With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

After leaving the council hall, Lin Ye was assigned by the sect to reside at Lijian Peak.

From this day forward, he is now a true disciple and will no longer live in the ordinary courtyards of the outer or inner sect. Instead, he will enjoy a meditation place specially opened for true disciples.

The mountain of Lijian Peak is steep but not dangerous, with sparse trees, clear springs winding around the steps, and the air always carries a sharp and clear feeling of honing swordsmanship.

The sect arranged for him to live in a secluded courtyard. There were several green bamboos and an old plum tree in the courtyard. The house was much more spacious than the small courtyard he lived in when he was in the inner sect half a year ago. The furnishings were also more exquisite, and even the bed, table and chairs exuded a calming wooden fragrance.

Recalling his failure in the True Disciple Trial and his subsequent assignment to the Outer Sect for training, he realized that thanks to the opportunity presented by the Contract Nest, he had returned to the ranks of the True Disciples as an "Outer Sect Steward," which could be considered a kind of "indirect approach to achieving his goal." Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.

The next morning, Lin Ye rushed to the council hall.

When they arrived, there were already quite a few people standing in the hall. There were outer disciples in gray robes, inner disciples in black robes, and several true disciples in green robes. Each of them had a calm and composed demeanor, and they were clearly all carefully selected.

Among the crowd, Lin Ye immediately recognized Liu Yingping's brother, Liu Yingpeng, and his senior brother, Wang Qing, who had defeated him in the True Disciple Trial six months ago. When Wang Qing saw Lin Ye, a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He was about to step forward to speak when he was interrupted by a notification from outside the hall.

"The sect leader has arrived!"

Sect Leader Chu Huaixi led the way, followed by Inner Sect Elder Liu Zhenghua, as they walked steadily into the dimly lit council hall.

The crowd immediately stopped whispering, stood at attention with their hands at their sides, and bowed in respect.

The sect leader walked to the center and took his seat, while Liu Zhenghua stood at the front of the crowd.

"Everyone, the Sword Sect issued an urgent mission yesterday, and you have all come in response. This mission will last for one year. If anyone wishes to withdraw now, they may leave on their own. However, once I have explained the details of the mission, you may not withdraw and must depart with the team today."

Upon hearing this, some people remained calm, while others frowned, but none of them left.

"Very good." The sect leader looked around. "Lin Ye, come to the front."

Lin Yeyi walked to the front row, and everyone turned to look at him.

"This is Lin Ye, an outer sect steward who came down the mountain half a year ago. He has contracted a Daoist soldier's lair in Xiang County, Qingyang Prefecture. As everyone knows, the Daoist soldier's lair is of great importance, and the Northern Xiongnu are also eyeing it covetously. Now you are required to escort him back to Xiang County and station him in Lin Family Village for a year to protect the village and the lair. After a year, you can decide whether to continue stationing him based on your personal wishes, and the Sword Sect will send people to rotate."

The sect leader's gaze sharpened: "Any objections?"

"No objections!" everyone responded in unison.

"This time, the team is led by Elder Liu Zhenghua of the Inner Sect, assisted by four true disciples, and the rest are at your command."

The sect leader paused for a moment, then said, "Let's set off now. Our gear and horses are ready at the mountain gate."

"Don't worry, Sect Leader, I will definitely lead everyone to complete the mission!" Liu Zhenghua said loudly, taking the lead.

The group quickly arrived at the mountain gate, changed out of their sword sect attire, and put on pre-prepared casual clothes of various colors that did not reveal their identities. These clothes were not uniform and were designed to facilitate concealment.

To avoid attracting attention, the group split into two: Liu Zhenghua, four disciples, and Lin Ye went first, while the rest set off later.

After six days of swift travel, Lin Ye and his companions rode fast horses day and night, finally arriving in Xiang County. The closer they got to Linjiawu, the more tense Lin Ye became—he had been gone for twelve days, and his mother had used "seclusion" as an excuse to cover it up; he wondered if anyone had noticed anything amiss.

When he saw the outline of the fortified village in the distance, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was as usual, the flags were still fluttering in the night wind, and there was no sign of panic.

Following the plan discussed on the way, Lin Ye and Liu Zhenghua dismounted. Liu Zhenghua used the Flowing Cloud Stepping Moon Step to carry Lin Ye.

As a top-tier footwork technique of the Qingyuan Sword Sect, the Flowing Clouds Treading the Moon Step was, in Lin Ye's view, already considered to fall under the category of lightness skill. When performed by Liu Zhenghua, a first-class master, even with a person on his side, his figure remained as light and elusive as flowing clouds, stepping silently on the ground, moving swiftly under the moonlight without leaving a trace.

Under the cover of night, the two avoided the patrolling tribesmen and quietly approached the fortified village, successfully infiltrating it without being discovered by anyone.

The four true disciples hid at a designated location nearby as planned, waiting for the inner disciples and miscellaneous disciples to arrive later, forming an outer cover.

Upon entering the fortress, Liu Zhenghua used his light-footed skills to circle around it, his steps light and silent. His eyes swept over all the main passages and dark corners, confirming that there were no ambushes or anything unusual before he nodded to Lin Ye.

The two stealthily made their way through the patrolling clansmen and sentries, until they arrived at the house of Lin Ye's mother, Li Shi.

Lin Ye took a deep breath and whispered, "Mother, I'm back."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the door creaked open, and Li stood there with a look of surprise on her face. It seemed she had been keeping watch and hadn't slept well, afraid of missing anything.

Lin Ye and Liu Zhenghua reacted very quickly, slipping into the house almost the instant she opened the door.

"Sister-in-law, we meet again." Liu Zhenghua smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

A hint of uncertainty flashed in Li's eyes as she scrutinized him closely: "Are you Brother Liu?"

"It's me. Lin Ye made a contract with the nest, and the Sword Sect sent people to guard it, so I volunteered to come."

"Thank you, thank you..." Li's eyes were slightly red. "I haven't been able to properly thank you for your great kindness back then, which made Lin Ye an inner disciple of the Sword Sect."

"It's what I should do." Liu Zhenghua sighed. "When I heard the news back then, Brother Lin was already...sigh."

Lin Ye suppressed his emotions and asked, "Mother, nothing happened while I was gone, right? Did anyone notice anything unusual?"

Li shook her head: "Nothing unusual. I told everyone you were in seclusion, and I delivered meals to you on time every day. The Pan Shi Chan Guards have also been guarding the gate. The clansmen are busy with the horse farm and haven't had time to ask in detail."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Your Uncle Lin Qiang came and asked once, saying he found signs that the tunnel had been disturbed. I told him I was checking the tunnel, and he didn't ask any more questions."

Lin Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Lin Qiang is a trustworthy person. Otherwise, with his third-rate martial arts skills, if he had really been ambitious all these years, I might not have been able to return and take over the family so smoothly.

"Alright, Mother, Uncle and I will go back to our room now, and we'll announce my exit from seclusion tomorrow," Lin Ye instructed.

The two avoided the eyes and ears of their tribesmen and returned to Lin Ye's small courtyard in the fortified village.

Lin Ye moved the bed aside, his heart tightening slightly, and peered under the bed. The nest was unharmed, its aura still calm, showing no signs of disturbance.

He and Liu Zhenghua exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Since you're alright, I'll stay out of the way for the next few days and protect you from the shadows. We'll proceed according to plan from now on." Liu Zhenghua looked at Lin Ye's exhausted face and spoke gently, "You should get some rest too."

Lin Ye nodded, watching Liu Zhenghua disappear into the shadows, then leaned against the edge of the bed and let out a long sigh.