Stellar Transformation-Chapter 62 - 16 Crisis (Part 1)

"The leader of Heavenly Net is actually..." Qin Yu had a notion and smiled slightly before walking over to sit directly across from the Blue-clothed Elder without any formalities.

The Blue-clothed Elder smiled and said slowly, "Mr. Liu Xing, the Divine Dragon, is elusive. Completing nine gold medal tasks in three consecutive months, all perfectly done, I was also incredibly surprised when I first saw it. Later, I realized that even within the ’Outer Network’ of our Heavenly Net, there’s an expert like Mr. Liu Xing."

"Gold medal tasks? There’s no difficulty at all. I seek an opponent but find none, which is really..." Qin Yu said with great arrogance.

In order to prevent others from discovering his real identity, Qin Yu also portrayed the assassin Liu Xing as a top expert in pursuit of martial arts, caring about nothing but martial arts.

"No difficulty at all, has Mr. Liu Xing already reached the Innate Great Perfection Realm?" asked the Blue-clothed Elder. Qin Yu suddenly burst into laughter and responded, "Great Elder, why not find out through a trial? It’s rare to encounter such an expert as you."

As he spoke, Qin Yu suddenly made a move with his right hand.

From a young age, Qin Yu had trained his finger force and also the flexibility of his fingers. After numerous breakthroughs, his finger force had reached a terrifying level. Now, extending his forefinger, his right hand produced dozens of finger shadows.

The eyes of the Blue-clothed Elder brightened, and he too extended the forefinger of his right hand, from which a blinding light emerged.

"Bang!"

Finger against finger, they collided head-on without one overpowering the other.

The corners of Qin Yu’s mouth suddenly curled up slightly, and a purple glow abruptly burst from his fingertip. The Blue-clothed Elder felt a sharp force penetrate his body through his finger and was greatly alarmed. He quickly withdrew his finger and used the liquefied Innate True Qi in his Dantian to erode this foreign True Qi.

"Haha, Mr. Liu Xing really is formidable. The Elder admires, admires!" The Blue-clothed Elder’s eyes shone brightly as he burst into laughter.

This time, having been commanded by Qin De to invite Qin Yu, the first objective was to assess Qin Yu’s strength. From this competition of finger force alone, the Blue-clothed Elder was fully convinced that the current Mr. Liu Xing’s strength was no less than his.

"The Great Elder also didn’t use all his strength, so my victory isn’t truly deserved," Qin Yu said indifferently.

Qin Yu could see that the Blue-clothed Elder hadn’t used all his strength, but neither had Qin Yu. He was confident that to confront the Blue-clothed Elder, just using the purple Innate True Qi obtained from cultivating the third block of the Tongtian Map would absolutely annihilate the Blue-clothed Elder.

"Mr. Liu Xing’s strength is so high, it seems you are qualified to undertake a task," the Blue-clothed Elder said mysteriously.

Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly. He knew that the Liu Xing he played was a person who pursued martial arts and limits. Qin Yu immediately said, "Oh? Elder tested me just now, and only now you say I’m qualified for this task. It seems this task must be quite formidable? Tell me about it."

The Blue-clothed Elder said mysteriously, "Formidable? Mr. Liu Xing, there are several experts of your level involved in this task. Once you participate in this task, life or death is out of the question."

"Oh?"

Qin Yu was shocked.

He knew his own strength, and in the mind of the Blue-clothed Elder, the assassin Liu Xing was an Innate Great Perfection Expert. But saying there are several of his level participating in this task, doesn’t that mean there are several Innate Great Perfection Experts?

"What task could it be, could it be..." Qin Yu had a premonition.

"Haha... to need a few experts like me, how challenging must this task be? Could it be assassinating an Upper Immortal?" Qin Yu laughed.

The Blue-clothed Elder shook his head, "It’s not about assassinating an Upper Immortal, but acting as someone’s bodyguard for about a month. If you are willing to participate, you must protect the employer well during that month." The Blue-clothed Elder stared at Qin Yu, carefully observing his reaction.

"Bodyguard? Hmph, asking me to be a bodyguard," Qin Yu said coldly.

The Blue-clothed Elder confidently said, "Mr. Liu Xing, rest assured, haven’t you always complained that the tasks lack difficulty? This task will definitely be challenging, and the enemies that appear will surely satisfy you. Most importantly... if the mission is successful, we can give you an Immortal Upper Grade Divine Weapon!"

An Immortal Upper Grade is considered the top-tier weapon in the eyes of mortals on the Hidden Dragon Continent.

As for Spiritual Artifacts, they are generally possessed by Cultivators. Qin Yu had obtained the Stone Burning Iron, but it was only after being refined by Feng Yuzi that he had a Spiritual Artifact — how could an ordinary mortal have such an item? The Blue-clothed Elder said the task reward was an Immortal Upper Grade weapon, which was already a very high reward.

A good divine weapon holds great appeal to a martial artist; if one is to pretend, they must do so convincingly.

"Oh..." A flicker of interest flashed in Qin Yu’s eyes.

Seeing Qin Yu’s expression, the Blue-clothed Elder knew there was a chance and immediately said, "Mr. Liu Xing, such tasks are extremely rare. If you want to participate, meet me here in this teahouse three days later, and I will lead you there."

"Protect someone, protect whom? And where to?" Qin Yu pressed.

The Blue-clothed Elder shook his head, "I can only tell you that the person you need to protect is called Mr. Ying. As for the rest, you don’t need to ask; just follow us when the time comes." The Blue-clothed Elder stared at Qin Yu, waiting for his reaction.

"Mr. Ying?" Qin Yu had a movement in his heart, increasingly sure of his guess.

"Okay, I’ll take this task. Three days later, we’ll meet in this teahouse," Qin Yu laughed out loud, his figure immediately flying out through the second-floor window, leaving behind a few afterimages before disappearing. The Blue-clothed Elder watched him from the window, nodding with a smile.

Late at night, inside the Imperial Study Room.

"Your Majesty, this is the ’Dark Chess’ secret letter." A graceful middle-aged man handed over a letter, which the sitting Xiang Guang hurriedly received. Xiang Guang opened the secret letter and read the contents, immediately furrowing his brow, "What, Qin De is facing the Four-nine Heavenly Tribulations, and it’s in less than a month’s time."

Xiang Guang’s expression kept changing.

Qin De had always been a thorn in Xiang Guang’s side. Without removing Qin De, he felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat and could not rest easy. Now, hearing that Qin De was about to face the Four-nine Heavenly Tribulations made him somewhat panicked. He hoped that Qin De would fail the tribulations and die, but he was also worried that Qin De might succeed and become a Golden Core Stage expert.

If that were the case, the Qin Family would have two Upper Immortals. If the Qin Family were to rebel, the threat would be much greater.

Xiang Guang thought for a long time, looked up at the graceful middle-aged man before him, and inquired, "Mr. Lan, that Wu Xing Wood clearly stated that they only promised to protect us. Getting them to take action is quite difficult. By the way, Mr. Lan, did our ancestor give any clear instructions..."

Mr. Lan smiled faintly and then took out a small jade bottle from his chest, placing it in front of Xiang Guang, "Your Majesty, this is a Red Elixir. I believe you understand the ancestor’s intentions now."

Upon hearing the words ’Red Elixir,’ Xiang Guang was shocked, a fierce look appearing on his face: "Red Elixir, the last Red Elixir, how could our ancestor bear to give it away? Okay, rest assured, Mr. Lan, tell the ancestor that I will definitely not disappoint him. Hmph, Wu Xing Wood are too greedy, but... in order to eliminate Qin De, we have no choice."

"No matter what, we must not let Qin De succeed in crossing the tribulations. Otherwise, with two Golden Core Stage experts on their side and a big battle along with the army of the Eastern Domain Three Prefectures, even if they can’t succeed in rebellion, it would be a devastating blow to the Xiang Family, and that wouldn’t be worth it," Xiang Guang said as he tightly gripped the jade bottle.

Mr. Lan nodded slightly and then walked out grandly through the front door.

Xiang Guang stayed in the Imperial Study Room, restless all night. At dawn the next day, Xiang Guang left the Imperial Palace directly with a cadre of secret experts.