Dust Bone Fourth Branch

Soon, the day of graduation arrived.

The process was simple.

Teachers from each class called their students, announced which students would become outer disciples, and then asked some students if they wished to become utility disciples of the Jade Bone Sect, before declaring all students of Level 10 Class Wu graduated from the academy.

It was straightforward, with little ceremony.

After the announcement, some students began to cry, saddened by the impending farewells.

They had spent their ten years of academy life together, almost as a single unit.

From the age of four or five until fourteen or fifteen.

After today, they would go their separate ways, and it was inevitable that some would shed tears of sadness.

Zhang Wan, however, was very calm, showing little emotional fluctuation. He simply said goodbye to a few friends he knew well.

That fellow Xu Hui also only felt a moment of melancholy before adjusting himself.

After saying his goodbyes that day, Zhang Wan packed his belongings and took a rune carriage to the residential area for outer disciples of the Jade Bone Sect.

His classmates who were promoted to outer disciples from Level 10 would also be heading there within these one or two days.

Besides the outer disciples graduating from the Beginner Martial Arts Academy, outer disciples graduating from other academies would also be heading to the outer disciple residential area within these same one or two days.

They would settle into the residential area and then report to the Sect.

Afterward, they would live permanently in the outer disciple residential area. Of course, they could also accept sect missions and voluntarily choose to become guarding disciples, stationed at a certain location.

Or, like Zhang Wan, they could join departments such as the Spirit Planter Hall, Artifact Refining Hall, Pill Refining Hall, Formation Hall, Discipline Hall, Inheritance Hall, Outer Disciple Management Department, Mission Hall, and so on.

Alternatively, they could choose none of the above and simply live as outer disciples of the Jade Bone Sect in the outer disciple residential area.

However, this status was also the least secure.

If there was a shortage of personnel somewhere and people needed to be dispatched, but there weren't enough outer disciples to take on missions, the Sect's mandatory missions would be assigned to these outer disciples.

Whether they wanted to or not, these outer disciples would have to comply.

And this situation generally meant danger!

Relatively speaking, however, not choosing guarding missions or joining Sect departments, but simply existing as an outer disciple, was also the most freeing.

They only needed to complete one sect mission posted by the Mission Hall each year, and they could arrange the rest of their time freely.

It had its pros and cons.

For Zhang Wan, a secure rear was naturally more advantageous.

By calmly accumulating EXP, he could advance rapidly on the martial path. Why take risks?

If it weren't for the fact that independently deducing cultivation techniques and martial skills consumed too much EXP, and there were no other ways to obtain more EXP, he would actually prefer to lie low in the mortal world, as it was the safest.

Upon arriving at the Jade Bone Sect's mountain gate, Zhang Wan first reported to the Outer Disciple Management Department, changing his status from academy student to a member of the Spirit Planter Hall.

After finishing that, Zhang Wan entered the mountain gate again and made a trip to the headquarters of the Spirit Planter Hall.

A disciple at the Spirit Planter Hall headquarters received Zhang Wan.

"A newly graduated student? You've been accepted into the Spirit Planter Hall? Not bad."

"Yes, let me see. The Dust Bone Branch, Yi Nei Branch, Wai He Branch, and other branches all need personnel. Which branch do you want to join?"

The receiving disciple explained the situations of the three branches to Zhang Wan, letting him choose for himself.

Among them, the Dust Bone Branch was the same branch that had assessed Zhang Wan during his initial evaluation. The spirit gardens south of the entire Jade Bone Sect and those within the territory fully controlled by the Jade Bone Sect were all managed by the Dust Bone Branch for cultivation.

The spirit lands within the Jade Bone Sect's territory that were leased to various martial arts families and major martial forces for cultivation were entirely managed by the Yi Nei Branch, which was responsible for supervision and regularly collecting the share of spirit plants submitted by these various martial forces.

The Wai He Branch was the most special.

It was responsible for managing the spirit gardens controlled by the Jade Bone Sect outside its dominion.

Some were fully controlled by the Jade Bone Sect, while others were jointly controlled by the Jade Bone Sect and other forces, making the situation the most complex.

In addition to these three branches, there were other internal departments within the Spirit Planter Hall, but those departments were not accessible to newcomers like Zhang Wan.

Zhang Wan first eliminated the Wai He Branch.

The spirit gardens outside the Jade Bone Sect clearly meant leaving the Jade Bone Sect's domain and heading outside its territory.

Such a dangerous undertaking, he thought, was not for him.

Although the Yi Nei Branch didn't require him to cultivate spirit plants himself, it involved dealing with other martial forces and supervising the spirit gardens cultivated by various martial forces. He would have to travel around constantly, which Zhang Wan also didn't want to do.

Even though such work sounded lucrative, it could also lead to trouble if something went wrong.

Who knew if those martial forces would misreport their output when cultivating spirit plants and shortchange them?

If he encountered such a situation, dealing with it would be very troublesome, and he might even encounter danger.

Cultivation resources were the lifeblood of martial artists! And among martial artists, there was never a shortage of desperate individuals!

Besides these, supervision and collection could easily lead to collusion between superiors and subordinates, resulting in corruption.

Would he participate in it or maintain his integrity?

How would he handle it if an investigation occurred?

Just thinking about it felt like a hassle.

Although this branch sounded like it offered significant benefits and plenty of cultivation resources, it wasn't worth getting into trouble for them.

After some thought, the Dust Bone Branch was the only department left.

"If I just quietly stay in the spirit plant garden completely controlled by the Jade Bone Sect and farm, there shouldn't be any trouble, right?" Zhang Wan chuckled.

Having made his choice, the reception staff assigned Zhang Wan to the Dust Bone Branch.

Where exactly Zhang Wan would be working in the spirit plant garden would depend on the Dust Bone Branch's arrangements.

The headquarters of the Dust Bone Branch was located within the Spirit Planter Hall, so Zhang Wan went there directly.

They immediately made arrangements for Zhang Wan, assigning him to the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden among the five large spirit plant gardens south of the Jade Bone Sect, as it was currently short-handed.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wan exclaimed, "Fourth Spirit Plant Garden? I know that place well."

His two closest friends from the Spirit Planter Hall, Li Sanjian and Wan Xing'er, were working at the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden.

"Is this fate?" Zhang Wan took his proof of assignment and left the sect's mountain gate. He headed to the outer disciple residential area to find the Dust Bone Fourth Branch, which was responsible for the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden.

The Dust Bone Branch had a total of five sub-branches in the outer disciple residential area. All their doors were marked with the sign of the Spirit Planter Hall's Dust Bone Branch, with only the specific branch number written in the corner of the sign.

After Zhang Wan reported to the Dust Bone Fourth Branch, a member of the branch directly led him to the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden.

"The Dust Bone Branch has always been short-handed. There are too many spirit plants that require meticulous care, and we're usually too busy to post missions to get other outer disciples to help."

"They can handle tasks like turning soil and weeding, but when it comes to diagnosing spirit plant ailments, treating their diseases, and increasing their yield, they're not skilled enough."

The member leading the way continuously explained the situation of the Dust Bone Branch and the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden to Zhang Wan, who occasionally interjected with questions.

Soon, he had a basic understanding of the Fourth Spirit Plant Garden.

He also arrived at the spirit land that he would be responsible for.