Chapter 43

“In the great Fuli land, I am Bai Wuchang, and he is Hei Wuchang.”

Xiang Xuanqing introduced himself to Ruo Xi, then smiled and asked, “Are you certain you want to join us?”

“We’re newcomers too.”

“I’m a newcomer as well—newcomers help newcomers,” Ruo Xi said, summoning her courage.

At that moment, Li Ming suddenly spoke up from the side: “Not necessarily.”

“If the mission is special, newcomers might even turn against each other and draw their swords.”

“Huh?”

Upon hearing this, Ruo Xi’s face instantly tensed, her eyes betraying unease.

“You’re…”

“Dawn Squad, squad leader Li Ming,” Li Ming replied succinctly.

The three beings of Jiuge also turned their gazes toward him.

Hong Yun glanced at Li Ming’s side—no one was there.

“Fellow Daoist, have your teammates… again…?”

After a moment’s pause, Li Ming shook his head: “Personal calamity missions—they didn’t survive.”

“...My condolences,” Hong Yun murmured, words trailing off.

Jiuge Squad ranks sixth in the Void Illusion Realm; Dawn Squad has consistently held top three.

That’s because Dawn Squad’s leader—Li Ming—is a ruthless man.

Others are forced, or half-coerced and half-bribed, into joining the Master God’s Palace to complete tasks assigned by the Master God.

This Li Ming is different—he’s highly proactive, eagerly accepting every task from the Master God’s Palace.

He often takes on commissioned missions posted by other squads.

Whether calamity missions or death missions, he never refuses.

As if he had no ties to this world, desperate to die.

But the odd thing is, no matter how Li Ming acts, he never dies.

Not even once.

Instead, the other members of Dawn Squad perish for all sorts of reasons.

This time, his teammates died on a calamity mission;

last time, on a death mission;

the time before that, a new teammate—low cultivation, terrible luck—got eliminated right at the start…

Since meeting Li Ming, Hong Yun has seen him replace seven teammates.

Watching the three Jiuge members head off to submit their mission,

Xiang Xuanqing walked toward Dawn Squad and bowed: “Li Daoist, you have extensive experience—could we join your Dawn Squad?”

He could see the rankings in the Void Illusion Realm.

Li Ming’s Dawn Squad ranked second.

Based on this squad’s contributions, the Master God’s Palace currently rated them: Leaping Dragon in the Abyss.

It looked reliable enough.

Ming He followed behind Xiang Xuanqing, silent beside him.

After all, Xiang Xuanqing never acted without reason—Li Ming must have something special.

Ruo Xi seemed hesitant; she had just seen Hong Yun’s expression—being Li Ming’s teammate didn’t seem like a good thing.

Yet this hesitation quickly turned to resolve.

She followed behind Xiang Xuanqing and whispered, “Don’t abandon me—I may have low cultivation, but I’m best at healing the wounded and saving the dying. I can help everyone.”

Hong Yun, who was exchanging rewards, suddenly turned back.

“Uh, Bai Wuchang Daoist…”

He was about to offer a kind warning.

Da Siming immediately pulled him back: “Respect others’ destinies.”

【Xiang Jun】 Zhen Yuanzi clamped a hand over Hong Yun’s mouth and gave Li Ming an apologetic look.

“You two talk.”

Li Ming didn’t care.

He looked at Xiang Xuanqing’s trio, then shook his head lightly: “No, I’m not considering recruiting new teammates for now.”

Just as Xiang Xuanqing showed a look of disappointment, Li Ming added: “But…”

“But what?” Xiang Xuanqing asked.

“According to the Master God’s Palace rules, newcomers who form their own squad on their first mission may choose a squad or member ranked 【Seeing Dragon】 or higher to serve as their guide.”

“What’s the cost?” Ming He asked.

Li Ming said: “The Master God pays additional rewards based on mission difficulty.”

“That sounds quite reasonable.”

Xiang Xuanqing found this fair.

He promptly submitted an application to the Master God, requesting Li Ming’s assistance.

Li Ming reminded them: “You still need to name your squad.”

Xiang Xuanqing first looked at Ruo Xi. “Whatever the squad leader says!” Ruo Xi quickly adopted the role of a team member.

“Then let’s call it Wuchang Squad!”

Xiang Xuanqing registered their squad.

Soon they saw their squad’s ranking and rating in the Void Illusion Realm.

The ranking column was blank.

The rating read: Beginning of Heaven and Earth.

“This Master God has a sense of humor,” Xiang Xuanqing laughed—the things in Taiwei Yuan had been thoroughly copied by Zu Long.

Nameless, Beginning of Heaven and Earth.

Initial squads are utterly unknown, their rating always these four characters.

Only through accumulated experience and contributions does the rating gradually rise.

The subsequent levels are: Hidden Dragon, Not Used; Seeing Dragon in the Field; Cautious Dragon, Dry; Leaping Dragon in the Abyss; Flying Dragon in the Heavens.

Hmm—this was written by Fu Xi.

On the other side.

Hong Yun, seeing that Xiang Xuanqing’s group had chosen Li Ming, silently mourned for them in his heart.

【I hope you survive your first mission.】

But soon, Hong Yun had no time to mourn for others.

The Master God issued a mission.

“1. Main Quest: Reverse the Yin and Yang.”

“2. Background: The Yin-Yang Universe is currently in the midst of a cosmic calamity—within the Zhou Tian, constellations are misaligned, sun and moon have lost their course; above and below the cosmos, the four seasons are out of order, yin and yang unbalanced; [77] countless worlds suffer frequent disasters, wars erupt everywhere, conflicts never cease… All of this is due to a shadowy hand stirring chaos.”

Disasters occur frequently across the myriad worlds, weapons rise in all directions, and warfare never ceases... All of this is because a shadowy hand behind the scenes is causing chaos.

“3. Objective: Kill the mastermind behind the chaos and quell the cosmic unrest.”

“4. Reward: Unknown.”

“5. Penalty: None.”

“Eh? It’s a high-difficulty mission!”

The Jiuge trio were excited—based on past experience, higher difficulty meant better rewards!

Xiang Xuanqing’s group received their mission too.

Their mission was identical to Jiuge Squad’s.

As a temporary member of Wuchang Squad, Li Ming could naturally see this mission.

Yet when he saw it, his sword-like eyebrows furrowed.

【No initial squad has ever taken on a high-difficulty mission before.】

【Could my negative influence on others really be this strong?】

His Dao is unique—it subtly affects those around him, bringing calamity.

The closer one is to him, the greater the harm.

Li Ming suspected he had influenced Xiang Xuanqing and the others.

Thinking of his deceased teammates, his expression grew even more solemn.

“What’s wrong?” Xiang Xuanqing asked.

This time, Li Ming didn’t hesitate—he explained everything to Xiang Xuanqing.

After listening, Xiang Xuanqing instinctively glanced at Ming He beside him.

【I don’t think it’s necessarily his fault.】

【It could be mutual influence.】

Ming He’s gaze toward Li Ming held deep interest.

“You must be extra careful this time!”

Li Ming’s expression was grave, utterly solemn.

"At this critical moment, don't get too close to me."

"Absolutely!"

Xiang Xuanqing and Huang Quan didn't mind.

But Ruo Xi…

"Don't worry—I'm skilled at saving the dying and healing the wounded, very capable."

The girl patted her chest, whispering to encourage everyone, as if reassuring herself:

"In the Yao Ming Great World, everyone says I'm the most skilled—I'm sure I can help everyone."

"Then we'll look forward to your performance!"

Xiang Xuanqing gave her a nod of approval.

Huang Quan offered a friendly expression.

"Let's go!"

Li Ming felt a heavy heart.

(End of Chapter)