“Mu Jiu, pre-innate level, tenant farming one mu of land.”
Manager Meng pointed with his hand, and the ledger in front of him flipped open automatically. Information concerning Mu Jiuxiao surfaced on the pages. As Manager Meng spoke, Mu Jiuxiao promptly handed over the bamboo basket at his side.
Although the bamboo basket was not large, the Gold Spirit Rice inside was extraordinarily heavy. Manager Meng placed it onto the device beside him, and the grains fell away from the rice ears on their own.
“Two hundred and sixty jin, you’ve delivered too much.”
Manager Meng glanced at Mu Jiuxiao. Mu Jiuxiao bent forward with an ingratiating smile, saying, “Manager Meng, this humble person wishes to tenant farm one more mu of land this year. Might that be possible?”
“You are merely at the pre-innate level. Given your ability, you can farm at most one mu,” Manager Meng said indifferently.
“Manager Meng, this humble one has diligently practiced rice-farming techniques and achieved modest success. If Manager Meng would allow this humble one to take on another mu, I am willing to pay an extra sixty jin of Gold Spirit Rice every year from now on.” Mu Jiuxiao wore a flattering, obsequious expression.
“Very well. Since you have such capability, this manager will grant you a chance. But next year, if you fail to deliver that extra sixty jin of Gold Spirit Rice, do not blame this manager for being discourteous.”
Manager Meng’s tone turned icy as he picked up a spiritual pen to write on the paper. Soon, additional characters were recorded on the page designated for Mu Jiuxiao.
“Coincidentally, Elder Ge’s plot lies right beside the land you previously farmed. His former plot will now be yours to cultivate.”
“Many thanks, Manager Meng. Many thanks, Manager Meng.”
Mu Jiuxiao bowed repeatedly in gratitude, retreated a few paces, and only then dared to turn and leave.
Once outside the Secular Affairs Hall, the smile vanished from Mu Jiuxiao’s face entirely. The cultivation world was a harsh place to navigate; as a tenant farmer at the very bottom, survival was precarious.
Manager Meng’s word was law within the Secular Affairs Hall, yet in truth, he was merely at the third layer of Qi Condensation. Without talismans and Magical Artifacts, ordinary pre-innate martial artists from the mortal realm could strike him dead with a single palm strike!
Yet so what? Immortals were still Immortals. A single Lightning Bolt Talisman from his hand could blast a pre-innate martial artist into ash and bone dust.
Furthermore, this was an immortal sect. To cultivators, mortals were nothing more than draft animals-not even worthy of being called people.
In this world, everyone possessed spiritual roots, and theoretically, anyone could embark on Cultivation. Yet spiritual roots varied in quality, and each person’s affinity for Spiritual Qi differed. Only those whose total spiritual root attributes reached one hundred were capable of practicing Cultivation.
Those whose total attributes fell short of one hundred could never truly cultivate. Even if they fought with all their might to enter the Dao through martial arts, it would all amount to nothing in the end.
Yet he was different, because he believed in Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness!
Having completed his delivery of the Gold Spirit Rice, he hurried back to his dwelling.
To call it a home was generous; it was merely a dilapidated thatched hut. It was not that a sturdier dwelling was beyond reach, but the rules of the cultivation world were strict. Those Qi Condensation practitioners living higher up the mountain resided in simple wooden or stone houses. For a mere mortal to dare construct a lavish mansion?
If a passing Qi Condensation cultivator chanced to see it and happened to be in a foul mood, they would raze the entire structure to the ground, leaving him nowhere to even shed tears.
Pushing open the wooden door of the hut, he found the interior sparse and simple: a bed, a table, and a single wooden stool. In the corner sat a small earthen stove alongside a few miscellaneous items.
Mu Jiuxiao walked over to the table, poured himself a cup of water, drank it down, and then sat cross-legged upon the bed.
Believing that Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness, he had never spared a thought for entering the Dao through mundane martial arts. Instead, day after day for ten years, he had quietly sat in meditation, practicing the Everlasting Spring Technique.
Why did those renowned worldly martial masters abandon comfortable lives in the mortal realm and endure countless hardships just to serve as humble servants in the cultivation world? It was entirely for the sake of obtaining this very Everlasting Spring Technique!
Mu Jiuxiao was far more fortunate than they. Both his parents had been tenant farmers on Luoxia Peak, granting him the right to reside here from birth and easily receive the Everlasting Spring Technique.
His late father, Mu Yunfeng, had not enjoyed such early fortune. Mu Yunfeng had once been a brilliant pre-innate martial arts master in the mortal realm, an exceptionally dazzling talent of his generation.
Yearning for higher realms, Mu Yunfeng had traveled to Luoxia Peak to become a tenant farmer. Because the spiritual resources here far outstripped those of the secular world, he had successfully broken through via martial arts to become a Qi Condensation cultivator.
Alas, good times do not last. During an expedition into the mountains in search of cultivation resources, he was wounded by a Demon Beast, leaving behind chronic hidden injuries and severely draining his lifespan. Consequently, he had no choice but to abandon his Dao path and instead take a wife and settle down.
When Mu Jiuxiao was eight years old, Mu Yunfeng passed away. Until his final breath, his father had never managed to reach the third layer of Qi Condensation or truly step through the gates of the immortal sect.
Yet Mu Jiuxiao was different, for he possessed a true innate talent: Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness!
Three years ago, he awakened the memories of his past life, and alongside them came his innate endowment: Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness.
Within the memories of his past life, such a trait was referred to as a Gold Finger. Yet he knew better; this was no mere artifact, but his own innate constitution.
Just as the world possessed miraculous physiques such as the Primordial Spirit Body or the Phoenix Sound Graceful Body, Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness was the unique Dao body bestowed upon him by the heavens.
Character: Mu Jiuxiao
Identity: Tenant Farmer
Cultivation Technique: Everlasting Spring Technique (Note: Practiced for ten years; cultivation speed increased by two hundred percent.)
Movement Technique: Meteor Steps (Note: Practiced for three years; movement speed increased by fifty percent.)
Spiritual Root Talent: Metal 12, Wood 15, Water 15, Fire 16, Earth 15+4
(Practiced Qi Condensation for ten years; spiritual root talent is currently improving. After ten more hours of practice, spiritual root talent will increase by one point.)
Cultivated Spiritual Fields: Two mu
(Farmed for ten years; farming proficiency increased by fifty percent, farming efficiency increased by fifty percent.)
(Note: Your farming technique is extraordinary. Crops you cultivate yield fifty percent more harvest.)
(Note: You possess skillful hands. Under your tending, the fertility of your spiritual fields increases by twenty percent, effectively expanding your field yield equivalent to two additional mu.)
(Congratulations! Having cultivated Gold Spirit Rice for ten years, the quality of the Gold Spirit Rice you produce has increased by ten percent!)
Mu Jiuxiao’s heart stirred as understandable information bloomed within his mind. This was the fortune brought by Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness.
So long as he practiced diligently, this trait not only enhanced his efficiency but continuously improved his innate talent. Even the poor soil of the spiritual fields he tended gradually grew fertile under his care, while his harvests surpassed those of anyone else.
This was the true source of his confidence in the future.
Naturally, even a clever housewife cannot cook a meal without rice. The plots he farmed were the lowest-grade inferior spiritual fields-parcels the cultivators on the mountain disdained to touch and tossed aside to the tenants, adding a meager yield that was better than nothing.
If he were currently farming superior spiritual fields, a twenty percent fertility boost would yield astonishing results. Moreover, the more land he cultivated, the faster his abilities would grow.
Had he possessed Pills to assist his cultivation over the years, his progression and spiritual root refinement would have advanced far beyond a mere four-point increase.
Yet as he continued to grow, everything would improve step by step. Case in point: today, by offering a bribe of sixty jin of spiritual rice, had he not successfully secured an additional mu of land?
So long as he tended the fields with care, each mu could yield five hundred and forty jin of Gold Spirit Rice. Two mu would total one thousand and eighty jin; after paying the four hundred and sixty jin tribute, six hundred and twenty jin would remain in his hands.
Naturally, that was only the theoretical calculation.
Even so, his farming efficiency already far surpassed that of ordinary tenant farmers.
Furthermore, he could assist others with their farming, which not only accumulated experience and boosted efficiency but also earned him additional compensation.