Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 126: Water Distribution System

It was an illusion barrier. The moment Anji and Gu Ying entered the restricted zone, they were met by abundant fields and lively animals roaming freely.

"Oh? There are unusual visitors. They don’t look like refugees," a farmer who spotted them from afar claimed.

Feeling awkward, Anji and Gu Ying stood rooted to the spot. Thankfully, her brother and Bai Dajin could not see what was happening on this side of the barrier. Who would have thought that Yan Ping and the Mystical Qilin Sect had villagers inside their barrier? Through her understanding of her teacher, Anji had a feeling the territory outside these mountain ranges was in disarray because her teacher did not consider them part of her territory, even if the other murim sects deemed it her responsibility to care for the region assigned to her. Compared to the neglected care along the way here, the village was thriving inside the barrier. Most importantly, Anji saw signs of cultivation co-existing with non-cultivators here.

"I’m here as a student," Anji introduced herself but could not help marvelling at the tools. "Did you make this?"

Looking at the special sprinkler system the little girl was pointing at, the farmer laughed out loud.

"How can it be? I’m just a regular farmer who grew up here. Never left this village and was told not to climb the mountain where the sages live. It’s my first time meeting a young sage today. I have to tell my wife and children about this. One of the sages that live up that mountain created that water distributing system. I suppose you want to go there?"

Looking at the tallest and mistiest mountain that the farmer pointed at, Anji nodded. This place was so mysterious! However, her excitement at the possibility of coexistence between cultivators and non-cultivators grew as the farmer offered to give her a lift to the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, the farmer, who introduced himself as Chun, shared stories about how they lived in harmony without the cultivation ability. Many farmers were either descendants of the sage’s students who never left the mountain or former students with no aptitude for cultivating to greater heights.

"Do you not use money here? How do you trade and get other supplies that you need?"

Looking at the rich young lady, the farmer grinned and pulled out a ragged pouch. Inside, there were many small crystals cut into unique shapes. Some were round, and others were cubes. However, they were polished and glowing with qi.

"We trade using these. Cultivators don’t need them because they can gather qi on their own. However, for regular folks with no golden core, we rely on these to power the inventions they created. The water distributing system would use this crystal. It can last for one season, and it’s considered the lowest grade battery."

Offering the crystal battery to Anji, the farmer chuckled. This student was exactly like his grandfather, who was once a student of the Mystical Qilin Sect but decided that it was too stressful to continue after hitting his bottleneck before retiring. His grandfather invented the water distribution system, and his grandfather left behind the crystal battery for future generations.

"Now I really want to see the circuitry of that spell. How could one crystal battery last a whole season? He must have perfected the energy conservation theory, which is one of the hardest to understand!"

Shrugging, the farmer only told Anji that his grandfather never talked much about the sect.

"He claims that it was a boring place full of stupid people. I’d say he must be right because he was quite smart. It might sound like I’m bragging, but if it were not for my grandfather, the vegetables in this place would absolutely suck. We grow the tastiest vegetables and are one of the major suppliers of the sages’ ingredients. Every week, we transport a cart full of vegetables to the foot of the mountain, where the sage apprentices will carry it back to the sect."

Apprentices?

Surprised that a new student was more unaware of the sect than him, the farmer explained the different hierarchy inside the Mystical Qilin Sect.

"They function similarly to any other martial school or murim sects," he claimed. "The only difference is that they measure the rank of their students differently based on aptitude and contributions."

Apart from the sect leader and the successor, all students start with zero contribution points at the bottom of the academic ladder as apprentices. They mostly perform menial chores and keep the sect working smoothly. If they create more contributions to the sect through their research that they can present at a sect re-evaluation meeting every month, they would be promoted to become librarians.

Unlike apprentices, librarians have to manage the sect’s internal archives. This is akin to becoming the administrator and clerk of the libraries that many researchers frequent. Their main tasks were to keep track of lending and returning books. Many researchers tend to hog and forget about the books on loan. Hence, librarians have the important task of creating copies of books or tracking down missing books while recording the book loans.

"If they make substantial contributions to the sect that can be presented at the monthly meeting, there is a chance for the librarian to receive funding and become a researcher for three years," the farmer explained. "My grandfather was a researcher but complained about the ranking system."

As the ranking increases, it becomes more difficult to justify a contribution. Anji finally understood why Chun’s grandfather chose to retire. He must have been stuck for decades as a mid-level researcher. Despite all his efforts, the judging committee did not recognise it. The proof was in the water distributing system.

"He said that the committee did not think a water distribution system, which was a modified version of the shower sprinkler that another researcher created, was worth any new contribution, even if the function extends over a greater area, has weather detection and is up to sixty percent more energy efficient."

That... Anji could understand Chun’s grandfather’s frustrations. However, she also understood the expectations the judging committee had. For an experienced mid-level researcher, improving and repurposing an existing idea was not difficult. It took a lot of time and effort and might benefit many people. However, for the Mystical Qilin Sect that constantly forges ahead of time, it was not an invention worth changing history.

Observing more cultivators’ touch on the rest of the town, Anji and Gu Ying finally arrived at the outpost at the foot of the mountain.

"This is where we part, young sage. It’s been an honour to meet you! All the best with your studies!"

Waving goodbye to the good farmer, Gu Ying held Anji’s hand and escorted her to the apprentices at the outpost gate.

"Stop! Only authorised personnel may pass this point. Do you have a token of entry?"

Whipping out the tokens they were given, the apprentice placed them over a device that glowed upon contact, validating their identities. However, the glowing colours were different. Anji’s token glowed white, while Gu Ying’s token glowed blue.

"Please wait for a moment," the apprentice bowed. "Someone else will come to escort the both of you."

Nodding, Anji and Gu Ying stood around, and Anji wondered how her first day in the sect would be. She learned to do most chores for three years to survive the apprentice stage. According to her shifu, it would take only two months for her to become a researcher. However, after listening to Chun’s story about his grandfather, Anji wondered if Yan Ping could be wrong.