Chapter 1: Qingyang Sect Chaoyang Peak

“Su Ci? A miscellaneous Spiritual Root?”

“With such poor talent and a frail body, can you handle the work of carrying water and chopping wood?”

Inside the main hall of the Miscellaneous Service Hall, Li Wu, with a fleshy face, lifted his chin, sizing up the young man in front of him.

Su Ci was dressed in a gray hemp robe, his features quite delicate, and his physique slightly thin.

He seemed a bit constrained under Li Wu’s gaze.

He cupped his hands and replied, “To answer Steward Li, I’ve been doing these tasks since I was young, so it’s no problem for me.”

Beside them, the middle-aged man Feng Huai said with a fawning smile, “That’s right, Brother Li, Su Ci is a good lad, just let him stay.”

Li Wu grinned and said, “Alright, since Uncle Feng has spoken, you can stay.”

Su Ci’s face lit up slightly, and he quickly said, “Thank you, Steward Li.”

Li Wu waved his hand and continued, “Don’t be happy too soon. If you enter the Miscellaneous Service Hall, a Low Grade Mortal Spiritual Root might still have a chance to work hard and get promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple.”

“But with your lowest miscellaneous Spiritual Root, you’ll probably be stuck here for your entire life.”

As his voice fell, the few other miscellaneous Disciples nearby also sneered.

Even in the Miscellaneous Service Hall, most were Low Grade Mortal Spiritual Roots; a lad with a miscellaneous Spiritual Root was indeed rare!

Su Ci, standing in the middle of the crowd, felt his face flush slightly, eventually forcing a helpless smile.

Li Wu raised his hand and clapped the table, and the hall immediately fell silent.

“Alright, I won’t say anything more. Since he’s someone Uncle Feng brought, Uncle Feng, make sure you teach him all the rules of the Miscellaneous Service Hall. If he makes any mistakes, I won’t show any mercy.”

“Okay, I’ll handle it from here, no need to trouble Brother Li,” Uncle Feng responded.

“Why aren’t you thanking Steward Li yet!”

Only then did Su Ci come to his senses, cupping his hands and saying, “Thank you, Steward Li.”

After thanking him, Su Ci turned and walked out of the main hall with Feng Huai.

He breathed a sigh of relief once they were outside.

He turned to Feng Huai and said gratefully, “Uncle Feng, thank you for earlier.”

Although Feng Huai wasn't a manager in the Miscellaneous Service Hall, his status was second only to Li Wu, and he wielded considerable power within the Miscellaneous Service Hall.

Moreover, he had a good relationship with Li Wu; if he hadn't spoken up, Li Wu might not have kept him.

Feng Huai waved his hand, “Don’t say such polite words. Your parents died early, so of course, I have to look out for you.”

A warmth spread through Su Ci’s heart.

Feng Huai had a past connection with his parents, and ever since their death, he had taken great care of him. His coming to Qingyang Sect this time was also due to Feng Huai’s help.

Feng Huai glanced around, then lowered his voice, “Although you’ve entered the Sect, you’re just a miscellaneous Disciple. There are some things you must remember. This Chaoyang Peak has many Outer Sect Disciples, as well as Elder’s closed-door Disciples, Personal Disciples, and so on.”

“These people are all very talented and possess great abilities. When you meet them, you must greet them respectfully, otherwise, if you anger them, you’ll be in deep trouble! You might even lose your life!”

“Okay, I understand,” Su Ci nodded.

Feng Huai continued, “Also, the work of carrying water and chopping wood is considered the most tiring task; you’ll be busy from morning till night.”

“Since you just arrived at the Miscellaneous Service Hall, you have to start from the bottom. After some time, I can help you get transferred.”

“There are quite a few rules in this Miscellaneous Service Hall, so listen carefully…”

Feng Huai spoke as he led Su Ci forward.

Soon, they arrived at a secluded spot.

On the hillside leaning against the peak, there was a lot of weeds, and a simple small house appeared in their line of sight.

Feng Huai pointed, “We’re here. This will be your residence.”

After entering the room, Su Ci looked around.

Although the house was simple, it had everything it needed, and being away from other houses, it was quite peaceful.

Feng Huai continued, “Did you remember everything I just told you?”

Su Ci nodded and said, “Uncle Feng, I remember everything and won’t be careless.”

“That’s good.”

After Feng Huai finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and looked him up and down several times.

“Are you really alright? How do you feel?”

Upon hearing this, Su Ci waved his hand and smiled, “I’m fine, Uncle Feng. That golden light didn’t hurt me.”

“That’s good,” Feng Huai nodded with relief.

“Go inside and tidy up. In half an hour, come to my place to collect your uniform, identity token, and other items.”

With that, he turned and left.

Only after Uncle Feng disappeared from his sight did Su Ci withdraw his gaze.

“It should be fine, right…?”

There was some doubt in his eyes.

Just a few hours ago, on their way to Qingyang Sect, he and Feng Huai suddenly saw a golden light flash. It was so fast that they couldn't react, directly hitting his body and causing him to faint on the spot, unconscious for a few minutes.

After being woken by Feng Huai, he found everything normal, with no problems whatsoever.

In fact, the fatigue he had felt from traveling earlier had completely vanished, and he felt more energetic, which made him a bit curious.

However, it was time for the Qingyang Sect’s Spiritual Root test, so he didn’t dare to delay investigating the situation and rushed here without stopping.

Su Ci shook his head, no longer thinking about these things, and pushed open the door to enter.

Inside the room, the facilities were complete, which brought him some comfort.

“I’ll have to spend my days here from now on,” Su Ci smiled bitterly, feeling helpless.

“I thought at worst it would be a Mortal Spiritual Root, but I never expected it to be a miscellaneous Spiritual Root.”

Today was the day Qingyang Sect recruited Disciples, and he managed to get a spot through Feng Huai’s connections.

He heard from Uncle Feng that Spiritual Roots are divided into several levels.

Miscellaneous, Mortal, Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, and so on.

Most people, if they can detect a Spiritual Root, will have a mid-to-lower Mortal Grade, which is the most common and very slow to Cultivate.

High Grade can enter the Outer Sect and become a Disciple.

And a Low Grade Yellow Spiritual Root is already a very good talent.

As for a Profound Spiritual Root, it is even more outstanding, truly exceptional.

However, Su Ci had prepared for the possibility of being detected as a Low Grade Mortal Spiritual Root, but he was detected as the lowest-tier miscellaneous Spiritual Root!

“It is rumored that the Cultivation speed of a miscellaneous Spiritual Root is several times slower than that of a Low Grade Mortal Spiritual Root.”

Su Ci sighed, a hint of worry on his face.

However, now was not the time to think about these things.

After all, with his talent, being able to become a miscellaneous Disciple was already good; he didn't even have any qualifications to access Cultivation methods yet.

Putting all his thoughts aside, he began to clean the small house, making it even tidier and cleaner.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the Miscellaneous Service Hall, at the location Feng Huai had told him, and received his uniform and identity token.

It was a palm-sized black token with the words “miscellaneous Disciple” engraved on it.

Feng Huai then took out another palm-sized jade token and handed it to him.

“This is a contribution token. Contribution points can be added or reduced in it. For the work of carrying water and chopping wood that you’ll be doing daily, you can earn two contribution points per day.”

Su Ci took the contribution token and put it into his embrace.

He listened as Feng Huai meticulously explained all the matters relevant to his current situation.

Soon, he followed Uncle Feng to the location where he would be working.

“There are many places on Chaoyang Peak that require water, but you only need to be responsible for this one spot.”

“There are two water buckets in total. You’ll fetch water from the river on the distant mountainside, and a one-way trip takes about ten minutes.”

Listening to Feng Huai, Su Ci looked at the five large vats in front of him, about half a person tall and wide enough for two people to embrace, and his mouth twitched slightly.

This would probably require many round trips to complete…

Feng Huai saw through Su Ci’s thoughts and said, “Although it’s indeed very tiring, the contribution points you earn are good. Generally, an easy task only yields one point per day, so this gives you one more contribution point.”

Su Ci’s heart stirred, and he pressed on, “Uncle Feng, how many contribution points are needed to purchase an introductory Cultivation technique?”