Skill and the Perfect Realm

Through the introduction of a middleman from the agency, Lu Bian rented a secluded small courtyard on the outskirts of Dongjing City to settle down.

He felt a bit reluctant to part with the donkey that had accompanied him all the way here.

If he were living alone, Lu Bian wouldn't have needed to rent a place with a courtyard.

"Stubborn Donkey, you really ought to be grateful to your master here."

Lu Bian spoke to the donkey.

"Others might actually fancy a donkey like you; your coat is sleek and shiny, and you're far sturdier and more energetic than the ones I've seen on the road or working in the wards. When that agency merchant asked me if I wanted to sell you, I refused on the spot."

The foolish donkey snorted twice at Lu Bian; it couldn't understand a word its master was saying anyway.

Not daring to leave the donkey home alone—as he was a stranger in Dongjing and prone to attracting thieves—Lu Bian took the donkey with him every time he went out.

Lu Bian had no desire to test the public security of the Great Song capital.

After living in Dongjing for four or five days, Lu Bian familiarized himself with the surroundings of his home and several important markets and streets. Once he knew the environment, Lu Bian began looking for work.

He couldn't always rely on the "relief" sent by his brothers in the Chat Group to survive; doing honest labor to earn money made Lu Bian feel more at ease.

Lu Bian had a donkey, so he was not a proletarian.

Relying on Stubborn Donkey, Lu Bian was able to pick up daily freight jobs at the Dongjing docks, earning a few dozen coins at a time.

One copper coin was worth one wen, and a bowl of lamb offal soup at the Dongjing night market cost twenty wen in the evening. The money he earned after a busy day was only enough for two or three bowls of soup... and that was on days when there was plenty of work.

Lu Bian was a fresh face, and he had no acquaintances in Dongjing to vouch for him. Being able to find freight work was already quite good, and it was only because the goods were being transported within the city, with loaders accompanying him, that he managed to get the job.

He had witnessed the income from manual labor.

As someone who lacked much social experience in the past, Lu Bian himself felt shocked that he could successfully take root in the city of Dongjing.

Perhaps it was because he didn't have to worry too much about food, and his efforts to earn money were only to pay for the donkey's fodder and the rent.

Buying food was only because he was feeling greedy.

Disguising himself as an ordinary person, letting people see only that he had some strength when hauling cargo, Lu Bian lived a very low-key life. As long as no trouble came looking for him, Lu Bian did not want to reveal any of his powerful strength.

Shi Tianwu: [Lu Bian, do you still wish to continue your cultivation?]

Lu Bian: [Naturally, I do.]

Shi Tianwu: [I have a very good idea.]

Lu Bian: [Just say it; do we brothers need to beat around the bush?]

Shi Tianwu: [Go become a stonemason; learn to use a chisel to carve things out.]

Lu Bian: [A stonemason, I understand.]

Shi Tianwu: [You don't need to find a master to apprentice under; I have uploaded the relevant knowledge about stonemasonry to the group.]

Lu Bian: [Brother, are you tired of me continuing to work as a laborer? So you want to change my job?]

Shi Tianwu: [No, I don't mind you hauling cargo all day, I just feel that you must be bored.]

Lu Bian: [Boredom is certain, but there is some fun in it. Listening to the boatmen at the docks talk about things happening in other places, I feel like I've grasped first-hand information about this era.]

Lu Bian: [I've finished downloading...]

Lu Bian: [Stonemason, I just don't know if I can make any money.]

As for being a stonemason, Lu Bian didn't know much about the work or the wages of a stonemason in the Great Song.

However, once he looked into it, he felt that Shi Tianwu's suggestion was absolutely correct.

The work of a stonemason involves processing stones of various materials.

Stone statues and the carving of inscriptions all fall under the work of a stonemason.

The demand for this in the Great Song was huge, and Lu Bian threw himself into the stonemasonry industry.

From then on, the things Stubborn Donkey hauled became stones. Every day, Lu Bian would leave home to find stone materials outside Dongjing City to transport back for carving.

During the day, when the neighbors went out to work after sunrise, the sound of chisels hitting stone would begin to emanate from Lu Bian's courtyard, only stopping when the sun set in the evening.

At first, Lu Bian couldn't control his strength well, and after a few strikes, he would carve a large crack into the stone. The material wasn't entirely wasted, though; Lu Bian would just change the design for the stone and continue carving.

Before long, the small courtyard was piled high with stones. The wasted stone wasn't useless, either; in the bustling metropolis of Dongjing, everything could be sold, and there was a need for everything. Lu Bian contacted the middleman from the agency to sell the waste stone and fragments.

Before his stonemasonry skills became proficient, Lu Bian was already able to earn a little money.

How much time did Lu Bian need to hone his stonemasonry skills to a proficient state?

Two months was enough.

But for Shi Tianwu, this "cultivation" was still only at the introductory level.

A stonemason with proficient skills could carve stone for construction, but what Shi Tianwu required of Lu Bian was for him to be able to carve sculptures and become a sculptor.

What could one cultivate by using stone carving to train magnetic field power?

The answer is the [Perfect Realm].

Magnetic field power is a comprehensive power system that not only enhances a person's combat effectiveness but also elevates their thinking ability.

Every magnetic field powerhouse is a magnetic field scientist, possessing thinking abilities that transcend those of ordinary mortals.

Three months passed, and Lu Bian's Perfect Realm improved significantly. His secret masonry skills had long since surpassed every other stonemason in the capital city of Dongjing.

Shi Tianwu was slightly satisfied with the stone statues Lu Bian carved, so Lu Bian prepared to showcase his world-shaking stonemasonry to the people of the Great Song!

Lu Bian wanted to become famous.

Only with fame could he attract people to seek him out and provide him with masonry work and money.

Lu Bian left Dongjing and headed into the mountains to find a large, high-quality piece of stone. Once he had secured the material, he set it down on the main road leading into Dongjing and began carving the massive block into a Buddha statue right there by the roadside.

Lu Bian had seen temples all across the Great Song; the divine statues in the Taoist and Buddhist temples were either clay, wood, or stone.

The Great Song government strictly prohibited the common people from creating statues out of gold or iron.

"Huh?" Passersby were very curious about Lu Bian carving the stone statue.

"Whose divine statue is this?"

"Look at the form; it seems to be a Bodhisattva."

"A Bodhisattva, it must be the merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva!"

The statue Lu Bian was carving was indeed one of Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Day after day, he carved on the main road to Dongjing, and crowds of passersby stopped to watch. People from Dongjing City even came out to see the novelty...

Fame, Lu Bian gradually acquired it.

A strange man was creating a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva on the road outside Dongjing City. The stone statue grew more lifelike with each passing day, its eyes lowered in kindness and its lips curled in a smile, making people unable to resist bowing in worship.

Why did Lu Bian choose Guanyin Bodhisattva?

He thought that since he had appeared at Guanyin Zen Temple when he transmigrated, Sister Guanyin surely wouldn't mind him.