At a small restaurant outside the residential complex,
Bai Jue was eating a plate of fried rice noodles while chatting with Cheng Taihe on his phone.
Cheng Taihe:
"The content for the Cultivator Gaokao has been finalized. Big shot, you probably don't know yet, right?"
Seeing the message, Bai Jue's eyes lit up. He quickly replied:
Bai Jue:
"What is it?"
For Cultivators, the Gaokao was naturally different from that of ordinary people.
Their exams involved real combat, often brutal. Most exam venues were either set in the wilderness—or directly inside space gates.
Cheng Taihe:
"Sequence Three space gate: Forest Bastion. If you've heard of it, you should know how dangerous that place is."
Bai Jue froze for a moment when he saw the reply.
Information about Forest Bastion immediately surfaced in his mind, and his expression subtly changed.
A Sequence Three space gate.
Forest Bastion.
If he remembered correctly, it was a vast world dominated entirely by forests.
The dominant inhabitants were an extraterrestrial civilization—the Forest Centaur Civilization.
Originally, this civilization had leaned toward neutrality.
Unfortunately, the Forest Centaurs within this space gate had been corrupted by dark energy, turning cruel and aggressive, obsessed with destruction and battle.
As a result, clashes between Forest Centaurs and Cultivators from Sky-Kui City occurred frequently, often with heavy casualties on both sides.
Forest Centaurs—true to their name—were a race perfectly adapted to forest warfare.
Human upper bodies, equine lower bodies.
Every one of them was a skilled archer and warrior, able to move freely through dense forests and even manipulate plant life, much like elves.
What's more—
Within the Human Federation, there had even been Cultivators who took Forest Centaurs as partners, producing half-centaur offspring.
There was no doubt about it—
Forest Centaurs were powerful.
Individually strong, with even the weakest among them at First Rank.
What truly concerned Bai Jue was something else.
In the past, such exam content would never have been approved.
Sequence Three space gates guaranteed violent conflict upon entry.
Exams that involved this level of danger were usually forbidden for students.
Yet this year—
Things were different.
Which made Bai Jue suspect that the Federation might be sending out a signal.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Jue shook his head and stopped overanalyzing.
Whatever the Federation's intent was, all he needed was sufficient strength to protect himself.
Forest Bastion was dangerous, yes—
But not enough to truly threaten him.
There were still nine days before the Gaokao.
In that time, his strength might very well increase again.
After finishing his noodles in a thoroughly satisfied mood, Bai Jue went to the Cultivator Administration Center.
He upgraded his benefits.
As a Second Rank High-Tier Cultivator, his待遇 skyrocketed—
He could now receive 100,000 Federation Credits per month, which felt incredibly comfortable.
After updating his records, Bai Jue returned home, showered, and slept.
When he woke up, it was already the next day.
Morning.
Bright sunlight filled the streets.
Yawning, Bai Jue washed up, ate breakfast, and headed straight to the Night Watchers' Building.
Inside the lounge, many Night Watchers were present.
When Bai Jue entered, some looked confused, while others suddenly realized who he was.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed.
Sikong Xi walked in, high heels clicking against the floor, dressed in black stockings. She clapped her hands and spoke:
"Everyone, let me introduce someone. This is Bai Jue, the newcomer who joined our Sky-Kui City Night Watchers earlier. Second Rank, High Tier. You can get acquainted."
"Bai Jue? The one who awakened Zhongyuan?"
"Yeah. If I remember correctly, he beat Qian Chen… back when he was only First Rank."
"Damn. He could beat Qian Chen at First Rank—now he's Second Rank High Tier. How terrifying must his combat power be?"
"You idiot, that's not the main point! The scary part is his progression speed. Twenty days ago he was First Rank—now he's almost Third Rank!"
"Hiss…"
Quiet murmurs spread among the Night Watchers.
Sikong Xi didn't pay them any mind. Instead, she turned to Bai Jue with a smile.
"Student Bai Jue, are you interested in taking on missions?"
"Of course," Bai Jue replied with a grin, spreading his hands.
"That's exactly why I came. I need to repay my debt—and I'm saving up for an Awakening Crystal."
Awakening Crystals were rare.
At the moment, Bai Jue didn't know of any channel besides the Night Watchers that sold them.
Within the organization, a single Awakening Crystal cost 10,000 points.
"Awakening Crystal, huh?"
Sikong Xi nodded calmly, not surprised—clearly Di Yao had already informed her.
"You're still new to missions, so I'll assign you a partner first. You'll work together to complete tasks."
"Alright."
Bai Jue agreed readily.
Having a teammate would help him adapt to Night Watcher operations more quickly.
Sikong Xi smiled and waved toward a corner.
"Guocheng, come over."
A tall, powerfully built man with a simple, honest face walked over, scratching his head.
"Captain, what's up?"
"Bai Jue—you know him. For the next while, you'll be his temporary partner. Help him get familiar with Night Watcher work. Just until his Gaokao. How does that sound?"
"No problem!"
The man thumped his chest confidently.
"As long as it's your order, Captain, I won't refuse. Besides, I've heard about Little Brother Bai Jue for a long time now."
Sikong Xi smiled and introduced him.
"Liu Guocheng. One of the top thirty strongest members in our Sky-Kui City Night Watchers.
A Labor Day Cultivator, Third Rank."
Bai Jue nodded and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. Bai Jue—Zhongyuan Cultivator, Second Rank High Tier."
"Nice to meet you."
Liu Guocheng quickly shook his hand.
After a short while, the two became familiar with each other.
Liu Guocheng was practical, straightforward, and spoke plainly—exactly Bai Jue's kind of person.
Seeing that things were going smoothly, Sikong Xi left.
Sitting on the sofa, Bai Jue looked at Liu Guocheng and asked curiously:
"Brother Liu, if you don't mind me asking… what exactly does Labor Day's ability do?"
Many Festival abilities weren't described in detail in books—some weren't explained at all.
So Bai Jue was genuinely curious.
"There's nothing inappropriate about asking,"
Liu Guocheng shook his head and answered simply.
"Labor Day's ability is straightforward."
"As long as effort is put in—there will always be a return."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
https://patreon.com/RogerTL