1

In the outskirts of the Evergreen Sword Sect at the bottom of the thirtieth peak, there were a lot of small farms on an open field. Looking from above, each farm had an area of roughly a hundred meters. And in the middle of the farm was a small wooden cabin.

No one knows how many farms were there just in this area, much less the entire sect.

Well, at least not Lin Kai, who was sitting on a bamboo chair outside his house with a blank expression.

From his outer appearance, one could guess his age was around seventeen. Wearing a long coarse grey robe covering his entire body, and a rather young but handsome face, he gave off the feeling of a young innocent, and immature boy. But his eyes which were as deep as an ocean made a stark contrast with his rather young appearance. His hair was tied up neatly behind his head in a ponytail, held together with a simple hairband.

At this moment, he was looking at the plants that were almost the size of an adult's knees. He didn't express any emotions, but just sat there in silence as if thinking about something.

"Goodness gracious, you aren't dead are you?"

It was at this time that the sound of an old man brought him out of his stupor.

"Umm!?" Looking at the old man standing in front of him with a smile on his face, Lin Kai's expression finally eased as he shook his head with a smile. Though this smile of his seemed rather forced.

The old man seemed to be in his seventies with a head full of white hair and a sunny appearance. From the wrinkles on his face and his murky eyes, one could feel the wisdom oozing. Just like Lin Kai, he too was wearing a grey robe, but compared to Lin Kai's, his robe was old. Time had left traces on it due to the constant washings.

Looking at the old man, Lin Kai finally muttered in a soft voice.

"Do you really think I am going to die before you, old man?"

Although his voice was young, there was a sense of echo in it, making it pleasant to hear.

Upon hearing that snarky remark, the old man didn't get angry but let out a hearty laugh.

Walking to Lin Kai, he grabbed another chair from the inside of the house and sat beside him. Both of them looked at the dense fog in the distance before the old man spoke.

"Do you still can't remember anything?"

"Heh..." Shaking his head, Lin Kai's eyes flashed for a moment before he replied. "Not much, but I remember a few things. I was the young master of a family outside and got ambushed."

His voice abruptly ended as if he didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"I see." The old man didn't think too much about it. He had personally seen and heard of such things too many times in his long life. Lin Kai's situation wasn't any special.

A week ago, the old man found him lying unconscious in the forest. He was barely breathing and needed immediate care. The old man brought him back with him to the sect. Since then, the two of them have been living together.

"I have made some arrangements. Tomorrow, they will test your talent with the newcomers."

Standing up, he patted Lin Kai on his shoulder and gave him advice. "Take some rest and leave the rest to fate. Even if you fail, there is no need to worry."

With an inexplicable smile, both of them went silent while looking in the distance. Even though the scenery ahead was obstructed with fog, they still looked there as if wanting to tear it apart and see the scenery behind them.

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One more day passed in the blink of an eye and the next day, both Old Man Xu and Lin Kai made their way to the testing grounds before dawn.

Walking in the receding darkness amongst the gentle cold wind, it took them almost four hours before they were able to reach their destination. Throughout the journey, Old Man Xu was telling him about the sect and his future options in case his talent wasn't good.

After reaching their destination, Lin Kai finally saw the scene in front of him. In front of him was a large open field with thousands of people standing there. But what attracted Lin Kai's attention was the age of the people in the crowd.

The youngest one seemed to be aged twelve while the oldest one was in their twenties.

In the middle of the field were ten testing platforms with a small stone stele erected on them. Each stele was accompanied by a person wearing black robes and holding long swords.

"Go... And best of luck." Patting Lin Kai on the back, old man Xu signaled him to go ahead and slowly stepped back before standing amongst the older crowd. 

One more hour passed and the increasing number of people finally stopped. It was at this moment that a loud sound of thunder echoed throughout the ground and a figure stood up in the air above the ground.

"Quiet"

Hovering in the air, his voice instantly silenced the crowd.

"Today, we will test your talent for cultivation. If it lights up even just one section, then you will pass. But if not... Then you can only go back home."

With this, he raised his hand and signaled for the test to start.

"Fail."

"Fail."

"Pass."

The test didn't cause any shockwaves. One only needs to put their hand on the stone stele that had seven sections in it. If one was able to light up a single section, then they would be accepted in the sect.

Some passed while a majority failed. Those who failed just cried in silence while cursing their fate. And those who passed naturally had smiles on their faces.

Some even managed to light up more than five sections, causing a bit of a stir.

After almost three hours, it was finally Lin Kai's turn.

"Place your hand on this crystal first." As soon as Lin Kai stepped on the platform, the middle-aged man signaled him to put his hand on the crystal.

"Umm..." Though Lin Kai wasn't particularly fond of showing his emotions, at this moment, he couldn't help but be nervous in his heart.

"Okay... Sixteen years old." After testing his age, the man signaled Lin Kai to test his talent.

"..." Walking to the giant stone stele that was the size of a two-story building, Lin Kai swallowed a mouthful of saliva and slowly placed his hand on it.

As soon as he put his hand on the stone stele, a shiver ran through his body as Lin Kai's eyes went dark and a small screen popped up in front of him.

[Name: Lin Kai]

[Age: 16/56]

[Realm: None]

[Skills: None]

"Uh!?" Stunned by this sudden appearance of the screen, before Lin Kai could even react, he heard the sound of the middle-aged man.

"Passed."

It was at this time that he saw one of the sections on the stele glowing dimly.

After grabbing the wooden token the middle-aged man handed him, Lin Kai walked out of the crowd in a daze.

He was still looking at the screen in front of him. At this moment, his eyes were filled with confusion, excitement, gratitude, and innumerable emotions. He just didn't know how to react. And while he was looking at the transparent screen in front of him he heard the voice of the old man Xu shouting his name.

"How was it?" Due to the large distance, old Xu wasn't able to see the results clearly.

Standing in front of Lin Kai with some expectations, he wanted to know the result of his test. He wanted to see how the boy whom he had picked up from the forest did in the test.

"This." Handing Old Xu the token, Lin Kai's eyes were still focused on the screen in front of him. Judging by the complete lack of reaction, he knew others weren't able to see the screen in front of him.

"Uh!" The old man who was full of expectations for the young boy in front of him, looked at the wooden token in front of him and upon seeing the number "one" carved on it, suddenly let out a bitter smile.

There were a variety of complex emotions in his eyes when he looked at the young boy again. Mistaking his daze for hopelessness, he swallowed the words he was about to speak and consoled him.

"Hey... There is no need to lose hope." He wanted to say a few more words, but in the end, decided against it. Sooner or later, the boy has to face reality.

It took a while before the test finished. Lin Kai who was finally back to his senses was surprised to find that out of two thousand people less than a hundred managed to pass the test.

After the rest of the people left with unwillingness and indignation, the man hovering in the air finally had a smile on his face.

"Those with three stairs or more, please follow me." Compared to when he spoke first, his voice was much softer now as if he was talking to his friends.

As soon as he spoke the words, more than twenty people followed him, leaving behind the rest.

While Lin Kai was still wondering what was going to happen next, a middle-aged man who was testing them walked toward the rest of the people and signaled them to follow him.

Soon, they reached in front of a small exquisite wooden hall where an old woman was already waiting for them.

"This year's batch." Handing the newcomers to the old woman, the man took his leave. It was as if he didn't want to waste his precious time with these people who have no future.

"Umm..." The old just nodded in response as her eyes scanned the crowd.

"Ahem!" Just when everyone was confused as to what was going to happen next, the old woman spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Even though you all have a talent for cultivation, it is poor. It is the graciousness and mercy of the sect that even people like you are allowed to cultivate on this sacred land." The more she spoke, the harsher her voice got. The young children who were filled with glimmers of hope were stunned upon hearing such words.

Some of them wanted to refute and even argue. But looking at her fierce expression, none dared to go forward.

"You all will be assigned duty here. You can pick up the work you would like to do. You will be provided with a practice method and some initial resources. After that... You are all on your own."

The old woman didn't want to explain too much. In due time, all these brats would learn the way of life here.

After the old woman spoke, everyone rushed forward to pick up the work they were interested in. Judging from their reaction, they seemed rather eager.

One by one, the old woman handed them their identity token, a thin book, and a small bottle of pills.

Soon it was Lin Kai's turn.

In front of him, there were some options to choose from. He could either join the pill refining division as a handyman. Or, he could join the weapon refining division.

There was even an option of taking care of beasts and being a sparring partner.

In the end, his eyes finally landed on the seemingly useless task at the end that no one chose.

"Farmer."

Placing his finger on top of it, Lin Kai tapped on it a few times.

"Are you sure?" There was a hint of surprise in the old woman's tone as she asked his question.

Every newcomer here was filled with hopes and dreams. Everyone here wants to accomplish something big, something earth-shattering.

But after going through every possible job listed here, these same people would know the difference between the talented ones and themselves. In the end, the majority of them either choose to leave the sect or they choose to work as a farmer.

Lin Kai didn't know about it and even if he did, it wasn't going to make a difference. Yes, he was interested in the so-called cultivation in this world. But this didn't mean he was going to plunge himself into chaos. In reply to her question, he just nodded in silence; his firm eyes showing his determination.

"Fine then." With a chuckle, the old woman handed him his identity token, a thin book, and a bottle of pills, before telling him to wait there.

After an hour when everyone was assigned their duties, the old woman sent them away with the older disciples of the sect. It wasn't until everyone left did she looked at Lin Kai with a smile. Compared to those brats who don't know how high the heaven is, it is much more pleasing to talk to someone like Lin Kai.

"Normally, the plants that farmers grow have a growth cycle of one year. But because there are still three months remaining till their harvest, I will provide you with some miscellaneous plants that can be harvested after three months."

With a smile, she handed him a bag of seeds and then signaled him to follow her. Soon, both of them began to make their way towards the empty farms.

"Just be sure to take care of them properly. Even if you are new, you can not escape the laws of the sect. After three months, someone will come to gather seventy percent of your harvest. So, in case you aren't able to pay it, you will be sent to the mining division."

By the time she finished her sentence, the smile had disappeared from her face, leaving behind a solemn expression.

"And trust me when I say it is a place worse than death."

After hearing her warning, Lin Kai was stunned. He didn't think there would be such risks in farming. For a moment, he even wanted to quit it and just walk out of this sect.

"Heh," How could the old woman who had seen countless people couldn't guess his thoughts? 

"Once you join the sect and choose a profession, you can not give up before twenty years. Or else... hehe." Her evil smile sent a shudder down Lin Kai's spine who controlled his train of thoughts. 

"How about this? Normally you will be assigned a farm, but I will make an exception for you. Do you have anything particular in mind? Like the place you want your farm to be. Do you want it to be near the market, or amongst the most talented farmers?"

"I can make an exception for you."

After hearing her, Lin Kai didn't reply immediately but thought for a long time.

"I want a farm that is near a river or stream. It would be best if there isn't any other farm near it."

"Huh!?" Hearing his request, the old woman was stunned for a moment. She wasn't expecting such a requirement from someone as young as Lin Kai. Usually, only old people who want to die in peace would request for such locations. This brat in front of her was really one of a kind. Not only did he choose to be a farmer, he even wanted such a secluded location. For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder whether this brat actually came here to farm instead of cultivation.

But no matter what she thought, she didn't express it on her face. Even though his request was a bit weird, it wasn't anything special.

"There are a lot of farms like you mentioned. I will just take you to one of them."

With this, the two of them finally began to make their way towards Lin Kai's new home...