After asking for directions repeatedly along the way, Gao Han finally stood before the entrance to the Mission Hall.
Though the hall could not be described as intricately carved with painted beams, it was nonetheless grand and imposing.
Its roof was constructed from a special metallic alloy that shimmered with golden radiance, while the surrounding walls were built from emerald-green stone blocks.
From a distance, the Mission Hall resembled a structure inlaid with gold and jade, magnificent and awe-inspiring.
Gao Han stepped across the threshold into the hall, where an even more spectacular sight unfolded.
Flanking either side stood nine emerald stone pillars, each measuring nine meters in diameter. Carved upon every pillar were ethereal, lifelike clouds, making anyone standing within the hall feel as if adrift in a sea of mist.
Eight pillars stood symmetrically along the sides, with the ninth erected right at the front of the chamber.
Beneath each pillar stood a large notice board, each dyed a different hue. The two closest to the entrance were green, followed by red, blue, and purple boards.
The notice board beneath the central pillar at the very back, however, was pitch-black.
The interior of the hall was vast and spacious. Several hundred disciples were already present when Gao Han entered, yet they seemed sparse and scattered within the expansive chamber.
He had arrived rather late, and disciples were continuously leaving with mission slips in hand.
The cultivation levels of the inner-sect disciples varied widely, though the weakest among them were at the Second Layer of True Essence, and the most powerful had reached the Eighth Layer.
All the disciples were examining the missions posted beneath the eight side pillars, while not a single person stood before the black notice board under the ninth pillar.
Ahead of it, the purple notice board drew only a handful of figures, each exuding a daunting aura—all were Eighth Layer True Essence cultivators.
Gao Han walked over to the green notice board on the left. Emblazoned at the top were four large characters: External Missions.
Beneath them, the highest-ranked listings were One-Star First-Tier missions, suitable for cultivators at the First Layer of True Essence.
Such low-level missions were scarce, for small clans and factions all had their own First Layer True Essence disciples; if their own members could handle the task, there was no reason to outsource it to outsiders.
Below these were One-Star Second-Tier missions, designed for Second Layer True Essence warriors, and these too were few in number.
The One-Star Third-Tier missions, however, were far more plentiful, tailored for cultivators of the Third Layer of True Essence.
While Third Layer True Essence experts were common within major powers, they were treasured rarities in smaller factions, which would never risk them on dangerous assignments.
Yet such tasks had to be completed, so smaller forces turned to great sects for assistance.
Gao Han soon noticed something odd: none of these external missions offered any Sect Contribution Points as a reward.
He promptly crossed to the green notice board on the opposite side, at the top of which were written the words: Internal Missions.
The tiers and suitable cultivation levels were nearly identical to those on the external board, though the monetary rewards were considerably lower—yet these missions granted Sect Contribution Points.
Precisely because of the contribution points, internal missions were always snapped up the moment they were posted.
By now, only a few One-Star First-Tier missions remained on the green internal notice board, their rewards meager in both silver and points. Completing two such missions earned a disciple just one Contribution Point.
A One-Star Second-Tier mission granted two points, and a Third-Tier mission four.
Gao Han moved on to the red internal notice board, only to find it completely empty. Evidently, the sect lived by the saying: the early bird catches the worm.
He had arrived only slightly late, yet the boards had already been picked clean. Fortunately, he had not come solely to earn contribution points, or he would have been bitterly disappointed.
He then approached the red external notice board, which also held three tiers of missions arranged in ascending order of difficulty.
The first listings were Two-Star First-Tier missions, intended for Fourth Layer True Essence cultivators, followed by their respective bounties.
The first mission was posted by the Qian family of Water City. They needed to transport a shipment of goods to Blackgreen Town, but a band of marauders had taken to the roads between the two settlements.
Marauders were organizations of martial artists, similar to bandits, yet every member was at least a First Layer True Essence cultivator, with their leader's strength unknown. For the sake of wealth, even powerful experts secretly joined their ranks to plunder travelers.
Though their nature was akin to banditry, calling a group of True Essence cultivators mere bandits seemed inappropriate. Given their indiscriminate looting, they had become known as marauders.
This mission required ten cultivators above the Third Layer of True Essence. The journey from Water City to Blackgreen Town took seven days at the fastest pace.
The reward was generous: five thousand taels of silver per disciple upon completion.
Yet the payout hardly justified the half-month round trip, so Gao Han dismissed the task at once.
He scanned the remaining missions one by one, yet none seemed suitable for him.
While the monetary rewards were substantial, either the time commitment was too great or the nature of the work clashed with his preferences.
One listing even sought to recruit several experts from the Third to Fifth Layer of True Essence to fight exhibitions for the clan sponsoring the mission.
This notice had been posted by a prominent scholarly clan in the Spirit Kingdom, which had abandoned martial cultivation three generations prior to focus on literature.
Its members regarded martial artists as mere brutes, unworthy of comparison to the elegance of scholarship, and often recited verses boasting of their superior enlightenment.
The request was utterly insulting, treating warriors like performing monkeys. To post such a notice within a major sect spelled trouble for the clan.
Gao Han's gaze remained fixed on the Two-Star First-Tier listings. With his current strength, he could not take on Two-Star Second-Tier missions, which were reserved for genuine Fifth Layer True Essence cultivators.
Though his combat power matched that of a Fifth Layer expert, his cultivation base was still only Third Layer—even if he accepted such a mission, the sponsoring clan would never agree to it.
He continued scanning the board, until his eye caught a familiar name: the Yi Family of Feng City.