Newbie Tasks

Song Wen stepped out of his cave dwelling and saw Du Qiu standing at the entrance, his face clouded with impatience.

Behind him stood the other five disciples who had entered the Sect at the same time.

Wu Sheng led his Iron Corpse, his face flush with pride as he cast a provocative glare at Song Wen.

A month ago, taking advantage of Song Wen being new to the Corpse Demon Sect and ignorant of its rules, Wu Sheng had forcibly occupied his cave dwelling. Relying on the dense Spiritual Qi and corpse fiend energy within, he had managed to break through from the mid-stage to the late-stage of Qi Refining Layer 3 in just a single month, leaving him thoroughly self-satisfied.

He was eager to see just how frustrated and furious Song Wen would be upon discovering the Sect's strict prohibition against private combat.

To his disappointment, Song Wen merely spared him a sideways glance before looking away, acting as if the theft of his cave dwelling had never occurred.

Zhang Xiaofan and the other three had also successfully reached the novice stage of the Corpse Fiend Art, though it was only the barest beginning; the corpse Qi radiating from their bodies was almost imperceptibly weak.

Du Qiu glanced briefly at Song Wen. Seeing that the young man had successfully mastered the basic cultivation of the Corpse King Blood Refining Art, he lost interest.

As long as these six individuals managed to initiate their respective techniques within the month, his duty was fulfilled.

"The one-month deadline has arrived," Du Qiu announced. "You must now head to the External Affairs Hall to accept your Sect assignments. Once I deliver you there, my duty of guiding newcomers is complete. Follow me."

With that, Du Qiu took the lead, striding down the rugged mountain path toward the mountainside.

The six disciples immediately followed.

Along the way, Wu Sheng continued to throw provocative glances at Song Wen, but Song Wen acted entirely blind to them. Left with no reaction, Wu Sheng's subtle taunts fell completely flat.

'This guy must be an idiot,' Wu Sheng thought disdainfully. 'Who knows where he gets his confidence. To be so utterly fearless in a strange place, isn't he afraid of getting ambushed and clubbed from behind one day?'

On the other hand, Zhang Xiaofan, who had shared a brief interaction with Song Wen previously, offered him a friendly nod.

Song Wen returned the gesture with a warm smile. Even in a demonic sect, one needed a social network, especially among those who joined in the same batch; there was a natural sense of affinity among them.

It was always beneficial to have agreeable Sect-mates, even if they were merely surface-level friends.

After walking for nearly half an hour, the group reached the External Affairs Hall located on the western mountainside.

"This is the External Affairs Hall," Du Qiu said, pausing before they entered. "As a final piece of advice before we part, choose your newbie tasks carefully. This will directly dictate your life for the next five years, and it may well exert a profound influence on your entire cultivation journey."

"That is all. May we meet again."

With a flick of his sleeves, Du Qiu departed gracefully.

Once Du Qiu was out of sight, Wu Sheng swept his gaze across the other five, a distinct air of superiority in his eyes.

Before even joining the Sect, he had already decided on his assignment. He felt himself leagues ahead of these five clueless newbies.

Striding into the hall ahead of the rest, he approached an elderly man seated inside.

"Greetings, Elder. My name is Wu Sheng, a new disciple who joined a month ago. I am here to receive my newbie task."

The old man raised his turbid eyes, looking at Wu Sheng with utter indifference before glancing at the five trailing behind.

"You five boys back there, hurry it up," the Elder urged coldly. "This old man has no desire to waste time explaining these tasks twice to a handful of newcomers."

The five hurried their steps.

Once they drew near, the Elder continued in a mechanical tone.

"The places currently requiring fresh blood are as follows: the Spirit Plant Hall needs six spirit plant farmers, the Blood Refining Hall needs two corpse dismemberers, the Soul Refining Hall needs three soul collectors, and the corpse pits need two corpse carriers..."

The Elder listed the various departments currently starved for new recruits.

"These are the available options. You may choose whichever you like, but once a choice is made, it cannot be altered for five years."

Wu Sheng, who had long formulated his plan, spoke up immediately.

"Elder, I wish to join the Yin Fiend Hall as a Corpse Catcher."

Demonic cultivators of the Corpse Demon Sect required vast amounts of blood essence and corpses from righteous cultivators and mortals to advance their craft. The so-called Corpse Catchers were demonic cultivators specifically tasked with hunting and slaughtering these targets.

Naturally, the mortal blood essence and corpses required were not from ordinary commoners; there were strict criteria. They targeted individuals born during a Yin year, Yin month, and Yin hour, or sought dried corpses that had rested in corpse-raising grounds for a century without decaying.

When ambushing righteous cultivators, the Corpse Demon Sect generally avoided disciples of the major orthodox sects. They preferred to strike at rogue cultivators or minor sects-after all, one must pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.

The Elder's expression hardened, and he barked in an unfriendly tone, "A mere newcomer who has just crossed the threshold, what makes you think you are qualified to become a Corpse Catcher for the Yin Fiend Hall?"

The Elder's annoyance stemmed from the fact that a Corpse Catcher position had not been among the choices he just listed.

Joining the Yin Fiend Hall as a Corpse Catcher required at least a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, and that was merely the bare minimum. Because Corpse Catchers frequently clashed with rogue cultivators in life-or-death battles, the danger was immense. Consequently, the majority of elite Corpse Catchers were at the late-stage of Qi Refining.

However, while the risks were great, the rewards were equally immense.

Not only did the Corpse Demon Sect distribute a hefty amount of cultivation resources to them monthly-making their compensation top-tier within the Sect-but they could also claim significant spoils from the bodies of the rogue cultivators they slaughtered.

Faced with the Elder's reprimand, Wu Sheng showed no fear. He cupped his hands and bowed deeply.

"Please appease your anger, Elder. My deceased father was once a Corpse Catcher himself. He taught me the Corpse Fiend Art from a young age, and I am already at the peak of Qi Refining Layer 3, just a single step away from the mid-stage. Furthermore, I possess an Iron Corpse comparable to a Layer 6 Qi Refining cultivator. I hope the Elder might show some leniency in consideration of my father's past contributions to the Sect."

As he spoke, Wu Sheng slipped a cloth pouch from his robes. Inside were fifty Spirit Stones, an inheritance his father had prepared for him before his death.

He subtly pressed the pouch into the Elder's hand.

The Elder weighed the pouch in his palm, and a wide grin split his face. Though the amount was not staggering, it was more than enough to satisfy him.

Nodding, the Elder said, "Very well. For your father's sake, this old man shall make an exception and permit you to join the Yin Fiend Hall as a Corpse Catcher."

The Elder tapped his waist-bound Storage Bag, and a triangular, pitch-black token materialized in his hand, engraved with the characters for 'Corpse Catcher'.

He tossed the token to Wu Sheng.

Catching the token, Wu Sheng looked ecstatic. He bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you, Elder."

Wu Sheng's eagerness to take on such a perilous role stemmed from his mediocre grade-four spiritual root. Though classified as a middle-grade root that offered a slim hope of achieving Foundation Establishment, it demanded a staggering amount of resources. The meager heritage left by his father, who had died at Qi Refining Layer 8, was completely insufficient to carry him to the Foundation Establishment realm.

He refused to end up like his father decades down the line-failing to establish his foundation, leaving the Sect in dejection, and forced to pin his hopes of immortality onto his offspring.

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