The buff is permanent, and you start the game with a fountain of water.

What's there to hesitate about? Huan Cheng immediately agreed.

"Alright, now that these minor issues are resolved, let's get down to business."

"Is this serious business?" Huan Cheng paused for a moment, then remembered that when he accepted the mission, Elena had mentioned that the City Lord's Mansion had assigned the mission of "Exterminating the Gale Bandits," which seemed to be a way to select outstanding individuals.

Is this a hidden quest being set up?

"It would be foolish to refuse a mission," Huan Cheng straightened his back and said in a deep voice, "If there is any order, I will obey your command, Lord City Lord!"

"Calm down, calm down!"

The city lord smiled and waved for Huan Cheng to sit down, then his smile faded. "Do you know about the Abyss Demons?"

Upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat. Could this mission be to deal with the Abyss Demons?

His tiny arms and legs aren't even enough to fill the teeth of any random abyssal demon!

"I've heard of it; it's said that it almost destroyed the entire Divine Realm ten thousand years ago!"

"Not bad." The city lord gave Huan Cheng a deep look. "Back then, it was thanks to Senior Ji's great power that we were able to successfully defeat the Abyss Demon Clan."

The defeated Abyss Demons retreated into another dimension, gradually forming the Demon Realm. Their wolfish ambitions remained undiminished, constantly preparing a counterattack against the Divine Realm Continent. For millennia, battles have raged at the border between the Demon Realm and the Divine Realm Continent.

"We've gone off on a tangent." The city lord suddenly laughed and said to Huan Cheng, "You're still too weak. The affairs of the Demon Realm are not something you can meddle in."

Huan Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief; he was genuinely afraid that the city lord would order him to attack the Demon Realm right now.

"Besides the demons entrenched in the Demon Realm, there are also many defeated demons hiding in various parts of the Divine Realm Continent."

"For ten thousand years, the major cities have been constantly clearing out the pure demon race, and there are not many pure demons still active in the Divine Realm Continent today."

"What does the city lord mean?" After listening for a while, Huan Cheng became more and more confused, so he simply took the initiative to ask.

The city lord was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Oh dear, people tend to be more verbose as they get older, please don't mind."

"A few days ago, traces of demons were discovered near Qingyang City."

Huan Cheng was taken aback, then twitched his lips. Why did it all come down to fighting the demons? Was the city lord overestimating himself?

"Don't misunderstand!"

Noticing Huan Cheng's unusual expression, the city lord explained, "I've already sent Qing Ao and a few other youngsters to handle the matter of the demons."

Qing Ao... little guy?

Huan Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and he looked at the city lord with a strange gaze.

This refined city lord, who looks no more than thirty, is actually a thousand-year-old demon?

"However, wherever demons pass, demonic energy spreads, corrupting the minds of living beings, especially wild beasts with low intelligence, who are easily corrupted into demons!"

"If this continues, the large number of monsters gathering will inevitably threaten the safety of nearby villages. I need you to go there and eliminate the monsters and demonic energy as soon as possible!"

"I am willing to serve the city lord!"

Huan Cheng first agreed, then frowned and asked, "Qingyang City is full of powerful figures. Not to mention the seniors like Qing Ao, there are many guards in the city who are stronger than me. Why did the city lord entrust such an important task to me?"

The city lord nodded approvingly: "Not bad, you have a very clear mind and can quickly grasp the key to the problem."

With a sigh, the city lord's expression was somewhat complicated: "Not long ago, the Supreme Goddess summoned the Extraordinary Ones to descend, and the rules of the world changed accordingly. Under the constraints of these rules, there are many things we cannot directly intervene in."

The city lord looked at Huan Cheng and sighed, "For example, this time the elimination of demons must be done by the supernatural beings. Unless the demons threaten the main city, we cannot take action."

After a brief explanation, the city lord waved his hand, and a system notification rang in Huan Cheng's ear at just the right moment:

"Ding! Qingxi, the city lord of Qingyang City, has issued you a hidden quest: [Cleanse Demonic Energy]. Do you wish to accept?"

Qingxi?

It seems that Qing Ao, Qing Yue, and the city lord in front of them have a close relationship.

He pondered silently, but acted without the slightest hesitation, decisively accepting the task.

[Cleanse Demonic Energy]: Two months ago, traces of demons were discovered in Hidden Dragon Valley, directly east of Qingyang City. After a fierce battle, the demons were defeated and fled. Please go to Hidden Dragon Valley to cleanse the remaining demonic energy and eliminate the demons infected by it.

Task timeframe: Two months.

Task reward: Unknown.

Mission Penalty: The favorability of all native residents of Qingyang City decreases by 10 points, the Courage Badge is lost, and reputation decreases by 2000 points.

"Ding! Congratulations on unlocking the Merit Shop. You can go to the nearest main city lord's mansion to exchange merit items."

"What is the Merit Shop?"

The mission has a two-month time limit, so there's no need to rush for now. What he cares more about is this so-called merit shop.

"Demons and monsters are the enemies of the entire continent. Killing demons or heavily corrupted monsters will earn you extra merit points in addition to the normal rewards. You can go to the merit point shop to exchange for the equipment, money, skills, items, and so on you need."

VIP Shop?

For some reason, this thought flashed through Huan Cheng's mind.

I glanced at the system panel and sure enough, there was a new item called Merit Points under Reputation Points, which was now showing as zero.

"The monsters in Hidden Dragon Valley are quite strong. Although I don't know why you're suppressing your level, I still suggest you level up to 30 as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult to establish yourself there."

"I see!"

"By the way, I heard from Qing'ao that you've been learning to create your own skills lately? How's it going? Any progress?" Qingxi asked with interest after taking a sip of tea.

After a slight hesitation, Huan Cheng honestly replied, "I accidentally mastered a skill before, which is..."

Before Huan Cheng could finish speaking, Qingxi's face showed a hint of surprise. She put down her teacup and said in a deep voice, "You've already mastered the skill? What are its specific effects?"

"I call it 'Intimidation,' which can scare away weak enemies and has a mocking effect on stronger ones."

"Oh?"

Qingxi showed some curiosity and said to Huan Cheng, "Show me how to do it."

"what?"

Huan Cheng looked somewhat troubled. Only Qingxi and he were present. If he really mocked Qingxi and she killed him in the city lord's mansion, who would he complain to?

Noticing Huan Cheng's hesitation, Qingxi smiled and said, "Don't worry, go ahead and do whatever you want. If it really affects me, I'll give you an extra treasure!"

Seeing Qingxi's confidence, Huan Cheng had no more reservations and stood up, clasping his hands in a fist salute: "Then I'll be rude!"

Having said that, he activated the Abyss Breath, stared intently at the city lord, and with a soft shout, activated [Intimidation].

Given the disparity in strength between Huan Cheng and Qing Xi, intimidation would naturally be ineffective.

The city lord didn't take the threat to heart and continued to leisurely enjoy his tea.

The moment the skill was unleashed, Qingxi's hand holding the teacup paused for a moment, and a flash of anger crossed her eyes.

However, this change was so brief that even Huan Cheng, who had been observing carefully, didn't notice it.

Setting down her teacup, Qingxi stood up, her gaze towards Huan Cheng becoming more serious.

With a flick of his sleeve, an object resembling an eyeball appeared in his hand. He glanced at it with some reluctance, then decisively tossed it to Huan Cheng.

"This little trinket is something I acquired during my travels across the mainland many years ago. It's of little use to me now, so I'm giving it to you as a gift!"

Huan Cheng hurriedly took it, but before he could even examine it, Qingxi continued, "Your situation is special. The experience of creating your own skills is not suitable for you. You should focus on the Abyss Origin and the Lord of the Abyss in your daily practice."

After a pause, Qingxi patted him on the shoulder and said slowly, "Work hard and don't waste this opportunity!"