***
Following that, he went through the Earth Qi Formula, the Metal Qi Formula, and finally the Water Qi Formula.
After attempting the basic formulas of the Five Elements in succession for over half a sijin (one hour), Lee An-jeong was so dumbfounded that he eventually ended up hurling the book onto the floor.
"Fuck! Even if I’m considered 'trash-tier,' isn't this going too far? How can I not feel even a single one of those five attributes!"
The natural talent of the owner of this body was so poor that it was truly pathetic.
He felt like he finally understood why they had called it the "lowest grade."
Moreover, what was even stranger was that no matter how much he tried to memorize the mantras, the moment he brought them to mind, they were instantly erased.
For a long while after that, Lee An-jeong, who had been huffing and puffing with the five different cultivation methods, became completely exhausted and ended up sprawling out on the floor in the shape of the character 'Dae' (spread-eagled).
He had concentrated for nearly a full sijin, but his efforts had resulted in nothing but a waste of time.
"What is this? Is there some kind of secret hidden in these short mantras? Phew, I can't do this! I wonder how the other kids are doing?"
Driven by a sliver of curiosity, Lee An-jeong quietly stepped outside to check on the situation in the other cultivation caves.
Outside, it was tranquil, save for the chirping of birds and the whistling sound of the wind.
As he looked around at the cultivation caves, he saw about a hundred of them situated at the lowest level.
Above those, he could see a thousand more caves packed tightly together, rising tier by tier all the way to the summit of the rocky mountain.
It appeared that this entire rocky mountain was a massive residential area for the miscellaneous disciples' training.
Lee An-jeong headed toward the nearest cave right next to his.
The closest cave was located about twenty paces away.
There, he saw a boy about his own age with his eyes closed, reciting a mantra.
He was a chubby, plump boy who looked a bit slow at first glance.
"Cheon-pung-ip-gol... Nok-gi-tong-baek... Mok-won-saeng-sim... Yeon-geun-ji-gi..."
The boy was reciting the Wood Qi Formula.
Lee An-jeong quietly observed what the fellow was doing.
However, no particular change could be seen in the boy.
It seemed that his talent was not very outstanding either.
After a moment, the boy let out a sigh and opened his eyes.
"Phew... as expected, it’s not easy. Just when will I be able to feel the Spirit Qi...?"
Rustle—
At that moment, the boy sensed Lee An-jeong’s presence and shouted with a frightened face.
"W-who is it?"
The boy shrunk his neck back as if trying to bury it into his own flesh, and while cautiously poking his head out, he tilted it to the side in confusion.
This was because Lee An-jeong’s face was a strange one that he had never seen among the miscellaneous disciples before.
Then, at a certain point, he recognized Lee An-jeong, and his eyes sparkled as he pointed a finger at him.
"Oh! You’re the one who entered today! The boy who got beaten up so incredibly much this morning!"
"What? The boy who got beaten up incredibly much?"
Lee An-jeong felt a flash of anger at those words, but seeing the boy’s innocent and bright expression, which held no ill intent, he simply shook his head.
'Phew... I should hold it in. Just by looking at him, he seems like a slow and clueless fellow...'
Then, the chubby boy suddenly realized his mistake and apologized while scratching the back of his head.
"Ah... s-sorry. I have a habit of speaking mindlessly without thinking..."
Lee An-jeong waved his hand dismissively and asked.
"Ah—it’s fine. But it looks like your training isn't going very well either?"
At those words, the boy’s expression turned gloomy once again.
"That's right.
It’s already been over two years since I entered the sect, but I still haven't been able to feel the Spirit Qi of even a single attribute.
Among the low-grade four-element root holders, I must be especially untalented."
Lee An-jeong looked at the boy’s dejected face and asked something he had been curious about.
"By any chance, does it have something to do with the mantras disappearing from your head?"
"Huh? Ah... that’s right.
They say it’s like that if you don't have 'Inspiration.' No matter how hard you memorize it, the mantra just vanishes from your mind.
Is it like that for you too? I guess you don't have much talent either, then?
Ah!
You said you were a lowest-grade miscellaneous spirit root, right...?
Then you might not have any talent at all..."
"What?"
Lee An-jeong felt a surge of anger at the boy’s words, but at the same time, he became dazed.
It wasn't that the boy’s words were particularly wrong, and as he reflected on the meaning behind them, he was shocked to the point that his mind went blank.
"Oh... sorry. I made another slip of the tongue..."
The boy apologized again while scratching the back of his head, but his words didn't reach Lee An-jeong’s ears.
Lee An-jeong stood there for a moment with a vacant expression before trudging back to his own cultivation cave.
Even after returning to his cave, the shock did not easily dissipate.
'Could it be that I’ll never be able to pass even the 1st Star of the Qi Refining stage for the rest of my life?'
He couldn't shake that worry away no matter what.
It was at that moment, while he was staring blankly at the cave wall for a long time.
The sound of a bell began to ring from a distance.
Ding— Ding—
"Ah! This sound? Oh! They said there was something called Labor Training, right?
Is it already that time?"
He realized that the Labor Training time, which he had overheard from the fourth-generation disciple during his entry, had arrived.
Lee An-jeong made an effort to shake off his complicated thoughts and stepped out of the cultivation cave.
Labor Training was the time when the miscellaneous disciple children performed various menial chores throughout the grounds of the Buyeon Sect.
It included drawing water, cleaning, and doing laundry, of course.
They also had to dig for spirit herbs, manufacture Inedia Pills, and even hunt wild animals living on the mountain.
In exchange for making them do the sect’s chores, the sect provided them with basic resources and passed down training methods.
This was the reason why they took in those whose talents were low-grade or below as disciples.
Today, Lee An-jeong was assigned to the valley stream to do laundry.
When he arrived at the valley and looked around, he saw the slow and chubby fellow from the neighboring cave he had seen earlier.
That fellow was looking around with a terrified expression, scanning his surroundings.
Then, he saw a pretty-looking young girl approach him and strike up a conversation.
"Mak Cheong-un! Have you still not managed to enter the Qi Refining stage?"
As she said this, the girl placed her hand firmly on his shoulder and looked at him with an expression that said he was pathetic.
The chubby boy called Mak Cheong-un flinched at the girl’s words and hesitated.
"Uh, uh... So-hyang-ah... t-that is..."
At those words, the girl furrowed her fine eyebrows and shouted venomously.
"Didn't I tell you not to call my name like that? Call me Mak So-hyang Agassi! A mere branch-family fellow like you! Where do you get the nerve to be so insolent!"
"Y-yes. Mak So-hyang Agassi..."
Mak So-hyang glared at Mak Cheong-un for a long time as if she was still unsatisfied.
Just then, a boy appeared beside Mak So-hyang and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Why are you even bothering with a moron like him? Even if he is your cousin, he’s just trash who will be kicked out of the family in a year anyway."
The boy who appeared was someone Lee An-jeong also knew.
It was because he was that fellow, Hwang Cheon, who had beaten him mercilessly a few hours ago.
"H-Hwang Cheon..."
As soon as Mak Cheong-un spotted Hwang Cheon, he shrunk back even further and began to slink away.
"Hmph! Haha—what a pathetic piece of shit..."
"Exactly. That guy is the disgrace of our Mak family!"
Hwang Cheon burst out laughing while mocking Mak Cheong-un.
Mak So-hyang leaned against Hwang Cheon’s side and joined him in hurling insults at Mak Cheong-un.
'I thought he seemed unpleasant, but is that guy named Hwang Cheon some kind of "Il-jin" leader here?
I guess guys like him exist no matter where you go!'
Looking at Hwang Cheon and Mak So-hyang, Lee An-jeong was reminded of the bullies he had encountered while going through elementary, middle, and high school in Hell Joseon.
Anywhere people lived was the same.
Even among the kids of the Xianxia world, there were those who acted like bullies.
He found their behavior disgusting, but as someone without power, there was nothing Lee An-jeong could do.
Lee An-jeong watched Mak Cheong-un and Mak So-hyang for a moment before heading toward the opposite side of the valley stream.
He saw thousands of training robes of various colors soaked in the nearby valley water.
The trainees were crouching around the stream, rubbing the training robes vigorously with their small, fern-like hands.
There were some children who did the laundry with ease, but among them, there were quite a few who hesitated to even put their hands on the laundry.
Though their spirit roots were poor, these were children who had been raised as precious offspring in wealthy families of the mortal world.
Such children had come here as miscellaneous disciples because they couldn't withstand the expectations of their families, but their expressions were sour now that they were forced to do dirty laundry.
Lee An-jeong was also about to crouch down in a spot by the stream and pick up some laundry.
But suddenly, someone lunged forward and kicked Lee An-jeong’s shoulder with great force.
Thwack—!
"Argh!"
Due to that unexpected attack, Lee An-jeong fell sideways while still in his crouching position.
Furthermore, because it happened to be right by the edge of the stream, he ended up rolling right into the shallow water.
Since it was still early spring weather, the water was quite cold; as his entire body became soaked, Lee An-jeong’s body quickly became chilled and shivery.
"Hahahaha—the way you fall is truly pathetic to look at!"
When he lifted his head, he saw a familiar boy walking toward him, leading a group of several others.
The young boy in the lead had his arms crossed and wore an arrogant expression that didn't suit a child.
"What? Was it you? You’re that lowest-grade miscellaneous spirit root kid from before, right? Ugh, the smell! No wonder a vulgar stench was vibrating all around here!"
The one who appeared was none other than Hwang Cheon, who had just been standing beside Mak So-hyang.
Along with those words, Hwang Cheon acted with exaggerated bravado, grimacing and pinching his nose.
Even though he had clearly recognized him and approached specifically to kick him, he was putting on an act just to inflict even more humiliation.
Having been insulted repeatedly like this, Lee An-jeong’s anger rushed to the very top of his head.
"You son of a bitch! Is it you again? You dog!"
Lee An-jeong couldn't hold it back any longer; he jumped to his feet and began to curse wildly.
At that, Hwang Cheon’s expression hardened.
"What...?"
"Listen here, you crazy bastard! Come on then! Let's go again! Fuck! You tiny little brat! I’ll have you know I’m a Taekwondo black belt! Come at me! You son of a bitch!"
Lee An-jeong spat out curses like a rapid-fire machine gun while taking a Taekwondo stance.
He pulled his right foot back and glared at Hwang Cheon, as if he were ready to unleash a kick the moment the boy lunged.
In truth, just like his ordinary life, Lee An-jeong had barely ever fought with anyone throughout his school years, but he had a stubborn streak, and once he did fight, he was the type to see it through to the end.
Because of that, he had a certain level of confidence in his heart.
Besides, weren't these just kids around ten years old?
He thought that no matter how much they were cultivators, as long as he, a nineteen-year-old, didn't let his guard down, there was no way he would lose to such little brats.
Faced with Lee An-jeong’s unique Taekwondo stance and his savage cursing, Hwang Cheon was momentarily at a loss for words.
However, he quickly let out a snort and signaled to the group standing behind him.
"Was he someone who learned some physical arts? What a moron! This won't do. Grab him!"
Then, the group of three or four followers seemed to move their bodies only slightly before they began to approach him with incredible speed.
"Huh? These bastards?"
Lee An-jeong quickly tried to throw punches and kicks toward them.
But in that instant, their bodies seemed to vanish into thin air.
Swish-swish-swish—
Then, they suddenly appeared right in front of him and reached out their hands toward him.
"What? How are they so fast? Fuck! Take this!"
Lee An-jeong quickly thrust his fists toward their hands.
But shockingly, they were so fast that he was caught by them as soon as he extended his fists.
"Wait? Let go of me!"
Lee An-jeong was startled and struggled violently.
However, for some reason, once his shoulders and arms were seized by them, he couldn't exert any strength at all.
The strength he felt from them was like facing a grown adult—and a very powerful, muscular adult at that.