I Can Add Points Infinitely - Chapter 18
“Are you certain it’s Shen Lian?”
The middle-aged man wasted no time and got straight to the point.
“Yes, I’m certain. He’s a True Disciple. I verified his token; there’s no mistake.”
The disciple responded respectfully.
“What task did he take?”
“Task 079, this one…”
The disciple selected a jade slip and handed it to the middle-aged man.
After reviewing the task details, the middle-aged man nodded slightly and returned the jade slip. Suddenly, his eyes shot out two beams of light, and an overwhelming aura pressed down like a mountain.
The Inner Sect disciple, unaccustomed to such pressure, instantly collapsed to his knees, sweating profusely.
“Remember, you must not let anyone know about this. You never sent me any message, and I was never here. Understand?”
The middle-aged man sternly warned.
“Yes, sir! I understand,” the disciple stammered, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Satisfied, the middle-aged man withdrew his aura, his demeanor shifting to a more amiable tone. “Relax, as long as you behave, you won’t be mistreated.”
He pulled ten lower-grade spirit stones from his robe and tossed them to the disciple.
The disciple eagerly accepted, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he repeatedly bowed. “Thank you, sir! I won’t tell a soul, not even my parents.”
“Good.”
The middle-aged man patted the disciple’s shoulder before vanishing without a sound.
Ever since the Third Elder had instructed him to investigate, the middle-aged man had been quietly making preparations. He gathered every bit of information on Shen Lian but found little of use; Shen Lian was a nameless nobody in the Outer Sect who only recently began to shine during the Inner Sect selection.
The only significant clue was that Shen Lian and Wang Hui had left the Azure Cloud Sect together before Wang Hui disappeared. Although this alone wasn’t proof of anything, the middle-aged man later noticed Shen Lian frequently visiting the Outer Sect to search for Liu Chi’an.
From his investigations, Shen Lian and Liu Chi’an weren’t close, barely acquaintances with no real interactions. Liu Chi’an was unremarkable, except for one fact: he had witnessed Shen Lian and Wang Hui leaving the sect together.
Liu Chi’an had mentioned this detail to him before. If Shen Lian was now seeking Liu Chi’an because of this, it was worth pondering deeply.
This thought made Shen Lian look increasingly suspicious in the middle-aged man’s eyes. He even had a gut feeling that the disappearance of Wang Hui and his son, if not directly caused by Shen Lian, was certainly connected to him.
However, due to Shen Lian’s status as a True Disciple, the middle-aged man couldn’t simply apprehend and interrogate him outright. He could only wait for the right moment.
That moment arrived when Shen Lian took on an external mission, presenting the perfect opportunity.
Silently contemplating, the middle-aged man stealthily left the sect and pushed his speed to the limit, soon locating Shen Lian. But instead of making a move, he concealed himself and followed Shen Lian from a distance, clearly plotting something.
Meanwhile, Shen Lian was unaware that he was being tailed. His mind was focused on the mission details.
Task 079 required him to assist villagers in capturing demonic beasts and uncovering the root cause of the attacks. The mission location was in Chenjia Village, less than thirty miles from the Azure Cloud Sect.
On the surface, the task seemed simple, but two key points made it tricky.
First, Chenjia Village was very close to the Azure Cloud Sect, on the opposite side of Shadow Forest. Typically, demonic beasts occasionally ventured out of Shadow Forest, but without a beast tide, why would a beast bypass the Azure Cloud Sect, avoid several other villages, and attack only Chenjia Village? How did this demonic beast even appear?
Second, the mission to assist the villagers was not new; it had been available for nearly half a year. Previous Azure Cloud Sect disciples had successfully dealt with the beasts, but shortly after, new beasts would reappear and attack the village, as if the beasts were endless.
The Azure Cloud Sect found this puzzling, and the mission rewards had been increased multiple times. Currently, the reward stood at a hundred lower-grade spirit stones for anyone who could uncover the cause and resolve the issue.
Shen Lian was drawn to the high reward, prompting him to accept the task.
As he mulled over the mission information, he arrived at Chenjia Village half an hour later, following the map.
Chenjia Village was small, with fewer than a hundred households. In this world, ordinary human territories were administratively divided into five levels: State, Prefecture, City, Town, and Village.
The Azure Cloud Sect, the dominant power in southern Yan State, was situated in Baotong State, close to the nearest major hub, Panyang Prefecture.
Due to the world being infested with demonic beasts, human nations could only survive under the protection of large sects. A significant portion of the nations’ taxes went to these powerful sects in exchange for their protection.
However, the taxes imposed on ordinary citizens were extremely high, making survival tough. Some citizens, unable to endure the heavy taxes, would settle in the wilderness outside cities. This way, they could avoid paying certain state taxes, though they still had to contend with the dangers of the wild.
These citizens were clever; they settled close to large sects, offering them a voluntary tribute as a protection fee. This strategy helped them evade part of the state’s taxes and survive.
While technically illegal in the human nations, these settlements persisted due to the tacit approval of powerful sects. The authorities dared not intervene, resulting in numerous unauthorized villages, especially near large sects.
Chenjia Village was one such illegal settlement, composed mainly of the Chen family and some close associates. From a distance, Shen Lian saw that the village was rundown, with most houses built from wooden planks topped with straw roofs. The perimeter was marked by a fence of stones and wooden stakes, many sections of which were damaged and in need of repair.
Just as he approached the village outskirts, he heard the sounds of a fierce beast’s roar and human shouts, mixed with chaos.
“Hmm? A beast attack right as I arrive? Well, what timing!”
Shen Lian murmured in surprise, quickening his pace toward the source of the commotion. As he rounded the village’s side, a brutal battle scene unfolded before his eyes.