The little cat chose not to comment on his words and turned its gaze away. At that moment, it finally understood clearly: it wasn’t the clothes that were hopeless, but this person’s sense of aesthetics.

After a whole night of organizing the wooden boxes, Lin Zhusheng ultimately gave up on the selection process right there and then. He pulled out his tools and a mountain of wood that made him feel a bit overwhelmed, and stayed up late to create a new version of the wooden box, the Wood Box 2.0.

With the upgrade to Level 2, the system shop had opened up, allowing unlimited purchases of basic items like wooden boxes and beginner healing herbs. The little cat was pushing hard for it, but he wasn’t about to be the fool who spent 50 silver on a wooden box.

Although the wooden box he made was crude and rough, looking like it could fall apart at any moment, it was functional and free. It looked dangerous but was actually quite sturdy. It just didn’t look good, which was a minor issue; as long as it worked, that was all that mattered. He stuffed everything that wouldn’t fit in Wood Box 1.0 into 2.0, and once he was done, he collapsed onto his bed.

The next day was a beautiful day, with temperatures noticeably warmer than before. When he woke up, the air was filled with the scent of spring flowers.

Thinking that the assessment had just ended and that the new school uniforms would take some time to arrive, Lin Zhusheng prepared a few snacks in the morning. He originally planned to feed the steward and the teachers who should be at the academy today, as well as a few fellow disciples he knew. However, while waiting by the window for the snacks to finish baking, he noticed something flying in the sky out of the corner of his eye.

A large bird was flying closer, and he could see a hint of green as it approached, flapping its wings with great seriousness.

He was just a bystander watching the big bird fly by, but as it got closer and closer, it began to circle down towards him. It was a large green bird, holding something in its beak, flying straight towards his door—without any sign of slowing down.

“…”

Realizing something was off, Lin Zhusheng quickly jumped down from the windowsill and opened the door just in time to prevent the bird’s beak from crashing through it.

As the door swung open, a sharp beak slid in seamlessly, making a “whoosh” sound, and the feathers brushed against the floor, leaving it cleaner than ever before. If he had been even half a second late, the door would have opened wide enough for his entire face to be visible, allowing for a friendly chat with nature from inside.

Wiping the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, Lin Zhusheng half-squatted and let out a breath.

He recognized this bird; he had seen it many times in the game, its strangely wise eyes had made its appearance memorable. The bird, aptly named the Qing Niao, was often used by the Tian Zong as a reliable delivery helper. It didn’t look very smart, and indeed, it wasn’t particularly clever, but it was known for always getting the job done.

As for what happened during the delivery, like the door that almost got a hole poked through it, that was another story to set aside for now.

The wise Qing Niao dropped what it was holding and let out a “quack.” It was a bag, tightly wrapped, with the name “Lin Zhusheng” written on it.

Lin Zhusheng took the bag, glanced inside, but didn’t open it right away. He remembered he still had a few fruits he had picked on his way down the mountain yesterday, so he pulled them out and tossed them into the bird’s beak.

The sweet, juicy fruits were a favorite of the Qing Niao, which responded with a couple of excited “quacks.”

Standing up, Lin Zhusheng ruffled the bird’s head and then gave it a pat, saying, “That’s it, let’s go.”

The Qing Niao tilted its head to look at him a couple of times, as if confirming something, then straightened its head back, quacked once more, turned around, and flapped its wings, creating a gust of wind that sent leaves flying as it took off.

Setting aside the wise eyes for a moment, the Qing Niao looked quite beautiful from behind, its feathers varying in shades, like satin.

Having saved his door, Lin Zhusheng watched the Qing Niao leave, then closed the door and returned to his desk with the newly delivered package.

What had arrived was just the essentials for outer disciples. The little cat curiously gathered around, eager to see what was inside.

He opened it, and the first thing that appeared was a white envelope. Inside the envelope was a handwritten notice, similar to an admission letter, signed by an elder from the outer sect.

The content of the letter was simple: it started with congratulations and then stated the reporting time. A distinct feature of the sect was its efficiency; results from tests and assessments were released the very next day. For these disciples, results were out yesterday, and they were to move into the outer sect today.

After looking it over a couple more times and shaking the envelope to confirm there was nothing else inside, he set it aside and continued to unpack.

Beneath the envelope was a jade token, about the size of half a palm, white with a hint of blue, intricately carved with floral patterns that resembled some kind of flower. It felt slightly heavy in his hand.

【You have obtained: Tian Zong Outer Sect Disciple Token (Defense Bonus 5%) x1】

A 5% defense bonus was a good thing, and Lin Zhusheng quickly tucked it away into his sleeve before rummaging through the package again.

The rest consisted of two sets of daily uniforms, in a mountain mist color, simple and lightweight. More importantly, they also had a defense bonus and even came with headbands.

He recalled the tattered strips of cloth he had changed several times before and clicked his tongue, “What a high treatment.”

This was completely different from the treatment of the servant disciples; at least he wouldn’t have to pull weeds every month anymore.

The little cat reached out its paw to poke at the clothes. Although it didn’t understand his standards for judging treatment based on the presence of a headband, it still chimed in, saying, “After all, outer sect disciples are considered the official disciples of Tian Zong.”

Servant disciples were more accurately described as the reserve for official disciples; only after passing the assessment could they become official disciples. There was definitely a big difference between official disciples and reserves.

Since he still needed to go up the mountain today, it wouldn’t be appropriate to change into the new uniform just yet. Although Lin Zhusheng was very fond of the added attribute bonuses, he temporarily packed the clothes and jade token into his backpack, washed his hands, grabbed the snacks he had prepared, and strolled out.

After leaving, he might not come back often, so he needed to try to build up some goodwill before then.

Unbeknownst to him, his goodwill with the steward had already risen quite high. This time, he brought his little snacks to boost goodwill, but instead, he ended up being the one who got boosted.

A previously useless disciple who had skipped classes and faced expulsion from the sect had made a miraculous turnaround within half a month, successfully entering the outer sect. The steward was very moved and gifted him a bag of seeds and several food recipes, telling him to eat well after moving to the outer sect.

The seeds were a mix of ordinary and rare ones, and what he would grow depended on luck. Along with that, he received a packet of growth liquid to promote seed growth.

He had been completely turned into a cyber farmer, and Lin Zhusheng returned home with a beaming face, even smiling in his sleep at night.

“…”

The soon-to-be farmer unusually went to bed early and woke up early the next day, on the day of moving. When the little cat woke up and opened its eyes, it was surprised to find that the person who should have been sprawled out on the bed was not there. There was a shadow by the window.

After rolling around in bed a couple of times, it incredulously opened its eyes again, its round pupils turning into slits as it looked up again.

The person by the window was changing clothes, a gray coat laid on the table, while a loose blue robe hung down from their body. The white shirt inside matched the pale skin tone, creating a blurry glow under the sunlight, and long hair cascaded down to the table, smooth and flowing.

The wind lifted the outer robe slightly, making a soft rustling sound, and the tassel of the blue jade pendant hanging at the waist swayed gently, while a slender, pale wrist brushed past.

Thinking it must have seen wrong, the little cat shook its head, and in its four-legged rush, it tripped and fell hard on the bed. Hearing the commotion, the person by the window turned around, revealing a familiar face.

A very down-to-earth face, with a bit of a toothy grin, as if gasping for air.

“…”

The ethereal feeling that had been there just a moment ago vanished instantly. The little cat covered its face with its paws, unable to bear to look away.

Lin Zhusheng was up early, seriously trying on clothes, but he was clumsily pulling at his hair, and when he turned his head, he tugged at it again, feeling like his soul was about to leave his body.

The new disciple uniform was quite different from the previous one; the only commonality was that he couldn’t figure it out. He pulled and tugged, unable to find the right way to wear it.

After trying for a while, he ultimately decided to give up, quickly tying it up in a few haphazard knots, and used two headbands to tie back his hair, wiping the nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

—Both the old and new headbands had bonuses, and in the end, he decided to keep both.

Two or one made no difference; they were just a lump on his head. With that, he considered himself done. He bent down and patted the little cat, which was lying motionless on the bed, saying, “Get up, it’s time to go.”

He woke up early and tidied up the room, even packing the cooking station in the corner into his backpack to take with him.

The little cat struggled to stand up, jumping off the bed and looking around the now empty room, which only had two wooden boxes left. It was the first time it truly experienced what it meant to leave nothing behind, its eyes wide open in shock.

Everything was packed up, and they headed out, leaving the door key in front of the door, knowing the steward would come to collect it later.

Although both servant disciples and outer disciples were in the outer peak, their usual activity ranges were quite different. Outer disciples were located more centrally, with some of their activities overlapping with those of inner disciples.

As they made their way from their usual activities to the Jing Ming Peak where the outer disciples were, the number of people gradually decreased. Before reaching the summit, there was a long stretch of jade-white stairs.

There were three thousand steps, extending to a higher place shrouded in mountain mist, with no end in sight. Not wanting to suffer, Lin Zhusheng chose to take the small path.

Jing Ming Peak was blooming with flowers halfway up the mountain, and as he walked, the wind carried the scent of peach blossoms.

Passing through a large peach grove, he brushed aside a drooping peach branch with one hand, casually picking a petal off his fallen eyelashes, and finally saw a row of houses behind the peach grove.

He pulled out the admission notice, took another look at the name of the residence on it, then raised his head again, scanning the white walls and gray tiles of the house with a small courtyard at the end.

Patting the little cat that had already fallen asleep in his clothes, he said, “We’ve arrived.”