71: Chapter 71 Mission

The capital in August was very hot, but fortunately, the trees in Dongshan were lush, making it a good place to escape the summer heat.

Su Jiuchuan settled Cai Rujin in a town near the School; most of the residents here were family members of students studying at the School, so it was considered quite bustling.

For Cai Rujin, it didn't really matter where she lived; she was now single-mindedly focused on achieving a Breakthrough to the Xiantian Realm so she could go find Master Cai Jing.

Fortunately, before Master Cai Jing left, he had left the "Jade Flow Alchemy Canon" to his daughter, so she wouldn't lack a Cultivation Technique like Su Jiuchuan.

In the early morning, Su Jiuchuan slowly strolled into the School through the side gate.

He wore a pale blue robe, looking somewhat like a scholar.

However, as a Grade C student, the tuition was one hundred catties of black iron, which was quite stressful.

He later made some inquiries and learned that black iron was a unique metal in this world, but its hardness was higher than ordinary ironware, making it a basic Material for manufacturing a talisman weapon.

At the same time, black iron was also a good material for making weapons, so most black iron mines were controlled by the imperial court, noble families, or Schools. It was sold on the market, but the price was not low, costing about ten thousand taels of silver for ten catties.

This meant that one year's tuition could be used for ten simulator sessions. Su Jiuchuan was somewhat reluctant to part with it, but fortunately, the School considered that many students came from ordinary backgrounds, so they only required payment within one year.

For those students with good Aptitude, they might be able to earn enough in a year by taking on some missions.

He habitually walked over to a stone wall where various missions were posted; these were generally issued by high-level students or masters of the School and offered certain rewards.

It was also an important way for students of the School to earn income.

"Need to inscribe a Vajra Talisman on a shield; the reward is five hundred catties of black iron. If there is any damage, one must compensate one hundred catties of black iron."

Su Jiuchuan looked at this item and sighed inwardly. Being a Talisman Maker was truly a good way to make money; he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to feed the simulator in the future. However, there was still a chance of failure when making talismans. Once it failed, the object being inscribed would be damaged, requiring compensation.

This was fair; otherwise, an object capable of being inscribed with a talisman was not cheap. If they were all given to people from the Talisman Department to practice on, no one could afford it.

However, Su Jiuchuan couldn't take it yet. After all, the Vajra Talisman was a Five-Stroke Talisman, and for a Five-Stroke Talisman, it required at least a Martial Artist in the Xiantian Realm, as their True Qi was sufficient to support it.

Now that he was in the Half-Step Innate Realm, he could only try Three-Stroke Talismans.

However, he had already checked, and most Three-Stroke Talismans were things like cleaning or refreshing talismans, which were not of much use. He basically couldn't get any missions here.

Sighing, he continued to look at the next item.

"Seeking one City Lord to manage a small city within a radius of five hundred li for five years. The standard for qualification is an annual tax revenue of no less than three million taels of silver. The reward is one hundred catties of black iron."

This was clearly aimed at students of the Ren Department, and this so-called small city was likely not under the imperial court, but rather a fief of those noble families or a small city developed by a School.

Generally speaking, these forces valued high-end martial power but were impatient to cultivate management talent, so they posted some missions at the School. For the School, this was also a way to collect resources.

Su Jiuchuan checked dozens of them in a row and didn't find any suitable for himself, feeling a bit depressed. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a group of people gathered at another corner of the stone wall, so he walked over too.

"This mission is too outrageous! It requires finding one thousand and eighty types of plants in the back mountain and processing them cleanly."

"The most infuriating thing is that the final reward doesn't even give black iron?"

"Exactly... If you have that much free time, why not go do something else?"

Su Jiuchuan leaned over and saw a piece of paper posted there, which read: Within the range of the Dongshan back mountain, find one thousand and eighty designated types of plants and perform anti-insect treatment. The reward is answering three questions.

No wonder so many people were complaining. The person who posted this mission was truly stingy. For such a troublesome mission, giving almost no black iron was purely trying to get free labor.

After all, the opportunity to have three questions answered was merely worth a month and a half of time for Grade A students, and only three months for Grade B students. For Grade C students, it could save thirty catties of black iron.

But searching for over a thousand types of plants would likely take several months, not including the time for processing.

Just then, a fragrant breeze drifted over. Su Jiuchuan looked up and saw that it was Wen Shuyu, who had squeezed beside him at some point. She also looked at the slip of paper and said with a smile, "It seems Brother Su is also looking for a mission, but this one is a bit outrageous."

"This mission doesn't seem to have any strength requirements and anyone can take it, but leaving aside the time consumption, the return is also too..." She smiled and said, "This mission has been hanging here for a long time; I imagine no one will take it."

Wen Shuyu smiled again and said, "Why don't you come to my Wen Family to be a Talisman Maker, Brother Su? You only need to successfully inscribe one talisman per month, and the losses from failures will be borne by my Wen Family. How about a monthly reward of fifty catties of black iron?"

Su Jiuchuan looked at her deeply, knowing that Wen Shuyu was showing goodwill toward him. After all, he could only just draw Three-Stroke Talismans now, which actually had little use. The fact that she only asked him to succeed once a month was clearly providing Materials for him to practice, not to mention the fifty catties of black iron every month.

Seeing him hesitant, Wen Shuyu increased the offer, saying, "I also know that Brother Su is already at the Half-Step Innate Realm, and the Wen Family can also provide a Xiantian Technique."

This condition was truly too generous. Wen Shuyu was full of confidence; she had investigated Su Jiuchuan and knew he had no background, so earning enough tuition for one hundred catties of black iron would likely not be easy. Of course, she was not a bleeding heart, but rather, having seen the Perfect Talisman drawn by Su Jiuchuan, she felt it was worth investing in him.

Su Jiuchuan frowned. In his bones, he did not trust these noble families, and besides, he had his own simulator in hand, so it was impossible for him to rely on a noble family for such a small benefit. He said, "I appreciate your kindness, Miss Wen, but I have no plans to attach myself to a noble family for the time being."

After saying this, he stepped forward and, amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, tore down the slip of paper.

Wen Shuyu was also somewhat incredulous. Turning down such good conditions only to take such a thankless task right in front of her—could this person be a fool?

Su Jiuchuan was naturally not a fool. With his current strength, he basically couldn't find a suitable mission here, and the only one he could try was this one. Since it could answer three questions, if he used it to decipher the annotations of the Jingu Script on the treasure map, it should be enough.

Once the secret of the treasure map was unlocked, perhaps he would have all the Cultivation Techniques and resources he needed.