Chapter 507: Ascension Mission

Fu Ling Star System, Gui Ling Thirty-Fifth Planetary System.

The Sixth Planet.

A massive passenger starship, guided by a towing array, slowly descended onto a flat, open docking area.

Inside the waiting hall, at an inconspicuous spot.

A woman with delicate features, a curvaceous and very hot figure, wore black trousers on the lower half and a grey jacket over a white tight-fitting vest on top.

The vast expanse of snowy-white cleavage drew frequent glances from many around her.

She paid no heed to the gazes of others, merely staring at her phone screen, carefully scrolling through the news one item at a time.

There wasn't much time left…

Having been away from the Human Race for too many years, she needed to catch up on the changes in today's Human Race society as quickly as possible, lest she reveal a flaw after sneaking into the Central Continent.

"Dad! Mom! Look at the Spring Breeze and Rain I just learned!"

Not far away could be seen—

A half-grown boy, looking like a high-schooler, was holding a small sapling planted in a pot, apparently about to show his newly learned spell to his parents.

However…

His peripheral vision kept darting to one side.

Clearly, he had no real intention of showing his spell to his parents—he had other things on his mind.

The hot-figured woman paused, and actually looked his way.

The boy, catching her glance, felt a jolt in his heart and carefully circulated his spiritual energy even more, forming a hand seal with two fingers.

"Go!"

A breeze rose, and wisps of spiritual energy gathered together, forming a small dark cloud that hovered above the sapling.

Immediately, fine, pattering raindrops fell, glowing with a faint green light.

The sapling, originally only a palm's height tall, trembled slightly under the irrigation of the rain, then began to grow and shoot up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

By the time the boy's spiritual energy was exhausted and his complexion had turned somewhat pale, the sapling had already grown to nearly half a meter tall.

Under his parents' worried urging, he stopped the spell.

When his peripheral vision glanced to the side, the person who had originally been sitting there was already gone.

This left him somewhat deflated.

……

……

Starship boarding gate.

Under the staff's guidance, one figure after another passed through a portal whose edges flickered with white spiritual light.

Each time a person walked through, the corresponding name would appear on the screen in front of the staff member.

【Name: Yin Zhihe】

【Verification Passed】

Looking at the photo in the pop-up interface, the staff member couldn't help glancing up.

His gaze met exactly with Yin Zhihe's—that hot-figured woman.

"Thank you."

After smiling and thanking him, she walked in.

Her voice was soft and sweet, leaving him somewhat dazed; it took a nudge from a colleague beside him before he came back to his senses.

"Next!"

On the other side.

Yin Zhihe, following the flow of people, had successfully boarded the passenger starship.

And quickly found the spot she had booked—

A private room with no small amount of space, its interior decor quite nice as well.

A perception-blocking array was set up at the doorway, effectively preventing outside prying.

Her gaze swept across the entire room, and she carefully inspected it once more with her divine sense.

Confirming there was nothing amiss, she finally sat down at ease at the window-side seat and looked outside.

More precisely, she looked toward the direction of the waiting hall, a flash of undisguised disgust crossing her eyes.

But the emotion flashed and vanished, disappearing without a trace in almost an instant.

She reached out, took a candy from the small dish on the table, removed the outer wrapper, and placed it in her mouth.

Feeling the sweet taste gradually fill her entire mouth, Yin Zhihe leaned back, closed her eyes, and savored the long-missed relaxation.

As a former prodigy of the Salvation Valley, having also learned many wondrous arts of the Cang Clan, even without relying on Dao Soldiers or Sacred Beasts, there were few opponents beneath the Merge Dao realm.

Yet even with cultivation like hers, to obtain a legal Human Race identity on this planet had taken a great deal of effort.

After all, given the current situation…

The slightest misstep would mean a fate worse than death.

So much so that she did not dare to mobilize even a single thread of unnecessary power!

And this was still only out in the starry sky.

Once she reached the Central Continent, her situation would be a thousand times more dire than now!

"Dear passengers, welcome aboard this flight. Next stop: Gui Ling Thirty-Seventh Planetary System."

The broadcast sounded.

Yin Zhihe, leaning against the chair back, slowly opened her eyes.

Before her, what seemed to be taut, slender threads stretching into the distance were twisting together…

However, the very next moment, those slender threads snapped without any warning!

Forget it, the time isn't right yet.

If those few cultivators on this planet suddenly dropped dead, it would surely draw attention.

For now, stability must come first.

After passing through four more planetary systems, we can enter the Central Continent…

It's just that this Fuling Star System…

Heh!

After so many years, that kid has actually become a Guardian holding dominion over a star system.

……

……

Central Continent.

Evening.

Xiang Jianzong, Outer Gate Ascension Hall.

A building completed long ago, but whose purpose most people had no idea of.

And because the sect strictly forbade anyone from approaching the Ascension Hall,

the disciples grew ever more curious, and all sorts of guesses never ceased; nowadays the Ascension Hall was practically one of the Xiang Jianzong's new "Top Ten Mysteries"!

At this moment, only two people were inside the Ascension Hall.

One had an immortal's bearing, wearing a purple-gold long robe representing the Sect Master's status, his temperament ethereal and otherworldly.

The other was dressed in white, flowing and dashing, his aura sharp and fierce, like a peerless treasured sword hidden within its sheath.

It was precisely the Xiang Jianzong Master Du Ruoheng, and his disciple Zhou Kongming.

"The general situation is just this; cherish this opportunity and perform well." Du Ruoheng said with a light laugh.

He had always been very satisfied with this disciple.

Having heard the full story, Zhou Kongming could not help but smile wryly:

"In this situation, this disciple should actually recuse himself."

He had done nothing, yet directly obtained a spot in the first batch of Ascension Envoys — the only spot from the Xiang Jianzong.

If word got out, others would probably think his master had abused his power for personal gain!

"Recuse? Recuse from what!"

Du Ruoheng said sternly.

"This matter of Ascension was personally decreed by the Ancestral Master: the first batch of Ascension Envoys would be the top finishers of the three divisions in the Xian Sect Grand Competition, along with the most outstanding disciple among those at the Return-to-Void stage."

Indeed, there were indeed some Tongxuan Supremes within the sect who harbored complaints about the allocation of spots, believing that although Zhou Kongming had previously been the most outstanding Return-to-Void cultivator, he might not necessarily still be so now.

Therefore, another time should be selected to re-determine a suitable candidate.

Such voices were not few; at first even he had found it thorny.

In the end, it was only after the Absolute Edge Sword Lord himself stepped forward personally that those voices were suppressed.

Normally you don't compete, when duty calls you don't compete, but now that there's a benefit you want to compete?

No one had expected that the usually taciturn Absolute Edge Sword Lord would actually fly into a rage; the Tongxuan Supremes who had been rebuked had no choice but to give up upon seeing this.

However…

When the two Ancestral Masters had previously fallen out of the realm, quite a few squabbles had indeed occurred within the sect; one could hardly blame the Absolute Edge Sword Lord for now being…

Sigh~

"The Ancestral Master specifically instructed that this matter must not be trumpeted about; and since it is rightfully yours, just accept it properly. Don't overthink it!"

One must know that his disciple's status as the Xiang Jianzong's number-one Return-to-Void cultivator did not fall from the sky for nothing.

How much effort had he put in for this?

How many brushes with death had he experienced while serving as a planetary-system Guardian?

Some who exploited loopholes in the rules and only wanted to while away their days in the Ancient Cultivator Response Department… also wanted to snatch the spot from his disciple?

They were all fellow disciples, and as Sect Master it wouldn't be proper for him to scold them too harshly.

But even if the Absolute Edge Sword Lord had not stepped forward, he would not truly let them run amok.

"This disciple obeys the command."

Having been told as much, Zhou Kongming could only accept the order.

"After returning this time, go familiarize yourself in the Ancient Cultivator Response Department for a few years, so as to pave the way for some matters ahead."

Originally, whether going to the starry skies to serve as a Guardian, or holding a post in the Ancient Cultivator Response Department, was something every Return-to-Void cultivator of the sect had to go through.

But the Ancient Cultivator Response Department had only been established not long ago, and many aspects were still imperfect; thus some people exploited loopholes in the rules and kept loafing about within it…

The Ancestral Master paid no heed to worldly affairs, focusing on the grand trend, while the Cave-Truth Sword Lords paid more attention to the starry-sky frontline battlefield.

He could not possibly disturb them over such a trivial matter.

On the other hand, he also worried that if he went to disturb the Xiang Jianzong with this matter, the old gentleman would have another episode…

Cough, cough!

In any case, things had not yet reached such a serious point.

But he had already resolved that he must settle it during his tenure as Sect Master!

"Pave the way…" Zhou Kongming's expression turned odd, "Master means…?"

"Exactly what you're thinking!"

"Then Little Martial Uncle-Grandmaster…?"

"She is too young; she has only just now advanced to Soul Transformation, and a Sect Master must reach Dao Merging to take the post." Du Ruoheng shook his head slightly, "This master has never taken her words to heart."

"……"

He hadn't taken it to heart, so Master, why did you change it to 'True Sect Master of the Xiang Jianzong'?

"In any case, she can't possibly advance to Dao Merging faster than you."

Perhaps after saying this, he himself felt a little uncertain, and added:

"It should be impossible."

Zhou Kongming: "……"

Master, the way you said that leaves this disciple with no confidence at all.

Master and disciple exchanged a glance, and the atmosphere suddenly became a tiny bit awkward.

"Alright! In short, get your spirits up. This mission's difficulty is not low — don't underestimate it."

You can't speak in such absolutes.

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest; even a freak like Sheng Sheng Huang Yuan has appeared, who knows if another one might show up.

But to be honest, when he was feeling troubled sometimes, he would also look forward to the day when Little Martial Aunt truly became Sect Master.

After all, she wouldn't have as many scruples as he did…

"Yes!" Zhou Kongming bowed in salute.

【Supreme Mystery Immortal Net (Test Version)】

【Name: Zhou Kongming】

【Age: 576】

【Realm: Return to Void Perfection】

【Profession: Sword Cultivator】

【Affiliation: Xiang Jianzong】

【Foundational Art: "Grand Void Sword Canon" (Supreme)】

【Divine Abilities, Arts, Sword Techniques: Grand Void Sword Escape · Major Mastery (Supreme), Grand Void False-Breaking Golden Pupils · Major Mastery (Supreme), Grand Void Sword Formation · Major Mastery (Supreme)……】

【Permission: Ascension Emissary · Type-i (22:15:36)】

【Auxiliary Module: None】

【Ascension Points: 0】

Compared to Zhang Yunlu's or Xiao Fan's personal interface, Zhou Kongming's personal interface could be called luxurious.

Just the Divine Abilities column alone was densely packed, he didn't know how many were listed.

Of course, the most important thing was still the content at the very bottom.

【Mission One: Initiate the Revival of the Spiritual Tide, Reward: 1 Ascension Point】

【Mission Two: Guide the human race of the mission world onto the path of cultivation, Reward: 1~100 (settled based on mission performance)】

【Mission Three: Ensure the human race of the mission world holds a dominant position after the Revival of the Spiritual Tide, Reward: 1~100 (settled based on mission performance)】

【Hint: This mission's difficulty is extremely high; an initial auxiliary module will be issued】

【Hint: Every time an auxiliary module is used to leverage the rules, it will increase the probability of a World Child being born】 (End of Chapter)