Chapter 104: The Guild Assessment

Joining a merchant guild! Yun Qing recalled how her friends in Ye Village had often discussed this; joining a merchant guild meant the opportunity to travel the world, making it a place many longed to enter.

"I would be delighted."

"In that case, allow me to take my leave and return shortly."

Because of its abundant ore resources, the Ninth Caravan maintained a station at the Black Iron Mine. Due to the dangers inherent in their expansion, they frequently recruited new members. Recently, the station at the Black Iron Mine needed to hire five new members.

The Merchant Alliance enjoyed a good relationship with the higher-ups of the Cultivation Alliance. Xiao Haoran sought out Guo Hu, the person in charge of recruitment, and used a verbal favor to ensure that Yun Qing would be well taken care of.

Yun Qing, having just completed one cycle of cultivation, heard a knock on her door once more.

Outside, Xiao Haoran smiled and said, "The assessment for the Ninth Merchant Guild is in five days. I have already registered you for it."

Yun Qing, who had assumed that Xiao Haoran’s intervention meant she was already in, was surprised to learn there was an assessment. She smiled and asked, "Does the Immortal Master know if there is anything I need to prepare for these next few days?"

"The assessment is very simple; you need not prepare anything. With the collapse of the Han Family Mine, many factions are investigating in secret. It is best if you stay at the inn for these few days and wait until you have joined the guild before doing anything else."

The implication was clear: she should not step outside. She knew the reason for the mine's collapse and was certain that others were investigating, so staying low-profile in the inn was the right move.

Xiao Haoran had certainly helped with the registration. Yun Qing cupped her hands in a salute and said, "Thank you, Immortal Master."

Xiao Haoran took a sound-transmission talisman from his storage bag and used his divine sense to float it before Yun Qing. "I am Xiao Haoran of the Sword Peak at Lingyun Sect. If you ever have the fortune to go to Lingyun Sect, you may send me a message with this."

Looking at the talisman floating before her, Yun Qing understood that this was Xiao Haoran’s way of saying goodbye.

Indeed, his next words were, "Miss Yun Qing, I have urgent matters to attend to, so I must bid you farewell."

Without waiting for a response, he summoned his sword and took flight into the sky.

During the days waiting for the assessment, following Xiao Haoran’s specific instructions, Yun Qing stayed in the inn to practice the Universe Fortune Technique and the Body Refining Technique. After several days of cultivation, she discovered a unique trait: her cultivation was more effective when performed under sunlight.

On the day after Xiao Haoran left, the Soul-Driving Tree sprouted, though Yun Qing still could not grasp its secrets. She continued to fertilize it daily, waiting to see what it would eventually become.

Using the foundation expanded to level 31, she spent these days crafting building materials, enlarging her villa into separate rooms, including an alchemy room, a smithing room, a kitchen, a meditation room, and a bedroom.

The meditation room was just a name she had given it; without a system-recognized meditation cushion, she could not cultivate within the cave dwelling. The same went for the kitchen; she could not cook there.

Everything at the Black Iron Mine besides the ore was expensive. Yun Qing only bought some extra rations for Liuliu and did not purchase any other items, nor could she bring herself to spend silver on materials to produce Explorer’s Robes or Explorer’s Boots.

There were fifty people registered for the assessment. The person in charge was the Station Master, Guo Hu.

Guo Hu reviewed the list of applicants. The station needed to recruit five members, and three spots were already spoken for. While it appeared to be five out of fifty, in reality, it was two out of forty-seven.

He rubbed his furrowed brow, thinking, "Every year we recruit, and every year we are short-handed, yet there are so few capable workers."

Closing the roster, he knew he had to oversee this assessment personally to ensure that those who shouldn't be eliminated weren't, and to find two truly diligent recruits.

Applicants had to submit relevant information, which the Ninth Caravan would review before the assessment. To ensure the identity matched the information, the first round was a face-to-face verification of documents.

Guo Hu personally conducted the audit, partly to meet the three individuals who had used connections.

He met the three connected individuals separately. The first two men were dashing and handsome, one with an air of refined charm and the other appearing lean but pleasant. They were seventeen or eighteen years old, at the peak of the Qi Refining stage. Such talent was wasted at the Black Iron Mine station, but they were clearly young masters from major factions here to play. Their backgrounds were not detailed, but without pressure from above, the caravan would never have accepted such people. He asked a few routine questions and let them pass.

The third person was a girl. Guo Hu narrowed his eyes—fifteen years old, third layer of Houtian, a facial ailment, and hair cut extremely short. Given her conditions, the guild would never have accepted her without a recommendation. She was too young, her strength too low, and her appearance lacking. Still, if her other attributes weren't terrible, he was willing to grant the favor. Of course, even if she were incompetent, he would have to keep her as a menial worker to honor the favor owed to an elite disciple of the Lingyun Sect. Her background was not entirely clear, but it was far better than the previous two. After a few brief questions, he concluded that her ability to join the guild was simply a stroke of luck.

With two young masters and one low-skilled, ugly girl, he had to be more careful with the remaining two spots to ensure he found actual talent.

Yun Qing passed the first assessment easily. After this round, the number of candidates dropped from fifty to forty-five.

The second round was resource identification. The candidates were placed in a large hall, each in a small cubicle with an examination paper featuring hundreds of resources—herbs, ores, beasts, demonic beasts, seafood, and more. They were required to name each item, describe its function, and estimate its value.

Yun Qing had always wanted information on the resources of this world; she hadn't expected her first encounter with them to be on an exam paper.

She knew very few of them—only those she had learned about in Ye Village or during her journey to the Black Iron Mine. She didn't recognize the rest, and the system offered no hints. She hadn't expected the assessment to test so much basic theoretical knowledge.

She was certain to be the last, and therefore eliminated.

Desperate not to be, she looked at the others scribbling away and considered cheating.

"Liuliu, can you go see how others are answering?"

Liuliu, having recovered its black fur, rolled its eyes noticeably. "You want me to cheat for something like this? Don't you think that’s inappropriate?"

"Is it that you simply don't have that function?"

Liuliu stopped rolling its eyes, too lazy to speak to her further.

With no options, Yun Qing answered what she could, describing the properties of the items she recognized in as much detail as possible. Even so, her paper remained largely blank.

In her past life, while she wasn't a top-tier scholar, she had always been an above-average student. This was the first time she had ever faced a situation where she could answer less than ten percent of the questions.

She answered what she could and left the rest blank. Blatantly guessing seemed ill-suited for this world.