Chapter 91: Beauty Trial, Sect Mission
The sound of conversation echoed endlessly within the great hall.
Zhou Han glanced at the titles above their heads and immediately understood their identities—these were the nine great elders of the Sword God Hall. No wonder each of them carried such an overwhelming aura.
Good lord, this was quite a scene. So many people had been alerted at once.
Off to the side, Wan Yuhe's expression dimmed as she heard everyone praising Zhou Han.
Back when she had been the strongest prodigy, she had never seen these elders praise her like this.
"Oh! Zhou Han has completed his awakening!"
Soon, an elder spotted Zhou Han and hurriedly spoke.
"Zhou Han, when will you come visit my home? You can discuss sword techniques with my daughter!"
"Zhou Han! Are you married yet? I have a granddaughter…"
"You're quite outstanding. From now on, all ten of my granddaughters will follow you."
Zhou Han: "..."
Ten? That's way too much!
Who said the upper ranks of the Sword God Hall were terrifying?
That's completely a rumor!
Look at these old guys now—so kind and gentle, either offering daughters or granddaughters.
But these old guys are a bit stingy. Can't they just give something practical?
A few swords, some pills—anything would do!
What the hell would I do with your daughters and granddaughters?!
"Alright, enough! Let's talk business!"
Elder Lin saw that the atmosphere was getting strange and quickly stepped in to stop them.
"Elder Lin, with such a big gathering, did something happen?"
Zhou Han voiced his confusion. He noticed Wan Yuhe was also present.
There had to be a reason.
"It's like this. The once-every-three-years Divine Trial is about to begin! It is a grand event across the Divine Demon Continent. Not only can you obtain rich rewards, but it is also a proof of honor and strength!"
"So, I want to ask for your opinion. I hope you can represent the Sword God Hall in this grand event!"
Elder Lin stroked his white beard and said with a smile.
Oh? There are rich rewards too?
Zhou Han immediately said with righteous determination, "Elders, rest assured. As a member of the Sword God Hall, I will naturally advance and retreat together with it, sharing both glory and hardship."
"When do we depart?"
"Very good. I knew you wouldn't disappoint us! But there is still one month before it begins, so there's no rush."
Sure enough, after hearing Zhou Han's words, the elders showed satisfied expressions.
In these times, people like him who were so practical were rare.
"One month? Then what are we doing now?"
Zhou Han's face darkened. There was still a whole month left,
and you bring it up so early—what a pointless excitement.
"This is Wan Yuhe, the daughter of the Sword Emperor. You've already had some dealings with her."
Elder Lin pointed at Wan Yuhe and continued, "She will also participate in the Divine Trial. Next, I want to arrange for you two to train together."
"You young people have common topics. You can improve together."
Zhou Han was somewhat unwilling. So I'm supposed to carry a girl?
If it were someone he was familiar with, that would be fine. But this girl wasn't familiar, and they even had a grudge. Zhou Han didn't want to deal with it.
"Elder, I'm afraid she might affect my progress."
What Zhou Han meant was that conflicts might slow things down.
After all, this woman had such a fiery temper. Zhou Han didn't want to provoke her again.
"Uh…"
"Don't worry. The Sword Emperor will get her an Emperor-grade weapon. She definitely won't hold you back."
Elder Lin explained, clearly misunderstanding Zhou Han's meaning. He thought Zhou Han was looking down on Wan Yuhe's strength.
And as the number one prodigy, such arrogance was quite normal.
Elder Lin was about to say more when Wan Yuhe's embarrassed and angry voice rang out.
"Zhou Han, you—you better not look down on me!"
"Just because you defeated me yesterday doesn't mean you can humiliate me like this!"
She was trembling with anger. This was the first time she had ever been rejected like this.
She was, after all, a proud daughter of heaven. Being treated like a weakling—how could she swallow that?
Originally, she was already somewhat resistant to her mother's arrangement and didn't want to train with Zhou Han.
But now, after this, she insisted on teaming up with him.
She had to show her true strength and fiercely respond to Zhou Han's so-called mockery.
"I really wasn't looking down on you…"
Zhou Han felt depressed inside.
It was all because his words had been ambiguous, causing a misunderstanding.
Looks like he still needed to improve his speaking skills.
But since things had already come to this, Zhou Han didn't intend to explain.
He would just reject her directly.
Just as he was about to speak, a system notification sounded.
[You have a new sect mission: Beauty Trial. Do you accept?]
"Accept!"
Zhou Han answered out of habit.
Only after accepting did he realize—
this time, it was a sect mission.
As for how it was different, he wasn't entirely sure.
Soon, the mission details appeared on the panel.
[Beauty Trial]
Description: Fight alongside Wan Yuhe and collect sufficient materials.
Progress: Fragrant Flower Grass (0/100), Blood Qi Stones (0/50), Flame Demon Heart (0/1)
Location: Fire Spirit Archipelago (Coordinates XXX)
Time Limit: 3 days
Rewards: Soul Crystals and experience, 100 sect contribution points.
Seeing that the rewards included Soul Crystals and experience,
and also sect contribution points—though he didn't know what those were for—
he planned to ask Elder Lin about it later.
"Not bad rewards. I accept!"
Since that was the case, he might as well generously take her along!
After all, Zhou Han was such an easygoing person!
"Ahem! Since the elders have said so, I naturally have to give face!"
"After all, she is also a member of the Sword God Hall. As the number one prodigy, I have the obligation to help. Contributing to the Sword God Hall is my duty!"
Zhou Han said righteously with a smile.
"Tch!"
Wan Yuhe snorted coldly upon seeing Zhou Han's smug face, feeling even more annoyed.
As if she were the one begging him—ridiculous.
"Mm, very good."
Elder Lin nodded in satisfaction. If Zhou Han had been unwilling, he wouldn't have forced him.
Then he continued.
"Don't worry. The Sword God Hall has strict rules and clear rewards and punishments. You won't be working for nothing."
"Oh? What's the process exactly?"
Zhou Han became interested and quickly asked.
"See this Swordsman Badge?"
Elder Lin took out a badge from his spatial ring and handed it to Zhou Han.
The badge was semi-transparent, with a small sword engraved in the center, lifelike.
Sword energy flowed across it, though very faint.
"As long as you join the Sword God Hall, everyone has their own exclusive badge."
After Zhou Han took it, Elder Lin continued explaining.
"Once you successfully activate the badge, you can view all available missions within your current permission level.
As long as you complete accepted missions within the time limit, you will earn varying amounts of contribution points.
These contribution points can be exchanged for various items in the sect shop."
"There are permission restrictions too?"
Zhou Han quickly noticed that detail.
"Of course. You can't expect a newly joined sword cultivator to be completely loyal from the start.
What if there are spies from other factions, or traitors like the Nether Sword Fiend? That would be a huge loss for the Sword God Hall."
Another elder walked over and explained with a smile.
He was Elder Ye, in charge of internal enforcement.
"That makes sense. Seems like I didn't think it through. I guess I'm not suited to be a manager."
"So we set this standard. The total contribution points you earn determine the badge level.
The higher the level, the greater the permissions. You can activate your badge now."
After hearing this, Zhou Han felt the method was indeed quite good.
Although it couldn't completely eliminate spies, it could at least filter out 90% of those with ill intentions.
Elder Lin only gave a brief introduction.
There was still a lot more to explain, which couldn't be done all at once.
So he gestured for Zhou Han to activate the badge first and explore it himself.
That way, if he had any questions, it would be easier to ask later.
According to Elder Lin's instructions,
one must use the technique comprehended in the Visualization Hall to successfully activate it.
The badge contained a recognition mechanism that could automatically identify it.
If it was sword energy of another attribute, it would self-destruct.
This prevented people from other factions from sneaking in.
Zhou Han's gaze sharpened as he infused a strand of sword energy into it.
Soon, the badge emitted a hazy glow and formed a mysterious connection with him.
[Swordsman Badge activated. Would you like to view it?]
With the system prompt, the badge was now completely bound to Zhou Han.
"View!"
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