Menial Servant

Divine Sword Sect.

The triennial recruitment of new disciples had officially ended.

Outside the Chore Hall.

Hundreds of Menial Disciples, dressed in uniform gray robes, stood in neat ranks.

A middle-aged man in a blue robe held a roster and read from it.

He was a steward of the Chore Hall, assigning tasks to the newly admitted Menial Disciples.

Menial Disciples were disciples of the Divine Sword Sect in name, but in truth, they were recruited specifically to do the work.

Their martial arts talent was mediocre.

Everyone who met the talent requirements had entered the Inner Sect.

Even as Menial Disciples, they had fought tooth and nail to get into the Divine Sword Sect.

Though they couldn't become Official Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, Menial Disciples were still allowed to practice martial arts.

After working as Menial Disciples for a few years, they could leave with a set of skills and make something of themselves.

If they were lucky enough to succeed in their cultivation and pass the Divine Sword Sect's assessment, they had a chance to enter the Inner Sect and become Official Disciples. That would be a meteoric rise.

"Li Gan."

"Here."

A thin young man with an unremarkable appearance hurried out of the ranks.

"Report to Chenzhong Terrace now."

The middle-aged man in blue said.

"Yes."

Li Gan accepted the assignment.

But he was a little dumbfounded inside.

He had originally been a transmigrator from Earth. After learning that this was a world where martial strength reigned supreme, he had resolved to cultivate martial arts and rise above the rest.

Unfortunately, his martial arts talent was only average. After fierce competition, he had barely passed the Divine Sword Sect's assessment and become a Menial Disciple.

He knew the possible postings for Menial Disciples. The best was undoubtedly to serve as a Menial Disciple on one of the Divine Sword Sect's Seven Main Peaks, since they could come into contact with the Peak Masters, elders, and True Disciples. The benefits were best there, and they had a greater chance of obtaining cultivation resources.

If they were lucky, they might even receive guidance or rewards.

The next best option was to work in one of the various halls.

Some halls dealt with the Divine Sword Sect's many businesses outside the sect and needed a large number of Menial Disciples. Though the chance of obtaining cultivation resources was lower in those places, the treatment was good and there were plenty of perks.

The worst jobs were the odd tasks around the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate, such as the Laundry Room, the cleaning rooms, and the Night Fragrance Room. They were dirty and exhausting, with no perks to speak of.

Those places were also the most short-staffed. Many Menial Disciples couldn't stand that kind of life and eventually gave up their status and left.

Chenzhong Terrace, where Li Gan had been assigned, wasn't particularly dirty or exhausting, but it was absolutely a place with not a single perk.

"This is ridiculous. I paid so much, and they gave me this trash job."

Li Gan fumed inwardly.

He had bribed a steward of the Chore Hall in advance.

That money had been all his savings.

The only thing to be grateful for was that he hadn't been assigned one of the dirty, exhausting jobs.

Perhaps it was because of the bribe after all.

"Looks like the people who got good jobs paid even more than I did."

Li Gan sighed.

Wherever you went, knowing how to work the human angle mattered.

Even inside a powerful martial sect like the Divine Sword Sect, it was no different.

Li Gan left the Chore Hall, carrying the token that identified him as a Menial Disciple assigned to Chenzhong Terrace, and headed there.

After winding through the paths and passing several checkpoints, Li Gan finally saw Chenzhong Terrace.

Chenzhong Terrace was an ordinary bell platform atop a mountain with a fairly high elevation.

The scenery was quite lovely.

A Bell Tower had been built atop a massive boulder, with a huge bell inside.

"Dong!"

Suddenly, a deep, muffled bell rang out.

Its sound carried into the distance.

It rang so clearly that it could be heard throughout the Divine Sword Sect's entire mountain-gate area.

Li Gan could just make out a figure in the Bell Tower.

Someone was ringing the bell.

Dong!

Dong!

The bell rang three times, with a few seconds between each strike, then fell silent.

"Three strikes of the Chen Bell mean Si Hour?"

Li Gan wondered.

This world had no clocks or other timekeeping devices, so they used the Chen Bell and gongs to tell the time.

He arrived beneath the Bell Tower.

A gray-robed old man with a hunched back came out of the tower.

"This junior, Li Gan, pays his respects to you, senior."

Li Gan hurriedly bowed.

The old man was probably a Menial Disciple too. At his age, he had to be one of the most experienced among the Divine Sword Sect's Menial Disciples.

More than ninety-nine percent of Menial Disciples didn't stay for many years before leaving, but there were exceptions. Some had no family, no wife, and no children, and stayed in the Divine Sword Sect their entire lives.

They spent their whole lives working for the Divine Sword Sect, and in return, the sect allowed them to retire within the mountain gate.

This old man seemed to be one of them.

"I've been wishing and waiting for so long. The Chore Hall has finally sent someone over."

The old man smiled.

He was getting on in years, and ringing the bell at the proper time every day had become too much for him.

Now that a new Menial Disciple had arrived, he could finally enjoy a proper retirement.

"Come with me."

As he spoke, the old man went into the Bell Tower.

The Bell Tower had two floors. The bell ringer lived on the lower floor, and the Chen Bell was installed above.

Li Gan hurried after him.

As soon as he entered, Li Gan saw more than a dozen hourglasses of various sizes arranged along the opposite wall, each trickling with fine sand.

The old man pointed to the hourglasses and began explaining.

They were all timekeeping devices.

There were so many mainly to ensure greater accuracy by comparing them against one another.

After listening to the old man's explanation, Li Gan basically understood.

It was just too complicated.

If only there were a clock that could also give reminders at set times. Wouldn't that be great?

"The first strike of the Chen Bell starts at Mao Hour, and the error must never exceed ten breaths. At Chen Hour, you strike it twice, and so on, until You Hour, when you strike it seven times and finish the day's bell signals. As for the hours from Xu Hour to Yin Hour, the Gengluo Room gives those signals. They have nothing to do with our Chenzhong Terrace."

The old man continued, "The hourglasses have some margin for error, so we also need to observe the stars and constellations to adjust them. This old man will teach you all that bit by bit."

Li Gan listened attentively.

He would be working at Chenzhong Terrace from now on.

This was his livelihood in the Divine Sword Sect, and his future path in martial arts depended on it.

His martial arts talent was average, but hard work was rewarded. Even if he couldn't become an Official Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, he still wanted to learn a set of skills. Then, when he left the sect, he could make a living and stand on his own.

For the next two days, Li Gan followed the old senior and learned from him.

Since the senior's surname was Song, Li Gan respectfully called him Elder Song.

Elder Song was nearly eighty.

If he had been an ordinary person, he would have been lying in his coffin for years by now.

At the same time, Li Gan had begun practicing martial arts.

However, he still hadn't developed any Qi Sensation.

Elder Song occasionally offered him some guidance in his cultivation.

"You've only just started practicing, so it's perfectly normal not to have Qi Sensation yet. It took this old man more than three whole months to find it."

Seeing Li Gan's dejected expression, Elder Song smiled as he spoke.

"Elder Song, it takes that long just to develop Qi Sensation? The Official Disciples should be much faster, right?"

Li Gan asked curiously.