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Without hesitation, Li Shizhou left the courtyard gate, boarded the flying chariot, and soared into the sky towards Yuheng Courtyard.

After entering his cave, he first took out the array he had obtained from Qi Boyuan's ancestral home and spent half a cup of tea setting it up.

At this moment, the beast eggs inside the spirit beast bag were shaking violently.

With a thought, Li Shizhou released the Mo Li Beast Egg and it landed steadily on the bed. It seemed that the cub inside was trying to break through its shell.

The hatching process is also a trial for this beast, and Li Shizhou naturally wouldn't try to force it to grow faster, so he quietly waited by the side.

This process lasted for several hours. By late at night, the fist-sized blue beast egg finally cracked open, and then more and more appeared.

"Click"

After a soft pop, a head emerged from the shell, twisted and turned a few times, and after a struggle, finally emerged completely.

Its eyes are closed, it has a single white horn about an inch long on its forehead, and its whole body is covered in glossy black fur.

Aside from its single horn, it also has a long, thin tail. If it weren't for these two features, the Mo Li cub would look exactly like a newborn puppy, and it would be impossible to tell that it has any relation to the Mo Qilin.

"The little thing is quite unique in appearance. From now on, I'll call you Dog."

Li Shizhou gave his spirit beast a name.

Since obtaining the beast egg, he had made ample preparations, including preparing meat and elixirs.

He took out a small piece of monster meat from his storage bag and threw it in front of Mo Li's cub.

The little guy smelled the fresh meat, let out two loud cries, and limped over to it. He wolfed down a whole portion of the fresh meat, which was about half his body weight, before stopping.

After it had eaten its fill, it rolled over with its bulging belly, tilted its head back, and fell asleep. In just a few breaths, it began to snore evenly.

Li Shizhou scratched the dog's belly a few times, then held it in his hands and examined it carefully for a while before putting it back into his spirit beast pouch.

With nothing else to do, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to study the cultivation technique.

By the morning of the second day.

As dawn broke outside the cave, Li Shizhou rose and left the cave, flying towards the sacred mountain on his flying sword.

Now that you've gotten the hang of it, it's best to familiarize yourself with the miscellaneous tasks as soon as possible.

According to the rules of the Star Palace, all outer disciples need to earn 240 merit points each year to pass the assessment.

When he arrived at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall of the Inner Palace, the palace, which was hundreds of feet wide, was already packed with people.

Looking up, one can see a scroll painting dozens of feet wide overhead.

The document lists hundreds of miscellaneous tasks, each with its own requirements for the disciple and the amount of merit points that can be earned.

The merit points for different types of miscellaneous tasks vary greatly, ranging from just one point a day to as many as ten points a day.

For example, serving as a city gate guard for a day only earns one merit point, but the advantage is that all outer disciples can receive it.

Cultivating spirit insects can yield two to five points per day, but it has special requirements for spiritual roots and cultivation techniques, and the competition is fierce, with spots not always available.

Each time you receive a card, you must work for a full month before you can change it. Today is the beginning of the month, and we have just recruited disciples, so there are a lot of people at the miscellaneous affairs hall.

Li Shizhou looked at it for a while and was attracted by a miscellaneous task in the weapon-refining room: hammering the raw materials for magical artifacts.

This chores requires disciples to have cultivated body-refining techniques to receive, which is perfect for him.

There is a saying: "Life has three hardships: rowing a boat, blacksmithing, and grinding tofu."

Clearly, hammering magical artifacts is hard work, but the rewards are also generous, with two to four merit points earned daily.

Li Shizhou looked around for a while longer but couldn't find anything more suitable for him, so he found the responsible monk to register it.

A moment later, he took the jade token and left the Inner Affairs Hall, flying towards a weapon-refining room in the Star Palace.

Upon arriving at the location, Li Shizhou stood before the array's light screen and said, "Senior, this disciple has received the chores of hammering the raw materials for the magical artifact and has come to report for duty."

"Come in," a strong voice called out.

As soon as he finished speaking, a crack appeared in the white light screen, and Li Shizhou collapsed into it in a few steps.

Upon entering the stone chamber where the weapon-refining room was located, a wave of intense heat immediately hit us.

The interior was about five or six zhang wide and long, with several forging tables placed haphazardly.

In the very center of the stone house, flames spewed from a three-foot-wide pit, and a large sword blank floated above it.

In the corner sat a red-faced, golden-robed, Foundation Establishment-level male cultivator with a three-inch-long goatee, leisurely drinking tea while reclining on a deck chair.

Li Shizhou walked up to the red-faced cultivator, bowed, and said, "Junior Li Shizhou greets senior."

The red-faced cultivator didn't get up, but instead pointed to the forging table next to him and said, "There are a few spirit hammers here. Try to see which one you can swing."

"Yes, senior."

Li Shizhou walked to the forging table and began to examine it. There were three spirit hammers on it. The hammerheads were slightly larger than an adult man's fist, and the hammer handles were about one foot and five inches long. The colors from left to right were black, silver, and purple-gold.

He first picked up the black spirit hammer and swung it a few times, but it only weighed two or three hundred pounds.

Li Shizhou shook his head and picked up the silver spirit hammer again. This hammer was about the same weight as his magic weapon, the broken Wengjin Hammer, weighing about five or six hundred jin.

Li Shizhou has been practicing the Pure Yang Technique diligently for a year recently, and his strength has increased again. However, the silver spirit hammer still feels a bit unsteady in his hand.

Finally, he gripped the handle of the purple-gold spirit hammer, lifted it with all his might—it weighed a thousand pounds—and swung it a few times without much effort.

So he said, "Senior, this junior is capable of wielding this weapon."

A hint of surprise flashed in the red-faced cultivator's eyes, but he said, "Don't be so smug. Brute force alone isn't enough. You also need to use the hammer with precision and swing it for a long time."

After speaking, he sat up, flicked his fingers, and the sword blank that had been floating above the flames landed steadily on the forging table.

"Come on, hold the hammer with both hands, and I will show you where to strike."

"I will follow your instructions, senior."

The red-faced cultivator then took out a silver spirit hammer several inches long and used his magic power to gently tap a spot on the sword embryo.

Li Shizhou's Pure Yang Technique not only increases his strength but also enhances his control over his body, making this level of difficulty child's play.

He swung the gold hammer with all his might, striking the opponent's designated spot with perfect accuracy, sparks flying everywhere.

The red-faced cultivator didn't continue, but said irritably, "Stop showing off, weaken your strength by three points."

Li Shizhou gave an awkward smile: "Okay."

The red-faced cultivator then continued to manipulate the silver spirit hammer and give commands.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sword blank was placed back into the flames, and once it was heated until it was red-hot, it was placed back on the forging table.

This process was repeated over and over.

Three hours later, the red-faced cultivator spoke up: "Alright, that's enough. Although your strength was a bit lacking, you've barely passed."

Li Shizhou was most concerned about the reward, so he tentatively asked, "Thank you, senior. I wonder how many merit points I can get today?"

"Considering your respectful attitude, I'll award you four points of merit. I am Chen Shuheng. I will summon you again if needed in the future. Now you may return."

Li Shizhou was overjoyed upon hearing this, as this was the highest merit point he could earn for this miscellaneous task. In this way, he would only need to come for five days a month to complete the task for that month.

He bowed respectfully and then took his leave.

After he walked away, the red-faced cultivator stood alone in the weapon-refining room, marveling, "He swung that thousand-pound spirit hammer for so long without breaking a sweat. Finally, a reliable helper has arrived."

......

Three months later

In cave number 124 of Yuheng Academy, Li Shizhou took out a pill and swallowed it.

During this period, he successfully transformed his cultivation technique into the "Spiritual Illumination True Scripture," and also visited Zhuo Ruting's cave under the pretext of visiting her.

Whether it was because the visitor was a guest or because Li Shizhou had entered the Star Palace, Zhuo Ruting's grandmother's attitude was not very warm this time, but at least she was not as cold as before.

He then invited Zhuo Ruting to visit his cave at Yuheng Academy, and she did not refuse.

Although he wasn't a master of romance in his previous life, Li Shizhou could still tell from Zhuo Ruting's expression that she had some affection for him.

Because of the other party's grandmother, he hasn't expressed his feelings yet, intending to get to know her better before making the move.

Just as dawn broke after the pills were refined, Li Shizhou felt the increase in his cultivation level and thought to himself, "In another six months, I can try to break through the Foundation Establishment bottleneck."

He got out of bed and stretched his limbs. The dog in the spirit beast bag was a little restless. He then remembered that he had run out of spirit-feeding pills, so he activated the formation and flew towards the market.