Chapter 5 Laid Off

In the Spirit Tree Garden, Gu An stepped forward one step at a time, his figure moving rapidly ahead, as light as a breeze.

Hundred Steps Chasing Wind.

This allowed him to move quickly through the forest, and could even burst for a second time.

But the second burst only covered a hundred steps.

Because it was just the beginner level, it wasn't very fast yet.

If he improved it a few more times, his speed would not be something an ordinary Qi Refinement Third Layer could catch up with.

Gu An continued deeper inside.

He stopped in front of a massive Vajra Wood tree.

Even two of him together couldn't wrap their arms around it.

Many Vajra Woods extended from this tree, making it the most unique and important tree in the whole Spirit Tree Garden.

Of course, the Spirit Tree Garden had long since matured, so this tree was valuable mainly for what it represented.

"Let me try."

Thinking this, Gu An pulled out his dagger and then made a cut.

A muffled sound rang out, but no mark was left.

He continued to cut with the dagger.

Finally, a mark appeared.

And as he cut more and more with the dagger, Gu An felt a warm current arise within him.

The magic stats began to change.

But this wasn't what Gu An wanted, *he needed the hard cultivation stats to change.*

He didn't hesitate, continuing to swing the dagger.

Because it wasn't an axe, progress was slow.

If only he had a Storage Treasure, bringing in an axe wouldn't be a problem.

Should he go buy one?

The cheapest Storage Treasure still cost a hundred or two Spirit Stones.

To those who were well-off, it wasn't much, but to someone like him, who earned just one Spirit Stone a month,

that was extremely expensive.

Ten each year, he'd have to save for twenty years—even if he managed to earn a little more elsewhere, three a month at most, it would still take years.

Whatever he made went mostly to connections and cultivation.

*How could he ever save up?*

He didn't think more about it, just kept hacking at the tree with his dagger.

As time passed bit by bit,

he finally made some progress.

The warm current in his body became more and more abundant.

Later, every time he swung, the warm current increased a little.

The stats changed very quickly.

[Magic: 36/50]

[Magic: 37/50]

[Hard Cultivation: 28/100]

[Magic: 38/50]

[Hard Cultivation: 29/100]

Feeling the numbers rising, Gu An felt a rush of joy.

*He'd gambled right.*

This tree could help him raise his cultivation.

As long as the stats were high enough, he could ascend to Qi Refining Fourth Layer in no time.

Even though he wouldn't be free just yet,

he could at least solve his urgent crisis.

An entire day, Gu An spent chopping trees.

Even though he only carved out some marks, his magic stat was maxed and cultivation was more than halfway there.

At most, two more days and he could attempt to advance.

Two days later.

The core Vajra Wood in the center had a sizable notch cut out.

If he kept chopping like this, the tree would be chopped down for real.

For a moment, Gu An didn't dare keep going.

Chopping a little now wouldn't hurt anything.

If it really fell, he'd be in serious trouble.

*Just then, Gu An found himself longing for a stronger tree.*

*But who in their right mind would chop down a good tree?*

He put away his dagger and let out a long breath.

He glanced at his panel.

[Magic: 50/50]

[Hard Cultivation: 100/100]

Maxed out.

He could not only upgrade Hundred Steps Chasing Wind once more, but also attempt to raise his cultivation.

Now, Hundred Steps Chasing Wind was at Small Success, the speed was decent, and when he burst, he could quickly either escape or close in.

He was just missing a suitable magic treasure.

The dagger was fine, but it just didn't have enough bite.

Looking at the spot he'd been chopping, Gu An planned to patch it up with something. If no one paid special attention, no one should notice.

Otherwise, it was easy to get into trouble.

Afterward, he headed to the wooden hut for a rest.

On his way over, he saw a man about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Seeing this, Gu An frowned, *a suspicion forming in his mind.*

*But why hadn't anyone informed him?*

Yang Shi and the others were standing respectfully in front of the guy.

Manager Chen of the Spirit Tree Garden was nearby, making introductions.

"Where's Gu An?" Manager Chen asked,

"Boss went to inspect around," Qiu Hua said.

"I thought I told someone to notify you all, why are we still a man short?" Manager Chen's eyes went cold, his voice lowering.

"I told him yesterday, maybe I was too quiet and he didn't hear." Yang Shi said softly.

"Looks like you're trying to pull some act on me." The unfamiliar man's voice carried authority.

Everyone felt anxious for a moment.

Qiu Hua hesitated, intending to speak.

But at that moment, Gu An walked over.

"Manager Chen." Gu An greeted in the customary way.

When Manager Chen saw Gu An, he was a bit surprised, then smiled, "Gu An, meet your new team leader. From now on, he'll be your leader. Since there's urgent matters here, he came early to take charge."

Gu An looked at the man, meaning from now on, he wouldn't be the team leader anymore.

At least he didn't have to move somewhere else for now, or that would be a hassle.

Even though he was a bit unwilling, circumstances were stronger than people, so he bowed his head and said earnestly,

"Greetings, Leader."

Seeing the man nod, Manager Chen introduced with a smile, "This leader is an Outer Disciple of the Sect, Shang Yundong. From now on, you'll work together, just don't delay the Sect's spirit wood orders. The deadline is coming up soon. Handle other things amongst yourselves. I won't meddle here."

Then, Manager Chen left.

Gu An felt like there was some hidden meaning in Manager Chen's words, but he just quietly waited for arrangements.

New officials like to throw their weight around—he was the former leader, so life wouldn't be easy for him.

Sure enough, Shang Yundong announced, "The four supervisors remain unchanged for now."

Then he turned his gaze to Gu An,

"As for you, I don't know what to assign you yet. I heard you like to pass the time logging, so for now, join the loggers."

"But Boss, he..." Qiu Yun tried to explain.

Choosing to log on your own was completely different than being ordered to do it.

But before she could finish, Shang Yundong interrupted coldly, "That title needs to change."

Qiu Yun immediately lowered her head, not daring to speak.

*Gu An did feel some resentment, but judging from the man's aura, he should be Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and an Outer Disciple too.*

*He really couldn't say much, so he picked up his axe and went to cut trees.*

"You guys go supervise." Shang Yundong said offhandedly.

Then Gu An took the axe and walked in the direction of the spirit wood, joining the other loggers.

Logging right now was honestly a loss.

Everything was maxed out, so chopping did nothing for him.

With the new leader around, everyone stuck around to keep watch.

"Boss Gu, what's going on today? Why's everyone just standing around?" a loose cultivator woodcutter asked curiously.

The man was middle-aged, about the same age as Gu An.

Most people who managed to eat here did so only because Gu An helped them out.

"A new leader joined." Gu An replied, chopping Vajra Wood as he spoke.

The other man looked a bit surprised, "So what about you, Boss Gu?"

"Just look at me and you'll know." Gu An gestured to the axe in his hand.

The other man looked shocked for a moment.

"Stop chatting and get back to work." Suddenly, a whip cracked through the air.

It nearly struck Gu An.

Gu An turned his head to look.

It was Yang Shi.

When he saw Gu An looking, Yang Shi immediately grinned, "Gu An, the new boss is watching from the back. We're just putting on a show, don't take it personally. The new boss is making you log anyway, so you might as well go through the motions."

Seeing the amusement in Yang Shi's eyes, Gu An knew the other was in a good mood.

Plus, Yang Shi had even told him to make an effort logging.

Even if it was just for show, this whip still made things awkward.

If it had been someone else doing this to him, he'd think it was normal.

But Yang Shi was someone he had personally promoted.