In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

"Do I also want to become an apprentice of a certain gentleman, just like you?"

Lu Yuan turned to look at Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu, and asked with some surprise.

Once inside the inner courtyard, one can indeed choose a teacher to become an apprentice to and receive their careful instruction.

Of course, this is all predicated on the fact that the gentleman also finds him attractive.

"That's right. The inner court is different from the outer court. The competition in the inner court is much fiercer, especially for those super resources, which are fought over by many people."

Zheng Xu nodded and continued, "Brother Lu Yuan, you previously refused the offers from Murong Jue's Bright Moon Society and Jin Wuming's Money Society. Now that you've entered this inner courtyard, if you don't become a disciple of a master, it will be extremely difficult for you to succeed on your own."

"Brother Lu Yuan, in the inner courtyard, almost everyone is sticking together for warmth. There are very few truly isolated individuals, especially those of us from humble backgrounds. We are even more vulnerable to being targeted or suppressed by geniuses from aristocratic families."

Zhang Hu nodded in agreement with a rather solemn expression.

Although both the Zheng and Zhang families were considered powerful clans with centuries of history in Qinghe County, in the eyes of those aristocratic families in Anyang Prefecture, they were still just poor people who were not much better than peasants.

If they cannot form a group, they will likely be unable to withstand the targeting and suppression from those powerful families. Not only will they not earn much in terms of contributions, but they may also not have the opportunity to access truly super resources.

As for joining the ranks of powerful families to curry favor, it wasn't that they didn't want to, but rather that the families simply looked down on them.

Murong Jue's Bright Moon Society, Jin Wuming's Money Society, and Bai Xiaotang's Unity Society, while almost accepting all comers, are of little use if one cannot enter the core level. In fact, they are more likely to attract trouble.

In short, for them, the best choice is to become a disciple of a teacher and receive his guidance and protection.

It's good to have a big tree to lean on and to get the help of many senior brothers and sisters, which is much better than going it alone.

"With my mediocre looks, I'm afraid no gentleman would be interested in me?"

Lu Yuan smiled and said directly.

To be honest, he doesn't actually need any teacher to guide him. He has no bottlenecks, and he won't make any mistakes in cultivation or even go into qi deviation. He just needs to continue to improve his proficiency so that he can steadily become stronger and even reach a higher level.

As for shelter or banding together for warmth, he probably doesn't need much of that.

Even though this is the inner courtyard, which is mostly filled with first-class or even top-class geniuses, with his current cultivation level and strength, if he were to fully unleash his abilities, he would still be among the top ranks.

Moreover, given his cultivation speed, he could easily achieve the Jade Bone technique before the martial arts examination six months from now, and even reaching the sixth or fifth rank is entirely possible.

At that time, he will be able to participate in this year's martial arts examination together with the group of senior students who entered the martial arts academy three years ago.

In that case, he would only stay at the martial arts academy for another six months at most, so there was no need for him to do all this.

As for whether to enter the Ziyang Sect or go to the capital after the martial arts examination, we'll see how things go at that time.

Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu are different; they will stay here for at least three more years until the next martial arts examination. Naturally, they will need to become disciples of a master to receive instruction and protection.

"Which teacher have you become their student?"

Lu Yuan looked at Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu and asked.

"Mr. Zhou Hu!"

Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu said in unison.

Mr. Zhou Hu was not only the strongest fourth-rank among the middle-rank three, but he also had no prejudice against these geniuses from humble backgrounds. Even if they only had first-rate talent, he was willing to teach them with great care.

"And you?"

Lu Yuan turned his gaze and asked Jiang Ying, who was 1.5 meters tall.

"I was born with a congenital defect; I have no future, nobody wants me!"

Jiang Ying smiled, revealing her two small tiger teeth.

Lu Yuan naturally didn't believe it. Even if Jiang Ying really had a congenital defect in her physical constitution, given her performance during the freshman assessment, if she were truly willing to become a disciple, the teachers in the inner academy would probably be scrambling to take her in.

After all, even Bai Xiaotang lost to Jiang Ying and took the initiative to invite her to join the Unity Society as vice president. No matter what happens in the future, her current demeanor has already surpassed that of an ordinary top-tier genius.

Clearly, Jiang Ying, like him, was planning to participate in the imperial martial arts examination ahead of schedule, so she didn't intend to find another teacher to take her under her wing in the remaining six months.

"Then, with my mediocre talent and no future, I'll naturally be even less desirable."

Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head, then said directly.

"Then you two will probably have to be more careful from now on."

Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu both sighed helplessly and said, "Without the protection of your teachers, those geniuses from aristocratic families may target and suppress you without any scruples, unless you are willing to bow down and let them do as they please."

They simply couldn't understand why these two wouldn't stick together and support each other like they did.

"Lu Yuan, if anyone bullies us, shall we fight them together?"

Hearing their words, Jiang Ying remained expressionless and addressed Lu Yuan.

"Can!"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xu and Zhang Hu could only shake their heads helplessly once again.

Although both Lu Yuan and Jiang Ying possess strength far exceeding that of ordinary eighth-rank cultivators, even if the two of them joined forces, they still could not contend with those geniuses from aristocratic families, and would inevitably suffer a major setback sooner or later.

Oh well, one learns from one's mistakes, let them be.

……

After Zheng Xu, Zhang Hu, and Jiang Ying left, Lu Yuan also went to the office that was in charge of issuing missions.

The task book contained a wide variety of tasks.

There are missions to find precious herbs in the mountains, missions to hunt strange beasts, and missions to escort special treasures, etc.

These tasks vary in difficulty and yield different levels of contribution.

Some contributed only a few dozen yuan, while others contributed hundreds or thousands.

The task that contributed the most was actually the mission of hunting down the remnants of the Eternal Life Cult.

Capturing or killing a ninth-rank Changsheng Sect expert will earn you 500 contribution points, while an eighth-rank expert will earn you a full 1,000 contribution points.

However, after being pursued and captured by various forces, almost all of the Changsheng Sect's experts have been killed or wounded.

Even if there are still some who slip through the net, they must be hiding very deep.

Searching for it on his own would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, as the saying goes, those that slip through the net may not be small fish; they could be big fish, so the risk is very high.

"Let's choose this one!"

Without much hesitation, Lu Yuan quickly selected a task.

This is actually a guard duty. The Martial Academy has a breeding ground for exotic beasts in the mountains, which needs to be guarded by students from the inner court.

Each day, all that is needed is to patrol the breeding farm to ensure that the exotic animals do not escape or are poached.

Inner Academy students with a cultivation level of at least Rank 8 can apply to go there and receive 100 contribution points per day.

However, life in the mountains is harsh and austere. If one goes there, not only will one no longer be able to receive instruction from the master, but one will also be unable to exchange ideas and learn from other geniuses. Therefore, even though the contributions offered are substantial, very few people are willing to go there.

But for Lu Yuan, this task was extremely suitable.

He had no need for a teacher to instruct him in cultivation, nor did he intend to exchange or learn from others, let alone try to curry favor with anyone.

Moreover, going to the breeding farm not only guarantees a stable 100 contribution points every day, but also allows for quiet cultivation—a win-win situation, so why not?

……