I, Lin Wen, Have Never Relied on Cheats in My Life (Please Recommend and Bookmark)

I, Lin Wen, Have Never Relied on Cheats in My Life (Please Recommend and Bookmark)

"What... what did that mean?"

Lin Wen thought of a possibility, and his heart immediately began pounding while his scalp prickled. His gaze lightly tapped the [Spells] section. This narrow column instantly unfolded, and countless spells appeared before his eyes.

With a sweep of his gaze, Lin Wen spotted all kinds of spells, such as [Soul Chasing], [Summon Moon], [Corpse Liberation], [Immobilization Technique], and [Shift Stars and Move Dipper]. Most of them were gray or black, while some did not even have names, leaving only the two words "Incomplete."

The farther down he scrolled, the more such spells there were. By the spells marked "Primordial Spirit," they were entirely black, and over half were incomplete.

By the True Immortal stage, aside from "Light of Annihilation" and "Resurrection," which still had names, everything else was incomplete.

As he scrolled further down, he saw a line of tiny text that was nearly fading away. Just as Lin Wen was about to examine it closely, he suddenly fell into a hazy expanse of gray fog.

When he came back to himself, Lin Wen was back at the very top of the Spells section. Below was a row of spells marked Qi Refining Stage. Quite a few of them were white or green.

"What did that mean?"

Lin Wen's heartbeat skipped. "I can use these white or green Qi Refining Stage spells here? But it says how much spiritual energy each spell requires, and I don't have even a tiny bit of it!"

The Qi Refining Stage was the very first stage of all immortal cultivation, the first step for cultivators setting foot on the path to immortality and challenging immortals and gods.

Cultivators at this stage were only somewhat stronger than ordinary mortals. It was not too surprising for mortals to be able to use spells from this stage.

But the problem was that not only did he have no spiritual energy, there was not even a trace of spiritual energy in this world.

"Then how am I supposed to cast them?"

The next moment, Lin Wen supplied the answer himself.

"The power of the Primordial Spirit can replace spiritual energy."

That worked too?

A thought stirred in Lin Wen's heart. "The power of the Primordial Spirit? Do I have the power of the Primordial Spirit? I haven't reached the Primordial Spirit stage yet, have I? I haven't even cultivated a Nascent Soul, let alone begun Spirit Transformation..."

"All intelligent life possesses a Primordial Spirit. The firmer one's spirit and will, the stronger one's Primordial Spirit."

"Even if they haven't begun cultivating? Even if their Primordial Spirit has not been cultivated?" Lin Wen continued asking, but unfortunately, there was no answer this time.

Fine. The passion for charging ahead had run dry.

Before it erupted again, it would be difficult to get any response aside from answers that were practically on the tip of his tongue.

Lin Wen, who had been charging fiercely for a month already, understood this very well.

Then he could only try it first.

Lin Wen thought.

He began carefully studying the Qi Refining Stage spells and discovered that every named spell had the three small words "Can Be Learned" after it. They were all dim at the moment, clearly indicating that he could not learn a single spell here.

Besides those three words, every green or white spell also had the two words "Use" after it. When he moved his gaze over them, his consciousness clearly told him that this spell would consume 15% of his Primordial Spirit power.

Was this... some part of his memories automatically surfacing?

After thinking for a moment, Lin Wen tried asking again, "Then how much Primordial Spirit power do I have right now?"

55%.

"What is Primordial Spirit power used for?"

Controlling, transforming, and using spiritual energy.

Lin Wen understood in an instant. In a normal immortal cultivation world, using spiritual energy was far more cost-effective than directly using the Primordial Spirit.

"Under my current conditions, how can Primordial Spirit power be restored?"

"Sleep."

Lin Wen choked. He had thought he would need to eat some rare delicacies, ganoderma, or spiritual herbs.

If that was the case, then he could use it.

There would be no long-term side effects, and it would not affect his future ascent to the Great Dao.

Lin Wen calculated silently, then carefully reviewed the spells he could use. In the end, he chose [Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers].

A white Qi Refining Stage spell. It consumed 15% of his Primordial Spirit power and granted him the strength of nine bulls and two tigers. By this world's measure of time, it lasted sixteen hours.

Use!

Nothing changed.

"Did it work? Why isn't there even an effect—holy shit!"

Lin Wen had been sprawled on the ground. When he tried to stand up with force, he bounced three meters into the air, lost his balance midair, and nearly fell flat on his face.

Lin Wen stared at his hands in disbelief. "I'm so strong!" His five fingers clenched into a fist, and nine bulls and two tigers seemed to roar through his blood.

Turning to look at the surging river and the battered embankment, a surge of heroic spirit rose within him.

"Hahaha! My fate is mine, not Heaven's! I, Lin Wen, have never relied on cheats in my life!"

With that, he leaped down from the embankment, hoisted up a woven sack full of earth, and walked away.

"Hahaha! It really is as light as a feather! I can carry a hundred sacks!"

However, because of his build, he could still only carry one sack. The earth was too heavy to lift the sack by gripping it; the woven sack would not withstand it and would tear.

Moreover, although his strength had increased enormously, because he had not adapted to it, his sense of balance and bodily coordination had worsened instead. He would often drift sideways while walking or simply fall over.

Lin Wen found this deeply troubling. He had no choice but to hold an iron shovel in each hand, using them like a mountaineer's walking sticks to keep his balance.

After adapting a little, Lin Wen's efficiency increased a hundredfold, while Good Karma came surging in like the mighty, rolling river.

Lin Wen had never felt this good before. Every time he plugged a damaged section, a hidden cavity, or a breach, it was like taking a huge bite of honey. His entire body felt soothed as warmth spread from his stomach through all four limbs and every bone. It was indescribably refreshing.

By nightfall, Lin Wen could no longer see the road, but he was in the middle of a streak. How could he stop?

Without another word, Lin Wen immediately started searching through the spells and quickly found a suitable one.

[Sight Without Eyes]

A green Qi Refining Stage spell that consumed only 10% of his Primordial Spirit power. It allowed both eyes to see in darkness and also see through disguises. By this world's measure of time, it lasted sixteen hours.

Lin Wen did not even study it carefully before using it at once. Sure enough, the world emerged from the darkness, every tiny detail visible—indeed, even clearer than during the day.

Lin Wen laughed loudly and continued working like mad.

Around nine o'clock that night, a torrential downpour began, but Lin Wen was completely unafraid. Braving the rainstorm, he worked even more fiercely.

He was now filling underwater hidden cavities faster and more accurately than he had during the day. [Sight Without Eyes] gave him precise vision, freeing him from the interference of muddy water and floating debris and allowing him to directly see the exact condition of the hidden cavities underwater.

He worked until three in the morning before his strength began to fade. Exhaustion surged up from his limbs, yet Lin Wen's spirit still burned like fire, without the slightest hint of weariness.

Over the entire day, he reinforced and repaired a total of twenty-one meters of embankment, filled three ultra-small hidden cavities, two small hidden cavities, three medium hidden cavities, two damaged sections, and two small breaches, earning twenty-four points of Good Karma in total.

The ultra-small hidden cavities were practically free Good Karma. One sack tossed in earned one point. It felt unbelievably good.

Small hidden cavities took more than ten sacks to fill yet only gave one or two points. Medium hidden cavities required at least thirty sacks, as well as gabion cages, and some even needed anchor piles driven in, yet they only gave three or four points.

So ultra-small hidden cavities were still the most worthwhile, but unfortunately, there were not many of them, and they were hard to find.

Even so, today's haul had already exploded.

Ever since Lin Wen activated the system and began farming Good Karma, he had accumulated only eight points over thirteen days up through yesterday, working at least twelve hours every day.

Today alone, he earned twenty-four points—three times the total of the previous thirteen days.

It was simply a bumper harvest!

And he could keep farming this money tree.

Joy flooded Lin Wen's heart. He would keep working like this until flood season. When the flood arrived, he would sacrifice himself for righteousness and smoothly obtain Star of Salvation and Duty-Bound Person.

Perfect!

Then it was settled—his immortal cultivation journey.

Lin Wen found a relatively dry spot, lay down on the ground, and prepared to rest.

Though he dearly wanted to use Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers again, his Primordial Spirit needed to recover. Otherwise, he would run out of steam after only a couple of days.

Besides, he needed to see how much Primordial Spirit power one night of sleep could restore. It concerned his future work schedule.

Lin Wen had been full of energy just moments ago, but in an instant, he sank into slumber.

He slept extremely well. When he opened his eyes again, daylight was already blazing.

Lin Wen rolled over and got up. His limbs still ached indescribably, but he was in good spirits. His Primordial Spirit had recovered from 30% yesterday to 40%.

Lin Wen's heart sank slightly. Such a good night's sleep had restored only 10%. This meant that even without using [Sight Without Eyes], he could not afford the daily consumption of [Strength of Nine Bulls and Two Tigers]. There would inevitably be gaps between uses.

After doing some mental calculations, Lin Wen tentatively decided to work three days and rest one. If he could recover 20% on the rest day, then he would work overtime.

He would work only during the day, starting when the sky was barely light and stopping once it was completely dark. If he could not make up sixteen hours, then he would fight the night under lamplight.

[Sight Without Eyes] was useful and cheap, but he did not have enough Primordial Spirit power and had to painfully give it up.

Looking at the sun, Lin Wen thought, There's not enough time today. I'll have to fight the night under lamplight. I'll have them send some flashlights over later. A miner's helmet with a lamp would be best. And they need to bring some dry rations too. I can't work on an empty stomach.

Lin Wen did not know that this tiny action made a certain clerk breathe a huge sigh of relief. Sure enough, I must have been seeing things last night. Who would work on the embankment in the middle of the night during a rainstorm without turning on a light? That would be more like a monster.

Yet he turned a blind eye to the fact that more than half the earth had vanished. Nor did he find it strange anymore that Mayor Lin could carry such a massive sack of earth and move as swiftly as the wind.

During the bragging session before bed yesterday, someone boasted that he had seen a real imperial palace master. That man could lift a thousand jin, move like lightning, leap across roofs and walk on walls, jump three meters high, and punch through a mountain to kill a cow. At the time, more than fifty bandits had come to rob them, and he had charged alone into the enemy ranks, flying up and down, charging left and right, beating more than fifty fully armed strongmen until they scattered like fallen flowers and flowing water.

As he boasted, everyone suddenly came to believe it. When they returned the next day, no one was surprised anymore.

Quite a few people even felt honored by association. Years later, they would have one more thing to brag about.

"Have you ever seen our Mayor Lin? Back then, he flew up and down the embankment alone, charging left and right. Even five million tons of river water rushing at him didn't scare him. With a backhand, he dumped ten million tons of earth down and forcibly kept that river water outside the embankment, not letting it cross the boundary by even half a step. Never mind whether it's true or not—I'm just asking, are you scared?"