The Difficulty of Making Money and Being Social

It was a chilly September. A week past the beginning of a new school year.

There was a teen of about 16 years of age, huddled in a small corner on the street. He was managing a small stall of a makeshift stool and table with tired eyes. Other stalls also lined the area, with the cold morning air mingling with the warm fragrant scent of various food and drinks.

A large white plastic basket sat on top of the table in front of the teen, covered with a worn-down steel lid. It was also wrapped with a tattered blanket to keep the warmth inside.

"Roasted sweet potatoes! Two yuan for one, four yuan for two, and five yuan for three!" Bai Feng called out in his usual location, holding a crudely hand-drawn sign.

He sighed internally. Making money wasn't easy. Aside from paying his schooling fees this year, his little sister also needed some new clothes and other living essentials.

All of the expenses were piling up and draining his savings as fast as water going down a toilet when flushed. Being orphans, he and his sister received some financial aid from the government, but it was far too little for them to rely on alone.

From his calculations, he needed to find part-time work or do some odd jobs if they wanted to make it through this winter.

"Hey boss, how much for two potatoes?" A pretty voice asked from above him.

Looking up through slightly long, dark bangs, Bai Feng met eyes with a beautiful girl about his age. Her black hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, sitting above a smooth oval face and amicable eyes with glasses.

He also noticed that she wore the same uniform as him.

"Two yuan each, so four yuan total. If you buy three it's only five yuan." Bai Feng replied.

"I'll pay you through OurChat." The girl said, taking out her phone.

She raised an eyebrow at seeing the extremely outdated model that Bai Feng brought out. With a large crack on the screen, it took several attempts before she was able to successfully scan the QR code on the shoddy device.

Shan Lingling. Bai Feng noticed the girl's name unintentionally from staring at the screen. She also had a cute profile picture of a pink fluffy teddy bear.

Hearing the "ding" from a transaction received of five yuan, Bai Feng began to fill up a plastic bag with three sweet potatoes.

"You should probably get a new phone, boss." The girl commented with a teasing smile.

Bai Feng resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This Shan Lingling was definitely a princess who has never experienced poverty.

"You should probably get a new phone, boss." He mimicked her with an exaggerated expression, giving her a scary look. "How about you give me the money for a new phone then?"

"I-" The girl was surprised by his sudden aggression.

"Heh." Bai Feng gave her a look of contempt as he interrupted her. Handing her the bag, he then shooed her away. "Thanks for your business."

Ignoring Shan Lingling's look of being wronged as she walked off, Bai Feng checked how much money he earned.

He sighed. Only 64 yuan. It was below average from his usual early mornings.

It's already been a couple of hours since he set up shop with the other stall owners. The sky was still dark save for the lights on the dim lamps.

Packing up his makeshift stall, Bai Feng picked up his backpack and began trudging towards school while carrying his items. The world had changed so much since he started his new life.

Qi. This was the essence of the world that allowed one to train and forge oneself into transcendental beings. Cultivators are individuals who absorb and cultivate this energy to temper themselves, both physically and spiritually.

As he walked, Bai Feng's memories began to drift. He vaguely remembers a world of warring kingdoms and great empires. Powerful cultivators who clashed in the Jianghu and strove for immortality.

Battles that caused his soul to stir. The excitement that broke the hopeless monotony of immortality in his past life.

Yawning, Bai Feng didn't remember much before becoming a god. He had no mortal attachments, but it was also the fateful choice he made as a god that the world is at where it is today.

Picking up the pace, Bai Feng stopped contemplating on his past or he'd be late.

...

"Attention class, I have 2 important announcements." The middle-aged teacher, Mrs. Hua, impatiently tapped at the whiteboard to get everyone's attention.

Bai Feng managed to make it in time to the classroom, setting aside his items and single strap backpack beside his desk. The familiar 4 tone melody rang out from the large bell of the school, signalling classes were about to begin and that any latecomers would be punished.

His seat was the farthest back to the corner, right beside the window. Although he had pretty good looks for societal standards, Bai Feng's status and antisocial personality kept his peers from approaching.

That and being a poor orphan, the parents of the class learned of his situation and most advised their children to avoid him. A few had even attempted to transfer their child to other classes, being heavily prejudiced against poverty.

Atleast they left him alone for the most part, with their gossip and insults reserved behind his back. As long as it was peaceful, Bai Feng didn't mind being an outcast.

He bothered no one, and no one bothered him.

Mrs. Hua pulled down an electronic screen. "The first announcement is regarding the entrance aptitude examinations happening in a week."

"Everyone will receive a rank from A to F." Mrs. Hua explained. "Azure Academy is also awarding students with rewards corresponding to their ranks every month."

Bai Feng's ears twitched when he heard the mention of a reward. His full attention was now focused on the announcement.

"I expect all of you to have already awakened and began cultivating." His teacher's next words made Bai Feng wince.

Although every human was born with a system, they needed to "awaken" it in order to start cultivating. However, there wasn't a present method to manually cause this process to happen, and it's believed to occur around the growth period of puberty.

Unfortunately for Bai Feng, his system was rather... Unique.

There were also + and - signs used to indicate positions between levels, such as E+ and C-. Most rewards were in the form of basic cultivation resources or pills, which could fetch a few hundred yuan in enough quantities.

However, the highest ranks from B+ to A, would be able to receive a reward of 1 spiritual stone per month.

An average grade spiritual stone was worth about 1000 yuan. If it was slightly lower in quality or higher in quality, the price range was expected to be around 800-1200 yuan.

Drooling over the possible money he could earn, Bai Feng was also curious on what rank he would receive with his system. Even though it hasn't been awakened, it was powerful enough to cause disastrous repercussions with a single mistake.

"Even if you receive a lower rank initially, you shouldn't completely give up hope." The teacher opened a large chart that expanded on the screen.

"Although the aptitude test is a measure of your potential, it is only your potential in regards to your cultivation system." Mrs. Hua informed them. "There are also other factors to be judged, and hard work in itself is also a talent for your futures."

"There are also competitions and other exams within the school year to possibly increase your rank. However, if you perform poorly on them, you could in turn be demoted." She warned.

"So continue to study and work hard for the aptitude tests. I hope all of you do well." Mrs. Hua finished before starting her lecture on the history of the present world.

...

Many had believed the historical texts of cultivators and demonic beasts to be pure fantasy. Qi disappeared over several thousand years ago, and no one could find proof of its existence since.

Then one day, the unexplained phenomena of Qi returning caused the world to completely change.

Every human could start cultivating Qi, and began developing unique systems that assisted their cultivation. These systems could result from elements, such as fire and water, to weapons such as the sword of blade, or even possibly special attributes that are still unable to be properly categorized.

Unfortunately, accompanying them were also the return of demonic beasts. Mythological creatures began to appear, and Qi had caused the wildlife to evolve. Previously harmless species have even mutated through pollution and radiation, becoming massive dangers to society that entire cities had to be walled off.

Then there were the appearances of dungeons and other mysterious phenomenons. Small worlds, dimensional gates, all began to appear all around the world that yielded massive rewards for cultivators.

The worst part was when humanity started to turn against one another for these resources.

Seperating into 3 supercontinents through a massive alliance similar to the disbanded European Union, they were now at odds with one another over these areas in order to reap benefits for their respective countries.

These supercontinents are now known as Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia.

Azure Academy was one of the many high schools these supercontinents developed, with a combination of regular academics integrated with cultivation. Many were public schools, where the government had control of the educational material and provided many stipends to help reward outstanding talents.

Here, it is also where Bai Feng was currently at, planning to work hard. He just hoped to find a decent paying job as a civil servant upon graduating, able to support himself and his sister financially.

Mrs. Hua suddenly stopped in her lecture, looking towards the door. She had just received a voice transmission that the new student had finished the registration process.

"Alright class, this is the second announcement." Mrs. Hua tapped loudly at the whiteboard again. "We will be having a new transfer student joining our class. Please come in and introduce yourself."

The door opened, and Bai Feng noticed a familiar looking girl in a neat ponytail and glasses.

"Hello everyone, my name is Shan Lingling." The beautiful girl introduced herself.

As expected of an usual high school class, the students began to get excited and discussions increased in volume. The girls were glad that another girl was joining, while the boys were looking forward to wooing the pretty transfer student.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" One of the braver males yelled out.

Shan Lingling blushed from the sudden question. "No... I don't."

The volume of the hubbub increased even further, much to Bai Feng's dismay. His ears were rather sensitive, and the loud sounds began to pierce his eardrums painfully.

"Settle down!" Amplified with Qi, Mrs. Hua's voice immediately silenced the class, much to Bai Feng's relief.

He then noticed that the room was already full, and the only seat available was next to him. Bai Feng suddenly began to have a bad premonition of what's about to happen next.

"You can sit next to Bai Feng." Mrs. Hua pointed to the mentioned empty seat.

Sitting down next to him, Shan Lingling's look of curiosity turned to annoyance when she realized that he was the guy selling sweet potatoes. After her lighthearted joke, this Bai Feng had started being rude and aggressive towards her.

Noticing the unusual class atmosphere, the beautiful girl hid a mischievous smile as she thought of a devious plan to get back at Bai Feng. Meanwhile, the rest of the class, mainly the boys, glared daggers at him.

Bai Feng sighed, feeling that having a peaceful high school life was over as quickly as it had begun.