Chapter 1: The Birth of a Treasure

One hundred thousand years ago, immortals and demons joined forces, and the God race was annihilated.

One hundred thousand years later...

There is a treasure in the mountains, and countless people are spreading the word like wildfire.

Xuantiandalu, Dongsheng Shenzhou, Death Valley mountain range.

At the foot of the mountain lies a small town, rumored to be where a deity once manifested a miracle, hence it is named "God Shadow".

Recently, wave after wave of cultivators have come to the town. They stay for a short while, gather information, and then hurry away.

On this day, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Old Fu on South Street lit his stove early, set up his noodle stall, and waited quietly for customers.

"The sun winks at me, the birds sing for me, I am a hardworking little demon who doesn't cling... The Great King sent me to patrol the mountains, I take a turn around the human world, beating my drum and striking my gong, life is full of rhythm..."

Old Fu had just served a bowl of noodles to a customer when he turned his head and saw a youth humming a little tune as he walked over from the street corner.

The youth was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with fair skin and delicate features, wearing a loose black uniform and carrying a three-foot oak staff.

"Old Fu, morning."

The youth walked up to the noodle stall and greeted Old Fu with a smile.

"Xingyu, morning. Still having the plain noodles today?" Old Fu asked with a smile.

The youth nodded: "Plain noodles. The usual, less greens, more noodles, add extra chili."

"Coming right up!" Old Fu replied, then busied himself by the stove.

The youth reached into the chopstick holder on the stall, took a pair of wooden chopsticks, rinsed them a few times in the boiling noodle broth, and then sat on a bench to the side to wait quietly.

This youth was named Zhang Xingyu.

He was originally an abandoned infant, found and adopted by an old man named Zhang Mazi who patrolled the streets.

Zhang Mazi's wife had died early, and having no children of his own, he treated the boy like a treasure.

He not only raised the child through all sorts of hardships but also spent money to send him to school for a few years.

A year ago, Zhang Mazi died of illness.

Zhang Xingyu dropped out of school and followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a street patrolman.

Before long, Old Fu brought over a large bowl of noodles, topped with a layer of bright red chili oil.

Zhang Xingyu stirred the noodles a few times with his chopsticks, then lifted the bowl and shoveled the noodles into his mouth in large bites. The spicy fragrance of the chili oil mixed with the sourness of the aged vinegar made his taste buds feel as if they were about to explode with pleasure.

In no time, he had eaten until the bottom of the bowl was exposed.

"Satisfying!"

He wiped the soup from the corner of his mouth and praised with a look of contentment.

"Old Fu, I'm off to patrol. Put the noodle money on my tab. I'll pay you back when the town issues the reward money at the end of the month."

Having said that, he stood up, grabbed his wooden staff, left the noodle stall, and stepped into the main street.

Once the youth's back disappeared around the corner, a diner sitting nearby asked Old Fu: "Boss, this patrolman eating on credit, it's clear he's looking for a free meal. Aren't you afraid you won't get paid?"

Old Fu smiled: "You must be from out of town. I watched Xingyu grow up. He would never do such a thing."

On the main street, Zhang Xingyu greeted the neighbors familiarly while walking slowly forward.

Frankly speaking, he didn't like the job of patrolling the streets, and he wasn't satisfied with his current status.

This was a Xianxia World where cultivators flew all over the sky.

As a transmigrator, he was neither the only son of an immortal sect leader nor a peerless genius from a cultivation family.

Because of this, he had felt depressed, lost, complained, and shouted.

In the end, he helplessly accepted this "city management" job.

Cultivation is the ideal, eating is the reality.

On the road to pursuing ideals, one must recognize the cruel reality.

The small town was not big, and the main street was not long.

In less than half an hour, he had walked from one end of the street to the other, and back again.

Patrol finished, work done.

He strolled toward the Earth Temple at the west end of the town.

The Earth Temple was very dilapidated and had no incense year-round, so the few patrolmen used it as a place to chat, slack off, and gamble.

At the temple entrance sat a patrolman about twenty years old, with a sturdy build, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a long scar on his cheek.

This patrolman was named Hu Siping, the oldest among the patrolmen and the squad leader in charge of the street patrols.

"Finished patrolling? How is the situation?" Hu Siping asked.

"Patrol finished, everything is normal, all is well," Zhang Xingyu replied.

"Good that it's fine. A lot of cultivators have come to town these days, so be careful when you're patrolling, don't cause any trouble," Hu Siping instructed loudly.

"Boss, Xingyu is sharp. If you're worried, worry about Er Leng. He's foolish and doesn't know how to talk." Behind Hu Siping, a thin patrolman with shifty eyes interjected with a laugh.

"Skinny Monkey, who are you calling foolish?" As soon as Skinny Monkey finished speaking, a strong and dull-witted patrolman walked out of the temple, glaring fiercely at Skinny Monkey.

Skinny Monkey dodged behind Hu Siping with a 'whoosh': "You're the most foolish among us, if not you, then who?"

"Damn it, I'll beat you up." Er Leng made a show of raising his fist.

"Alright, stop messing around. We still have to have a showdown with Huang Jinmao's group today, everyone hurry up and prepare." Hu Siping waved his hand to stop their bickering.

Huang Jinmao was a famous hooligan in town.

This man was aggressive and often led a few thugs to bully the common people and cause trouble on the streets.

The patrolmen had often clashed with him during their patrols, and fights were common.

Huang Jinmao's group fought ruthlessly, and Zhang Xingyu and the others fought even more ruthlessly, so the resentment between the two sides grew deeper and deeper.

This time, Huang Jinmao let it be known that the two sides would meet under the big banyan tree outside the town for a fight.

Outside the small town, under the banyan tree.

Zhang Xingyu and the other three were waiting anxiously.

Zhang Xingyu touched the wooden board hidden in his chest, feeling a little more at ease.

As the "MT" (Main Tank) among the "city managers," he always charged to the front during every fight.

Although his constitution was special and he recovered incredibly fast after being injured, people in the world of martial arts called him "The Unkillable".

However, he couldn't stand that every time they fought, that group of people aimed their fists hard at his body. After every fight, he would be covered in bruises. It hurt so much!

The sun began to set in the west, and the four of them were so hungry their stomachs were growling.

Er Leng couldn't help but ask Hu Siping: "Boss Hu, why haven't Huang Jinmao and his group come yet? Are they afraid of us?"

Before Hu Siping could answer, Skinny Monkey spoke first: "Of course they're afraid of us. Every time we fight, aren't they beaten by us until they cry for their parents?"

Just as Skinny Monkey finished speaking, he saw four or five young men walking slowly from a distance.

The leader, with a head of golden-yellow hair and a fierce expression, was none other than the leader of those hooligans, "Huang Jinmao".

Huang Jinmao walked with a swagger, leading his group of subordinates to the front of Zhang Xingyu and the other three.

"Huang Jinmao, do you follow the rules or not? We agreed to fight at the hour of the snake, why are you only arriving now?" Hu Siping roared at Huang Jinmao.

Huang Jinmao curled his lip: "Hu Siwa, what are you rushing for? I took my brothers to eat. Only after filling our stomachs do we have the strength to fight."

"Shameless!" Hu Siping was furious.

Huang Jinmao laughed upon hearing this: "Hu Siwa, this isn't called shameless, this is called strategy. Who told you guys to be so stupid?"

"Boss, why bother talking to him? Let's start fighting quickly, so we can finish early and go back to eat." Zhang Xingyu clenched his fists.

A moment later, both sides had set up their formations, and a chaotic battle was about to break out.

Just at this moment.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a deafening sound came from the direction of the distant mountain range.

Both sides were stunned for a moment.

Everyone looked up and saw a seven-colored firework rising above the lush mountain range.

Immediately after, streaks of colorful light flew from all directions toward the place where the firework rose, like meteors streaking across the sky.

Looking at the lights filling the sky, a line of poetry suddenly appeared in Zhang Xingyu's mind: "The east wind blows open a thousand trees of flowers at night, and blows down stars like rain."

"It's cultivators, it's cultivators. There must be some treasure in the mountains, the cultivators have all rushed over there," Skinny Monkey shouted loudly.

"Cultivators, flying on swords, traveling thousands of miles in an instant." Hu Siping stared at the sky, muttering to himself.

The fireworks dissipated, and the lights disappeared.

Everyone came back to their senses.

"Hu Siwa, are you guys going to fight or not?" Huang Jinmao waved his fist impatiently at Hu Siping.

Hu Siping shook his head and replied with a lack of interest: "Not fighting, no interest."

"Sick. They are cultivators, high and mighty, what does it have to do with us mortals?" Huang Jinmao spat fiercely on the ground, led his few subordinates, and walked straight away.

After Huang Jinmao and the others left, Hu Siping suddenly said solemnly to Zhang Xingyu and the other two: "I want to cultivate." ===== CHAPTER 2 =====