Being a Miner Really Is Exhausting

Once he reached the mountain, Jiang Beiran quickly learned from the Taoist what his trial would be.

"Beiran, cultivation is a matter that requires hardship and perseverance, and mining is the best way to temper these two qualities. As long as you persist and pass the Mountain Guardian's test, I will come to receive you into the sect."

Leaving behind these words and a Jiang Beiran brimming with determination, the Black Robed Taoist turned and descended the mountain.

'Master, I will work desperately to repay your kindness for recognizing my potential!'

Having silently sworn this to himself, Jiang Beiran followed a Mountain Guardian into the Mine Pit.

Yet this lofty ambition was completely extinguished by the very next day. The reason was simple: mining was utterly exhausting!

Before his transmigration, Jiang Beiran had been nothing more than an ordinary Chu Er student, one who had barely attended a few physical education classes. His physical fitness could be described as quite poor.

After transmigrating, this body of his hadn't been strengthened much either. Add to that a lack of nutritious food, and describing his frame as 'skin and bones' wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Without any training, early the next morning Jiang Beiran was taken by two Mountain Guardians to a mine shaft. After being introduced to a few taciturn Fellow Workers, the Mountain Guardians handed him a bamboo basket and a Mining Pick, telling him to work hard.

In Jiang Beiran's imagination, mining would be like in a computer game—just striking an Ore a few times with a 'clang, clang, clang' and it would be done.

In reality, however, the stench, the stifling heat, the darkness, and the cramped mine shaft environment left him completely stunned. Not long ago, he had still been a middle school student—where had he ever seen such a setup?

But the two Mountain Guardians clearly had no intention of giving him time to mentally prepare. They directly shoved him into the narrow tunnel propped up by wooden planks.

Because the tunnel varied in height, Jiang Beiran sometimes walked upright, sometimes crouched, and at times even had to roll on his back like a dung beetle. By the time he merely reached the excavation point, his stamina was almost completely drained.

There was no rest time. As soon as he arrived, the two Mountain Guardians urged him to start mining. As the saying goes, 'Watching someone carry a load doesn't feel heavy.' Jiang Beiran used to watch workers swinging their pickaxes on TV and think, 'How much effort could that possibly take?'

In reality, however, after just a dozen swings, his throat was burning with exhaustion, and his hands felt as if they were filled with lead—so heavy he couldn't lift them at all.

"Ha... ha..."

His hands aching, Jiang Beiran leaned on the Mining Pick, desperately trying to inhale some fresh air. But the mine shaft only had a smell like coal gas, which made him dizzier the more he breathed it in.

"Who told you to rest? Do you still want to pass the trial or not?"

Just as Jiang Beiran was about to pass out, a Mountain Guardian walked up and shoved him.

Hearing the word 'trial,' Jiang Beiran mustered another breath, wanting to keep struggling, but his hands simply wouldn't lift.

'Alas! I'm so useless. I'm sorry, Master. Your disciple has let you down.'

Cursing himself inwardly, Jiang Beiran shook his head and said, "I... I really can't dig anymore."

"You've only dug a few times! And you can't go on? With an attitude like that, you think you can join the sect?"

"It's... it's my fault. I'll apologize to the Taoist. I've disappointed him. I'm sorry."

After saying this, Jiang Beiran let out a deep sigh. He lamented to himself how the protagonists in the novels he'd read could all burst forth with unyielding willpower for the sake of cultivation. Why was he so weak? And this damn system wouldn't even help him.

Having admitted his weakness to himself, Jiang Beiran was about to accept his defeat, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Damn it! What a waste. The ones who came in before you all fought for months to join that Bird Sect. But you, you pathetic thing, couldn't even last a single day."

As he spoke, the Mountain Guardian gave Jiang Beiran another kick.

Jiang Beiran was stunned by these two kicks. He felt the world spin, his head buzzing, and a foreboding sense of dread surged through him.

But before he could make sense of it, the Mountain Guardian crouched down, grabbed him by the hair, and roared, "Useless piece of trash, listen up good. Did you really think you were some heaven-blessed prodigy who could enter the sect and become one of the elite? Let me tell you, you're nothing but garbage. Now get back to mining. If you can't dig, I'll take your life. You hear me!?"

Jiang Beiran shook his head frantically and shouted, "I want to see my master! I want to see my master!"

"Your master? Hahahaha." The Mountain Guardian laughed wildly, then asked, "What's your master's name?"

"My master's name is... my master's name is..."

Jiang Beiran was stunned again. In the two days since, the Taoist had never told him his name, and he had never thought to ask.

"I... my master is a Taoist from the Blazing Fire Sect. He brought me here yesterday. I want to see him! I want to see him!"

"Hahahaha." The Mountain Guardian's laughter grew even more manic. Then he kicked Jiang Beiran in the stomach again. "Blazing Fire Sect? Keep dreaming! I'll give you two choices now. Either get up and keep mining, or stay lying down and let me kick you to death. You have three seconds."

As soon as the Mountain Guardian finished speaking, three options appeared before Jiang Beiran.

[Option One: Stay lying down. Completion reward: Azure Lotus Secret Record (Earth Grade Low Rank)]

[Option Two: Beg him to let you go down the mountain. Completion reward: Earth Fire Skill (Mysterious Grade High Rank)]

[Option Three: Get up and keep mining. Completion reward: Random Basic Attribute Point +1]

"Two!"

While Jiang Beiran was reading the options, the Mountain Guardian had already counted to two and kicked him in the stomach again.

In that moment, Jiang Beiran understood! He realized that the content of the options didn't matter at all—you only had to look at the rewards. The better the reward, the more dangerous the option!

Because judging by the force of that last kick, Jiang Beiran fully believed the man would dare to kick him to death. If he stayed lying down, he would surely die.

So, before the Mountain Guardian could shout 'three,' Jiang Beiran immediately chose option three and, driven by a powerful will to survive, forced himself to stand up.

"Good, so you do have some strength left. If you don't want to die, dig! You hear me!?"

Though his whole body was trembling, Jiang Beiran, desperate to stay alive, mustered all his strength and swung the Mining Pick down.

[Option task completed. Reward: Constitution +1]

Staring at the system notification floating before him, and feeling a trace of strength surge through his body, Jiang Beiran froze.

'It's done just like that?'

Earlier, when he had chosen [Beg the Taoist to take me as a disciple], the reward hadn't been given immediately—it had turned into a task. But now, he had simply done what the option said and received the reward right away.

The sheer difference in difficulty left him utterly dumbfounded.

"What are you spacing out for again!?"

Hearing the Mountain Guardian—no, the Overseer's angry shout, Jiang Beiran hurriedly raised his Mining Pick and started swinging again.