Chapter Nine: The Mission

On the following day, as expected, the Celestial Emperor’s envoy arrived punctually. After handing Gu Linglong a jade slip, he vanished once more. Only after Gu Linglong finished reading did she speak: “Listen carefully, everyone. Our mission is, once the war begins, to ambush and kill as many two-winged and four-winged angels as possible. For every two-winged angel you kill, you’ll be rewarded with a high-grade spirit stone; for every four-winged angel, twenty stones. You can also exchange these achievements for official positions, though I suppose none of you are particularly interested in holding office.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. Gu Linglong continued, “Anyone who kills thirty angels of equal strength to themselves is exempt from further participation in this war.”

That was the main point. As expected, a faint glimmer of hope lit up the group after she said this. No one knew how long this war between the Angel Realm and the Immortal Realm would last—it wasn’t feasible to be trapped here indefinitely. This final rule, at least, offered a way out.

Li Chengzhu pondered silently. Whatever else one might say about the Celestial Emperor’s methods, they were certainly effective; with the lure of high-grade stones, those cultivators without powerful backers would surely give their utmost.

Gu Linglong herself, an immortal and the governor of a city, only earned a hundred high-grade stones a year—killing just one four-winged angel would bring twenty. Fortune favors the bold!

Damn, the Celestial Emperor was cunning indeed.

“Reporting!” Li Chengzhu raised his right hand and called out loudly.

Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled.

Gu Linglong frowned slightly. “What is it?”

Finally willing to speak to me, huh? Li Chengzhu grinned. “Just wondering—how do we prove how many angels we’ve killed? Is there any evidence?”

At this, everyone looked at him as if he were an idiot, but Gu Linglong ignored them and answered, “Angels have something called a Divine Crystal inside their bodies, located at the heart. After killing them, you can extract it as proof of your kills.”

Li Chengzhu’s eyes gleamed with mischief. “What if someone else does the killing, but I take the crystal? Who gets the credit?”

Gu Linglong hesitated, then replied uncertainly, “It should count for you.”

From the side, Qiufeng sneered, “Even the weakest two-winged angel is at the mid-stage Nascent Soul level. You? You’re not even qualified to scratch their itch.”

Li Chengzhu merely smiled, magnanimously ignoring him, while Xiao Ying, who understood exactly what he was plotting, watched him with a sly grin.

Gu Linglong spoke again. “That’s all you need to know. Fortunately, we’re not expected to confront the angels head-on. Remember—fight if you can win; if not, run. Especially you three,” she added, looking at the triplets, “be extra careful not to let your cultivation suffer harm.”

The three siblings bowed in unison. “Thank you for your concern, City Lord.”

Having finished her instructions, Gu Linglong said, “Alright, go rest. Wait for further orders from the envoy.”

“Yes, my lord,” came the unanimous reply.

As Qiufeng passed by Li Chengzhu, he jeered, “Rookie, remember to hide behind the adults so you don’t die too early. Ha!”

Li Chengzhu smiled back at him. “If the lord is willing to protect me, why don’t you try hiding behind her as well?”

“Shameless!” Qiufeng shook his head, refusing to stoop to his level.

“Likewise!” Li Chengzhu replied, beaming, with not a trace of embarrassment.

While the others rested, Xiao Ying eagerly scampered over to sit next to Li Chengzhu, a wide smile on her face.

“What... what do you want?” Li Chengzhu shuddered at her grin, his voice trembling.

“Hehe!” Xiao Ying first flashed a brilliant smile, then batted her lashes and grabbed his large hand, shaking it. “How about a thirty percent cut?”

“A thirty percent cut?” Li Chengzhu feigned surprise.

Her flirtatious gaze was relentless. “Thirty percent of your spoils, of course. Didn’t you consider sending your little creature to dig out the Divine Crystals?”

Li Chengzhu put on a righteous air and scolded, “How could you even think of such a despicable... act?”

Xiao Ying pouted. “No need for pretenses between us! I want thirty percent!”

Li Chengzhu sneered. “You admit they’re my spoils—so why should I give you a share?” He glanced at Xiao Ying’s lovely face and leered. “What will you give me in exchange?”

Xiao Ying snorted, unfazed by the suggestive look in his eyes. “Fine! If you won’t share, I’ll just shout out that you have a treasure-seeking mouse and plan to steal other people’s rewards.”

Li Chengzhu pointed to the little thing perched on his shoulder. “This one?”

Before Xiao Ying could respond, Li Chengzhu grabbed a passing cultivator and said, “Brother, I have a treasure-seeking mouse for sale—are you interested?”

At the mention of a treasure-seeking mouse, the man’s eyes widened, and he drooled. “Where?”

Li Chengzhu pointed solemnly at the creature. “That one.”

The man examined the animal closely, then flicked his sleeve and shouted, “Are you out of your mind? Since when does a pig pass for a treasure-seeking mouse?” With that, he walked off without a backward glance.

Xiao Ying was left stunned. How could no one recognize the little thing just because it was wearing a vest?

Li the Boss shot her a sidelong glance, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. Xiao Ying’s attempted extortion had ended in failure, and Li Chengzhu was quite proud of his earlier cleverness—raising the little creature to resemble a pig meant he no longer needed to hide it in a travel bag when out and about.

But a day later, Xiao Ying had already forgotten the whole affair and returned to chatting merrily with Li Chengzhu, making him wonder if the girl was simply born scatterbrained.

Still, their conversations over the next few days taught Li Chengzhu quite a bit.

Angels, it turned out, were ranked by the number and color of their wings: two, four, six, eight, ten, and twelve wings in total. Each tier of angel had gray, white, and silver wings, corresponding roughly to the early, middle, and late stages of a cultivator’s progress.

Two-winged gray angels were the lowest rank, with combat power equal to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Four-winged angels matched late-stage experts, while ordinary immortals could only contend with six-winged gray angels.

Anything above that, Xiao Ying said, was not their concern but a headache for higher immortals. If you encountered such beings, your only option was to flee with all your might—otherwise, you’d be utterly obliterated, your soul scattered.

Li Chengzhu reflected on his own strength. With his immortal armor, he could barely survive a blow from a four-winged white angel. In terms of offense, if he could unleash his Godslayer Bow using the spiritual power of his nascent soul, he could surely kill a four-winged silver angel in a single shot; given enough time to draw on the essence of wood, even a six-winged angel would not be beyond him. The power of the Godslayer Arrow was adjustable. But if he relied solely on the spiritual power of his physical body, he could at most gravely wound a four-winged white angel.

After all, the gap between the nascent soul and the physical body was enormous, both in strength and quality.

Watching the sky filled with masters, Li Chengzhu could only sigh at his own weakness. If not for the Godslayer Bow, his mid-stage Out-of-Body cultivation wouldn’t even be enough to keep him from being drowned in someone else’s spit.