Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 540 - 539: Great Success Again

After taking care of matters in Chu Sect, Hou Niao didn’t dare to linger any longer and, after a fight lasting several days with Tan Xiaogou, he swiftly traveled far away.

All along the way, there were no stories to tell, no waves arose.

Once one reaches his realm, if he didn’t want anything to occur on the road, nothing would surely happen. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

In Sikong Mansion’s Reverence Room, Judge Cheng closed the Jade Scroll with a smile, "Hou Niao, congratulations, a great merit has been achieved."

Hou Niao was somewhat surprised, "Could there be a mistake? Wasn’t it said that it would only count as a great merit if the Earth Spirit Pearl was retrieved, and only as a general merit if only internal discord was clarified?"

Judge Cheng explained, "In principle, that’s correct, but Sikong Mansion wouldn’t strictly adhere to this, always judging according to the actual situation. Otherwise, what do you think grants such a large Sikong Mansion the ability to command respect?

Although the Earth Spirit Pearl wasn’t obtained, the news from Yaoguang Mountain Range has already spread across the continent, likely propagated by the Buddhist Sect and Chu Sect, right?

Back then, the two mansion masters of Sikong Mansion were somewhat worried, fearing that if you had truly taken action, you would have become the target of thousands, but once they saw the unfortunate party was Heartless Dao, and my Shan Sect was still on the side of justice, they were very satisfied, praising you for your cleverness and ability to manage affairs."

Pointing at him, "Sima Mansion is also very satisfied since you didn’t pursue the faults of the cultivators from Sima Mansion who acted without orders, thus saving face for Sima Mansion. Master Jiang even specifically thanked our Sikong Mansion at the ceremony... Therefore, even though the pearl was not obtained, because this matter was handled flawlessly and all parties were satisfied, it was slightly promoted upwards, and a great merit was recorded.

But I still have to remind you, even if the task was beautifully executed, you must promptly report back and inform the inside of our sect; you can’t just let yourself indulge in self-satisfaction and wander around enjoying the landscapes."

Hou Niao nodded in agreement, "Uncle Master’s lesson is right, I was momentarily carried away and became enamored with the scenery and elegant figures of the Southeast..."

Judge Cheng knocked on the table, "Thinking about it, over the years you have also completed several major tasks: Shanyin Ghost Festival, Lizhi Sea pirates, Jianye spy network, Yaoguang protection of the pearl...

Overall, you have become smoother in handling matters and more experienced in employing tactics; one general merit, two great merits, and even a special merit, all of these have been noted by our mansion.

You must remember, among the hundreds of house guards of Sikong Mansion, there are only a few who can continuously carry out several tasks so successfully; if you can continue this momentum, then you might get the opportunity to represent Sikong Mansion at the Quanzhen Annual Meeting next year, don’t let it go wasted."

Hou Niao nodded, "It’s still Uncle Master providing support, taking care of me in these tasks; otherwise, how could they have gone so smoothly?"

Judge Cheng was right in one thing—among those house guards sent on external missions like him, to see someone like him whose successive four missions have been improving is truly rare; most typically succeed in one but fail in another, or even after several failures, end up losing their own lives.

His seamless success was not due to luck, nor was it Judge Cheng’s care, but guaranteed by his own formidable strength and his experiences from his days in the public sector; otherwise, how could he have earned such a reputation today?

Regarding the Quanzhen Annual Meeting that Judge Cheng mentioned, it is not actually held every year, but rather once every ten years, and it’s a ceremony for high-rank cultivators of Shan Sect. Initially, only Golden Core cultivators were eligible to attend. Later, responding to the general opinion, it was expanded to include cultivators of the third level of Natural Realm within the Tongtian Realm. A hundred years ago, it was further expanded to include cultivators of the second level, God Sensing Realm.

It’s really about encouraging low-rank cultivators, urging participation, after all, these young cultivators of the Tongtian Realm are the future of a Daoist lineage; they need to feel they are also involved in sentencing major events.

A lot will be decided at such annual meetings, including incidents within and outside of the sect, and, of course, the selection of True Disciples; although most strategies are set by the elders, they are also formally confirmed at the meeting.

Since it’s a ceremony, it’s usually sufficient for low-rank cultivators just to listen; the event is of course presided over by Nascent Transformation elders and mainly by Golden Core cultivators, but occasionally, Tongtian Realm cultivators will step up to express their determination, singing high tones—usually, representatives from each of the Three Divisions are sent, the opportunity mentioned by Judge Cheng, given to the best-performing house guard of the last ten years.

Hou Niao doesn’t yet qualify, as he lacks enough completed missions, but if recent ten-year mission completions are compared, he really ranks within the top three of Sikong Mansion.

Because of the success of this assignment, Judge Cheng received praise from the two mansion masters and hence showed considerable care towards Hou Niao,

"Due to your excellent recent performance, you’ve been promoted to Sword Master within our mansion, an honor you must cherish, and strive to perform very well a few more times to secure your position."

In Sikong Mansion, out of nearly a hundred house guards, there are two tier rankings; outwardly, there are no differences, but internally there is; among them, Sword Master and Sword Master are considered higher status, with ten positions;

The difference being whether to a certain degree, one can decide whether to accept missions? When going outside, can they mobilize house guards of the same rank? More opportunities for upward mobility? Greater access to information?

Of course, these two words, Sword Master, aren’t just granted so easily; there’s promotion and also demotion, like him climbing up this time because a Sword Master failed his mission three times in a row, so the two mansion masters looked among the dwarfs for a general, and found that Hou Niao’s recent mission completion was absolutely flawless, hence...

Walking out of the Reverence Room, he asked around and indeed, Li Chuping has gone missing again, almost as if avoiding him like the plague—is it really necessary?

But this return to the mansion unexpectedly ended up in a familiar face, from afar, a cultivator shaped like a spear walked straight toward him, still with that cold temperament,

"Elder Brother, I have arrived."

Hou Niao was somewhat surprised, "Zong Qian? Where have you been these years? We’ve had no news of you; what’s this about..."

Zong Qian bowed deeply, "Initially, Elder Brother went to Yinling, while I went to Black Swamp, but later left Da Feng Plain for other reasons and went to work in the Outer State; later, after reaching Tongxuan, I was dispatched to the Northwest. During this period, Elder Brother, you had already become famous in Lizhi Sea; not long ago, I received an order to return, taking up a position in Sikong Mansion, and I’ve been looking forward to this day."

Hou Niao laughed heartily, Meeting an old friend felt especially close. Zong Qian was now at a late stage of God Sensing, just a step away from Natural Realm, impending completion seemed like just a matter of course for him.

"Very well, you and I are brothers in the same mansion, there’s always someone to look out for each other; otherwise, in such a large Sikong Mansion, I couldn’t even find a single person to drink with."

Zong Qian finally smiled, "If Elder Brother is looking for a drinking buddy, there’s another one; a few days ago, Situ Mansion changed a few Si Ge guards,including one surnamed Wang..."

Hou Niao patted him on the shoulder, "Wang Mian, that lad? Now our Jin City court officers’ team is halfway complete! Come on, let’s find him!"