After Instructor Shi left, the four passers-by still stood there, looking at each other.
"My name is Wei Mang." The lean young man took the initiative and said, "Jade City."
"Sun Daniu." The tiger-backed man said in a loud voice, "He's from the north."
"Ma Chi." The black-faced boy scratched his head, "I am a local mountain man."
All three people looked at Qin Tiexin.
"Qin Tiexin, from the south." Qin Tiexin said simply.
Just as he was talking, two people came from a distance. One was Steward Wang who had just brought them here, and the other was a monk in blue robes in his thirties, with a stronger aura than Instructor Shi, and a jade plaque hanging on his waist.
"Everyone stand still." Steward Wang shouted.
The four of them immediately lined up.
The blue-robed monk glanced at the four people and said calmly, "I am Zhou Ming, the deacon of the outer sect. You have passed the Body Refining test, and according to the rules, you are already a preparatory disciple of the outer sect. But before you can enter, you still need a final verification."
He pointed to the other end of the martial arts arena.
A stone arch was erected there at some point. The door is about two feet high and is gray in color. The surface is engraved with dense runes, and it looks simple and heavy. The door frame is engraved with cloud patterns and several vague patterns, which look like animal shapes or some kind of ancient writing.
"This is Body Verification Gate." Deacon Zhou said, "Through this door, you can identify the origin of the human race, and you can also detect the hypocrisy of low-level monsters and demons. You pass through in turn without hesitation."
The five people looked at each other.
"Start with you." Deacon Zhou pointed to Wei Mang.
Wei Mang swallowed, walked to the stone door, took a deep breath, and stepped across.
Shimen showed no reaction.
"Next."
Ma Chi and Sun Daniu passed through one after another, but the stone gate remained silent.
It's Qin Tiexin's turn.
He walked to the door and paused for a moment. The black ring on his chest, close to his heart, suddenly felt a slight heat. At the same time, Edgeless behind him seemed to tremble slightly, but it was so slight that it was almost imperceptible.
He stepped in.
The moment his body completely passed through the stone door--
The vague lines on the door frame seemed to flicker ever so slightly.
The light was dim and fast, like the last jump of a candle when it was about to go out, disappearing in the blink of an eye. If Qin Tiexin hadn't been paying attention, I might have thought it was an illusion.
The stone gate itself made no sound, no obstruction, and no attack.
Qin Tiexin kept walking and walked steadily.
He walked outside the door and looked back. Instructor Shi was chatting with Deacon Zhou in a low voice. Neither of them seemed to have noticed the flash of light just now.
"All passed." Deacon Zhou turned around, "From today on, you are the Flowing Cloud Sect outer sect disciples. Remember, although the auxiliary disciples can listen to the outer sect's lectures, they do not have Spirit Stone or elixir quotas. You need to complete four hours of work every day, and you can practice on your own in the remaining time."
He paused and then said, "If you are diligent and pass the outer sect examination in three years, you can be promoted to an official outer sect disciple."
"Thank you, deacon." The five people said in unison.
Deacon Zhou nodded and said to Steward Wang, "Take them to pick up their things and arrange accommodation."
***
The place to collect things is in a side hall at the foot of the mountain.
Each person received a set of gray cloth, a wooden identification tag, a thin book "Sect Rules and Precepts", and a slightly thicker book "Introduction to Cultivation". The cloth was made of coarse linen with rough stitching, but it was strong and durable. The name and the four characters "Body Refining Outer Courtyard" were engraved on the wooden ID tag.
The residence is also at the foot of the mountain, and is a few rows of simple wooden houses. Qin Tiexin and Sun Daniu were assigned to one room.
The house was slightly larger than the wooden house we lived in during the previous test, with two beds, a table, and a small window on the wall. Sun Daniu threw his luggage on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief, "Finally settled down."
Qin Tiexin said nothing, folded the cloth and put it away, and tied the wooden identification tag around his waist. He opened the book "Introduction to Cultivation" and scanned a few pages - they were all the most basic common sense: the division of cultivation realms, Qi Refining entry methods, common sense in the cultivation world, etc.
"Brother Qin," Sun Daniu came over, "What job do you think we should choose?"
Qin Tiexin raised his head. "Are there any choices?"
"Steward Wang just said that we will go to the General Affairs Hall tomorrow to get work." Sun Daniu said, "I heard that there are spiritual fields, mines, zoos, warehouses... and Discarded Artifact Pavilion. The spiritual fields are easy, but there is no oil or water; the mines are bitter, but you can occasionally pick up some broken ore; the warehouses have a lot of oil and water, but there are also many people grabbing them."
Qin Tiexin thought for a moment, "What does Discarded Artifact Pavilion do?"
"It's just to deal with Law Artifact and mortal weapons that are scrapped in the sect." Sun Daniu curled his lips, "That place is the most boring. It's full of rags, dirty and tired. I heard that someone worked there for three years before and found nothing."
Qin Tiexin nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Early the next morning, four people came to the General Affairs Hall.
There were already a lot of people in the hall, all new disciples. Some were queuing up to get their jobs, and some were whispering to each other. Qin Tiexin saw that the twenty-four people who passed the Spirit Root test yesterday were also among them. They were wearing light blue cloth and looked much better. They were talking and laughing together.
"Look over there," Liu San said in a low voice, "They are serious Qi Refining disciples, and we are just handymen..."
"Say less." Sun Daniu glared at him.
When it was their turn, the steward behind the desk asked without raising his head, "Name, what job should you choose?"
Wei Mang chose the spiritual field, Ma Chi chose the zoo, and Sun Daniu chose the mine.
It's Qin Tiexin's turn.
"Qin Tiexin. Discarded Artifact Pavilion."
The steward finally raised his head and looked at him with a strange look in his eyes. "Are you sure? That place is not easy to work in."
"OK."
"Okay." The steward made a note in the book, "Go to the back mountain valley and report to Old Wu."
***
Discarded Artifact Pavilion is in a remote valley in the back mountain.
Qin Tiexin After walking along the mountain road for half an hour, I saw a crooked wooden sign standing at the entrance of the valley, with the three words "Discarded Artifact Pavilion" written in ink on it. The handwriting was a little blurry.
As we walked into the valley, we were greeted by the smell of rusty metal and fireworks.
The valley is not big, with several rows of stone houses built on the hills. The central open space is filled with all kinds of junk: broken swords, broken shields, twisted armors, and more strange-shaped metal blocks that cannot be seen in their original appearance. Several handyman disciples in gray cloth are lazily sorting and throwing things into different baskets.
From the row of stone houses against the mountain, there was a "ding-dong-dang-dang" sound.
Qin Tiexin walked over and saw a skinny old man in the room.
The old man looked to be in his sixties, with gray hair and a stooped back. He was wearing a greasy gray cloth coat. He was sitting on a low stool, holding a hammer and chisel in his hand, and was carefully dismantling a damaged Law Artifact - it was a palm-sized bronze mirror. The mirror surface had been broken, and the edge was engraved with the dim Spirit Rune.
The old man's movements were very slow, but extremely steady. Every time the hammer fell, the force was just right, not damaging the few intact parts Spirit Rune that remained in the frame. His fingers were thin, but extremely flexible, as if they had a life of their own.
Qin Tiexin stood at the door for a while before the old man raised his head.
"New here?" His voice was hoarse.
"Yes. Disciple Qin Tiexin, was ordered to report to the Discarded Artifact Pavilion."
The old man looked him up and down and saw his thick fingers and the burns on his hands. "Before, you were a blacksmith?"
"Did."
"Well." The old man put down his tools and pointed outside the house, "The rules are simple. Classify these junks: put the ordinary utensils into one pile, Semi-Law Artifact into one pile, and the completely scrapped Law Artifact into one pile. Mortal utensils and completely scrapped ones are thrown into the furnace over there and melted; there are still useful parts in Semi-Law Artifact and Law Artifact, remove them and put them in the warehouse."
He paused. "See for yourself, learn for yourself, do it for yourself. If you don't understand, just ask, but don't ask nonsense questions."
Qin Tiexin nodded. "Yes."
He walked to the pile of junk and squatted down.
First, he picked up a broken sword. The sword body was severely rusted, but a vague cloud pattern could still be seen near the hilt - this was Semi-Law Artifact. It had been engraved with Spirit Rune, but it was very blurry. At a rough glance, it looked like "Sharpness". He took a closer look at the fracture. The metal texture was uneven, and there should be impurities during forging.
He put the broken sword into the pile Semi-Law Artifact.
He also picked up a shield fragment. It was an ordinary iron shield and a mortal weapon, and threw it directly into the mortal weapon basket.
The work is boring, but Qin Tiexin does it very seriously. Every time he picks up a piece, he will carefully look at its structure, material, and cause of damage. Although some Law Artifact have lost their spirituality, there are still Spirit Rune on them. He will look at it a few more times and silently note the lines in his mind.
This place is a garbage dump in the eyes of others.
In his eyes, it is a treasure mountain.
After working for a while, several other handyman disciples came over. A round-faced young man said with a smile, "New here? Why did you choose this crappy place?"
Qin Tiexin raised his head. "It's nice here."
"Very good?" the round-faced young man said happily, "Brother, you don't know. This place has the least oil and water, and the dirtiest work. Look over there--"
He pointed in the direction of the ground furnace. "During the smelting, we secretly kept some scraps of good quality. If we save more, we can exchange them for some Spirit Stone. Also, some Law Artifact that are considered scrapped may still have some spiritual components left in them, which can be sold after being dismantled."
A tall and thin man next to him lowered his voice. "Old Wu has a loose control. As long as you don't go too far, he will turn a blind eye. If you follow us from now on, I'm sure you won't suffer."
Qin Tiexin did not answer the call and continued sorting.
The round-faced young man felt bored, curled his lips and left.
Qin Tiexin lowered his head and picked up another object from the junk pile - it was a palm-sized metal disc with fine Spirit Rune engraved on the edge, but it was broken in the middle. He wiped the dust on the surface with his hand, revealing the dull silver luster underneath.
Illustrated Catalog of Ten Thousand Artifacts moved slightly in his consciousness.
[Broken Star-Fixing Disc(Semi-Law Artifact)]
[Material: Mithril, fine iron]
[Status: Spirit Rune is 70% damaged and the core array eye is broken]
[Residual spirituality: weak]
[Detachable parts: edge Spirit Rune fragments (three places), Mithril shell]
Qin Tiexin's eyes lit up.
He gently placed the disk on the pile of Semi-Law Artifact and continued working.
The sun gradually rose, and the temperature in the valley also rose. Qin Tiexin took off his coat and wore only a singlet, revealing his strong arms. Sweat flowed down along the muscle lines, and he was not aware of it, sorting one piece after another, with steady and fast movements.
At noon, Old Wu brought out a bowl and squatted at the door to eat. The bowl contained brown rice and a few vegetable leaves, and he ate slowly.
Qin Tiexin was also hungry, so he took out the dry food he had received in the morning - two thick flour pancakes - from his pocket. He finished it in three mouthfuls, but felt it was not enough, so he hesitated and walked to Old Wu.
"Master Wu, may I ask... where is the water?"
Old Wu raised his eyes and looked at him. "The mountain spring over there." He pointed to the bottom of the valley.
"Thank you."
Qin Tiexin went to drink water and came back to continue working.
In the afternoon, he began to try to disassemble a Semi-Law Artifact - it was a short knife with a broken handle, but the Spirit Rune at the handle was still intact. He followed Old Wu's example, using a hammer and chisel to carefully peel off the handle shell.
The first time he did it, his technique was unfamiliar and he almost hurt Spirit Rune. He stopped, carefully recalled Old Wu's movements, and tried again.
It's much better this time.
At dusk, Old Wu walked out of the stone house, looked at the piles of things Qin Tiexin had sorted out today, and then looked at the short knife he was dismantling.
"That's it for today." The old man said, "Come over tomorrow at 9 o'clock."
"Yes."
Qin Tiexin put down the tools, piled the sorted things neatly, wiped the tools and put them back in their place. After doing this, he saluted Old Wu and turned around to leave the valley.
As he walked down the mountain road, he looked back.
Discarded Artifact Pavilion looked even more dilapidated in the dusk, but the rows of stone houses and the mountains of junk shone in his eyes.
This is exactly where he should be.
Then he strode down the mountain.
I'm so hungry that I have to eat quickly.