Li Xiuchang felt a pang at the thought of it. He had accumulated two inches of "length" through half a year of martial arts practice, and just like that, one inch was gone.
It had been used to add one inch to the "Qi Pillar."
Still, in exchange for not having to endure "Karma" in the future, it was well worth it!
About a year and a half ago, shortly after he had transmigrated, he discovered a tiny number "0" in the lower-left corner of his field of vision.
At first, he had no idea what the number meant. He had made countless guesses, until he started cooking...
The original owner of Li Xiuchang's body—Li Chang—had come from a family of cooks. Counting eight generations back through the family records, every ancestor had been a cook. Naturally, Li Chang was a cook as well.
It was said that one of the Li family's ancestors had once been an Imperial Chef, but the era was too distant to verify. At the very least, the family records contained no mention of it.
Li Chang's father had lived a poor and downtrodden life. He had always placed his hopes in Li Chang, looking forward to the day when his son might restore the glory of their ancestors.
Li Chang had not let his father down. At fifteen, he had become the head chef of the town's best restaurant, Drunken Immortal Restaurant. Unfortunately, Li Chang's parents had died young and never lived to see that day.
With Li Chang's talent for cooking, he might well have become the Li family's second Imperial Chef in the future.
Alas, though still young, he had taken leave of his senses and single-mindedly set his heart on finding a wife. To save up money for marriage, he had worked tirelessly day and night. Besides working at the restaurant every day, he had taken on numerous private jobs outside.
He had managed to save up the money for a wife, but before he could marry one, Li Chang had collapsed from exhaustion. That was how Li Xiuchang's transmigration came about.
The moment Li Xiuchang transmigrated, he learned that this was a cultivation world. He immediately made a decision that betrayed his ancestors: he wasn't going to be a cook anymore!
He was going to Seek Immortality and Enlightenment.
However, with no path to immortality available for the moment, Li Xiuchang decided to continue working as a cook while searching for a way to cultivate.
Who could have known that the first time he used the culinary skills inherited from Li Chang to prepare a dish, the number "0" in his vision would change, becoming "0.01"?
Having read webnovels extensively and spent many years as a bookworm, Li Xiuchang immediately made the connection. He suspected that this might be the standard cheat granted to transmigrators.
But apart from the change in the number, there was nothing else unusual, and Li Xiuchang still did not understand what the number represented.
Perhaps he needed to reach a certain value to activate the cheat... With that guess in mind, Li Xiuchang changed his plans.
He temporarily abandoned the idea of giving up cooking for cultivation and settled down to continue working as a cook at Drunken Immortal Restaurant.
Sharpening the axe does not delay the work of cutting wood. He planned to activate the cheat before embarking on the path of cultivation.
Although he knew that cooking could raise the value, he had learned from Li Chang's example and did not dare to push himself too hard.
Li Chang had overdrawn this body far too severely. If he did not nurse it back to health, he might well follow in Li Chang's footsteps. Thus, he recuperated while working as a cook and accumulating the value.
The value rose extremely slowly. It did not increase by 0.01 every time he cooked a dish. Sometimes, it would not budge at all for several days; other times, it would rise by several 0.01s in a single day. For a while, Li Xiuchang could not find any pattern.
Just like that, a year passed. Li Xiuchang's body had recovered, and the number in the lower-left corner of his vision had finally climbed to "1."
It was also then that he had a sudden insight and understood what the number in his vision represented and how it was used.
It was "length"!
There should be a unit after the number: "inch."
"1" represented one inch, while "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 portion less than one inch after the decimal point could not be used.
After activating his cheat, Li Xiuchang was overjoyed. He could not wait to find something and test whether the cheat worked. But this inch of length had been hard-won, and he found himself stumped over what to add it to.
He studied his reflection in the mirror. He had a tall, straight figure and a clean, handsome face. He could be considered quite the fine-looking man.
His height was sufficient. There was no need to add more.
He then lowered his head, pondered for a moment, and shook it. Making his strong point even longer would be utterly meaningless.
In the end, Li Xiuchang spent all his savings on a Gold Leaf and brought it home, planning to see whether he could turn the Gold Leaf into a "Gold Brick."
During that year of nursing his body, he had taken quite a few expensive medicinal herbs and had not deprived himself when it came to food. Almost all the money Li Chang had left for his marriage had been squandered.
Considering that he would certainly need traveling expenses later when he sought immortality and enlightenment, he planned to use this precious first inch of length to solve his financial problems.
The experiment naturally succeeded. Li Xiuchang gained a Gold Brick, while also consuming the one inch of length he had painstakingly accumulated through a year of cooking.
After a year of exploration, he had gained a much better understanding of his Length Cheat and summarized quite a few experiences. He had more or less figured out the pattern governing the accumulation of his Length Value.
First, cooking was not the only thing that could increase his Length Value.
Sewing, carpentry, masonry, and even farming could all increase his Length Value.
They simply did not increase it as quickly as cooking did.
Second, behind the Length Value, there should be another hidden value—proficiency!
Whenever his proficiency in a particular skill increased, his Length Value would rise.
Therefore, whenever he cooked seriously, summarized his experiences, and organized his methods, his Length Value rose noticeably faster than usual.
But if he was absentminded and his thoughts wandered far away, then no matter how many dishes he cooked, his Length Value would rise extremely slowly.
Li Xiuchang had initially thought that, before his Length Value, there was no distinction between noble and lowly skills. Whether he worked as a cook, a tailor, or a carpenter, the speed at which he accumulated Length Value should be more or less the same.
That was until he began practicing martial arts...
After practicing martial arts at South Mountain Martial Arts Hall for half a year, he accumulated two inches of length—equal to two years of working as a cook!
At the time, Li Xiuchang had an idea: If martial arts increased it this quickly, wouldn't he take off into the sky once he began cultivating?
After passing the aptitude test, Li Xiuchang also moved into the White Cloud City Lord's residence, where he spent two carefree days eating and drinking for free.
Only after those two days did the aptitude test finally conclude. Senior Brother Song Yu had at last finished dealing with his affairs and summoned Li Xiuchang and the others.
Eight people from White Cloud City had passed the aptitude test this time. Among them, Pang Yuanfu was the only one with a superior Spiritual Aperture. There were two people with intermediate Spiritual Apertures, including Li Xiuchang, while everyone else had inferior Spiritual Apertures.
Li Xiuchang was a fraud; in reality, he also had an inferior Spiritual Aperture.
Out of several thousand people, only these eight had been selected, yet Song Yu wore a look of satisfaction. "Our White Cloud City truly produces talent in abundance."
Pang Yuanfu's eyes shifted as he tried to curry favor. "Senior Brother Song, are you also from White Cloud City?"
Song Yu smiled. "You're all staying in my home right now."
Everyone froze for a moment before reacting. They suddenly remembered that the lord of White Cloud City seemed to have the surname Song as well.
"All right. I'll take you back to the Immortal Dust Sect shortly. There are some matters I need to explain to you in advance." Song Yu rarely put away the smile on his face and spoke solemnly.
Li Xiuchang and the others immediately perked up and listened attentively.
"The Immortal Dust Sect does not support idlers!"
"The sect teaches you cultivation methods and provides Spirit Veins for your cultivation. Naturally, every one of you must also make contributions to the sect."
At this point, Song Yu's gaze swept over the five people with inferior Spiritual Apertures. "Registered Disciples are responsible for miscellaneous duties within the sect. Once you arrive, someone will assign work to you."
Then he looked toward Li Xiuchang and the other girl with an intermediate Spiritual Aperture. "Outer Disciples must choose one of the Hundred Cultivation Arts to study. Once you have begun to master the skill, the sect will assign you certain tasks each year according to your skill level.
"For example, an alchemist's task is to refine a certain quota of pills for the sect each year. A Formation Master, meanwhile, will be responsible for the routine maintenance of some of the sect's formations... Of course, you won't be working for nothing. You can receive Contribution Points as payment."
Finally, Song Yu's gaze settled on Pang Yuanfu. "Registered Disciples and Outer Disciples only need to meet the aptitude requirements of their Spiritual Apertures. But if you want to become an Inner Disciple, you will still have to undergo further tests after returning to the sect. Both comprehension and temperament must pass muster. Otherwise, even if you have a superior Spiritual Aperture, you can only become an Outer Disciple."
Pang Yuanfu's expression stiffened. After a moment, he asked, "Senior Brother Song, what duties do Inner Disciples have?"
"Inner Disciples only need to focus on cultivation. However, even after becoming an Inner Disciple, you cannot slack off. A senior will regularly inspect your cultivation progress. If you're found to be shirking, you'll be fined your stipend for a minor offense, and directly stripped of your status as an Inner Disciple and demoted to the Outer Sect for a serious one."
After hearing Senior Brother Song Yu's explanation, Li Xiuchang discovered that the position of Outer Disciple suited him best.
He would not have to be busy with menial work like a Registered Disciple, nor would he have to cultivate under supervision like an Inner Disciple.
As for the "Hundred Cultivation Arts," even if the sect did not require it, Li Xiuchang would take the initiative to study one.
These were cultivation techniques!
He had accumulated one inch of length through a year of cooking and two inches through half a year of martial arts. What if he spent half a year refining pills? What about half a year laying formations?
If the sect assigned him tasks, he would practically be begging for them. To him, it was equivalent to the sect providing the materials for him to accumulate length.
Li Xiuchang understood that with his mere inferior Spiritual Aperture, his achievements through secluded cultivation would be limited. Only by accumulating more length and using it to aid his cultivation could he hope to go farther along the immortal path.
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