"Five Elements Spiritual Root, Third Grade."
"Eighteen years old, and I've finally reached the Third Level of Qi Refining."
"In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed since I transmigrated here."
Cultivation was truly difficult. The young man let out a long sigh.
Han Sen was just one of countless transmigrators—an ordinary one at that.
In his past life, he had been nothing more than a fishing enthusiast. But by some strange twist of fate, he was reborn into the Han Family of Mount Jiuhua.
This world was ruled by Cultivators—mighty beings who could move mountains, part rivers, summon wind and rain, and even pursue Immortal Ascension and eternal life.
But only those with a Spiritual Root could tread this path.
Spiritual Roots were divided into types: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Ice, Yin, Yang, and others. Their strength wasn't determined by the number of elements, but by their grade.
The grades ran from First to Ninth. First Grade was the weakest, while Ninth Grade was the strongest.
Thus:
Grades 1–3 were Low-grade Spiritual Roots,
Grades 4–6 were Mid-grade,
Grade 7 was High-grade,
Grade 8 was an Earthly Root, and
Grade 9 was a Heavenly Root.
Han Sen had been born with a Five Elements Root—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—all at Third Grade. With such poor aptitude, his cultivation speed was naturally slow.
He had begun cultivating at the age of six, and only after twelve long years had he managed to reach the Third Level of Qi Refining.
Without some lucky opportunity, even reaching Foundation Establishment was a distant dream. As for eternal life? Impossible.
Fortunately, the Han Family was a Foundation Establishment clan. That meant Han Sen didn't need to risk his life like a wandering cultivator, scraping together resources. Instead, he could find a safe, steady job within the family and live comfortably to the age of forty.
Why forty?
Because of a Han Family rule: if you hadn't reached Late-stage Qi Refining by the age of forty, you were required to marry, take concubines, and focus on "the Dao of Life"—in other words, producing offspring for the clan.
Han Sen thought this suited him just fine.
A Qi Refining cultivator's lifespan was about 120 years. Even if he had to marry at forty, that still left him eighty years of life.
By then, he could find a wife or two, take in some concubines, and spend his days lying flat in comfort.
Ahem… of course, all for the sake of the Family.
Compared to his previous life of toil, this was far better!
"When living in the mortal world, it's best to be content."
Han Sen rose from his meditation room and went to gather his belongings, preparing to leave the mountain.
In his bedroom, he pulled out a black beast-skin pouch from under his pillow. Untying the red string at its mouth, he overturned it onto the bed.
A pile of multicolored, faintly glowing stones spilled out.
These were Spirit Stones, the currency of the cultivation world.
He counted carefully—forty-eight in total. These were the fruits of years of frugal saving.
Although the Han Family was a Foundation Establishment clan, it didn't hand out wealth freely. Instead, they used a dual system: Spirit Stones and Contribution Points.
One Contribution Point equaled one Spirit Stone in value, but it couldn't be exchanged back into stones. Contribution Points could only be used at the clan's Treasure Pavilion to redeem items like pills, talismans, or magical artifacts.
The allowances were as follows:
Fetal Breath Stage: 2 Spirit Stones, 4 Contribution Points annually.
Qi Refining Level 1: 4 Spirit Stones, 8 Contribution Points.
Qi Refining Level 2: 8 Spirit Stones, 16 Contribution Points.
Qi Refining Level 3: 16 Spirit Stones, 32 Contribution Points.
Qi Refining Level 4 onward: nothing.
From then on, the clan provided no subsidies—only wages for work.
In other words: no work, no pay.
For those in Late-stage Qi Refining, there were two paths:
Become a Foundation Establishment seed, supported by the clan.
Or become a Procreation seed—the more children you had, the more Contribution Points you earned, as long as those children had Spiritual Roots.
Han Sen had spent three years at the Fetal Breath Stage, during which he'd used up every Spirit Stone to nurture his Qi sense, while all his Contribution Points went into medicinal pills.
In short, he had saved nothing.
Four years at Qi Refining Level 1 gave him sixteen Spirit Stones and thirty-two Contribution Points.
Five years at Level 2 added forty Stones and eighty Points.
But breaking through to the Third Level cost him eight Stones and forty Points in pills.
Which left his current net worth: forty-eight Spirit Stones and seventy-two Contribution Points.
"One word: poor."
After packing his Spirit Stones back into the pouch, Han Sen opened his door, left his small courtyard, and made his way to the External Affairs Hall.
The Han Family controlled not only Mount Jiuhua, a second-tier spiritual vein suitable for Foundation Establishment, but also two other resources:
Green Bamboo Mountain, a first-tier vein where vast fields of spiritual rice were cultivated.
Azure Wave Lake, with an island at its heart and a spiritual vein beneath. It held spirit medicine gardens and was home to the Azure Wave Carp, a first-tier spiritual fish worth three Spirit Stones apiece.
Han Sen's plan was simple: become a fisherman. Each carp caught earned one Contribution Point.
---
At the External Affairs Hall, an old man in green Daoist robes reclined on a rocking chair, deeply absorbed in a book. The text and illustrations clearly delighted him, as he occasionally clicked his tongue in appreciation.
He was so engrossed that he didn't notice Han Sen walk in.
Cough!
Han Sen cleared his throat.
The old man finally stirred, hurriedly closing the book, before speaking in a serious voice:
"Refining the heart within the mortal world and tempering Divine Sense—such things aid the Foundation Establishment breakthrough."
"You're the sixth of the 'Bu' generation, aren't you? Bu Sen?"
"At Qi Refining Level Three, why aren't you cultivating diligently? Why have you come here to External Affairs?"
This was Han Jincheng, Second Elder of the Han Family, from the "Jin" generation, and a cultivator at Qi Refining Level 9.
As for Han Sen, his full name was Han Busen, sixth in the "Bu" generation.
The name was truly dreadful. Indestructible Vajra as a generational name? What would the next generation be called—Han Badseed? Han Scoundrel?
"Second Grandfather," Han Sen said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head, "my Five Elements Spiritual Root is only Third Grade. My aptitude is too poor. To catch up, I can only make up for it through effort later on.
"So, I thought I'd go out early and work for the Family, earn more resources, and strive for Late-stage Qi Refining."
The elder's eyes softened. "Not bad. Knowing your weaknesses and working harder because of them—that alone makes Late-stage Qi Refining within reach."
He nodded. "Have you decided where you'll go?"
"Azure Wave Lake!" Han Sen answered quickly. "I plan to be a fisherman."
"Fisherman…" The Second Elder frowned, but then relaxed, giving Han Sen another look.
"So that's why you only came now, at Qi Refining Level Three. You've been planning this for a while. Well, Level Three is barely enough. In any case, you won't be able to catch the Carp King."
He picked up a brush, wrote down Han Busen, Fisherman in five characters, then handed Han Sen an iron token.
"This is your work token. Keep it safe—don't lose it."
"Yes."
Han Sen bowed and accepted it.
"Good. Pack your things and head down the mountain," the elder waved dismissively.
Han Sen bowed again and turned to leave.
Just as he reached the doorway, a voice transmission brushed his ears:
"Since you're showing such devotion to the clan, take that token to the Treasure Pavilion. Find Old Eight and tell him I said to give you a storage pouch as a special exception.
"Oh, and don't breathe a word about my 'refining the heart in the mortal world.'"
Han Sen didn't turn back. He only nodded slightly and stepped out of the hall.