NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Miscellaneous Tasks
Divine Sword Sect.
The triennial recruitment of disciples had officially ended.
Outside the Chores Hall.
Hundreds of servant disciples clad in standard-issue grey attire stood in neat squares.
A middle-aged man in a blue robe held a roll and was reading from it.
This man was the steward of the Chores Hall, currently assigning tasks to the newly initiated servant disciples.
Servant disciples, nominally disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, were actually recruited specifically for labor.
Their martial arts talent was quite average.
Those with adequate talent had already entered the inner sect.
Even so, many had their heads set on joining the Divine Sword Sect.
Unable to become official disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, servant disciples were still eligible to cultivate.
After a few years as servant disciples and acquiring some skills, they could go out and make a name for themselves.
If they were lucky enough and made progress in cultivation, able to pass the Divine Sword Sect's assessments, they had the chance to enter the inner sect and become Official Disciples, which would be a rise to the heavens.
"Li Qian."
"Here."
A plain-looking, skinny youth quickly stepped out of the formation.
"You are to report to the Chen Bell Platform now,"
said the middle-aged man in the blue robe.
"Yes."
Li Qian accepted the order.
But he was a bit taken aback in his heart.
He was originally a transmigrator from Earth, and after realizing that he was in a world where martial arts reigned supreme, he had made up his mind to cultivate martial arts and become a cut above others.
Unfortunately, his martial arts talent was average, and after fierce competition, he had barely passed the Divine Sword Sect's assessment to become a servant disciple.
He knew that the best assignment for servant disciples was undoubtedly to be stationed at one of Divine Sword Sect's seven main Peaks, because it allowed them to come into contact with the Peak Masters, elders, True Inheritors... The best treatment and greater chances of gaining access to cultivation resources would be there.
If lucky, they might even receive guidance and rewards.
The next best thing would be to join the various department halls.
Some halls were involved in the vast external industries of the Divine Sword Sect and required a large number of servant disciples—these places, though with a smaller chance of obtaining cultivation resources, offered good benefits and were lucrative.
The worst were the menial jobs in the outer corners of the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate, such as the laundry, cleaning rooms, Night Fragrance Room... Not only were they dirty and tiring, but they also had little to offer.
These were also the places most lacking in personnel, as many servant disciples could not endure such a life and eventually gave up their status voluntarily and left.
The Chen Bell Platform, where Li Qian was assigned, could not be considered particularly dirty or hard work; it was absolutely a place with no perks whatsoever.
"This is just ridiculous, I've paid out so much money only to be assigned such a rubbish job."
Li Qian felt indignant in his heart.
He had previously bribed the steward of the Chores Hall.
That money was all his savings.
The only consolation was that he hadn't been assigned to those dirty and tiring jobs.
Perhaps it was still because of the bribe.
"It seems that those assigned to better jobs have paid more than I did."
Li Qian was filled with emotion.
In any place, social etiquette is always there.
Even within a powerful martial arts sect like Divine Sword Sect, it exists.
Li Qian left the Chores Hall, holding a token representing the identity of a servant disciple from the Chen Bell Platform, and headed towards the Chen Bell Platform.
After several twists and turns along the way, and having been checked several times, Li Qian finally saw the Chen Bell Platform.
The Chen Bell Platform was just a very ordinary Bell Platform, standing atop a rather high mountain peak.
The scenery was also quite beautiful.
Atop a huge rock, a bell tower was built, on which was placed a massive bell.
"Dong!"
Suddenly, a dull bell sound rang out.
It spread far and wide.
It could be heard loud and clear throughout the Divine Sword Sect's mountain gate territory.
Li Qian faintly discerned a figure on the clock tower.
Someone was striking the bell.
Dong!
Dong!
Every few seconds, the bell rang three times, and then it was silent.
"Does the three strikes of the Chen Bell represent the time of Si (9-11 am)?"
Li Qian pondered to himself.
In this world, there were no clocks or watches for timekeeping, so they used the Chen Bell and Gengluo drum to announce the time.
He approached the base of the clock tower.
An aged man in grey clothing with a hunched back emerged from the clock tower.
"Li Qian pays his respects to the senior."
Li Qian promptly bowed in greeting.
This grey-clad elder was probably a servant disciple; at his age, he must certainly be one of the longest-standing among the servant disciples of the Divine Sword Sect.
More than ninety-nine percent of servant disciples wouldn't stay many years before leaving, but there were exceptions. Those without family, wives, children, or daughters would remain at the Divine Sword Sect indefinitely.
They spent their whole lives working and contributing to the Divine Sword Sect, which in turn would allow them to retire within the sect's grounds.
It seemed that this elder was one such person.
"I've mentioned it for so long, and finally, the Chores Hall has sent someone."
The elder revealed a slight smile.
He was getting on in years, and striking the bell punctually every day was becoming too strenuous for him.
Now that a new servant disciple had arrived, he could finally retire properly.
"Follow me."
The elder spoke and entered the clock tower.
The clock tower was divided into two levels; the lower level was where the bell striker lived, and the upper level housed the Chen Bell.
Li Qian hastily followed him inside.
As soon as he entered, Li Qian saw several large and small hourglasses on the opposite wall, each trickling fine sand.
The elder pointed at the hourglasses and began to explain.
These hourglasses were timekeeping devices.
There were so many to ensure accuracy through comparison.
After the elder's explanation, Li Qian generally understood.
But it was so complex.
If only there were a clock that could also remind him automatically, how convenient that would be.
"The first strike of the Chen Bell must begin at Mao hours (5-7 am), and the deviation must not exceed ten breaths. At Chen hours (7-9 am), strike twice, and finally, at You hours (5-7 pm), strike seven times to conclude the daily Chen Bell time announcements. As for the time from Xu (7-9 pm) to Yin (3-5 am), that falls under the responsibility of the Gengluo Room and has nothing to do with us at the Chen Bell Platform."
The elder continued, "Since the hourglass can have some error, we also need to adjust and calibrate by observing celestial phenomena and constellations, and I will teach you these things gradually."
Li Qian listened attentively.
He would be working at the Chen Bell Platform from now on.
This was his livelihood at the Divine Sword Sect, relating to his future path in martial arts.
His martial arts aptitude was average, but as the saying goes, heaven rewards the diligent. Even if he couldn't become an official disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, he still wanted to learn skills that would allow him to make a living and establish himself once he left the sect.
...
In the following two days, Li Qian continued to learn from the old senior.
As this elder's surname was Song, Li Qian respectfully referred to him as Elder Song.
Elder Song was nearly eighty years old.
If he were an ordinary person, he would have been lying in a coffin for many years already.
At the same time, he began his martial arts cultivation.
But he had yet to sense any Qi.
Elder Song occasionally gave him some pointers in cultivation.
"It's normal not to sense the Qi when you have just started cultivating. It took me more than three months to finally find the Qi sense," said Elder Song, seeing Li Qian's somewhat disappointed expression, with a smile.
"Elder Song, does it really take that long just to cultivate Qi sense? The official disciples must be much faster, right?"
Li Qian asked curiously.