The Library Pavilion, Sweeping Servant

Jingyun Sect.

Auspicious clouds lingered, the mountains were lush and clear, and pavilion after pavilion rose from the ground, shimmering with immortal light.

It was rumored that every great hall was guarded by an "immortal."

The martial arts arena.

Three elders stood upon a high platform, overlooking the entire scene.

Below, in the plaza, dozens of disciples dressed in outer sect robes stood with their heads held high, yearning to be chosen by the elders, taken as disciples, and granted the opportunity for longevity, thereby ascending to the heavens in a single step.

The crowd waited with bated breath.

"Our Jingyun Sect is a major sect of the Southern Region. We recruit disciples with the goal of eliminating demons, defending the righteous, and strengthening our Jingyun!"

"That you have passed the outer sect trials means you share a destiny with this sect."

"Therefore, you must be even more diligent, guard against arrogance and rashness, and strive to knock upon the immortal gate as soon as possible to enjoy longevity."

Empty platitudes.

Yet, they were quite effective on these youths who had just entered the world of cultivation; the crowd shed their dejection, as if injected with adrenaline.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been built up perfectly, the elder nodded in satisfaction.

Another elder, responsible for the assignments, took over.

"Next, I shall announce your placements."

"Qi Yuan, fire-stoking chore disciple at the Alchemy Pavilion."

"Long Tengfei, ordinary member of the Patrol Squad."

"Xu Kaiming, gate-keeping chore disciple."

One by one, names were called out by the elder.

Some eyes lit up with joy, while others looked as if their parents had died, their faces sallow.

Regardless of whether the assignment was good or bad, no one dared to offer a word of rebuttal.

All accepted their fates respectfully.

"Lin Cheng, sweeping chore disciple at the Library Pavilion."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire arena was shaken!

In an instant, dozens of gazes turned in unison toward the thin youth at the end of the line, their eyes complex and filled with pity.

Some even gloated.

The Scripture Pavilion and the Library Pavilion—a difference of one character, yet a world of difference.

The former was a vital repository for countless martial arts manuals, while the latter was merely an ordinary library, incomparable in status and arguably one of the most obscure and hopeless assignments available.

Without exception, every chore disciple of the Library Pavilion throughout history had achieved nothing and spent their lives in gloom.

Rather than calling it a chore, it was more like being cast into the cold palace.

Essentially, once one entered the Library Pavilion, their life was considered over.

The crowd looked toward Lin Cheng in unison, curious to see how colorful his expression might be.

Especially those who had been assigned to poor positions themselves, they cast their gazes toward him with a sense of inexplicable anticipation.

People are always like this.

They enjoy building their own happiness upon the suffering of others.

Even immortals are not exempt from such vulgarity.

But they were destined to be disappointed.

The youth in their eyes was not the least bit dejected, unwilling, broken, or desperate; instead, he remained "calm and composed."

Lin Cheng was completely bewildered.

He did not understand why he had inexplicably transmigrated to another world, become an ordinary outer sect disciple of the Jingyun Sect, and ended up as a sweeping chore disciple at the Library Pavilion in a daze—why was his life so bitter?

Looking at the strange and mysterious environment around him, then at the three elders on the platform.

At that moment, Lin Cheng felt like a husky that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

He dared not even move.

He feared that if his anomaly were discovered, some ruthless cultivator would take him away to be sliced up for experiments.

Because of this.

When he suddenly discovered he had been assigned to a "leisurely" position, Lin Cheng felt not a shred of resentment or unwillingness, but rather an urge to laugh.

The most urgent task now was to escape this dangerous place as quickly as possible and then stay hidden for the rest of his life.

Sweeping floors was safe, and there was no need to worry about food or drink.

Plus, there was a salary!

Why wouldn't he be happy to do it?

It was far better than those jobs that were both exhausting and required one to act as a servant to others.

As for the path of immortality, was it more important than his own life?

Before long, the job assignments were finished.

The elder scanned the crowd below and spoke with authority, "Don't wear such sour faces. Even if you are only menial laborers, you must remember that you are all members of the Jingyun Sect. You must always think of the sect and never slack off for a single day! Right now, the sect protects you, but in the future, you must give back to the sect!"

"The Jingyun Sect does not raise idlers!"

"We will strictly follow the elder's teachings!"

Everyone hurriedly bowed in unison.

The three elders stepped onto clouds and departed after their lecture, leaving behind a group of newcomers filled with envy. They were led to their respective posts by attendants, Lin Cheng among them.

Following the guard, they wound through the vast Jingyun Sect, taking many turns until they finally arrived at an extremely remote, somewhat dilapidated ancient pavilion: the Library Pavilion.

The guard left.

Lin Cheng stepped into the Library Pavilion with mixed feelings.

To say he didn't want to cultivate would be a lie.

After all, as a model corporate slave from the 21st century who worked 996 hours, who hadn't dreamed of cultivating into an immortal and roaming the world with a sword in the dead of night?

It was just a pity that compared to his life, these things were nothing.

The outside world is so dangerous. To cultivate, one must surely venture into perilous lands constantly. If you walk by the river often, how can you not get your shoes wet?

Perhaps one day, I'll just lose my life...

Forget it, forget it. Why deceive myself? I'm just envious.

But no matter how envious I am, I'm just an ordinary cleaning laborer. I might never have the chance to step onto the path of cultivation in this lifetime. Stop lying to yourself. Lin Cheng looked at the three large characters of the Library Pavilion, sighed heavily, and then resignedly lowered his head and stepped inside.

He had been ordinary for decades in his past life.

In this life, it seemed he was destined to spend the rest of his days in the Library Pavilion.

Finding the cleaning tools left behind by the previous Library Pavilion laborer in a corner, Lin Cheng prepared to start cleaning the pavilion; it was his job, after all.

Just then.

"Ding, detected that the host is the 99,999th person to enter the Library Pavilion. God-Level Sign-in System binding..."

"Binding complete!"

"Congratulations to the host for successfully binding the system. You can receive rewards by signing in at any location. This system has automatically set the Library Pavilion as a long-term sign-in location. As long as you sign in every day, you will receive rewards. The more you sign in and the longer the duration, the more generous the rewards!"

"Time remaining until the next change of long-term sign-in location: 100 years."

"Would you like to perform your first sign-in?"

Lin Cheng's face lit up with joy. His golden finger had arrived!

A sign-in system?

It was exactly what he wanted!

He didn't have to spend his days fighting and killing, yet he could continuously receive rewards. It suited his tastes perfectly!

To hell with a salted-fish life!

He was going to cultivate!

Without a moment's hesitation, he waved his hand.

"System, sign me in!"

"Ding, congratulations to the host for a successful first sign-in. You have received a reward: Perfect-grade cultivation technique, Nine Transformations of the True Spirit!"