Mission Rewards

"Let's remove the purple robes before we enter the sect." Ray said on the way to the sect. They had left Celana City and could see the sect quite a few miles away.

"Why? What's wrong with them?" Ash raised his eyebrow in question.

"I don't wanna be in the center of their attention." Ray replied.

"That's fine."

They removed their purple robes and stored it in the system's inventory.

"So, do you guys' fancy anyone?" Ash made small talk.

"My eyes are set on Supreme Elder Annabel, although that'll take a while." Bryan answered with a smile on his face.

"Are you confident though?" Ray stared at him.

"Haha, of course I am otherwise I wouldn't have tried on the first day." Bryan chuckled.

"What about you, Ash?"

"Me? Well, it's quite unusual and not into effect yet. I have to wait and see." Ash vaguely replied.

"Huh?" Ray was confused.

Bryan asked, "Wait and see what?"

"Wait and see whether Nirvana can transform or not." Ash jovially answered.

"…" Ray was speechless.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's my man!" Bryan laughed and patted his back. Ash simply smiled in response.

"You guys are mad, I say." Ray shook his head.

"We can't deny what we like but what about you, Ray?" Bryan shrugged.

Ray gave him a deadpan stare, "Are you seriously asking me? You know that no one has ever moved my heart in such a way. It'll take wonders or ages to find someone."

"Don't worry, we're in a different world. There will be plenty of chances for you."

"Yeah, I hope…"

Considering that the Celestial Nirvana Sect is huge and powerful compared to other sects, many try to weed their way in through illegal and fraudulent means.

It was easy to identify whether a person is part of the Celestial Nirvana Sect or not. A huge majestic array covers the entire sect which is solely responsible for keeping track of the sect's disciples and elders. Anyone framing to be one will be dealt accordingly to the sect's rules which is punishable by death.

Not before long, they entered the sect and were on their way to the Mission Hall.

"Hello, elder."

The Mission Hall elder behind the counter looked up from his work and saw the three young men again. He smiled and said, "Done with your mission?"

"Yes, elder." Ray nodded and proceeded to give details of what happened in the village.

The elder caressed his beard and muttered, "It is very unusual for beasts of their caliber to attack a small village."

"Do you have the body of the dark beast?"

"Don't you want the magic hearts, elder?"

"You three can keep it and increase your cultivation. Right now, what I need to see is the dark beast!"

Ray nodded and glanced at Ash, "Ash?"

"Yeah, let me bring it out." Ash mentally willed the system and the dark beast's headless body appeared in front of the elder.

The elder was instantly surprised. He observed with wonderment, "That's a Peak Rank 3 dark beast!"

Naturally, they weren't the only disciples in the Mission Hall. The sudden appearance of a dark beast of course startled them and they observed in curiosity, keen to find some gossip material.

"It was an ugly one to say the least." Bryan whispered in disgust.

The elder looked at them with admiration. It was a Peak Rank 3 dark beast and they had to fight it while they were only at the Natal Realm. It had to be said that a normal Peak Rank 3 beast would be enough to easily dominate a cultivator at the Peak Stage of the Shattering Sea Realm, much less a dark beast known for their evil and cumbersome dark energy.

"To be at the Natal Realm and kill such a dark beast…Commendable!" The elder praised them and with a wave of his hand, stored the dark beast. He then threw a brown bag at Ray for him to catch.

"There's the mission reward, taking the dark beast also into account." The elder said.

Ray opened the bag and went through it. He then looked at the elder and bowed slightly, "Thank you, elder."

The elder shook his head and said, "I didn't do anything. It's natural that you three deserve it for your efforts."

The three bade the elder a good bye and left the Mission Hall. Meanwhile, the other disciples in the Mission Hall obviously heard the juicy content and were immensely shocked. This was truly a masterpiece of a news for some of the bored disciples. Thus, the news of three Natal Realm cultivators defeating a Peak Rank 3 dark beast would soon spread throughout the sect.

"How many gems are in it?" Ash asked in a hurried tone. Bryan, too was curious about the rewards.

Ray smiled and said, "There's a whole 60 Earth-Grade Natural Gems in the bag."

"Oof!" Ash nodded in satisfaction.

"So, that's 20 for each of us." Ray specified.

"Great, we can unlock one more Apex Point with it." Bryan cracked his knuckle.

"Damn! This world is actually fucking exciting." Ash expressed his current emotions.

"It is." Bryan nodded.

"Do you think it is a good idea if we solely rely on the Natural Gems to further raise our cultivation realm?" Ray asked in uncertainty.

"Yeah, it should be. Why do you ask?" Bryan spoke up.

"From the few novels that I have read, I heard they can cause an unstable cultivation base but I'm not too sure if it matters in this world." Ray explained his thoughts.

"It's simple, we can ask the system." Ash suggested.

"Oh, right!" Ray facepalmed.

"System, is there a side-effect to using Natural Gems?"

[Ding]

[Negative. Natural Gems are naturally formed by the world and as a result, no such side-effect will occur in your body. Hence, it is completely safe to use them.]

Ray sighed in relief but then another question popped in his mind, "What about pills?"

[Pills are man-made and there will be traces of impurity in the pills. They can cause a slight negative effect to the foundation of your cultivation base. Hence, heavily relying on pills is not recommended.]

"But system, we consumed a top-grade pill. Isn't that slightly bad for us?" This time, Bryan fired one.

[As long as you equally cultivate through normal means or through Natural Gems, your cultivation base will be automatically smooth and sturdy, eliminating any form of side-effect from consuming pills.]

[You can use your senses to feel the natural flow of the energy in your body. The energy should be equal in terms of smoothness, movement and density. If there is any sign of irregularity, your senses will naturally detect them.]

"I see, thank you, system." Bryan and the others understood the cause and effect of consuming pills.

"I guess the week-long session of us cultivating with the Crown-Grade Natural Gems should have negated the pill's side effect." Ray speculated.

"Yep." Ash nodded.

"So, we have to careful with consumption of pills but natural gems are cool with us. Great to know!" Bryan briefed.

"Let's go the mansion and cultivate with the Earth-Grade Natural Gems." Ray proposed. Bryan and Ash agreed.

Since, they weren't wearing their purple robes, no one had batted an eye at them due to obvious reasons. But life is unpredictable and there is always a way for trouble to seep through the cracks.

The three were walking through the residential area of the inner disciples and they could see the residential district of the Prime Disciples right ahead.

But they were stopped by three young men with haughty and proud faces.

"You three are going the wrong way. The servant quarters are at the south of the sect." One of them spoke with a prideful tone and tried to shoo them away.

"Nobody can just barge into the residential district of the Prime Disciples." Another one of them 'helpfully' informed them.

"Yeah, so hurry up and go back to where you came from." The last one ordered with a frown on his face.

At this point, there were some inner disciples around the vicinity, gathered around to witness the scene. Considering how huge the sect was, there will always be some disciples roaming about here and there.

*Sigh*

Bryan sighed at their stupidity and crunched his eyebrows.

"Well, I was wondering when would it have happened to us." Ray smiled nonchalantly.

"It kinda feels funny because you know they have no clue yet they are bringing trouble to themselves." Ash shook his head.

"Let's just get this over with. I want to go and cultivate." Bryan said with an annoyed tone.

With a flash, the three of them soon wore a purple robe for all of the bystanders to see, especially the young men blocking them.

Immediately, the surrounding disciples gasped in astonishment and eyes widened in shock. They were rooted on the spot, much less the disciples blocking Ray, Bryan and Ash.

"P-P-P-P-P-P…" One of them was shivering uncontrollably.

Ray didn't bother with them and went on his way to the mansion. Ash simply patted the young man's shoulder and walked away.

Bryan stared at them and said in a menacing tone before leaving for the mansion, "Mind your own business!"

The surrounding area was quiet for a brief moment before it erupted in shocking conversations.

"T-They were Prime Disciples…"

"I can't believe I got to see one!"

"Not just one but three of them."

The three haughty young men were pale and quickly went back to where they came from, lest they anger The Great Beyond.

It was always a custom for the sect to announce the coronation of a new Prime Disciple for all the elders and disciples of the sect to witness and celebrate. So, only a handful of disciples were aware of the three new Prime Disciples and now, the surrounding disciples were added into the mix.

Of course, it is one thing for them to spread the news and another for others to believe it. People won't whole-heartedly believe it until they see it with their own eyes.

-In the Zero Mansion-

After several minutes, there were wisps of natural energy permeating in each of their rooms, indicating their cultivation success.

Bryan muttered in the first floor of his room, "Status!"

[Name: Bryan

Age: 17

Race: Human

Title: None

Cultivation Realm: Natal Realm (Apex Points - 16)

Energy Points: 0/1900

Bloodline: None

Physique: Divine Infernal Physique

Element Affinities: None

Passive Skills: All-Fire Resistance (1st Level), All-Fire Boost (1st Level), Divine Infernal Veins, All-Fire Laws (Locked)

Skills: Gaze of Bane (1st Stage), Spirit Grade - Phantasmal Fists]

-On the 2nd floor-

Ash breathed out a mist of natural energy. He was satisfied with his breakthrough and called out to the system to display his status.

[Name: Ash

Age: 17

Race: Human

Title: None

Cultivation Realm: Natal Realm (Apex Points - 16)

Energy Points: 0/1900

Bloodline: None

Physique: Heavenly Frost Physique

Element Affinities: None

Passive Skills: Heavenly Ice Body (1st Level), Heavenly Hailstorm (1st Level), Heavenly Frost Veins, Heavenly Ice Laws (Locked)

Skills: Hail Strike, Spirit-Grade Mirage Flow (1st Stage)]

-On the third floor-

[Name: Ray

Age: 17

Race: Eternal Human

Title: None

Cultivation Realm: Natal Realm (Apex Points - 16)

Energy Points: 0/1900

Bloodline: Eternal Lightning Bloodline

Physique: None

Element Affinities: None

Passive Skills: Eternal Body

Skills: Eternal Speed (1st Stage), Bloodline Transformation (1st Stage), Lightning Wings (1st Stage), Spirit Grade - Trinal Coat (Bronze Level), Behind the Veil (1st Stage)]

Ray nodded in contentment and muttered, "The Bloodline Transformation is very strong. I wonder what the 2nd stage feels like, not to mention the added bonus from my other lightning skills."

"If I can hurry up and quickly awaken my Lightning element, then I will actually be untouchable." Ray smiled widely.

-On an inconspicuous mountain in the midst of the Celestial Nirvana Sect-

The Ancient Elder was sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak, unaffected by the stormy wind and pressure emitted from the mountain.

He opened his eyes and there were archaic runes hidden in the depths of his eyes. He lightly smiled and muttered, "Nicely done…"