Early in the morning, with the sky still gray, a delicate-looking young man, dressed in a white robe, stood in a room filled with cauldrons. He held a wet cloth in his hand, wiping away the grime accumulated at the bottom of the containers.
It was awful, but Lingyun had no choice. If he wanted to earn spirit stones without fighting outside, this was the only way.
Flaring his nostrils to avoid the smell of herbal impurities, he continued scrubbing with the cloth.
His movements were swift, going up and down, rubbing the metallic walls, which released a black slime absorbed by the fabric. Then, he dipped the cloth into a dirty bucket, washed it, and rinsed it in the clean bucket before returning to his work.
An hour later, he had cleaned all twenty cauldrons in the room, leaving them as good as new. The true color of their inner walls was a beautiful silver, while the exterior was bronze-colored.
"Finally done! If I stayed here one more minute, I'd die suffocated."
He muttered as he left the room carrying two buckets—one filled with black water and the other with clean water.
Walking carefully to avoid being scolded by a grumpy old man, Lingyun exited. Outside was a straight corridor. On both sides, numbered doors. In front of him was door number 10, and his was 60—each side had fifty rooms.
Following the path, he turned toward the walkway, heading to room number one. Once there, he set the buckets on the ground, pushed the door open, picked them up again, and entered, seeing a bunch of cleaning supplies.
Leaving what he carried inside, Lingyun walked out. Later, another disciple would come to throw the water away.
That's how sect tasks worked for weak disciples like him—each had their own duty.
After leaving room 1, Lingyun headed toward the corridor exit. In front of him was a square area filled with herbs in display cases, protected by a formation.
Reaching a corner, he spotted an old man who, at just a glance, was already irritating. But he didn't show it. With a polite wave of his hand, he greeted:
"I've finished my task. You can verify with your spiritual sense, Elder Lu."
The old man, upon hearing this, just made an indifferent face, as if he didn't take Lingyun seriously.
'Irritating. A low-level elder trying to act arrogant? What a joke.'
He laughed inwardly, finding the old man pathetic.
"Take it. Here's your reward."
The elder handed him five spirit stones. Half of what was due—it should've been ten. But Lingyun decided not to interfere for now.
Even though he despised the bastard, his status was higher. Causing trouble would be asking to die.
"Thank you."
He nodded again and made his way home. His eyes gleamed with a cold intent, but he held himself back.
'I'm rich. These stones are just for initial cultivation. But I still hate being robbed.'
He wouldn't forget this. If he ever got the chance to screw over that elder, he wouldn't hesitate. But that would have to wait.
Patience is a virtue every great hero must have.
***
After an hour crossing the outer area, he arrived at his home—a small, poorly built hut.
Entering it, he placed the stones he had earned today on the ground. The next moment, he grabbed a book and started reading it.
"Book of Spiritual Formation"
"Arrange fifty low-grade spirit stones in a circle, then, with your blood, draw the 'Wind' rune."
"Note: A rune is a living character. Use with caution."
After reading, Lingyun closed the book and tossed it to a corner of the bed.
The next moment, he went under it. Lifting a small piece of iron, he revealed a secret compartment full of spirit stones. He took them all, wrapped them in his shirt, and crawled back to where he was before.
Throwing them all on the ground like a rain of stones, they made several metallic clinks.
Ignoring the noise, he began arranging them in circles.
'This is gonna hurt.'
He murmured internally and then bit his finger, causing a sharp numbness, but nothing serious. With the blood, he drew red symbols in the center.
"Wind!"
The moment he finished, he stepped into the circle. Instantly, the stones on the ground began to tremble like an earthquake.
Soon, winds started to swirl over Lingyun's skin. At first, he crossed his arms, feeling cold.
"Cultivate!"
He reminded himself, then crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and stretched his arms to the sides. He began to perform the technique every disciple learns upon joining the Immortal Direction Sect:
Breathing of the Direction of Transcendence—First Part.
Lingyun didn't know the rest. At his level, that was the only part available. If he wanted the next parts, he would need to rise in rank.
But that didn't matter now. For now, this method was enough to cultivate up to the Human Maximum Realm.
Putting it into practice, the spiritual wind surrounding Lingyun began flowing toward him, entering his body like a cold wave, being absorbed by the meridians spread throughout his body.
At the same time, it was directed to a single point: the Qihai—the main reservoir of spiritual energy. Considered by all to be the central meridian, located at the center of the abdomen.
When the spiritual energy gathered there, it began to spin like a cyclone, not stopping for even a second.
"Compress!"
Lingyun started to shrink the vortex, slowly, while still absorbing the wind, increasing the energy even more.
After hours, a small cyclone naturally formed in his body.
"Finally, fuck yeah! I've reached level one of the Human Realm! After six months! Now I can finally activate that golden card!"
Thinking of that secret, his smile widened so much his cheeks began to ache from the intensity.
Stopping the crazy grin, he focused his mind, where he found a golden card floating above.
Seeing it made his emotions surge uncontrollably.
He was nervous, anxious—and at the same time, afraid of being robbed.
Even knowing it was impossible… unless he was killed.
Just thinking of dying made his nerves buzz even more with anxiety.
"Fuck it! I just have to tell no one and avoid showing off! Keep it a secret!"
He made this promise to himself. In the next moment, he calmed down.
Regaining composure, he went to the card, walking through his mental space with his spiritual consciousness—a miniature form of himself, but without the upper half. It moved like a ghost.
Getting close, he extended his hand toward the card. The moment he touched it, he appeared in a magnificent place—it looked like a palace, with golden walls bathed in light and gigantic pillars rising to the top.
On the ground, there were several platforms filled with spirit stones of all types and colors. Lingyun, whenever he came here, saw his eyes shine… But sadly, being weak, he had no right to anything. Now that he had reached the first realm...
He could finally take a spirit stone. Even if it was the lowest grade, it didn't matter—it was infinite.
"I'm rich!"