Bamboo Mound

Ning Chang sat cross-legged on the edge of the giant sword, feeling no inertia whatsoever.

If it weren't for the rapidly receding scenery, Ning Chang would have thought the giant sword hadn't been activated yet.

He stretched out his hand, for one second, two seconds.

"I can't feel any resistance. Is spiritual energy forming a barrier?"

Ning Chang gazed at the lush greenery flashing below, which shone brightly in the setting sun, and felt a surge of heroic spirit.

"The ancients were right; one can look down upon the world from a high vantage point!"

Although he lacked a systematic approach, the vast amount of modern knowledge he had acquired became Ning Chang's unique advantage. Even in this unscientific world of cultivation, there must be fixed rules governing it!

Before long, the giant sword landed in a square, which was several times larger than the square in Chang Le City. In front of the square was a high platform, and servants were already standing below the platform.

Once everyone had dismounted, the giant sword rapidly shrank and was retrieved by the Grand Elder.

Then a middle-aged man stepped out from among the servants. Although he was also dressed in servants' clothes, he had a badge pinned to his chest, and the fabric of his clothes was obviously much better than that of the other servants.

He accepted the list of spiritual roots from the Grand Elder with both hands, bowed, and then turned and called out:

"Everyone, each person take one disciple to arrange accommodations. Remember to explain the rules here clearly to them. We'll meet here first thing tomorrow morning!"

As Ning Chang was listening, the Grand Elder walked to his side and put his hand on Ning Chang's shoulder.

He felt as if his entire body was being lifted up by an invisible force.

In a few leaps, Ning Chang was already standing in front of a courtyard.

“My disciple, from now on you will live here. You must be very tired after being in the sun all day. Go to sleep early, and I will come to find you again tomorrow.”

"Go inside, the servants there will tell you some common sense," the elder said, sounding slightly anxious.

He couldn't wait to go and show off Ning Chang to the second brother!

"Yes, Master." Ning Chang turned around to reply, but the Grand Elder had already disappeared.

Ning Chang walked into the courtyard and looked around.

"This area is quite large; the yard alone could accommodate three or four of Village Chief Lin's families!"

At this moment, a servant who had been waiting on the side came forward.

"Young master, I am the servant in charge of your daily life. You can just call me Xiao Li!" Xiao Li said, bowing his head.

Ning Chang was somewhat unaccustomed to being treated with such respect for the first time.

He grunted and asked, "How were you chosen as these menial servants?"

Ning Chang had some questions in the square earlier. If the menial tasks were done by people with low-grade spiritual roots and low talent, then why did each of the new disciples recruited today have a menial servant to serve them?

Xiao Li was taken aback, seemingly not expecting his master to ask such a question as his first words, but he still answered with utmost respect:

"Young master, we servants are ordinary people without spiritual roots. We were taken in by the sect to serve you young masters."

Ning Chang then asked, "Are you truly content with this?"

Xiao Li was immediately terrified.

"Young Master, what are you saying? We all came here voluntarily. Some people want to come but don't even have the luck!"

"The sect pays us a salary every month. Even if we don't use it here, it's enough to make our families live a better life. Not to mention, if we're lucky, we might even get some rewards here!"

Xiao Li had previously worked as a menial servant in the Qingyun Sect for several years.

He understood that if he made a mistake or displeased his master, he would lose this good job at best, and at worst, lose his life!

Seeing Xiao Li's flustered appearance, Ning Chang understood something.

He was born in modern times, so he can take some things in stride, but there are very few people in this world like him.

If Ning Chang removes the honorifics Xiao Li uses for him, then in the eyes of other disciples and even elders, it will be seen as Xiao Li being disrespectful to his elders, which will directly lead to Xiao Li's disappearance!

"Oh well, I'll get used to the way you address me," Ning Chang thought to himself. This was also the first time he truly understood the importance of strength.

"Tell me about the things to be careful about here, and some common sense."

Xiao Li breathed a sigh of relief and quickly led Ning Chang into the house. After Ning Chang sat down, he began the introduction.

"First, there's the hierarchy within the sect. The sect leader is the highest, followed by the nine elders and their personal disciples. Then there are the inner and outer disciples. There are only a dozen or so personal disciples like you in the entire Qingyun Sect."

"A personal disciple?" Ning Chang asked in confusion.

"Yes, personal disciples are taught by the elders themselves. The elders do not easily accept disciples. Each elder only accepts one personal disciple at a time. Therefore, your status in the sect is second only to the elders."

Ning Chang nodded, "I see."

"Then there's the allocation of cultivation resources. At the beginning of each month, outer disciples can receive a certain amount of spirit stones and pills, while inner disciples receive even more. As for personal disciples..."

Xiao Li hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Ning asked, noticing the situation.

"I don't know much about the treatment of personal disciples, but it's definitely better than that of inner disciples."

Xiao Li quickly replied.

Ning Chang had a general understanding of the situation, and then asked some questions about the Qingyun Sect before letting Xiao Li leave.

Xiao Li returned the greeting and said:

"The smaller room is on the left side of the courtyard. Young master, please feel free to call if you have any orders."

After saying that, he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Ning Chang looked at the lanterns lit up outside the window and realized that it was already night, and that her stomach had been growling for a while!

He opened the cloth bag on the table, inside were several pills. According to Xiao Li's explanation, these were Bigu pills, and taking one pill would allow one to go a day without eating!

"Let's deal with the dried meat first." Ning Chang tied up the cloth bag, opened his bundle, and took out the dried meat he had brought with him.

There wasn't much jerky left to begin with, and now it's all gone.

Ning Chang quickly washed up and lay in bed organizing the intelligence she had gathered that day.

First, there are contribution points, which can be exchanged for any resources available within the sect in the Resource Hall. They are essentially a sect-specific currency.

Contribution points are earned through tasks, such as gathering resources outside the sect, hunting, and performing tasks within the sect. Different tasks reward different numbers of points.

Cultivation resources for each rank of disciple will be distributed at the beginning of the month, while Bigu Pills will be distributed without limit.

The spiritual energy within spirit stones can be directly absorbed for cultivation or used for trading; it serves as currency among cultivators.

........

Ning was lost in thought when she unknowingly fell asleep.

He dreamt that he was running forward in a panic, the ground behind him crumbling bit by bit, until he finally fell into endless darkness, a strong feeling of suffocation squeezing every nerve in his body.

"do not want!"

Ning Chang shouted loudly.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself sitting up in bed, my arms still outstretched.

"It was a dream..."

Ning Chang let out a long breath. Come to think of it, this was the first time he had ever dreamed since he came into this world.

He looked out the window; the sky was already beginning to lighten.

She got dressed and got up. These clothes were the sect robes that Ning Chang had folded and placed by her bedside before going to sleep.

The white base was adorned with silver cloud patterns, and a flame-like design adorned the chest. There were belts at the waist, wrists, and ankles, which fit Ning Chang perfectly.