Mission Accepted.

"Well, I'll be upfront with you. Despite gaining significant strength from my practice, I'm still struggling financially. I wanted to ask if there's any way I can earn some money."

As he spoke, Li Xian activated his spectral scan ability to check Wu Jing's stats. He had already used it on his buddies, who were quite ordinary and similar to him, before he began his training.

Wu Jing's Stats:

Name: Wu Jing

Cultivation: None (Considered an early stage entry stance according to Orion Techniques standard)

Life: 90

Strength: 150 Kg

Agility: 10 sec/100 meters

'Not bad.'

"Aha! You've come to the right person, Mas-Li! I'm still getting used to the hierarchy levels in the martial society, so bear with me. Regarding earning money, you can take on missions, participate in fights, or even teach someone—there are many options given your strength."

Wu Jing spoke a bit awkwardly at first before laying out some options for Li Xian.

"Hm! Participating in fights means?"

Li Xian already had a general idea of what it meant but wanted confirmation.

"Well, it's participating in underground fights organised by some organisations."

Wu Jing stated matter-of-factly, confirming Li Xian's thoughts.

"Forget about underground fights and teaching parts. How can I access the missions? Do you have any missions or connections for this?"

Li Xian dismissed the underground fighting option due to the risk of unknown raids from authorities, which would be troublesome. Teaching wasn't feasible for him either, given the time constraints.

"Li, you can register under the Martial Arts Society. Then you will be able to access a portal where you can find many legal missions."

Wu Jing suggested, understanding Li Xian's preference for legality.

"Oh! Where should I register, then? Let's do it right away."

Li Xian responded with a smile on his face. He preferred a legitimate option over the dark net, considering the potential impact on both him and his close ones.

"Ah! About that, we need to submit a form for now. But it may take up to a month or two before you get your registration after their verification."

Wu Jing explained, noting Li Xian's excitement.

"Such a long process for simple registration?"

Li Xian expressed disappointment, realising he needed funds sooner to ensure his family and friends could live comfortably.

"That's because there will be a lot of formalities, and someone needs to come to test your strength from headquarters."

Wu Jing explained, emphasising the importance of the process.

"Well! Actually, I can access some missions from my portal and can bring someone along if it is allowed. But the missions I have access to won't pay much, as they are limited to the novice stage."

Wu Jing mentioned uncertainly, forgetting that Li Xian was still a newcomer who needed opportunities.

"Oh, really? Then let's check... I don't think those missions will pay less than what I earn here, right?"

Li Xian's disappointment vanished quickly as he looked at Wu Jing intensely.

"Yeah... Nowhere close. Let's check. It's been so long since I have taken a mission. But with you by my side, I will be able to survive most novice missions, hehe!"

Wu Jing added, pulling out his mobile to log into the portal available only to registered members.

"Are there any options available in Guiyang only?"

Li Xian inquired, surprised by the thousands of missions displayed.

"We can put the filter to 'missions near me.' This app is actually pretty good."

Wu Jing suggested, using the filter to reduce the mission count to around 50.

"Most of the missions we get are for assassinations. Actually, these missions are approved by the government."

Wu Jing explained as he noticed that almost all the missions involved going somewhere to assassinate someone.

"Let's ignore them for now. Open this one... It's a protection mission."

Li Xian suggested, unable to participate in killing missions.

"Oh, okay," Wu Jing agreed, opening the mission.

Mission: Protect Mr. Zhao during an event.

Type: Protection.

Required participants: (7/10).

Minimum required strength: Novice early stage martial artist.

Timeline: 24 hours.

Reporting time: (14 November 2023)

Place: Zhao residence, Guiyang city.

Remuneration: 50000 Yuan per person. (Bonus amount will be added for persons that contribute more)

Updated request: We need more people, please bring along any fellow practitioners that you can. The remuneration will be the same.

"Are you okay with this mission? It's paying a lot of money..."

Li Xian asked, his excitement evident. The remuneration was more than his savings before he went to Auckland. However, he needed confirmation from Wu Jing, still unfamiliar with the complexities of such missions.

"Hm! Li, protection missions usually pay higher than normal missions for people like me. I usually earn around 20 to 30 thousand for assassination missions. But comparably, the difficulty is also a bit higher in protection missions, as it is possibly a martial artist or even a specially trained group with weapons."

Wu Jing expressed his thoughts with a hint of hesitation, aware that every mission carried risks.

Li Xian waited patiently for Wu Jing to make his decision, respecting his friend's concerns.

"But, it's alright. My master told me many times that I am lagging behind my fellow disciples due to so much hesitation on doing things that will help me increase my strength. Let's do this, Li. With you being there, I don't see any possible issues that will arise, hehe."

Wu Jing said with determination after thoughtful consideration.

"Alright then! Accept the mission. We will meet tomorrow early in the morning at Heibin Park. And do me a small favour too."

Li Xian said, standing up with a smile.

"Oh! What is it?" Wu Jing asked, intrigued.

"Not that hard one. Just inform the manager Ma that Li Xian has resigned from the job. If there are any formalities, please handle them on my behalf. If there is anything else that requires my attention, just give me a call."

Li Xian explained as he pushed open the door and walked away.

"That's not a big problem."

Wu Jing shouted after him, feeling that it made sense for a martial arts master like Li Xian to focus on training and pursuing higher strength rather than spending time on other endeavours.

The day flew by for Li Xian as he stuck to his usual routine. Despite completing the first set of the fifth stance with difficulty, he only gained a total of 10 points today.

'The drop is pretty sharp.'

His walking mission contributed the usual six points. Adding yesterday's 12 points from practice, today's 10, and the 12 points from the mission over the two days, Li Xian checked his stats.

[Stats:

Name: Li Xian

Race: Human

Lifespan: 159 Years

Stat Points: 0

Cultivation: Beginner Initiate (34/300) (+) [Exp required for the next level]

Martial Skills: None

Abilities: Spectral Scan (Activate). [Expand]

Items: Orion martial techniques [Currently at entry stances]

Missions:

Mission 1: Affiliate Program

Type: Permanent

Description: Whenever a member of the group spends a point in the Buy section of the group, 10% of the spent points will be rewarded to the host.

Current accumulation: 0 [Transfer] - Clicking on Transfer will instantly transfer points to Stat points.

Upgrade requirements:

 1. Group members should reach 10.

 2. All the founding members except for the admin should reach Warrior level martial artist.

Mission 2: Take a walk since you are weak for better metabolism

Type: Daily [Ends once the host reaches Warrior level]

Description: Take a good walk and get stat points as rewards for reaching milestones.

Milestones: Every five kilometers one stat point.

Current accumulation:0 [Transfer] - Clicking on Transfer will instantly transfer points to Stat points.

Strength Rating:

Strength: 1.1 ton.

Agility: 1sec/ 115 metres. ]

"Hm! Looks like the amount of strength, life span, and agility has dropped compared to the previous values for each exp gained, huh?"

Li Xian spoke to himself as he observed his new stats.

He used to gain 5kg for each exp before; now, it's around 3kg. The same goes for life span and agility stats, which have decreased similarly.

However, Li Xian understands that this is likely due to the substantial experience he will gain at this level.