Chapter 57

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Chapter 57: D-Level First-Rate Mission

Lou Yun had originally wanted to ask Chang Xiang what was going on, wondering how a magical weapon’s shape could change at will. But seeing Chang Xiang’s expression, it was clear he didn’t know either.

Sure enough, Chang Xiang shook his head. "There’s such a thing? I only knew a magical weapon could change shape when leveling up, but I never knew that after leveling up, it could also revert to its previous shape. It seems this is a unique ability of the Devour Weapons cultivation method! By the way, how did you do it?"

"I just channeled my spiritual energy into the spear, and naturally, this feeling surfaced in my mind—the sense that it could switch between its two forms."

Chang Xiang pondered for a moment. "Then next time you upgrade your magical weapon, give it a try with a different weapon type. If you can still change its shape, kid, you’ve hit the jackpot!"

Lou Yun didn’t need Chang Xiang to tell him; he could already imagine it. Every magical weapons master’s magical weapon has only one fundamental form. The so-called shape change is merely an evolution based on that fundamental form.

Each weapon type has its own characteristics. For example, sabers emphasize heaviness, swords focus on lightness and agility, bows and arrows excel at long-range attacks, and so on, but they each also have their weaknesses. Yet he could make his magical weapon freely transform between completely different forms. In future battles, depending on the actual situation, he could change his weapon, making himself unpredictable to the enemy.

It seemed his decision to cultivate the Devour Weapons cultivation method was correct!

Seeing the smile appear on Lou Yun’s face, Chang Xiang knew what he was thinking. However, he felt he had to remind him, "Kid, don’t celebrate too soon. The Devour Weapons cultivation method gets harder and harder to cultivate as you progress. You need to mentally prepare yourself!"

Lou Yun straightened up seriously. "Brother Chang, rest assured, no matter how difficult it is, I will persevere!"

Chang Xiang gave a gratified smile. "I believe you can do it. Alright, I need to rest. You practice your weapon techniques for a while."

Just as Chang Xiang was about to leave, Lou Yun suddenly remembered he still had something else to ask. He quickly called out, "Brother Chang, wait a moment!"

"What is it?"

A silver token, about the size of a palm, appeared in Lou Yun’s hand. It was the gift from the old man who had served as the impartial judge that day during the weapon forging competition between Lou Yun and Xu Baichuan in Tianrang City.

Lou Yun still didn’t know what this token was actually for. Because the old man had specifically warned him not to let too many people know about it, he hadn’t asked anyone else. Remembering it today, he wanted to see if Chang Xiang knew anything.

"This token—I don’t know what material it’s made of. It feels icy cold to the touch and simply won’t warm up."

The token was completely translucent, hollowed out around the edges, carved with decorative patterns. On its face was engraved a burning flame, while the back bore an ancient-styled character for "兵" (bīng – weapon).

Staring at the token for a long while, a look of pleasant surprise suddenly spread across Chang Xiang’s face. "Although I don’t know what this token is used for, I do know what material it’s made of! Kid, you’ve stumbled upon a treasure again!"

Lou Yun was naturally baffled, unable to understand how this seemingly ordinary token could be such a treasure.

"If I’m not mistaken, this token is made of Heart of Ice!"

"Heart of Ice refers to an ore-like substance hidden within ice that has been buried deep in places untouched by sunlight for who-knows-how-many years."

"Generally, only when ice has existed for over hundreds of millions of years is it possible for a Heart of Ice to form. And because the ice containing it is buried deep underground or underwater, Heart of Ice can be said to be extremely rare."

Lou Yun hadn’t imagined that the material of this token had such an extraordinary origin. "Then what is it used for?"

"Its uses are many, but I only know two. One is that it can counteract all poisons. If you are poisoned, just hold it in your mouth, and any poison will be neutralized instantly. The second use is exactly what you desperately need—it makes you immune to fire!"

"Any fire, even celestial fire—as long as you carry the Heart of Ice with you, even if you jump into the heart of celestial fire, you will remain unharmed. In other words, from now on, you have no need to fear any fire whatsoever!"

Indeed, immunity to fire was extremely crucial for Lou Yun. Some celestial fires radiate incredibly high temperatures, making it impossible for the human body to even get close, let alone subdue them. But with the Heart of Ice, it was completely different. No matter how intense the heat of a celestial fire, it could not harm the bearer of the Heart of Ice.

After listening to Chang Xiang’s explanation, Lou Yun was naturally overjoyed. While immunity to fire was crucial for him, the ability to neutralize all poisons was also a tremendous boon.

Except for demon beasts born with natural toxicity, no living creature had immunity to poison. Moreover, there were countless types of poisons; the most dangerous were those that were colorless and odorless, impossible to guard against. Once poisoned, mild cases could leave one immobilized, while severe cases could be fatal. Now, with the Heart of Ice, he no longer had to fear any poison in the future.

Amidst his joy, Lou Yun also felt a faint sense of unease. How could such an incredibly precious thing be given to him by that old man, with whom he had only a brief acquaintance? Was this truly a blessing or a hidden misfortune?

…

Lou Yun didn’t go back to his room. He simply stayed within the cavern to restore his spiritual energy. Checking the time, he then headed straight for the classroom.

Along the way, Lou Yun carried a small thrill of excitement within him. After waiting so long, he had finally reached this day. As long as he could continuously complete the missions assigned by the academy, he would surely earn the rare spirit medicine needed to restore his father’s magical weapon!

Both students and teachers were already aware of Lou Yun’s leave, so when he appeared at the door, everyone’s gaze immediately snapped to him, sweeping him up and down. Clearly, everyone was intensely curious about what Lou Yun had been up to for the past three days.

Lou Yun offered everyone a smile. He noticed that besides the students, many of the usual teachers were present in the room now, including a few faces he’d never seen before. Looks like teachers will be accompanying us on this mission after all! he thought.

Lou Yun had just reached his seat when Lou Qian couldn’t wait to ask him in a low voice, "You rascal, where have you been these past few days? You didn’t even tell me! Getting bolder and bolder, aren’t you!"

Lou Yun chuckled sheepishly twice, quickly making up an excuse to brush her off. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Lou Qian to know; he just genuinely couldn’t help it.

Luckily, at that moment, Han Tianxiao clapped his hands to draw attention. "Alright, everyone, now that we’re all present, I will proceed to assign the teams."

Assign teams?

Murmurs instantly broke out among the students upon hearing this. They wondered who they would be grouped with, and though they tried to be subtle, most found themselves glancing towards Lou Yun at least once or twice. Everyone wanted to be placed in the same team as Lou Yun. After all, Lou Yun was currently recognized as the strongest in Class Two, and regardless of the mission, being with the strongest player would undoubtedly make it easier to complete.

Han Tianxiao continued, "The premise and purpose of assigning teams is to ensure that the overall strength of each team is roughly equal. This grouping has been determined by the most balanced allocation we could achieve after synthesizing each of your levels, combat strength, and other various factors. Each team will consist of three members. I will now start reading the names; those called should voluntarily group together."

The final assignment resulted in a total of thirty-three teams. Since the total number of people was exactly one hundred, there was also one team of four. Lou Yun’s teammates were Xia Zhilan and Nie Jiu.

Lou Yun wasn’t surprised by this team arrangement. Xia Zhilan was arguably the weakest girl in the class right now, Nie Jiu was in the middle range – neither particularly strong nor weak – while he himself… Well, together, the team’s average strength was roughly on par. Looking at the other teams, they were almost all similarly configured. The overall strength of every team could basically be considered pretty much identical.

Though, a faint smile flickered across Lou Yun’s face. Really? Identical?

If it were three days ago, this team configuration would definitely result in an average strength. But now… His magical weapon had ascended to primary three-star. Plus, the two new sets of weapon techniques he’d mastered, along with the ability to freely switch between the two forms of his magical weapon… His true strength should now be comparable to an intermediate two-star magical weapons master, perhaps even approaching the level of an intermediate three-star magical weapons master!

Therefore, the overall strength of his team absolutely far surpassed that of the other teams!

None of the teams voiced any objection to their assigned members, except for Lou Qian, who was a little downcast at not being grouped with Lou Yun.

"Right, the teams are now finalized. Considering this is your first mission, we will assign a teacher to accompany each squad, in case of unexpected incidents. Whichever teacher walks over to your team, follow them out. The specific details of your task will be provided by your assigned teacher!"

"If no teacher approaches your team, go directly to find Ms. Qian Ruming. Your tasks involve no danger at all, so you will not be assigned a teacher for now."

Next, a succession of teachers walked over to specific teams and led them out. In the end, only ten groups of students remained in the room, including Lou Yun’s trio.

Lou Yun couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. A task involving no danger? Implementing that sounds genuinely boring!

However, when he saw Han Tianxiao smiling directly at him, a spark of hope immediately ignited within him.

Sure enough, Han Tianxiao instructed the other nine teams to find Qian Ruming, while he himself walked over to stand in front of Lou Yun, Xia Zhilan, and Nie Jiu. He suddenly leaned his head closer towards Lou Yun and asked with a slight smile, "Feeling a bit disappointed just now, weren’t you?"

Lou Yun, caught having his thoughts read, gave an awkward laugh. "It was… alright!"

Han Tianxiao’s expression abruptly turned serious. "Good. Let’s get down to business. I am the supervising instructor for your mission this time. Before briefing you on the specific task, I need to first explain the classification of missions."

"Originally, only those who entered the Elite Division – specifically, those turning eighteen – could apply to undertake missions. However, due to the increasing number of tasks, the Academy revised the regulations this year. Tasks are no longer applied for; they are assigned directly by the Academy, open to all students and teachers. The difficulty level of tasks has also been categorized accordingly. There are six main classifications, ranked from highest to lowest: Special level, A-level, B-level, C-level, D-level, and E-level. Each of these levels is further divided into three sub-levels: first-class, second-class, and third-class, with first-class being the highest difficulty."

"Special and A-level tasks are undertaken by teachers and students of the Celestial Cloud Division. B-level and C-level tasks are for students of the Elite Division. You, from the New Talent Division, can only undertake D-level and E-level tasks. However… if you continuously complete ten D-level tasks and demonstrate sufficient capability, you can then be promoted to accept higher-level missions. In essence, the level of mission your team can undertake is intrinsically tied to your strength!"

"Additionally, now that you three are a team, you function as a single unit. While individual strength is important, teamwork is far more significant. Remember this: ‘If a thousand people unite in purpose, they gain the combined power of a thousand; but if ten thousand are divided in heart, all their strength combined amounts to nothing.’"

"I do not wish to see anyone acting the hero or forcefully taking the lead during your mission. If this occurs, all three members of the offending team will be immediately expelled without any discussion!"

At this point, Han Tianxiao cast a meaningful glance at Lou Yun, and Xia Zhilan also stealthily looked his way.

Lou Yun didn’t need them to look; he distinctly felt this final warning was aimed squarely at him!

"Upon successful mission completion, you will receive rewards commensurate with the results. Of course, if you have no use for the standard rewards, you may apply to receive other rewards of equivalent value."

"As your instructor, as long as your lives are not in danger, I will not interfere with your actions. Ultimately, the success or failure of this mission rests solely on your own shoulders. Is all of that clear?"

"Understood!"

"Good. Now I will tell you the task you are entrusted with!"

"The task difficulty: D-level, first-class. The task content: rescuing someone!"