Falling Cloud Valley.

Outer Sect.

“Reporting to the Elder, the assignments for the batch of newly entered Servant Disciples yesterday have been properly arranged. Please review them.”

Inside the main hall, an old man in a blue robe and lotus crown sat at the head seat. Below him stood a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of an Outer Sect steward.

As he spoke, the middle-aged man respectfully presented a small booklet to the old man.

“Good, let me see it.”

The old man nodded, took the booklet, and began flipping through it. After a moment, he looked up and instructed:

“Assign that new disciple called Big Qi to the medicinal fields. Have Wang Luchuan go tend to the spirit beasts. The rest remain unchanged.”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man was taken aback. Guarding the medicinal fields was considered a cushy job—not only was it leisurely, allowing ample time for cultivation, but the working environment was also rich in spiritual energy, far superior to tasks like chopping wood or cleaning.

It was truly rare for Mo Zhengyang, the notoriously strict and impartial Outer Sect Elder, to personally request assigning a new disciple to such a favorable position.

Could it be that this Big Qi also had connections?

Though surprised inwardly, the middle-aged man dared not show any hint of it on his face and quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

“As you command.”

He then took back the booklet, crossed out the name “Wang Luchuan” from a certain entry, and replaced it with “Big Qi.”

He had originally intended to assign the nephew of the Entry Pavilion Elder there to curry some favor. However, a higher-ranking official’s order overrides a lower one’s; since his direct superior had spoken, he could only comply.

“If there’s nothing else, you may leave now.”

After giving a few more instructions regarding Outer Sect affairs, Mo Zhengyang waved his hand at the middle-aged steward, signaling him to withdraw.

After the steward left, Mo Zhengyang was just about to enter meditation for cultivation when a commotion suddenly arose outside the hall.

Hearing the noise, he slightly furrowed his brows, stood up from his chair, and strode out of the hall.

Once outside, he saw several disciples carrying an unmoving object toward him. The object was covered with a black cloth, vaguely outlining a human shape beneath it.

What kind of act was this?

A trace of confusion appeared on Mo Zhengyang’s face. Just as he was about to ask, he saw one of the disciples quicken their pace and approach him before lifting the black cloth to reveal Wang Luchuan’s figure.

Wang Luchuan was still frozen in a kneeling posture. Due to anxiety and anger, his plump face had turned beet red.

Upon seeing Mo Zhengyang, Wang Luchuan’s eyes welled up with tears; he looked so aggrieved he was about to cry out loud as he shouted:

“Elder Mo! I want to report Big Qi for practicing evil arts and harming a fellow disciple! You must uphold justice for me!”

After returning to his residence, he discovered that his body’s bizarre state hadn’t been lifted and immediately panicked. He quickly had people carry him to the Outer Sect Elder’s residence, hoping Mo Zhengyang could treat him and also allow him to lodge a severe complaint.

To avoid losing face on the way here, he specifically had himself covered with a cloth. Due to the urgency, his subordinates could only find a black cloth of suitable size—it looked like something used for covering corpses—which felt extremely unlucky.

Big Qi! I will never let you off!

At this moment, Wang Luchuan’s hatred for Qi Yuan had reached its peak, even slightly surpassing that for Lin Zhen, whom he had always regarded as his fated rival.

“Evil arts?”

Seeing him in this state, Mo Zhengyang frowned and stepped forward, placing his fingers on Wang Luchuan’s wrist to carefully examine him.

After a moment, he understood what had happened. His expression relaxed as he scolded him.

“Nonsense! You junior, spouting such foolish talk! This is merely an immobilization technique involving dislocating joints and sealing acupoints to restrict breath—a simple grappling method. Even if left alone, it would resolve on its own after some time. How could it be evil arts?”

As he spoke, Mo Zhengyang snorted coldly and circulated his true essence through Wang Luchuan’s body once, forcibly reopening all his sealed meridians and acupoints.

As the last trace of obstruction vanished from his body, Wang Luchuan went limp all over and collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily for breath.

After catching his breath slightly, Wang Luchuan hurriedly got up and bowed.

“Thank you for your healing grace, Elder. That Big Qi indeed slapped me without any reason and also hit…”

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Zhengyang waved his hand to interrupt him; his tone was full of admonishment.

“If you’re fine now, then leave quickly. In the future, don’t be so rash and impulsive or speak recklessly. If there is any further act of slandering fellow disciples again from you, I will not let it go lightly.”

With that said, he flicked his long sleeve, turned around without looking back, and returned inside.

“Yes… yes, I understand,” Wang Luchuan dared not argue back, only meekly agreeing.

“Young Master Wang, what should we do now?”

After Mo Zhengyang left, one follower, seeing their boss rooted on the spot, couldn’t help but ask.

“This matter isn’t over!”

Wang Luchuan gritted his teeth; a trace of malice flashed in his eyes. “I’m going straight into the Inner Sect now; I’ll ask my cousin to step forward to teach that surnamed Qi bastard a lesson.”

“And also, later, bring that Liu Yingying woman to come see me….”

…….

After returning to his residence, Qi Yuan pulled out a chair and sat down casually. With a thought in his mind, he summoned the system panel.

Having completed the system task of breaking through to Qi Refining third layer, the current task bar had already refreshed with a new mission:

You’ve exhausted great effort to join the cultivation sect Falling Cloud Valley; your path of cultivation is gradually entering the right track. After breaking through to Qi Refining third layer, the distance to achieving your wish is a step closer.

In your heart, you desire to return to your clan in a dignified manner as a Foundation Building cultivator to slap the faces of all the clan members who looked down upon you.

Now you need to continue to strive hard to stand out among these Servant Disciples.

Mission Objective: Please hunt and kill one Qi Refining realm demon beast within the Falling Cloud Valley back mountains; the demon beast’s strength must be at least Qi Refining third layer.

Mission Difficulty: Three stars (Average)

Mission Reward: 150 Reversal Points, 5 Top-Grade Returning Spring Pills, 300 Low-Grade Spirit Stones….

Qi Yuan glanced at the mission information, his heart completely calm.

Now he basically understood the Reversal System’s routine: as long as he kept completing tasks, whether concerning spiritual root aptitude, spirit stones, pills, magical tools, treasures, cultivation techniques, insights… all would be taken care of.

Truly a damn worthy system tailor-made specifically for trash. Under such comprehensive, flawless support, even if the host were a pig, they could take off right where they stood!

Clearly, the system was so powerful, so why couldn’t he feel happy when doing tasks?

Qi Yuan lowered his head, looked at his Servant Disciple uniform, and sighed lightly.

“Ever since this damn system came along, this bro’s already scarce bit of integrity has completely shattered into dust.”

After a brief sigh, he shook his head, dispelling the messy thoughts from his mind. He raised his hand to set up a layer of warning restriction within the room, then sank into a cultivation state.

The Golden Core within his body shone with myriad streams of colored light, coiling around, seemingly brewing a vast, profound spiritual essence within, ready to burst forth at any moment…..