"Stop there, who allowed you to leave? Did you just pass the Outer Sect assessment?"

Li Mu was about to leave the Outer Sect compound when suddenly a Deacon Disciple called out to him.

"Yes, Senior Brother, I don't know what else I need to stay for?" Li Mu asked sheepishly.

"You think you can leave just after collecting your things? Next, you have to be assigned duties. Every Outer Disciple has work to do. You can't just take benefits without doing anything. Come on, follow me to the Contribution Hall, Senior Brother Guo has been waiting for you!" The Deacon Disciple glared at Li Mu impatiently and turned to leave.

Li Mu quickly followed.

Soon, they arrived at the Contribution Hall.

Inside the hall, a management disciple in his thirties was flipping through account books, reviewing something.

"Senior Brother Guo, I've brought him. This kid was wandering everywhere and even went to the Dharma Transmission Hall, making it difficult for me to find him." The Deacon Disciple brought Li Mu into the Contribution Hall, complaining.

"Hmm, Junior Brother Lin, you've worked hard. You can go now!" Guo Changming smiled and nodded, comforting him.

The Deacon Disciple nodded and left dutifully.

"Senior Brother Guo, I apologize. I didn't know that after the assessment, there were still Sect duties to take on!" Watching the Deacon Disciple who complained about him leave, Li Mu quickly apologized.

"It's alright. It's your first time here, understandable. Just don't make the same mistake again. There are many courtyards in the compound that forbid other Outer Disciples from entering, such as the Beast Taming Institute, Artifact Refining Hall, Alchemy Workshop, Yuzhou Institute, and others. These places are major areas of the Sect, and non-disciples of these halls cannot enter or leave freely. You went to the Dharma Transmission Hall, which is no big deal," Guo Changming smiled as he explained.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother Guo. I will remember it." Li Mu nodded, expressing his gratitude.

"Previously, you were a Spirit Plant Cultivator, primarily responsible for planting Spirit Fields for the Sect. Now that you've passed the Outer Disciple assessment, do you wish to change your role? During the martial assessment, I noticed your Sword Control skills were quite proficient, and your combat talent is excellent. Would you be willing to join the Outer Sect Hunting Team? Just right..." Guo Changming looked at Li Mu, quite appreciative.

"To be honest, Senior Brother Guo, I have tried being a Hunter Cultivator. However, whenever I encounter a Demon Beast, I become so anxious that I cannot fight. After several attempts, I still couldn't overcome this psychological barrier. That's why I turned to being a Spirit Plant Cultivator; otherwise, why would I willingly toil in the fields?" Li Mu quickly made up an excuse to interrupt, upon hearing Guo Changming's words.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Guo, for your regard, but I have a condition that makes me unsuitable to be a Hunter Cultivator, so I would prefer to continue working with Spirit Plants. Please, could you arrange for me some duties related to planting?" Li Mu looked at Guo Changming with gratitude, pleading.

"How can that be? I saw you in the duel with Junior Brother Fan, performing exceptionally calm and outstanding. It didn't appear as if you had any condition!" Guo Changming frowned, scrutinizing Li Mu.

"Senior Brother Guo, that's because it was a regular spar, and Senior Brother Fan is not a Demon Beast. I could stay calm under those circumstances. However, this condition stems from a childhood experience of being injured by a Demon Beast. Whenever fighting against Demon Beasts, the symptoms of this condition appear," Li Mu quickly explained.

"I see, well, there's no helping it then. I'll have to assign you some duties related to the Plant Department. There are quite a few Plant Department tasks. Which small town would you prefer to be assigned to?" Guo Changming flipped through a Beast Skin Map on the table.

The Beast Skin Map depicted the geography of a hundred Spirit Mountains and several small towns near Gangyang City.

"Senior Brother Guo, I am quite familiar with Qing'an Town. Are there any duties available there?" Li Mu quickly inquired.

"There are no responsibilities left in Qing'an Town. Wang Feng and Lin Qiuwan have just gone there for their posts. I'll assign you to another place, Qingshui Town! This town is sixty li from Qing'an Town, located alongside the Tai Mo River, near Celestial Ledge Mountain, which contains a major Spirit Vein. The area is resource-rich, and the terrain is relatively flat. Quite a bit of Spirit Field cultivation has recently started. There is a vacancy there just for you. You'll surely be able to achieve something!" Guo Changming spoke at length, pointing at Qingshui Town on the map.

…

Looking at Qingshui Town's location, Li Mu frowned, feeling like he was being set up.

Qingshui Town, indeed situated by the mountains and water, is highly suitable for cultivation and extensive planting. However, this town lies at the southernmost position of Gangyang City. Beyond it to the south are no towns under the Qing Xuan Sect's rule, but rather the vast Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range. Should any Demon Beasts cross the river, Qingshui Town would undoubtedly suffer first, effectively becoming a natural outpost for other small towns and Gangyang City.

"Senior Brother Guo, could I be assigned elsewhere?" Li Mu took out two Middle-grade Spirit Stones and attempted to slip them to Guo Changming under the table.

"Junior Brother, what are you doing? Take them back, or don't blame me for being rude!" Guo Changming's face turned stern as he glared at Li Mu, scoldingly.

Seeing that Guo Changming wasn't pretending to be angry, Li Mu paused, puzzled, and retracted the Spirit Stones, wondering if there were disciples who were not 'greedy'.

"Junior Brother, what are you afraid of? Is there an issue with Qingshui Town? Are you concerned about Demon Beast attacks there? You can rest assured!" Guo Changming smiled at Li Mu and reassured him. "The Demon Hunting Team of Gangyang City frequently enters the mountains from this town and regularly cleans up nearby Demon Beasts. Inner Sect Disciples also visit this town to train in the mountains. Besides, the Celestial Derivation Sect, Spirit Taming Sect, Celestial River Sect, Hundred Refinements Sect, and our Qing Xuan Sect, the Five Sects are collaboratively exploring the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range. It is inevitable now..., and with the Tai Mo River as a barrier, Qingshui Town will be safe. Feel secure in taking up your post!"

"Senior Brother Guo, is there no other place available?" Li Mu frowned, trying to ask.

"Change? How? If everyone acted like you, how could duties be assigned anywhere? Moreover, you're assigned to the Plant Department. You need only to accomplish the Sect's Spirit Plant resource collection tasks in this town, and you'd be considered diligent. If you overachieve, there are contribution rewards. The Sect isn't asking you to guard Qingshui Town, so why are you so troubled?" Guo Changming again consoled.

"I understand, Senior Brother Guo. How many acres of Spirit Fields are in Qingshui Town, and how much Spirit Plant resources need to be collected?" Li Mu nodded in acknowledgement, looking at Guo Changming.

It seems it is not that Guo Changming isn't willing to accept bribes, but rather that this task allocation is probably more challenging than expected. I've offended him by refusing his proposal to join the Hunting Team; now, I've surely gotten on his bad side. He prefers to not accept bribes than to change this assignment. Otherwise, finding a safer small town within his responsibilities wouldn't be such a difficult task.

Li Mu felt somewhat frustrated yet helpless.

Fortunately, he isn't at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and soon he'll be able to establish the Foundation Establishment, relieving the pressure.

"Qingshui Town was established thirteen years ago, with 4,750 Servant Disciples and Foundation Establishment Clans like the Chen Family, Ling Family, and Wang Family developing there, as well as nearly ten thousand Loose Cultivators. It has good growth potential but is also in a state of reconstruction. The task of collecting Spirit Plants isn't too difficult. The town has developed a total of 1,136 acres of Lower Grade Spirit Fields and 265 acres of Middle Grade Spirit Fields. Lower Grade Spirit Fields primarily grow Spirit Corn, Hundred Spirits Grass, Water Spirit Flower, etc., while Middle Grade Spirit Fields cultivate Red Sunflower, Blood Salvia, ..." Guo Changming flipped through the account books, explaining to Li Mu.

Having explained quite a bit, Guo Changming handed out another account book to Li Mu, introducing it: "This is the Spirit Plant Record of Qingshui Town, which documents all Spirit Field information. These fields, part leased to the Sect's Servant Disciples, part leased to the Foundation Establishment Families, list the quantities of rent collection and your responsibilities. Take it and have a look!"

Li Mu took the account book, carefully flipping through it, unable to help but feel overwhelmed.

Damn it!

The purpose of taking the Outer Disciple assessment was simply to plant fields in peace, yet now he has to manage rent collection from the Servant Disciples.

However, after flipping through for a while, Li Mu became intrigued.

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