Zhou Xuan stood on the hillside, shouldering the chipped hoe, his eyes burning with a flame hotter than the rising sun.
This land was his territory, his testing ground, and, more than anything, the starting point on his path to financial freedom.
"Get to work!"
He gave a low shout. The refined water-and-fire spiritual power that the system had just streamlined within him quietly began to circulate. Though he still maintained the physique of someone in the Body Tempering Realm, the strength he wielded far exceeded that of an ordinary person, making every movement remarkably efficient.
The hoe came down with a sharp whoosh. Each swing turned up great clods of hard earth and a mass of tangled roots.
Just as Chief Steward Wang had said, this barren mountain was desolate to the extreme. The soil was compacted, and the grass roots were intertwined like steel cables.
If an ordinary Chore Disciple had been sent here, he would have been lucky to clear a plot just a few feet square after a whole day of backbreaking labor.
But for Zhou Xuan, who had reached the Qi Refining Realm, this was nothing.
He moved with nimble grace and steady steps, like a tireless machine. Every stroke of the hoe was precise and powerful, turning over the hard clods, which he then crushed beneath his heel.
Zhou Xuan was drenched in sweat, but his heart felt wonderfully light. There was a deep satisfaction in putting his plans into practice at last.
In just one morning, he had cleared a level plot of land measuring a full two mu along the hillside.
"Whew..."
He tossed aside the hoe and let out a long breath, gazing at the freshly turned earth with a strong sense of accomplishment.
But land alone wasn't enough. Growing Spirit