Chapter 108: The Path of Diligence

Affinity played a role in the relationship between humans. When Yan Liqiang first joined the Divine Sword Sect, out of the four he became acquainted with in Commandment Courtyard, that Ma Liang already saw him as an eyesore the moment he stepped inside. The other three were quite indifferent towards him. Apart from knowing each other’s names, they basically didn’t interact much with one another.

Ma Liang and the other three came from different Divine Sword Sect branches in different provinces. They were accepted to sect’s main branch due to their exceptional performance or various reasons. Yet, Yan Liqiang immediately joined them the moment he got into the Divine Sword Sect. In addition to Yan Liqiang being younger in age, he pretty much didn’t have many common topics to share with them. The topic the few of them talked about the most together was their experiences back in their respective provincial branches. Yan Liqiang didn’t have such an experience and thus he was naturally excluded by the rest when the conversation became lively.

However, Yan Liqiang already become close with both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng though he had only arrived at the foot of Tianqiao Peak for a day.

That was because there was someone whom they could curse at together— Huo Bin, and they also shared the same experience of being persecuted. Therefore, the three of them very quickly got along well together.

But of course, Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng were not the only ones doing the odd jobs in this mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. There were a few other external disciples in their fifties or sixties who had been farming here over the long-term. They were imprisoned for a few decades for violating the sect’s commandments and got their cultivation stripped away from them. They weren’t released until they were old in age and were abandoned here by the Divine Sword Sect. All they did was farm all day long. The nice way of putting this into words was ‘to let them enjoy their remaining days instead of dying of old age in prison’. To put it bluntly, they were left to perish on their own, bound to the Divine Sword Sect until their deaths.

Although they were still wearing the gray clothes like any other external disciple, these people were ripe in age and were unable to cultivate martial arts anymore. The current life they led was no different than old farmers in the mountains. The mountain basin, vegetable fields, and orchards before Yan Liqiang’s eyes consisted of their world.

Apart from those old men, many other external disciples would usually also be arranged to take on some temporary odd jobs here, such as plowing the fields, plowing the fields, fertilizing the soil, watering, weeding, harvesting, fruit-picking, and planting vegetables. These farm activities could be as long as short as a day or two, and three to five days at most. To the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, doing this kind of odd job would allow them to gain some field experience and gain some knowledge so that they wouldn’t become idiots without any common sense or physical capabilities.

There were only three people like Yan Liqiang, Gu Zexuan, and Zhao Huipeng who were thrown in here for the long-term in all of Tianqiao Peak.

After Yan Liqiang was busy for the entire morning, he had finally tidied up the house he was going to stay in. At noon, he ran over to one of the marketplaces in the Divine Sword Sect and bought a few more sets of gray clothes that the external disciples wore for himself. He also purchased some cheap cotton fabrics, linen, needles and threads, scissors, a towel, a porcelain cup, salt, a toothbrush, and other daily necessities…

Yan Liqiang also bought a small clock that could be used to keep track of time and this clock was the most expensive purchase, costing Yan Liqiang more than two taels of silver. After buying all the necessities, Yan Liqiang was only left with less than a tael of silver.

Although the rules in the Divine Sword Sect were strict, they weren’t inflexible or rigid. This place was also a small community. Here, apart from the most basic two sets of gray clothes, an identity pass, free accommodation, and two daily free meals, the external disciples would have to settle and prepare everything else for themselves. If they didn’t have anything, then they’d have to fish out their own money and buy them in the marketplace.

The external, inner, and elite disciples of the Divine Sword Sect were not given any subsidies or income. Situations where one got to study the secret martial techniques of the Divine Sword Sect while freeloading and being sponsored by the sect would never happen in this world unless they attained the direct disciple rank. Only when they had made enough contributions towards the sect would they be eligible to receive a monthly payment of ten taels of silver from the sect. If they could advance their rank to become a core disciple, then they would be paid thirty taels of silver.

Therefore, except for those disciples who originated from wealthy and great clans without any financial burdens, most of the disciples in the Divine Sword Sect had to cultivate in the sect and think of a way to earn money at the same time. If you had no money, you’d find yourself facing difficult situations in the sect.

This was also the reason behind Servant Huo’s obsession with money from Gray Hall.

After he purchased the items, Yan Liqiang seized the time he had to make a face mask, a kerchief, two pairs of gloves, two arm sleeves, and two overalls with the fabric he bought and his clumsy needlework. Fortunately, he possessed a decent painting skill. To make those items, he only needed to spread the fabric out on the table and draw vague outlines on them with charcoal coal. After cutting things up according to the outline and sewing the cutouts together, they were basically ready for use.

That night, Yan Liqiang retired earlier than usual to bed. He glanced at the clock. When it was almost nine o’clock at night, he fell asleep.

On the very next day, Yan Liqiang got up before four at dawn. After he swiftly washed up and before he even cultivated Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, he took the items he had prepared and went downstairs. He then picked up two wooden buckets which were filled with cleaning tools and left the small courtyard.

Stars filled the skies outside. Only the buzzing of insects and croaking of frogs could be heard in the mountain basin. Even people who practiced martial arts in the morning hadn’t woken up yet. The mountain path of the entire Divine Sword Sect was silent.

Holding his stuff, Yan Liqiang ran swiftly towards Tianqiao Peak.

When he had only run halfway there, a cold voice traveled to Yan Liqiang’s ears. “Hold it right there! Who are you?”

Following the cold shout was a figure who suddenly leaped off from a big tree by the road like a flying panther. With a whoosh, he stood before Yan Liqiang with the tip of his sword pointed at him.

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The person who landed before Yan Liqiang was about twenty years old. He had a rather heroic appearance and was dressed in black swordsman attire which signified that he was an inner disciple. His gaze was aimed at Yan Liqiang.

Yan Liqiang was startled the moment this person landed. However, Yan Liqiang let out a sigh of relief upon getting a clearer view of this person’s attire. He identified this person as one of the disciples who was on night duty as a sentinel on Tianqiao Peak.

“Senior Martial Brother, I am just a servant disciple who is on my way to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak.”

“You said you are a servant disciple, but where’s your waist tag?” That person didn’t relax even for a bit and kept staring at Yan Liqiang.

“The waist tag is stashed away in my chest. I’ll show it to you!”

The person coldly said, “Do not use your right hand, use your left. Slow down, don’t give me any wrong impressions or else, the sword in my hand might slip…”

Yan Liqiang didn’t expect this person to be this prudent so he didn’t dare to joke around anymore. With his left hand, he slowly fished out his waist tag. The person got a clear view of it under the moonlight. Yan Liqiang only put his waist tag away when he saw the person sheath his longsword back in his scabbard.

The person glanced at the various cleaning tools Yan Liqiang was holding and frowned. “Why are you here to clean so early?”

Yan Liqiang smiled. “I have just joined the Divine Sword Sect and this is my first time doing this kind of job. I fear I cannot do a good job and I do not want to displease every Senior Martial Brother on Tianqiao Peak, so I came earlier to have more time to clean and strive for cleaning the toilets better!”

That person’s expression instantly relaxed. “Alright, you may go!”

“Thank you, Senior Martial Brother!”

Yan Liqiang went past the sentinel on duty and quickly continued making his way towards Tianqiao Peak. That person silently watched Yan Liqiang’s retreating figure. Then with a flash, leaped onto the big tree beside him.

Tianqiao Peak wasn’t really a tall mountain. It was only about 500 meters from the ground to the summit. He only needed to walk about two li on the mountain path to reach the toilets which were located in the bamboo forest, outside Tianqiao Hall at the summit. Fortunately, there weren’t any women on Tianqiao Peak. Therefore, these toilets were only used by the male population on Tianqiao Peak. The toilets were public, very spacious, and attentively designed. For a sect of such caliber like the Divine Sword Sect, they naturally wouldn’t be stingy when it came to things like this. The interior of the toilets was paved with white marble. There were two urinal troughs and about thirty squat toilets. Every squat toilet was surrounded by wooden partitions and a door.

Naturally, the air in the toilets couldn’t be considered as good, and it was no doubt smelly in there.

There were two huge water jars in the toilet, but the water level was almost at the bottom. There wasn’t much water left.

After seeing the state of the toilets, Yan Liqiang set his tools down in the bamboo forest outside the toilets. He then picked up the two wooden buckets and ran down the mountain to fetch two buckets of water from the stream at the foot of the mountain. He then lifted the water buckets, turned around, and ran back up the mountain.

While running, Yan Liqiang also cultivated his ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’. Since the mountain path was craggy and he was lifting two buckets of water, it was a good opportunity to practice the ‘Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps’. The objective was to quickly deliver the two buckets of water onto the mountain with minimal spillage. This tested Yan Liqiang’s coordination of his body technique, footwork, vision, arm strength, and willpower.

During his first trip up the mountain, Yan Liqiang tripped over a step around the area with very low visibility due to the tree shadows. A good amount of water spilled out from his buckets. In addition to how bumpy the road was, the bucket was already half empty by the time he reached the top of the mountain to transfer the two buckets of water into the two jars outside the toilets.

After his first trip, Yan Liqiang ran down the mountain again. During his second trip, he felt that the two buckets of water were lighter this time around. On his way back, he recalled how those martial monks from the Shaolin Temple carried water in the films he had watched in his previous life. Hence, he immediately straightened his arms to lift the two buckets on the same level, then he dashed up the mountain…

The moment he straightened his arms, the weight of the two buckets of water instantly grew a few times heavier. Since his arms were straight and the water buckets were lifted high, it was even easier to spill the water if his body and pace were unstable during his run.

Thus, the amount of water Yan Liqiang delivered during his second trip actually ended up being considerably less than his first trip.

After transferring the little amount of water left in the buckets into the water jar, Yan Liqiang continued running down the mountain once again without a word…