By the end of the day, all participating Outer Disciples returned to the training field for the final inspection. The mood was chaotic, with disciples loudly arguing over contested herb patches and slight injuries.
Lin Wei was the first to approach Elder Gao, bowing deeply.
"Elder Gao, I must report a violation," Lin Wei announced dramatically. "My cousin, Lin Feng, ignored the checklist entirely. He spent the entire day in the Abandoned Mine, a protected, depleted site! He gathered nothing but worthless, discarded rock dust, failing the trial entirely."
Elder Gao, his face stern and lined, turned his gaze to Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, present your haul."
Lin Feng walked to the inspection table. All the other disciples had baskets filled with varying quantities of herbs, low-grade spirit stones, and medicinal fungi—all recognized, valuable resources.
Lin Feng placed his collection on the table. It was exactly as Lin Wei had described: a small, tightly packed leather sack filled with mineral dust, bits of rusted tool handles, and fragments of shattered talismans. There wasn't a single item on the checklist.
A collective scoff went through the assembled disciples. Even the Elder's assistant sneered.
Elder Gao picked up a handful of the mineral dust. It was dull gray, inert, and physically worthless. He crushed a piece of rusted metal, which broke easily.
"Lin Feng," Elder Gao said, his voice laced with disappointment and thinly veiled contempt. "The purpose of this trial is to contribute to the Sect, not to mock it. You have failed to collect a single item on the required list. Your submission is worthless."
"With respect, Elder Gao," Lin Feng said, meeting the Elder's eyes without flinching, "my submission is not worthless. It simply requires a perspective that the Sect has long forgotten."
Lin Wei burst out laughing. "Hear that? The waste spirit thinks he knows better than the Sect Masters!"
Elder Gao silenced Lin Wei with a glare. "Explain yourself, Lin Feng. You have one chance to justify your gross incompetence."
Lin Feng didn't reach for an explanation. He reached for the inert material on the table.
He placed his hand on the mound of gray mineral dust and, with a subtle internal movement, activated the Dao of Transmuting Refuse. He didn't absorb all of the dust, only a concentrated portion.
The dust instantly vanished, leaving behind nothing.
But the action was a demonstration. He then placed his hand on a piece of discarded, cracked White Jade—the exact material the disciples were searching for—that Elder Gao had placed nearby for demonstration. This piece was only cracked, but discarded for being structurally unsound.
Lin Feng focused the essence he had just derived from the mineral dust. Using the Scrap Essence Focus, he didn't absorb the jade; he infused it with the pure Metallic and Earth Scrap Qi he had just derived from the worthless rock.
The cracked piece of White Jade instantly began to glow with a clean, stable spiritual light. The crack didn't vanish, but the spiritual energy it contained was suddenly boosted and stabilized by the purified, dense essence he had infused into it.
Elder Gao's eyes widened. He snatched the piece of jade and examined it with his spiritual sense. The Qi density had noticeably increased, and the fragment felt structurally sounder, useful for low-grade talisman carving or refining.
"What sorcery is this?" Elder Gao muttered, genuinely shocked. He looked back at the pile of inert dust and rusted metal.
Lin Feng spoke, his voice measured. "Elder, the Sect hunts for intact resources in scarce veins. I harvested residual essence from abandoned waste. That mineral dust and rusted metal were discarded because the spiritual energy was diluted and mixed with inert earth elements. But my method extracts the pure metallic and earth essence, purifying it to an entirely usable state."
He swept his hand toward the vast Central Scrap Mound looming in the distance. "While others compete for scarce resources, I have access to a mountain of endless, free, and renewable spiritual waste. I have harvested materials that the Sect deemed worthless, making them usable again through transmutation."
Elder Gao stared at the immense pile of discarded materials Lin Feng had brought. He looked at the perfectly stable, infused White Jade in his hand. If Lin Feng could truly reclaim the spiritual essence from worthless, abandoned waste, the economic implication for the Sect was revolutionary. It meant endless, conflict-free resources.
Elder Gao didn't smile, but the hard lines around his eyes softened slightly. He tossed the revitalized White Jade back onto the table.
"Lin Feng," the Elder announced, his voice carrying authority. "You failed the checklist, but you demonstrated a completely unprecedented method of resource recovery." He then turned and addressed the stunned crowd. "The Sect operates on utility! Lin Feng has shown us that the value of material is not inherent, but derived from the method of its use!"
He pointed at the now-furious Lin Wei. "Lin Wei, you focused on petty conflict and worthless accusations. Lin Feng, you focused on generating utility from the environment's failures."
"Your performance in the trial is judged as Excellent," Elder Gao declared, shocking every disciple present. "You are relieved of all standard resource gathering duties. You shall report directly to the Outer Sect Resource Management Hall tomorrow to document and explore the potential of your 'Transmutation Method' on a larger scale."
Lin Feng bowed deeply, accepting the promotion and the new level of scrutiny that came with it. His goal was achieved: he had replaced the role of Waste Disposal Disciple with the title of Resource Transmuter, securing his freedom and legitimate access to the Sect's massive flow of "trash."
As he turned to leave, Lin Wei stepped forward, his eyes burning with toxic jealousy. "This is not over, cousin! You'll never fool the Elders forever!"
Lin Feng simply walked past him. He had his legitimacy, his freedom, and a new mountain of resources waiting. The 4th Stage was just around the corner.