Name: Zhou Changwang
Lifespan: 17/75
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Second Layer (21/100)
Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Technique (Entry Level 85/100)
Skills: Spirit Rain Skill (Mastery 135/200), Cleaning Technique (Entry Level 59/100), Fertilization Technique (Entry Level 63/100), Geng Metal Finger (Entry Level 13/100)
...
Zhou Changwang opened his eyes and saw the attribute panel in front of him.
I… am not dead?
Thinking of this, Zhou Changwang felt a rush of excitement in his heart.
He always cherished his life, rarely going out. Even if he had to, he would be extremely cautious, always keeping an eye on his surroundings and staying alert. After all, with more and more cars on the streets, he didn't want his name appearing on media platforms, followed by public criticism.
Especially since his superstitious mother had consulted an elder who warned him against long journeys and advised him to avoid vehicles…
Though he didn't believe it entirely, he was always a bit more cautious on the road, sticking to the sidewalk whenever possible.
Yet, this time, after he had to go out, he was walking properly on the sidewalk when a runaway car ignored the thirty centimeters high curb and headed straight for him…
"It seems that no matter what, certain things do deserve some respect, whether you believe in them or not."
Zhou Changwang muttered to himself, contemplating whether he should give thanks, when suddenly, he was startled.
Fragments of memories abruptly surfaced in his mind.
After a long while.
He silently came back to his senses.
A complex expression, half happy, half sad, appeared on his face.
At this moment, he finally confirmed that he indeed had died before.
And now, he had traversed.
Traversed into a completely unfamiliar world.
A Cultivation World!
At this moment, his name was the same as before, still Zhou Changwang, a loose cultivator residing in the Fengming Dock Marketplace.
What is a loose cultivator?
Someone without roots, a cultivator who can only rely on his own efforts for cultivation.
Qi Cultivation Stage Second Layer.
Now, at the outskirts of Fengming Dock Marketplace, he managed three acres of Spirit Field.
His usual work was cultivating and guarding those three acres of Spirit Field, hoping to gain some Spirit Rice at harvest to exchange for Spirit Stones to support his cultivation.
His father was a mortal who practiced martial arts, a Martial Arts Innate among mortals, and was once the Martial Arts Alliance Leader in a Mortal Country. He gave up everything to pursue immortality and settled in Fengming Dock Marketplace for twenty years.
Unfortunately, lacking a Spiritual Root, he was hopeless in cultivation, so he placed his hopes on his descendants.
Hence, he went to great lengths to find a female cultivator with Spiritual Roots to marry, leading to the birth of Zhou Changwang.
"If we were in a Mortal Realm, with my father's status as a Martial Arts Innate, he would certainly enjoy endless wealth and glory.
Alas, this is a Cultivation World."
Zhou Changwang lamented, sighing.
His eyes, however, shone with a certain brilliance.
A Cultivation World.
"Meaning.
One can become immortal?
Achieve eternal life, endless lifespan…"
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person, with dreams eroded by life's trivialities. Even his wildest fantasy was merely financial freedom, returning home rich…
But this world offered the possibility of becoming immortal.
Although he knew very well that this hope was extremely slim.
Moreover, he had all five types of Spiritual Roots: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. His aptitude wasn't considered poor, but it only barely allowed him the possibility to cultivate.
Without special opportunities, Qi Cultivation Stage was his limit.
And the Qi Cultivation Stage, in terms of lifespan, was actually not much different from that of mortals.
Thus, his father abandoned the idea of sending him to a sect and instead sent him to the Spirit Plant Hall within the Fengming Dock Marketplace. After being an apprentice for five years, only at the beginning of this year, with his father's support, did he manage to rent three acres of Spirit Field to barely sustain himself in this Cultivation Marketplace.
"Cultivation is difficult.
It's nothing like the imagined ethereal, carefree life.
Just facing the earth and sweating every day is not enough for daily cultivation expenses…"
Zhou Changwang recalled the memories in his mind and couldn't help but sigh.
The previous life was indeed entirely different from what he had imagined.
The three acres of Spirit Field had already been planted with Spirit Grain at the beginning of the year, but the growth of Spirit Grain required care.
Tilling, weeding, pest control, fertilizing, Spirit Rain irrigation… any mishandling could affect growth and reduce yield.
Generally, under the management of a Spirit Plant Master, Spirit Field yields over five hundred jin per acre. At the current marketplace rate of one Lower-Grade Spirit Stone per ten jin of Spirit Rice, this means one acre of Spirit Field can yield fifty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
Three acres would yield one hundred and fifty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
It seems like a lot, but renting the Spirit Field alone was not cheap.
Initially, the Spirit Plant Hall offered two schemes: the first was a fixed rate of thirty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones per acre, totaling ninety Lower-Grade Spirit Stones for three acres. The second was a base fee of ten Lower-Grade Spirit Stones per acre plus fifty percent of the Spirit Grain output. If the yield was less than forty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones per acre, the remaining twenty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones had to be compensated to the Spirit Plant Hall.
To save money, he chose the second option.
This means, after a year of hard work, with an output of five hundred jin per acre, he could actually earn only forty-five Lower-Grade Spirit Stones.
This is in good years. If there were pests or calamities, the yield would significantly decrease, even to the point of having nothing.
By then, the remaining twenty Lower-Grade Spirit Stones would have to be borne by himself.
In short, the Spirit Plant Hall never loses.
The original self, while tilling the land daily, also had to attend to cultivation, naturally leading to great hardship.
"Fortunately, this time I traversed with something."
Zhou Changwang couldn't help but glance again at his attribute panel.
Name: Zhou Changwang
Lifespan: 17/75
Cultivation: Qi Cultivation Second Layer (21/100)
Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Technique (Entry Level 85/100)
Skills: Spirit Rain Skill (Mastery 135/200), Cleaning Technique (Entry Level 59/100), Fertilization Technique (Entry Level 63/100), Geng Metal Finger (Entry Level 13/100)
...
Although he didn't know how this panel came about, having read three thousand online novels, he quickly understood its meaning.
Obviously, the panel recorded all the information about him.
Seventeen years old, with a total lifespan of seventy-five years.
Qi Cultivation Second Layer.
Cultivation method: Five Elements Technique, and his known spells were the Spirit Rain Skill, Cleaning Technique, Fertilization Technique, and Geng Metal Finger…
The terms 'Entry Level' and 'Mastery' were easy to understand.
He knew that regardless of cultivation technique or magic, they have various stages: Entry Level, Mastery, Small Success, Great Success, and Perfection.
For example, the four spells he mastered, Cleaning Technique, Fertilization Technique, and Geng Metal Finger were all at the Entry Level, while the Small Spirit Rain Technique was at Mastery. From his memory, he understood the effects were indeed better than those at the Entry Level.
The only thing puzzling him was the numerical values corresponding to the Entry Level and Mastery.
Are they experience points, or proficiency?
How can they be increased?
Thinking of this, he couldn't sit still any longer.