Chapter 103: Follow Your Heart, Bear the Consequences

At first, Ning Xiu thought the other party meant increasing strength by exchanging merit points for elixirs or cultivation techniques. Only after repeated confirmation did he realize it was meant quite literally.

“You mean the Six Doors actually have a way to directly enhance our power?”

“Yes. Those with outstanding merit are granted the chance to visit the Xiezhi Hall, where we receive the blessing of the Xiezhi God, thereby raising our cultivation level. Typically, ordinary warriors can only advance up to the first rank,” explained the middle-aged constable.

Opportunities that seem to fall from the sky are rare, and the bigger the opportunity, the greater the risk when it inevitably crashes down, in accordance with gravity’s law.

So, upon hearing this, Ning Xiu’s first reaction was not joy but caution.

Could there really be such a fortunate thing in this world?

“Thank you for your efforts, brother,” Ning Xiu nodded and sent the middle-aged constable on his way.

He began to ponder, no wonder the two young constables from the Six Doors he encountered last time, who appeared so youthful, already possessed first-rank cultivation.

“Xiezhi Hall, huh...” Ning Xiu murmured softly, caressing the Fish-Dragon token in his hand.

...

The Six Doors assigned missions at the Fish-Dragon Hall.

When Ning Xiu arrived at the main hall, he saw many constables bustling about, clearly exchanging tasks. He glanced around and walked straight to the front.

“Sir, are you here to hand over or receive a task?”

The attendant, a common servant responsible for daily affairs—such a large organization as the Six Doors required management—replied courteously.

“I’m here to see what tasks are currently available,” Ning Xiu said.

The attendant immediately fetched a booklet from a cabinet behind him and handed it to Ning Xiu. “Please take a look, sir.”

Ning Xiu flipped it open to see a long list of names, each accompanied by descriptions including their martial titles, cultivation levels, backgrounds, and the merit points they were worth.

They were mostly the secular forces of the Jia family.

After all, the Jia family had operated in Lingnan County for over a thousand years. Uprooting their influence was no simple matter. At the same time, reestablishing the court’s authority was not a task that could be accomplished overnight.

But Ning Xiu had not joined the Six Doors to serve as the court’s lackey. His motives were threefold.

First, to conceal his identity. As the saying goes, darkness under the lamp—neither the Ghost Alliance nor the Six Doors would expect the person they hunted across the world to suddenly appear openly under a new identity, and even join their ranks.

Second, to gather more information. To understand the truth, one must get close to it, even if approaching the truth often meant courting death.

Third, to openly hunt ghosts. Since a new order had been established, the court would naturally assume the Jia family’s former responsibilities. To maintain lasting governance, they couldn’t allow monsters to run rampant. This was the tacit understanding between the Ghost Alliance and the court.

“Why are there no missions related to spiritual ghosts or anomalies?” Ning Xiu asked.

He had nearly scanned the entire booklet without finding a single ghost-related assignment.

The young attendant looked at Ning Xiu and respectfully said, “Sir, all matters involving spiritual ghosts are handled by the Soul Suppression Division.”

Ning Xiu nodded, then casually pointed to one task. “I’ll take this one.”

“Very well, please wait a moment.”

After registering the task, the attendant swiftly handed Ning Xiu a dossier.

“Once you complete the mission, just return here for handover.”

Ning Xiu took the scroll, waved his hand, and turned to leave.

...

Name: Zhao Daqian.

Age: Sixty-two.

Height: Six feet one inch.

Martial skill: First rank. Thirty years ago, he was renowned in the martial world for his eagle claw technique.

Current position: Lord of Falcon Fortress, a secular force left over from the Jia family. Like the four major gangs, Falcon Fortress is a powerful faction, second only to the big four.

Compared to the four major gangs, the only thing lacking is a grandmaster-level expert. Naturally, the court does not want such a presence under its watch.

As for Zhao Daqian, it was unclear what had gone wrong in his mind to dare resist. If he had surrendered willingly, though Falcon Fortress would perish, his life might have been spared.

Ning Xiu glanced at the dossier, uninterested.

He activated the “Martial God” system.

On the main interface, the number behind “ingots” was 1800—a terrifying figure. Ning Xiu had exhausted all his ingots before killing Shi Nan.

Yet, the situation grew even more extreme: the cost to advance the Golden Bell Shield from level nine to ten skyrocketed to 2000. At this rate, reaching level twelve would require at least 8,000 ingots.

A pay-to-win mobile game, indeed. Ning Xiu was constantly shelling out money.

But the money he spent was paid in blood and life. To use an analogy, it was like risking one’s life every day laying bricks on a construction site, only to find upon returning home that he could not afford even a single upgrade package in the game.

This idiotic game design left no room to survive.

Ning Xiu considered whether to do a ten-pull summon. After all, the current situation was different from before; there was temporarily no threat to his life.

In the end, reason overcame the temptation.

He took a deep breath and spurred his horse toward Falcon Fortress.

...

Ghost Alliance, Wan Ren Mountain.

“You let me out without permission—aren’t you afraid the old man will blame you?” the girl in red said, looking at the boy before her.

“What do you mean ‘you’ and ‘your’? I’m your brother, alright? Don’t be so distant,” the boy replied.

He wore dull gray clothes, creating a stark contrast with the girl’s red attire. Leaning against the wall, he maintained a lazy posture, as if nothing in the world interested him.

A faint smile curved his lips as he looked at her.

“Helping your sister is never wrong.”

“I won’t thank you,” the girl said, casting him a glance before turning away.

She soon vanished into a thick mist.

The boy watched her disappear, preparing to leave, when a voice suddenly rang out from the darkness.

“Do you understand the consequences of what you’ve done? Your actions not only endanger the girl in red but the entire Ghost Alliance.”

“Consequences?” The boy tilted his head. “Since when have we ever cared about consequences?”

“Besides, the girl in red is not someone you should pretend to mourn. If you truly cared for her, for the Ghost Alliance, for the so-called bigger picture, you would have stopped her earlier.”

“We always act according to our conscience.”

He left the last sentence unfinished.

Acting according to conscience—bearing the consequences oneself.