Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu

“My god! Serving at the Gray Hall, actually being able to serve at the Gray Hall…”

“And to serve within Tianqiao Hall’s Gray Hall, am I dreaming?”

“That’s the Tianqiao Hall, and being handpicked no less by Hall Master Su…”

“Just then, Hall Master Su also paid attention to the earth vinegar that we created…”

On the way down the mountain, Gu Zexuan was having a complete breakdown, mumbling to himself the entire way like a broken record. His steps were light as if he was floating on cloud nine and he didn’t stop repeating those few sentences to himself. Zhao Huipeng though looked sideways at Yan Liqiang and then at Gu Zexuan, standing to one side and laughing as he scratched his head.

Even though Yan Liqiang was already prepared to clean the toilets on Tianqiao Peak long term, but, he still didn’t expect that after over three months of doing this job, at exactly one hundred days, his first job with the Divine Sword Sect concluded in a rather spectacular fashion, drawing to a close.

One hundred days wasn’t long but nor was it short, it was just that today when Hall Master Su recounted the exact number of days, it meant that from the very first day, Hall Master Su had already been silently paying attention to him.

At this time, Yan Liqiang congratulated himself on being careful and conscientious every single day of the past hundred days, for being meticulous and not relaxing even half a requirement. He had done everything possible every day to clean that toilet on Tianqiao peak until it was sparkling clean and there were no faults to be found.

On the day he had finished making the earth vinegar, a few days back, he had immediately used it. After using the vinegar, the cleanliness standard of the toilet on Tianqiao Peak had immediately risen a rank and then after Yan Liqiang had finished cleaning, all the strange smells in the toilet seemingly vanished.

And then on nights like tonight, when the snow was falling thick and fast and the floor was frozen over, Yan Liqiang’s tireless perseverance and diligence had finally paid off by bringing him a chance for change.

At this time, Yan Liqiang was also slightly excited internally. He knew that change would have definitely come to pass, but he hadn’t expected that Tianqiao’s Hall Master Su would actually directly come and promote him into service with Tianqiao Hall.

Gu Zexuan had been excited for good reason; within the Divine Sword Sect, only inner disciples normally went into service with the Divine Sword Sect itself. It wasn’t to say that there were no external disciples in service, but they were definitely a rarity. Out of ten thousand external disciples, only five or six would be in service.

Those who were still external disciples when they went into service naturally would have their place and name elevated greatly within the Divine Sword Sect itself. For example, the Seven Heroes and Three Braves whose fame was currently spreading like wildfire throughout the Divine Sword Sect were ones who had gone into service while still being external disciples back in the day, rising up within the ranks of the sect.

Yan Liqiang, having just progressed into a martial warrior yesterday and was now, as of today, going to go into service to the Gray Hall on Tianqiao Peak, felt as if his luck was just about to change for the better.

“Be careful…” When they were almost halfway down the mountain, Gu Zexuan, who had been walking next to Yan Liqiang, slipped on something underfoot and almost fell over. Yan Liqiang hurriedly grabbed him.

Gu Zexuan suddenly seemed to wake from his somewhat dreamlike state. He took Yan Liqiang’s conveniently offered hand and looked at him with warmth in his gaze. He used an overly sweet tone to say, “Brother Liqiang, moving forwards, Huipeng and I will rely on your care. If you’re in service to Tianqiao Hall, then with a simple word, you can transfer the two of us over to Tianqiao Hall to work. That Huo guy from the Gray Hall won’t be able to say a thing. Your brother, I, am almost going moldy planting those vegetables in the gully. And also look at Huipeng, he’s such a good young man and he’s definitely got a good basis for martial cultivation. Liqiang, can you bear to watch as Huipeng’s bright future is held up? Can you bear to watch the two of us eat nothing but plain bread and gnaw radishes all day?”

“Within the Divine Sword Sect, each person in service can choose two followers. If you’re willing, when I go to the Gray Hall, I’ll request for you and Huipeng to come, all for one and one for all…” Yan Liqiang said smiling. This so-called follower was a helper-like position for the person in service. As soon as Yan Liqiang took up service with Tianqiao Hall, then he would have the right to pick two followers. According to the Divine Sword Sect’s rules, as long as they weren’t female disciples, he could pick anyone he liked from the Gray Hall’s disciples.

“Hahaha, good brother…” Gu Zexuan started laughing heartily, slapping Yan Liqiang’s shoulder with force.

“Huipeng, what do you think?” Yan Liqiang asked Zhao Huipeng.

Zhao Huipeng nodded frantically, scratching his head. “Oh… from now on, I have to call you Senior Martial Brother Yan…”

“That’s right, that’s right, from now on we need to call him Senior Martial Brother Yan. In future, we’ll follow Senior Martial Brother Yan…” Gu Zexuan also started referring to him like so, not minding a whit.

The seniority hierarchy within the Divine Sword Sect was sorted first and foremostly by cultivation status and standing, if both status and standing were the same, then seniority would go by age and experience. Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng had both known Yan Liqiang for a few months, but no matter what they were doing, be it making vinegar or just general day-to-day interactions, both of them thought that Yan Liqiang was someone with a strong sense of self. Yan Liqiang was also diligent and hardworking when it came to cultivation and both of them admired him a bit for that under normal circumstances. In addition to that, today, when Yan Liqiang was all of a sudden put into service within Tianqiao Hall, his position was also suddenly quite a bit higher than the two of them. So using senior martial brother to address Yan Liqiang was quite a natural thing to do.

The three of them, in the midst of laughing joyfully in high spirits, went down the mountain……

It was only when they reached that little valley that the sky was slowly brightening. Seeing that Yan Liqiang had stripped off his clothes and jumped straight into the stream to bathe, both Gu Zexuan and Zhao Huipeng also followed suit, stripping naked and jumping in.

It was only when he hit the water that Gu Zexuan felt the cold, yelling out loudly. He wanted to climb out but was held back by Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng and in the end, he could only clench his teeth and bear it, bathing in the cold water with both Yan Liqiang and Zhao Huipeng.

On a snow-swept day, the sound of cheerful laughter and chatter filled the little valley beneath Tianqiao Peak.

…

After finishing the bath, they then washed and cleaned their clothes before roasting a few sweet potatoes and eggs to eat. They cleaned up their living areas, got ready some things in preparation to move. Then, when it became afternoon and the snow stopped, the three of them directly went to the Gray Hall to do their paperwork, all in high spirits.

Walking down from Tianqiao Peak towards the Gray Hall, along the way, they passed many external disciples in gray clearing away the snow lining the path.

It was quite a coincidence that when Yan Liqiang and company just arrived outside the Gray Hall, Ma Liang, who they hadn’t seen for a few months, walked up from another path. The four of them met up in this fashion outside the Gray Hall.

Seeing Yan Liqiang, Ma Liang’s face showed a sliver of surprise but following that, he used a commanding expression to look down on Yan Liqiang, smiling with an expression that didn’t reach his eyes. “Long time no see, Liqiang. You look good. It seems that your duties on Tianqiao Peak suit you well, hahaha…”