The sun was about to set when Li Qingchan arrived outside the cave dwelling.

Li Qingchan was dressed in white today as she approached the cave under the setting sun. The expression on her gorgeous face was as cold as frost, and she gave off an aura that made seem a thousand miles away. She was just like a snow lotus hanging on the edge of a cliff; something that one could only look at from afar, but never approach in person.

She showed zero interest in the purple Genesis cave dwelling as she strolled in. As one of the ten Chosens, her own dwelling and cultivation area were undoubtedly much better than a newly promoted purple sash disciple like Zhou Yuan.

Inside the cave, she saw the waiting Zhou Yuan and Yaoyao.

“You have something to discuss with me?” She casually asked, looking only at Yaoyao. It was clear that she was here solely because of the latter. Someone like Zhou Yuan obviously did not have the qualifications to get her to personally come over.

Zhou Yuan felt a little embarrassed. It was a little hard to swallow pulling the strings at times.

However, Yaoyao did not bother showing any tact, and directly said, “I’ve heard that the sect has issued a Heaven task. Since you are the captain, I want you to take Zhou Yuan along so that he can gain a Heaven Credit.”

Zhou Yuan’s face reddened slightly at her words.

Meanwhile, Li Qingchan’s eyes could not help but widen. She soon gently gritted her teeth, before she grumpily said, “You are really blunt. A spot in a Heaven mission is one of the most desirable things in our sect. Other than Zhao Zhu and I, there are only eight spots remaining, which every purple sash disciple in the sect is breaking their backs in an attempt to obtain. And yet you actually want me to pull strings and grant him a spot?”

Zhou Yuan smiled awkwardly.

Yaoyao propped up her chin with a hand as she tilted her head and glanced Li Qingchan. “Are you refusing to acknowledge our previous bet?”

Li Qingchan’s frosty face turned red as she quickly tried to defend herself, “We can settle it in some other way.”

“A Heaven Task is no laughing matter. If he isn’t sufficiently skilled, he will only end up being a burden even if I let him tag along. Moreover, if his performance is not up to par, he will not be given a Heaven Credit.”

Li Qingchan swept a glance at Zhou Yuan, before she continued, “I’ll admit that he did well in the last purple sash selection test. However, you should know that even Xu Yan lacks the qualifications to participate in the upcoming Heaven task.”

She was already being very clear. It had taken Zhou Yuan almost everything in order to obtain a pyrrhic victory against Xu Yan. If even Xu Yan lacked the proper qualifications, how could Zhou Yuan possibly possess them?

After listening, Yaoyao nodded before she repeated herself, “So you refuse to honor the bet?”

Bang!

Li Qingchan took two steps forward, as her hands slammed onto the stone table in front of her. Her cool and icy disposition had vanished, her busty chest gently rising as she angrily said, “Don’t you know any other words?!”

Zhou Yuan secretly gulped by the side. To anger the most well-known ice queen in the Cangxuan Sect such an extent was truly evidence of Yaoyao’s capabilities.

Yaoyao stifled a yawn with a hand, before she replied, “Zhou Yuan is not the useless ornament you think he is, and he won’t be a burden if you take him along. Furthermore, you are the captain of this task, so it is only right that you get to pick someone personally.”

Li Qingchan replied in a calm fashion, “I will not know whether he is going to be useful or not. However, in terms of looks, all I can say is that he is merely average-looking, and there are many disciples in our sect that are much better-looking.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan feebly said, “Can you guys stick to the topic and stop with the personal attacks?”

However, no one paid any attention to him.

The two gorgeous beauties staring at each other, neither giving even a single glance to him.

Li Qingchan sat down as her brows furrowed deeply. She knew that Yaoyao would not back down so easily after making a request.

Li Qingchan was feeling quite vexed as she said, “If I knew this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have bet with you.”

Her expression fluctuated indeterminately. A long while later, she sighed helplessly and said, “Zhou Xiaoyao, you should know that you will not obtain a Heaven Credit just by taking part in a Heaven task.”

“To obtain a Heaven Credit, you must receive a favorable evaluation and the approval from the majority of your other team mates. Only then, will it be considered a success. Therefore, even if I let Zhou Yuan tag along, if the other disciples disapprove of his performance and reports to the elders, he will not only be denied a Heaven Credit, but also be punished as well.”

Yaoyao retrieved a jar of wine from her Universe bag and poured a cup for Li Qingchan. “If Zhou Yuan does badly during the task, it will be his own fault.”

Even though Zhou Yuan was a newly promoted purple sash disciple, he was far less experienced than the vetern purple sash disciples. However, Yaoyao felt that they weren’t much better than him.

Hence, Zhou Yuan would only have himself to blame if he performed badly.

Li Qingchan fell silent for a moment. In the end, she gave a faint nod of agreement.

“Alright, I can help him out on your account. However, this is all I can do. If his performance is lacklustre, and upsets the other members, I will not be able to help him.”

“Deal.” Yaoyao lifted her cup.

Li Qingchan also lifted her cup, and toasted the former before downing it.

Zhou Yuan quickly said, “Thank you senior sister Li Qingchan.”

Li Qingchan gave him a fairly cold response. Though Zhou Yuan had a stunning showing during the purple sash selection, Li Qingchan felt that he still paled in comparison to Yaoyao.

In Li Qingchan’s eyes, Zhou Yuan was mostly mooching off Yaoyao.

This made her rather uncomfortable. Other than her peak master, Yaoyao was the only woman in the Cangxuan Sect who she respected. As long as Yaoyao wanted to, she could become a dazzling existence in the sect. However, it seemed that she was content with staying with Zhou Yuan, and had no interest in anything else.

This puzzled Li Qingchan. Yaoyao was so talented, so why was she so hung up on Zhou Yuan? She had even taken the initiative to reach out to Qingchan in order to help Zhou Yuan obtain a Heaven Credit.

This was something that she felt quite indignant about.

“There is no need to thank me. It will be better for you to think about how to make yourself useful in the upcoming task. Should you perform badly, it will be you who will end up disgraced.” Replied Li Qingchan.

Zhou Yuan could hear the indifference in Li Qingchan’s tone. However, he was not bothered by it as he nodded and said, “Senior sister Qingchan, can you tell me more about the mission?”

Li Qingchan was silent for a moment, before she said, “It will be led by me and Zhao Zhu from Sword Cometh Peak. I am the captain, while he is the vice-captain.”

“There will be a total of ten menbers. Other than the two of us, the rest will be composed of elite purple sash disciples from the various peaks.”

“As for the details, we will be headed for the Black Flame Province in the Shengzhou Continent. A volcano that has laid dormant for tens of thousands of years has recently erupted, uncovering the existence of essence flames within it. It is believed to be an essence flame vein.

“These essence flames are very valuable, and can increase the quality of flame-type Genesis Qi cultivated.”

“As a result, our sect has rated it as a grade 6 Genesis vein.”

Zhou Yuan’s eyes widened. The many Genesis veins belonging to the Cangxuan Sect were ranked from grade 1 to 9; grade 1 being the lowest, while grade 9 was the highest. Typically speaking, a grade 7 Genesis vein was already extremely valuable, and could even incite a small-scale war.

So they were being sent out for a grade 6 Genesis vein. No wonder this was a Heaven level task.

“This essence flame vein is not under the jurisdiction of any of the six sacred sects, making it difficult to decide who should have control over it. After the news spread, I’ve heard that Sacred Palace, North Sea Dragon Subduing Hall and Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace are interested in vieing for it. Furthermore, there are some powerful local factions in the Black Flame Province that are eager to contest as well. Though there are not as powerful as the six sacred sects, they are the local powers and should not be underestimated.”

“After rounds of discussions by higher ups of the various factions, they have finally decided to send their disciples to the Black Flame Province to ‘negotiate’ how the essence flame vein will be split.”

Li Qingchan calmly said, “Therefore, our task is to represent the Cangxuan Sect and fight for a stake in the essence flame vein.”

Zhou Yuan’s pupils shrank a little. He never imagined that this Heaven task would involve three other sacred sects, Sacred Palace, North Sea Dragon Subduing Hall and Hundred Flowers Fairy Palace. It seems like the mission was going to be much more challenging than he had expected.

There will definitely be numerous squabbles over such a valuable strategic resource. In fact, there will likely be no lack of bloodshed in the so-called ‘negotiation’.

A Heaven task truly lived up to its name.

Li Qingchan looked deeply at Zhou Yuan, as she said, “This task is very important. If it is possible, I hope that you will not participate.”

She clearly believed that Zhou Yuan was only going to be a burden in a mission of this scale.

Zhou Yuan naturally knew what she meant. However, he could only laugh bitterly because he was indeed very desperate for a Heaven Credit.

Zhou Yuan solemnly declared, “Senior sister Qingchan, I believe that at the very least, I will not be a burden to the team.”

Li Qingchan frowned slightly at his words, clearly not taking them to heart, and believing that he was merely putting on a front. She waved her hand to indicate there was no need to say anything else, before she stood up and headed out of the cave.

“We will set off for the Black Flame Province in five days.”

“If you insist on joining, I do hope that you will not let me down. I will be giving truthful report when we return, and you end up disappointing me, you will still be unable to obtain a Heaven Credit.”