The Abruptly Silenced Laughter

To earn Sect Contribution, one naturally had to come to the Hall of Affairs to find a suitable mission.

After leaving the Skill Transmission Hall, Lin Lin arrived at the Hall of Affairs.

Within the Hall of Affairs, those responsible for issuing various missions were figures at the level of Elder of Affairs. To learn about and find a mission suited to oneself, one could ask the many Steward Disciples who served here as assistants to the Elders of Affairs for details.

Lin Lin spent two taels of silver and won the favor of a Steward Disciple.

With the Steward Disciple's enthusiastic introduction, Lin Lin quickly settled on the job he would take next.

"Then I'll take this one. The position of Chief Manager at the Cold Iron Mine near Hundred Flowers Town suits me perfectly."

Lin Lin spoke and told Gao Xiang, the Steward Disciple beside him, of his decision.

A Cold Iron Mine manager served a term of three months. Once the term was complete, they could receive roughly 1,500 points of Sect Contribution and 600 taels of silver in compensation.

If the mine's output exceeded the stipulated amount during one's tenure, there would be additional rewards of Sect Contribution and silver.

Whether Lin Lin could earn those extra rewards aside, the basic rewards alone averaged out to a monthly income of 500 points of Sect Contribution and 200 taels of silver. For this amount of work, the pay was already quite high.

Over a year, the guaranteed income would amount to 6,000 points of Sect Contribution and 2,400 taels of silver.

Though this level of income could not be considered top-tier when measured against the whole world, it could still be regarded as middle-class.

He could earn money and cultivate at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

Lin Lin felt that the ratio between the rewards and workload was deliberately designed by the sect for Elite Disciples who wanted to cultivate.

After all, Outer Sect Disciples and older Official Disciples who wanted this mission were not qualified to take it, while True Inheritor Disciples with higher martial arts could take other, more lucrative missions and had no need to become managers of a Cold Iron Mine.

Yet in reality, compared to staying in one place and guarding a mine, Elite Disciples suited to this mission preferred to venture into the vast and exciting martial world.

Thus, in the end, this high-value job had actually fallen into the state of being ignored by all.

Upon hearing that Lin Lin wanted to become the manager of the Cold Iron Mine, Gao Xiang, as a Steward Disciple, was immediately overjoyed.

It was not easy to find someone willing to take on the Cold Iron Mine manager mission.

As a Steward Disciple assisting the Elders of Affairs, his performance was assessed based on whether every mission could be assigned to a suitable person and completed.

Whenever the deadline for those missions drew near and he wanted to avoid ugly assessment results, Gao Xiang had to increase the Sect Contribution rewards and practically beg people to take them.

This time, he had merely introduced it to Lin Lin on a whim, never expecting that the mission would be taken immediately.

What an unexpected delight!

"Junior Brother Lin, you've made the right choice this time. This Cold Iron Mine job is the classic kind—little work, good money, and close to home. Other than being a little cold, it has no other drawbacks."

"But for a young man like you, Junior Brother Lin, that isn't much of a problem."

"Work hard. If you can keep at this job for more than half a year, Junior Brother Lin, then I can make the decision to apply for an increase in your Sect Contribution rewards."

Beaming, Gao Xiang hurriedly prepared Lin Lin's identification token as the Cold Iron Mine manager, along with several letters of introduction and the like.

After applying to an Elder of Affairs responsible for issuing missions and filing the necessary report, he recorded Lin Lin's acceptance of the mission in the mission ledger. The mission was then considered successfully accepted.

His scheduled start date was nine days later, which happened to be the beginning of the month, when shifts were handed over.

Over the next few days, I can learn the other Superior Martial Arts and train them to the entry level. After that, I can head to the Cold Iron Mine and work in peace.

After putting away the various documents, Lin Lin pondered as he walked out of the Hall of Affairs.

He had nothing else to do today. He would return home now and practice the two Superior Martial Arts he had just learned.

As Lin Lin left the Hall of Affairs and headed home—

At an entrance to a small path along the cliff walls in the Middle Section of Hundred Flowers Valley, four teenagers in Official Disciple uniforms, each appearing fifteen or sixteen years old, were walking together toward the Hidden Scripture Pavilion.

It was a little past nine in the morning, just before the day's classes in Hundred Flowers Valley were about to begin.

The four youths had recently enrolled in the same movement technique class, so they traveled together.

"Tch, Lin Lin skipped Morning Martial Arts Practice again today. It's been nearly ten days already, hasn't it?"

After walking for a while, a mature-looking youth clicked his tongue and teased.

From the topic he had raised, it was clear that this group knew Lin Lin.

And that was indeed the case. They had once been Lin Lin's playmates. However, none of them had ever taken the tagalong Lin Lin seriously. They had merely regarded him as a source of amusement, someone laughable who made a fool of himself.

But over the past few months, Lin Lin had first gone to Yin Wind Gorge to face the wall in reflection. After coming out, he had attained Sudden Enlightenment during Morning Martial Arts Practice, and recently he had been cultivating diligently as well. These changes had made his former playmates pay more attention to him, and they would even bring him up on their own initiative.

"Could it be that he was punished and sent to Yin Wind Gorge to face the wall again?"

Another youth spoke with a laugh, his voice carrying contempt and superiority.

"He's been cultivating so diligently lately. How could he have been punished and sent to face the wall? Look on the bright side. Maybe something simply went wrong during cultivation, and now he's lying in bed, unable to move."

The third youth spoke, then burst out laughing as though he found himself terribly amusing.

"I heard from the elders in my family that Lin Lin went to carry out an Elite Disciple Promotion Mission. He's moving ahead of us now."

The last to speak was the only girl among the four.

She was fourteen or fifteen, with a youthful, lovely face and the first budding curves of a woman's figure, brimming with the vitality of a lotus bud just emerging above the water.

At her words, the other three looked at one another, recalling their earlier mockery. Their expressions became slightly awkward.

Could it be that their companion had changed her attitude toward Lin Lin?

Fortunately, the girl continued, easing their embarrassment. "What I mean is, he's been gone for so many days without any news, and carrying out an Elite Disciple Promotion Mission is very dangerous."

The other three suddenly understood and laughed together.

"Oh, so that's how it is. He isn't facing the wall, and nothing went wrong with his cultivation. He probably met with some accident while he was out."

"Hahaha!"

They all laughed happily. The girl's lips curled faintly upward as well, pleased that her words could so easily stir the emotions of her companions.

"..."

As they continued walking and chatting with laughter—

The laughter of the youth walking at the front abruptly stopped, and his steps unconsciously came to a halt.

The other three did not understand why. They instinctively rounded the cliff wall that had blocked their view, only to see a youth in the black uniform of an Elite Disciple calmly watching them from around the corner.

"Senior Brother Lin Lin."

The youth at the front muttered nervously as he greeted the young man ahead.