Chapter 294: Advancing to the Fourth Tier

At Tianwei's explanation, the man called Uncle Pang said nothing more and simply nodded.

"Don't run around during this time. The election period is approaching, and things are getting chaotic."

"Got it."

Tianwei nodded and turned toward the door. "I'm heading off, Uncle Pang."

It wasn't until she walked out of the recycling station that Tianwei's eyes flickered.

She was almost certain the piece of ore was a treasure—a rare one at that.

Otherwise, the recycling station owner, who had always treated her well, wouldn't have tried to trick her.

If it hadn't been valuable, he wouldn't have scrutinized it for so long, nor would he have asked where she found it.

This was the Anthill.

But ants weren't the ones living here.

And its residents certainly weren't as law-abiding as ants.

After walking a distance, she glanced back. Seeing that the man hadn't followed her, she reached into a roadside garbage pile and retrieved the stone she had hidden there. Then, she pivoted and headed down a secluded alley.

She couldn't go to the bar today.

She needed to find a safe place to hide this thing.

Not long after she left the recycling station, the man known as Uncle Pang took off his Shading Visor, revealing two completely mechanical eyes.

A hint of doubt flickered in those silver-white pupils.

He couldn't figure it out. Given the woman's circumstances, how could she have gotten her hands on that grade of metal ore?

Fourth Level—no, very likely Fifth Level.

"At least 50 eerie points," he muttered to himself.

50 eerie points was no small sum. Moreover, he suspected there was much more to that stone than met the eye.

Truthfully, no matter how much money the woman made, it had nothing to do with him.

The Peace Heavenly Kingdom was called that for a reason—it was the nation that most strongly championed peace. The prevention and punishment of any criminal act here were several times stricter than anywhere else.

At least on the surface.

In the past, there had certainly been people who had brought even more precious items before him.

But...

Lately, there had been a bit of a situation.

Just as he was thinking about this, the Information Component on his right wrist suddenly rang.

He hurriedly answered it.

"Hello."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Could you perhaps figure something out on your end? I'm truly sorry, but tomorrow—I will definitely transfer the money to you tomorrow."

"I know it puts you in a difficult position. I'll add more money—1.5 times the amount. Yes, just extend the deadline by one day."

...

Having switched back to Huang Family Village, Yan Jing walked out of the courtyard and looked around.

It didn't look much different from before the passage opened, except that after the wave of smoke and dust swept across the ground, the houses the "extras" had painstakingly cleaned had reverted to their original state. From the flora in the courtyards to the walls of the buildings, everything was coated in a layer of earthy yellow.

It once again resembled the desolate Huang Family Village of the past.

"No one here."

He glanced around. There was still some time before he had to exit the dungeon, but there wasn't a single player in sight.

"Nothing should have gone wrong."

With this thought, he walked into a nearby courtyard, circled around to the back door, pushed aside the layer of straw on the ground, and pulled up the wooden cellar door.

Creaaak—

The moment the door was lifted, a streak of black light shot out from the cellar toward him. It was instantly annihilated by the pitch-black threads extending from his pupils.

"It's me," he said, his expression calm as he looked down at Mo Lian, who was staring up from the cellar in sheer panic.

Mo Lian froze for a long moment. Only after seeing clearly that it was Yan Jing did she seem to recover her senses, slowly exhaling a breath.

"Is it... safe outside?"

She swallowed hard, recalling her experience hiding in the cellar over the past twenty-four hours.

First, there had been an earth-shattering tremor. Then came a blood-red pillar of light, followed by an intense surge of weird energy that definitely wasn't at the Third Tier level...

"It's been quite safe the whole time."

Yan Jing said, "Go do a headcount. If there are any casualties, let me know immediately."

"Okay... right."

Mo Lian nodded.

Soon, the headcount was complete.

Only one person had been injured.

He had used his Ritual's ability to move piles of rocks from outside onto the cellar doors after entering, completely sealing the entrance. Then, during the violent tremors, the cellar couldn't withstand the pressure and caved in.

He was nearly buried alive.

"Thank you, boss."

The group of players continuously thanked Yan Jing, hoping that he would continue to guide them through Stage B.

"Yeah, see you in Stage B."

With little time remaining, Yan Jing found Mo Lian for a private conversation.

"Are you interested in working for me?"

"Huh?"

Mo Lian couldn't react for a moment.

"Teacher Shen told me a bit about your situation. You signed a death contract with Teacher Shen, right?"

Yan Jing continued, "If you're willing to work for me, I'll talk to Teacher Shen and have your contract voided."

"Really?!" Mo Lian was incredibly excited.

"Yes."

Yan Jing nodded.

"W-what would I normally do?"

Mo Lian felt a bit uncertain. If he wanted her to follow him into dungeons every time, she didn't think she would be able to keep up with his pace.

Just a few months ago, when they were in the Sun-Swallowing Tower and Yan Jing told her she wasn't strong enough, she had been indignant.

But after these last few dungeons, her perspective had entirely changed.

"You just need to help me run a specific dungeon regularly."

Yan Jing's gaze was calm. "The Bianliu County dungeon."

"As for the specific tasks, it's just helping me deliver some items and pass along some messages."

"You mean... a dungeon courier?" Mo Lian asked.

Seeing that Yan Jing looked unfamiliar with the term, she elaborated.

Because many major factions had connections with Inner World forces, whenever they needed to transfer messages or items, they would hire people to enter the dungeons. These individuals were known as couriers.

"Close enough."

Yan Jing nodded. "But I'll protect your safety."

"Once you've made up your mind, send a message to Teacher Shen."

Having finished his instructions, Yan Jing left Mo Lian to think it over and turned to walk away.

A few minutes later.

System prompts appeared before his eyes.

[Huang Family Village Stage A completed]

[Dungeon evaluation in progress]

[Task "Unexpected Outlander" evaluated: The player successfully completed fifteen requests from the residents and received favorable reviews. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the task rating is: S (Maximum rating is S)]

[Task "Only By Entering Can One Exit" evaluated: The player successfully survived two nights. The task rating is: S (Maximum rating is S)]

[Overall Dungeon Rating: S]

[Reward calculation in progress]

[Base Reward: 3% Experience, 10,000 Eerie Coins]

[S-Rating Bonus Reward: 20% Experience, 10,000 Eerie Coins, Mental Immunity Potion (Bound Item) x1, Item Quality Appraisal Ticket x1, Inner World Box Key x1 (Bound Item)]

[Now issuing Stage B task]

[Task: Major Cleanup]

[Task Description: For certain reasons, Huang Family Village has been buried in dust and dirt, and all its residents have moved away. Please help Huang Family Village complete a major cleanup.]

[The cleaner it is, the higher the rating will be. At the same time, please note that inner world residents may intrude during the cleaning process; please drive them all away. The task duration is half a day. Stage B will officially begin in one day. Time remaining before exiting the dungeon: 00:05:00]

.

Yan Jing looked at the task without much surprise.

Unlike Stage A, the tasks in Stage B were not fixed. Given the current state of Huang Family Village, it wasn't strange that the dungeon would issue a task of this difficulty.

Huang Family Village was now essentially a no man's land. With its only secret and conflict resolved, there really was nothing left to do but clean up.

"This Stage B task is way too easy!"

The exclamations of the other players echoed over.

A task this simple was something they rarely ever saw in their lives.

They could easily clean the place up perfectly without Yan Jing even having to lift a finger—unless, of course, a high-Tier inner world resident happened to barge in.

However—

That possibility never came to pass.

On the evening of the following day.

The group successfully completed the Stage B task.

During the twelve hours from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, only one inner world resident had intruded. Yan Jing directly knocked them out cold, completely avoiding the cliché scenario of defeating the young only for the old to seek revenge.

With that, the Huang Family Village dungeon came to a complete end.

[Huang Family Village Stage B completed. Dungeon evaluation in progress]

[Task "Major Cleanup" evaluated: The player successfully completed the major cleanup. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the task rating is: A (Maximum rating is S)]

[Overall Dungeon Rating: A]

[Reward calculation in progress]

[Base Reward: 3% Experience, 10,000 Eerie Coins]

[A-Rating Bonus Reward: 10% Experience, 10,000 Eerie Coins, Lucky Scratch Ticket x2]

The rewards were modest, easily the smallest haul Yan Jing had ever received since he started entering dungeons. But considering the low difficulty of the task, he felt it was reasonable enough.

Besides, even with such meager rewards...

...upon completing Stage B, he had finally crossed into the Fourth Tier.

[You have advanced to the Fourth Tier. Excess experience will be converted at a 50% ratio]

[Player Name: Yan Jing]

[Player Title: Chaos Missionary]

[Player Level: Fourth Tier, Experience (6.1%/100%)]

[Ritual:]

[Day Selection Ritual: Fear Sapling (Purple-Black)]

[Calming Rite: Lord of Execution's Silk Thread (Black)]

[Incense Burning Rite: Wings of Praying for Death - Chongming (Orange)]

[Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices: Pending Selection]

After exiting the Inner World, he took out his phone and, just like always, called Shen Youran.

"Hello? Teacher Shen, I'm out."

"..."

A few minutes later.

The two of them were sitting in the living room, drinking tea.

Since the task had only taken half a day, it was already evening.

Wearing a white nightgown, Shen Youran sat cross-legged on the sofa and explained the basic details of the fourth rite, the Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices, to Yan Jing.

"Subjugation and La can actually be divided into two parts: the Rite of Subjugation and the La Rite. This doesn't mean you need two ritual items, but rather that the item you provide should ideally have opposing effects—like yin and yang, hot and cold, and so on. The Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices is also the first rite where everyone can gain two abilities."

Shen Youran's final sentence caught Yan Jing's attention.

"So you're saying that even if the ritual item's quality doesn't reach the purple tier, you'll still gain two abilities?"

"Pretty much."

Shen Youran nodded. "But by the Fourth Tier, it's almost impossible for anyone to present a ritual item below purple quality anyway."

"So that's not the main point. The important thing is that this is the final ritual before one can claim the title of Sovereign."

"The Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices thus becomes the final bridging ritual."

"The better you can harmonize opposing elements, the more solid a foundation you can lay in preparation for eventually claiming the titles of Sovereign or Marquis."

"After this rite, if you continue forward, you'll truly be a force to be reckoned with. So now we just have to see—whether that Domain Chief Wang is willing to invest heavily in our Xiao Yanzi."