Picking the Perfect Duty

1,469 words

With these words, Han Li naturally committed them to memory.

“Since you’ve received your items, come with me to see the transmission disciple,” Uncle Wang said, and once again took to the air with Han Li on his magical tool.

This time, the flight was much shorter, and they landed at the foot of a nearby mountain in the blink of an eye. There stood a massive stone building built into the mountainside, with a stone plaque above its door bearing three golden characters: “Art Transmission Pavilion.” Young disciples were coming and going, making the place quite lively.

Uncle Wang said nothing, leading the way inside. Han Li followed closely behind. Some disciples clearly recognized Uncle Wang, repeatedly bowing and offering greetings, to which he responded with a smile and a nod. It seemed his reputation within Yellow Maple Valley was quite favorable.

Once inside the stone building, Han Li was surprised to discover that the rear section of the pavilion extended deep into the mountain, creating an immense interior space. A row of stone doors lined the wall before him, with disciples entering and exiting through them.

Han Li was about to examine the place more closely when Uncle Wang pushed open the third door on the right and walked in without hesitation. Han Li hesitated for a moment, uncertain whether to follow.

“Come in,” Uncle Wang called out after a brief pause, appearing at the doorway and beckoning him inside.

The room was sparsely occupied. Only a blue-robed disciple around thirty years of age stood respectfully beside Uncle Wang. When he saw Han Li enter, he offered a friendly smile.

“This is Wu Feng, the disciple in charge of new disciples’ techniques. If you have any questions about your cultivation method, you may consult him. When it comes to mastering basic techniques, Wu Feng ranks among the top ten of the younger generation.” Uncle Wang’s words carried unmistakable appreciation.

“I ask for Senior Brother Wu’s guidance in the future,” Han Li said respectfully. He understood clearly that this man would be his de facto technique instructor for the foreseeable future, and could not be treated lightly.

“Heh, Uncle flatters me. In truth, I only have a superficial grasp of low-level techniques. Han Junior Brother and I can study together and exchange insights,” Senior Brother Wu replied with practiced modesty.

“Nephew Wu, I am well aware of your skill level. No need for excessive humility. This Nephew Han’s technical matters are now in your hands. I am only introducing the two of you for now, and I still need to take him elsewhere to make introductions. I won’t linger here.”

Uncle Wang was quite straightforward. Having said his piece, he left the room with Han Li, escorted out by Senior Brother Wu’s courteous farewell.

Over the following period, Uncle Wang dutifully took Han Li to several other necessary locations, introduced him to various attending disciples, and explained a few daily protocols. Only then did he return Han Li to the cluster of stone huts where the gray-robed elder resided, allowing him to choose a stone chamber as his dwelling before finally leaving him on his own.

Han Li stood before his chosen stone hut, a bitter smile on his face as he surveyed the austere lodging.

By now, he had learned that once a disciple cultivated the basic technique to the tenth layer, they could leave this place and move to an area called Xuan Kun Mountain. There, inner disciples enjoyed considerably more freedom—they could build their own dwellings anywhere on the mountain, with no restrictions on type or size. The prospect filled Han Li with considerable longing.

But since he had not yet reached the tenth layer, Han Li had no real intention of living in this stone hut for long.

He let out a soft chuckle, then retrieved the green leaf flying tool from his storage pouch. Pouring spiritual power into it, he tossed it into the air and leaped aboard.

At first, Han Li was unfamiliar with the device, flying in a crooked, erratic path—now high, now low, extremely unstable. But before long, he had mastered its operation, and could fly with his hands clasped behind his back just as gracefully as Uncle Wang.

The tool was easy to use and simple to control, but its speed was clearly unremarkable—only slightly faster than an ordinary warhorse. No wonder every disciple in the valley could possess one. Though the green leaf flying tool was mediocre, it was still Han Li’s first time flying through the air, and he found himself enjoying the experience for quite some time.

“Ha ha!” With a laugh, Han Li finally indulged his fill of the flying sensation and drove his tool toward a specific destination.

Along the way, he passed several other disciples who were also flying. Perhaps because Han Li’s face was too unfamiliar, they glanced at him with curiosity. But when they discerned that he was only at the ninth layer of cultivation, they scoffed and kept their distance.

Han Li took note of all their actions. His face remained expressionless, but inwardly he let out a cold laugh. So these so-called great sect disciples of the immortal path were no different from ordinary mortals—just as calculating and snobbish.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, he arrived before a large cluster of buildings. He landed in front of a grand hall bearing a sign that read “Hundred Mechanisms Hall” and strode inside.

A middle-aged steward inside looked surprised to see Han Li enter. “Han Junior Brother, why have you returned so quickly? Where is Uncle Wang?”

This was one of the places Uncle Wang had briefly visited with Han Li earlier. This steward had only just met him, so seeing him again so soon was a surprise.

“Senior Brother Yu, when I was here earlier, I heard this was where miscellaneous duties were assigned. Is that correct?” Han Li did not answer the question directly, but instead asked with a smile.

“That’s right. Surely Junior Brother isn’t thinking of accepting a task already? New disciples are allowed a month to familiarize themselves with the sect before taking on duties. There’s no rush,” the steward said with some surprise.

“Heh, it’s fine. I’d like to find something to do now. Are there any openings in planting or cultivation work?” Han Li smiled slightly.

“That’s a bit difficult. When disciples come to receive assignments, they take whatever work is given. No picking and choosing is allowed—unless you can demonstrate genuine expertise in a particular area, in which case special consideration may be given.” The steward looked troubled.

Han Li frowned. Would he need to track down that Elder Ye after all?

“It’s no trouble. Let this Nephew Han pick whichever cultivation-type work he pleases.” A familiar voice came from behind Han Li, startling him. He turned to see the elderly Ye standing there, a gentle smile on his face.

“Hall Master, you’ve returned,” the steward said, immediately bowing respectfully at the sight of the elder.

“Mm, I’m back,” the elder replied noncommittally.

“Elder Ye,” Han Li quickly said, offering his own greeting.

“Heh heh, Nephew Han certainly arrived quickly! I was just about to instruct my subordinates to let you choose any task you wished when I got back,” Elder Ye said, seeming to be in high spirits, half-joking.

“I appreciate Elder’s concern. I was just taking a look on my own, to see if I could find a suitable task without troubling you,” Han Li replied, feigning shyness.

“I’m the one in charge here—there’s no trouble at all! Steward Yu, bring out all the cultivation-type duties and let Nephew Han choose until he’s satisfied,” the elder said magnanimously, waving his hand to signal the subordinate to follow his orders.

The steward, stunned speechless by this display, gave Han Li a deep, searching look before hurrying off to retrieve the records of miscellaneous duties. His mind was racing, trying to guess the relationship between Han Li and their superior.

“All the cultivation-type tasks that have been handed down are here. Han Junior Brother, please take a good look,” Steward Yu said, returning shortly with a bundle of cyan jade bamboo slips.

Han Li thanked him, took the slips, and began reading them carefully.

“Tend to five fruit trees, deliver two hundred fruits annually.” “Carefully nurture a three-hundred-year-old Fire Cloud Ginseng, ensuring its spiritual nature is not lost.” “Plant one mu of Moon Plum Grass, deliver one hundred catties of dried grass each season.” “Tend to a Yellow Jade Bamboo grove…”

…

The jade slips listed a wide variety of cultivation tasks. But none of the earlier ones caught Han Li’s interest. It was only when he reached the middle of the scroll that he found a task that suited him perfectly.

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Reading Guide Decoding

How to Land a Perfect Cover Job in Your First Week at a Cultivation Sect

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Miscellaneous Duties as a Sect Survival Tactic: In orthodox sect culture, new disciples are assigned labor tasks (often menial or dangerous) without a say. But for a protagonist with a secret growth accelerator like the Heaven Vial, “volunteering” for the right duty is a quiet power move: it provides legal access to rare herbs, privacy for accelerated cultivation, and a mundane cover story that deflects suspicion. Han Li’s choice here is less about earning contribution points and more about building a low-risk operational base.

The Green Leaf Flying Tool: These mass-produced basic flying tools are the immortal sect’s equivalent of a training bicycle. They’re slow, easy to break, and every disciple gets one—which means they also serve as a crude social marker. A ninth-layer cultivator on a standard leaf is nobody special; one glance tells any passerby exactly where you stand in the pecking order. The hierarchy is literally visible at a glance.

Elder Ye’s Overriding Privilege: Yellow Maple Valley, like most cultivation sects, is not a democracy. Elders and hall masters hold near-absolute authority within their domains of oversight. When Elder Ye says “let him pick,” policy dissolves. This is a classic Mortal Stream power dynamic: the rules apply to the weak; the strong rewrite them at will. Han Li’s ability to cultivate a patron relationship early is itself a survival skill.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators

The highest tier of a sect’s active disciples; true cultivators exempt from ordinary duties, with private caves and yearly resource stipends, contrasted with the exploited lower classes.

Chapter Overview

Fresh from Uncle Wang’s orientation tour, Han Li wastes no time settling into Yellow Maple Valley—but he’s not about to lounge around a stone hut waiting for his cultivation to climb. He grabs the green leaf flying tool for the first time, wobbles through the skies like a fledgling bird, then promptly heads to the Hundred Mechanisms Hall to snag a work assignment. But here’s the twist: he doesn’t just take any task. He wants a specific niche—plant cultivation duty—the perfect cover for a certain miraculous vial in his possession. And when the steward tries to enforce the “no picking and choosing” rule, surprise backup arrives in the form of Elder Ye himself, whose inexplicable generosity lets Han Li cherry-pick his ideal gig. It’s a short, tight chapter that quietly redefines what “strategic career planning” looks like in the cutthroat world of immortal cultivation.

Key Plot Points

Han Li moves into his temporary stone hut, learning that reaching the tenth layer of the basic technique earns a disciple a move to the much freer Xuan Kun Mountain with unrestricted housing.
He test-files the green leaf flying tool; after some clumsy wobbling, he gets the hang of it and enjoys a rare moment of carefree aerial play.
Passing disciples size him up, sneer at his ninth-layer cultivation, and fly away—confirming that sect snobbery is alive and well even among cultivators.
Han Li heads to Hundred Mechanisms Hall. The steward, Steward Yu, initially refuses to let him pick his own task, citing standard allocation policy.
Elder Ye appears conveniently behind Han Li, overriding the policy in a single sentence: “Let Nephew Han pick whichever cultivation-type work he pleases.”
The steward, stunned by the favoritism, fetches the full list of planting duties.
Han Li scans the tasks, bypassing every entry until he finds one that perfectly matches his unspoken needs—a position with maximum access to herbs and minimum oversight.

Reading Guide

This chapter is a masterclass in setup without fireworks. Han Li does not fight, scheme, or ambush anyone. Instead, he plays a quiet social game: he tests the system (by asking for a duty pick), accepts the blockage (the steward’s refusal), and lets his carefully cultivated relationship with Elder Ye do the heavy lifting. The flying scene is the only moment of unfiltered joy—a rare beat in a world of constant calculation.

Notice how Han Li’s reaction to the sneering disciples is internal cold laughter, not wounded pride. He doesn’t need their respect; he needs their invisibility. The lower they think he is, the less they’ll watch him.

And that final scene—thumbing through jade slips until he finds the right task—is the quietest, most satisfying kind of suspense. We don’t know exactly which duty he’s chosen yet, but we know it’s the one that will let him sprint toward Foundation Establishment while the rest of the sect sees only a diligent herb-tender. Fellow Daoist Han is already playing three moves ahead.

Deep Dive: The Social Geometry of Sect Politics

This chapter also quietly lays out a critical rule of Mortal Stream social navigation: institutional favors are more valuable than institutional rules. Han Li’s “arranged” access to Elder Ye’s goodwill is not a cheat—it’s a specific investment of social capital that pays dividends precisely because it bypasses the normal system. The steward’s stunned reaction is the reader’s cue: Han Li has just demonstrated that his network inside Yellow Maple Valley is deeper than his cultivation level suggests. In a sect where most disciples are interchangeable numbers, being the one the hall master favors is a silent threat and a hidden shield. This is not heroism; it’s career management in a cutthroat bureaucracy.