After hearing these words, Han Li naturally kept them firmly in mind.
“Since you’ve received your items, come with me now to meet the disciples in charge of imparting techniques!” Uncle Wang said, then once again took Han Li on his flying artifact.
This time, the flight was even shorter. In the blink of an eye, they landed at the foot of a nearby mountain. Here stood a massive stone building constructed against the mountainside, with a stone plaque at the front inscribed with the three golden characters: “Technique Imparting Pavilion.” Young disciples were bustling in and out of the area, creating quite a lively atmosphere. Without a word, Uncle Wang led the way inside, with Han Li following closely behind. Some disciples clearly recognized Uncle Wang and repeatedly bowed to greet him, to which he responded with smiling nods. It seemed he was quite well-liked within Yellow Maple Valley.
Upon entering the stone building, Han Li was surprised to discover that the rear part of the Technique Imparting Pavilion extended deep into the mountain, creating an incredibly spacious interior. A row of stone doors stood side by side at the entrance, with disciples moving in and out through them.
Just as Han Li was about to take a closer look, Uncle Wang pushed open the third door on the right and walked in without a word. This left Han Li hesitating, unsure whether he should follow.
“Come in!” Uncle Wang didn’t keep him waiting long. He reappeared at the door shortly and called Han Li inside.
There weren’t many people in the room—only a disciple in his thirties, dressed in blue robes, standing respectfully beside Uncle Wang. When he saw Han Li enter, he gave him a friendly smile.
“This is Wu Feng, who specializes in guiding new disciples in their cultivation techniques. If you have any questions about your techniques in the future, you can come to him for advice. Among the junior disciples, Wu Feng ranks within the top ten in mastering basic techniques!” Uncle Wang spoke highly of him.
“Please guide me well in the future, Senior Brother Wu!” Han Li said respectfully. He understood clearly that this person would be his technique instructor for some time to come, so he couldn’t afford to be negligent.
“Haha! Uncle Wang praises me too much. I only have a superficial understanding of low-level techniques. I can merely exchange insights and learn together with Junior Brother Han!” Senior Brother Wu said modestly.
“Disciple-nephew Wu, I know very well how skilled you are in techniques—no need to be overly humble! I’ll leave Disciple-nephew Han’s technique guidance to you. I just brought him here to introduce the two of you. I still need to take him to other places to make introductions, so I won’t stay long.”
Uncle Wang was straightforward. After saying this, he and Han Li left the room under Senior Brother Wu’s respectful send-off.
For the next while, Uncle Wang dutifully took Han Li to several other essential places, introducing him to a few managing disciples and explaining some daily precautions. Finally, he brought Han Li back to the cluster of stone houses where the grey-robed elder resided, letting him choose any stone room as his dwelling before leaving him alone.
Standing in front of the stone room he had selected, Han Li smiled wryly as he examined the humble dwelling.
He now knew that disciples who reached the tenth layer of their foundational techniques could leave this place and move to a location called Profound Kun Mountain to reside. There, disciples had much more freedom! Not only could they build their own dwellings on the mountain as they pleased, but there were also no restrictions on the type or size of the houses, which made Han Li greatly yearn for it.
Although he hadn’t yet reached the tenth layer in his techniques, Han Li had no real intention of staying long in this stone room.
He suddenly chuckled lightly, then took out the green leaf flying artifact from his storage pouch. After channeling spiritual power into it, he tossed it into the air and jumped onto it.
At first, Han Li flew unsteadily due to his unfamiliarity with the artifact—swaying, dipping, and rising unpredictably. But before long, he got the hang of it and could fly effortlessly with his hands behind his back, just like Uncle Wang.
Although the artifact was easy to use and simple to control, its speed was clearly not very fast—only slightly quicker than an ordinary steed. No wonder every disciple in the valley could have one. Despite the green leaf artifact’s shortcomings, this was Han Li’s first time flying in the air, so he spent quite a while enjoying himself with great enthusiasm.
“Haha!” With a loud laugh, Han Li, finally satisfied with his flying experience, steered the artifact toward a specific location.
Along the way, he passed several other disciples also flying. Perhaps because Han Li’s face was too unfamiliar, these people curiously scrutinized him a few times. But when they saw he was only at the ninth layer of technique cultivation, they disdainfully kept their distance.
Han Li observed their behavior expressionlessly, though inwardly he sneered. It seemed these so-called disciples of major immortal sects were no different from worldly mortals—equally snobbish!
As Han Li was lost in thought, he arrived before a large cluster of buildings and landed in front of a great hall bearing a plaque that read “Hundred Duties Hall.” He strode inside.
A middle-aged managing disciple inside looked surprised upon seeing Han Li enter and couldn’t help but ask, “Junior Brother Han, why are you back so soon? Where’s Uncle Wang?”
This was one of the places Uncle Wang had briefly taken Han Li to earlier, and this managing disciple had just met Han Li a short while ago, so he was greatly surprised to see him return.
“Senior Brother Yu, when I was here earlier, I heard this is where miscellaneous duties are assigned, right?” Han Li didn’t answer the question directly but instead asked with a smile.
“That’s right, it is! Could it be that Junior Brother wants to take on a task so soon? As a new disciple, you’re allowed a month to familiarize yourself with the sect’s affairs before taking on duties. There’s no need to rush!” the managing disciple said in surprise.
“Haha, it’s fine! I’d like to find something to do now. Are there any planting-related tasks still available?” Han Li asked with a light smile.
“That’s hard to say? All disciples who come to take tasks are assigned duties randomly—they can’t pick and choose! Unless someone can prove they have a particular expertise, we can make accommodations!” the managing disciple said apologetically.
Hearing this, Han Li frowned. Would he really have to seek out that Elder Ye?
“No problem. Let Disciple-nephew Han choose any planting-related task he wants!” a somewhat familiar voice came from behind Han Li, startling him. He turned to see Elder Ye, who had somehow appeared behind him, smiling at him.
“Hall Master, you’re back!” the middle-aged managing disciple immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing the elder.
“Mm, I’m back,” the elder replied noncommittally.
“Elder Ye!” Han Li also hurriedly greeted him respectfully.
“Haha, Disciple-nephew Han, you came quite quickly! I was just about to instruct my subordinates to let you choose any task you wanted upon returning!” Elder Ye seemed to be in a good mood and spoke half-jokingly.
“I’m grateful for Elder’s concern! I just came to take a look to see if I could find a suitable task without troubling you,” Han Li said, appearing somewhat shy.
“I’m in charge here—there’s no trouble at all! Managing Disciple Yu, bring out all the planting-related tasks and let Disciple-nephew Han choose until he’s satisfied!” the elder waved his hand generously, instructing his subordinate to carry out the order.
The surnamed Yu managing disciple was stunned by these words. He took a deep look at Han Li before hurried off to retrieve the bamboo slips recording the miscellaneous tasks, inwardly speculating about Han Li’s relationship with his superior.
“All the planting-related tasks assigned from above are here. Junior Brother Han, take a good look!” Managing Disciple Yu soon returned with a bundle of green-jade bamboo slips.
Han Li thanked him and took the bamboo slips, examining them carefully.
“Tend to thirteen five-flower trees; submit two hundred fruits annually.”
“Care for a three-hundred-year-old Fire Cloud Ginseng; ensure its spiritual nature is preserved.”
“Plant one acre of Moon Plum Grass; submit one hundred jin of dried grass each season.”
“Tend to a grove of Yellow Jade Bamboo…”
…
The planting tasks on the bamboo slips were varied and numerous! However, none of the initial ones caught Han Li’s interest. When he reached the middle of the bamboo slips, a task that greatly satisfied him finally appeared.
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