The next day, Gu Yuan ended his cultivation session, stepped out of his shack, and stretched his stiff limbs.
At this rate, he should break through to the Fourth Stage by tonight. The thought brought a faint smile to his face, lifting the gloomy mood that had lingered since yesterday.
Even so, he didn’t return to cultivating. Instead, he made his way deeper into the Outer Sect, where disciples bustled back and forth.
It was time for work.
As an outer sect disciple, Gu Yuan was required to complete at least three missions every year. Since many of them involved venturing outside the sect, participate in inhumane experiments, or carry out other dangerous tasks, he naturally found himself gravitating toward one of the four major professions.
Alchemy, arrays, artifact forging, and talisman making.
That wasn’t to say those professions were free of cruelty.
Alchemy could use living humans as ingredients. Talismans could be drawn with blood. Arrays could be built upon souls and corpses, while artifact forging had its own share of ruthless methods.
If someone wished to walk an evil path, they could do so no matter the profession.
Still, he had to choose one.
Among the four, Gu Yuan had originally wanted to pursue alchemy. Unfortunately, without either a Fire or Wood Spiritual Root, that path was closed to him from the very beginning.
Learning arrays required far more spirit stones than he could ever afford.
Talisman making while a suitable choice, the sect rarely posted missions related to it.
In the end, he chose artifact forging.
Although he lacked a Fire Spiritual Root, his single Metal Spiritual Root was well suited to the profession.
Because of that, he found a deacon renowned for his forging skills and began learning under him.
At least, that was the idea. In reality...
"Gu Yuan, the equipment are in the usual place. There’s more than usual this time, but you still need to finish repairing all of it. Otherwise, I won’t consider the mission complete."
It was mostly menial labor. He was only allowed to observe and learn if he finished early, something he had yet to accomplish.
Looking past Deacon Zhao toward the adjacent forging room, where the glow of blazing embers flickered from within, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but wonder when he would finally be allowed to step inside.
"Understood, Senior."
Gu Yuan bowed his head slightly before making his way into another room, where three large barrels were neatly lined up. Two were empty, while the third was filled with damaged and worn weapons waiting to be inspected.
He casually picked up a sword and took out the piece of cloth he always carried with him, carefully wiping away the dirt clinging to its blade.
Only after cleaning it did he circulate Metal Qi through his fingertips and slowly guide it along the edge, nourishing the blade and gradually restoring its dulled sharpness.
Once, twice, then several more times.
By the time he lowered his hand, the once-dull sword had regained a faint cold gleam.
Nodding in satisfaction, Gu Yuan placed it into one of the empty barrels before reaching for the next weapon.
This time, however, after cleaning the sword and carefully inspecting the blade, he concluded that the damage was beyond his current ability to repair.
Without wasting any more effort, he placed it into the remaining empty barrel and continued working.
Some of these weapons had been taken from defeated enemies. Others had been recovered from old battlefields. And a few had simply seen too much use, leaving their blades chipped or their edges blunted over time.
His task was straightforward: repair those that could still be salvaged through basic maintenance and separate those beyond repair.
The work was long, repetitive, and monotonous. Yet Gu Yuan’s movements never faltered. He calmly picked up one weapon after another, inspecting, cleaning, repairing, then placing each into its respective barrel before reaching for the next.
By the time he finished the last weapon, the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
Gu Yuan raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead before glancing toward the forging room with a hint of regret.
Once again... he hadn’t finished in time to observe Deacon Zhao’s forging.
Still, things were much better than when he had first started. Back then, he couldn’t even finish the assigned work before the day ended, let alone complete it early. The mission would simply be judged as a failure, and all of his work would have been for nothing.
Thinking back on it, Gu Yuan couldn’t help but smile. At the very least, he had made progress.
With that thought, he headed over to ask Deacon Zhao to inspect the repaired weapons.
"Not bad."
After briefly examining the repaired weapons, whose condition was worlds apart from the battered state they had been in that morning, Zhao Ping nodded in satisfaction.
He then handed Gu Yuan a mission token, a small wooden token engraved with his personal seal, serving as proof that the mission had been completed.
"Take this to the Mission Hall."
Gu Yuan accepted it with both hands.
"Thank you, Senior."
Zhao Ping gave a slight nod before adding,
"I’m attending a gathering under Peak Master Tie Shan, so there won’t be any work here for some time."
"I understand. I wish Senior success."
Gu Yuan immediately understood what this gathering was about.
It was Deacon Zhao’s chance to catch Peak Master Tie Shan’s eye.
Putting away the mission token, he offered another respectful bow before taking his leave.
Peak Master...
Even after leaving the workshop, those two words lingered in Gu Yuan’s mind.
Within the Black Desolation Sect, authority was divided between the Outer Sect, the Inner Sect, and the Five Peaks.
The Peak Masters stood above the Inner Sect Elders, second only to the Sect Master and the Great Elder.
For many disciples who lacked the talent to become core disciples, being accepted as a personal disciple of a Peak Master was their greatest opportunity.
Unlike advancement through the sect’s ranks, becoming a personal disciple depended almost entirely on a Peak Master’s personal preference... or perhaps more accurately, their whim.
If one happened to catch a Peak Master’s favor, the resources they received could far surpass those allocated even to core disciples.
Gu Yuan had considered pursuing that path himself.
Compared to fighting for status within the Inner Sect, becoming a Peak Master’s personal disciple seemed far better suited to the peaceful, laid-back life he wanted.
After all, the Inner Sect was filled with endless competition and conflict.
But now, that path was no longer open to him.
He either become an inner disciple... or run away.