Pushed Too Far

Half an hour later, the Exquisite Bamboo was cut through.

Boom!

The Exquisite Bamboo before him crashed to the ground.

Looking at it lying there, Fang Chen felt a powerful surge of triumph.

He reached into his robe and took out his Identity Token. Carved from a special wood, it bore a small green sword on the back. On the front were the three characters for Dragon Tiger Mountain, his name, and his servant number.

The wooden plaque felt cool and heavy in his hand. Mysterious Runes had been engraved on it.

Fang Chen rubbed it rapidly with his hand.

After a while, something seemed to occur to him, and he stopped at once.

No. I can't call the steward over this soon!

Fang Chen's gaze sharpened. He had been weak to begin with, and with such a shoddy tool, there was no way he could have cut through an Exquisite Bamboo in an hour.

If he summoned the steward now, the man would surely grow suspicious.

None of the servants at Dragon Tiger Mountain had good intentions, and that included Steward Cao Bin.

For his own safety, Fang Chen had to be careful.

In this world, where danger lurked on every side and everyone schemed against everyone else, even the smallest oversight could cost him his life.

He had to be careful, then more careful still.

He turned to the large rock and began hacking at it with his sword.

Two hours later.

"That should do it!"

Fang Chen stopped, put away the Floating Immortal Sword, and took out his Identity Token again. Then he rubbed it.

If he had been a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, activating the Identity Token would have been simple. He could have sent a wisp of True Qi straight into it.

After he had rubbed it for a while, the Runes on the Identity Token gave off a faint white glow.

The time it took an incense stick to burn later, two people arrived: Cao Bin, the steward in charge of Dragon Tiger Mountain's servants, and Tian Hu, one of its Senior Servants.

Tian Hu had a Spiritual Root. Although it was only a four-element Mixed Spiritual Root, he could at least cultivate. He was far stronger than a good-for-nothing like Fang Chen, who had no Spiritual Root at all.

Most Spiritual Roots had one of the five elemental attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth. There were also Lightning Spiritual Roots, Dark Spiritual Roots, and Ice Spiritual Roots.

An Ice Origin Spiritual Root was a variant of the Water Spiritual Root and, strictly speaking, still counted as one.

Spiritual Roots fell into two broad categories: True Spiritual Roots and Mixed Spiritual Roots.

A True Spiritual Root had a single attribute.

A Mixed Spiritual Root had two or more.

A two-attribute Spiritual Root came next.

Those with three-attribute Spiritual Roots had almost no chance of becoming Inner Disciples of the great immortal sects. Most ended up as servants or Outer Sect Disciples.

Four-attribute Spiritual Roots were also called useless Spiritual Roots.

There were even Spiritual Roots with five, six, or seven attributes. Those were the most useless of the useless.

In theory, the more attributes a Spiritual Root had, the better. After all, strength came in numbers, and its bearer could practice spells of many attributes.

In practice, it was nothing like that.

With a single-attribute Spiritual Root, one person ate his fill and the whole household went hungry no more. Cultivation was wonderfully efficient.

A two-attribute Spiritual Root meant two mouths at home, each with a completely different taste. Every meal required two dishes, and neither mouth could go hungry. Feeding both took time and effort.

A three-attribute Spiritual Root meant a household of three, all with different tastes.

As for Spiritual Roots with four, five, or even six attributes, the less said, the better.

Spiritual Roots were innate and closely bound to the body.

A Mixed Spiritual Root's attributes could not be separated; they had to be cultivated together. If they fell out of balance, the cultivator might suffer qi deviation at best. At worst, the Spiritual Root would turn against him and his body would burst apart.

So, given the same amount of time and the same resources, the fewer attributes a Spiritual Root had, the more efficient cultivation would be and the faster one's cultivation level would rise.

True Spiritual Roots were further divided into grades one through nine, from lowest to highest, according to their affinity with Spiritual Qi. Above the ninth grade was the Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Heavenly Spiritual Roots were vanishingly rare, something one might hope to encounter but could never seek out. Most people who possessed one were mighty cultivators reincarnated.

Fang Chen immediately bowed slightly to Cao Bin and respectfully greeted him as Steward Cao. He took out his Identity Token and placed it on the Exquisite Bamboo, waiting for Cao Bin to mark it with the Spirit Pen.

The Spirit Pen was made from a special material. Its marks could only be washed away with special water, and a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm could see them clearly with a sweep of Spiritual Sense.

When making a mark, the Spirit Pen passed directly over the Identity Token, leaving a unique mark across both the Identity Token and the Exquisite Bamboo, making them easier to tally later.

Tian Hu walked up to Fang Chen and said, "Get the hell out of my way!"

Then he kicked Fang Chen in the chest.

Thud!

The kick knocked Fang Chen straight to the ground.

He clutched his chest, his face contorted with pain.

Tian Hu walked over to the Exquisite Bamboo and placed his own Identity Token on it. Then he looked up at Cao Bin with a fawning smile. "Steward, if you please!"

Fang Chen had not expected Tian Hu to steal his bamboo. He looked up at him and cursed, "Tian Hu, I cut that bamboo down! You're pushing me too far!"

"Pah! I'm pushing you too far. What are you going to do about it? Keep yapping, and I'll knock every tooth out of your mouth!"

Tian Hu spat at Fang Chen and glared at him like a fiend.

Fang Chen looked to Cao Bin, hoping the steward would stand up for him.

Cao Bin looked back at Fang Chen, his eyes full of disgust.

Fang Chen was the worst servant at Dragon Tiger Mountain: scrawny as a sickly cat, yet able to eat like a horse. He dragged down Dragon Tiger Mountain's overall productivity.

Dragon Tiger Mountain's main business was mining, and its payments to those above were calculated by head count. Because of Fang Chen, Cao Bin had earned far less money.

Every time Cao Bin saw him, anger welled up inside him. He wished he could throw Fang Chen out of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Tian Hu, on the other hand, was Dragon Tiger Mountain's finest servant. He might well break through to the Qi Refining Realm and become an Outer Sect Disciple.

If Tian Hu did, Cao Bin, as Dragon Tiger Mountain's steward of servants, would receive a substantial reward from the sect.

The sect offered such rewards to encourage stewards to train the servants under them and bring fresh blood into its ranks.

That was why Cao Bin treated Tian Hu so well.

Cao Bin walked over to the Exquisite Bamboo, picked up the Spirit Pen, and drew a mark across the bamboo and Tian Hu's Identity Token.

"You've gone too far!"

Fang Chen trembled with rage at the sight, but there was nothing he could do.

"Fuck you!"

Tian Hu put away his Identity Token, walked up to Fang Chen, and kicked him again, sending him sprawling.

Cao Bin looked at Fang Chen and said coldly, "Cut down two more Exquisite Bamboos before dark, or you'll regret it!"

With that, he turned and left with Tian Hu.