[TX-7811: Clear out the "Shadow Spider" colony in the sewers of Yuntai City’s western district. Estimated count: 200-300. Reward: 350-550 points.]

[WJ-2238: Escort a geological survey team to the Red Rock Mountain Range. Five-day round trip. Reward: 800 points.]

[JS-5602: Investigate the energy anomaly in the Dark Canyon. Requires Spiritual Power 35+. Reward: 600-1200 points.]

[...]

There were plenty of missions, but the rewards were generally not as good as the one for the Rotting Wood Demon.

Clear-out missions were time-consuming and the points were scattered. Escort missions took even longer and offered fixed rewards. Reconnaissance missions were high-risk, but the rewards varied too widely, making them far too uncertain.

Xu Wuyi refined the search criteria further. "Remove all missions that take longer than three days, and remove all missions with a base reward below 800 points."

The list refreshed.

This time, only seven missions remained.

Xu Wuyi clicked on each one to review the details.

Three were clear-out missions, but the targets were either Star Beasts that excelled at Stealth or were located in complex underground caves, which would be very inefficient to clear.

Two were escort missions. Though the timeframe was compressed to within three days, they involved escorting important figures or materials, which meant numerous rules and major restrictions.

Of the two that remained, one was for collecting a rare medicinal herb, which required venturing deep into a dangerous zone, but the reward was only a base of 900 points. The other was for assisting a research project with combat testing, offering a 1,000-point reward, but it required signing a confidentiality agreement, and the details of the test were unknown.

Xu Wuyi closed the list.

None of these missions were optimal.

"It seems good missions really are scarce," he muttered to himself.

Missions like the one with the Rotting Wood Demon—high rewards, short duration, and clear objectives—were the kind you could only stumble upon by chance, not seek out.

Most of the time, Martial Artists had to choose between long-term, high-risk, high-reward missions and short-term, stable, low-reward ones.

But Xu Wuyi didn’t have time to grind short-term missions.

He needed points. A lot of points.

"I need to widen the search," he decided. "Anna, remove the regional restrictions and expand the search to the entire Federation, but keep the mission duration limited to three days."

He was willing to spend some time traveling, but that meant the mission’s reward-to-effort ratio had to be that much higher.

"Re-filtering... Filter complete. Nineteen missions match your criteria."

The new list appeared.

Xu Wuyi scanned through them.

Most still didn’t meet his requirements.

Some were too far away, making the travel time excessive. Others had complex objectives that required preparing a great deal of specialized equipment. A few offered high rewards but explicitly required a team to accept, and the team had to include a Martial Artist with specific abilities.

Just as he was about to adjust the criteria again, a mission caught his eye.

[Mission ID: LK-4472]

[Type: Rift Exploration/Clear-out]

[Location: Southeast Ashen Wasteland, Maple Province. Codename: "7-C" Temporary Rift.]

[Background: The rift appeared two weeks ago. Failure to eliminate it immediately allowed it to expand, and a large number of Star Beasts escaped. The Federation has evacuated the surrounding populace and, three days ago, deployed tactical-grade thermal weapons in a wide-area saturation strike. The rift is now confirmed to be temporarily stable, and most of the escaped Star Beasts have been killed.]

[Objectives: 1. Enter the rift’s affected zone and deploy a number of signal relays to restore regional communications and monitoring. 2. Explore a three-kilometer radius around the rift to confirm the presence of any remaining Star Beasts and eliminate them. 3. Collect Energy samples from the rift.]

[Requirements: Must be a Level 33 or higher Martial Artist. A team of three or more is recommended.]

[Reward: 2,000 fixed points. Star Beasts killed during the mission will grant additional points (redeemable per standard combat merits).]

[Estimated Duration: 2-3 days]

[Risk Rating: High]

[Note: The area is extremely unstable following the thermal weapon strike, with dangers including residual radiation, Energy Turbulence, and geological instability. Teams must provide their own protective equipment and arrive at the frontline assembly point within 12 hours of accepting the mission.]

Xu Wuyi’s eyes were fixed on the rewards section.

A fixed 2,000 points.

That was more than any mission he had ever taken.

More importantly, any Star Beasts killed during the mission would grant additional points.

Although the Star Beasts in the Ashen Wasteland generally had low Energy Levels, if there were enough of them, the cumulative points would be a considerable income.

Of course, the risk was also high.

The environment in an area hit by thermal weapons would be extremely hostile, and the term "remaining Star Beasts" was vague—who knew if a High-Tier Star Beast had slipped through the net?

But Xu Wuyi was tempted.

A single mission like this was worth four or five ordinary ones.

"Anna, pull up the detailed file on the ’7-C’ Rift, along with recent situation reports for the Ashen Wasteland."

"Retrieving... Please stand by."

The holographic screen switched, and a flood of information appeared.

The 7-C Rift had appeared two weeks ago, initially as just a minor spatial fluctuation. However, the local Martial Artist garrison failed to arrive in time, allowing the rift to expand fourfold within six hours as over two hundred Star Beasts poured out.

Most of these Star Beasts were Ash Worms and Lava Lizards, with Energy Levels between 25 and 30, all common species in the Ashen Wasteland.

However, a small number of higher-tiered Star Beasts were mixed in among them, their specific types unknown.

Since the rift was located deep within the wasteland with no populated areas nearby, the Federation decided to use tactical-grade thermal weapons for a direct saturation strike.

Three days ago, four "Purifier" missiles struck the target area, thoroughly scouring the landscape.

The area around the 7-C Rift was now nothing but scorched earth.

The rift itself had temporarily closed due to the energy impact, but its internal structure was unknown, and it posed a risk of secondary collapse.

’The chances of a high-Energy-Level Star Beast surviving a thermal weapon strike are low, but I can’t rule out individuals that are good at burrowing or have high energy resistance,’ Xu Wuyi quickly analyzed.

’The priority is to deploy the relays and collect the samples. Combat isn’t the main goal... but if an opportunity to fight arises, I can’t pass it up.’

The mission details remained on the screen.

Xu Wuyi’s eyes flickered back and forth between the "2,000 fixed points" reward and the "Risk Rating: High."

Maple Province, the Ashen Wasteland.

It was over eight hundred kilometers from Yuntai City in a straight line. Even on a military high-speed transport, the flight would take nearly two hours.

The mission itself was estimated to take two to three days. Including travel time, it would likely take up about four days in total.

But the allure of a 2,000-point fixed reward, plus the potential for extra points from kills, was just too great.

More importantly, for this type of "battlefield cleanup" mission, while the environment was hostile, the probability of high-threat targets remaining after the thermal weapon strike would be drastically lower.

For someone like him, who possessed powerful Spiritual Perception and area-of-effect attacks, this could be more efficient than a conventional clear-out mission.

High risk, high reward.

Xu Wuyi didn’t hesitate for long.

"Anna, accept mission LK-4472."

"Accepting... Accepted. The mission data and coordinates for the frontline assembly point have been synced to your personal terminal. Please note: you must arrive at the assembly point to report within 12 hours, or your mission eligibility may be revoked."