Chapter 495: The Truly Plain and Unremarkable Lin Chao

Lin Chao pondered for a while and decided to practice the Qi Refining Technique issued by the Qingxu Sect.

The more he practiced, the more he felt the profoundness of this technique.

"With such a powerful technique, is the Qingxu Sect really that weak?"

However, after practicing for only about an hour, Lin Chao stopped.

Because his physique could not keep up.

Cultivation is a matter that consumes a great deal of resources.

That is why he chose to add a luck bonus to his family background, just to obtain enough resources to cultivate better.

Unfortunately, the luck was added, and the family background was already extremely good, but the result was starting as an orphan.

"Could it be... that this body has some other hidden identity?"

Thinking this, Lin Chao slowly sank into a deep sleep.

He was truly too exhausted; he had spent the whole day chopping wood, and with the small arms and legs of this body, he could not handle heavy labor.

It was the first time Lin Chao had experienced such a feeling of weakness.

It was truly weak.

Waking up the next day, Lin Chao was hungry and thirsty, so he grabbed the water pot nearby and drank greedily.

Only then did the dizzy feeling in his head disappear.

He went to the canteen alone and received a portion of salted vegetables and two steamed buns.

He gnawed on them slowly.

At this moment, a man sat down next to Lin Chao, holding a steamed bun in his hand, stuffing it into his mouth frantically, saying as he stuffed: "You are Xia Yang, I am Zhao Ting, just like you, we are both new slaves of the Qingxu Sect.

This Qingxu Sect is worthy of being a branch of the Holy Sect; the food is good, and there are even steamed buns."

Zhao Ting ate the steamed bun with great relish; before long, he finished the bun and looked at Lin Chao with anticipation.

Because Lin Chao was eating his bun quite slowly, chewing carefully and swallowing slowly.

Seeing this, Lin Chao acted as if he did not see Zhao Ting's gaze.

After all, his current body was truly too weak and still needed to replenish nutrients.

Sharing the steamed bun was impossible.

Seeing this, Zhao Ting said again: "Brother, you should have received the Qi Refining Technique yesterday; how is your practice going now?"

Lin Chao glanced at Zhao Ting and said calmly: "No feeling."

"Brother, there are rebel armies everywhere now; there aren't many places left to find a secure life.

Staying in the Qingxu Sect and becoming a disciple of the Qingxu Sect, as long as your cultivation level goes up, it is enough to become a minor official in the government.

My family spent a full three taels of silver and pulled many strings just to send me to the Qingxu Sect as a slave."

Hearing this, Lin Chao was somewhat surprised.

Spending money to become a slave.

Three taels of silver, according to the conversion from his past life, would be worth tens of thousands.

It was quite a significant expense.

However, he also understood that the choice made by Zhao Ting's parents was the right one.

In this world, the lives of commoners at the bottom are like grass.

There are rebel armies everywhere.

And to climb up, there are only three methods.

The first method is to be born into a noble family; the second method is to join a branch under the Holy Sect; the third method is to become a powerful martial artist.

Of these three, the second one is the simplest.

Zhao Ting's family spent three taels of silver just to send him to the Qingxu Sect as a slave.

And for Zhao Ting to obtain the status of an official disciple, it was still not enough.

"Sigh, it seems the Holy Sect is not very peaceful right now either.

I heard that our Qingxu Sect has recently reduced the quota for recruiting official disciples.

This time, I'm afraid only ten people will be kept." A look of distress appeared on Zhao Ting's face.

There were a full one hundred slaves in this batch, and keeping only ten was indeed very difficult.

"I heard that among the slaves in this batch, seven people awakened Qi Sensing the very night they received the Qi Refining Technique.

Those seven are also the most likely to become official disciples.

Xia Yang, I think you look quite handsome and have an extraordinary temperament; you should have also awakened Qi Sensing, right?"

"No..." Lin Chao was slightly stunned, "What is Qi Sensing?"

"I don't have it either, sigh, we can be considered to be in the same boat.

As for Qi Sensing, I don't know much about it either; it's just that when practicing, there will be an airflow impacting the body, and once it breaks through the dantian, it is called awakening Qi Sensing, and then one can nourish Qi." Zhao Ting explained, "Don't you have the feeling of airflow impacting your body?"

"No... no."

"Hahaha, your talent is truly plain and unremarkable." Hearing this, Zhao Ting's gaze toward Lin Chao became sympathetic, "But don't be discouraged, you still have a chance to become an official disciple, practice hard!"

People are just like this; if Lin Chao had awakened Qi Sensing and was a genius, he would be envious and jealous; if Lin Chao were about the same as him, he would feel some sense of crisis; but because Lin Chao was worse than him, he felt pity.

Lin Chao did not feel the airflow impact, which meant that among these hundred-plus slaves, Lin Chao only belonged to the middle tier.

Therefore, Zhao Ting felt that Lin Chao could not threaten him.

At night, Lin Chao's whole body ached, and he lay on the bed, not wanting to practice.

It was just that this body was too weak.

However, he still used his strong willpower to force himself to practice.

"I must become an official disciple, otherwise... there simply won't be enough resources." Lin Chao thought.

With his current situation, eating steamed buns and pickled vegetables every day while performing heavy labor, his body would not be able to hold up.

"Xia Yang, are you practicing?" Outside the door, a hunched figure appeared.

"Yes, Hua Popo," Lin Chao responded softly.

"A dead fish was thrown into the kitchen trash bin today. I saw it was still clean, so I brought it back and made some fish soup. Good child, come and drink some."

A fishy aroma wafted over, and Lin Chao's appetite was greatly stirred.

At this moment, he was just a mortal.

"Thank you, Popo," Lin Chao said with some gratitude.

Right now, he was truly too weak.

This bowl of fish soup could be considered a supplement for him.

Hua Popo looked at Lin Chao, her wrinkled face full of smiles.

Over the next few days, Lin Chao was a qualified slave.

He chopped wood every day and sometimes went to the Back Mountain to help carry Water.

His physique really could not handle it.

However, he also could not leave the Qingxu Sect.

In his current state, if he left the Qingxu Sect, he might just die at the hands of some rebel army.

However, during this time, as his understanding of the Qingxu Sect deepened, the doubts in his heart also grew.

Especially yesterday, when a thief snuck into the room of the Vice Sect Master.

The Vice Sect Master was a Nascent Soul master, but while chasing that thief, he sprained his waist.

This truly left Lin Chao stunned for a long time.

Logically speaking, shouldn't a Nascent Soul level master be able to cause mountains to collapse, the earth to crack, and the sun and moon to change color with a mere gesture?

And yet... he sprained his waist?

Is this really a Nascent Soul?

This world is strange.

He also urgently needed to break through to Qi Refining to see what exactly was going on.

"Could it be that the Supernatural of this world... is heavily suppressed?" Lin Chao guessed.

Otherwise, a Nascent Soul master wouldn't be such a weakling.

Ten days passed, and Lin Chao had served as a slave for ten days.

These ten days of life could be considered exhausting.

And his cultivation over these ten days was mediocre.

According to the progress ranking, Lin Chao estimated that among the one hundred slaves, he should have squeezed into the top fifty.

This was the result of him working hard enough.

Zhao Ting's current progress was also far ahead of his.

For the first time, Lin Chao felt that being promoted from a slave to an official disciple of the Qingxu Sect was harder than becoming a god in other worlds.

"But fortunately, my Natural Point Addition talent has now accumulated 1 point," Lin Chao said, an excited look appearing in his eyes.

His strength was weak, so he could only add 0.1 points a day; until now, he only had 1 point.

"Natural Point Addition can be used on physique, life, or cultivation technique breakthroughs."

Lin Chao's physique was very weak; he was exhausted from working every day and would collapse to sleep after finishing his cultivation.

Even now, his body was still sore.

If he improved his physique, he definitely wouldn't be tired from working in the future.

As for life... Lin Chao felt he was still very young.

What he lacked most right now was becoming an official disciple to improve his life.

Finally, Lin Chao added that 1 attribute point to the Qi Refining Technique.

Suddenly, a special type of Qi flowed through Lin Chao's body.

He felt that his cultivation in the Qi Refining Technique had improved significantly.

"One more time, and I should be able to step into Qi Refining."

Lin Chao's gaze was calm.

"It's just... does this Qi Refining Technique... really not improve strength?"

Logically, even if he hadn't broken through to Qi Refining, he should have gained some strength from this kind of cultivation.

But the result... he had almost no changes.

If there was a change, it was that his will became a bit clearer when he added the point.

"I must quickly become an official disciple, otherwise I have no ability to protect myself at all."

Lin Chao had already learned from Zhao Ting that the cultivation of the Holy Sect was divided into Literary Arts and martial arts.

Only official disciples could practice martial arts.

The next day, while Lin Chao was eating, he met Zhao Ting again.

"Sigh, do you know? Li Tangxue successfully reached Qi Refining and became an official disciple."

"So fast?" Lin Chao was a bit surprised.

Although the talent of this body of his was nothing compared to him in the Main World.

But even in Jiuzhou, it could be considered exceptionally gifted.

He had practiced for ten days, and his progress was less than 10%.

Yet, others stepped into Qi Refining in ten days.

Isn't this gap a bit too large?

"There are only nine spots left; we must work harder," Zhao Ting sighed.

The spots were fixed, and Lin Chao also felt a sense of urgency.

"It's a pity that I can only add 0.1 points every day now."

Beside him, Zhao Ting cursed, "The damn Royal Court insists on some reform, reducing the number of spots for official disciples of the Holy Sect.

Moreover, they are reducing the ones in our southern Holy Sect."

Zhao Ting was quite resentful.

Lin Chao remained silent and did not join Zhao Ting in cursing.

After all, his understanding of this world was not yet sufficient.

In the following days, Lin Chao, as usual, dragged his body to work every day.

If it weren't for Hua Popo sometimes going to the kitchen to pick up the discarded, oily leftovers for Lin Chao to eat,

Lin Chao suspected that in this reincarnation, he would have been worked or starved to death.

This beginning could be considered miserable.

As for Hua Popo, Lin Chao also treated her like his own kin.

He knew that Hua Popo was lonely and had no family.

Over the next ten days, four more people stepped into the Qi Refining Realm and became official disciples.

The remaining slaves also became more diligent and serious.

Lin Chao breathed a sigh of relief; he had finally accumulated 1 attribute point again.

Without a second thought, Lin Chao used the attribute point on the Qi Refining Technique.

Suddenly, he felt as if there were the tinkling sounds of mountain springs inside his body.

"I... have refined Qi?"

Lin Chao broke through and entered the Qi Refining Realm.

However, his brows were tightly furrowed.

"There is almost no change in my body."

"In fact, an adult man could knock me down."

The current Lin Chao was just sixteen years old, and his physique was still very weak.

In this chaotic world, he had no ability to protect himself at all.

"It seems I still need to practice martial arts."

The next day, Lin Chao got up very early and changed into a washed-out set of clothes.

He ate breakfast and then went to the administrative office.

The Deacon at the administrative office was still Deacon Wang Yun, whom Lin Chao had met before.

Seeing Deacon Wang Yun, Lin Chao performed a salute and said, "Greetings, Deacon."

"What are you here for, kid?" Wang Yun raised his head and glanced at Lin Chao.

"This kid was lucky enough to step into the Qi Refining Realm and would like to obtain the qualifications to become an official disciple," Lin Chao said sincerely.

Deacon Wang Yun then took another look at Lin Chao: "Place your hand on the Ink Platform."

Wang Yun took out a square object, similar to an inkstone.

Lin Chao did not hesitate at all and placed his hand on it.

"Hmm, the Literary Arts are indeed at the Qi Refining Realm.

You are the sixth to break through; you are qualified to become an official disciple."

Deacon Wang Yun's attitude was indifferent.

To him, an official disciple was nothing at all.

"Many thanks, Deacon."

Soon, Lin Chao processed his status as an official disciple, received a Waist Token, and was issued a Green Robe.

"Becoming an official disciple does not mean everything is fine.

The path of Literary Arts requires you to practice diligently; do not let it go to waste," Deacon Wang Yun said from the side.

"Deacon, I have heard that besides Literary Arts, there are also martial arts. Can I... practice martial arts?" Lin Chao voiced his confusion.

"You want to become a martial artist?" Deacon Wang Yun's attitude was indifferent.

"In these troubled times, one must have some self-protection ability to settle down and make a living."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Wang Yun's face: "How do you think your talent compares to Li Tangxue's?"

"Naturally, it is far inferior," Lin Chao replied.

"You still have some self-awareness," Wang Yun continued, "Li Tangxue's talent is not bad, but in the Qingxu Sect, she is only considered average.

A person's talent is limited, time is limited, and energy is limited.

If Li Tangxue were to cultivate both Literary Arts and martial arts, I dare say that in her lifetime, her Literary Arts would stop at Foundation Establishment, and her martial arts would stop at the Seventh Rank.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator can only be a minor clerk who handles the brush.

A Seventh Rank Martial Artist is even worse; if you train your body well and get stronger, give you a knife, and you could hack a Seventh Rank Martial Artist to death."

Lin Chao: "..."

This image was too beautiful to imagine.

"Therefore, I still advise you to practice Literary Arts well.

Strive to become a Golden Core True Person in this lifetime; that way, by the age of destiny, you can still be a Deacon in the Qingxu Sect.

If you spend some money and pull some strings, you could even become a county registrar."

Lin Chao also knew that with his talent, cultivating both at the same time was indeed not very feasible.

However, he had the talent of adding points.

"Deacon, I still want to learn martial arts to have more ability to protect myself," Lin Chao said firmly.

"Don't regret it," Deacon Wang Yun mentioned casually, "Right, if you haven't stepped into Foundation Establishment before the age of thirty, all your resources will be halved."

"This disciple has noted it."

Lin Chao did not want to give up on the path of martial arts.

Deacon Wang Yun turned around and entered the study behind him; not long after, he brought out a book.

"This is the martial arts secret manual of our Qingxu Sect, named 'Taiyi Heavenly Venerable Beats Your Old Mother Method'." Deacon Wang Yun tossed this martial art to Lin Chao.

Lin Chao looked at this somewhat bizarre martial arts secret manual and silently accepted it.

(End of this chapter)