The morning had already reached its highest point, and with it Hui Cao rose from bed once more. This time, however, she went straight to the table where the chair had remained from yesterday.
Removing her ring from her finger, she placed it on the table and began inspecting it with the hammer-microscope.
"Celestial Steel Ring (iron and jade)
Capacity: 2 tons.
Special Capacity: Small Safe World. If the user desires, they may enter it for up to one hour.
Special Capacity: Living beings may enter the ring without dying.
Inscription of Huan Ming Zhi: May this ring protect you even if I am no longer here. With love, Mama."
"Analyzing the function of temporary safe world and living-being survival."
"Epic-class Wendigo Colossus Leather Spatial Ring added. Check the recipe in the repository."
The voice spoke directly inside Hui Cao's mind, making her flinch slightly before calmly putting her ring back on.
—Thank you, Mom—she said softly to the air as she stepped outside and looked at the man lying on the rocking chair, his hat covering his face.
Hui Cao gently nudged the rocking chair, causing The Man Without a Name to lift his hat and look at her.
Dark circles were visible under his eyes. He turned halfway around and tried to go back to sleep.
Hui Cao continued rocking calmly until The Man Without a Name spoke.
—System, create a physical copy of the Spirit Training Field guide and the daily routine in this girl's language—he said in a tired voice as he walked back to the bed to sleep.
In a single second, two small books fell from the air in front of her.
On the cover of the thicker book, a fox painted blue—almost ethereal—was depicted riding the waves.
On the other, a small wheat field appeared, with a raised hoe blocking a small sun.
On both books, the titles were perfectly inscribed in Hui Cao's language.
The language of the Xuan Dao world was similar to Chinese, but its symbolism had changed so much that if an ordinary person entered a capital city, they would appear completely illiterate.
She looked at the titles calmly, then took a step back in annoyance, glancing at the man who had already gone back to sleep, while she read the smaller book, which began like this:
Daily Routine of a Crybaby Girl
Well, as you already know, I—the owner of this house—do things every day. Even if I look calm most of the time, it's only because there hasn't been a need for me to move yet. Anyway, due to yesterday's expenses, we need to recover what was lost as soon as possible.
Let's start with the fields. A few kilometers away, at the far end of the farmland, there's a group of chests divided by seeds, ranging from common to mythical grade. To plant, you need to dig a small hole in each field and throw twenty seeds into each hole. When all the fields have those holes and seeds, say "cultivate" out loud, and it will begin.
If you want a hoe to make things easier, search the center of the fields. There's a chest full of legendary-grade hoes. The crop we need right now is Gray Wolf Spirit Nettle, so look in the rare-grade chest.
After that, you'll start in the Rare Luck Training Field, after eating, of course. If you want fried rice, you can have it, although there's a chest marked Breakfast next to the charcoal kitchen.
In this case, I won't give you a guide on how to win in the Luck Training Field. It's easier than you think, and with your intelligence, you should manage it easily. Just ask the system to guide you to the Luck Training Field.
After that, take a shower and enter the Perception Field. Same advice as before—it's simpler than it looks.
After all that, if you can, take the oak logs from the chest next to the carpentry table. Place them on top and say "oak plank creation." If you can't, just wait until I wake up. Eat lunch properly and read the Spirit Training Field guide. I hope you read it carefully, because if you don't… well, you'll suffer quite a bit with that stupid fox.
If you succeed on the first try, take a break. If not, try again tomorrow night. When I wake up, I'll go to a resource zone to bring materials and refill the boxes to their maximum capacity.
Under no circumstances enter the Strength or Speed and Agility Training Fields again. I'll have guides suitable for your level in a few days. With that said, see you later.
Storing both books inside her ring, Hui Cao reflected for a moment.
She glanced at the cabin, where loud snoring echoed.
Not wanting to take advantage of his kindness any further, she went to the charcoal kitchen, approached the chest, and took one of the dishes.
In her hand appeared a small plate: pancakes with honey. Taking a drink, she pulled a bottle from the bottom of the barrel, filled with a brown liquid. Its label read:
Mark and Family Chocolate Milk — From the County to Your Home
She removed the cap and took a sip, thinking it would be bitter like that black drink from the day before.
When she tasted it, she recalled the sweetness from yesterday, but more subdued, as if distilled into the milk.
Thinking of what kind of fruit could create such a flavor, she found nothing similar in her memories.
She took another sip before continuing.
Raising her arms, she grabbed a spoon from the kitchen and calmly walked toward the table.
As she stepped outside, the plate of pancakes expanded, becoming large and fragrant on a wooden platter just as big as the one she had eaten from before.
Hui Cao stopped at the threshold, the wooden platter now firm and wide in her hands, the aroma of hot pancakes enveloping her. For a moment, she looked at the plate, then at her own hands, then toward the cabin where he was snoring.
It wasn't magic.
Or maybe it was—but a different kind. Not the flashy spectacle of a battle spell. It was the quiet magic of a well-made home, where utensils adjusted themselves to the one holding them. In the palace, if a plate was too large, a servant would be scolded. Here, the plate itself shrank or grew to avoid waste and discomfort.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile brushed her lips—not of joy, but of understanding. This was the logic of this place. It wasn't absurd. It was relentlessly practical. The hat adjusted. The plate adjusted. Soon, perhaps, the fields and training would adjust as well.
After setting the plate down, she went back inside, took the hat from the rack—left there yesterday when she had imitated The Man Without a Name—and lowered its brim slightly before heading out.
She took the spoon. Though the strangeness of the flavors and energy in this place no longer shocked her, the taste itself was something else entirely.
She had eaten honey from red spiritual fire bees before—bees whose stingers were coated in flames. The only way to obtain a proper amount was to send at least eight Core Formation cultivators, and even then, you were lucky if six returned alive. A luxury reserved only for the nobility of the Gu Yan Empire.
Yet this honey atop the pancakes was stronger in flavor, and it felt as if a single spoonful would be enough to satisfy her.
That led her to a question.
Just how strong were the bees of this place?
Remembering those cows that embodied absolute Yin and Yang, she abandoned the thought. It was useless to dwell on such things right now.
After eating, she left the plate and the chocolate milk container in place and ran toward the fields.
The ethereal light of the system caused them to vanish the instant they were emptied.
Running straight ahead, she noticed the chest at the center of the cleared fields, which had already been harvested the night before.
Upon reaching it, she noticed the difference immediately. Although its name marked it as Legendary Hoes, a faint golden band shimmered along its outer edge.
When she opened it, she saw it filled to the brim with hoes. The wood felt strange to the touch—existing and disappearing the instant she loosened her grip.
Hui Cao sensed the qualitative difference between yesterday's Guan Dao and this tool. It was like comparing roadside grass to an orchid cultivated for centuries.
Lifting one, she felt the metal at its tip resonate in her mind with the raw material of the chest, though the resemblance was merely superficial.
She decided not to use her divine sense. It would only consume her qi and once again remind her of how absurd this world was.
Taking one, the three-meter-long tool shrank until it was just a head taller than Hui Cao.
Accepting this without comment, she began running toward the edge of the farmland.
The vast, empty field pierced her vision—the long, nearly barren earth stretching endlessly.
After twenty-five minutes of running at full speed, she finally saw the chest—but with it came a small surprise that sent fear through her heart.
The scarecrow, Jack o' Lantern, had moved during the night, planting itself at the center of the final field like an expectant presence.
Hui Cao lightly touched the scarecrow with the legendary hoe. It did nothing, remaining in its vigilant stance.
—Well, he said that one day it would rise and take all the crops. Since it's calm, I suppose that day is still far off—
She continued walking until she reached the group of six chests.
Checking the labels, she passed by the common and uncommon chests and stopped at the rare one.
Opening it, she saw seeds completely different from one another—but she had no way of recognizing them.
Taking one, she examined it closely. Each seed was like a small bead, no larger than a fingernail.
Aside from their colors, their names were not visible. After deciding, she addressed the voice in the sky.
—Can you indicate which seed is nettle inside the chest?—
"All nettle seeds inside the chest will be highlighted with a blue glow"
The system's voice echoed in her mind again, prompting another question.
—Why can you speak in my head? Are you using a spiritual message because the old man is sleeping?—
"Silent notification mode has been active since last night. The guest does not possess the authority to alter this function in any way"
As the sentence ended, three different seeds inside the chest glowed blue.
She picked them up and noted their differences: one was a faint crimson red, another light brown, and the third bluish-gray.
Re-reading the book stored in her spatial ring and seeing the words Gray Wolf, she knew which was correct.
As she took the seed from the chest, another identical one immediately appeared.
Realizing it would take an eternity to take each seed individually, she asked:
—Can you extract the seeds needed to cultivate all the fields for me?—
"Batch extraction is not permitted for the guest. Temporary seed transfer will be provided after cultivation begins. Seeds will be transported one by one"
Clicking her tongue, she walked back toward the field where Jack o' Lantern stood and began driving the hoe into the ground.
The outer soil felt like carving steel in her hands. When she tried to lift it, she felt a weight close to one ton. She continued until a small hole was formed.
Although her sword and spear techniques were at a good level, she had never cultivated land before. Her technique was worse than a beginner's.
She realized she would be exhausted after only a few fields and let out a sigh.
Accepting that this world was simply like this—abnormal to the extreme—she began tossing the seeds. The small seed in her hand vanished and reappeared repeatedly. In her mind, the count reached twenty and stopped.
Looking at the kilometers of land still left to dig and cover, she decided to try a more efficient method than repeatedly lifting the hoe.
Using it as a lever, she discovered it was easier and far less exhausting.
She covered the seeds in the first field and continued cultivating the others. Time passed, her arms growing tired, her legs numb.
By the time she reached the end, the sun stood directly overhead. The small mounds scattered across the soil looked insignificant against the vast fields.
She sat down with the hoe resting against her back, staring at the final mound, and released a sigh of relief.
—Cultivate—
In an instant, like an explosion, countless sprouts burst forth, covering the brown fields with a thin layer of green.
Looking at the fields, she smiled softly before walking back toward the cabin, asking the system:
—Where is the rare Luck Training Field?—
"Blue arrows will appear along the exterior. Follow them quickly. Each will disappear once crossed"