88: Chapter 88 Cult Mission

"Oh? A mission has appeared? And it's a multi-stage mission."

"The mission rewards aren't bad. The first stage alone gives 6,000 experience points, and it poses absolutely no difficulty for me."

"If there are a few more stages, I might be able to level up to level 11 directly."

"Moreover, does the Songcheng Sect actually possess the Juling Breathing Technique?"

"There's no suffix, so it shouldn't be an incomplete version, but the full version!"

"That is a Breathing Method created by a Saint, and it involves the Fire Eye advancing to a higher level. It is indeed very valuable."

Tang Long stood up to examine them carefully, then first cast Detection on the person in the octagonal cage.

[Mad Dog {?}: ???] [Faction: Mad Dog Party] [Realm: Qi Manipulation Stage 6] [Health: 41959 / 52236] [Health Regeneration: 1904 / hour] [Psionic Energy: 2779 / 2934] [Attributes: Strength 36, Agility 37, Spirit 21, Endurance 38, Charisma 11, Spirituality 29, Legend 5] [Technique: ???] [Skill: Spirit Astral LV4, Mad Dog Hundred Strikes, ???] [Special Skill: ???]

Tang Long stared, lost in thought. This guy named Mad Dog had greasy, medium-length hair and a small mustache. He had eyes like a beast, and a fierce temperament that seemed to seep from his very bones.

It had to be said, he was worthy of being targeted by a Sect Bishop; he was indeed extraordinary. Not only were his attributes terrifyingly high, but he also had several times the health regeneration that Tang Long had.

Furthermore, logically speaking, as a mere Stage 6, all his data should have been revealed under Tang Long's Detection, yet multiple question marks appeared. This was enough to show that his strength was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

However, he was not a Blasphemer. Tang Long turned his gaze to the other target, and as soon as the Detection cooldown ended, he immediately cast it again.

[Fei Shan {?}: Normal] [Faction: Hot-Blooded Gang Leader {?}] [Realm: Blood Refining Stage 1] [Health: 14838 / 14838] [Health Regeneration: 100 / day] [Psionic Energy: 4801 / 4802] [Attributes: Strength 59, Agility 35, Spirit 24, Endurance 16, Charisma 7, Spirituality 13, Legend 1] [Technique: Earth Breathing Method {First Refining}, Rock Crushing Guidance Technique {Second Refining}] [Skill: Mountain Suppressing Astral {First Refining}, Earth-Splitting Battle Qi]

Good grief! This big fatty, whose physique was like a smaller version of Man Hai, was actually a Blood Refining expert! 59 points of Strength—just looking at it felt terrifying. No wonder he could be the leader of a gang. However... he was not a Blasphemer either.

Tang Long's thoughts stirred, and he immediately understood Lv Yang's intention. Today was likely a test, and these two people—he must know them inside and out—were brought here with the answers to test Tang Long.

So, he smiled, "Bishop Lv, I hope we can have fewer jokes like this in the future."

A flash of surprise crossed the depths of Lv Yang's eyes, but he continued to play dumb, "What do you mean by that, sir?"

"You asked me to identify Blasphemers, but neither of these two is one. Either The Sect's intelligence is too ridiculous, or you are asking while already knowing the answer."

Lv Yang's old face twitched slightly, but he was quite satisfied that Tang Long could see through the Blood Refining realm. He immediately changed the subject without blushing or having a racing heart.

"It was you who chose to meet in a place like this. If you like coming here to play, I must remind you: try not to provoke these two. They are quite troublesome."

Tang Long nodded, "Understood. Is there anything else?"

"Five days from now, it will be the Governor's wife's birthday. There will be a large banquet at the Governors Mansion, and many high-ranking people from Song City will be in attendance. I hope you can accompany me."

Lv Yang's expression was very serious as he took out a stack of cash and pushed it over.

[First stage of the mission complete. Gained 6,000 experience points and 10,000 blue sea coins!] [Second stage: Screen all targets at the Governors Mansion banquet. Reward: 128,000 experience points, 1,000,000 blue sea coins. Accept/Decline?]

Tang Long's face twitched. Generally speaking, mission experience and difficulty/risk were proportional. Although the first stage was completed very easily, the experience reward for the second stage soared to an extremely high level, making him somewhat hesitant.

"Bishop Lv, this joke of yours is too big. What kind of place is the Governors Mansion? There are many experts among you big shots; I might not be able to see through them. I've already been marked by the Blasphemers; if I'm discovered by them, it's tantamount to courting death. Are you trying to kill me?"

Lv Yang waved his hand gently, "Of course, we won't let you take too many risks. You can wear a mask and pose as my attendant. Once inside, you don't need to speak to anyone; you can leave as soon as the screening is complete. Of course, the mask I'm referring to is not a Saint's Mask; I will have it prepared in advance."

Tang Long still shook his head, "For experts like you, it's very easy to remember a person's physique and aura. The risk is still too great. Besides, with so many people, I don't recognize who is who. How will I remember them?"

Lv Yang stood up and took out a small booklet, handing it over. "Sir, this matter was personally ordered by the High Priest and concerns the safety of the entire Song City and The Sect. There will be some risks, but we will definitely do our best to protect you."

"Regarding the identification issue, this booklet contains information on certain people, including their physical characteristics and relationship networks. I believe it will be very helpful."

"Furthermore, the High Priest previously specifically instructed me to go to Feng City to retrieve the original Juling Breathing Technique. This is one of the top Breathing Methods in the world. As long as you can help us complete this matter, it will be yours."

"If you have any other requests, you can also bring them up. Since you have encountered some financial difficulties, The Sect will give you a sum of remuneration after completing this matter. A fair trade, can we do that?"

Tang Long was slightly dazed. He hadn't expected Lv Yang to be so impatient as to bring out the final reward immediately. Wasn't it supposed to be a multi-stage mission?

A major project with over 100 million in capital investment and a one-year cycle, and now you want me to finish it in half a day for two hundred bucks? My friend, you are too straightforward, aren't you?

Taking the booklet, he sighed with great difficulty. "Fine."

Lv Yang didn't speak again; he nodded and vanished in a flash.

Tang Long opened the booklet and took a look, feeling... quite surprised.

Back then, Wei Baoquan said the Wei Family had the final say in Song City, which sounded like bragging, but looking at this booklet, it actually wasn't an exaggeration.

First, Governor Xu Chaoyang's wife came from the Wei Family, ranked fourth. The eldest, Wei Yuan, was the current Director of the Department of Legal Affairs; the second, Wei Cheng, was the Director of the Finance Department; the third, 2nd Division Commander Wei Jun, was the Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Department; the fifth, Wei Zhuang, was the Deputy Director of the Jingan Division. There was also a sixth, Wei Jian, who was not in Song City and served at the National Defense Army headquarters in Huai Capital.

Tang Long's classmate, Wei Lin, was the son of the Academic Affairs Department Director, 2nd Division Commander Wei Jun. Therefore, it was no exaggeration to call the Wei Family the premier noble family of Song City.

Second was the Jiang Family. Jiang Enterprises was the largest arms dealer in Song City, and the title of Academic Affairs Department Director was hung under the name of the Jiang Family head. Of course, it was just a title; the Jiang Family head was Jiang Xiaolan's grandfather, who was advanced in age and basically did not concern himself with specific matters.

Third was the Zheng Family; the entire Bounty Hunter system was under the jurisdiction of the Zheng Family. Fourth was the Xu Family of Governor Xu. Although the Governors Mansion had great power, the Xu Family had few members.

Then there were some military big shots, such as the Commander-in-Chief of the Song City National Defense Army, Qiguang Sect, and the generals of the various city defense divisions, and so on.

The people Lv Yang emphasized were for two reasons: one was to make it easier for Tang Long to identify them, and the other was to tell him from the side that it was best not to provoke these people. It wasn't that they couldn't be provoked, but that it would be quite troublesome for The Sect.

Of course, the highest level of power was still The Sect. The Songcheng Sect honored the High Priest above all, with four bishops serving under them. The three besides Lv Yang were named Wei Ye, High Priest Shang Yuleng, and Liu Zhiming.

Therefore, Tang Long discovered that the letter of introduction was indeed quite powerful. Class 9 was almost equivalent to the Brahmin class of Song City, and he had actually managed to get in.

Then again, his own identity as a 'Reincarnated Saint' was indeed even more Brahmin than the average Brahmin, which was quite reasonable.

However, he was truly very busy today. After barely reading it through once, he felt a bit sleepy. He yawned, picked up the money on the table, and left.

But just a few minutes after he left, the private room door was suddenly pushed open. Qin Bing, panting, rushed in and immediately demanded loudly, "Where is the person? Why is he gone!"

The waiter behind him answered tremblingly, "He did indeed enter this room earlier. Perhaps... he just left?"

Qin Bing turned back and glared fiercely, but he knew that giving the waiter a hard time was useless. The reason he came to find Tang Long was not because he held a grudge.

While resting just now, he had carefully recalled the fight. The result seemed absurd, but it might not have been a coincidence. Tang Long's technique was extremely proficient and smooth, giving people a refreshing feeling of having never seen anything like it before. Moreover, it was unconventional, tricky, and precise.

And his physique was ridiculously strong. Logically speaking, a martial artist's physique improves with their realm. But this guy Tang Long... he was only at Stage 1; how could he be so strong?

Just the fact that he could defeat him was enough to qualify him to join the White Clothing Society. Although this year's White Clothing Society was full of talent, in another two months, most of them would be graduating.

In comparison, the first and second years below seemed to lack successors. If he could introduce such a prospect to the society, then... he could at least get a bonus.

Therefore, he came to find Tang Long not to settle scores, but because he wanted to get to know him. Just then, his communication device rang again. He picked it up to look, then answered somewhat impatiently.

"Young Master Wei, it's so late, what is it? Hmph, do you really need to find me for your little nonsense? Our new member? What's his name? Fine. But you better think it through; my services are very expensive. One fixed price, fifty thousand! Good! I'll return tomorrow!"