On the cover of the book, it was not worth describing or even to be looked at. However, the contents inside… were equally just as worthless and a waste of the eye to look at. Zhao Feng's face went from interest, confusion, mild shock, great shock, red-eyes, purple face, tears, anger, sadness, and denial. All in succession.
The pages contained no words, pictures, diagrams, It was filled with clean white pages of nothing. There was only a single strange symbol that flickered just when he was about to throw it away.
He slammed the table in anger. He spent a good 2 hours trying to decipher anything out of the book, he knew it definitely couldn't be worthless if it had something shiny inside the pages.
Or maybe he was scammed by an elderly, who really knows, the old man was gone and he couldn't possibly ask for a refund.
"Sir your bill" A waiter suddenly popped out from next to him.
Zhao Feng had to fight neck to neck against a five-colored chicken that was hoping to gain sentience by eating the pitiful amount of ginseng in a forest.
This cultivation method or so the old man claims it to be is ten times no a hundred times the worth of an cultivation manual. Cultivation methods usually contained a specific set of breathing exercises accompanied with spiritual medicine and body movements.
They can also be defense or attack methods, containing knowledge of unique and specific sets of movement for offence or defense.
Only people who have formed their basic dantian can start cultivating using cultivation methods. Without a place to store large amounts of concentrate qi, then advancing further in cultivation would be a terrible journey.
Even if one wanted to train their body and go down the steps of forging body cultivation, they still need the help of qi to constantly nourish their body that would be trained beyond its limits.
After paying the bill, he left and went home to take a power nap. Today's matter was too infuriating. He decided to store the book away to research for another day. He had more pressing matters at hand.
He didn't even get a full hour of sleep and it was already midday.
The girl next door, wait, no, a female farmer called out to Zhao Feng. "Zhao Feng, remember to set up the wind barrier. We made an agreement at the beginning of this month! My year's harvest is going to depend on you!"
"What now, I have lots to do," speaking to himself, he jumped up and went to greet Jiang Hua.
"Where's my promised payment? Quickly hand it over, I need food to do work you know!"
"Calm down! You miser all you care about is your valuables," hurrumped Jiang Hua as she takes out 10 low-grade jingshi from her breast-pocket, "Here the deposit and the rest of the payment."
"Thanks, you may go now"
Zhao Feng just recently became broke so he was counting on the payment.
Not taking a second look at Zhao Feng, Jiang Hua walked away angrily shaking her little fists. Couldn't he be a little kinder? After all, she had known him for a couple of years already!
Maybe he was a brick, but that needs to be scientifically tested. So it might be too late until he could truly cherish…
In all of the Frigid-Glacier's branch sect's farmers, Zhao Feng is the only one that had comprehended small success for the 3rd tier cultivation manual, wind flow. This allowed him to create small wind barriers that felt like going through cotton for the average person.
Before he was going to set up a high-grade wind barrier for Jiang Hua. He needed to harvest his rice field and plant the new seeds he bought yesterday at the festival.
During the long winters it was extremely lucrative to sell crops, farmers took advantage of the short warm season when the rain came and went which allowed the crops to be easily taken in the soft and loose dirt.
However, when the warm season was about to end, It also was the time when numerous bugs migrated from the west by the small Buddha oceans breeze. The bugs carried by the winds travelled for weeks before settling in the forest on the undergrowth of the forest floor.
It carried over the numerous species of ground bug's eggs that had no problem adapting to the cold long winters. As they were already used to the cold mountain tops and freezing winds that carried them to a place even more suitable for them.
The most common pests were the white locusts, their body had a whitish color that doesn't get reflected from the sunlight, making it sometimes hard to distinguish from the snow.
After harvesting and collecting the jade rice, he hunkered down with two full bags, twice his size and triple his weight. He had to bring this to the branch sect's food storage. Every yellow level farmer [ED: lowest level, looking at the color of robe] had to pay half of their harvests every harvest time.
Then he lumbers over to his wheel-barrow and puts them down. This way it's less exhausting.
Jade rice was actually not made of real emerald colored jade, rather it looked jade because of its slightly translucent and transparent jade color, coupled with its meager amounts of essence. It was also the most resilient to the cold. This made jade rice a very valuable staple food for the northern lands.
He bares his teeth and shifts the large bags of rice. Although his shoulders are aching, it's nothing compared to the pain of paying heavy taxes. He trudged down an opposite path from the city down the bamboo mountain.
He wheezed his way down with great difficulty. The bags weigh a total of almost 400 pounds or 300 catties! As soon as he reached the mountain gate leading to the branch sects headquarters, he dropped the bags and wiped his forehead dripping of sweat.
The journey took about two joss sticks or about two hours. If a regular man on earth was forced to push heavy bags of rice this far, they would've collapsed to heat stroke or exhaustion.
There were multiple similar scenes like Zhao Feng's, sweaty people gathered to pay their taxes. However this time, a large commotion was happening. Drawing attention to many people.
"I am going to announce today, the atrocities of Xiao Hu, one of the administrators of the branch sect's labor section of agriculture!"
"Atrocities! Of what?"
"Really? This is going to be interesting."
Immediately everyone murmurs and whispers secretly to each other. It seems that this rowdy person was a die hard enemy of Xiao Hu. Normally, when someone has evidence to charge against someone else of higher ranking. They would need support and bring their respective local high lords that oversee each district.
Then a court hearing would be scheduled. This wasn't exactly a lawless world, as long as a rigid social structure and power system is there, civility exists and only the powerful could escape breaking the laws.
This person clearly wants to bring great shame upon his enemy.
Suddenly, a troop of soldiers came over, they wore mid-grade leather armor over their robes. It was a mix of black and brown.
Soon the loud mouth was quickly beaten by enforcement and dragged away pitifully. Nowadays, unlike before, protests of any kind were taken down before they could even disrupt social order!
"Meh, just another clown"
"Well, it was interesting, I think this is a new record! Uh one and a half joss sticks?"
"Whatever lets go"
The audience didn't need the enforcement to say anything, they quickly dispersed like a flock of frightened birds on their own.
The enforcement were similar to the law enforcement police of earth, except they could also be counted as the army as well. They have to have at least formed their dantain and reached the 3rd level of the consolidated realm.
This also means they have cleared their 3rd extraordinary meridian, 8 in total. Clearing meridians means extra storage for qi. There are also the 12 regular meridians that coincides with the 8, they improve the qi circulation throughout the body.
Clearing each meridian requires focus, serenity, and most importantly the right consolidation of the body. It's difficult to explain, the clearing of meridians, to put it simply; it is controlling specific parts of the body such as the arm and legs with finesse and altering its blood vessels and muscle fibers.
It is extremely taxing to a person's mentality and body so it requires immediate nutrients and qi to recover. Which is why there are medicinal paste and liquid to bath in while breaking through.
And they would only try to breakthrough with their dantian and cleared meridians full of qi.
Anyways, in even more simpler terms, money is the answer. With enough money? You can try breaking through as much as you want, no problem. No money? Then you might as well be crippled to death for the rest of your life.
Sigh, what a world.
Are there any other benefits besides becoming stronger? Well yes, receiving more support from the branch sect. Such as receiving more Jinshi every month.
He was the lowest of farmers, not proudly adorning a yellow robe. This means he receives exactly one low grade Jinshi every month.