Clang, clang, clang...
Lu Li, who was still cultivating, was suddenly startled awake by a harsh, piercing sound.
Up to this point, he had spent over fifty days cultivating within the time hall, which was equivalent to four or five days in the outside world. To his joy, he had finally managed to pierce the metal-attribute barrier of his second acupoint, at last seeing a glimmer of hope.
He stood up and looked outside to find the sky already growing bright. Lu Li knew it was time to collect his assignment.
Chores assigned to outer court disciples were not like those of formal disciples, which required leaving the mountain and carried inherent dangers. Instead, their tasks consisted almost entirely of supporting formal disciples in their cultivation, such as chopping firewood, carrying water, cooking, cleaning, and weeding medicinal gardens.
Lu Li got up and tidied himself up, discovering that despite spending the entire night awake, he felt not the slightest trace of fatigue. After turning it over in his mind, he could only attribute it to his true body resting within, which filled him with a quiet sense of satisfaction.
In this way, he could pull all-nighters every single night without worry.
Stepping out of his room, Qin Shouren and Chen Zhong emerged at the same time. The three exchanged a few words and headed toward the small square of the outer court. Just like them, outer court disciples from various courtyards were streaming out one after another.
Arriving at the small square, Lu Li saw that Deacon Wen Hong from the previous day was standing on the steps at the northern end with one hand clasped behind his back, casting a cold gaze over the crowd. Lu Li instinctively lowered his head.
Standing beside Wen Hong was a slender, servile youth dressed in light-blue robes.
Upon catching sight of the youth, several disciples revealed undisguised disgust in their eyes, muttering under their breaths about a 'lackey'. Lu Li glanced over in surprise but remained silent.
Qin Shouren, however, walked up to the man with an inquisitive look and whispered, "Senior Brother, what lackey?"
Startled by the remark, the youth quickly made a shushing motion, stared hard at Qin Shouren, and frowned. "You little punk, why do you look so shifty? Get away from me."
"You!" Furious, Qin Shouren thought to himself about the youth's own appearance, shot him a glare, and retreated back to Lu Li's side.
After a moment, everyone had assembled. Deacon Wen Hong swept his gaze over the crowd and announced, "Today is the first day of the eighth month. According to the rules, assignments will be reallocated today, and once received, they cannot be changed for a full month until the first of next month.
"Everyone, form a line and step forward!"
With that, he turned to the 'lackey' beside him. "You handle the registration."
Smirking obsequiously, the lackey bowed in acknowledgment and took his seat at the registration desk, shouting with all the borrowed arrogance of a fox exploiting a tiger's might, "Everyone line up properly and come forward one by one!"
Seeing that the crowd was in order, Wen Hong gave a sleepy yawn-clearly having failed to get a good night's rest-issued a few final instructions, and turned to walk into the main hall.
No sooner had Wen Hong departed than seven or eight people broke out of the ranks and rushed straight to the front of the line.
"Brother Zi'an, I want the fishing assignment, fishing..." one of them eagerly blurted out.
"Senior Brother Sun, put me down for fishing too."
...
"Don't rush," the lackey replied with a broad smile while casting an intentional glance at the resentful faces waiting in line behind them. "Since you've chosen to follow me, Sun Zi'an, I naturally won't treat you poorly..."
Hearing this, Lu Li understood immediately. The fellow was forming a private faction and reserving all the easiest duties for his own cronies.
"Mud Monkey, maybe... we should follow him too?" Qin Shouren whispered, having caught the drift.
Standing directly in front of Qin Shouren, a tall, brawny man turned back to give him a meaningful look. "Junior Brother, if you came to the Qingyang Sect just to idle away your days, then fine. But if you want to go further, I advise you to stay away from them."
Taken aback, Qin Shouren quickly asked, "Senior Brother, what do you mean by that?"
With a faint smile, the man explained, "Junior Brother, you might not know this, but while Sun Zi'an's favored tasks sound easy, he demands a seventy percent cut of the contribution points you earn. In the end, you only keep thirty percent, meaning you actually end up with far fewer points than you would from honest, hard labor.
"Of course, if you're afraid of hard work, then never mind."
So that was how it was.
After hearing this, the three of them understood completely.
Sun Zi'an's cronies finished claiming their assignments in no time. The queue kept moving, and soon it was Lu Li's turn. By then, most of the desirable tasks had already been snapped up, leaving behind little more than grueling physical labor.
Noticing that Lu Li and his companions were newcomers, Sun Zi'an rolled his eyes and began sweet-talking them, claiming he could arrange comfortable duties. Knowing the truth behind his schemes, the three of them had no intention of wasting their time and politely declined.
Sun Zi'an's expression darkened instantly, though he refrained from making a scene on the spot. He riffled through the remaining records and tossed out three assignments for them to choose from. While these tasks offered high contribution points, veteran outer court disciples generally avoided them entirely.
After turning it over in his mind, Qin Shouren chose the task of sweeping the sect square.
Lu Li looked over the last two remaining options, hesitated for a moment, and selected the water-carrying duty. Although it was grueling, the contribution points were substantial-a full three hundred points for the month.
Finally, it was Chen Zhong's turn. By the time his turn came, no other options remained, leaving him with the wood-chopping task. Having grown up in the mountains since childhood, however, both felt confident they could handle such physical toil.
Once their assignments were settled, the three exchanged a few parting words and set off for their respective posts.
Lu Li retrieved a pair of wooden buckets from the storage building, hoisted them onto his shoulders, and headed toward the eastern side of the outer court valley.
According to the requirements, he needed to draw water from the Boshui River, located one li east of the valley, and haul it up to the storage pools perched atop Cuiyun Peak to the west.
Having reached the first level of Qi Refining, Lu Li found his movements far lighter and more agile than before. Before long, a ten-zhang-wide river came into view, its crystal-clear waters flowing steadily-this must be the Boshui River.
While the water-carrying task did not specify a rigid daily quota, he had to ensure that at least five of the ten large pools on the summit of Cuiyun Peak remained completely full, as the entire outer court relied on them for daily use.
As for the other areas of the Qingyang Sect, water was delivered automatically through foundational water-supply formations installed during the sect's construction. Only the outer court valley lacked this convenience, serving as a deliberate trial to temper the outer court disciples.
The buckets themselves were far larger than ordinary vessels, easily exceeding normal dimensions by tenfold. If filled to the brim, the pair would likely weigh no less than five hundred jin.
After testing their weight, Lu Li found that filling them even a third of the way made the load quite heavy. Daring not to add more, he hoisted the long shoulder pole and started back, stopping frequently to catch his breath. It took him a full quarter of an hour just to reach the foot of Cuiyun Peak in the west.
Eyeing the steep, winding mountain path ahead, Lu Li wiped the sweat from his brow, muttered under his breath, and pressed upward.
He had traveled only halfway when the sound of rhythmic chopping drifted from the roadside woods. A robust youth was swinging an axe with all his might, putting his entire strength into every blow, yet managing to chip off only a thin sliver of bark from the dark, iron-hard trunk.
Lu Li walked over and asked with a puzzled look, "Fatty, is your axe dull?"
Recognizing Lu Li, Chen Zhong turned around with a frustrated expression and handed over the axe. "You try it."
Lu Li took the tool, inspected it, and lightly drew his thumb across the edge. A mere touch was enough to nearly nick his skin, leaving him utterly astonished. "This axe is razor-sharp?"
"Right? The blade is already this sharp, but this damn tree is harder than iron! I thought chopping three trees a day would be a breeze," Chen Zhong muttered, scratching his head in exasperation.
"Haha, take your time, don't rush." Lu Li patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder, shook his head, and picked up his carrying pole to continue up the mountain.