Chapter Twelve: A Suitable Target for the Mission

Shen Ce was deeply troubled by Han Qishao sacrificing himself to save his life. He realized that his previous offer to help Han Qishao level up by fighting monsters together had indeed been too presumptuous—after all, Han Qishao lacked neither resources nor manpower for training. Why would he need Shen Ce’s help? No wonder that young woman named Qingqing had been so upset.

This time, the update for "Sovereign of Heaven" included new guild creation tasks, introducing an additional way to earn the right to establish a guild. Shen Ce had skipped over the announcement at first, since he had no need for it, but now, wishing to repay Han Qishao’s favor, he wanted to learn more.

After logging off, Shen Ce browsed the official site for "Sovereign of Heaven," carefully reading over the guild creation information three or four times. The first method involved raising the city lord's favorability in one’s home city by completing a chain of quests, one after another, until receiving the lowest rank of Guild Leader’s Emblem. This allowed the player to carve out a region and establish a grade-C guild—endless errands for the city lord, the sheer complexity of tasks, constant map changes, and the finicky NPCs had driven many players to complain bitterly.

The newest method, however, was much more straightforward—simply slay the Red-Crested Two-Headed Serpent in the Snow Cliff Cavern to obtain the Guildmaster’s Badge. With this, the resulting guild would be grade-B, with significantly better territory and resources than a grade-C. But this task was difficult for three reasons: first, Snow Cliff was a precipitous mountain, sheer as a wall—ordinary people couldn't reach the summit; second, official data showed the Red-Crested Two-Headed Serpent was a level-30 boss, with immense health, high defense, and powerful attacks—defeating it was no small feat for current players; third, the first method allowed five people to accept the quest together, but this new method permitted only two people to share the task. With just two, killing a level-30 boss was almost a fantasy, and if more joined, the officials stated the badge wouldn’t drop unless the quest-holders landed the kill.

Shen Ce was immediately intrigued by the second method. He opened the official "Sovereign of Heaven" forums and searched for relevant keywords, hoping to find useful information. As expected, even though it was only the first day since the quest launched, many had already attempted to ascend Snow Cliff and challenge the Red-Crested Two-Headed Serpent.

He read through the threads, his brow gradually furrowing. Every post without exception complained about the new quest’s absurd difficulty. Most lamented that the cliff face was nearly sheer, with almost nowhere to get a foothold—scaling to the highest cave was impossible. Others replied that this was far harder than the first method. The first was tedious and time-consuming but at least offered hope. By the time anyone could manage to climb Snow Cliff and kill the serpent, guilds would already be everywhere, famous, and they’d likely have trouble recruiting members.

Shen Ce glanced at a screenshot of Snow Cliff in a player's post and saw that the rock face was indeed nearly vertical, daunting to even consider climbing. He had assigned few points to agility—though his years of practice at dodging made him faster than most, that only mattered for a few seconds at a time. On a cliff like this, with no footholds, he’d likely fall to his death before even making progress.

In theory, the Priest class did have a Levitation spell, granting flight, but it didn’t unlock until level 30. Even if Shen Ce were level 30 now, he didn’t have the spellbook for Levitation and thus couldn't succeed.

Aside from Levitation, Shen Ce couldn’t think of any other way to reach the summit. Reluctant to give up, he scrolled through more forum posts, but found nothing useful. Instead, he spotted his own figure in a thread on the forum’s front page, one with an astonishing number of views and replies.

Some player with too much free time had apparently recorded the entire battle between him, Han Qishao, and the Bloodthirsty Wolf, even capturing a close-up of Shen Ce’s final backward glance at the gray-robed assassin. For a time, Shen Ce’s superb skill and the cold, forbidding air so at odds with the Priest class stirred up endless discussion. Reply after reply marveled that a "healer" could be so formidable, with many joking they should have chosen Priest at their first job change—surely divinity would be close at hand.

Shen Ce had never intended to become famous in "Sovereign of Heaven," especially not like this. As a professional player, keeping a low profile meant fewer problems. His only comfort was that he’d scrolled through more than a dozen pages of posts without anyone uncovering his ID. As for his face, Shen Ce decided to switch to the Priest’s cloak for his outerwear, keeping his hood up in public to attract less attention. In a few days, once the commotion died down, players would forget what he looked like.

For now, unable to find a way up Snow Cliff, Shen Ce decided to take his latest batch of equipment to the Treasure Pavilion and hand it over to Shui Linglong, hoping she might have an idea. Logging in, he quickly changed into a snowy white priest’s cloak and stowed his signature Violet Ox Staff in his storage space. The ring on his left index finger couldn’t be removed, but few would notice such a detail. Shen Ce lowered the hood to cover his face and hurried through the bustling streets. Occasionally, someone’s gaze would flicker over him, but no one recognized him as the cold-faced priest who had caused such a stir on the forums.

After Shen Ce explained his visit, Shui Linglong was somewhat surprised. She knew Shen Ce disliked joining player organizations, let alone founding a guild. In their previous game, "Seeking Immortality," he hadn’t joined any faction.

Dressed in a flowing green gown, Shui Linglong toyed with her silver bracelet, lips moving idly. "Zero, why wade into these troubled waters? Planning to cash in by selling the Guildmaster’s Badge after the quest?"

Shen Ce understood immediately that she hadn’t seen the forum video—otherwise, she might have guessed the reason. "Profit is secondary. Repaying a favor is the main thing."

"Repaying a favor? Really? Who do you owe a favor to?" Shui Linglong looked at him in surprise. Other than herself, his business partner, she couldn't recall Shen Ce being close to anyone else. Frowning in thought, she asked, half doubtful, half certain, "Is it Han Qishao?"

Seeing him nod, Shui Linglong pondered, her gaze brightening suddenly as she gave Shen Ce a slightly sly smile—like a late-blooming peach blossom, brilliant to the point of eeriness. "Don’t you want to get to the top of Snow Cliff? I’ve got a good idea."

Shen Ce watched her calmly, and Shui Linglong, sensing the futility of playing coy, simply blurted out, "You know two players can get married in 'Sovereign of Heaven' once they both reach level 20, right? There’s a couple skill called 'Soaring Together'—the two can fly together for a short time. That’ll get you up Snow Cliff for sure."

Hearing this, Shen Ce sounded disappointed. "That’s so sudden. Where am I supposed to find a girl to marry for the quest?"

Shui Linglong flicked her hair and pointed at herself. "Isn’t there one right in front of you?"

Shen Ce shot her a sidelong glance, his tone uncharacteristically tinged with dry sarcasm. "Never mind your level—just your poor movement and skill control mean even if we reached the top, we’d never kill the Red-Crested Two-Headed Serpent. No badge, and both of us would lose levels. Tragic."

Having known him so long, Shui Linglong was unfazed by the mockery. She chuckled lazily, "By your standards, how many female players would even qualify? Besides, the couple system doesn’t say you have to be male and female. Shout in world chat and I bet you’ll find a skilled male player faster than a female one. Divorce once you’re done. Or just ask Han Qishao?" She cocked her head, eyes sparkling with mischief, clearly teasing.

Shen Ce shook his head slightly, his voice level and unwavering. "Someone like him would probably choose the chain quest. It’s safer." Even if Han Qishao tried the second method, Shen Ce wouldn’t team up—Han Qishao had a wide network and had surely made other arrangements.

Unable to think of a better way up the cliff, Shen Ce decided to accept the quest first. If nothing else worked, he’d do as Shui Linglong suggested—post a bounty for a partner and temporary spouse. With so many players in "Sovereign of Heaven," he refused to believe he couldn’t find a single top-tier female player.

He went to the City Lord’s Mansion in Ling Shui City to accept the guild quest, walking down a long corridor of glazed tiles, passing armored guards here and there. Suddenly, he caught a snippet of conversation—one voice was especially distinctive, the kind that lingered in the mind: ethereal and elusive, like a rainbow arching over a lofty mountain, impossible to grasp yet inexplicably entrancing.

Shen Ce glanced up in surprise to see a familiar figure—a man in a silver cloak and mask, conversing with a well-dressed, obviously noble middle-aged man. The masked man’s gaze was clear, a faint smile on his lips, the two seeming to speak quite amicably.

That man—could it be, Sylos?