Chapter 240: The Mission (I)

"Did you not tell him about the prize other than getting selected to participate in the Grand Spirit Hunt?" 

Sect Leader Su's words rang throughout the hall. 

"Uh..." Elder Lai Chang scratched the back of his head, "Sect Leader, didn't you say that the second reward is supposed to be kept a secret?"

"Ah, yes yes," Sect Leader Su remembered, and continued while looking at Ye Tian Yun, "Disciple Fang Chen, if you miss this tournament, you're going to miss out on something really big. The second reward is... better than the Sword Stele."

Ye Tian Yun was surprised.

And noticing his surprise, Sect Leader Su inwardly nodded his head and said, "Swod Stele increased your cultivation so much, but this hidden reward will give you an overall boost - be it Cultivation realm or battle prowess - both will increase many folds, and you will get a newfound strength."

Ye Tian Yun scratched his chin while replying, "Sect Leader, I will repeat what I said to Elder Lai Chang a few minutes ago."

"Even though I have a good cultivation realm, what I lack is battle experience. I am afraid I might fail in the Gracious Sword rankings tournament even with a good Cultivation realm."

Sect Leader Su frowned when he heard those words, "You are doubting yourself? Do you know what kind of Cultivator doubts himself? One who will never succeed."

"As a Cultivator, you should be the first one to believe in yourself."

Ye Tia Yun nodded his head; however, he wasn't here for a pep talk, rather he wanted to take this conversation in a different direction.

However, when Sect Leader Su saw his unenthusiastic response, he thought Ye Tian Yun wasn't confident in himself. Thus he continued.

"Whatever you want in your life, others want it too. You don't have to be the most talented genius in the world. You don't have to be the smartest cultivator in the world. What matters is your persistence and will. If you have a strong will and high persistence, there's nothing you can't achieve."

Ye Tian Yun pursed his lips and replied, "Sect leader, you ask for persistence, but how will I persist if there's nothing to persist for."

"What do you mean?" The other men were confused at his words.

"Sect Leader Su," Ye Tian Yun replied, "Due to last month's Sleeper Cell incident, you enforced a lockdown in the sect, and all the sect missions were temporarily canceled."

"Now, as the Grand Spirit Hunt is approaching, even though disciples like me have high Cultivation, what they lack is the on-ground experience. Friendly spars among other disciples won't be enough. What I need are missions where my life is on the line."

"Those situations will be the trigger to push me ahead."

Peak Master Duan nodded as Ye Tian Yun's words came to an end. He agreed with the points put forward by Ye Tian Yun.

Sect Leader Su shook his head, "The lockdown won't last for long, so you will still get your chance to do the missions."

Ye Tian Yun was surprised at this, "So all the missions will resume soon?"

Sect Leader Su nodded his head, "Yeah, after one more month or so."

Ye Tian Yun's excitement died down as soon as he heard those words.

'One more month? That was too much.'

He would lose his chance to get the Token Of Fate.

Ye Tian Yun then asked, "Sect leader, is it not possible to remove the lockdown sooner? One month is already a lot to investigate the incident. If no clues have been found yet, nothing will be found after this."

"Also, I was talking about getting experience before participating in the Gracious Sword ranking tournament. One month later, it will be too late because the tournament will be long over before lockdown ends."

Sect Leader Su frowned, "I understand that you're eager to test your Cultivation in the world outside, but I can't release lockdown just for that. We're still investigating that incident, and there have been few clues regarding that."

Ye Tian Yun could only shrug at this. 

Suddenly Peal Master Duan opened his mouth, "Sect Leader, why don't we enlist Fang Chen for the upcoming mission?"

Ye Tian Yun frowned in confusion, so did Elder Lai Chang.

'Aren't all missions closed? Which mission is he referring to?' Both of them had the same question in their minds.

Sect Leader Su, however, knew what Peak Master Duan was referring to.

He shook his head, "Fang Chen is too young for this. He should go for easy missions first."

Peak Master Duan shook his head, "But Sect Leader Su, there are already other disciples who are as inexperienced as Fang Chen but still part of the mission."

Sect Leader Su frowned, "Are you talking about Xiao Ming? That kid has shown a lot of potential in the last one month - in fact, if not for Fang Chen's boost in Cultivation through Sword Stele, I am sure he would have been the most powerful among the new batch of inner court disciples."

Ye Tian Yun, who was standing at the center of the hall, was shocked at the Sect Leader's words.

Not because of the comparison between both of them, but because of the fact that Xiao Ming was going to be a part of a mission!

'So fate is forcing Xiao Ming towards the Token!?'

Ye Tian Yun's breathing suddenly became rapid; however, he calmed himself down in the next instant.

The other three in the hall easily noticed the change in Ye Tian Yun but chose not to say anything. 

To them, the change in mood was probably because Fang Chen was feeling challenged when compared to Xiao Ming.

They thought of it as nothing more than just the hot-bloodedness of youth.

Ye Tian Yun remarked, "Sect leader Su, please tell me about this mission."

...

A/n: If you find any typos or errors, please let me know through comments.

Please do not read the next chapter if you're reading this line.

T y s m.