The morning mist hugged the ground like a lazy cat. Ash stood by the ridge behind his hut, staring blankly at the turnip patch.
They were just turnips. Round. Rooted. Disrespectfully ordinary.
Yet somehow, they'd triggered a skill seed in his panel last night.
> [Skill Sprout: "Root Affinity (Seed)"]
– Boosts growth rate of root vegetables within 3-meter radius.
– Passive increase to soil attunement.
– May synergize with bodily grounding skills.
"Congratulations," Ash muttered to himself, "I've achieved the pinnacle of spiritual farming. I'm now the Turnip Whisperer."
The system pinged, utterly unbothered:
> [Synergy Path Available: "Earthen Harmony"]
[Branching Possibilities: Agriculture, Earthen Qi Flow, Rooted Resilience]
Ash scratched his head.
"I just wanted something for back pain."
---
Not a Cultivator. Definitely Not.
Later that morning, Ash lugged a crate of mulch toward the back lot where a few villagers planted herbs. Every few steps, he paused to deliberately shift his weight, engaging "Postural Endurance" and "Unshakable Stance."
He wasn't trying to look mysterious. He was just trying not to throw out his spine.
A young man nearby paused mid-swing with his hoe. "Ash, you practicing a martial stance or something?"
Ash blinked slowly. "...I'm trying to evenly distribute the weight so I don't tear my left hamstring."
The boy nodded as if this were a profound lesson. "Balance. Right. I get it now."
> [New Passive Gained: "Incidental Instruction"]
– Others may misinterpret your mundane actions as profound training.
– Slight charisma increase among confused cultivators.
Ash stared at the notification for a long time.
Then nodded seriously at the boy and walked off at half-speed.
He now had the accidental aura of a wandering sage with back problems.
---
Skill Orchard: Early Discoveries
Back in his hut, Ash sat on a flattened pile of straw and focused.
The Skill Orchard tree in his mind had grown slightly. The branches were still faint, but there were buds forming.
Three labeled "buds" now pulsed:
Rooted Lift
Slow-Burn Recovery
Basic Nutrient Channeling
The most recent one came from boiling vegetables with medicinal roots. Apparently, mixing effort with attention while actually cooking had created a minor body-channeling effect.
> [Skill Path: Cooking-as-Cultivation]
– Your body slowly adapts to spiritual nutrients when eaten with intention.
– Future dishes may awaken minor qi responses.
"Does this mean I can gain power from soup?"
> [Yes.]
[Restriction: Must be prepared by self. Must be eaten with intention. Flavor optional.]
"…I'm going to become a gourmet monk, aren't I?"
> [Affirmative. Skill synergy with flavor-based enhancements available at level 3.]
Ash blinked again.
This system really was broken. In a gentle, backdoor-cheat kind of way.
---
Fei Yun Has Questions
That afternoon, Fei Yun returned with a bundle of herbs and a basket of rice cakes. She plopped down across from Ash at the low table.
"Master Ash," she said, "why were the turnips glowing?"
"…They weren't."
"They were," she insisted. "One of the elders said the soil's spirit signature had shifted. Something about passive root-channeling."
Ash chewed his rice cake.
Swallowed.
"Maybe it's the mulch."
She squinted at him. "You used rotten cabbage and fish bones. You're telling me that's spiritual fertilizer?"
He raised a brow. "Have you tried rotten cabbage and fish bones?"
She leaned forward, dead serious. "Will it make my cauliflowers glow?"
> [New Trait Detected: "Unintended Cultivation Mentor"]
– You now influence others' progression through nonsense explanations.
– Increases system clarity in counterbalance.
Ash coughed into his sleeve.
---
End of Chapter 6