The plaza in front of the External Affairs Hall was paved with bluestone slabs that felt somewhat hot under the midday sun.

The originally noisy crowd was now deathly silent, with hundreds of gazes fixed in unison on the high platform.

There, Zhang Lie stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Several trays shimmering with flowing light hovered beside him, and behind him stood several stewards from different peaks, each with a different expression.

“Menial disciple Su Ming, achieved top grade in all three stages of the formation path assessment, top grade in the Questioning Heart Forest, ranking first overall.”

Zhang Lie’s voice was not loud, but it carried thick spiritual energy, drilling clearly into the eardrums of everyone present, making their ears tingle. “Upon sect approval, effective immediately, he is promoted to outer sect disciple.”

The crowd below stirred slightly. Although they had already known the result, hearing the official announcement still carried a different kind of impact.

Wang Defa tugged at his collar, straightened his back, the two lumps of fat on his face trembling slightly with excitement, as if the one standing on the platform was his long-lost biological son.

Su Ming walked slowly up to the high platform, his expression calm. The cuffs of his grey menial robe were washed white, but it couldn’t conceal his bearing at this moment.

“Outer sect disciple Su Ming is granted one cave dwelling, to be chosen by him within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. Additional rewards: one hundred low-grade spirit stones, one thousand sect contribution points; one bottle of ‘Condensed Jade Elixir’ to aid your breakthrough; three bottles of ‘Revitalizing Spring Elixir’ for healing purposes.”

Zhang Lie looked at the youth who had walked before him, flipped his palm, and three items flew towards Su Ming: a token glowing with a jade-green luster, a provisional steward token forged from Mystic Iron, and a storage pouch embroidered with cloud patterns.

“This is your identity jade token.” Zhang Lie paused, his gaze sweeping over the inner sect disciples below with their complex expressions. He spoke again, his tone rising a few degrees. “Furthermore, in recognition of Su Ming’s outstanding talent in the formation path and the actual achievements of the ‘Repair Hall,’ Formation Peak grants special approval, conferring upon him the position of ‘Formation Peak Provisional Steward.'”

As soon as these words were spoken, the plaza instantly erupted.

“Provisional Steward? He just entered the outer sect!”

“This comes with real authority! I heard the monthly stipend alone is fifty contribution points, and he can mobilize some Formation Peak resources!”

“This is a meteoric rise to the heavens…”

Su Ming received the heavy iron token with both hands.

The token was entirely jet black, cold to the touch. The front was engraved with the characters “Formation Peak,” while the back bore an intricate formation compass pattern.

“Thank you for the elder’s guidance and support.” Su Ming bowed in salute, his tone neither subservient nor arrogant.

“This is what you deserve.” Zhang Lie replied, his gaze lingering on Su Ming’s face for a moment. “Although the provisional steward is not a substantive position, it still carries a title. In future conduct, you should be even more cautious with your words and actions, and not bring shame to the reputation of Formation Peak.”

Su Ming’s fingers rubbed the patterns on the edge of the iron token, a flash of understanding in his eyes. “This disciple understands. To be in a position is to fulfill its duties. I will certainly devote all my efforts and also strictly adhere to my proper place.”

Zhang Lie said no more, waving his hand to signal the distribution of rewards.

An exquisitely crafted storage pouch landed in Su Ming’s hand.

Su Ming extended his divine sense into it. Even though he was mentally prepared, his heartbeat still skipped a beat.

In a corner, one hundred low-grade spirit stones were neatly stacked, emitting a soft yet rich wave of spiritual energy. Besides these, there were three elixir bottles. The unique, cool medicinal fragrance of the “Condensed Jade Elixir” in one of the bottles was faintly discernible even through the stopper. This was a precious item that assisted in breaking through bottlenecks during the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

“We’ve struck it rich.” Lin Yu’s voice sounded in the Consciousness Sea, carrying the joy of an old farmer seeing a bountiful harvest.

The ceremony ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Wang Defa led the core members of the Repair Hall to gather around, their faces all glowing with delight.

“Hall Master! Majestic!” Zhang Asheng was so excited he was at a loss, only able to repeat these two words.

Wang Defa, meanwhile, rubbed his hands together, his eyes narrowed into slits from smiling. “Hall Master, Manager Liu’s face just now was as black as the bottom of a pot. With you wearing this ‘Provisional Steward’ hat now, let’s see who dares to give us the cold shoulder when our Repair Hall goes to collect supplies in the future!”

“Keep a low profile.” Su Ming waved his hand and tossed the bottle of “Revitalizing Spring Elixir” to Wang Defa. “Take this bottle of elixirs and distribute them among the brothers. Everyone has worked hard these past days.”

Wang Defa fumbled to catch it. Seeing it was Revitalizing Spring Elixir, he immediately gasped. “Hall Master, this is too valuable…”

“Take it.” Su Ming’s tone brooked no argument. “The Repair Hall is our foundation. Only when everyone is physically strong can the work be done well. Remember, although we now have a title, we must do our work even more meticulously and steadily. Don’t give anyone a reason to pick fault.”

“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison, the force of their voices making passing disciples nearby turn their heads.

Su Ming did not return directly to the Repair Hall. Instead, he turned and went to the Outer Sect General Affairs Hall.

It was already evening, and the General Affairs Hall was sparsely populated.

The person in charge of cave dwelling allocation was a steward surnamed Zhao. He looked kind and amiable and was wiping a jade ornament on the counter with a piece of silk.

Seeing Su Ming enter, Steward Zhao immediately put down his work, a professional smile spreading across his face. “Oh, if it isn’t Steward Su! Congratulations, congratulations! Here to select a cave dwelling, I presume?”

“Steward Zhao, you’re too kind.” Su Ming handed over his identity token. “Indeed.”

Steward Zhao took the token, swiped it over a formation plate on the counter, and a huge light screen immediately unfolded in the air.

The screen displayed a three-dimensional topographic map of a mountain range, precisely the “Cloud Mist Mountain Range” where outer sect disciples resided. Many glowing dots were scattered across the mountain range, with green representing vacant ones and red representing occupied ones.

“Steward Su, according to the rules, you may choose freely among the medium-grade cave dwellings.” Steward Zhao enthusiastically pointed to several areas on the map where the spiritual energy was most concentrated. “Look here, the mountainside of ‘Purple Bamboo Peak.’ The spiritual energy concentration is three times that of the outside world, the view is open, and it’s close to the Transmission Pavilion. It’s one of the best locations in our outer sect.”

He pointed to another spot. “And here, ‘Listening to Waves Cliff,’ right next to a waterfall. It’s rich in water spiritual energy, most suitable for cultivating water-element cultivation methods. Plus, the scenery is superb. Quite a few female disciples live in that area…”

Steward Zhao winked suggestively.

Su Ming’s gaze swept over those glowing dots.

Purple Bamboo Peak: conspicuous location, lots of coming and going. Once something happens, the entire peak would know.

Listening to Waves Cliff: the scenery is indeed nice, but if someone were to poison or set up a formation upstream of the waterfall, there would be no way to defend against it downstream.

“Master, what do you think?” Su Ming asked in his heart.

“Purple Bamboo Peak is too noisy.” Lin Yu started his outburst mode. “Listening to Waves Cliff, the terrain there is too much of a dead end. Once trapped on the cliff, there’s no way out except jumping into the water.”

“Look towards the west.” Lin Yu directed. “That remote corner, the place called ‘Green Stream Valley.'”

Su Ming shifted his gaze to the edge of the map.

There was a long, narrow valley there, in a remote location. The color indicating spiritual energy concentration on the light screen wasn’t very deep, belonging to the medium-to-lower range. However, the valley backed against a sheer cliff, with a winding small stream flowing in front. The valley entrance was narrow, easy to defend and hard to attack.

“Steward Zhao, is anyone living here?” Su Ming pointed to a light dot deep within Green Stream Valley.

Steward Zhao followed his finger, momentarily stunned. “Green Stream Valley? Steward Su, that place is extremely remote, and the spiritual energy is mediocre. Usually, there isn’t even a ghostly shadow…”

“This is the place.” Su Ming interrupted him. “I prefer quiet and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Steward Zhao wore an expression that clearly said “you must be sick,” but he quickly adjusted. “Since Steward Su prefers tranquility, then this place is indeed suitable. Although remote, it has the advantage of being spacious and comes with a small courtyard.”

Steward Zhao opened his mouth as if to persuade further, but seeing Su Ming’s calm yet unyielding gaze, he ultimately processed the procedures efficiently. He handed Su Ming a jade token for controlling the cave dwelling’s basic restrictions and a route map indicating the specific location.

“Steward Su, this is the restriction jade token. A drop of blood will allow preliminary ownership binding. The cave dwelling hasn’t been inhabited for a long time and might need some tidying up. If you need to hire menials for cleaning or constructing simple facilities, you can use your steward token to requisition them from the ‘External Affairs Hall.’ The cost will be deducted from your monthly allowance.” Steward Zhao added, his attitude attentive.

“Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhao.” Su Ming put away the items, cupped his hands in thanks, and left.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep