Zi Fang guided Wan Lihan down the winding dirt paths of the lower mountain range, leading him into a modest, crowded courtyard pavilion reserved for the lowest-ranking outer recruits. Four young disciples practicing basic forms in the yard stopped their movements, their eyes locking onto Lihan's blood-stained black robes."Everyone, listen up,
" Zi Fang announced, clapping his hands. "
This is Wan Lihan. He is the only cultivator who successfully passed the second trial today. Treat him well and guide him through the basic protocols."Three of the disciples stepped forward, introducing themselves with simple bows. "My name is Rou Zhou, standing at the 3rd Layer of Qi Cleansing," the first one said. The others followed, introducing themselves as Fe Tian and Chu Tang, both also at the 3rd Layer. "Welcome to the courtyard. I guess we're roommates now.
"As Zi Fang turned to leave, a greedy old man wearing a frayed supervisor's robe shuffled out from the main office, greeting the senior disciple with a sycophantic, toothless smile.
The moment Zi Fang walked out of the courtyard gate, the old man’s smile instantly vanished. He turned his eyes toward Lihan, looking at his stained clothes with deep pity and disdain."Hmph. Go find your assigned room,"
the old supervisor grunted, waving his hand dismissively. Lihan didn't utters a single complaint, nor did he allow his cold nature to ripple across his face. He offered a short, neutral greeting to the old man and calmly walked into the living quarters.Fe Tian walked alongside him, guiding Lihan through the creaking wooden doorway to an empty wooden cot positioned right next to his own bed. He reached into a side crate, tossing Lihan a folded bundle of coarse, brown outer sect robes."Change into these," Fe Tian explained, sitting on the edge of his cot.
"Since you're new, you need to understand how we survive here. Every single morning, the daily missions are posted on the table in the center plaza. The contracts are divided into five distinct levels."Lihan listened quietly, his calculating mind instantly mapping out the system as Fe Tian broke it down."Level 1 missions are just basic chores around the courtyard, like sweeping the pavilions," Fe Tian said. "Level 2 is much more physically demanding—you have to carry heavy wooden buckets on foot all the way from the lower river up the steep mountain trails, dumping the water into the sect's main storage ponds until they are completely full. Level 3 requires you to act as a runner, taking official sealed messages directly from the inner elders' peaks and bringing them back down here to update the mission boards.
"Fe Tian leaned in, his voice turning serious.
"The hardest ones are at the top. Level 4 requires you to go deep into the dangerous wild peaks to gather specific spiritual plants for the alchemists. And Level 5... Level 5 demands you descend the mountain entirely to hunt and kill volatile wild beasts. For us grounded Qi Cleansing disciples who can't fly on swords, those high-level contracts are a literal gamble with death.
"Lihan stared down at the coarse brown robes in his hands, his face an expressionless mask.
To the other 3rd Layer roommates, these five mission tiers were a grueling, exhausting grind just to earn basic food and small scraps. But to Lihan, who secretly held 4th Layer Qi Cleansing strength alongside a bought Talisman Manual and a Poison Kit, these daily runs were the perfect cover to secretly harvest mountain resources.