less worthy! This is a thief's den, not a place for you two to play house! If you continue like this, then whatever you want to bid on later, I'll fight you to the bitter end and make sure you don't get away with it!
Just then, another slow voice rang out: "I bet 56 points."

Facing everyone's gaze, Ying Ru crossed her arms and smiled slightly: "Although the Heaven-Slaying Sword is indeed excellent, who would look down on a custom-made third-tier legendary weapon? If the Crimson Serpent can be auctioned, then so can I."

"56 points for the first time." The Thieves Hall immediately responded to this request.

Even Yan Qing couldn't hold back this time. Although Bai Hu was indeed a good teammate, their relationship wasn't good enough for her to transfer such a large share of the benefits. Moreover, Ying Rushi's Heaven-Slaying Sword was even more superior in functionality than Bingzi Jiaolin's. Yan Qing couldn't just watch her take away the custom-made token as well. However, he didn't bid, but instead kept his eyes on Yaoshi Yuan.

Hurry up and bid!
The two stared at each other, but the Thieves' Hall wouldn't let their little schemes linger, and continued to shout, "56 points, second time."

"3rd place with 56 points—"

"I bet 96 points! ×2"

(End of this chapter)