Chapter 81: Clumsy Monk

"But isn’t that the Punishment Hall? What’s with the new name?"

"They’re calling it that while we’re stationed in the lower realms. They want everyone to know the rules still apply, no causing trouble just because we’re here."

"But those disciples only just started cultivating. So, is she here for a different reason?"

"Those senior disciples always bully juniors."

"I don’t know... I just hope she doesn’t turn anyone into an ice sculpture."

"If she does, I’m willing."

"You piece of shit. Just die already."

"Still, what can we say? Thanks to her, the reputation of our peak has skyrocketed."

Conversations like these continued to ripple through the area, and Yu Xuan, listened in with growing curiosity.

Who was this person that inspired both fear and admiration from the crowd?

Wondering, he walked over to a nearby street stall. The scent of steaming broth and spices lured him in. He ordered a plate of dumplings.

To his pleasant surprise, they were warm, soft, and perfectly seasoned.



"Not bad," he muttered, chewing thoughtfully.

Though the dumplings were good, his thoughts were far from the food. His curiosity deepened — just who was this person that had everyone so on edge?

Still pushing aside the lingering thoughts, he turned his focus back to the reason he’d come here in the first place.

The mission.

He wasn’t chasing glory or prestige — he simply wanted to experience what a mission entailed and see if there was anything to learn from it.

After finishing his plate of dumplings and paying the bill, he followed the pull of his medallion through the streets until he arrived at the mission hall located in the center of town.

The building was modest in design.

As he stepped inside, he saw people browsing through parchment notices pinned to a large wooden board, each listing various tasks or assignments.

Yu Xuan first approached a disciple in charge.

The young man was lounging casually, eating grapes, and muttering under his breath while staring intensely at his medallion. His fingers moved with such speed across its surface that they became a blur at times.

"So this is a true keyboard warrior," Yu Xuan thought, mildly impressed.

Not wanting to interrupt his clearly "important battle," Yu Xuan politely turned and approached another disciple nearby.

This time it was a woman dressed in monk robes, her eyes closed, her expression tranquil like still water.

"Hello, senior. I’m new here and wanted to understand how things work," he said in a soft voice.

The monk slowly opened her eyes — and blinked.

And blinked again.

Standing before her was a breathtakingly handsome mortal man, speaking in a quiet, respectful tone.



For a brief moment, her monkish heart wavered.

Though Yu Xuan never placed much importance on his own looks, to others his beauty could be disarming.

Be it living or non-living, beauty always had a way of drawing attention.

After a brief pause, the monk regained her composure and murmured softly to herself in a voice only she could hear.

"Is this my heart demon? So I still haven’t truly become a monk at heart — still shaken by worldly affairs. Evil begone, evil begone..."

Yu Xuan noticed her whispering under her breath, the phrase "evil begone" repeated over and over like a mantra.

Not wanting to disrupt her, he simply joined in with a lighthearted tone:

"Evil begone, evil begone... my name is Yu Xuon."

The monk, startled, opened her eyes wide.

The supposed heart demon was not only chanting with her, but also introduced himself mid-chanting... and rather oddly at that.

Yu Xuan, however, thought to himself with slight disappointment, ’Hmm... that didn’t rhyme.’

He offered a gentle smile and said, "Senior, I am Yu Xuan, a new disciple."

It took the monk a moment longer to fully compose herself.

Finally, she cleared her throat and replied softly, "...Hello."

Yu Xuan looked at her, head slightly tilted, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

’Is she... unreliable?’ he wondered.

Noticing the way he was staring at her, the monk gave two awkward coughs, then straightened up with a practiced calm and asked, "So, Junior... why have you come to me?"



Yu Xuan had the brief impulse to say he hadn’t exactly chosen her — but thought better of it.

"I’m new here, Senior," he said, "and I’d like to understand how missions work."

"Amitabha, so that’s your concern," the monk said, nodding with a serene expression.

"Listen closely — missions are divided according to cultivation level. You’re allowed to take missions up to one realm above your current stage, but it’s recommended to form a group when doing so. Judging by your aura, I’d say simple herb-gathering missions should be enough to get you started. They may take time, but they pay decently and are low-risk."

Yu Xuan tilted his head. "Are there any missions that involve... fighting?"

The monk gave a slight sigh but answered honestly, "There are, yes. Some require subduing beasts at the Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment realms. But there’s a catch — you’ll need to bring them back in one piece. Most of these requests come from seniors in the food business who need the beasts intact."

Yu Xuan raised a brow. "What if I fail to complete a mission in time?"

The monk’s eyes brightened, clearly pleased by the question. "Ah! Now that’s a good question."

She straightened slightly, her tone gaining some energy.

"Every disciple is assigned a credibility score that increases with successful mission completions. It’s a simple way for the sect to measure how serious and dependable you are. For low-tier missions, it doesn’t mean much — but once you start aiming for higher-tier missions, that score becomes important. Your history and completion rate will be reviewed before you’re allowed to accept more valuable tasks."

She gave him a half-smile, almost teasing. "And if you keep failing missions, well... your credibility plummets. Keep that up, and boom — you’ll find it hard to get new missions, and without those, good luck earning sect points."

Yu Xuan gave a thoughtful nod, absorbing the information.