Spiritual Earth and the "Edge" Organization

Was Qin Ran an honest man?

Obviously not!

He was a scheming, crafty old bastard, the kind of ultimate roach who would survive even if everyone else died.

And would a man like him feel inferior or feel he couldn't compare to so-and-so genius?

Don't joke around!

He should be the kind of man who stands among the crowd, carefully observing those peerless geniuses using their amazing techniques to fight vigorously and fluently, then shakes his head in disdain, muttering to himself “Boring, childish.”

He should be the kind of man who thinks he's ten thousand times smarter than those so-called geniuses, and looks down on them from the bottom of his heart. This transmigrator was actually very arrogant.

Would a man like him look up to people like Lu Junxing and Yao Qingke?

No way!

He would only feel they were stupid beyond belief.

In the cultivation world, he felt all the people who didn't know how to keep a low profile, didn't know how to keep their cards hidden, liked to show off, and were very famous, were stupid.

Then why did he have that attitude just now?

It's simple, he was jealous.

Then why did he let Li Shiyin show off?

Because...

He was Li Shiyin's hidden card.

Everyone who didn't understand him, Qin Ran, also didn't understand Li Shiyin. He was Li Shiyin's disguise, the disguise in the shadows.

By the time Qin Ran named Li Shiyin's third self-created sword technique, Li Shiyin had only learned two sword techniques, which were Introducing Starlight Art and Plucking Star in One Sword; she had self-created three sword techniques, which were Flying Immortal Beyond the Skies, Sealing Away Thoughts and Dreams, and Starry Dreams; she had learned two mystic arts, which were Battle Spirit Art and Heart and Mind Eye.

As for her sword qi realm, it was just at the threshold of Lifting Heavy as Though Light. As for sword intent, she hadn't sensed it yet.

But even so, for a cultivator at her stage, she knew a bit too much.

So she needed a lot of combat to become skilled at these moves.

And where could she find a lot of combat?

Sect missions.

So in the following year, Li Shiyin continuously accepted sect missions to temper her own sword skills. Especially those missions to defeat demonic beasts that harmed people in the Hengduan Mountains, she accepted all levels from one to six.

...Wasn't it said that sect missions were only suggested for disciples to accept missions one level below their own?

Oh, regarding this issue, some people were unwilling to accept the sect's suggestions. Also, among these people, quite a few were indeed unsuitable for this suggestion.

Aside from those demon-slaying missions, Li Shiyin would also accept some missions with strange rewards.

For example, some missions rewarded Heavenly Star Grass seeds, some rewarded Thousand Leaf Fruits, some rewarded...

"Master..."

The voice had already drifted from very far away before the person had even arrived. Qin Ran was in the study room writing and drawing. As soon as he heard it, he knew his silly apprentice had returned from completing her mission. He hurriedly put down his brush and stood up to go see her.

But before he had even stood up, Li Shiyin's figure suddenly appeared in the window.

She leaned on the windowsill and climbed in through the window.

"Master, guess what the reward for this mission is?!" She asked Qin Ran as she climbed.

How could she be so ungraceful?! Qin Ran flicked her on the head and grumpily scolded: "Look at yourself! Is our home missing a door?!"

Li Shiyin just laughed and ignored him, climbing straight in from the windowsill. She plopped her butt down on the desk, lifted both legs, then slid off the desk to the ground.

She stood next to the desk, patted her butt, tidied her clothes, then took out a square foot-sized box from the shabby storage bag at her waist.

...This was the storage bag with Qin Ran's straight man aesthetic that she had been wearing at her waist for two or three years.

She held up the box to show Qin Ran, blinking her big eyes mysteriously, and asked: "Master, guess what's inside!"

Qin Ran sat in his chair, leaning his head on his hand as he looked up at her and shook his head. "I won't guess," he said.

"Oh come on, Master~ Just take a guess!"

"Is it a demon pill?" Qin Ran said.

Li Shiyin shook her head.

"Spirit medicine?"

Li Shiyin shook her head again.

"Seeds?"

"Master, you're so dumb!" Li Shiyin laughed.

Qin Ran glared at her and refused to guess anymore.

Having fulfilled her little scheme, Li Shiyin no longer asked Qin Ran to guess. She held up the box in front of Qin Ran's eyes and opened it.

"Ta-da!" she sounded out.

Qin Ran looked inside the box and saw it was just a clump of dark, spirit energy-rich soil.

"Mid-grade spirit soil!" Li Shiyin said proudly. "Master, am I amazing or what?"

"Spirit soil..." Qin Ran sat up straight and took the box from Li Shiyin, rather excited. "This was the reward for the mission this time?"

"Yup!" Li Shiyin nodded and held up her left hand, spreading out five fingers to show Qin Ran. "Level five mission!"

Qin Ran was startled, realizing the problem. He closed the box and looked at Li Shiyin with a frown. "Didn't you say it was a level three mission before?"

"Hehe..." Li Shiyin grinned foolishly, her eyes looking toward the old ginkgo tree outside the window. She swayed her elegant body, hands behind her back. "I lied to you!"

"You!" Qin Ran didn't know what expression to make for a moment. This girl really never listened to him, rebellious to the heavens.

"I wanted to give you a surprise..." Li Shiyin tried to explain, looking a little embarrassed. "I know you've been wanting spirit soil for a long time but couldn't find any. So when I happened to see this mission that rewarded spirit soil, I didn't care about anything else."

Qin Ran felt he would definitely be angered to death by Li Shiyin one day. He suppressed his surging blood pressure and asked, "What was the mission?"

"To destroy a heretical cult's nest," Li Shiyin said. Worried that Qin Ran would be angry, she hurriedly added, "It wasn't just me alone, a lot of people went together, Wen Jin was there too."

"Heretical cult?!" Qin Ran's expression changed drastically. The heretical cults in the cultivation world were not like the minor scuffles in the mortal world. They truly had evil gods and high-level cultivators. "Which heretical cult was it, do you know the name?"

"It was in Beichu Territory, not far from Linxian City..." As Li Shiyin spoke, she suddenly recalled something. She rummaged in her storage bag and took out a round token, handing it to Qin Ran to see. "I knew Master would interrogate me, so I specially kept a token."

Qin Ran took the token and his first feeling was that it seemed familiar, but seeing the character "Xiao" written on the token, he couldn't think of it for the moment. Then he flipped the token over, and on this side appeared...

A big character "Yuan"!!

"Yuan Organization!!!" His expression changed dramatically.

He didn't think twice, immediately raising his hand with "cinnabar water" flowing out, submerging the token. In just an instant, the token was corroded to nothingness.

"Master, what's wrong?" Seeing Qin Ran's appearance, Li Shiyin was very confused. "Do you know this heretical cult?"

Not only did he know it, he had been hunted by them twice!

Qin Ran looked at Li Shiyin, suppressed the shock in his heart, and asked, "This mission was level five?"

"Right!"

"How many people went?"

"Nine, including me."

Qin Ran calculated in his mind, a level five mission for nine people should be just eliminating a small nest of the Yuan Organization in Linxian City. For a cultivation organization like this, this mission had probably not even eliminated their Linxian City branch.

"Don't go out for a while," he told Li Shiyin with a pinch between his brows.

"Why?" Li Shiyin asked.

"This organization is terrifying," Qin Ran explained. "Don't accept any more missions related to heretical cults in the future. The water runs too deep inside, it's very easy for something to happen."

Seeing Qin Ran's solemn expression, Li Shiyin could only nod in agreement.