Chapter 174: Ritual of Tranquility

[Now issuing Stage B quest.]

[This Personal Dungeon contains only one quest, but its difficulty coefficient is high. Please proceed with caution.]

[Quest: Giant waves washing away sand, who commands the tides?]

[Quest Description: The mayoral election in Bianliu County is rapidly approaching, pushing this already chaotic city to the brink of collapse. It is only one step away from descending into complete anarchy.

For this mayoral election, the original plan involved 24 ballots held by various factions within and around Bianliu County.

However, Across the Lake temporarily altered the plan, desiring greater human participation in this election.

Therefore, as the only human currently in the city, you have received two ballots.

The person with the most ballots will be elected mayor. As long as they serve a full three-month term, they can take up a post Across the Lake. Thus, your two ballots are bound to attract the covetous desires of others.

Having already become an experienced clerk, you should know that the best clerks must learn to assess the situation.

Only by boarding a sound Ship can one reach the opposite shore. Therefore, please choose one of the following factions to join and assist its leader in becoming mayor:

(...)

Now, please select one of the following two modes to determine your quest objective.

Righteousness Mode:

Navigating the underworld is all about loyalty and honor. The further the person you assist goes, the higher your rewards will be.

Chaos Mode:

Navigating the underworld means morality and loyalty are absolute bullshit. If you want to leave a prominent name in this chaotic world, you have to go big and go wild.

The greater the uproar you cause in Bianliu County, the higher your rewards will be.

Hint: Because Chaos Mode has a higher difficulty, its rewards are several times greater than Righteousness Mode's.]

Yan Jing read the quest description and quickly understood.

No matter which mode he picked, the opening move was to select a faction to join.

He scanned the quest's list of candidates and was surprised to find the name Luo Sheng on it.

However... he obviously wasn't going to choose himself.

Doing so would be tantamount to throwing away his advantage, and it could also attract a lot of identity-related trouble.

Looking over the factions listed in the quest, Yan Jing quickly made his decision.

[Chaos Mode]

He made his choice.

[Have a pleasant game.]

[Stage B will officially begin in one day.]

[Countdown to exiting Dungeon: 00:05:00]

With his exit from the Dungeon imminent, Yan Jing first found Tiger to inform him he was leaving.

"You're leaving already?"

Ever since winning the gamble, Tiger had been holed up in the shop all day, tinkering with mysterious things. Hearing that Yan Jing was leaving, he let out a reluctant sigh.

"Xiao Yan, let's meet again when there's a chance."

"Alright, shopkeeper. That's it then."

Yan Jing smiled. Shortly after, he went to inform Dong Pingping about Dong An's situation.

Finally, he visited Yi Ji's residence and retrieved an item before exiting the Inner World.

When he opened his eyes, he was already back in his room at the detached house.

The first thing he did, naturally, was to inform Shen Youran that he had come out.

"Xiao Yanzi, you're back already?"

Shen Youran's tone was both surprised and excited.

"Wait for me, I'm coming over right now."

Hanging up the phone, Yan Jing looked at his Inventory.

Because he had advanced to the Second Tier, his Inventory now had a full nine slots, but... it was still packed to the brim.

And this was even after he had deliberately brought fewer items into the Dungeon this time.

[Mental Immunity Potion (Bound Item) 2, High-Nutrition Bread, Dungeon Selection Voucher 1, Dungeon Postponement Voucher 1, Ritual Blessing Coupon 1 (Bound Item), Physical Enhancement Potion 1 (Bound Item), Inner World Box Key 1 (Bound Item), Lord of Execution's Severed Silk Thread]

"Knock, knock, knock!!!"

Shen Youran arrived very quickly. When Yan Jing opened the door, he saw a figure wearing slippers and oversized black-framed glasses. She wore no makeup, and her eyebrows were so faint they were practically invisible.

"Xiao Yanzi, how are you so fast!"

Shen Youran's fox-like eyes widened.

She was familiar with the Stage A quest task of helping someone enter the ranks in this Dungeon. On average, it would take at least ten days to half a month, yet...

It only took two days.

This once again made Shen Youran marvel at Yan Jing's miraculous speed. It felt as if while others were braving the Dungeon, Yan Jing was just going home.

"It wasn't actually as fast as you think," Yan Jing said.

Yan Jing went to the fridge, took out a bottle of juice, and tossed it to Shen Youran. "Stage B of the Dungeon starts tomorrow morning, so..."

"So you can rest for half a day today?"

Shen Youran looked at Yan Jing and took a large, gulping swig.

"So I have time today to complete the assimilation for the calming rite."

"Pfft—"

Shen Youran couldn't hold it back and sprayed juice everywhere.

"Wh-what did you say?!"

"I said, I should be able to assimilate the calming rite today," Yan Jing said calmly.

"You're already at the Second Tier?!!"

Shen Youran's eyes bulged.

"Yeah, I just entered the Second Tier."

Yan Jing's expression was indifferent.

"W-wait a minute..."

Shen Youran felt a little dizzy. Which Dungeon number was this for Yan Jing again? How could he possibly be at the Second Tier already? Then... what on earth were his previous Dungeon evaluations like?

She swallowed hard.

After a long while, once she accepted this reality, panic quickly set in.

"Crap, the surprise I said I was preparing for you was for the calming rite, but I thought you wouldn't be this fast! The materials haven't even arrived yet..."

In her heart, she had already estimated Yan Jing's tier progression to be extremely fast, but she still never expected it... to be this fast.

"It's fine. I prepared for the calming rite myself," Yan Jing said flatly.

The panicked Shen Youran immediately froze.

"You prepared for it?"

"What quality?"

"Purple."

Yan Jing's expression remained placid. "And... I have a Ritual Blessing Coupon."

"Purple is pretty good."

Shen Youran first breathed a sigh of relief. The quality she had been preparing was also purple.

She had almost forgotten that Yan Jing had obtained a purple-grade Order Note back in the Novice Dungeon.

But soon enough, upon hearing Yan Jing's latter sentence, her heart began to pound.

"Does that mean... it could become black-purple?"

"Yes."

Yan Jing nodded.

"I-I'm going to the temple right now to use Burning Incense for you, Xiao Yanzi!"

Shen Youran ran out the door.

"Xiao Yanzi, wait a few minutes before you start assimilating the calming rite!"

Yan Jing watched her back and smiled.

This woman was always in such a frantic rush.

However, he still did as she asked and waited for about ten minutes.

Then, he pressed the Ritual of Tranquility under the Ritual tab.

With a thought, the surrounding furniture, the room, and the ceiling all seemingly turned to dust and slowly faded away. Before him, that sky-obscuring great curtain appeared once again.

Behind the curtain was pitch black, but an eerie aura seeped out, signifying that what lay within was far from simple. Perhaps... those magnificent and bizarre figures he had seen last time had long been waiting for him.

"Bong!!! Bong!!! Bong!!!"

The resounding toll of a great bell echoed out. The familiar nine massive stars lit up upon the great curtain, shining with a searing radiance.

"Tick! Tock! Tick!"

Domains materialized one after another. Accompanying the ticking of the clock, an incense burner and a prayer mat also appeared one by one.

A faint, exotic fragrance permeated the air.

However, unlike last time, a small empty gap now appeared between the prayer mat and the incense burner, right where the incense ash fell.

It seemed to be waiting for Yan Jing to place something upon it.

"Calm the mind and spirit!!!"

"Choose a fine vessel!!!"

"Perform the subsequent rite!!!"

"Meticulously condense the qi! Meticulously condense the vessel!"

Deafening voices roared. Yan Jing stepped forward. The White Stone Cage materialized in his hands, and he placed it in the space between the incense burner and the prayer mat. Then, he took out the Mei Family's heirloom and set it inside the cage.

Looking at the silk thread radiating a faint purplish-black light, Yan Jing's eyes flickered.

This time, his goal was a black-tier calming rite.