Chapter 44
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Chapter 44: Ordinary Task: Eliminate the Demons
The location for accepting the black market tasks was inside the base of Team Three.
It was a building with a sign reading “Black Hall.”
There was no one inside, but the walls were covered with black cloth of various sizes, with flickering and flowing text.
“This is the sublist for the black market Spiritual Tool tasks. All tasks can be transmitted from the main list to the sublist. As far as I know, the higher-ranking teams receive better tasks. These tasks are generally divided into five categories: ordinary, difficult, turmoil, disaster, and great disaster. Only the Captain can take on the disaster and great disaster tasks.”
Liu Jingyu scanned the hall filled with various tasks and continued, “Today is your first day, so just pick any ordinary task for now. We can discuss the more difficult government tasks later.”
Yun Ye nodded and took a close look.
Ordinary tasks were written in white letters and were very clear.
“Ordinary task: Escort a merchant convoy through Hongshan to Luoyun Town, estimated time seven days. Reward: one contribution point and three thousand dark copper.”
“Ordinary task (government): Spirit energy diffusion from the spiritual spring west of Hongshan may attract demons. Starting from March 5th, someone needs to guard for three days. Reward: one contribution point.”
“Ordinary task: Wealthy merchant Xudong has had someone go missing and suspects demon activity. He is hiring for cleanup. Reward: one contribution point and one thousand two hundred dark copper.”
Looking at the tasks, one stood out as notably extravagant.
Excluding the aristocracy, the status of Spiritual Law practitioners was actually quite high; they guaranteed the wealth and safety of wealthy merchants and landowners.
Thus, hiring Spiritual Law practitioners required spending a lot of money.
Is several thousand dark copper truly a small amount?
In fact, what was written on the black market was only in the thousands, but the real figures were ten to twenty times higher.
As for where all that money went…
Naturally, it ended up with the government.
Black armored Spiritual Law practitioners were essentially laborers working for the government, taking away a 90% tax was giving some favor to the black armored practitioners.
If it were powerless slaves trying to earn that much money, they might receive only a few copper coins to avoid starving.
But even with a 90% tax, black armored practitioners still earned a fortune, easily making tens of thousands a month.
The average monthly income of commoners in Baishi Town hovered around a few hundred; in comparison, black armored practitioners lived lavishly, well-deserving the battles they fought.
—This is how people in this world viewed it.
Yun Ye knew very well that the high income of the Black Armored Army was essentially an exploitation of the common people, as the aristocracy exploited the commoners and then funneled that wealth to the Black Armored Army.
Now that he was a member of the Black Armored Army, even if the majority of the income was pocketed by the government, he still had to uphold order.
But if he were a commoner, not only would he face exploitation daily, but in times of demon attacks, not only could his entire family perish, but the aristocracy and government would not offer protection. Instead, they would continue to squeeze them dry, forcing them to pay to take down the demons.
The experience was truly outrageous.
The situation in Baishi Town was evident; the natural order had been completely twisted, and chaos was everywhere. If it weren’t for Spiritual Law practitioners suppressing the lower classes so easily, there would have already been smoke signals of alarm rising everywhere.
……
Yun Ye carefully selected a task that met his expectations.
“Ordinary task: Frequent disappearances have been reported in the back mountain of Qingzao Village, suspected demon activity. The villagers are hiring for cleanup. Reward: one contribution point and five hundred dark copper.”
Qingzao Village was further away from Mingzhu Village, near a large mountain, where dangerous demons occasionally appeared.
If this is not resolved, the demons may run into the area of Mingzhu Village.
“Qingzao Village? There isn’t much gain here, are you sure you want to go?”
Liu Jingyu frowned.
“?”
Yun Ye looked puzzled.
“You don’t think that the Black Armored Spiritual Law can be satisfied with just a few hundred or thousand dark copper, do you? The government takes so much; we must find other sources to make up for it. The wealth of a place is naturally one of the standards for judging the quality of tasks,” Liu Jingyu said lightly.
Yun Ye understood but shook his head, flames flickering, “(I am not familiar with this, but it’s okay.)”
“Since that’s the case, let’s record it with the identity token to prevent other team members from choosing this task,” Liu Jingyu said without further discussion.
Following her instructions, Yun Ye recorded the task with the identity token. Soon, a red box appeared around the task text on the black cloth, indicating that someone had accepted it.
After accepting the task, the identity token displayed detailed information about it, such as the location of Qingzao Village and the name of the village manager.
The two walked outside and unexpectedly ran into Zhu Zhaohong and three others. Zhu Zhaohong displayed her usual sharpness and, upon seeing Yun Ye, casually mocked him,
“I heard you lost to Li Shui yesterday. Don’t be discouraged; she’s just one of the better ones in this generation. She’s not a big deal, and you’ll see more in the future.”
“(Thank you for your concern, Zhu Spiritual Law. I will do my best.)”
Yun Ye left a message in flame text and passed by Zhu Zhaohong.
“Ha ha.”
Zhu Zhaohong chuckled and exchanged glances with Liu Jingyu. Neither had the intention to speak, but there was no hostility.
The Zhu and Liu families were rivals, but Liu Jingyu was too low in status to be considered by Zhu Zhaohong.
……
Yun Ye and Liu Jingyu walked down the mountain. Suddenly, Liu Jingyu said, “Zhu Zhaohong is the most talented genius in the Zhu family in decades. Her strength is far beyond Li Shui’s. You better not provoke her, or I might get into trouble too!”
Yun Ye was stunned by this revelation. So, Zhu Zhaohong was actually stronger than Li Shui?
Could it be that Zhu Zhaohong also had Dual Spiritual Roots?
“Our Zhu and Liu families are the strongest families in Baishi Town, aside from the Ji family, and we possess secret techniques beyond your imagination. Even if you have a unique fire for your Spiritual Roots, it means nothing to our families. Being proud of your talents will only lead to a bad end,” Liu Jingyu glanced at Yun Ye.
Though she was not strong, her knowledge was far beyond that of common folk, and she understood the terror of the aristocracy.
A genius could perhaps bridge a gap of decades, but could they really close a gap of hundreds of years?
The Zhu and Liu families both had monsters that had lived for centuries, and each generation produced numerous talents, creating countless secret techniques.
For example, the Liu family’s pride is their secret technique of Spiritual Root fusion with the Wind Spiritual Roots of dual attributes.
Compared to ordinary Spiritual Roots, the Wind Spiritual Roots of dual attributes are considered invincible. Even the weakest ones are ten times stronger than ordinary ones, leading to qualitative evolution in both combat and cultivation.
Her clan uncle, Liu Wujing, would be stronger than Yun Wen if he were to act.
Similarly, Zhu Zhaohong inherited the core legacy of the Zhu family and mastered the secret techniques of Fire Spiritual Roots. Although it’s unclear how far she’s progressed, she cannot be measured by the standards of a newcomer.
After running for several dozen kilometers, they reached a hillside. Yun Ye looked ahead, “Is that Qingzao Village?”
In the valley ahead, houses were scattered, with smoke rising gently, full of a rustic charm.
Countless jujube trees were planted here, and green fruits hung from their branches.
Liu Jingyu nodded, “Yes!”
