Sage Monarch

"Oh you mean...? Send Yang Qi on one of the missions no one ever wants to take? That's not a bad idea." Smiling, the White-Haired Boxer King used his divine will to impart this new information to Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger, who was in the middle of trying to cut down Yang Qi in battle.

A moment later, the silver blade light suddenly faded away.

Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger sheathed his dagger and looked at Yang Qi. "Very impressive, boy. Except I was only using thirty percent of my full strength."

Yang Qi sneered. "Thirty percent? More like fifty percent."

"Hmph! I'm not in the mood to squabble with you." Plastering a fake smile onto his face, he continued, "You pass. I'm not going to make it any harder on you. However, you're not a law enforcement disciple yet. There's one final hurdle. You have to accomplish a mission for the sect. And considering your capabilities, it's going to be an Expert mission."

"An Expert mission? What's the task?"

Yang Qi could tell that they were still making things hard for him. There was no question that they would be sending him on some very difficult mission.

That said, he was happy to comply. Becoming a law enforcement disciple would help him grow the power of his own faction in the sect. Before long, he would be running the Law-Enforcement God-Palace. After all, it would only take a few devil embryos for him to take control.

The White-Haired Boxer King, Crimson-Maiden Inferno, and Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger conferred secretly via divine will. Then, Exalted Celestial Silver-Dagger said, "Your mission is to go to the Spritefolk and collect some spritefruits, which are panaceas that can be used to boost the medicinal efficacy of just about any type of medicine. They can also be used to forge god items and weapons, or improve the quality of existing equipment. Finish that mission, and you'll be a law enforcement disciple."

"Here's the briefing. Take a look." Crimson-Maiden Inferno produced a form that contained all the details of the mission. "Go to the medicine gardens of the Spritefolk and take eighty-one extremely rare spritefruits. Mission difficulty level: Expert."

Although the mission briefing made it seem simple, Yang Qi knew that it would be anything but. Thankfully, he remembered reading about spritefruits in the Great Classic of God Ordainment.

They were considered the most precious of treasures, and were compatible with just about any medicinal pill. Add the fruit to the recipe, and the success rate would skyrocket. Unfortunately, the fruits only grew with the Spritefolk, who guarded them jealously and would kill anyone that tried taking them. If the Spritefolk learned the name of any person who even attempted to steal them, that person would be marked for death. The Spritefolk would then do everything in their power to see them dead.

There had even been cases of people who successfully stole spritefruits, only to let their guard down a hundred years later and be killed.

Spritefruit thieves were considered archenemies to all Spritefolk, an enmity that couldn't be erased even if hundreds of thousands of years passed.

Obviously, the consequences for taking this mission were far-reaching.

Even if Yang Qi accomplished the mission, he could be marked for death by the Spritefolk, and would have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

It was a mission that would obviously come with no end of difficulties. That said, it was the consequences that were troublesome; the actual act of stealing the fruit shouldn't be particularly hard.

In the end, Yang Qi knew that if he refused to accept the mission, these three proctors would claim that he didn't qualify to become a law enforcement disciple.

"I accept the mission," he said. Taking the briefing, he turned and left.

The proctors smiled.

"I'm going to keep an eye on him and see if he tries any funny business," Crimson-Maiden Inferno said. "I wonder how he plans to finish the mission. Maybe he'll even aim for a breakthrough before trying. If so, it won't help. Spritefruit trees will absorb the energy of anyone who picks fruit from them, which will lead the Spritefolk right to them. Not even changing one's appearance would do any good."

"I'm also interested in the brat's secrets," the White-Haired Boxer King said. "Unfortunately, we have more candidates to interview. Crimson-Maiden Inferno, we'll have to rely on you to keep an eye on Yang Qi."

"Okay," she said, and subsequently vanished.

As Yang Qi accepted the mission and left the Law-Enforcement God-Palace, there were numerous disciples who were also leaving, but for a different reason. They had been rejected. Some were sighing in regret, some were severely wounded. There were even corpses being carried out, disciples who had lost their lives in the testing.

Yang Qi ignored them. Such disciples were gods, but they weren't worth his attention. They might as well have been simple mortals from the impure lands.

Stepping into a teleportation portal, he left the god kingdom.

Moments later, he was on a continent that abounded with fresh flowers. The sky was bright and cloudless, and the weather was pleasant.

Yang Qi could sense that there was a power in the depths of the continent that connected it to all of heaven and earth, ensuring that it had a wonderful climate.

The continents in the god world had to deal with very bad conditions. If they weren't frozen in ice, they were baked by intense heat, or battered by rain as sharp as blades.

Only the strong could survive in the god world.

But this continent wasn't like that. Everyone was beautiful, and the scenery was like something out of a painting. Furthermore, instead of a sense of death and blood, Yang Qi felt peace and tranquility.

Standing atop the mountain peak he had just arrived at, he took a deep breath, and it smelled like flowers.

This was where the Spritefolk lived. Yang Qi knew a lot about the Spritefolk, as they existed in the impure lands as well. His aunt, Yang Susu, was actually one of them; one of the reasons he had accepted this mission was that, up to this point in the god world, he hadn't had a chance to search for her.

The best place to start had to be with the Spritefolk. They were one of the big races in the god world; they weren't human, although they resembled humans in virtually every way. In fact, the Spritefolk believed themselves to be an evolved, higher form of humans. They were proud and noble in a way that defied words.

At least, that was how they were described in the Great Classic of God Ordainment.

Instead of immediately trying to steal some spritefruits, he waited a moment, then turned and coolly said, "You might as well stop hiding, Crimson-Maiden Inferno. Is following me around really that fun?"

A moment later, a young woman with crimson hair appeared, who was none other than Crimson-Maiden Inferno.

"Very impressive, boy," she said. She actually seemed much more at ease than she had back in the Law-Enforcement God-Palace. "I'm surprised you noticed me."

"Why are you following me?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're monitoring my progress on the mission. Unfortunately for you, there won't be much to monitor. I'm not going to finish the mission, because I've decided not to become a law enforcement disciple."

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to!" she said. "You played me back in the Law-Enforcement God-Palace, and now you owe me."

"I played you?" Yang Qi said. "I thought it was a test."

"If I say you played me, then that's what happened. Don't you dare try mincing words with me." Glaring at him coldly, she continued, "Now fork it over."

"Fork what over?" Yang Qi said, looking surprised.

"The compensation! No one toys with me and gets away with it. Everyone knows that Crimson-Maiden Inferno will rain fiery destruction onto anyone who causes problems for her. So you have one choice here. Pay up!"

"I don't have anything to pay you with," Yang Qi said.

"Wrong answer. I know that you took a lot of precious things from the Toxic Continent. Bring them out and give them to me."

Yang Qi burst out laughing. "Do you really think you can just order me around? The White-Haired Boxer King couldn't deal with me in the Toxic Continent, and that was before I improved my energy arts. So what exactly do you think you're going to do?"

"The ignorant are often brave." Smiling snidely, she continued, "The White-Haired Boxer King is only a mid Greater God. But I'm at the peak, although nobody knows it. I'm just on the verge of becoming a Consummate God. Few people know that other than you, so you should feel honored."

RUMBLE!

All of a sudden, streams of power erupted behind Crimson-Maiden Inferno, and a huge, square spell formation popped into being, pulsing with spatial power that locked down the entire area.

"This is my Square-Macrocosm Void-Fire God Formation," she said. "Unfortunately for you, although I'm not a Consummate God yet, I came across some good fortune that allows me to wield the power of that level. I'm not going to kill you today, but I'll definitely put you in your place if you don't hand over that treasure!"