Lin Yun arrived at the temporary outpost at the foot of the sect mountain with his token. Three people were already there, having waited for some time.
The leader was an external affairs elder of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Liao Changping, who was responsible for providing support to teams carrying out sect missions. He frowned as he looked at the young man before him who had just stepped into the first level of the Nascent Yuan Realm.
Of the three, Liao Changping's cultivation was at the Myriad Laws Realm. The remaining two were at the Yuan Sea Realm and the Void-Gazing Realm, respectively.
"What's wrong with the sect? How could they send an outer-sect disciple to carry out a mission with us?" Wang Shuang, who was sitting by the door, muttered with a displeased pout. Lin Yun's strength was just too weak!
Fan Kun smiled at Wang Shuang and said, "It's not like you don't know, the Flowing Cloud Sect has been having a lot of trouble lately. We should be glad someone was willing to come at all." His attitude toward Lin Yun was decent enough.
At that moment, Liao Changping, who had been sitting to the side, stood up and said coldly, "Let's move out!"
Lin Yun followed behind Liao Changping.
"Elder, aren't you going to tell me what our mission is this time?"
Liao Changping's steps faltered. He turned his head to glance at Lin Yun and sneered, "Your mission?"
"Here. Your mission is to carry our luggage."
After saying that, he ignored Lin Yun completely.
Wang Shuang grinned and tossed his own bundle to Lin Yun. "Junior Brother, remember now... hold on to this tightly. It might be a bit strenuous, but consider it a form of training for you." He snickered and followed after Liao Changping.
Fan Kun said, "Junior Brother Lin, don't worry. This mission isn't difficult. The few of us are more than enough."
"Understood, Senior Brother."
Lin Yun silently took the bundles. It wasn't the first or second day he had been looked down upon. Besides, after cultivating the "Primordial Chaos Sword Embryo," his physical conditioning was so good that forget carrying these bundles, he could probably carry another seven or eight people without a problem.
Leaving the outpost, the four of them boarded a vehicle called a flying vessel.
On the way, Lin Yun learned that several inner-sect disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect had gone missing while on a mission not long ago. News had recently come back that a spirit stone mine had been found nearby. Based on Lin Yun's judgment, the sect placed great importance on spirit stone mines, and they had been dispatched here to investigate that issue. Everything else was secondary.
Spirit stones were an incredibly important resource on the Latent Dragon Continent. They could be used as an aid in cultivation and were also the power source for some tools. The flying vessel under Lin Yun's feet, for example, was powered by spirit stones.
This was Lin Yun's first time descending the mountain for a mission, and also the first time he had seen the real world. For a moment, he was filled with a thousand emotions!
The flying vessel was very fast, and the mission location wasn't far from the Flowing Cloud Sect. After half a day, they came to a stop amidst a range of towering mountains.
"This is the place."
Liao Changping tossed out this cold statement and jumped off the flying vessel.
Lin Yun immediately opened the panels for all three men. Unfortunately, there were no special turning point events. He had no choice but to follow.
Once in the mountain forest, Liao Changping took out a treasure that looked like a compass. It seemed to be able to guide them to a location. Before long, Liao Changping led them to a collapsed cave entrance and frowned slightly.
Wang Shuang, ever the sycophant, spoke up quickly, "Junior Brother Lin, come lend a hand. Move all these rocks."
Lin Yun looked at the massive boulder, which was as tall as two men, and then looked at Wang Shuang.
Just listen to yourself. Are those the words of a human being? Is this a "lend a hand" kind of job?
Lin Yun knew Wang Shuang was deliberately trying to make trouble. The boulder blocking the entrance weighed at least three hundred dan. What kind of Nascent Yuan Realm cultivator could possibly move it? Even Wang Shuang, at the seventh level of the Yuan Sea Realm, wouldn't be confident!
This was a job that Liao Changping was supposed to handle. However, the elder had a look of disdain on his face, as if he were worried the dust from the shattering rocks would stain his robes.
After Wang Shuang spoke, Liao Changping didn't care whether Lin Yun could do it or not. "Hurry up, and remember to clean this place up!"
With that, he sauntered off to the side to rest with a carefree expression.
Lin Yun's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Do I look like a freaking pangolin? And besides, you're an external affairs elder, and you're slacking off this much?
He complained endlessly in his heart, but the work still had to be done. Although Fan Kun had seemed friendly to Lin Yun earlier, he was nowhere to be seen at this moment.
...
Liao Changping sat down cross-legged far from the cave entrance and quietly began to meditate.
Fan Kun asked, "Junior Brother Lin, can you manage?"
Wang Shuang sneered, "The rocks are dead, but people are living. If he can't move it, he can just smash the boulder and then move it piece by piece. If an outer-sect disciple wants to use a sect mission to better himself, he has to pay the price." As he spoke, he looked at Lin Yun's back with utter contempt.
A Nascent Yuan Realm disciple wanted to move that boulder? Dream on! It would take him half a day at least. By then, they'd be delayed, and Liao Changping would surely punish him. When they got back, his status as an outer-sect disciple might even be revoked.
Just as Wang Shuang was smugly assuming Lin Yun was about to eat humble pie, he looked away for a second. When he looked back, he found that the kid had actually lifted a boulder weighing a full three hundred dan and thrown it aside with a mighty heave.
In Lin Yun's hands, the massive stone seemed as light as a block of tofu.
Forget Wang Shuang, even Liao Changping was stunned. The strongest a Nascent Yuan Realm cultivator could be was around two hundred dan of strength. How could this kid possibly lift such a heavy boulder?
"Junior Brother Lin seems a bit special," Fan Kun murmured, looking at Lin Yun with a complicated expression.
Just then, Wang Shuang got up and walked toward Lin Yun. "Hey, these are just hollow rocks. What's taking you so long? Don't tell me you need your senior brother to help you?"
Lin Yun looked at Wang Shuang, a smirk playing on his lips. "How about it, Senior Brother, want to give it a try?"
A rock weighing over three hundred dan. Without body refinement, even a Yuan Sea Realm cultivator couldn't move it.
Seeing how easily Lin Yun had moved it, Wang Shuang naturally assumed he had used some kind of trick and that the rocks weren't actually that heavy. Hearing Lin Yun's words now, Wang Shuang said, "What's so hard about that? Just toss it to me."
Lin Yun's effortless display had made Wang Shuang absolutely certain that these rocks only looked big but actually weighed nothing. The moment the words left his mouth, Lin Yun picked out a two-meter-high boulder and tossed it directly to Wang Shuang.
"Watch closely, your Senior Brother will show you how... Aiyo!"
Before Wang Shuang could finish his boast, he was completely crushed to the ground by the massive boulder.
Fan Kun was also surprised to see the pathetic state Wang Shuang was in. Even he, a Yuan Sea Realm cultivator, couldn't have done it, yet Lin Yun, at the Nascent Yuan Realm, could do it with ease. This Junior Brother Lin was no simple character!
Liao Changping said nothing, but the way he looked at Lin Yun had also changed!