Yan Liqiang held on to the key and left the Gray Hall gloomily. To be honest, even if he was aware of the fact that external disciples of Divine Sword Sect were required to do some odd jobs, he didn't expect he'd be given the task to actually clean toilets.
That shitty Servant Huo was already an inner disciple and his position in the sect was a lot higher than his own, Yan Liqiang had never seen him before or had much contact with him either. He couldn't understand why he was targeting him like that.
Even when he had exited the Gray Hall, Yan Liqiang felt as though he could still hear that shitty servant's cold laughter behind his back.
Not even two minutes after Yan Liqiang left the Gray Hall, when he was walking on the path towards Tianqiao Peak, three people suddenly appeared at the fork ahead of him and walked towards him.
The trio was dressed in the same gray clothes as Yan Liqiang, tied with a gray belt. They were between eighteen and twenty years old. It took only a glance to tell that they were external disciples of the lowest rank among Divine Sword Sect. Ma Liang was standing right in the middle.
When Ma Liang saw Yan Liqiang, he seemed to still harbor malicious intentions towards him.
"How's it going, Brother Liqiang? That's not a bad job Servant Huo has arranged for you today, right?" Ma Liang pouted and looked at Yan Liqiang mockingly. "I thought you knew some elder from our sect. Hurry up and whine to him!"
One look at Ma Liang's countenance could tell Yan Liqiang that Ma Liang had most definitely investigated his background around after leaving the Commandment Courtyard. He must have flown into a rage out of humiliation upon discovering he had been fooled and tried to get even. Being assigned the task of cleaning the toilets today was probably the work of Ma Liang in the background. He had deliberately made Yan Liqiang's life difficult to humiliate him.
There were all sorts of open conflict or infighting during his career in his past life. Hence, such thing was also inevitable upon his arrival at the Divine Sword Sect in this life as well. There's a saying that went, 'Where there are people, there is politics'.
"Thank you for your concerns, Senior Martial Brother Ma. The job Servant Huo has arranged for me is indeed quite decent!" Yan Liqiang smiled elegantly, his demeanor refined and cultivated. He knew that Ma Liang had chosen to pop up at a time like this probably because he wanted to look at his humiliated face to satisfy his sadistic tendencies. The more he wished to see it, the more Yan Liqiang would ensure that things wouldn't go his way and stifle him. After all, there was boundless joy in fighting with someone!
"Hahaha, indeed it is decent. Since the toilets on Tianqiao Peak will be cleaned by Brother Liqiang, guess you'll be staying in the toilets every day from now on. An odd job like this is indeed a rare opportunity for most external disciples!" Ma Liang and the other two people beside him roared with laughter.
"Well, someone has to do this kind of job anyway. It's no surprise that it was assigned to me!" Yan Liqiang was still smiling.
"Hahaha. Senior Martial Brother Huo came from the Divine Sword Sect of Cang Provincial Branch, I become acquainted with him back then. How about if you beg me, I'll help you say something nice to Senior Martial Brother Huo so that he will arrange another easier job for you instead of that dirty job on Tianqiao Peak? What do you think?" Ma Liang crossed his arms and waited for Yan Liqiang to open his mouth and beg him.
There was no way Yan Liqiang would fall into a trap like this. He knew that if he really begged him, only more teasing and humiliation awaited him. Ma Liang would definitely never help him. This was where low people like Ma Liang derived their pleasure from.
"Why would you say something like that, Senior Martial Brother Ma?" Yan Liqiang gave Ma Liang a look of surprise, his natural talents in pretension once again exploding. Since it was impolite to not reciprocate, he gave Ma Liang a label so that he could show him a thing or two if the opportunity ever arose in the future. "Every Senior Martial Brother on Tianqiao Peak are skillful artisans of the Divine Sword Sect. Everyone on Tianqiao Peak has made significant contributions towards the Divine Sword Sect for it to get to where it is today. Their contributions must not go unnoticed. To be able to service everyone on Tianqiao Peak, even just by cleaning the toilets, is no big deal even if it's a little dirty and tiring. For Senior Martial Brother Ma to say something like that, are you insinuating that serving everyone on Tianqiao Peak is a humiliation and torture that one should avoid like the plague?"
Ma Liang's countenance contorted the moment he heard Yan Liqiang's response. A sheen of cold sweat broke out on his back. He didn't expect Yan Liqiang to actually twist his words. If Yan Liqiang managed to pin this sort of impression on him and word about this got out, the future prospect of an insignificant external disciple like him would be done for.
"What are you blabbering on about?!" Ma Liang paled. He was flustered and exasperated as he hurriedly tried to wash his hands of this. "I was only giving you a reminder. When did I ever utter any bad things about our Martial Brothers on Tianqiao Peak? Don't you slander me!"
"You're still a young lad, do not make any irresponsible remarks!" The countenance of the person beside Ma Liang also contorted. He waved his fist and warned Yan Liqiang. "If I catch wind of this out there, you will see how I'll take care of you!"
"Forget about it. Since this person is so ungrateful, we will drop the subject here. Let's go, hmph!" Ma Liang only snorted coldly and didn't dare to make any further comments. He swung his sleeve and left, albeit rather pathetically, not daring to get involved with Yan Liqiang any further here.
Yan Liqiang smiled as he watched Ma Liang and the other two people retreated. He then continued making his ways towards Tianqiao Peak.
Yan Liqiang saw other Divine Sword Sect's disciples when he was on his way. When he crossed path with the other disciples, he'd take the initiative to step aside instead of getting in their way. The rules of the Divine Sword Sect stated that disciples of lower ranks should always be modest and polite towards disciples of higher ranks. When those disciples of the sect saw Yan Liqiang, they couldn't help but sneak a few more glances at Yan Liqiang. After all, a handsome and beautiful youth like Yan Liqiang was a very rare sight, even in a place like the Divine Sword Sect where the elites gathered.
Tianqiao Peak of the Divine Sword Sect was a little similar to the renowned Thousand Engineering Hall of the Soul Mountain Sect, except it was not as extensive as the latter. Tianqiao Peak appeared to be much more simple because the only thing they did here was metalworks!
It was said that there was some sort of unusual flame within the mountain of Tianqiao Peak. It was best suited to refine various types of metal and forging different types of metal wares, weapons or ornaments. Therefore, the entire Tianqiao Peak had turned into the manufacturing base of the Divine Sword Sect. As one of the world-renowned leaders of the four major sects, the people gathered at Tianqiao Peak were naturally very capable and talented individuals. From certain perspectives, the strength of Tianqiao Peak was top notch among the Great Han Empire. Among every sect, dynasty and even influential clan in the world, only less than seven could rival the metalworks of Tianqiao Peak.
In the Divine Sword Sect, Tianqiao Peak was the easiest to locate. As soon as one lifted their head, they'd notice a mountain peak with rising white smoke during the day, and flickering red light during the night. That mountain peak was none other than Tianqiao Peak...
When Yan Liqiang arrived at Tianqiao Peak, he didn't ascend the mountain immediately. He first found the place he would be staying, at the foot of the mountain instead.
The place Yan Liqiang was to stay in was relatively remote, at the mountain basin at the foot of Tianqiao Peak. That basin occupied a land of three to four hundred mu; the size of a small farm. The basin was sheltered and surrounded by forests. On the mountain basin, there was a vegetable field of a few hundred mu and two orchards. On the hill beside the orchard were small courtyards adjacent to each other. Yan Liqiang stayed right in one of those courtyards.
Right beside the vegetable field, close to the slope of Tianqiao Peak, were two huge manure pits. All the trash and waste on Tianqiao Peak were discharged into those two huge manure pits through sturdy underground tubes made of clay. They were as wide as a water bucket and were directly connected to the inside of the two huge manure pits.
The moment Yan Liqiang arrived there, he understood that the basin was basically the waste disposal area of Tianqiao Peak, which at the same time, was also the base for food and vegetable production...
When Yan Liqiang arrived at his courtyard, he saw a few chickens running around in the yard. At the sight of Yan Liqiang entering the yard, a huge rooster instantly flapped its wings and flew onto a persimmon tree outside the yard from the ground...
It was already within Yan Liqiang's expectation that Ma Liang and that shitty Servant Huo wouldn't arrange a nice place for him. However, when he saw this place, he was elated. In Yan Liqiang's eyes, this place was just like an isolated little mountain village, looking exactly like a farm. There were no villas or high buildings, but it was secluded enough and away from disturbances. A natural reserve like this was suitable for his cultivation. He had been living with a big group of people every day lately so he couldn't find any opportunity to cultivate Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing, causing his cultivation to abruptly come to a halt. This place was just ideal for him.
It was no easy task if one wished to find a place like this in his previous life. People would have to spend money to experience a so-called organic farm tour. However, the environment of those organic farms were far inferior to this. The two manure pits were about two hundred meters away from this courtyard, but since there were vegetable fields and orchards in between, it was definitely not a problem...