Senior Brother Qin, Would You Like a Beauty?

Even with the increased difficulty, it was nothing to Qin Dongcheng.

After deliberately failing a few times, Qin Dongcheng finally refined a Blood-Replenishing Pill and a Golden Wound Pill, passing the assessment with ease.

The written test scores had come out by then. Qin Dongcheng had passed that assessment as well and received an Official Disciple token.

Unlike his previous gray Chore Disciple token, the Official Disciple token was white and looked much more refined. It also had a few additional functions.

Official Disciples were further divided into different ranks: Outer Sect Disciples, Inner Sect Disciples, and True Inheritance Disciples. Qin Dongcheng was currently an Outer Sect Disciple, the lowest rank among Official Disciples.

Even so, he could receive ten Sect Contribution points, a Blood-Replenishing Pill, and three taels of silver each month. His treatment far surpassed that of a Chore Disciple. Most of the time, he only needed to focus on cultivation and complete one mission a month.

These missions could be chosen, and only occasionally were compulsory ones assigned. For instance, with Demons and Ghosts wreaking havoc now, the Mission Hall had issued many compulsory missions.

However, as an Alchemy Apprentice, even his compulsory missions were mostly related to refining pills and preparing medicines. He could also hire other disciples to help complete them, so there was basically no great danger.

Most importantly, as an Outer Sect Disciple, he qualified to live in Osmanthus Garden and would be assigned a courtyard of his own. It was a very secure place.

When choosing a house, Qin Dongcheng deliberately picked a courtyard on the outskirts of Osmanthus Garden rather than one in the inner area. After all, he had plenty of secrets and didn't want anyone finding out about them yet.

Finding a secluded place with few other courtyards nearby would make him safer.

Some might worry that this would make him a target for Demons and Ghosts, but the chances weren't high. Osmanthus Garden was much like a residential community from his previous life, except that its defenses were far stronger.

Osmanthus Garden covered dozens of square kilometers, practically making it a city. A hundred-meter-high wall surrounded it, protecting the entire place.

Most of the Patrol Team members patrolled atop the walls to guard against invasions by Demons and Ghosts, while a smaller number patrolled within Osmanthus Garden. They made their rounds about as often in remote areas as in busy ones.

So, as far as safety went, there wasn't much difference between the inner and outer areas.

And because he had chosen a courtyard on the outskirts, it covered several hundred square meters and was extremely spacious.

It had three courtyards in a row, with rockeries and ponds, small bridges and gardens, a training room, an Alchemy Room, a bathhouse, and practically everything else one could want. Its conditions far surpassed those of the Bamboo House.

Many Chore Disciples called Osmanthus Garden the inner city and the area beyond it the outer city. The Bamboo House where Qin Dongcheng had lived before was in the outer city.

Many Chore Disciples struggled their entire lives just to move into the inner city.

The courtyard was so vast that it could easily house not only Qin Dongcheng alone but even a family of several dozen.

These courtyards were meant for families, though. Many Official Disciples married and had children in Osmanthus Garden, then expanded their households. A smaller courtyard definitely wouldn't have been enough.

As an Official Disciple of the Five Elements Sect, Qin Dongcheng's status far surpassed what ordinary people could imagine. In his previous life, he would have ranked even higher than those so-called civil servants.

An Official Disciple sent out to take up a post could easily become a high-ranking official in a county town. That alone showed the status of an Official Disciple.

What's more, Qin Dongcheng had qualified as an Official Disciple as an Alchemy Apprentice, which gave him a status that was subtly higher than that of ordinary Official Disciples. Naturally, he enjoyed better treatment.

Osmanthus Garden was just where the Five Elements Sect's Official Disciples in the Bamboo Forest Valley area lived. There were many similar residences for Official Disciples elsewhere, as well as even better places to live in the Five Elements Mountain Range, where only Inner Sect Disciples and above could reside.

Everything was divided into strict tiers. Without the proper status, one simply had no right to enjoy the corresponding treatment.

Now that he was an Official Disciple, he no longer needed to tend those Herb Fields. From then on, he only had to complete one mission each month. He could also complete several missions at once, freeing himself up to focus on his own affairs afterward.

Many Chore Disciples came to help him move. The ones Qin Dongcheng had given pointers to were naturally among them.

Liu Yuan had wanted to come too, but then he received word that his son, Liu Xiao, had been killed by Demons and Ghosts while completing a compulsory sect mission. He had to go retrieve the body.

With his white hair seeing his son off to the grave, Liu Yuan naturally couldn't come. He went to collect his son's body in tears, looking as if he had aged several decades.

Seeing such a tragic sight, Qin Dongcheng felt deeply for him and became even more determined not to go out and slay Demons and Ghosts.

He'd be better off staying in Bamboo Forest Valley. He absolutely couldn't go outside, lest he run into mortal danger.

He only had one life; once it was gone, it was gone for good. With the Heaven Rewards Diligence System as his cheat, he didn't need to take risks outside to earn resources and treasures.

When they arrived at Qin Dongcheng's new home, the group of Chore Disciples were all stunned.

"Is this where Official Disciples live? It's way too big! It's even bigger than the richest household in our town, and so refined, too. If only I could become an Official Disciple and own a place like this someday."

"Don't even dream about it. Senior Brother Qin isn't just a Martial Artist; he's an Alchemy Apprentice, too. That's why he got such a fine house. Even ordinary Official Disciples don't get places this nice."

"This place is wonderful. Senior Brother Qin is amazing—he's only been in the sect for a year and already became an Official Disciple, and an Alchemy Apprentice at that. If only we could be as capable as Senior Brother Qin."

"Stop talking and hurry up and help Senior Brother Qin clean. We've put everything away, and we should hurry to buy whatever else he needs so we don't delay his move-in."

"Senior Brother Qin, would you like to buy a few young, pretty maids? Otherwise, this courtyard will feel too empty. With Demons and Ghosts invading lately, things have been chaotic in many places, and lots of young, pretty girls have come near our Bamboo Forest Valley. You can buy a clever, capable one for just a dozen or so taels of silver."

"That's right, that's right! I saw some the other day, and a few of those girls were gorgeous, like they'd stepped right out of a painting. With Senior Brother Qin's circumstances, plenty of girls would want to be with him. He could even marry several of them. Wouldn't that make for a comfortable life?"

As they talked, the group even planned to pool their money to buy Qin Dongcheng a beautiful maid, one in a hundred, to repay him for all the guidance he had given them lately.

He hurriedly refused. He had too many secrets, so it was better to live alone. He could think about taking several wives and concubines once he had enough strength.

Or perhaps a harem of three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two consorts?