The starting point is auspicious; the fiancée will not call off the engagement.

When Fang Zhou returned to the small building, Moonshadow Cat was already asleep on his shoulder. Its tail drooped behind him, swaying gently with his steps.

He placed the cat bed in the corner of the bedroom, laid out a soft cushion, and then gently lifted the furry ball off his shoulder and put it in the bed. As the cat was being moved, it opened one eye, looked at him, and then closed it again.

Fang Zhou squatted by the nest for a while to make sure it wouldn't wake up anytime soon, then got up and went out.

The administrative hall of Cheng'an City was located next to the central square of the city. When Fang Zhou walked in, there were quite a few people in the hall. Behind the counter sat several disciples of the Wansheng Sect, processing the documents at hand.

Fang Zhou stood in front of the counter for a moment, and a female disciple who looked to be in her early twenties looked up at him.

"Fellow Daoist, are you here to accept a mission?"

"Yes," Fang Zhou said. "I need a mission certificate to participate in the Wansheng Sect's entrance examination."

The female disciple nodded, pulled a booklet from under the counter, and turned to the latest page: "How should I address you, fellow Daoist? Where in Cheng'an City are you currently residing?"

Fang Zhou. Resides in Building 5, East Third Street.

The female disciple picked up her pen to take notes and then asked, "What kind of mission does Fellow Daoist Fang want to take? Missions in the Affairs Hall are divided into two categories: doing good and eliminating evil."

Charity tasks mainly involve doing volunteer work in the city, such as teaching in schools, helping out at clinics, or assisting in market management. The required duration is at least one hundred hours, and the recipient must sign and certify the task upon completion.

"Evil-eliminating missions involve venturing out of the city to eliminate rampaging monsters or rogue cultivators in the surrounding area; completing one mission is sufficient."

Fang Zhou thought for a moment: "Eliminate evil."

The female disciple was not surprised by this choice. Most of the rogue cultivators who came to the Affairs Hall to accept tasks would choose to eliminate evil. One hundred hours of volunteer service sounded simple, but it was still too slow for impatient people.

She turned to the task list page in the booklet and pushed it in front of Fang Zhou: "These are the tasks that haven't been claimed yet. Fellow Daoist Fang can take a look."

Fang Zhou glanced down at the list, which contained a dozen or so items, mostly extermination missions such as "Monsters have appeared a hundred miles west of the city" and "Rogue cultivators are entrenched in the abandoned mine in the southern suburbs".

Each listing indicates the duration of the stay and the corresponding late payment fee. The lowest late payment fee is 50,000 spirit coins, while the longest one has been listed for over a month, with a late payment fee as high as 300,000 spirit coins.

"Detention fee?" Fang Zhou looked up.

Before the female disciple could speak, a middle-aged deacon walked over, carrying a teapot, and began to speak: "Is this your first time visiting the Affairs Hall, fellow Daoist?"

The middle-aged deacon looked to be in his forties, with a calm smile on his face. The pattern on his cuffs was two more than the others, indicating that he was probably at the manager level.

He walked to the counter, poured himself another cup of tea, and then began to explain slowly and deliberately.

"This late fee is basically a deposit."

There was no such rule before. Once a task was reported, a disciple from the sect would take care of it on the same day. There was never any such thing as delays.

Later, for a period of time, the number of independent cultivators and students coming to Cheng'an City suddenly increased. Some people in the sects started to suggest opening up some simple extermination missions to non-sect cultivators, giving those who wanted to study a chance to prove themselves.

After some discussion, the sect specifically designated a new type of mission: annihilation missions that, if left unattended, would cause losses but would not harm anyone.

He took a sip of tea and continued, "But problems also arose. After the tasks were assigned, some people accepted them but didn't rush to do them, dragging their feet and not making any progress for ten days or half a month."

But those demonic beasts and rogue cultivators won't wait for you; they'll wreak havoc on crops and harass passersby as they please. The sect had no choice but to establish this "staying fee" rule: a fee is paid when accepting a mission, and fully refunded upon completion.

If completed within the specified time, all spirit coins will be refunded in full. The longer it drags on, the more will be deducted. If the task is not completed by the deadline, the late payment fee will go to the Affairs Hall, and the task will be reassigned to someone else.

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhou suddenly understood that this rule was clearly aimed at outsiders like him.

Disciples of the Wansheng Sect are not required to pay a late fee when carrying out missions, because the sect has a natural constraint on its own disciples. There will be punishment for failure to complete the mission, and accountability for poor performance.

However, since independent cultivators and students from outside the sect have no affiliation with the sect and there are no means of restraint, this method was devised.

In other words, this 100,000 spirit coins is a "credit deposit." If you don't trust someone, you have to deposit money before doing anything.

"Fellow Daoist, have you made up your mind?" The female disciple pushed the booklet forward again.

Fang Zhou looked down and scanned the task list again. The longest one, a one-month delay, was for a second-tier demonic beast active in a certain area of ​​the north of the city, with a delay fee of 300,000.

The shortest one was posted just three hours ago: "Clearing out a nest of demon rats in the western suburbs, with a fine of 100,000." He pointed to that one.

"this."

The female disciple glanced at it and made a note in the booklet: "Western Suburbs Demon Rats, second-tier demon beasts, with a population of approximately ten to twenty, low risk level. The completion standard is to exterminate all the demon rats and bring back the Rat King's inner core as proof. Time limit: three days. Detention fee: 100,000 spirit coins, fully refunded upon completion."

Fang Zhou took out a spirit card from his sleeve and handed it over.

The female disciple took the spirit card and traced it on the array plate; the spirit rune numbers jumped. She stamped the booklet, wrote a mission certificate, and handed it to him.

Fang Zhou took the voucher and glanced at it. It listed the task details, deadline, and completion criteria, with a line at the bottom stating: "If the task is not completed by the deadline, the late payment fee will not be refunded."

He put the voucher into his sleeve, turned around, and walked out of the office.

The afternoon sun shone brightly in Cheng'an City, and the spirit array in the square was still slowly rotating in mid-air.

Fang Zhou stood on the steps, squinting at the sky. The demon rat's lair was in the western suburbs, not far from the city; it wouldn't take long to reach it by plane. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, please wait!"

The middle-aged manager jogged out of the office, carrying a teapot, and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoist Fang, there's something I forgot to remind you of earlier."

Fang Zhou stopped in his tracks.

"That den of demon rats in the western suburbs was mentioned in the notes when it was posted," the middle-aged manager said, his expression becoming more serious than before. "The western suburbs have been rather unsettled lately. A few days ago, a caravan was attacked nearby, and two people were injured. Although it's not yet certain if it's the same group of demon rats, you'd better be extra careful if you go alone."

Fang Zhou nodded: "Thank you for the reminder."

The middle-aged manager glanced at him, smiled, and patted him on the shoulder: "Go on. Remember to come to the administration office to report your tasks when you get back."

Fang Zhou responded and walked along the main street toward the city gate. After taking two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

The middle-aged manager was still standing there, holding the teapot, watching his back with a subtle expression on his face, as if he was pondering something.

Seeing Fang Zhou turn around, he waved his hand, turned around with a smile, and slowly strolled back to the office.

Fang Zhou withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. For a peak Dharma Aspect cultivator to wipe out a nest of second-tier demon rats was probably like using a laser cannon to shoot mosquitoes.

That's fine too; the simpler the task, the faster he can get the certificate. He just needs to be careful not to make too much of a fuss.