Chapter Three: Embarking on the Path of Cultivation!

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“Come on, system, explain to me what you mean by ‘barely able to tie a chicken’? And what’s with this profession—farmer? No matter what, I’m a cultivator now, shouldn’t my profession sound a bit more prestigious? How are you defining ‘farmer’, anyway?” Chen Xiang shouted in his mind.

“Beep. Host has not yet begun formal cultivation. Combat strength is lacking, so no cultivator profession assigned,” the system’s cold, mechanical voice echoed in his head.

Seeing this message, Chen Xiang cursed silently. Not yet begun formal cultivation? But still, you could give me something better than ‘farmer’. Even ‘unassigned’ would have felt less humiliating.

Xiaoyun, who had been watching Chen Xiang’s sudden outburst, quickly backed away a few steps and darted out of the kitchen to find his mother.

After arguing with the system for a while and getting no response, Chen Xiang gave up and stopped wasting his breath.

With a thought, he exited the interface and began plucking the chicken he’d just slaughtered.

Come to think of it, if killing chickens gives experience, doesn’t that mean he could level up this way? But killing a chicken only gave one experience point. It would take a hundred chickens to level up, and the experience needed would certainly keep increasing. It wasn’t like he could spend his life slaughtering chickens.

At that moment, Xiaoyun’s mother walked in, saw Chen Xiang handling the chicken feathers, and gave Xiaoyun a smack on the head. “You brat, what nonsense were you spouting? How is he crazy? All you do is make trouble for me every day.”

Xiaoyun wanted to protest but couldn’t find the words. But wasn’t Chen Xiang just acting crazy? One moment laughing at thin air, the next cursing furiously.

“Brother, let me handle this. You go and rest,” Xiaoyun’s mother came over and said.

Chen Xiang looked up and smiled. “No need, sister-in-law. I’ll be done in a moment. I’m staying at your place, after all; it’s only right that I help out.”

As soon as he said that, a lightbulb went off in his head. Wait, could it be that because he’d just said that, the system categorized him as a farmer?

Quickly finishing up with the chicken, Chen Xiang returned to his room.

“Xiaoyun, where did you put my clothes and belongings?” Chen Xiang asked, turning to the boy who had followed him in.

His mother had insisted he stick to Chen Xiang like glue, and he had no choice but to comply.

“Oh, your clothes were soaked, so my mother washed them and hung them out in the back yard. As for your other things, I put them next to your pillow,” Xiaoyun replied.

“Washed? Thank your mother for me,” Chen Xiang said.

He quickened his pace, returned to the room, and headed for the bed. Lifting the pillow, he found his belongings.

A phone, a lighter, a few bills, and a pack of cigarettes.

“Huh? Where’s my SLR camera?” Chen Xiang frowned.

“SLR camera? What’s that?” Xiaoyun asked, puzzled.

“It’s a black, rectangular thing, with a cylindrical bit at the front and a black strap on it,” Chen Xiang explained, knowing there was no such thing here.

Xiaoyun thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Never seen it.”

Seeing Xiaoyun shake his head, Chen Xiang sighed. Maybe he’d lost it when he fell off Mount Tai, or maybe it had fallen into the river. In any case, it was gone for good.

“A brand-new gadget, only used for a day, and thousands of yuan down the drain,” Chen Xiang thought mournfully.

He picked up what was left. The lighter was waterlogged and useless. The cigarettes were soaked and stuck together, also useless. As for the bills, who knew if they’d be accepted here?

Hands trembling, Chen Xiang picked up the green, long, buttoned phone and pressed the red button hard.

A couple of seconds later, a familiar voice sounded. Chen Xiang was overjoyed.

Phelps’ knockoff waterproof phone—knockoff or not, it was reliable!

The two-inch screen lit up. Chen Xiang checked; he’d been here a day and a half already. As for the signal—eight extended bars, all greyed out, and a big X at the end.

Even though he’d expected as much, disappointment still washed over him.

“What is that thing? It can make sounds?” Xiaoyun asked, curious about the strange green rectangle in Chen Xiang’s hand.

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He’d fiddled with it himself earlier, but apart from its odd appearance, he hadn’t figured out anything about it. Yet in Chen Xiang’s hands, it came alive and even made sounds.

After all, he was only twelve—curiosity came naturally.

“Nothing much, just a little gadget from my homeland.” With a thought, Chen Xiang had the system put away the phone. With no signal and being a dumb phone, it was useless here.

Xiaoyun curled his lip but said nothing.

Before long, Xiaoyun’s mother called them to dinner. Judging from Xiaoyun’s greedy gaze, this meal would be a feast.

But to Chen Xiang, the food tasted bland.

First, where he came from, he’d grown sick of eating fish and meat every day. Second, Xiaoyun’s mother’s cooking, while full of salty flavor, didn’t have any real seasoning or balance.

Yet to them, it was a delicacy.

After a day and night of hunger, even if it wasn’t to his taste, Chen Xiang ate two big bowls of rice.

That night, Chen Xiang slept in Xiaoyun’s room while Xiaoyun moved in with his mother.

Quietly, Chen Xiang slipped out to the backyard to collect his now-dry clothes.

He found a piece of charcoal, returned to the room, and scribbled a few words on the desk.

Then, gathering his things, he set off on his journey of cultivation.

“When I have attained immortality, I shall return!” Chen Xiang declared boldly at the village entrance.

This was the beginning of his path to immortality. From now on, this place was under his protection.

Without hesitation, Chen Xiang headed east. He’d already asked Xiaoyun for directions. His first destination was, of course, the capital of Dongli—Bright City.

That was the heart of Dongli, surely teeming with cultivators.

……

“Mother, come quickly!” Early the next morning, Xiaoyun burst from his room, shouting.

“What is it?” Xiaoyun’s mother was making breakfast.

“That fool is gone!” Xiaoyun exclaimed.

His mother’s face darkened. “Xiaoyun, how many times have I told you? He is not a fool. If you keep calling him that, you’ll grow up with a foul mouth. If you say it again, I’ll have your father spank you.”

Xiaoyun quickly backed away, covering his backside. “No, don’t let Father spank me. It hurts too much.”

“Then you’d best stop calling people names.”

“All right, Mother, I understand.”

“You said that young man is gone?” she asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

Xiaoyun nodded vigorously. “Yes, and he left some writing on my desk.”

“What did he write?”

“‘When I have attained immortality, I shall return…’” Xiaoyun murmured.

“What?” His mother was startled and grabbed his shoulder.

Xiaoyun winced from the pain.

“Hurry, let’s go see.” She didn’t notice his discomfort in her haste.

Upon reading the words left on the desk, she felt both relieved and disappointed.

“What’s wrong, Mother? Is there a problem with what he wrote?” Xiaoyun asked, puzzled.

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She sighed. “If what that young man wrote is true, he’ll become an immortal one day. We failed to treat him well, and our village missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“An immortal!” Xiaoyun gasped. He knew how mysterious immortals were.

But then he frowned. “But why did he write ‘when I have attained immortality’? Doesn’t that mean he’s not one yet?”

His mother shook her head. “It’s not the same. They say the highest goal of cultivators is to become immortals. Their definition of immortality isn’t something we commoners can comprehend. In our eyes, they’re already immortals.”

Stars shone in Xiaoyun’s eyes. “An immortal! I never thought that big brother was actually an immortal!”

“He left those words, so he might return someday. But who knows if we’ll live to see that happen,” his mother said softly.

“We will! I believe we’ll see him again!” Xiaoyun clenched his fists in determination.

……

Chen Xiang walked through the forest. During dinner the night before, he’d asked Xiaoyun’s mother about the way to Bright City, but she hadn’t known much. As farmers, they rarely left their village, which was near the border of Dongli, let alone traveled to the capital.

Supposedly, heading east would lead to Bright City. But Chen Xiang wasn’t foolish—he’d ask for directions again once he reached a town.

What he hadn’t expected was that as soon as he left Wuliton, he’d entered a forest. He’d been walking all night, killed a few wild beasts for experience, but still saw no sign of the forest’s end.

Sunlight filtered through the thick foliage, dappling the ground. Chen Xiang could tell it was morning, and his body was growing weary.

Just as he was about to collapse, the system’s alert sounded in his mind.

“Ding. Congratulations, host ‘Chen Xiang’, for being admired by commoners. You have gained 5 reputation points.”

Chen Xiang was speechless.

What the heck? Admired by commoners? Who’s admiring me? I haven’t even met many people since I got here. Who could be admiring me?

He was utterly baffled.

But he’d discovered a way to earn reputation points—being admired by others. He’d tinkered with the system yesterday and found that most functions required reputation points to use.

Another alert sounded.

“Ding. Host ‘Chen Xiang’ is nearing physical exhaustion. Would you like to consume one reputation point to recover?”

“You’re already trying to scam me out of my reputation points just after I earned five?” Chen Xiang exclaimed.

Was it because he’d had none before that the system hadn’t offered this option?

Reluctantly, since he was indeed running on fumes, and hadn’t slept much since waking up the previous evening, he agreed.

“Yes!” Chen Xiang said in his mind.

“Ding. The system is now restoring the host’s bodily functions. Each hour of recovery consumes one reputation point.”

In the next instant, a warm current flowed through Chen Xiang’s body.

He instantly felt refreshed, all fatigue gone.

“All right, let’s keep going! I refuse to believe I can’t get out of this forest!” Chen Xiang rolled his shoulders and strode forward.

The path of cultivation—none shall block me!

To be continued…