Me? I'm Just an Ordinary Cultivator

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Purple Cloud Continent, Eternal Lotus Sect…

Dawn, before the sun rises up in the skies, illuminating the entire world, a young boy, who looked to be the age of 4 or 5 woke up and made his bed.

As he finished, he headed over the only table in the room, which was in the center of the room. The room he was in wasn't too big and wasn't too small either.

Inside the room, there were 2 double-deck beds, in each of them, there were children who looked to be the same age as the boy who just woke up.

The boy then grabbed a book out of the 4 similar books on the table, and went out of the room quietly.

As he went out, the gentle light from the pre-rise of the sun, made him squint his eyes slightly but then got used to it after the next few seconds considering that it hasn't yet made its way up there yet.

The gentle light also revealed his features. 

He had long black hair tied into a ponytail, and deep black eyes that reflected the darkness in the deepest part of the shadow. He had a cute youthful face.

As there was already light visible, he sat by the nearest bench he saw, which was only between the door to his room, and a door that led to another.

Sitting down at the bench, he put the book on his lap that had the characters [Qi Refinement Manual] on its cover.

The boy looked at the book in excitement along with an expression that said, "Is this a dream?"

This was because, this boy, Tian Ye, was a reincarnator from the 21st century who was an avid fan of cultivation novels.

Now that the path to Immortality after his reincarnation was in front of him, who wouldn't be excited?!

Unfortunately, he wasn't like most protagonists who had systems, divine treasures, heavenly talents, or great backgrounds. 

The only thing he had was a mature soul with mature thoughts from the modern world, but fortunately, he was still granted the opportunity to be born in a cultivation sect albeit a son of a servant that died.

Being exposed to cultivation was more than enough to satisfy him.

"Finally…" he couldn't help but mutter as he opened the cultivation technique.

As he opened it, he began to read calmly and slowly, trying to process each and every word.

And after 30 minutes, he was done reading the whole manual.

The manual wasn't too thick, it was only about 50 pages so he was done reading relatively quickly.

As he finished reading, he couldn't help but sigh, "Hah… 10 years to refine the spiritual pathway before being able to refine spiritual qi to the dantian?"

The words written in the cultivation manual were a bit absurd, after all, in the novels he had read, cultivators who have just begun to cultivate directly refined spiritual qi even if it's just their bodies but he actually has to get used to spiritual qi first?

Why was the cultivation technique so realistic that said that the mortal body is too weak for the violent spiritual qi so the pathway has to be refined slowly first?

He was sure that there were some ways to hasten this process but these options were not available to him who was only a servant from some low level sect with the ceiling of the peak of Qi Refinement Realm.

Since he had no choice, he got off the bench and sat down on the ground to be able to sit in a lotus position.

As he sat down, he closed his eyes, stabilized his breathing, and began to breathe in a rhythmic method described in the cultivation manual to be able to sense spiritual qi easier.

The method of breathing was still unfamiliar to him but the only way to succeed was to be disciplined and do it as much as possible before it became familiar.

As he fell deeper and deeper into his breathing, someone patted him on the shoulder that caused him to jolt awake.

A childish voice soon rang, "Tian Ye? What are you doing sitting down on the ground? Isn't there a bench behind you?"

Hearing the voice, Tian Ye finally knew who it was and couldn't help but sigh.

"I was trying to sense spiritual qi…"

It was his childhood friend from the same orphanage within the sect, Zhao Feng.

He was a young boy with a lean figure and a pretty handsome face. Just by looking at his face at the age of 5, the same as him, one could see that he would grow up into a handsome man.

He didn't know how long he was in a meditative state but knew it was long enough for the sun to reach its sunrise phase as he saw the sunlight illuminated the sky.

He felt that he was about to sense it, but was actually interrupted. He couldn't blame Zhao Feng as it was his fault meditating at such an open place.

Zhao Feng scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly, "Sorry?"

Tian Ye stood up and helplessly said "It's fine. Let's go, lest we be late and the head servant scolds us."

"Yeah." Zhao Feng nodded nonchalantly as he followed closely behind Tian Ye. He already said it was fine, so it's fine. There's no need to think too much between friends.

As they walked, Zhao Feng asked in curiosity, "Did you already finish that thick book?"

"Yeah… but thick? It was thin. I finished reading it after 30 minutes."

"Thin? 30 Minutes?!" Zhao Feng asked in shock. How did he finish that thick book so quickly?!

Tian Ye then asked, "Do you want to be a cultivator in the future?"

Zhao Feng nodded excitedly, "Of course I want to be one in the future! Who doesn't?!"

Hearing his words, Tian Ye then advised, "Then I suggest you read that book and start learning how to sense spiritual qi early and try to refine the spiritual pathway. Or else, your wanting to be a cultivator will remain wanting not becoming."

"Spiritual Pathway? What's that?"

Tian Ye sighed, this was why he didn't like teaching children, they're a bit lacking in intelligence but gaining friends at an early age is better to have a close friend so he said, "I'll teach you instead of reading that book."

"Really?! Thanks! You're really my close brother! Hahaha!" Zhao Feng smiled sincerely as he wrapped one of his arms around Tian Ye's neck.

Tian Ye just smiled and enjoyed it. Times like this were precious, so he also planned to enjoy his childhood a little even if the focus was cultivation.

Soon, the two childhood friends reached the gates of the Servants' Hall. There was a building smaller than the Servants' Hall that housed all of the Servants of the sect.

This building was the Head Servant's Office. Outside the office, a middle-aged man with a few wrinkles visible in his aging face waved at them.

Zhao Feng waved as well in reply as he called, "Uncle Cui!"

Tian Ye just nodded towards the person that Zhao Feng called Uncle Cui as he slowly walked behind Zhao Feng who was skipping.

This middle-aged man was Cui Boqin, he was one of the servants that usually visited the orphanage to help out.

He was also one of the closest to the children of those who visited the orphanage.

Cui Boqin, seeing the two of them approach, smiled gently, "Today's your first day, are you ready?"

"Yes! But the other two roommates aren't here yet." Zhao Feng replied in worry while Tian Ye just looked over silently.

Cui Boqin then laughed, "Don't worry! The head servant has already arranged for them to be led by other senior servants like me. I can't take care of 4 children after all, so two per person is better so we can teach them more."

"I see!" Zhao Feng replied in understanding.

Cui Boqin then said, "Follow me, I'll teach you what you have to do everyday, and after that is done, you're free for most of the time."

Tian Ye just followed behind Cui Boqin, going down the rough road of the mountain.

Zhao Feng also kept up with Tian Ye and Cui Boqin.

After walking down the mountain for 2 minutes, Zhao Feng and Tian Ye were still at ease.

Tian Ye didn't feel too tired, maybe it was because of the rules of the world, that even mortals were naturally stronger than those of his previous life.

After all, the sect wouldn't use 5 year old children as servants if they were so weak. They'd just get in the way of work after all if they did.

Soon, they arrived beside a clear river, and Cui Boqin changed his direction towards the biggest tree in the distance.

"Weren't we tasked with getting water up the mountains? Where are we going?" Zhao Feng asked in confusion.

Tian Ye replied as he slapped Zhao Feng's head, "Stupid. Of course, we have to get buckets first."

"Ouch!" Zhao Feng yelled in pain momentarily then replied with a little bit of confusion, "Right…?"

Cui Boqin just chuckled then nodded at Tian Ye, "That's right. Normally, we just leave the buckets here since we also take a bath after a day's work. We don't want to bring up the buckets since it's a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, the sect doesn't care as long as the job is done."

Zhao Feng just nodded in understanding.

A few moments later, they saw tens… no… hundreds of buckets below the mountain, "So much?!" Zhao Feng asked in incredulousness.

Tian Ye who took two buckets replied, "Of course, there's this much. Even servants alone number in hundreds, how much do you think the disciples number at? There's at least a hundred. And servants have to replenish water supply every day, not only that, it also serves as training for the body so it's not a bad deal."

Cui Boqin nodded in amazement, "As expected of Tian Ye. I know you've always been the smart one! You understand the sect's intention well!"

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