"You’re going down the mountain?" Lu Han looked at Lin Huang in astonishment.
Although Inner Sect Disciples of Piaoxue Palace were qualified to take on tasks, it was extremely rare for someone like Lin Huang to run straight to the Task Hall immediately after entering the Inner Sect. Even if there were such cases, they wouldn’t actively seek out tasks like him. Usually, they would be pulled into teams by experienced disciples to complete tasks together. Even Lu Han himself had only followed others to complete a single task since joining the Inner Sect.
"Is there a problem?" Lin Huang asked.
Lu Han gave a numb smile. "Sect tasks generally aren’t very easy, and they can easily be a matter of life and death. As for the simple ones, the rewards are completely unworthy of a trip down the mountain. At most, they serve as mere experience!"
Seeing Lu Han’s hesitation and apparent fear of being dragged into a trap, Lin Huang had no choice but to put on a shameless face. "Martial Nephew!"
"Get lost!" Lu Han bristled instantly.
"Martial Nephew!" Lin Huang called out again.
"Don’t push your luck. Do you really think I can’t teach you a lesson?" Lu Han whipped out his rusty iron spear.
"Martial Nephew!" Lin Huang persisted.
"Let’s just go to the Task Hall," Lu Han conceded, looking defeated. Halfway there, he added, "If you ever dare to call me Martial Nephew again and take advantage of me, I will definitely blow both your upper and lower heads off!"
"Alright, Martial Nephew, this is the last time!" Lin Huang nodded with utter seriousness.
Lu Han was left speechless.
Before long, the two arrived at the Task Hall. It was exceptionally bustling today, with many Inner Sect Disciples crowded together, waiting for the release of new tasks.
"Dummy!" Shortly after Lin Huang arrived, Yann Qing’er suddenly popped up from behind him and slapped her tender palm hard on his shoulder.
"Why are there so many people? And why are you here?" Lin Huang asked two questions in a row.
"I live on Piaoxue Peak. The Task Hall is just a few steps away, so what’s so strange about that?" Yann Qing’er stared at him with disdain. "Do you really not know why there are so many people here?"
Lin Huang slightly raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that it was just as he expected.
The Martial King’s Tomb!
As early as the day before, Lin Huang had heard numerous rumors. It was said that the entrance to the Martial King’s Tomb had already been found. All that was needed was a bit of time to break the seal on the entrance before people could go inside. To this end, various factions within the East Spirit Realm were all making preparations. After all, the mausoleum of a generation’s Martial King would contain extraordinary items, no matter how ordinary they might seem. Even Martial Marquis Realm powerhouses would probably be quite envious. As one of the Four Great Sects standing tall in the East Spirit Realm, Piaoxue Palace naturally wouldn’t let such an opportunity slip by.
Therefore, Lin Huang guessed that the task to head to the Martial King’s Tomb would be issued in the Task Hall today. No matter what, it was a rare opportunity that came once in a century, so the sect would certainly send its disciples to gain some experience.
And Lin Huang was determined to obtain the Heart-Burning Lotus inside the Martial King’s Tomb! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to enter the Inner Sect. Now that a task related to the Martial King’s Tomb was being released, how could he possibly miss it?
However, as Lin Huang looked at the crowded Task Hall, he felt a sense of foreboding. He feared that more than half of these people were here for the Martial King’s Tomb. Snatching this task wouldn’t be simple.
"You must be crazy if you want to go to the Martial King’s Tomb." After understanding Lin Huang’s intentions, Lu Han stared at him with a dark expression, his thick lips trembling.
That was the Martial King’s Tomb! It was a mausoleum that even Martial Marquis powerhouses coveted. Anyone without sufficient strength would likely become cannon fodder after entering it.
"Even though Piaoxue Palace is one of the Four Great Sects and there will be Elders guarding us inside the Martial King’s Tomb, if your own strength is too low, it’s still extremely dangerous!" Lu Han rambled on, clearly unwilling to go.
Lin Huang furrowed his brows and slightly opened his mouth, about to speak.
"I’ll go!" Lu Han interjected decisively, seeing that the words "Martial Nephew" were about to jump out of Lin Huang’s mouth.
Seeing Lu Han yield, Lin Huang finally smiled and coaxed, "When the big fish start fighting, we can just hide on the sidelines and enjoy the show!"
"Then I’m going too!" Yann Qing’er gritted her teeth.
"Why are you trying to cause trouble!" Lin Huang turned his head and scolded.
"None of your business." Yann Qing’er pouted and snorted, threatening, "If you don’t take me with you, we’ll see if you can even make it down from Piaoxue Palace!"
Lin Huang rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "We’ll talk about this later."
Before long, a commotion broke out in the Task Hall, immediately drawing the attention of Lin Huang and his two companions. They saw the text on the starlight-flickering task board begin to jump rapidly. In just a few breaths, a new piece of task information shot to the top of the board.
Next to the task board, the Elder who had been sound asleep on a rocking chair woke up. He opened his groggy eyes, glanced at the board, and muttered, "It’s finally here!"
At this moment, everyone’s gaze in the Task Hall was focused on the top of the task board.
Task: Martial King’s Tomb.
Level: Celestial Armor.
Reward: One Celestial Element Pill; one opportunity to comprehend Snow Falling on Earth; all items obtained in the Martial King’s Tomb can be kept as one’s own.
Condition: Can be accepted by teams of five or more. The team must include at least one top-ten Inner Sect Disciple!
"A Celestial Armor Task! It’s actually a Celestial Armor Task!" Exclamations rang out from the disciples in the Task Hall. Staring at those two large words on the board, everyone revealed expressions of disbelief. No one had expected that the rating for the Martial King’s Tomb expedition would actually reach the Celestial Armor level.
In Piaoxue Palace, task levels were divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Level A tasks were further divided into Human Armor, Earth Armor, and Celestial Armor! Above Celestial Armor tasks, there were Divine Armor tasks. However, such tasks involved the very survival of the sect and hadn’t appeared in a hundred years. Therefore, everyone in Piaoxue Palace tacitly acknowledged that Celestial Armor was the highest active task level.
The sudden appearance of the words "Celestial Armor" caught everyone present off guard. It made even the disciples who hadn’t been paying attention to the Martial King’s Tomb widen their eyes and gulp nervously.
A Celestial Armor Task!
Merely heading to the Martial King’s Tomb for an expedition, without even requiring disciples to make any specific contributions, was rated as a Celestial Armor task. The Martial King’s Tomb was undoubtedly far from simple. This was because the higher the task level, the greater the difficulty. This was an absolute direct proportion, and the corresponding rewards for completing the task were quite substantial.
One Celestial Element Pill!
One opportunity to comprehend Snow Falling on Earth!
Setting aside the fact that Snow Falling on Earth was the number one Martial Technique in the East Spirit Realm, the Celestial Element Pill alone was enough to tempt any disciple. In fact, they would thirst for it desperately. Because the Celestial Element Pill was directly tied to the Celestial Element Realm!
A Martial Artist’s cultivation was inherently a path that defied the heavens; a single moment of carelessness could lead to eternal damnation. When breaking through major realm bottlenecks like the Celestial Element Realm and the Martial Marquis Realm, one was especially prone to falling into the Demon Realm, leading to complete failure!
The sole purpose of the Celestial Element Pill was to ensure that a Martial Artist smoothly crossed over into the Celestial Element Realm. It was an absolute Life-Saving Talisman. As for Snow Falling on Earth, its terrifying power was naturally self-evident.
"Uh..." While everyone was still reeling in shock, Lu Han gulped. He stared fixedly at the words "Celestial Armor" on the task board and said fearfully, "Maybe we should just forget it. I’d rather live a more cautious life!"
Lin Huang frowned, feeling quite astonished himself. He hadn’t expected this task to be rated as Celestial Armor. This indirectly proved that the danger level of the Martial King’s Tomb this time was far higher than that of ordinary Secret Realms.
"I remember the only Celestial Armor task in the past twenty years was issued four years ago. When an Elder defected from Piaoxue Palace, the Palace Master was furious and issued a Celestial Armor task!"
"I remember that incident very clearly. That Elder’s name was Songg Herr. He stole the Snow Falling on Earth Martial Technique and attempted to defect to the Celestial Thunder Sect!"
"I also recall... it was Lin Cangxue who accepted that Celestial Armor task back then."
"Yes, exactly! Back then, Lin Cangxue chased him for thousands of miles with nothing but her sword. She ruthlessly forced Songg Herr into a dead end, leaving him no escape to the heavens or the earth."
"At that time, probably no one in the sect believed that Lin Cangxue, relying solely on her Earth Element Realm cultivation, could actually bring the head of a Celestial Element Powerhouse back to the sect."
"It was that exact moment—when an Earth Element Kills Celestial Element—that thoroughly established her title as an East Spirit Legend!"
The crowd discussed animatedly. Still immersed in the shock brought by the words "Celestial Armor," they couldn’t help but think of the legendary genius who had accepted the last Celestial Armor task.
Lin Huang gazed at the task board, his thoughts solemn. It was impossible to make him give up on this task. Because of the Heart-Burning Lotus, he absolutely had to enter the Martial King’s Tomb; there was no room for negotiation.
What Lin Huang was pondering was exactly what existed inside the Martial King’s Tomb to turn a mere expedition into a Celestial Armor task. Then, he shook his head. Even if he racked his brains, he probably wouldn’t figure it out. He would only learn the truth once he stepped foot inside the mausoleum.
"Elder, I will accept this task!" Lin Huang stepped forward, looking at the Elder lying on the rocking chair.
The white-haired and white-bearded Elder still seemed half-asleep. After glancing at Lin Huang, he turned his head away, completely ignoring him. The surrounding crowd looked at Lin Huang with strange expressions.
COUGH COUGH.
Lu Han coughed twice, his face flushing red. He pulled away from Lin Huang, as if feeling that standing next to him was a sheer insult to his own status.
TAP TAP TAP.
The Elder, with his head turned away, stretched out a smoking pipe and knocked it against the task board, accompanying the gesture with a deep snort.
Lin Huang looked up and read the task board again before smiling awkwardly. Previously, he hadn’t noticed the task’s acceptance condition:
Teams of five or more. The team must include at least one top-ten Inner Sect Disciple!