Chopping Wood

Lin Chen looked down at his clothes—they really were identical to those worn by the servants working ahead.

No wonder the man had mistaken him.

But before he could explain, the manager had already walked over.

"Which servant are you from? I don't recall seeing you before."

"Manager, I know." At that moment, the earlier sharp-faced servant stepped forward, gave Lin Chen a once-over, and continued.

"This time, Green Mountain Sect only took in two servants. One is me, and the other is named Lin Chen. That should be him."

Lin Chen also looked at the sharp-faced fellow.

This kid was clearly no good.

"Since you're a servant, you still dare to show up late? Add ten logs to your quota. If you don't finish chopping them, no food, no sleep." The Servant Manager cracked his whip and issued the order.

Lin Chen pulled out his waist token, but before he could speak, the sharp-faced servant lunged forward, slapped the token out of his hand with a sharp crack.

"Are you deaf? You dare defy the manager's orders?"

Seeing this guy's attitude, Lin Chen understood instantly.

This kid wanted to climb up by stepping on him.

Butter up the boss, curry favor.

Too bad he'd picked the wrong target.

Facing their intimidation, Lin Chen showed no fear. "I'm a servant, but I'm not under your authority."

Ha ha ha...

The sharp-faced fellow stomped on the token, grinding it into the dirt.

"You're a servant, and this is the Servant Manager. If he doesn't have authority over you, who does?"

Lin Chen's face darkened. He looked down at the token buried in the mud, then took a deep breath.

"You're playing with fire."

"Playing with fire?" The sharp-faced servant's face twisted with menace.

Success or failure hinged on this moment.

They were both newcomers. If he could establish dominance, no one would bully him, and maybe the manager would take notice and give him a minor leadership role.

With that thought, his eyes hardened. "Today, I'll teach this clueless brat a lesson on behalf of the manager."

As he spoke, he shoved both hands at Lin Chen's chest.

His intent was clear: knock Lin Chen down first, then mount and beat him.

Classic street-fighting tactics.

For an ordinary person, this move worked. But unfortunately, his opponent was Lin Chen.

He pushed against Lin Chen's chest, but the man didn't budge.

It felt like pushing a rock, not a person.

The sharp-faced servant strained with all his might, his face turning red.

Lin Chen stood motionless.

He stared coldly at the other. "You want to climb up by stepping on me? Did you even check if you're worthy?"

With a casual wave of his hand, the sharp-faced servant flew backward.

Lin Chen reached out, and the token on the ground flew back into his hand.

He slapped it onto the manager's face. "You dog judging by appearances. Clean it off now, and I'll let this slide."

"You mother—" The Servant Manager, never so insulted, grabbed the token to throw it back.

But the corner of his eye caught the three small characters on the token: "Sect Leader Peak." His whole body jolted as if struck by lightning, freezing in place.

"Sect... Sect Leader... Peak!"

Lin Chen hadn't lied to him. He was from Sect Leader Peak.

At that moment, a piece of news from yesterday surfaced in his mind.

A newcomer named Lin Chen had been chosen by the Sect Leader to serve on Sect Leader Peak.

Lin Chen, newcomer, servant...

That was it. This was the man.

The Servant Manager's face went pale, then flushed. He turned back to glare at the sharp-faced servant, only to find the guy had already passed out.

So he turned around, wiping the token clean while forcing a smile.

"Junior Brother Lin Chen, it was all a misunderstanding. I failed to discipline my subordinates, and you suffered for it. I deserve to die!"

The manager slapped himself, then issued an order with a smile uglier than tears.

"Bring that bastard over here."

Immediately, a servant dragged the sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man over.

The Servant Manager kicked him.

The sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked fellow jolted awake from the pain and yelled, "Ah—stop hitting! I won't dare anymore! Never again!"

Quick-witted, the guy knelt directly before Lin Chen and thumped his head on the ground.

"Senior Brother Lin, you're a man of great magnanimity who won't stoop to petty grudges—please spare me!"

Lin Chen didn't want trouble, nor did he want to be bullied, and he wasn't about to swallow his anger.

He'd already kept a low profile, but this guy had come crashing into him, leaving no room to dodge.

He kicked the sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man aside and snatched the token.

Holding the token in his palm, with a whoosh, a crimson flame ignited.

The Servant Manager's front hair was singed.

He stumbled back in terror.

But Lin Chen extinguished the flame and patted the token. "Just disinfecting it. The ground's filthy, isn't it?"

This casually displayed skill made the sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man piss himself on the spot.

That fear was the dread of hindsight.

If Lin Chen had used that flame on him just now, he'd be a pile of ash by now.

How stupid was he, to provoke someone like this and try to climb over him?

Now he was screwed.

Even if Lin Chen let him off, the Manager wouldn't let it slide.

He was done for!

In an instant, his life felt bleak.

"Where can I find hardwood for making charcoal?" Lin Chen put the token away and asked the Manager beside him.

The Servant Manager immediately put on a flattering smile and pointed. "Junior Brother Lin, that whole area over there works. How much do you need? I'll have someone chop it for you?"

"No need!"

Lin Chen refused on the spot and strode over quickly.

He pinched his fingers in a sword gesture, and the flying sword turned into a streak of light, slashing out.

Crack!

Crash!

In an instant, a tree as thick as a man's waist snapped with the sound.

The flying sword swished and swished, striking continuously.

In just a few breaths, perfect sections of timber were cut.

Lin Chen sheathed his sword, took out his storage pouch, and collected the wood he needed.

Then, with a stomp of his foot, the flying sword soared into the air, and he vanished swiftly into the sky.

At that moment, every servant present was dumbstruck.

The contempt in the Servant Manager's eyes vanished, replaced by sheer terror.

"That flying sword is a high-grade magic tool. Lin Chen's control over it rivals a Condensed Qi cultivator who's trained for over a decade. This..."

He muttered to himself, then looked at the sharp-faced, monkey-cheeked man. "What the hell kind of existence did you piss off?"

Ah—

Even after flying far away, Lin Chen could still hear the screams behind him.

This little incident didn't affect his mood.

On the contrary, he saw the suffering of the servants, their scheming faces as they fought to climb up.

All of it showed the harshness of life at the bottom.

Compared to them, he was truly in heaven.

Thinking this, he became even more determined to do his own job well.

He flew all the way to a market town built by the Green Mountain Sect.

There were mortals here, and cultivators too.

It was a place where both sides exchanged goods.

He'd known about this before coming up the mountain.

He went straight to a medicine shop and bought over a dozen large bundles of various herbs—star anise, cinnamon bark, and so on.

He nearly cleared out the shop's entire stock.

Leaving the shop, he also bought peanuts, sesame seeds, and chili peppers...

He bought every single seasoning that could possibly be used.

In the end, he even bought a live goat.

Lin Chen kept shopping until the sky grew dark before returning to Sect Leader Peak.

Third Senior Brother had already forged everything he needed and delivered it to the mountaintop.

Lin Chen inspected each piece one by one—they were even better than he had imagined.

After a quick meal, he got busy slaughtering the goat, preparing the seasonings, and marinating the chicken, goose, and lamb he would cook tomorrow.

He worked late into the night before finally going to sleep.

As for cultivation?

He didn't need it.

For some reason, that night, his sleep was extremely restless.

In his dream, he saw those purple eyes again.

Flames of purple shot from the eyes, burning his entire body.

The searing pain scorched his soul, and Lin Chen let out a startled cry, waking abruptly.

Opening his eyes, he realized he had actually walked out of his residence and arrived before the pagoda in the back courtyard.

This was the Sect Leader's secluded cultivation ground—what was he doing here?

Sleepwalking?

If you can't find the book by searching the title, try searching for the author instead—maybe it just changed its name!