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Finally, before nightfall, everyone managed to escape.

The moment they were free, they went straight to the courtyard, sat down cross-legged, pulled food from their storage bags, and began wolfing it down.

The only problem was that they seemed to be chewing with gritted teeth.

Seeing that everyone had completed their first training exercise and finished dinner in the process, Lin Xiao dusted off his trousers and got to his feet, telling them all to sweep the residence and tidy it up.

At first, everyone was puzzled when they heard they were supposed to sweep the courtyard. It was already clean and orderly, clearly maintained by people hired by the Yuan family.

However, after the lesson they had just received, they quickly realized that “sweeping the residence” was actually a request to inspect the entire residence carefully.

Although the Yuan family was their partner and had a good relationship with them, the residence was located in a city crowded with cultivators, and not a single defensive measure had been put in place. Who knew whether someone might have secretly planted something there? It was just like what had happened to their sect master earlier.

With that thought in mind, everyone began thoroughly inspecting every corner of the residence.

They split into two groups. One group focused on searching the premises, while the other set up defensive formations and restrictions around the outer perimeter.

Once that was done, everyone returned to their rooms to arrange their living quarters for the days ahead.

The night passed. The following morning, everyone rose early as usual and headed to the classroom in the rear courtyard for their morning lesson, just as they would have at the sect.

Since Lin Xiao was naturally not as busy outside the sect, it was only proper that he take full responsibility for everyone’s morning lessons during this trip.

Mo Yuanjiao did not care in the slightest about his status as an elder. He sat steadily among the Qingyun Peak disciples in the classroom. Who would be foolish enough to skip a lecture given by Senior Brother Sect Master?

After all, even someone as highly cultivated as Senior Liao often discussed cultivation problems with Senior Brother Sect Master.

Once the morning lesson ended, everyone was already eager to head out and explore Yuanling City.

Most of those present had barely ever visited Yuanling City. Even the few who had accompanied previous supply deliveries had always come and gone in a hurry, returning to the sect as soon as they had delivered their goods and finished their purchases. They had never stayed for any length of time. Even yesterday, they had merely taken a quick look around. It was impossible for them not to be curious.

This was a place capable of casually consuming the entire output of their mortal world, a place where their sect had transported enormous quantities of goods time and again without causing so much as a ripple.

Looking at the eager expressions on the disciples’ faces as they yearned to explore Yuanling City, Lin Xiao smiled and said, “I know everyone is curious about the cultivation world, and curious about this city where cultivators are everywhere. Since we came out here for training, I certainly won’t make you stay cooped up indoors the whole time.”

“Starting today, our morning lessons will be moved online. I’ll teach them through the lock rings. If anyone isn’t available at the time, that’s fine. I’ll back up the lesson content in your lock rings, and you can open it and listen whenever it’s convenient. If you have any questions, you can also contact me through the lock rings or leave me a message. From today onward, you’ll also have assignments to complete in stages.”

With that, he gestured for everyone to take out their lock rings. After teaching them how to open a new function within them, he continued, “This is the newly added exploration log function. It includes an area exploration record. Once opened, it will automatically record the terrain and regions you travel through. Along the way, you can also collect and record environmental elements such as spiritual energy, vegetation, and soil, as well as any information you hear, including but not limited to local customs, traditional anecdotes, rules, and social conventions. The function can be set to shared access, allowing you to share and synchronize the information you collect with others.”

“Ultimately, it will use all the information everyone gathers to generate a corresponding map of the area.”

“The first-stage assignment for this sect summer camp is to explore Yuanling City within five days. You may act alone or cooperate with one another. Do your best to unlock a complete map of Yuanling City.”

After the morning lesson, Lin Xiao left the classroom.

Oddly enough, the people who had been so eager to go out moments ago remained where they were.

They glanced at one another. In the end, Han Weishu gave a light cough and was the first to speak.

“Everyone… what do you think?”

Their gazes immediately converged on Mo Yuanjiao, the only elder among them.

Mo Yuanjiao hurriedly waved his hands. “Don’t look at me. Senior Brother Sect Master said that this summer camp has nothing to do with sect status. We’re all sect disciples here, so I’m not allowed to order everyone around just because I’m an elder. I’m the same as all of you.”

Hearing that, the other seven nodded in understanding.

After all, they had come out to train. They couldn’t continue relying on someone else to direct and arrange everything for them.

After a moment of silence, Xuanyuan Haoyue spoke first. “The assignment is very clear. Senior Brother Sect Master already explained it: we have five days to explore Yuanling City and submit a map of it, while collecting as much complete information about the city as possible. He also mentioned that the new function in our lock rings can be set to shared access, which means we can work together.”

“Based on my limited understanding of Yuanling City from the various channels I’ve heard about it through, and taking into account the kinds of information generally found in a city, the things we need to collect, aside from the terrain, streets, and overall layout, include the local aristocratic families, the structure of regional powers, and the distribution of people in the various urban districts.”

Once she had started, Han Weishu immediately followed up. “We should also include the secret realms around Yuanling City. Senior Brother Sect Master said he wanted a map of Yuanling City, but I think the secret realms in the surrounding area should be included as well.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Baizhu spoke up. “Sometimes, different groups may possess completely contradictory information. When we gather intelligence, it would be best to investigate from multiple angles, question different groups, and verify the information from several sources.”

“But if we do that, the workload will be enormous,” Gu Yuxiao remarked after thinking it over.

Xuanyuan Haoyue nodded. “Exactly. That’s why we should divide up the work and cooperate. Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that someone may be more confident working alone. So my suggestion is that we first state our preferences, decide whether everyone wants to cooperate, and then discuss the details of how to divide the work.”

After hearing this, everyone shook their heads, indicating that they had no desire to work alone and would rather cooperate.

Once they had confirmed everyone’s intentions, the eight of them took out paper and brushes and began carefully listing the tasks that needed to be divided up.

In the end, they decided to split into two groups of four. The first group would gather information throughout the city according to the four categories they had established. The second group would divide Yuanling City and its surrounding areas evenly into four regions, with each person responsible for one region. Their main task would be to record the layout of their assigned area while also collecting information, primarily to help the first group identify anything they had missed.