109: Xie Ning, who was underestimated
Xie Ning arrived at the dormitory, and after a quick wash, he headed to the Academy's Third District, the Miscellaneous Courtyard.
However, before taking on missions to accumulate points, he had to visit the Exchange Hall to claim his admission rewards.
On the way to the Miscellaneous Courtyard, Xie Ning once again missed the un-upgraded White Fang, especially when watching others ride their Demon Tamers Beast quickly past him.
Half an hour later, Xie Ning arrived at the Exchange Hall.
The place was brightly lit, with only a few people scattered around. Behind the counter, an old man in green was bent over his desk, writing.
As he stepped closer, Xie Ning could only see the thinning, precarious hair on top of his head from his angle.
“Hello, I'm here to redeem my rewards.”
Xie Ning handed over the purple scroll from before.
“Let me see... Hey! You brat, you finally showed up. If you hadn't come soon, I would have confiscated this thing!” The old man took the scroll with trembling hands, and upon closer inspection, he immediately grew annoyed.
Xie Ning grinned. “Old man, the scroll didn't specify a time limit for claiming the prize, did it? Besides, haven't I arrived now?”
“If it weren't for that damn Secret Realm, I bet you still wouldn't have come,” the old man grumbled under his breath.
“You seem to know quite a lot, old man,” Xie Ning said with a smile.
The old man gave a cold snort, muttered something unintelligible, and then turned to enter the back room.
While waiting, Xie Ning walked over to the weapon display area.
Above it was a monitor displaying the exchange points required for each weapon.
Today's 50% Off Special Items:
1. Silver Intermediate Tiger-Head Trident... 8,000 Points
2. Bronze Intermediate Lightning-Chasing Musket... 6,000 Points
3. Bronze Elementary White Crane Sword... 3,000 Points
4. Black Iron Top-Grade Gale Saber... 800 Points
5... So expensive.
That was Xie Ning's first impression.
And this was the half-price rate; if it were the regular price, it would be double.
Xie Ning checked his own points: 257.
Aside from the 100 points rewarded by the academy and the 20 points earned from defeating Fei Shanqiu, the rest were his initial academy points.
He suddenly felt that exchanging for a Bronze Rank weapon might not be such an easy task after all.
Unfortunately, items for Ancient Martial Artists were rarely sold in Lingnan City; otherwise, he could have just bought one with money.
“Brat, come and get your stuff.”
The old man's voice rang out. Xie Ning hurried back to the counter and took the small booklet from his hand.
“Fire Shadow?” Xie Ning was slightly startled as he looked at the two words on the cover.
“This Beast Taming Skill is quite marvelous; make sure you Master it well, kid.” Having said that, the old man returned to his writing.
Xie Ning nodded and flipped open a page, and then it dawned on him.
It turned out that 'Fire Shadow' meant moving as if through the shadows of flames, allowing one to travel to another location via fire, and making movement within flames much more effortless.
No wonder the Zhao Family was so intent on this Beast Taming Skill; it truly was an unparalleled skill for seizing treasures in the Houtu Secret Realm.
Xie Ning tucked the booklet away, bid the old man farewell, and headed to the Mission Hall.
This was an adjacent hall, but unlike the deserted Exchange Hall, it was much livelier, with many students gathered around the mission board discussing things.
Xie Ning took a general look and found it was actually quite similar to the Mission Association.
Combat and missions involving leaving the city were time-consuming and didn't offer many points, but they didn't require specialized skills. Nurturing missions, on the other hand, involved less work and more points, but they tested one's level of expertise.
After some comparison, he ultimately chose a nurturing mission.
Recently, the Dean of the Nurturing Academy had led a large group of Nurturing Instructors to the Imperial Capital, leaving very few senior Breeders in the academy. Consequently, nurturing missions took up several pages on the board, with very few being accepted.
He looked for a while and chose a nurturing mission worth 500 points.
“Student, don't mess around. If you want to evolve your beast, go post a new mission; don't just check someone else's.” The receptionist was a student working part-time. He looked at Xie Ning and spoke irritably, while simultaneously clicking to cancel the checkmark on the mission.
Xie Ning smiled. “You've misunderstood. I want to accept this mission.”
As he spoke, he checked the box again and pulled out his qualification certificate to hand it over.
After the receptionist saw it, he froze for several seconds before jumping up. He grabbed Xie Ning's hand and said, “My apologies, I thought you were just a Bronze, but it turns out you're a King! Please, have a seat. I'll notify the other party immediately.”
So, Xie Ning sat down and began to savor some Da Hong Pao tea with the receptionist.
But soon, an embarrassing situation occurred.
First, a person arrived in high spirits, but as soon as they saw Xie Ning and his Monster Taming Academy uniform, they immediately started cursing and turned to leave, leaving Xie Ning standing there in a daze.
“This...” Xie Ning was stunned for a moment.
“Perhaps that student doesn't know your status. Why don't you try accepting another one?” The receptionist also rubbed his nose awkwardly.
“Alright then.”
He accepted another mission, but the result was the same.
Xie Ning didn't give up and accepted a few more missions, but without exception, they were all scared away. Even when he explained he was an Intermediate Cultivator, no one believed him.
Xie Ning looked helpless as he glanced at the receptionist. “Is it my fault that I know how to nurture?”
“Don't get discouraged. Why don't you try again?” The receptionist now had a strange expression on his face as well.
Xie Ning shook his head.
“Master! What are you doing here?”
Mo Yu's voice suddenly came from not far away. Turning around, he saw her looking at him with a look of pleasant surprise as she ran over.
“Xiao Yu, what a coincidence. I'm here to pick up some missions,” Xie Ning replied with a smile.
“Then what mission did Master take? Is it a nurturing one?”
Hearing Mo Yu's question, Xie Ning rubbed his nose and recounted what had just happened.
After listening, Mo Yu first found it hard to believe, but on second thought, it wasn't surprising.
Xie Ning's face wasn't yet known to everyone. Those people only knew that a student from the Monster Taming Academy had accepted an evolution mission; it would be strange if they didn't run away.
Just then, a delinquent-looking boy dressed flamboyantly, walking with a swagger, approached. He said impatiently, “Mo Yu, the teacher is still waiting for me. Stop chatting.”
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Mo Yu tapped her head and said to the boy beside her, “Student, you can ask my Master to nurture for you. My Master is very amazing; he's strong in both beast taming and nurturing. Even Instructor Ruan Qiong is full of praise for him.”
It just so happened that the Nurturing Academy had been very busy lately. If she could introduce someone to her Master for nurturing, it would be a win-win for both sides.
To her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, the boy looked at her warily with an unfriendly expression. “I've heard for a long time that the academy lets students practice, and only hands things over to the teachers to fix when they fail. It seems that's really the case. No wonder you came to the Mission Hall! Do you want to use my Golden Monkey for practice?”
“What nonsense are you talking?! This is my Master!” Mo Yu's eyes widened, and she stared at the boy huffily, but he wasn't finished yet.
“Heh, just to get some practice, you'd even go around calling anyone 'Master'.”
“You!!!” Mo Yu's cheeks puffed out in anger.
“Xiao Yu, since someone has already taken the job, let's just drop it,” Xie Ning spoke up, interrupting Mo Yu.
Although Mo Yu was furious, she didn't argue further.
“Tch~ At least you have some self-awareness,” the boy snorted disdainfully.
The boy's contemptuous attitude made Xie Ning frown. He looked at Mo Yu and asked, “What is his evolution plan?”
“I heard from the teacher that they plan to use the relatively rare dual Metal and Lightning attributes for simultaneous evolution, and they've prepared many Metal and Lightning attribute Materials.” Mo Yu then proceeded to explain the general evolution direction and Materials.
She didn't feel like she was leaking the instructor's nurturing method because, in her mind, when it came to nurturing, Xie Ning was not inferior to those instructors at all, and might even be stronger.
“I see,” Xie Ning suddenly laughed. He looked at the rude boy in front of him and said, “Then you'd better think carefully. If you don't let me do it now, it won't be so cheap when you want to hire me later.”
“Tch! You think I'm like those poor people who have to rely on students for evolution? My family has plenty of money!” The boy looked disdainful and turned to Mo Yu. “Let's go, don't waste my time.”
“Alright, it is what it is. You go ahead and get busy; I'll take some other missions first,” Xie Ning patted Mo Yu's shoulder. “We'll see each other again soon.”
After saying that, Xie Ning accepted a few city missions and left the Mission Hall under Mo Yu's gaze.