Hunter 109: The Plunderer 

The absence of a hunting mission this time allowed Lin Jiu to breathe a sigh of relief, as it meant he could focus more on exploring the derived world. However, the sudden achievement mission left him puzzled.

Generally, achievement missions are triggered by certain actions during world exploration. Lin Jiu had never heard of a situation where an achievement mission was thrown in his face right from the start.

First, he checked the main missions this time, which again required the completion of only one of them.

[Main Mission: Raten Taishō

Difficulty Level: Lv.7

Mission Overview: Achieve a ranking that advances you through at least three rounds in the Raten Taishō held by the Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Sect.

Mission Information: The Raten Taishō is triggered by the Celestial Master Sect's public selection for the 66th Celestial Master. The first round is a melee, with groups of four where only one advance, reducing the contestants to 32; the remaining rounds are knockout matches.

Mission Deadline: Before the end of Raten Taishō.

Mission Reward: 4 attribute points, 10,000 Paradise Coins.

Mission Penalty: Forced execution.

[Main Mission: The Eight Mysterious Arts]

Difficulty Level: Lv.8

Mission Overview: Obtain any one of the Eight Mysterious Arts.

Mission Information: The Eight Mysterious Arts are miraculous powers that appeared during the 1944 Jia Shen Rebellion. Each of the Eight Mysterious Arts represents a breakthrough in a specific type of technique, making it the pinnacle of that category and giving it an absolute advantage over similar abilities.

Mission Deadline: 60 natural days.

Mission Reward: 4 attribute points, Soul Crystal (Small) x1.

[Mission Penalty: All attributes -5.]

...

This is a selective mission, where you can choose one of the two or even both. Don't be fooled by the seemingly lesser penalty of the second mission (all attributes -5) compared to the first one (forced execution), and assume it's the easier choice.

Smart contractors know that the difficulty of the second main mission far exceeds the first one. The Eight Mysterious Arts, as techniques that have caused upheaval in the supernatural world, are not easy to obtain.

Take the easiest one, the Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art for example. Do you think Ma Xianhong would trust anyone enough to teach them this supreme technique? Even Zhuge Qing had to undergo a life-threatening test to earn Ma Xianhong's approval.

The next easiest one is to obtain the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, which is the final reward of the Luo Tian Dajiao. The first main mission only requires advancing three rounds, or reaching the top eight, but to get the Heaven Communicating Talisman Art, you'd have to aim for first place.

How other contractors choose doesn't concern Lin Jiu much; he is more interested in understanding what this sudden achievement mission is about.

[Achievement Mission: Plunderer]

Difficulty Level: Lv.3 ~ ??

Mission Information: Please choose a mission direction from the following identities:

Assassin (You are the blade of the night, harvesting lives!)

Rebel (You are an excellent warrior, but not a loyal subordinate!)

Preacher (Your light of hope actively guides the suffering masses!)

Lin Jiu stared at the information for a while. Each option represents the future development direction of this achievement mission. The Assassin is self-explanatory, likely requiring continuous killing, which is not his preference.

The Rebel sounds like trouble. Traitors are unwelcome everywhere, and Lin Jiu shares this sentiment.

The Preacher option, though Lin Jiu isn't religious, is just a mission. Besides, the light of hope and guiding the masses sound like they could describe him.

He decisively chose the third option, Preacher, and the achievement mission transformed.

[Achievement Mission: Faith Plunderer] (Completion: 0%)

Difficulty Level: Lv.3 ~ ???

Mission Overview: People often feign faith and piety, while hiding their devilish nature beneath a sugary exterior. As a skilled preacher, you should oppose the gods and save humanity!

Mission Information: Gather the faith of others (faith to be defined); or slay deities to gain corresponding completion percentages.

(Completion will be judged based on the quality of faith gathered, the fit of the preacher's identity, and the power and background of the slain deity.)

Mission Deadline: None.

Mission Reward: Calculated based on completion level (minimum reward: blue-quality equipment or item, maximum reward: ???).

Note: This mission includes an identity background.

Lin Jiu twitched his mouth. This is more of a god-slayer mission than a preacher's task. It not only involves killing gods but also plundering the faith of their followers.

So that's what the Plunderer in the mission title meant! Now he understood how his identity as an orphan adopted by an itinerant monk came to be.

This mission can be difficult, as slaying gods is no easy feat. On the other hand, gathering faith could be straightforward, depending on his charm.

Thinking of gathering faith, Lin Jiu couldn't help but remember Doma, the cult leader he killed in the Demon Slayer world. Though Doma was a scum of a demon, his Eternal Paradise Faith quickly gained the faith of unsuspecting people.

Recalling Doma's demeanor, a faint smile appeared on Lin Jiu's lips, though his eyes were filled with an unshakable sense of pity.

There was no mirror in the room, so Lin Jiu couldn't see his current aura. But if Doma were here, he would probably have to admit that the student had surpassed the master.

Lin Jiu wondered whether his strange charisma attribute would help in this task. Either way, this was a long-term mission that wouldn't significantly affect his progress in the derived world.

...

Elsewhere, the other contractors were teleported together normally, unlike Lin Jiu. Some quickly left according to their plans, while others decided to approach the protagonist.

Among them, a contractor blending into the school spotted Zhang Chulan, the protagonist, sitting naked in a tree. Considering Zhang Chulan's future achievements, the contractor felt indifferent.

They knew better than to approach Zhang Chulan now; doing so would only create enmity.

In a certain abandoned warehouse in the city:

Having obtained Zhang Huaiyi's body, the Quanxing faction was letting Lu Liang use the Soul Seizing Technique to extract as much memory as possible from the corpse.

"As expected, it's still not working... Probably because this old man has been dead for too many years..."

Lu Liang exerted his full effort in using the Soul Seizing Technique, but the progress was slow. However, he did manage to extract something, which made him sigh.

"Even after so many years, I can still extract fragments of his soul from his body! I'd love to have seen how powerful this old man was back in the day. Alas, with these few fragments, we won't get much information!"

"I don't understand what you're saying. I brought you the body, so can I join Quanxing now?" asked a corpse-like figure.

"I'm afraid not yet. But didn't you mention encountering Zhang Xilin's grandson while digging up the corpse? He's one of us too, right? Go capture him, and we'll talk."

Lu Liang pushed his glasses up and grinned as he tricked the figure in front of him.

"Fine! I'll do it again, but if you trick me this time, I'll rip your head off!" The figure slammed the door as he left.

"Lu Liang, you little rascal~"

A pink-haired figure appeared behind Lu Liang, speaking in a voice that would make anyone weak at the knees.

"Please, spare me, sister!"

Lu Liang quickly jumped away, knowing all too well the infamous name of the Bone Scraper, Xia He.

"Quanxing has recently recruited some promising new members. Perhaps you'd be interested in playing with them?"

Lu Liang immediately shifted the trouble elsewhere to save himself.

"New recruits, huh? There will be a chance~"

Xia He smiled faintly, licking her lips.