"Yo~ Isn't this our Outer Sect 'Genius' Disciple, Senior Brother Zhang Zhian?"
"What's the matter? A 'Genius' like you actually needs to come do missions personally?"
Zhang Zhian's foot had just stepped through the gates of the Mission Hall when a mocking voice, quite familiar to him, drifted over.
Turning his head, a youth in yellow clothes with a look of ridicule on his face instantly entered his vision.
Zhang Zhian responded calmly, "Our Azure Spirit Sect truly lives up to its reputation as the top Sect of the Southern Yue Kingdom. I didn't expect that even a mute condition like Junior Brother Zhao's could be cured."
"However..."
"I hope Junior Brother Zhao's muteness doesn't relapse again soon."
There seemed to be a hint of laughter in Zhang Zhian's tone. "I believe the Lecturing Elders must also be looking forward to Junior Brother Zhao sharing your cultivation insights with 'eloquent words' next time."
"Zhang Zhian, you..." Upon hearing this, the Yellow-robed youth's eyes widened in anger, and his face turned bright red.
He kicked off the ground, looking as if he were about to charge at Zhang Zhian immediately.
However, the two other Disciples walking with him had clearly anticipated this, skillfully grabbing him from both sides to hold him back.
The two of them first cast apologetic glances toward Zhang Zhian surreptitiously.
Then, they began to earnestly persuade the Yellow-robed youth.
"Senior Brother Zhao, don't be impulsive, this is the Mission Hall!"
"That's right, Junior Brother Zhao, the Sect's punishment is terrifying."
Watching this familiar scene, Zhang Zhian couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. 'Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Qin really have it hard.'
Within the Azure Spirit Sect, the sources of Disciples could be roughly divided into two categories.
The first category was naturally like Zhang Zhian, Disciples recruited from the outside world purely through the Azure Spirit Sect's Disciple examination.
The other category was different; their Elders were already Disciples of the Azure Spirit Sect. Once they reached the age for cultivation, they would naturally be sent into the Sect to practice.
At this moment, the three people appearing before Zhang Zhian—Junior Brother Zhao and the others—were all this type of Disciple.
However, their situation was even more special.
According to the Azure Spirit Sect rules, under normal circumstances, all Disciples entering the Sect must meet the recruitment standards. That is, all Outer Sect Disciples must have participated in the recruitment examination to be officially listed as members.
But there are exceptions to everything.
This was, after all, a real world of cultivation, where conflict and death were indispensable parts of the world's backdrop.
When executing Sect missions, it was almost inevitable that Disciples would suffer casualties.
Thus, it was destined that some orphans would be created because their parents perished during Sect missions.
For these orphans, the Azure Spirit Sect had a specialized place for their upbringing.
As long as they possessed a Spiritual Root, regardless of the quality of their Aptitude... once they reached the appropriate age, they would be taken into the Azure Spirit Sect.
Even for those children without cultivation Aptitude, the Azure Spirit Sect would send them to mortal cities under its jurisdiction, allowing them to live out their lives in peace and stability.
Normally speaking, these Disciples...
While they didn't exactly run rampant in the Outer Sect, most Outer Sect Disciples would choose to give way to them.
This was not only out of respect for their Elders who sacrificed themselves for the Sect, but more importantly...
No one knew if these Disciples still had connections left behind by their parents and Elders.
From this perspective, it seemed that Zhang Zhian's performance just now was a bit too 'reckless.'
But in truth, his actions were a matter of necessity.
Junior Brother Zhao, full name Zhao Lei, was currently only twelve years old, just like Zhang Zhian.
The cause of the conflict between the two was very simple.
It was nothing more than a time when an Outer Sect Elder came to give a lecture and praised Zhang Zhian's proficiency in a certain Technique. Zhao Lei had muttered his dissatisfaction under his breath, not expecting that the Lecturing Elder, a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, would hear him clearly.
Consequently, the Lecturing Elder directly called him up to demonstrate as well. As a result, this fellow seemed to be so nervous that he actually failed the Technique.
After severely criticizing him, the Lecturing Elder further ordered him to address Zhang Zhian as Senior Brother (though based on entry time, Zhang Zhian should have called him Senior Brother) and told him to humbly seek guidance from Zhang Zhian after class.
Unsurprisingly, young Zhao Lei naturally became even more dissatisfied with Zhang Zhian in his heart.
What happened afterward left Zhang Zhian feeling both surprised and unexpected.
First, just as most Outer Sect Disciples feared, Zhao Lei really did have connections left by his deceased Elders.
Not long after that lecture, an Inner Sect Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle personally sought out Zhang Zhian.
However, the purpose of his appearance was far from what Zhang Zhian had imagined...
"Lei'er has always been lax in his cultivation and often has friction with other Outer Sect Disciples like you."
"After being provoked by you this time, he has become much more diligent and has caused me significantly less trouble."
"So, I hope you will maintain this momentum..."
"As compensation, how about I give you a bottle of nourishing origin pills every month?" This Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle offered a price Zhang Zhian couldn't refuse. "This Medicinal Pill is excellent for strengthening the foundation and nurturing the origin; it can effectively prevent you from accidentally damaging your essence and Qi during your daily Qi refining."
...
Looking at Zhao Lei, whose face was still flushed red, Zhang Zhian secretly apologized in his heart, 'Junior Brother Zhao, I'm truly sorry.'
'I don't want to provoke you every time, but alas...'
'The nourishing origin pills are just too fragrant.'
As his thoughts flowed, Zhang Zhian casually glanced at Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Qin beside Zhao Lei.
'Speaking of which, every time Junior Brother Zhao blows his top, it seems these two are always there to soothe him at just the right time.' Zhang Zhian's eyes flickered slightly. 'I remember Martial Uncle Liu said I didn't need to worry about Junior Brother Zhao actually coming to find trouble with me.'
'It seems I'm not the only one with a hidden mission.'
'Both a rival and a close friend... Martial Uncle Liu really has put a lot of thought into this.'
Suddenly, Zhang Zhian's gaze met Senior Brother Zhou's for a brief moment.
In the next instant, the two of them moved their eyes away as if nothing had happened.
'As expected.' *2
Both of them confirmed the suspicion in their hearts.
However, they had no intention of communicating with each other. After all, whether it was Senior Brother Zhou or Zhang Zhian...
They both knew very well that their real client was Junior Brother Zhao, who was still fuming at the moment.
Senior Brother Zhou continued to soothe the angry Zhao Lei along with Junior Brother Qin, while Zhang Zhian walked straight toward the Deacon Disciple responsible for task submissions in the Mission Hall.
"Senior Brother, I'm here to submit a mission." Changing his irritating tone used with Zhao Lei, Zhang Zhian bowed respectfully to the Deacon Disciple before him.
"Oh?" The Deacon Disciple, who had been looking down appreciating some form of art, instantly raised his head in surprise. "I remember you just took the mission yesterday."
As a Deacon Disciple permanently stationed at the Mission Hall, his memory had always been quite good.
"You found wild purple bamboo fungus so quickly?"
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and warned Zhang Zhian, "Don't you dare try to pass off the purple bamboo fungus grown in Sect batches as wild. Never mind an alchemist, even I have ways to distinguish the difference between the two."
Clearly, some 'clever' Outer Sect Disciples had done this before.
"Hmph hmph~" At this time, Zhao Lei, who was still fuming, also leaned in, seemingly wanting to see Zhang Zhian make a fool of himself.
However, he was destined to be disappointed this time.
Zhang Zhian smiled slightly, "I wouldn't dare deceive Senior Brother."
As he spoke, his palm lightly brushed over the Storage Pouch at his waist, and two jade boxes instantly appeared in his hand.
He then handed the two jade boxes containing the purple bamboo fungus to the deacon Senior Brother in front of him.
The Deacon Disciple first put away his art book, then with a serious expression, took the two jade boxes and opened them.
Following that, two somewhat irregular Purple Bamboo Fungi appeared before them.
"Hahaha, Zhang Zhian, you actually brought such poor-looking purple bamboo fungus to deceive Senior Brother!"
Seeing the strange shapes of the two Purple Bamboo Fungi in the jade boxes and comparing them with his impression of 'high-quality' purple bamboo fungus, Zhao Lei was instantly overjoyed. "Deacon Senior Brother, hurry and punish him!"
In an instant, everyone present looked at him with strange expressions.
Senior Brother Zhou bit the bullet and leaned into Zhao Lei's ear, whispering, "Junior Brother Zhao, because wild purple bamboo fungus grows in widely varying environments, every single one looks different and strange. They aren't uniform like the ones mass-cultivated by the Sect..."
The redness that had just faded from Zhao Lei's cheeks instantly surged back.
Then, after glaring at Zhang Zhian, he immediately walked quickly out of the Mission Hall.
Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Qin also hurriedly followed.
"Junior Brother Zhao, where are we going now?" Senior Brother Zhou asked.
"To the Library Pavilion!" Zhao Lei's voice seemed to come through gritted teeth.
Only Zhang Zhian and the Deacon Disciple were left on the spot, staring at each other for a few moments...
"Cough cough~" This Deacon Disciple did have some professionalism after all, and he quickly adjusted himself. "Junior Brother, congratulations on completing the mission."
"Give me your Disciple Token."
Zhang Zhian took out his Outer Sect Disciple token and handed it over.
The Deacon Disciple took the token, pressed it into a slot in front of him, and then seemed to operate something.
"Alright, Junior Brother, the five contribution points for this mission have been deposited into your Disciple Token." The Deacon Disciple returned the token to Zhang Zhian. "As for the other reward, the spirit gathering pill, the Treasure Pavilion Disciples will deliver it to your residence after receiving the notification that the mission is confirmed complete."
To prevent Mission Hall Disciples from embezzling, all physical rewards for Azure Spirit Sect missions were centrally managed and distributed by the Treasure Pavilion, which oversaw the Sect's treasures.
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Retracting his token, Zhang Zhian thanked him politely.
Then, he walked toward another Deacon Disciple responsible for issuing missions. "Senior Brother, may I ask if there are currently any more Sect missions requiring wild purple bamboo fungus?"
"Hmm?" The Deacon Disciple, who was initially sighing in his heart about how diligent this Junior Brother was, was momentarily stunned. He then frowned and warned, "Junior Brother, wild purple bamboo fungus is not easy to find. You shouldn't waste your time just because of one stroke of good luck..."
But before he could finish speaking, he saw several more jade boxes appear in Zhang Zhian's hands.
His gaze toward Zhang Zhian instantly changed. 'No way.'
'Is this kid's luck really that good?'