Waste Hall

Biodata

Overview

The Waste Hall is the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect's designated facility for handling refuse from artifact refining and other sect activities. Its waste includes failed pills, damaged spiritual artifacts, discarded ore, mineral slag, spirit-beast remains, and other unstable materials with residual spiritual power 2 5.

It is regarded as a dumping ground for peripheral disciples, disciples who have made mistakes, and cultivators considered to have no future. Sect members privately deride both its workers and its purpose as “trash disciples guarding trash” 2.

For Li Ping'an, however, the hall is a source of cultivation resources. The waste energy, toxins, and residual medicinal power that endanger others can be absorbed or refined through the Heaven-Tempering Hammer 2 3 10.

Location and Appearance

The Waste Hall stands in a deep valley between several of the sect's major peaks 3.

• Its original entrance had battered wooden doors hanging crookedly on their hinges. 5
• Discarded ore and broken weapons were piled outside the entrance. 5
• The air carries a mixture of scorched metal, rotting herbs, toxic waste, and other foul odors. 5
• Its interior was kept far more orderly than its exterior. 5
• The hall was destroyed in a deliberate fire and later rebuilt by disciples of the Moving Mountains Hall. 27 31 32

Operations

Waste processing

The hall primarily handles leftovers from the sect's artifact-refining work. Some materials can be recovered and reused, while others require dangerous disposal 5.

• Failed pills can release poisonous fumes capable of corroding low-level cultivators' meridians. 3
• Highly contaminated loads may combine ruined pills, rusted tools, mineral slag, and decomposing spirit-beast remains. 9
• Disposal work can involve burning toxic materials in an earthfire pit; the resulting miasma is dangerous even to Foundation Establishment cultivators after prolonged exposure. 6 7
• Workers are also assigned miscellaneous sect labor beyond waste handling under Xu Yan's administration. 47

Sorting assembly line

Steward He Lü designed a primitive mechanical sorting station for artifact-refining waste 5.

• Three long conveyor belts made from wooden boards and rollers run through the hall. 5
• The system was created to replace slow, hand-sorting labor and reduce hand injuries. 5
• Though crude in construction, the arrangement allows waste to be sorted in an organized workflow. 5

History

Li Ping'an voluntarily chose the Waste Hall after entering the inner sect. While other disciples considered the post tantamount to a death sentence—wild spiritual energy and poisonous miasma could kill a third-stage Body Tempering cultivator within five days—he recognized its discarded materials as ideal fuel for the Heaven-Tempering Hammer's Immortal Smelting ability 2 3.

Upon arriving, Li Ping'an was warmly received by Steward He Lü and the hall's disciples. He Lü asked him to guide the workers in forging, and the disciples began calling him “Teacher Li” 5. This brief stability ended when Supervisor Wang assigned Li Ping'an alone to dispose of the hall's most dangerous waste, intending the poisonous materials to kill him 6 9.

Zhang Meng later arranged an arson attack intended to burn everyone in the Waste Hall alive. The fire reduced the hall to ruins, prompting a Law Enforcement Hall investigation led by Liu Jinhu 27 28. Zhang Meng confessed to seeking He Lü's steward position, though Liu Jinhu doubted that this was the full motive; Zhang Meng was killed before revealing more 30. The remaining Waste Hall disciples were cleared of suspicion, and Moving Mountains Hall rebuilt the facility 31 32.

He Lü was eventually forced to leave the sect after failing to participate in its arena-elimination matches and exceeding the applicable age limit. Before departing, he secretly entrusted Li Ping'an with the Great Dream Soul-Drawing Art 40. Xu Yan subsequently became steward and imposed excessive work hours, withheld stipends, and assaulted a disciple. Li Ping'an resisted him, after which Xu Yan backed down under the belief that Elder Wuchen supported Li Ping'an 46 47 48 49.

Associated Individuals

• Li Ping'an — Voluntarily joined the hall and treats its toxic waste and discarded materials as cultivation resources. He is regarded by the disciples as “Teacher Li” and later as a de facto leader. 2 5 50
• He Lü / He Steward — Long-serving former steward and inventor of the hall's sorting assembly line. He cared for the workers, welcomed Li Ping'an, and later left the sect. 5 32 40
• Wang Erniu — Waste Hall disciple who was among the first to welcome Li Ping'an as a teacher. 5 7
• Zhang Meng — Long-time Waste Hall disciple who set the hall on fire; he claimed he wanted to replace He Lü as steward. 27 30
• Xu Yan — He Lü's replacement as steward. He attempted to exploit and intimidate the hall's disciples before retreating from conflict with Li Ping'an. 46 47 49
• Supervisor Wang — Repeatedly sent Li Ping'an dangerous, highly toxic waste to dispose of at the hall. 6 9 12
• Liu Jinhu — Deacon Hall investigator who handled the arson case and cleared the other Waste Hall disciples after Zhang Meng's death. 27 31

Trivia

• Li Ping'an initially suspected He Lü was a transmigrator after seeing the assembly-line design, but concluded that He Lü was a native inventor. 5
• Despite its reputation as a place to “muddle through” until old age, the Waste Hall becomes Li Ping'an's primary source of waste qi, toxins, pill fragments, and refining materials. 5 8 50
• After He Lü leaves, the disciples express a wish for Li Ping'an to become the Waste Hall's steward. 49