Chapter 2
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Chapter 2: Eating Kickbacks
This, this, this…
Wang Chen was all too familiar with it.
What had just appeared before his eyes was none other than the character panel from the mobile game he had been engrossed in for a month—"Cultivation"!
A shiver ran down Wang Chen’s spine.
Could it be that he had somehow been transported into the game?
He quickly dismissed the thought.
The game’s setting and storyline were vastly different from this world.
There was hardly any comparison to be made.
Yet, the existence of the Cultivation Panel was undeniably real.
Upon closer inspection, Wang Chen realized his Cultivation Panel was a simplified version, lacking many details.
But…
Why were the four main attributes so low, except for the soul?
Physique, root bone, comprehension, and soul—these four main attributes were determined by rolling dice when creating a new character in "Cultivation."
Wang Chen had rolled the dice numerous times, and his total specific number had never fallen below 25.
Now, it barely added up to 17 points.
Particularly, the root bone and comprehension were appallingly low.
Wang Chen finally grasped the situation.
The original owner, a so-called "fake Second-generation Cultivator," had been practicing body refinement and Foundation Building since childhood.
After that, he had entered the outer sect of Yunyang Sect and spent a full five years there.
Yet, he remained merely a young cultivator at the third level of Qi Training.
His root bone and comprehension were simply too low!
Poor root bone and low comprehension had a profound impact on cultivation; not only was it challenging to break through realms, but even the speed of mastering techniques lagged significantly behind others.
The four skills the original owner had mastered were all at the entry level.
They could be described as the weakest of the weak in the cultivation world!
However, Wang Chen was not disheartened by this.
No matter how weak he was now, he was still a disciple of an immortal sect, with boundless potential ahead.
Moreover, Wang Chen had an inkling that the Cultivation Panel was not merely for displaying personal attributes.
After much deliberation, Wang Chen attempted to close the Cultivation Panel.
This could be explored later; what mattered now was his ravenous hunger, his stomach growling like thunder, urgently demanding to be fed.
He made his way to the kitchen adjacent to the main house, where Wang Chen scooped out a ladle of spiritual grains from the rice bin.
One ladle of spiritual grains weighed approximately a pound.
This was also the usual amount of food for the original owner.
After placing it into the clay stove pot, he thought for a moment and added half a ladle more.
Then, he poured in three ladles of cool spring water.
He ignited the fire.
As the pot boiled, white steam filled the small kitchen, wafting the unique aroma of Grain Rice.
Sitting in front of the stove, Wang Chen took a deep breath.
He felt even hungrier!
After finally cooking the spiritual grains, he eagerly lifted the lid and scooped a heaping bowl of steaming Grain Rice.
Time to eat!
Although he was already starving,
Wang Chen still followed the original owner’s habit, chewing each bite of the Grain Rice twenty-seven times on both sides.
He meticulously chewed the hard Grain Husks until they were finely crushed, allowing the juices in his mouth to mix thoroughly with the rice mush.
Then, he swallowed it down.
This was an ancient chewing method passed down through time, beneficial for digesting the spiritual energy and nutrients contained in the food ingredients.
Additionally, it maximized the avoidance of husks scratching the throat.
Eating grains with their husks was not because Wang Chen was too lazy to pound the rice.
Rather, spiritual food was precious—every bit could not be wasted!
The Yunyang Sect had allocated him ten acres of low-grade spirit fields, where he grew White Jade Rice.
White Jade Rice produced two harvests per year, with a total yield of about six hundred pounds per acre.
With favorable weather, he could harvest six thousand pounds of spiritual grains each year.
However, Wang Chen also needed to pay the sect four thousand five hundred pounds of spiritual grains.
That was a fixed quota of four thousand five hundred pounds.
This meant that no matter how skilled Wang Chen was at farming, he had to deliver that amount to the Yunyang Sect every year.
Failing to do so would mean being kicked out.
Despite the hard labor involved in being a spiritual plant farmer, many loose cultivators outside the gate desired this "good job"!
Of course, if Wang Chen harvested more than six thousand pounds of spiritual grains, the excess would be his.
But that was almost impossible.
The spirit field assigned to him was located on the very outer edges of the Yunyang Spirit Land, with weak spiritual energy and ordinary soil.
To maintain a yearly output of six thousand pounds, the original owner had already exerted all his strength.
If he was not careful, there might not be enough spiritual grains left for his family.
Moreover, even if he managed to secure the full amount of one thousand five hundred pounds of reserved spiritual grains, he still needed a basic consumption of three pounds a day.
On top of that, he regularly went to Yunshan City to exchange for daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, and vinegar.
He also required resources for his cultivation.
Thus, there was not much leftover.
In such a tight situation, how could he "luxuriate" in eating shelled spiritual rice?
Although spiritual rice was tastier than spiritual grains, one pound of grains only produced eight ounces of rice, which Wang Chen truly could not afford!
While grain husks were not tasty, they contained a bit of spiritual energy.
They also filled the stomach easily.
Wang Chen finished a large pot of cooked spiritual grains, all paired with a plate of pickled vegetables he had made himself.
He cleared his bowl completely.
"Burp~"
After letting out a satisfied burp, Wang Chen tidied up the pot, spoon, and dishes.
Then he went to the main room.
His house was very small.
The main room, about thirty square meters, was divided into a bedroom and a quiet room.
Aside from a bed, a cabinet, and a table and chairs, there was no decent furniture.
In the quiet room, there was only an old mat on the floor.
Wang Chen sat cross-legged on the mat.
He began his daily three sessions of cultivation practice.
After a meal was the best time to cultivate, allowing him to maximize the absorption and digestion of the spiritual energy and nutrients from the spiritual grains.
This nourished him and strengthened his Dantian.
Wang Chen was currently only at the third level of Qi Training and was still far from opening his top orifice and developing his Purple Palace.
If he relied on absorbing the stray spiritual energy from the outside world for his practice, the efficiency would be too low.
He also could not afford elixirs or spirit gathering formations.
So, he had to depend on spiritual food to support his daily practice.
Setting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Wang Chen focused his energy, silently running his technique, pulling forth a stream of pure magical power to circulate through his hundred meridians.
This energy flowed continuously within every part of his body.
The speed of his stomach’s contractions quietly quickened, and the spiritual energy decomposed from the spiritual grains was gradually refined.
This transformed into magical power stored in his Dantian.
Thus, the cycle continued.
[Five Element Technique · Experience +1]
A sudden message flashed into his vision, jolting Wang Chen out of his deepest meditative trance.
In a moment of clarity, he realized that he had just completed this round of cultivation.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Wang Chen summoned the Cultivation Panel.
His gaze immediately fell upon the [Technique] section.
[Five Element Technique (third level): 299/300]
No change whatsoever from before!
Wang Chen was instantly disheartened.
If the Cultivation Panel were a person, and Wang Chen had a gun in his hand,
he would have grabbed the person by the throat and pressed the gun to their head, demanding, "You didn’t skim off the benefits the Locust Army gave me, did you?!"
He had consumed one and a half pounds of spiritual grains and practiced the technique through twelve meridians.
Yet, there was no progress at all.
To make matters worse, was the notification for [Five Element Technique · Experience +1] just a cruel joke?
Where was the plus? Where was the sea cucumber?
Damn it!
Wang Chen forced himself to calm down.
Following his memory, he performed the spell, his fingertips shimmering with a faint, ethereal glow.
"Go!"
With a flick of his fingers, the spiritual light scattered and danced, silently drifting into every corner of the quiet room.
The dust in the room was instantly swept away.
Spotless!
[Cleansing Technique · Experience +1]
Seeing the notification, Wang Chen hastily summoned the Cultivation Panel again.
[Cleansing Technique (Beginner): 86/100]
He had gained 1 point!
Wang Chen immediately understood.
It wasn’t that the system had swallowed the benefits he deserved.
It was simply that this body was too weak, stuck at the bottleneck of the technique and unable to break through!
