Daxuan Dynasty, Sky-connecting River, Phoenix Creek Sect, the Menial Disciples' Rear Courtyard.
[Name: Hong Yuan]
[Life Span: 16/81]
[Aptitude: 2]
[Cultivation Technique: Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword (132/500)]
[Skills and Arts: Cooking Level Two (121/2,000)]
[Avatar: Mysterious Water Snake]
[Level: Unranked]
[Innate Abilities: Water Gun, Water Fluctuation, Intense Poison]
Trash panel.
I didn't even study this hard for my college entrance exam! I trained like a dog just to increase my proficiency by three points. What a joke!
Refund! I want to go home! I want to continue slacking off!
Fury! He was so angry! His heart raged!
Hong Yuan exerted all his strength to execute the last three forms of the saber technique before he finally leaned on his saber for support, panting heavily.
A flame seemed to burn fiercely in his heart, as if it would consume everything.
This was already his tenth time practicing the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword today, and he felt utterly exhausted. Even so, his proficiency in the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword had barely increased by three points!
Hong Yuan glanced around and instantly noticed that the other menial disciples were still desperately cultivating the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword. Despite sweating profusely, they persisted.
Gritting his teeth, Hong Yuan wanted to continue training, but found his hands trembling uncontrollably, unable to hold the wooden saber or perform any form of the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword.
Damn it, the aptitude and constitution of this body are so terrible. Hong Yuan sighed inwardly. Eventually, amid the secretly gleeful glances of the other menial disciples, he staggered away.
His body was now pushed to its limits; he had to rest early and then come to the rear courtyard earlier in the evening to train.
Even if he couldn't succeed in cultivating the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword, he couldn't neglect the menial tasks assigned to him by the Sect. Otherwise, without even needing an assessment, he would likely be kicked out of the Sect on the spot by an Outer Sect Deacon.
Do what one can and leave the rest to fate.
If, after a week, he still couldn't achieve initiation in the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword technique, then he would be forced out of the Phoenix Creek Sect. He might be assigned to one of the Sect's subordinate Escort Agencies, either becoming an escort or serving as a bodyguard for some wealthy patron.
Sigh...
Overhearing the Cookers gossip, I learned that the current state of Daxuan is turbulent, with local lords everywhere arming for war and demons and monsters lurking in the shadows. If I, an ordinary visitor from a Foreign Realm, leave the Sect after a week with just these pitiful skills, won't I face mortal peril?
To think that even wanting to laze around peacefully is so difficult. What kind of world is this?
Hong Yuan was not a native of Daxuan; he was a genuine Blue Star Transcender.
In his previous life, after graduating from university, Hong Yuan had worked hard to land a job as a technician in an electrical company. The pay wasn't high, but it allowed him to comfortably live his slacker life, occasionally writing novels to pass the time.
But he never expected to wake up in this restless world.
When he first received this proficiency panel, Hong Yuan briefly broke free from his lazy stupor, filled with fighting spirit and determined to make a name for himself.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that the proficiency panel also valued aptitude and constitution. His aptitude for cultivation was abysmal. Conversely, he possessed an extraordinary gift for Skills and Arts, such as cooking.
But being skilled in the kitchen was useless. The position of Cooker was important and extremely lucrative, and it had long been fiercely monopolized. Dreaming of changing his destiny through cooking was nothing short of delusional, so he had been forced to abandon that notion.
Hong Yuan arrived at the entrance of the Mess Hall, found a secluded corner, and lay down there to rest.
「Half an hour later.」
DANG! DANG! DANG!!!
"The lunch break is over! Menial disciples, return to your positions!"
The menial disciple beating the gong and drum shouted while striking them.
If only I were a drum-beating menial disciple, then I would have more time to train, Hong Yuan slowly opened his eyes and sighed softly before entering the Mess Hall.
The assignment of duties to menial disciples was far more calculated than it appeared. It seemed like lots were drawn, but in reality, positions were predetermined.
Hong Yuan had spent all his Silver Coins to be assigned to the Mess Hall by an Outer Sect Deacon, and even that job had caused envy from the other menial disciples in his shared room.
When Hong Yuan saw the Cookers in the Mess Hall boasting and blustering, his eyes revealed a hint of longing, for he too had once comfortably enjoyed such a carefree life.
Soon after, Hong Yuan began to wash various vegetables. Once the vegetables were cleaned, he started making a show of cutting pork.
Seeing more and more menial disciples being assigned to handle chickens and ducks, his heart sank.
Hong Yuan's greatest fear was plucking chicken and duck feathers due to these animals' particularly dense plumage.
Once the number of chickens and ducks increased, he could be busy all day. This would also leave him with insufficient energy for his evening training.
But the more he feared something, the more it seemed to come his way.
"You, the one cutting pork, go over there and pluck all those chickens and ducks clean," the burly Cooker ordered Hong Yuan.
Sighing inwardly, Hong Yuan quickly went over to pluck the chicken feathers.
…
…
After a day of hard work, Hong Yuan lay down early on his hard bamboo bed and quickly sank into a heavy sleep.
Outside the window, other menial disciples were still desperately pushing their limits, arduously cultivating the Five Tiger Breaking Gate Sword technique. They did this solely to reach the Initiate Level as soon as possible, thereby proving their aptitude for martial arts and avoiding expulsion from the Sect.
Meanwhile, in a large pond within an ancient forest immeasurably far from the Phoenix Creek Sect, a Mysterious Water Snake lurking at the bottom of the water opened its cold eyes and began to watch the schools of fish swimming above.
This Mysterious Water Snake was none other than Hong Yuan.
Mysterious Water Snake, a second-tier Demon Beast species. It was an Exotic Beast capable of manipulating water currents, able to conjure terrifying waves in rivers.
Currently, his Mysterious Water Snake Avatar was still unranked, but with steady, step-by-step growth, it could reach second-tier strength.
However, unless absolutely necessary, Hong Yuan truly did not want to be a snake for the rest of his life.
Yet now, Hong Yuan had to consider how to *be* a snake. After all, being human was too arduous, too exhausting.
"HISS..." Hong Yuan flicked his forked tongue, preparing to hunt.
As a member of the second-tier Demon Beast Mysterious Water Snake species, he was the undisputed overlord of this large pond!
Snakes are generally very nearsighted, navigating using the infrared sensors on their heads and their sense of smell.
But Hong Yuan was different; he found he could clearly see the fish swimming in the water and the cattle and horses drinking at the surface.
This was true sight, not some kind of thermal imaging!
Clear, incredibly so—Hong Yuan felt he could instantly spot the fatal weaknesses of various animals, whether aquatic or terrestrial.
This sense of freedom, of controlling the life and death of all creatures in the pond, captivated Hong Yuan. It instantly freed him from the frustration born from his inability to effectively use his proficiency panel, restoring his cold rationality.
Hong Yuan stared intently at a large grass carp floating above him, his mouth curling into a sinister smile.
It's tough being human.
I don't want to be human anymore! I'll be a snake!
SPLASH.
The famished Hong Yuan burst forth with astonishing speed. His body shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, straight towards the large grass carp.
The water roiled, sending ripples outwards. The grass carp, sensing danger, frantically turned to flee.
"HISS..." Hong Yuan suddenly opened his cavernous mouth, exposing two venomous fangs.
[Water Fluctuation]
A black wave of light pulsed from the scales on Hong Yuan's head, swiftly shooting towards the large grass carp. In no time, the grass carp seemed bound by invisible ropes; though it struggled desperately, its escape was agonizingly slow.
Closer now. The distance between Hong Yuan and the large grass carp rapidly shrank.
In the grass carp's terrified gaze, Hong Yuan lunged and bit into its flesh.
Thick, red blood streamed from the grass carp, quickly diffusing and vanishing in the water.
With a final, convulsive leap, the grass carp thrashed in Hong Yuan's jaws, then went still.
The taste of the grass carp's flesh was not as fishy as Hong Yuan had imagined; instead, it had a unique, fresh aroma, similar to the fragrance of an orange.
Swallowing it whole felt like eating a piece of fruit jelly, pleasantly springy and tender.
It was so sweet it made him feel utterly blissful.
At the same time, on Hong Yuan's attribute panel, the [Life Span] and [Aptitude] entries increased slightly.
Hong Yuan closed his eyes, seriously savoring the taste, an involuntary smile of pure bliss spreading across his lips.
WHOOSH!
Hong Yuan suddenly snapped open his cold, crimson snake eyes. He stared sinisterly at the fish, shrimp, crabs, and other aquatic creatures in the pond, an inscrutable smile playing on his lips as a strange laugh escaped him.
"JIEJIEJIE..."