Scourge Messenger

Chapter 252 Jie Huangchao

The afternoons are always the time for the rat monk, and the peaceful life of Yan Qing's entire family is entirely due to the rat monk's hard work.

However, Yan Qing now has two more female thieves on his side, and plans to give Rat Monk more responsibilities. The second-tier secret realm 'Stone Sinking Stream' can no longer keep up with Yan Qing's ever-increasing consumption needs. It's time for Rat Monk to step into the third-tier secret realm 'Lake Heart Island'.

If it were anyone else, their second-stage cultivation would be enough to join a third-stage secret realm team. However, the Rat Monk's connections have become an obstacle. After all, he is Shang Xuanwen's savior, and he is only a second-stage cultivator. What if something goes wrong if he is placed in a third-stage secret realm team? No one wants to offend the most prestigious prime minister in the last fifty years.

Unless the rat monk can turn three times.

Yan Qing did indeed have a way to get him to the third rank, but anyone with a brain would know that this would definitely arouse suspicion. The first and second ranks were fine; merchants could easily feed them to achieve that. But to reach the third rank, one could only feed him secret techniques and research books. Even if the Rat Monk saved Shang Xuanwen, or even if the Rat Monk possessed Shang Xuanwen, he still wouldn't be able to produce such resources.

If it's not from studying books but from innate talent, then it's even more outrageous. The Rat Monk has only been a messenger for less than a month, yet he comprehended and mastered two secret techniques in just one month. Is this even human? I think you're a celestial being descended to earth, a seventh-level immortal lord looking for fun.

But then again, what does it matter if we're suspected?

Yan Qing fell into deep thought. There were two possible consequences of being suspected: one was that the Rat Monk, as a prodigy, would be beheaded and taken in as a dog; the other was that the Rat Monk, as a prodigy, would be fawned over by the Liang Kingdom. However, with Shang Xuanwen as a 'bond', the former was unlikely to happen.

Or, to put it another way, if the former scenario were to actually happen, Yan Qing would also have a good time, and the newly promoted third-tier legendary Bingzi Jiaolin would be able to drink blood again, hehehe.

However, after much deliberation, Yan Qing suppressed this idea. After all, 'Shi Chenxi' was currently his biggest source of income, and he couldn't afford to take unnecessary risks. On the other hand, the Night Four Rivers and Ten Rabbits heroine could afford to take risks; a small Zhen San Shan Secret Realm was no longer worth any lingering over.

We're only 6 attempts away from the milestone of 'Famous Town of Three Mountains'. A little effort tonight, a little more tomorrow morning, and we'll be done. If Gai Louxian doesn't let them go to the new secret realm, Yan Qing will throw a tantrum… Oh well, Gai Louxian is actually quite nice. I've gotten a bit attached to this military camp after staying here so long. I'll just leave sometime tonight.

Once Jiang Shi and the others find the second-stage secret realm as a backup plan, Yan Qing will dare to send Rat Monk to test Liang Kingdom. If he succeeds, he will make a fortune; if he fails, he will rage. No matter what, Yan Qing will win.

Yan Qing remembered something, logged into Jiang Shi's account, and clicked on the [Team - Team Tasks] interface.

Task 1, recruiting three team members, has been completed, and no new tasks have been generated. This means that the team level cannot be increased without completing Task 2.

Yan Qing opened the [Team Skills] interface and found that the experience progress bars for [Immortal Journey] and [Heart Lock] had both increased. However, [Immortal Journey] was at 20% and [Heart Lock] was at 10%, meaning that she would need to activate [Immortal Journey] 4 more times and [Heart Lock] 9 more times to upgrade the skills. Alternatively, Yan Qing could directly add the 1 team skill point rewarded in the announcement.

If I wait until my skills are at a higher level before using skill points to upgrade them, would it be more profitable?
Yan Qing noticed a question mark next to the experience bar. Clicking it revealed an explanation of the situation. When team skills are upgraded using skill points, it's like gaining an extra level of experience out of thin air. Therefore, the original experience is added to the existing experience. However, the skill points required for each level are cumulative. Upgrading from level 1 to level 2 requires 1 skill point, upgrading from level 2 to level 3 requires 2 skill points, and so on. Therefore, the benefit generated by each skill point is the same.

Just by reading the introduction, you can feel the immense effort required to level up Yan Qing. You either slowly improve your skills and experience or spend a lot of skill points to level up, and either way, it takes a long time.

Since the benefits of adding points are the same, Yan Qing was too lazy to think too much and decided to add the skill points to [Immortal Travel].

"Immortal Journey Lv2: Teleports a member of the team to your side, or teleports you to a member of the team. Activation requires mutual consent and takes 25 seconds. No other actions can be performed while this skill is active, and it can be interrupted. After using this skill, all team skills have a 20-hour cooldown."

Oh ho, not bad.

Teleportation time reduced by 5 seconds, cooldown time reduced by 4 hours—this skill point is well worth it. However, Yan Qing also knows that this is only because [Immortal Travel] has a large potential for improvement; the benefits are definitely significant in the first few levels, but once a certain threshold is crossed, the benefits will drop sharply.

Especially regarding teleportation time, there's little difference between ten, twenty, and thirty seconds; you still have to stay in a safe place to activate it, and once discovered by the enemy, you're at the mercy of fate. However, when it's less than ten seconds, players can use various divine communication items to get through this dangerous period. Yan Qing estimates that the teleportation time for a max-level Immortal Traveler is around 5-10 seconds, which can be considered as a tactical skill.

The team's experience was full, and they were leveling up to level 2. Vice President Jiang Shi was unable to operate the system, so Yan Qing had to use the Disaster Token, which, as expected, popped up a message:

"Natural Disaster Organization promoted to Level 2"

You can choose one of the following three rewards:

"① Team members + 3"

"②Gain 1 Team Skill Point"

"③ Gain 10 team experience points"

That's interesting. The first two are self-explanatory, but the third reward—experience points—is intriguing.

If Yan Qing selects all the reward points along the way, wouldn't he just become lonely?
Experience is used to level up, and leveling up rewards experience; it's like a nested snake doll.

Based on Yan Qing's speculation, either high-level teams have other privileges, or there are special rewards when reaching key levels; otherwise, it's inexplicable that team experience can be converted into rewards. However, Yan Qing didn't have much to think about and decisively chose ① +3 team members, expanding the team to 8 people.

The more people in the team, the more targets [Xianyou] can choose. Yanqing can use his alt account as a teleportation array to travel to various places in the Central Plains.

Three new tasks appeared on the 'Team Tasks' screen:
[Five members in the team are above level 30. Reward: Team Experience +10]

[Upgrade any two team skills by 1 level. Reward: Team Experience +10]

[Complete any instance with a team of three or more members (excluding non-team members) and receive a reward of +10 team experience.]

The difficulty gradually increases, but it's still at a charity level; anyone can complete it with a little time. The easiest task is the third one. Yan Qing only needs to group his alt accounts together to conquer the Zhen San Shan Secret Realm. It just feels a bit strange, like eating Haidilao alone and having the staff put a plush toy across from you. Even though you're alone, you have to pretend you're eating hot pot with friends.

It was as desolate as the Bashan-Chushui region!
It was almost time, so Yan Qingqie returned to the Rat Monk's account. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Sun Chaozong and the others pacing anxiously at the door.

Because Yan Qing might oversleep, Rat Monk had already explained to the others that he might meditate a little later today and hoped everyone would wait for him. As the top author who had reduced 'Shi Chenxi' from updating once every two days to once a day, all the teams were counting on Rat Monk to carry the load, so such a request was naturally acceptable.

"Master, you're finally back!" Sun Chaozong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Rat Monk come out, and pulled him along, saying, "The Grand Commander wants to see you! It's not too late to go now! A very important person has arrived!"

He lowered his voice: "Haven't you always wanted to go to 'Lake Island'? Now you have the chance!"

The 3rd level secret realm of Xuanwu Lake Military Town, 'Lake Heart Island'?!

The rat monk immediately became curious: "What important figure could possibly grant this humble monk permission to enter the island in the middle of the lake? Could it be Prime Minister Shang?"

"Hehe, you'll see when you get there. I, Old Sun, will also get to ride on the coattails of this important person and bask in his glory."

Sun Chaozong, a filthy soldier, respects no one but Heaven and Earth, except for the renowned strongman in Xuanwu Lake Military Town. Could it be that he is a peak third-level cultivator on par with the Grand Commander, who can earn such high praise from him?

The Xuanwu Lake military town, which encompasses three secret realms, is very large. It took them a quarter of an hour to run at full speed to reach the lakeside. The entrance to the secret realm on the island in the center of the lake is on a small path in the middle of the lake. The military town has built a half-mile-long water corridor, which is maintained daily and repaired monthly, and it is as stable as flat ground when you step on it.

Upon arriving at the island in the middle of the lake, Yan Qing immediately saw Jie Julu, the commander of Xuanwu Lake Military Town. This commander was dressed in a traditional Chinese medicine robe and carried a medicine pouch and gourd. He looked like an ordinary doctor, but he was actually a peak third-stage cultivator in Liang Kingdom, the current head of the Jie family, and was invincible in the world twenty years ago. He was once known as one of the "Northern Ying Le and Southern Julu" in Liang Kingdom, a Foundation Establishment seed. Of course, no one calls him that anymore.

However, Jie Julu was not the center of attention on the island in the lake at this moment. Everyone's gaze, including his, was focused on another old man with white hair and beard, resembling a lion. The old man was only wearing a dark blue training uniform. His body was extremely strong, and he stood barefoot on the ground. Anyone who saw him would think of the words "standing tall and upright".

His existence was like a pillar connecting heaven and earth!

When Yan Qing saw it, the old man also turned to look at the Rat Monk. Suddenly, countless tear-like marks appeared on the game interface, and a new negative status, 'Fear,' appeared on the health bar in the lower left corner. Any operation could potentially fail 50% of the time—his mere gaze could cause mortals to fall into a negative status!
Just then, the old man transformed into a black shadow and passed through the crowd, throwing a punch at the Rat Monk! Yan Qing didn't panic and accurately pressed the dodge button twice in succession, allowing the Rat Monk to successfully dodge the old man's attack.

"Very good." The old man nodded slightly and pointed at the rat monk. "Monk, not bad."

Suddenly, a golden chrysanthemum appeared on the Rat Monk's shoulder. The 'Fear' status disappeared, and a buff called 'Golden Armor' was added. The defensive barrier gained 50% damage reduction, and 10% of the damage received was converted into life healing, lasting for... 7 days!
"Greetings, General Chongtian!"

While the Rat Monk was still in a daze, Sun Chaozong quickly pulled him down to kneel and pay his respects. The old man said nothing, and strode into the entrance of the secret realm with his head held high. At this moment, the Great Commander, the Giant Deer of the Realm, came over to help the Rat Monk and the other man up, and laughed, "You were startled, weren't you? My ancestor likes to scare people like this. Most people can't pass his test... Rat Monk, you are one of the few exceptions."

"Our ancestor has nothing better to do this time and is willing to help us with the Sea Heart Island dungeon. I remembered that you have applied to join the third job advancement team many times, so I'll let you and Old Sun come and see for yourselves."

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced him to you yet. That person just now was our Jie family's ancestor, a Foundation Establishment True Person who once fought alongside Emperor Liang and was given the title of Great General Soaring to the Heavens."

"Boundary Huang Chao".

(End of this chapter)