Recruitment, Taboo Order (2)

"What do you mean by 'when do you start?'" Fang Ao scuffed. "Of course you're starting right now!"

Fang Ao made a grasping motion and some items in the backpack Di Tian was holding flew out into his grasp. The SnagLasso, the rifle....

"I saw the way you made use of this weird fish rod thing to retrieve spirit plants earlier," he said. "While the method is quite ingenious for a mortal, it's not ideal for a cultivator. If you're going to snatch treasures from a tiger's den, you must go about it using your fist. That's the Cultivator code."

At the end of his words, a majestic aura gushed out of his body.

It gave him a sense of lofty grandeur, almost as if he was announcing something to the heavens that he'd rather break than bend!

Involuntarily, Di Tian found himself infected by the haughty spirit.

Fang Ao withdrew his aura and briefly considered giving Di Tian a lesson on the importance of Willpower and a strong Dao Heart. But he decided to leave that for another time.

"You can make use of tools in this mission, but only under one condition," Fang Ao said. "They have to be made from the bodies of the Demon Beasts you kill."

Di Tian already knew that certain parts from the body of a Demon Beast could be wielded as attack and defence tools. For example, scales could be modified to create body armour, tusks and claws as makeshift weapons or raw material to refine blades, tendons for whips.....

"I'll be back in two days, and you must have explored the entire mountain by then," Fang Ao's voice broke Di Tian's reverie. "Also, don't try to escape. I've sealed off this area."

With these words, he levitated to the skies and vanished from sight. Di Tian sighed dispiritedly.

Whether he liked it or not, he was now linked to this organization that suspiciously felt like a demonic cult. This was definitely not what he had in mind when he was fantasizing about his cultivation journey.

But the next minute, he shook off his forlorn state as he remembered the grand aura Fang Ao had exuded a moment earlier.

"There's always a chance for the situation to be rectified if I play my cards right," he thought to himself. "I might be able to escape in the future. And I'm not, does it matter?"

Even if he indeed ended up unable to escape the fate of being a Saint Shadow of the Taboo Order, there was no saying that he wouldn't be able to reverse this status and become a Saint candidate himself in no time, right? And under the same conditions, what if he won the race and became the True Saint? What if the Taboo Order wasn't even a demonic sect or a cult in the first place? What if it was?

He cast these thoughts aside and decided to follow the intensive training plan Fang Ao had planned out for him to complete Body Tempering for now.

Kill the boss of the area and move on to the next danger zone.

With this thought, he started to climb higher up the mountain.

*****

Fang Ao quietly returned to the Nine Lights Void Ship.

The one he returned to was the Void Ship from the 'original' mission. Since Elder Yi's presence and with the new changes on the planet, about six new Nine Lights Void Ships had appeared so far.

Fang Ao went straight to the meeting hall. Elder Yi was there with three other people, subordinates from the look of it.

"What?" She frowned when she saw Fang Ao.

"My apologies for breaking protocol," Fang Ao did not mind her attitude and cupped his fists respectfully. "I just wanted to formally seek an audience with you on behalf of my organization."

Elder Yi paused. The Universal Council kept tabs on the true organization affiliations of their members, and Fang Ao was no exception. As an Exalt-rank member, Elder Yi was privy to such details, so she knew he was from the Taboo Order.

"Leave us alone for a while," Elder Yi waved her hand and dismissed her associates. They cupped their fists and left promptly.

"Speak," she looked straight at him. Even without her aura unleashed, she had an intimidating presence.

"It's about one of the mortals on the planet," Fang Ao replied. "My organization wants him."

Elder Yi understood, "You don't want anyone scouting for him in the tournament?"

"I'd rather he doesn't participate even," Fang Ao said.

Elder Yi fell silent. As Fang Ao was part of the original mission, he had an unofficial privilege to make a first choice snatch of any talent he saw, so his request was reasonable.

"Only one person?" She asked. "Who is he? She?"

"Yeah, it's just one person." Here, Fang Ao hesitated. "He's the young guy that triggered the global flash grenade."

Elder Yi almost immediately shook her head, "If it's that kid, I'm afraid I can't accept your request."

Di Tian himself did not know this, but all the cultivation organizations on the planet that were here to scout knew about him. This was because his name was in the report as the mortal that involuntary triggered the global mutation.

There was a mysterious factor known as luck. Given that the guy did not die under this circumstance and even triggered a top-notch survival talent, he was one of the people most of these organizations were looking forward to recruiting. It wouldn't matter even if his cultivation speed was decent or not.

Besides, Di Tian had yet to be officially investigated by the Universal Council as was routine. Elder Yi wouldn't let him go just like that; who knew if he possessed some secret knowledge about the event that happened.

Fang Ao was expecting her reply, "That's the reason I requested an audience with you under the name of my organization. We're willing to exhaust as many Golden Tickets as possible to get him."