Turning In Pan Bao's Quest

Now that she had acquired a weapon suitable for her, it was time for Guo Wen to go to the village chief, turn in the quest all of the players received, and choose a martial skill which she could borrow for 3 months for free.

Arriving at the village chief's house, she noticed that there were guards standing outside of the gates. Walking up to one of them, she asked, "May I see the village chief? I have completed his request of helping a village by venturing into the Dark Forest, and would like to collect my reward."

By now, everyone in the village had heard of the newcomers who had arrived a few days ago. However, the guard did not really believe that the woman in front of him had actually completed it because he had heard that when the newcomers had arrived, they were all at stage 1 of Qi Condensation. Yet although the guard was a bit skeptical that one of the newcomers to the village, he didn't believe that one of them would try to lie to the village chief.

"Wait a minute," the guard replied. "Let me go in and ask if I can bring you in." Then, the guard told the other guard to stay at the entrance while went and asked the village chief.

A few minutes later, the guard came back out.

"Alright the chief said that I could let you in, so I'll escort you in to him." Turning around, the guard quickly motioned for her to follow him.

Walking through the house, she noticed how it was much more refined and fancy compared to her residence, but that was to be expected. After walking through the hallways, they entered a study where the village chief sat.

Looking up from the work he had been doing, the village chief smiled at Guo Wen.

"You have helped a villager and ventured into the Dark Forest in doing so?"

"Yes I helped the owner of the restaurant The Pepper Orchid, Zhang He, by going into the Dark Forest and collecting 20 Spring Bud Herbs which he needed in one of his dishes."

"Hmm ok." Turning to the guard who had sent her in, Pan Bao (the village chief) instructed, "please visit The Pepper Orchid in order to confirm that what she is saying is true."

"Yes sir!" The guard stated as he walked out of the room. A few minutes later, the guard walked back into the room stating, "I have have confirmed with restaurant owner Zhang He that the miss has indeed brought 20 Spring Bud Herbs to his restaurant and he paid her 20 bronze in response."

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[ --- Quest: Helping Villagers --- ]

Rank: D

Description: The South Dust village does not have enough cultivators to live a decent life. Therefore, you will complete tasks for them to help improve their lives.

Objectives: Complete 1 quest issued by a South Dust Villager which involves venturing into the Dark Forest (1/1 completed)

Rewards: Access to a low rank Basic martial skill for 3 months

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"Good good. Now then, you are probably here for a martial skill right?"

"Yes"

"You are the first one of the newcomers to complete the task I set for you, meaning that you are probably the most talented. Also, I can tell that you are already at stage 3 of Qi Condensation in just a few days while no one else has. Because you are the most talented of the new comers, I'll give you access to the second floor of the martial arts repository in our village."

Walking out of the village chief's house, Pan Bao led Guo Wen next door, where the village martial skill repository was. Inside was a collection of around 100+ martial skills, most of which were at the low basic level, some at the middle basic level, and one or two at the high basic level which had been left behind by past village chiefs.

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Author's Note: Martial Skill Classification

Basic - low, middle, high (Qi Condensation to Golden Core)

Earth - low, middle, high (Nascent Soul to Martial Emperor)

Heaven - low, middle, high (Martial Monarch to Greater Saint)

Dao Inspiration - levels 1-9 (Dao Insight to Dao Lord)

Dao Creation - levels 1-9 (Dao King to Dao Universe)

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Walking up to the building, Pan Bao explained the layout of the building.

"The first floor holds low basic skills while the second floor holds the medium basic skills. The third floor holds the couple of high basic skills that we have, but you do not have access to them so no need to worry about them now.

Normally, the skills are allowed to be borrowed by other villagers when they reach a certain realm of their cultivation or when they contribute to the village, which is what you did. I hope that you will pick a martial skill suitable for you. Most people can only fully unleash the power of a martial skill when they reach its level of cultivation but can practice it at any lower level as long as they can comprehend it. Obviously, there will be a few exceptions for martial skills which have special requirements, but that's the ground rule. For example, a high basic skill could be practiced by a Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment cultivator, but its power would not be able to be fully unleashed, and sometimes the user may not even be able to execute the skill if the move requires a lot of qi.

But anyways, just remember to not pick the most advanced or complex one, but the one which suits you the most, especially since its your first martial skill.

I can allow you to stay in the building for 4 hours, after which I will call you out. Good luck!"

With this, Pan Bao left, and Guo Wen entered the first floor of the martial skill repository.