2

It took them a few hours, and by the time they reached their destination, it was already evening. After bringing him there, the woman finally took her leave.

"Finally, some peace." 

Looking at her departing figure in the distance, Lin Kai couldn't help but breathe out in relief. This was the busiest day since he came to this world. 

Looking at the surrounding scenery, he couldn't help but let out a hearty smile. The hut wasn't anything special, it was an exact replica of Old Xu's. Just behind the wooden hut was a dense forest with trees that Lin Kai had never seen before. Beside his house just a few meters away was the gentle stream of water. Amidst the sound of running water and the chirping of insects, Lin Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Such peace and quiet was rare even in his previous life. 

After such a tiring day, he was in no mood to do anything. Throwing the things he received today in the corner of his room, he walked to the old wooden bed with a straw mat placed on it before lying on it. Even though it was extremely uncomfortable, he wasn't bothered by it for the moment. Closing his eyes, he finally drifted into a peaceful sleep.

-------

While Lin Kai was sleeping peacefully, an entirely different scene was playing in one of the rooms.

A young boy, similar to Lin Kai's age was seething in rage inside his room.

"THESE USELESS BASTARDS ." Picking up the bamboo chair he smashed it on the ground while gritting his teeth in anger.

"Didn't they say they killed that useless waste? WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE THEN?"

His piercing voice echoed inside his house, but obviously, there was no one to give him an answer.

"Never mind." After throwing a fit of rage, he controlled his emotions, and finally, a wretched smile formed on his face. "Even if he is alive, he is just a useless handyman now."

"Just a useless farmer. No need to worry about anything."

After joining the sect, there wasn't anything he could do now. The only thing he could do was to laugh at his pitiful fate.

---------

'Knock..

Knock.'

It was the sound of someone knocking on his door that woke Lin Kai up.

"Ugh... It's morning already?" Looking at the sunlight coming through the gaps in the window, Lin Kai finally woke up and stretched his body. 

"Wow... You truly are the laziest person I have ever seen."

As soon as Lin Kai opened the door, he was greeted by the complaining voice of Old Xu.

"Leave me alone... It was a tiring day."

Waving his hand, Lin Kai grabbed the two bamboo chairs that the old man brought to his house, placed them in front of his door, and sat in one of them comfortably.

"Heh... Forget it." Looking at the boy, Old Xu just shook his head with a smile.

"I didn't expect you to choose the job of a farmer." Sitting beside Lin Kai, the old man clicked his tongue in wonder.

He didn't think Lin Kai would choose to work as a farmer. He was expecting him to be working in the pill division or even as a sparring partner. Farming was the last thing he expected him to choose.

"On the other hand, I should have expected you to choose farming given how unmotivated and lazy you usually are." With a laugh, he looked at the farm in front of him which was covered with weeds.

Lin Kai didn't refute him. Just like the old man said, he was too lazy to care about anything. As for choosing to work as a farmer... He always wanted to work as a farmer. Even in his previous life on earth, if not for circumstances, he would have been a farmer.

With a yawn, Lin Kai looked at the screen in front of him. If not for the fact that he was dead tired, he would have started practicing the minute he arrived in his new home.

Even now, he wanted to practice. But the sudden appearance of the old man disturbed his plans.

"You didn't bring any food?" Feeling a bit hungry, Lin Kai couldn't help but ask. For the past week, he had been living with the old man who had been taking care of his meals. And now looking at his empty hands, he couldn't help but complain.

"Hahahahaha..." The old man was stunned for a moment before bursting out in a peal of laughter.

It took him a while to control his laugh. Looking at Lin Kai's face which was getting increasingly darker, he let out another chuckle and shook his head.

"Go and bring everything you received yesterday." Waving his hand, he signaled Lin Kai to bring back the things he had received.

Soon, Lin Kai was sitting on his chair once again with a token, a thin book, a bottle of pills, and a bag of seeds.

"This thing is your identity token." Holding the token in his hand, Old Xu gently tossed it up a few times. After taking a deep breath, he then slowly began to explain Lin Kai a few things.

"You see... Evergreen Sword Sect has thirty peaks and every peak is governed by an elder. In the middle of these thirty peaks, there is a Sacred mountain. Together, these all make a sphere, thus forming the Evergreen Sword Sect."

"Remember... The higher the number of the peak, the further we are from the Sacred Mountain."

Taking a brief pause, he continued further. "The thing is, even though we have joined the sect, we aren't actually real members of the sect.

The sacred mountain or the sacred peak, whatever you might call it, is where the core members of the sect are. It includes the ancestors, the current sect leader, and high elders along with the core disciples of the sect."

Tossing the token, he threw it to Lin Kai.

"Just like this token, the disciples there have a purple token."

"The rest of the thirty peaks are governed by elders, accompanied by their disciples each of whom carries a golden token."

"And finally... People like you and me.

We can only stay at the last peak which has all the production facilities."

"People like us live in this peak but we aren't disciples, but handymen, responsible for the production and crafting."

After saying everything, the old man finally stopped and looked into the distance. "This wooden token is the identity of us handymen."

"I see." Even though Lin Kai had lived with the old man for a week, the two of them never talked about the sect or the cultivation. On one hand, Lin Kai was still dealing with the aftermaths of coming to an unfamiliar world while on the other hand, the old man wasn't particularly interested in the topic.

But now that both of them have the same status, their topic of discussion would naturally be the same.

"So... Is there a way to get promoted or are we always stuck in this position?" Even though Lin Kai was content with his new job, he still wanted to know more about the place he was staying at.

"This is where we come to the second item." With a smile, the old man picked up the thin book and waved it in front of Lin Kai.

"This is the method of cultivation. One needs to follow the breathing methods according to the book and induce the aura of heaven and earth into the body. Constantly gather it in your heart and when it is enough, you will be able to open up the endless space in your heart and condense the stair. Only and only then, will your journey to cultivation begin."

"Uh..." Looking at the smile on The old man's face, Lin Kai suddenly had a bad feeling. He couldn't help but ask with some hesitation "How long is it going to take?"

It was as if the old man was waiting for him to ask this question. With a smirk, he cleared his throat and took the position of a senior.

"During the talent test, I managed to light up two sections. After that, it took me two whole years to start my cultivation."

With a smile, he looked at Lin Kai. "How long do you think is it going to take for you?"

Listening to the old man, Lin Kai let out a bitter smile. He truly wasn't expecting that it would take such a long time just to open up the space in his heart. Wouldn't it mean that it would take even more time for cultivation?

"It says there are nine steps in the first realm. What step are you on?" After glancing roughly through the book, Lin Kai couldn't help but ask. Till now he hadn't seen the old man personally take any action. But judging by his tone and the time he spent here, he must be a pretty strong person. Perhaps, the old man has condensed all the steps and managed to reach the second realm of cultivation.

"Me?" Old Xu wasn't expecting this question. He just let out a bitter smile and replied "The first realm of cultivation is the realm of condensation. And one needs to condense nine steps of a stair to reach the peak.

Right now, I am at the third step."

As soon as he answered, Lin Kai was stunned. Looking at the old man from top to bottom, he couldn't help but speak.

"So weak?"

The moment these words escaped his lips, Old Xu almost flew into a rage.

"You little bastard who doesn't even know how high the sky is. Do you think it is easy to cultivate? People spend their entire life but are still stuck on opening the endless space of their heart."

"You little shit. The strongest farmer here is the one who has managed to condense four stairs. And he is someone even higher in talent than us and yet it took fifty years for him to reach this step."

The more Old Xu spoke, the louder his voice got. By the time he reached the end of his sentence, he was almost shouting in anger.

"Gulp..." Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Lin Kai couldn't help but ask.

"Is there a way to speed up the progress?" Lin Kai asked nervously. His lifespan was only 56 years and if he were to go at this speed, he would die before he even condensed the third step.

The old man didn't reply immediately. It seemed that Lin Kai hit his sore spot.

When he was young, he too thought about cultivating at a fast speed. He even dreamt about condensing all nine steps before the age of thirty. But reality gave him a hard slap.

Controlling his anger, he looked at the young boy who reminded him of his past.

"Sigh..." With a heavy sigh, he picked up the bag of seeds and held it gently.

"That is where this third item comes."

Handing Lin Kai the bag of seeds back, the old man explained further.

"These are the medicinal herbs that you can exchange for resources. If you have enough resources, you can undoubtedly increase your cultivation speed. But even if one has endless resources, it would take years. But even if one has endless resources, it is extremely hard to condense four stairs, let alone nine."

Both of them went silent for a long time. The old man was lost in his train of thoughts about his time as a youth and his future, while Lin Kai was thinking about the difficulty the old man explained.

Unlike the old man, who knew he had hit his limit, Lin Kai was uncertain about his future. Judging by the talent test, he knew if it came to cultivation, he was even worse than the old man. But looking at the screen in front of him... He finally let out a smile. He didn't know what the use of this panel was. But he was sure, it would be a tremendous help for his future.

"You didn't answer the most important question."

"Huh!?" Startled by this question, the old man looked at him in confusion.

"My food..." With a smile, Lin Kai let out a laugh. "Where is my food, old man?"