A Decision That Betrays the Ancestors

Li Xiuchang felt a pang of regret. One inch of his accumulated "Length" from half a year of martial arts training was gone.

It was used to add an inch to his "Qi Pillar."

Still, it was worth it to avoid suffering "Karma" in the future!

About a year and a half ago, when he first transmigrated, he noticed a small number "0" in the lower-left corner of his vision.

At first, he had no idea what it meant and had many guesses until he started cooking...

The original body Li Xiuchang inhabited, Li Chang, came from a family of cooks for generations. Tracing back eight generations in the family registry, they were all cooks, so Li Chang was also a cook.

It was rumored that Li Chang's ancestor had once served as an Imperial Chef, but the era was too distant to verify, and at least, it wasn't found in the family registry.

Li Chang's father lived a life of poverty and placed great hope in Li Chang, wishing he would one day restore the family's former glory.

Li Chang did not disappoint his father. At fifteen, he became the head chef at the town's best restaurant, the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. Unfortunately, Li Chang's parents died early and never saw this day.

With Li Chang's culinary talent, he might have become the Li family's second Imperial Chef in the future.

However, being young and unable to think things through, he was consumed by the desire to find a wife. To save up for a dowry, he worked tirelessly day and night, taking on many side jobs in addition to his work at the restaurant.

He managed to save up the dowry money, but before he could marry, Li Chang collapsed from exhaustion, leading to Li Xiuchang's transmigration.

As soon as Li Xiuchang transmigrated and learned that this was a world of cultivation, he made a decision that went against his ancestors: he would no longer be a cook!

He wanted to Seek Immortality and Enlightenment.

But with no immediate path to seeking immortality, Li Xiuchang decided to continue his work as a cook while searching for a way to cultivate.

Who would have known that the first time he cooked a dish using Li Chang's inherited culinary skills, the "0" in his vision changed to "0.01."

Having read countless web novels and being a seasoned reader, Li Xiuchang immediately made a connection, suspecting it might be a standard cheat system for transmigrators.

However, apart from the number changing, there were no other anomalies, and Li Xiuchang still didn't understand the meaning of the number.

Perhaps a certain threshold needed to be reached to activate the cheat... With this guess, Li Xiuchang changed his mind.

He temporarily abandoned the idea of quitting cooking for cultivation and settled back into his role as a cook at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

Sharpening the axe does not hinder the chopping of wood. He decided to activate the cheat system first before pursuing cultivation.

Although he knew that cooking could increase the number, he didn't dare to overexert himself, given Li Chang's precedent.

His body had been severely depleted by Li Chang. If he didn't take care of it, he might suffer the same fate as Li Chang. Thus, he focused on recuperating while cooking to accumulate points.

The numerical increase was extremely slow. It wasn't like every dish increased the number by 0.01. Sometimes, for several consecutive days, the number wouldn't change at all, while other times, it could increase by several 0.01s in a single day. Li Xiuchang couldn't find a pattern.

A year passed like this. Li Xiuchang's body recovered, and the number in the lower-left corner of his vision finally climbed to "1."

It was around that time that he had a realization and understood the meaning and usage of the number in his vision.

It was "Length"!

A unit of "inch" should be added after the number.

"1" represented one inch, "2" represented two inches...

He could add this Length to anything he could see.

However, each addition of Length had to be an integer; any fraction less than an inch could not be used.

Li Xiuchang, having activated the cheat system, was overjoyed and couldn't wait to test it out. But this one inch of Length was hard-earned, and he struggled with where to apply it.

He looked at himself in the mirror. He had a tall, clean-cut appearance, quite handsome.

His height was sufficient; there was no need to add to it.

He then lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and shook his head. Making something longer that was already long was meaningless.

Finally, Li Xiuchang used all his savings to buy a Gold Leaf, planning to see if he could turn it into a Gold Brick.

He had consumed many precious medicinal ingredients and eaten well during the year he spent recuperating. Li Chang's remaining dowry money had been almost entirely spent.

Considering that he would need travel expenses for seeking immortality and enlightenment later, he decided to use this precious first inch of Length to solve his financial problems.

The experiment was, of course, successful. Li Xiuchang obtained a Gold Brick and consumed the one inch of Length he had painstakingly accumulated from a year of cooking.

Through a year of exploration, he had gained a much better understanding of his Length cheat system and accumulated considerable experience, roughly figuring out the accumulation pattern of this Length value.

Firstly, cooking wasn't the only way to increase the Length value.

Doing needlework, carpentry, masonry, and even farming could increase the Length value.

However, it wasn't faster than cooking.

Secondly, behind the Length value, there should be a hidden stat—Proficiency!

Every time his Proficiency in a certain skill increased, the Length value would rise.

Therefore, when he focused on cooking, summarized his experiences, and refined his methods, the Length value increased significantly faster than usual.

But if he was absent-minded, daydreaming, even if he cooked many dishes, the Length value would increase very slowly.

Li Xiuchang initially thought that all skills were equal in the face of the Length value, and the speed of accumulating Length would be roughly the same whether he was a cook, a tailor, or a carpenter.

Until he started practicing martial arts...

After practicing martial arts at the South Mountain Martial Arts Hall for half a year, he accumulated two inches of Length, which was equivalent to two years of cooking!

Li Xiuchang had a thought at the time: If martial arts training increases so quickly, won't cultivation soar even faster?

After passing the aptitude test, Li Xiuchang was housed in the White Cloud City Lord's mansion and enjoyed two days of free food and lodging.

Two days later, the aptitude test concluded. Senior Brother Song Yu finally finished his busy schedule and summoned Li Xiuchang and the others.

This time, eight people passed the aptitude test in White Cloud City. Only Pang Yuanfu had a high-grade Spiritual Aperture. Including Li Xiuchang, there were two people with mid-grade Spiritual Apertures, and the rest had low-grade Spiritual Apertures.

Li Xiuchang was a fraud; he was actually a low-grade Spiritual Aperture as well.

Out of thousands of people, only these eight were selected, yet Song Yu still looked gratified, saying, "White Cloud City truly has a continuous stream of talent."

Pang Yuanfu's eyes darted around as he tried to curry favor. "Senior Brother Song is also from White Cloud City?"

Song Yu chuckled, "You are all staying at my home now."

Everyone was stunned for a moment before they reacted, suddenly remembering that the City Lord of White Cloud City also had the surname Song.

"Alright, I'll take you back to the Immortal Dust Sect later. There are a few things I need to explain to you in advance," Song Yu said, his smile fading as he spoke seriously.

Li Xiuchang and the others perked up, listening attentively.

"Our Immortal Dust Sect does not support idlers!"

"The sect will teach you cultivation methods and provide Spirit Veins for your practice, but each of you must also contribute to the sect."

Speaking of which, Song Yu's gaze swept over the five people with low-grade Spiritual Apertures. "Registered disciples need to be responsible for miscellaneous chores within the sect. Once you arrive at the sect, someone will be assigned to arrange work for you."

Then, he looked at Li Xiuchang and another girl with a mid-grade Spiritual Aperture. "Outer Sect disciples need to choose one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts to practice. After you gain some proficiency, the sect will assign you tasks each year based on your skill level.

"For example, an alchemist's task would be to refine a certain amount of medicinal pills for the sect each year. Formation Masters will be responsible for the daily maintenance of some of the sect's formations... Of course, this is not for free; you will receive contribution points as compensation."

Finally, Song Yu's gaze landed on Pang Yuanfu. "Registered disciples and Outer Sect disciples only need to have acceptable Spiritual Aperture aptitude. However, if you wish to become an Inner Sect disciple, upon returning to the sect, you will need to undergo further assessments. Both comprehension and disposition must pass, otherwise, even with a high-grade Spiritual Aperture, you can only become an Outer Sect disciple."

Pang Yuanfu's expression stiffened. After a moment, he asked, "Senior Brother Song, what are the responsibilities of an Inner Sect disciple?"

"Inner Sect disciples only need to focus on cultivation. However, even as an Inner Sect disciple, you cannot slack off. Elders will regularly check your cultivation progress. If you are found to be lazy, you will be fined, and in severe cases, your Inner Sect status will be revoked, and you will be demoted to the Outer Sect."

After listening to Senior Brother Song Yu's introduction, Li Xiuchang realized that the Outer Sect disciple status was the most suitable for him.

He wouldn't be busy with chores like a registered disciple, nor would he be pressured to cultivate like an Inner Sect disciple.

As for the "Hundred Cultivation Arts," even if the sect hadn't required it, Li Xiuchang would have actively pursued them.

These were cultivation skills!

Cooking could accumulate an inch of length in a year, martial arts training could accumulate two inches in half a year. What about alchemy for half a year? Formation Arts for half a year?

He would be thrilled if the sect assigned him tasks; it would be like the sect providing materials for him to accumulate length.

Li Xiuchang understood that with his mere low-grade Spiritual Aperture, his achievements from focusing solely on cultivation would be limited. Only by accumulating more length and using it to aid his cultivation could he hope to walk further on the path of immortality.

Seeking collection and follow-up reads for the new book, thank you everyone.