Chapter 13: Sect Tasks

There’s an old saying in China:
“Pick up a sesame seed and lose the watermelon.”
It teaches people not to be obsessed with trivial gains; one should broaden their perspective and consider the bigger picture to avoid losing more valuable things.
In Kai Xin’s view, the steel sword and money on thug Li San were like that sesame seed, while Li San himself was the big watermelon!

In his past life…
Many newcomers later learned this strategy. When they exhausted those ruffians, they would kill them without hesitation for the steel sword, secret manuals, and hundreds of silver coins.
But later, when they encountered those ruffians again, the latter would avoid them from afar or pretend to be ordinary NPCs, leaving no chance or reason for them to attack.

After fighting Li San, who was exhausted, Kai Xin could have easily taken him down with his Shaolin boxing skills at the ninth level and obtained the hundreds of silver coins and steel sword…
But Kai Xin didn’t do it.
He pretended to be out of breath, rested for a while, glanced at Li San, who had regained some strength but still looked furious, then turned around and rushed out of sight, returning to the city.

As long as Li San stayed alive, none of the ruffians in the world of “Jianghu” would know about him or fear him. Next time they met, they might even shout, “Grandpa has crippled you!” and charge at him recklessly.
That was exactly what Kai Xin wanted!

Back in the city, Kai Xin checked his status:
Player: Kai Xin.
Strength: 27, Bone Strength: 18, Comprehension: 26, Agility: 21.

Shaolin boxing emphasized strength, so a 3-point increase in strength didn’t surprise Kai Xin. The slight improvement in agility was due to his battles with wolves, though the progress was minimal.
Additionally, his comprehension had finally improved!
With his Shaolin boxing at the ninth level, faint thunder sounds could be heard—proof of his hard training over the past few days. Now, he finally had a skill he could be proud of.

Kai Xin sighed in relief, a smile appearing on his face:
If he entered his Shaolin boxing level into the Nanhua Jianghu rankings, he might make it into the top thirty—or even twenty!
But it didn’t matter.

Starting from the ninth realm, it becomes increasingly difficult to advance. The journey from level 80 to level 90 of the tenth realm is arduous, progressing at a snail’s pace, and cannot be quickly overcome with minor tricks. As for progressing from level 90 to the perfect eleventh realm at level 99.99, it requires careful consideration and repeated practice to reach the level of a master.

At present, there are no suitable partners for training…

Even if there were, due to their weak internal strength, it would come with extremely high risks of death. Therefore, Happy decided to put aside Shaolin boxing for now and focus on mastering another martial art.

Returning to the Murong Mansion, Happy found the butler in the front yard!

In the front yard, the young men and women she had seen many times before were still doing their own tasks—chopping wood, watering flowers, or practicing the basic mental techniques taught by the butler, without interfering with each other.

Noticing Happy approaching, the butler put on a friendly expression and turned around. “It’s Happy. The young lady has already told me about you… Now that you are a disciple of the Murong Mansion, are you ready to contribute to its enduring glory?” His expression gradually turned serious as he spoke.

In the front yard, those working there all looked astonished.

So far, they were merely temporarily affiliated with the Murong Mansion as ordinary laborers, having not yet passed the tests to become true disciples. Seeing this newcomer who often entered the inner courtyard become a disciple before them and start undertaking the mansion’s tasks, they felt envious and turned to look at him.

Ignoring the gazes around him, Happy bowed and replied, “I am at your service if there is anything to do.”

“Mm.”

The butler nodded in satisfaction.

“Here’s the situation! Recently, there has been a rumor spreading in Gusu City that a group of tomb robbers has come from the north. Many royal tombs have been raided, and all the valuables buried with them have been stolen… Although the patrol officers from the Six Gates have deployed many troops, they only protect the tombs of the royal family and officials… I’ve been very worried. If anything happens to the Murong Mansion’s tombs, as its butler, I cannot shirk responsibility!”

After a pause, he looked at Happy. “So, I plan to send you to investigate. Stay there after dark. If you spot any tomb robbers, fire this signal, and I’ll bring people there immediately.”

“Understood!”

As soon as she spoke, Happy heard a system prompt: Accept the task of “Tracking Tomb Robbers”—level unknown, reward unknown.

An unknown task?

In other words, this task might be very simple, or its difficulty could increase as the plot progresses—it’s a task with variables. Usually, such tasks aren’t easy to complete! Hearing the system’s prompt, Kai Xin remained silent, carefully took the signal handed to him by the butler, stored it, and bid farewell to the butler without a word—by then it was already dark, and there was a distance from there to the cemetery outside the city, so time was extremely tight. After Kai Xin left, the group in the front yard finally broke the silence. “How could he become a disciple of the Murong family so quickly?” “Exactly, I even arrived a few days before him.” “Damn…” “It’s so unfair!” A few long-time members felt resentful. “Unfair? Who knows? Isn’t it said on the official website that many things in the Jianghu rely on fate? Probably he’s just luckier than us… Aren’t we the same? Compared to those outside, being able to enter the Murong family in Gusu… isn’t that also a kind of fate? You can’t deny that someone could be luckier than us, right?” A young man who hadn’t complained at all spoke up with a smile. From Kai Xin’s arrival to his departure, he had been silently watering the flowers; the only change in him was that the determination and perseverance in his eyes grew even stronger! “What’s the use of luck!” The first player to speak said seriously with a hum, “One day when I become a disciple of the Murong family, the first thing I’ll do is chase after him! Whatever fate it is, I’ll see how long he can show off ahead of me!” “…” The others also stopped complaining, their eyes gleaming as they trained even harder. … The graves of the Murong family were different from ordinary tombs! Every member of the Murong family, male or female, was a renowned powerhouse in the Jianghu—heroes in life, and legendary warriors in death! Thus, their tombs were connected into a vast sword tomb! Giant swords stood upright on top of the graves, extending deep into the ground, linked together by steel chains as thick as thumbs, combined with elaborate square stone tombs—turning the entire cemetery into a battlefield filled with sword energy! Yet under the moonlight, several sneaky figures disrupted this solemnity!