Chapter 1: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 1)
(Flowing Cloud Empire, Azure Profound Sect)
On a battle stage, that was around the size of half a football pitch, a handsome young man could be seen raising his large black steel sword up to the sky with a proud smile on his face.
His opponent, who was another young man, could be seen kneeling on the ground with a bruised and bloody face completely unconscious.
Soon a judge, who was an old man with a huge white beard, appeared and loudly announced to everyone around the obvious result of the match,
"I hereby proclaim that the winner of our sect's 777th outer disciple tournament is Lin Fan!"
The hundreds and thousands of spectators, who all had similar style robes, began clamouring in disbelief.
"Impossible! Lin Fan is only at the 5th stage of spirit tempering realm, how could he defeat Wang Gouting who is at the 3rd stage of spirit refining realm?!"
"So cool! Lin Fan was able to destroy that irritating guy with a few moves! He has my respect!"
"From now on, I'm taking Lin Fan as my big brother!"
Each comment consisted of unabashed praise and admiration, whilst some were mocking the defeated opponent who clearly had a bad reputation.
However, a plain-looking young man who stood in the crowd of people shouted at a volume just loud enough that the surrounding people could hear his words clearly,
"Hmph, he may have done well here but his future is definitely dim!
Don't forget that Wang Gouting is Elder Wang's only son!
Who doesn't know that Elder Wang adores his son immensely!
From what I see he's only shooting star destined to fall just as quick as he rises!"
Although these words weren't heard by everyone, they affected the opinions of the nearby disciples and this quickly caused a domino effect whereby the praises of others soon turned into a mix of pity and mild disdain.
"It's a shame he messed with the wrong person. Elder Wang definitely won't let this slide!"
"Hmph, who told this Lin Fan to show off and beat Wang Gouting's face into a pig's head!"
"I heard from my cousin's partner's little brother's goldfish, that this Lin Fan was persuaded with benefits to step down and let Wang win. But it seems he doesn't know what's good for him!"
After Lin Fan received his rewards for winning he left with swagger and the crowd subsequently started dispersing, however, one person remained standing there in a daze.
It was the same plain-looking young man who mocked Lin Fan's future!
His name was Zhang Wei, and currently, he was feeling truly delighted for the second time since he came to this damn world!
Why?
Because this stingy System of his finally gave him something that was somewhat valuable!
[Host has successfully completed his task as the 'negatively opinioned' background character!]
[Host's efforts will be rewarded with a random item!]
{Host receives a rare grade martial art, shadow panther steps}
After seeing the messages in front of him, Zhang Wei thought.
Has the dog System finally gained some conscience and decided to reward me fairly?!
It's about damn time!
Five years! Five whole years of struggling in this unfamiliar world, and revolving my life around this f*cking Lin Fan in the hopes of getting a smidgen of help from the System!
Just thinking of everything I had to do makes me almost shed tears!
Five years ago, Zhang Wei was chucked into this world with nothing and no one.
He was only given two things, one being the memory of this world's Zhang Wei who had the same age, looks and situation as the current Zhang Wei.
The other thing was a System.
For the first part, Zhang Wei had always been an orphan in his previous life so naturally, this didn't change here.
From the memories he was given, his parents died a few years back when Zhang Wei was only twelve and the only reason he hadn't died out in the streets was that a cultivator owed his family a favour and helped him get a place in the servant quarters of the Azure Profound Sect.
Once the current Zhang Wei had transmigrated, he was seventeen years old and in a relatively stable position.
His progress in cultivation using the extremely basic breathing technique given to servants was average, his basic martial arts progress was also average, and his financial situation was also alright for a servant.
Overall, almost everything about him was extremely ordinary from the moment he crossed over.
But Zhang Wei was okay with that at the time, after all, he also had a System!
He thought that everything would be all fine with the System in his possession.
Fatal mistake.
Once the System introduced itself and Zhang Wei saw the bland grey text over his head that told him he was a 'background character', he felt very insulted.
He still remembered the System's introduction as clear as day.
[Hello, Host!]
[I am the one and only, Ultimate Background Character System]
[My job is to motivate and help you do the work required of an essential background character, and in exchange for doing such tasks you will receive rewards!]
[So for your own interest, please work hard to become a great background character!]
Zhang Wei was very heartbroken and cursed the System after hearing that he couldn't become the MC, but still looked on the bright side of things and thought that being a background character was easy and laidback.
Since he could get rewards for simple stuff, it didn't seem like too bad of a deal. Plus, wouldn't he eventually become like those template carefree protagonists who stay low-key?
It sounded rather good after thinking about it, as in his previous life he constantly had to work hard in school for good grades and take part-time jobs to fund himself all the while stressing over what occupation he'd want to do when he got older- It was incredibly tedious!
He'd much rather just chill around after cultivating to a decent level with the system and do what he wants, whenever he wanted to.
And on the topic of his previous world, he didn't miss it much at all. He never got much time to make close friends as he'd either be working or studying, and his family had passed away when he was young so he didn't have anyone waiting at home for him.
Therefore, for him, crossing over to this free world was nothing short of a new opportunity!
Compared to his boring previous life, this place had mystical cultivation that could allow him to fly without machinery and all sorts of other cool things.
Of course, he also knew the dangers and all but in the face of all that excitement, he didn't care!
He set a plan to find the 'protagonist' and leech off him to become powerful and then began going through life just like the old Zhang Wei would- They had similar personalities so others didn't notice anything weird, and with the memories of old Zhang Wei he adjusted to everything easily.
Through doing so, he got to learn a bit more about the System as every person had some text above them just like he did.
Most had the same grey text with the words, 'Background Character'. However, to Zhang Wei's delight, there were also some people he saw that had the words, 'Side Character' and 'Antagonist'.
'Side Characters' had their text in a turquoise colour and 'Antagonists' had their texts in crimson.
Why was Zhang Wei happy about this at the time?
Because wherever there are side characters and antagonists, there must be a protagonist somewhere!
Like that, a year passed by with Zhang Wei turning eighteen and there was still no 'Protagonist' in sight- During this year he was doubting if such a person even existed!
Throughout that year, Zhang Wei adjusted to his new lifestyle perfectly and also got a few useless rewards- such as pots and tea sets- from the System by interacting and trying things with side characters and antagonists.
Although he probed them and the System multiple times to understand what it meant to do tasks befitting a 'great' background character, he still didn't understand very well.
Zhang Wei also got the chance to experience cultivating himself, which was a very lacklustre thing. It consisted of breathing in and out in a certain rhythm whilst sitting down, and maintaining that for as long as possible.
As mentioned before, his talent was painfully average so he didn't make much progress at all from his predecessor and was still at the 3rd stage of the Foundation-Establishment Realm.
In the Foundation-Establishment Realm, a person isn't much different from an ordinary person except that he/she is a bit stronger and fitter than before- You aren't considered a true cultivator until you reach the Spirit-Refining Realm.
Same with martial arts, it was just repeating sets of movements over and over again until you perfected them so it wasn't too interesting.
Anyways, the turnaround came a few weeks after he turned eighteen.
He was working on cleaning and sweeping up an outer disciple's courtyard with a few other people, one of which was a 'Side Character', however, he didn't really think much of it as it wasn't rare for him to work with a side character or two on occasion.
But just when he thought it was going to be uneventful, he caught a gleaming golden light out the corner of his eyes.
He quickly turned his head around to see what it was, and honestly believed it was just some cultivator's trick.
However, he was very wrong.
When he realised what it was, his eyes widened to the size of a saucepan!
At the entrance of the courtyard was a boy that had a huge smile on his face, and looked around the same age as Zhang Wei. He was dressed in servant attire- normal yellow robes and black shoes- was quite handsome, and had a dirty broom in his hand.
Nevertheless, it wasn't the boy himself that attracted the shock of Zhang Wei but rather the source of the glorious light that was atop his head, which formed words that simply said,
[Protagonist]
The System also gave a notice to him at that moment which affirmed what he was seeing wasn't an illusion.
[Congratulation Host for finding a wild protagonist!]
[To guide the Host in a right direction, the System will give occasional hints as well as introduce certain aspects of the System as you encounter them.]
[So make sure to utilise those hints whenever you receive one, and also take the initiative to be creative with your assistance, in order to maximise your chances of getting rewards!]
"Brother Lin!
What are you doing here?!
Quickly go away, or else Old Steward Qin will punish you again!"
Chapter 2: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 2)
"Brother Lin!
What are you doing here?!
Quickly go away, or else Old Steward Qin will punish you again!"
The panicked voice came from Zhang Wei's co-worker, Bao Wei.
To no surprise, Bao Wei was the one who had the title of 'Side Character'. His body shape was circular, to say the least, he had black hair and green eyes, and he usually walked around with a silly smile on his face making him look quite wholesome.
Zhang Wei would have had to be blind not to realise that this guy was the embodiment of the 'friendly fatty' that appears in Xianxia novels.
The protagonist, surnamed Lin, waved off Bao Wei's concerns and replied in a relaxed tone,
"Big bro Wei, I've come to give you a hand with this so we can both get lunch together.
As for that old mutt, Qin Gou?
Hmph, I'd like to see what he could do to me.
You of all people should know that I, Lin Fan, despise such two-faced bootlickers!
To think he was shameless enough to target the people around me just to please that stupid young master of his, otherwise, why else would you be stuck doing something as menial as cleaning?!"
Bao Wei seemed touched by Lin Fan's words and said with a bitter smile,
"I'm truly blessed to have a brother like you but, for my sake, I want you to get out of here right now!
You've offended young master Wang recently, so I'm sure that this is a scheme to get you into trouble. They want you to do this so that they can argue that you've broken the rules and interrupted me whilst working, and consequently you'll be punished for it!
Quickly go!
And I'm younger than you, so stop calling me 'big' brother because of my heavier physique, you rascal!"
Lin Fan also seemed to be touched, as he began talking again.
"Brother Wei..."
On the sidelines, Zhang Wei was speechless whilst watching the entire thing.
T-These guys...They're so cringy!
Do they think they're enacting some sort of drama here?!
Not only that, what does that MC b*astard mean by saying my job is menial? I'll have you know, if nobody cleaned then you'd be rolling around in pig sh*t!
Disrespectful dog.
But besides ranting, Zhang Wei also noticed something peculiar about the scene.
Normally when people are talking as loud as they are and creating such a commotion, someone nearby would turn around, even if only for a brief moment, to check it out.
But this didn't happen!
There were around four more people in the courtyard cleaning, all of them were 'Background Characters', and not a single one bothered to stop and check on the two guys putting on a performance.
It was as if Lin Fan and Bao Wei were in a world of their own!
It was bizarre, to say the least. However, in fairness, wasn't a background character meant to be a space-filler?
As Zhang Wei thought of this, he gained a slight understanding of what a 'Background Character' truly was.
Anyways, back to the action.
As if on cue, a few moments later the doors to the courtyard opened once again. This time though, rather than one person coming through, it was a group of four men led by one old man with a hunchback.
The one leading the group had a sinister smile on his saggy, wrinkly face and he wore a tidy dark blue robe that had a more elegant style as compared to the plain yellow servant robes- Clearly, this old guy had a higher status.
Meanwhile, the group of bulky men behind him also had nasty expressions but wore servant robes and looked exactly what you'd expect goons to look like- They were ugly, some had bald heads, and one even had a scar on his face!
Another thing to note was that through Zhang Wei's perspective, all these people had red text floating above their heads spelling 'Antagonist', but interestingly, the lackeys had a much dimmer and diluted red as compared to the old man.
Through common sense, it could be deduced that the old man played a more important role than the guys behind him.
As soon as the old man spotted Lin Fan his grin widened, causing his dark yellow teeth to show, and he instantly spat out in a mocking tone.
"Oh well if it isn't Lin Fan, fancy seeing you here!
This old steward here was just coming here for a routine inspection, but to think I'd catch a troublemaker on the go!
Lin Fan, rule ten of the servant's compound states that if someone disturbs others during working hours they get locked up in detention for a week. And from what I see, you are distracting Bao Wei from accomplishing his cleaning duties, hence, I ask you to follow us nicely to the detention centre."
Lin Fan was about to retort angrily, however, Bao Wei suddenly knelt on the ground and shouted,
"It wasn't Lin Fan that broke the rules, but me instead!
I was the one that called him here and talked to him, therefore neglecting work. I sincerely apologise to Steward Qin and will accept punishment!"
After Bao Wei finished speaking, almost everyone's expression changed.
Lin Fan's words seemed to be stuck in his throat as he looked at the kneeling Bao Wei in shock.
Steward Qin and his lackeys all had frowns on their faces, seemingly dissatisfied with this result.
Zhang Wei's eyes also widened, as he thought,
Wow!
That self-sacrifice was a two-hundred IQ play!
Not only would the MC be protected from the scheme, but Bao Wei would also escape cleaning as this punishment would make it clear that he isn't suited for it!
But... what do these people have against cleaning?
Sure, it might be a bit boring and the pay isn't all that good if you compare it to other things. However, it's laidback and a risk-free source of finance!
After snapping out of his daze, Lin Fan couldn't take it anymore and shouted,
"Qin Gou you b*stard, stop with the nonsense!
It's obvious I wasn't distracting him, and you've never done any routine checks before this!
This is clearly a scheme!"
Steward Qin snorted and replied,
"Servant Lin, I advise you to scurry off whilst we are being nice!
We have an important job to do, and that is to punish this wrong-doer.
Yi, Er and San, hurry up and grab Bao Wei!"
The three men simultaneously said, "Yessir!"
Then they walked toward the kneeling Bao Wei at a fast pace. Just as they were about to grab Bao Wei, Lin Fan stepped forward and blocked the way!
Although the lackeys were all taller than Lin Fan, he still stood in front of his friend with a fearless attitude worthy of a protagonist.
With a disdainful look in his eyes, Lin Fan shouted valiantly,
"If you want to get to my brother, you'll have to go through this Lin first!"
Zhang Wei, who was still at the side being treated like air, was anticipating this moment.
From the moment all the 'Characters' appeared, he had a rough idea of what was going to occur. And up until now, the flow of the events basically went according to his predictions.
Some stuff he didn't expect, such as Bao Wei turning himself in, but this obviously wasn't a Xianxia story so it was to be expected that there will be deviations from the usual plot.
According to his predictions, Lin Fan would finally unleash his true strength here and defeat these people until they cry for their mothers!
What was so exciting about this?
Naturally, because it may give a hint to what type of cheat this guy has- To qualify as a protagonist you have to have a cheat!
Zhang Wei already realised that he couldn't be a 'reincarnation of an immortal emperor' type as he was way too impulsive and rash.
He also didn't seem like someone with a grandpa in a ring, as he didn't have a ring.
So what was he?
Soon he would find out! And that info could possibly help him with his 'assistance' in the future!
As Zhang Wei guessed, after a few minutes of pointless taunting, old steward Qin had enough of Lin Fan's bullsh*t and ordered the lackeys to beat some sense into him.
They happily did as they were told and San, who was the closest to Lin Fan, raised his fist and let out a swift punch!
As Zhang Wei saw this he jokingly contemplated,
What's Lin Fan gonna do now?
Let out a punch of stronger force and send lackey no.1 flying like a badass?
Possibly kick him back through the courtyard entrance?
Maybe even use the forbidden technique, and cut off any hopes for offspring?
*SMACK*
*THUD*
"..."
It was a shame no one bothered to pay attention to Zhang Wei's change in expression, as it was quite comical.
He was slack-jawed, and his eyes were so wide open that they looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets!
The outcome of lackey no.1's punch was plain and simple.
A K.O!
However, it was not from Lin Fan's counterattack as Zhang Wei thought.
But due to lackey no.1 getting a clean hit on to Lin Fan's face- The left cheek to be specific!
Zhang Wei looked at the unconscious Lin Fan lying on the ground, with a big bruise on the area of impact, and couldn't help but ask himself,
Is this really a protagonist?!
I'm more inclined to believe the sparkly golden text above his head is false advertisement!
Suddenly, however!
Just when the antagonists started sniggering over Lin Fan's presumptuousness and began dragging the raging Bao Wei away.
Lin Fan stood up again!
His face, though, was expressionless, and the look in his eyes was cold and sinister- He seemed to have turned into another person!
Without any blabber or hesitation, the 'new' Lin Fan dashed forward at a surprising speed and approached the unsuspecting lackey no.1.
Once he got in range of a few inches, he ruthlessly and skillfully roundhouse kicked the bewildered lackey no.1 right on the temple!
lackey no.1 got sent flying, and without pause, Lin Fan proceeded to continue his assault by striking the other two lackeys that were carrying Bao Wei away.
In just a couple of moments, somehow, Lin Fan wiped the floor with the lackeys and also hadn't forgotten to give Steward Qin a taste of his punch and kicks.
After a few minutes had passed, the scene in front of Zhang Wei was where all the antagonists were walking away miserably with bruises and bright red slap marks on their faces.
Finally, Lin Fan seemed to be muttering to himself, something along the lines of,
"That cursed brat!
Can't he take care of his own body for once, goddamn it!
Now that I'm finally awake again, I'll teach him some common sense!"
He then passed out again and collapsed onto the ground, causing Bao Wei to run over worriedly.
...
And what was Zhang Wei doing during all this?
Lamenting over the fact that he, and the other unfortunate background characters, will have to break their back working overtime in order to clean up the mess left behind.
As for his opinion on the battle?
How was he supposed to comment on anything?
It wasn't like he was some martial arts guru!
All he could say was that the protagonist had done what protagonists do best... Win.
Chapter 3: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 3)
(The day after the courtyard incident)
It was midday in the Azure Profound Sect.
In a room within the Servant Quarter's healing centre, a young man with long black hair and a handsome face abruptly awoke from his slumber.
As quickly sat up into an upright position, his bright blue eyes analysed his surroundings vigilantly and after noticing where he was, he laid back down and let out a sigh of relief.
This boy was the one crowned with the special title of 'protagonist' by the System, Lin Fan!
After taking a few moments to recall what happened back in the courtyard and his humiliating defeat, his neutral expression morphed into an ugly frown. He covered his eyes with his right arm and thought to himself self-deprecatingly,
Damn it!
After acting so big in front of everyone, I ended up losing miserably without even getting a chance to retaliate!
How could I now have the face to see Brother Bao again after such a humiliating defeat?!
As he thought of this, memories started to surface causing him to unconsciously started gritting his teeth,
I'm so pathetic now!
Ever since my cultivation base mysteriously started to degenerate six years ago and the great talent that I used to be proud of vanished, everything has gone to sh*t!
The people who used to act nice to me started mocking me and giving me the cold shoulder, my fiance personally came to dissolve our engagement turning me into a laughing stock, and after a few years I was mercilessly exiled out of the Lin Clan!
Heh, fate really seems to love toying with me. After barely getting through countless obstacles and going through multiple near-death experiences, I was able to finally get into this sect as a servant!
How hilarious is that? I, Lin Fan, the once-proud son of heaven and young master of the mighty Lin Clan am now nothing more than a powerless servant who can't even beat a bunch of lowlives!
As he finished going down memory lane, he laid down in silence with tears trickling down the sides of his face.
His sadness was reasonable, as all this time he'd tried his best to get out of this predicament and regain himself.
He'd endured all this difficulty because he believed his great talent would return, and then he could fulfil the promise he made to himself and show all the people who looked down on him that he, Lin Fan, was not a pushover.
But after four years of being tormented by others, and two more years of struggling alone to survive, he started to lose hope.
And this incident seemed to drive the nail into the coffin.
He realised that, realistically, his talent wasn't returning and even though he had a foundation in martial arts due to his past, it was not even enough for him to contend against even a mere servant!
He was about to go to sleep when out of nowhere he heard a voice in his head say,
"Have you finally done crying, you brat?!"
The sudden appearance of the voice shocked Lin Fan so much that he shot up into a sitting position for a second time!
He frantically looked around, and after seeing no one he warily said out loud,
"W-Who was that!
You have guts sneaking into the mighty Azure Profound Sect!
Show yourself or else!"
Lin Fan didn't know where the source of the voice came from, and couldn't confirm if they had any ill intentions therefore decided to use the name of the Azure Profound Sect to probe them.
Lin Fan knew that at a certain level cultivators could use voice transmission, and therefore guessed that the person behind this voice wasn't simple.
But in any case, he knew that throwing out the name of the sect would be good either way for him.
If this person had any evil intentions they may be dissuaded to act due to the sect, and if they were a mighty figure from the sect then they would have a better opinion of Lin Fan as he threw in the word 'mighty' whilst describing the sect.
The voice snickered and said,
"Hehehe, there is no need to be so fearful of me, Lin Fan. I will not hurt you, rather, I will help you immensely!"
Lin Fan immediately burst into frantic shouting,
"SOMEONE HAS SNUCK INTO MY ROOM!
HELLLLLPPPPPP MEEEEEE!"
As if he was going to believe a single word from a stranger who said they aren't a threat!
If there was one thing he learned after all these years, it was that these people are usually the shadiest bunch!
"..."
The voice was stunned by this junior's boldness and decisiveness.
Soon enough, an old man wearing a light green robe came opened the door and looked inside whilst panting tiredly.
After seeing no one else, other than Lin Fan, his expression fell and he said to Lin Fan irritatedly,
"You!
How dare you mess around with this old man like this whilst I was having a nap!
Next time, even if you are bleeding from seven orifices and screaming like a banshee I won't help you!"
He then slammed the door shut before Lin Fan could even say anything, and through the door, his angry ramblings could be heard.
"That damn Qin Gou and his lackeys making me work more than this old body of mine can handle!
If it weren't for the punishment system being so strict, I would rather get in some more sleep than run around like a headless chicken tending to these ungrateful youngsters!"
"..."
This time it was Lin Fan's turn to be speechless.
At this time, the voice called out again,
"As I said before, there is no need to be so scared. Plus, except you, no one else can hear me or find me."
This time, Lin Fan didn't scream as it seemed like it was futile, and instead responded by saying quietly,
"Who are you then?
And was what you were saying about helping me, true?
The voice seemed to have been waiting for this moment, as it said proudly,
"Heh, I thought you'd never ask!
To answer your first question, I am a remnant soul from the divine world who ended up fusing with you!
You can call me Grandpa Yi!
As for your second question.
Yes, I will assist you personally and help you with your cultivation journey- You should feel honoured!"
Hearing this, Lin Fan instantly became shocked and his heart started to beat faster from excitement.
Although I don't know what this divine world is, it must be an impressive place if an expert who could survive with just a remnant soul could be birthed there!
Hasn't this been the chance I've waited for, all along?!
Maybe he can help with what happened to my talent, and allow me to cultivate again!
And even though I'm unsure if this guy has any hidden motives, I feel I have to take the risk if I want to go anywhere in life!
I refuse to stay pathetic any longer!
After thinking this, Lin Fan's eyes gleamed with a determined light as he asked nicely,
"Old m-Grandpa Yi, if you are truly that amazing, do you have any solutions to solve the degeneration of my talent?
Because I'm a bit sceptical of you right now."
The voice seemed to have been stumped for a moment before he responded awkwardly,
"Ehem, I'll be honest with you since you called me grandpa and tell you that I was the reason behind your cultivation base falling and the reason why you couldn't cultivate.
But don't worry!
Now that I've absorbed enough spiritual energy for myself, your talent will be back in a few hours!
And I promise you that with my assistance you will reach great heights!
So don't be mad, okay?"
Lin Fan took a while to process everything being said.
As he double, triple, quadruple-checked that he had heard right, his expression got darker and darker each time and veins on his head started to bulge.
Eventually, the young man couldn't hold back the rage that came from finding the one who ruined him and he roared furiously,
"SO IT WAS YOU WHO DONE THIS TO ME!
YOU DAMN UNSCRUPLOUS B*STARRRRRRRRDDDDD!
IF I DON'T RESOLVE THIS GRUDGE, MY NAME IS NOT LIN FAN!"
Safe to say, the old man at the healing centre wasn't having a nice nap anytime soon.
...
Mean whilst Lin Fan was having an internal crisis, Zhang Wei was eating a bowl of rice in the dining hall, contemplating over the information given to him yesterday by the System.
After he and the other background characters united and worked diligently to clean up the mess caused by the aftermath of the brawl- Blood stains, dust, items knocked over, etc- he received two notifications from the System.
[Congratulations Host, you've successfully completed a task required of a background character- Tidying up the mess left behind by the protagonist!]
{You receive thirteen days worth of cultivation using [Choose cultivation technique]}
[Seeing that the Host has only just started taking his few first steps towards becoming an ultimate background character, the System will provide a hint in order to guide you.]
{Hint: Rumours can make or break a person, but the protagonist will always benefit in the end!}
Seeing that he had gotten something from the System, Zhang Wei did not hesitate to rush back to his small place in the servant dormitories to try it out.
He quickly bade farewell to all the friends he cleaned with, then hastily ran home in a short fifteen minutes and locked the door shut.
He first decided to try out the cultivation reward and ignored the hint, for now, so he sat cross-legged on his small bed and ordered internally,
System, redeem my thirteen days of cultivation using the basic breathing technique.
Instantly, a feeling of freshness spread through his entire body and he felt 'fuller' and better than before, even a part of the fatigue caused by running here and cleaning earlier had disappeared.
Sadly, however, he wasn't able to break through again.
But...Zhang Wei had already expected this.
The cultivation technique given to servants was, for lack of a better word, dogsh*t.
The servants all named it 'The bone provided to entertain the dogs'.
Why was it called this?
Cause it gave naive youngsters the false hope that the technique could allow them to become mighty cultivators!
The sect used this technique to persuade many people who failed to become an outer disciples, due to a lack of talent, to become a servant and continue their cultivation dreams.
Sadly, this was merely a trick.
Cultivation hugely relied on two factors, talent and resources.
Without both of these factors, not many could go far with cultivation.
A sect is a place where you can get resources, but if you lack talent then they would not invest in you.
Like that, even with the servant's cultivation technique in your hands, you'd still be lacking in the talent and resources to achieve anything with it and, therefore, by the time you realise it's a scam you'd have wasted a lot of time working.
Anyways, it wasn't just the fact that people here had bad talent that they couldn't achieve much, it was also due to the breathing technique just lacking overall.
It had the quality you'd expect from a free technique, it took in spirit energy incredibly inefficiently, and even with average talent, you'd need a long time to break through to the next realm- Which was body refining.
So after saying all this, you may be asking why every servant hasn't just quit?
Heh, before joining the servant quarters people had to sign a contract. In this contract, it was stated that in order to quit you had to have worked for a certain time or place top ten in the tri-monthly servant competition.
Of course, as a hot-blooded youngster with huge aspirations, you'd obviously scoff at this and imagine that it would be a piece of cake for you to reach the top ten after getting your hands on a cultivation technique.
Unfortunately, you'd be gravely mistaken.
The older servants will be dominating the top position for themselves each time due to more accumulation and experience, whilst you'd be stuck there with your meagre talent. This then culminates into a vicious cycle of older ones beating younger ones and gaining freedom, and then the beaten younger ones eventually becoming the older ones that beat the new younger ones.
Oh, and if there does end up being a younger one who is talented then, if they are below a certain age, they will get the option to join the sect for real as an outer disciple.
Said talented younger one will obviously not refuse such an opportunity, and like that everything goes smoothly and the sect benefits completely.
As for running away?
Pffffft, even if Zhang Wei had ten times the guts he'd never think of running away.
This was a sect full of powerful cultivators we were talking about!
How could a mere servant contend get away with that, you'd probably be dead the moment you try!
In conclusion, being a servant was very 'fun'.
Anyways, back to Zhang Wei.
After he redeemed his reward for being the protagonist's cleaner, he started to think about what the hint could entail.
After a while of thinking, a devious smile appeared on his face as he came to the conclusion that...
I must spread the word about Lin Fan's victory!
I'll also make sure to specify that Steward Qin was humiliated!
After all, isn't it a background character's job to spread the news of the protagonist's feats?
Like that, he cultivated for a while until dark and then went to bed.
Now we move on to the next day, where Zhang Wei was sitting in the dining hall eating breakfast at a table with a group of people. The hall was quite busy and many servants were heartily eating their breakfast whilst chatting with their friends.
Zhang Wei usually didn't eat here and preferred a quiet place, but today he had a mission!
To spread rumours!
And how was he going to do that?
"Did you guys hear about how that decrepit old snake, Qin Gou, was at the healing centre with bruises and slap marks on his face?!"
"Hahaha, yeah! Seems like heavens have finally opened their eyes and enacted justice on that cocky old b*stard!"
"I still remember when Brother Wei and I were getting our weekly pay, and the old man had the cheek to pocket half our earnings and tell us to piss off! If he wasn't under that outer disciple, then I would've given him a tight slap to his old mug!"
"What about you Brother Wei, did you hear anything?"
Heh heh heh.
Zhang Wei laughed internally after hearing the topic he wanted to talk about appear.
He smiled as he looked at his four friends at the table and said,
"Of course, I heard of it, I was there, personally, when he got beaten!
It was a sight to see, let me tell you all about it!"
Chapter 4: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 4)
Currently, it was mid-afternoon in the Azure Profound Sect.
Steward Qin sat at the table in his dining room and tried to eat the lunch his private mortal chef made. Although the food was well made and nicely plated, Steward Qin was unable to bring himself to have more than a bite due to the overwhelming stress he was under right now.
Leaving aside all the pain he had been in after getting beaten by Lin Fan, just the pressure from having to give an explanation to young master Wang for his inability to deal with Lin Fan was enough to make him go crazy.
After all, if he lost his favour or, god forbid, angered him in any way then his old bones really wouldn't be able to handle the consequences.
So as you could imagine, this was already a nerve-wracking time for him.
However, before he could even deal with the current crisis, he caught wind of more bad news!
Malicious rumours!
He bashed the table with his hands due to anger.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
I'm confident it was that damned Lin Fan that boasted so arrogantly about beating me, as no one else is sane enough to offend me like this!
And these rumours are ridiculously outlandish!
I never grovelled in front of him and called him my grandfather, nor did I ever bark like a dog and beg for forgiveness!
As for the claims that he banged my granddaughter, I've been a single dog my whole life dammit!
Now no one is respecting me anymore, and these damn servants are refusing to be extorted out their wages!
The more he thought of it, the harder he clenched his fists.
After a few moments, he took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself down.
He soon started to contemplate something, and after a while of doing so, his eyes gleamed with resolution.
Without finishing his meal, he promptly stood up and quickly navigated his way to his bedroom. Once arrived, he vigilantly looked around- even though it was his own bedroom- and after seeing no one, his expression eased slightly and he started to rummage through his closet.
Soon, he had two wooden boxes in his bony hands. As he put them down on the floor and opened them, when he saw the contents inside, he smiled viciously and thought to himself,
I was going to sweep this matter under the rug and find another chance to deal with you later, but it seems you don't know what's good for you!
Hehehe, with these treasures I've acquired and saved over the years, I'll gladly send you on your way to reincarnation!
Just right, the servant tournament is coming up soon!
He then closed the boxes back up and carefully put them away.
Oh Lin Fan, don't blame me for doing this. Instead, you should blame your own misfortune for offending the wrong person at the wrong time!
...
Whilst Steward Qin wrongfully pinned the whole incident on Lin Fan, the person in question was sitting cross-legged on a bed with a huge smile on his face.
Hahaha!
In just a few hours I've actually broken through to the fifth stage of the foundation establishment realm!
Finally, I've managed to embark on the path of cultivation once again, and this time I'll put my all into it!
His determination for cultivation was incredibly firm. It didn't come from a childish desire to become number one or to impress his parents like previously, but rather came from his experience as someone who went from a renowned genius with high cultivation to a homeless wanderer who desperately had to struggle in order to survive.
He now personally knew what fate was like for those who were weak and vulnerable, and was unresigned to stay that way.
The same voice that had given him hope again rang out in his head saying proudly,
"So how's my Myriad Gathering Breathing Technique?
Pretty good, right?!
Is it enough to quell your temper tantrum, and make you realise how lucky you are to have the guidance of this old man?"
Lin Fan's excited expression dimmed a bit after hearing the old Daoist, and he grumbled,
"Sure, I'll admit it... This breathing technique is good stuff!
Even when I compare it to the Lin Clan's breathing technique, it pales in comparison.
But!
Don't you dare think for a second that this is enough for ruining my life!
It's not even close!
So even though I'm feeling a bit better, your name is still staying as Old B*stard Yi for the time being!"
The voice seemed a bit irked, and said, seemingly talking to himself,
"Haizzz, when have I ever been disrespected to such a degree by a mere junior?!
I, the great immortal Yi Yan, have really reached a new low."
He paused for a moment before saying to Lin Fan,
"As I've said before, I apologise for having done this to you.
Although I've been asleep for ages, I have witnessed what you've gone through due to me and I promise to repay you for the trouble!
Even though I know my words right now don't mean a lot, I want you to know that I am not your enemy.
My motto has always been to repay my debts a hundred-fold, whether they be favours or grudges!"
Hearing these words, Lin Fan went silent for a bit.
In fact, he knew that there was no point in dwelling on this and that it was quite childish.
But he had no choice.
The power he currently had was insufficient to confront the true perpetrators over his grievances, and he needed someone to vent his anger on, so he decided to target the old man.
Now that he had heard a second apology, Lin Fan felt a bit better and so decided to put aside his anger for when he strikes back at the Lin family.
He knew that it was dumb to waste this huge opportunity, so he smirked a bit and said,
"Hmph, since you are so sincere then I'll put my trust in you this once!
Show me whether you truly are as great as you proclaim yourself to be, Old Man Yi!"
Old Man Yi responded pridefully,
"I'll show you how mighty I am to the point where you'll be willingly calling me grandpa in a few days, you damn brat!"
After hearing that Lin Fan's smirk widened, and then he got up from bed and made his way out.
First things first, let's save Brother Bao.
I'm sure that old coot locked him up in the detention centre after I fainted!
Now that I'm at the fifth stage of foundation establishment, and have ample amounts of martial arts attainment, I'm sure I can save him. After all, in this place all that matters is strength.
From what I've heard, the people in the sect don't really care about what happens here as long as the servants do the tasks properly!
This is why Steward Qin can act so tyrannically without repercussions, it's because he has a sect disciple backing him and ample strength!
As Lin Fan stepped outside, he didn't even bother to say goodbye to the old man at the front desk and just carried on walking. He was heading towards his destination, the detention centre, at a rushed pace.
However, after just a few moments, a group of three servants caught sight of him.
The moment they spotted him, they charged toward him with gleeful expressions on their faces- As if they had just seen their idol!
Seeing them approach him, Lin Fan instantly frowned.
Why are these people approaching me with such joyful expressions?
Are they that enthusiastic about mocking me over my embarrassing loss?
Yes, even up till now, Lin Fan had no idea that Steward Qin and the rest were beaten by Old Man Yi.
For the old man, beating up scrubs like them was an insignificant occurrence and he naturally forgot to mention it whilst getting caught up with arguing against Lin Fan.
So due to this, Lin Fan knew not that Bao Wei wasn't locked up and that he was actually everyone's new idol!
Soon enough, the servants got face to face with Lin Fan.
Lin Fan was just about to ask them why they came over until they all suddenly dropped to their knees and shouted simultaneously,
"We sincerely thank Elder Brother Lin for enacting justice on that old dog!"
One of the servants continued by saying,
"Due to your heroic victory and valiant tales being revealed, servants all around the compound have grown the courage to revolt against the heinous extortion lead by that old dog, Steward Qin!
No longer will we get half the pay for double the work, no longer will we take being treated unfairly!
And this is all thanks to you!"
Lin Fan's eyes widened from shock due to the unexpected turn of events.
In his confusion, Lin Fan spoke his thoughts out loud,
"Heroic victory?
Valiant tales?
Are you sure you've not got the wrong person?
As I've really not done anything particularly special!"
Hearing Lin Fan's response, all three of the kneeling servants bore expressions of even greater respect.
The one who responded earlier spoke again saying,
"To think you are so humble, even after doing all that!
How could your actions not be anything special?!
Most recently, you single-handedly defeated that old dog and his lackeys to protect your oppressed friend, then forced them to kowtow repeatedly for forgiveness.
You then made them crawl away whilst barking and exclaimed to everyone that you, Lin Fan, would no longer tolerate such blatant injustice and that servants should no longer accept this kind of treatment!
This was only the beginning, according to reliable sources, you found out that the demonic old man was abusing his beautiful granddaughter and pet fish and subsequently decided to save them!
Not only that but it's also said that when you were young you suffered all sorts of difficulties which led you to become the hero you are today!
Ah, and how could I forget that you al-"
"Stop!
I don't know where you heard this, but it's wrong!"
Lin Fan was stunned by the sheer amount of b*llshit he had just heard!
Not a single thing was true.
He had just lost a fight against Steward Qin, but somehow it turns out he's become a hero?!
Just then, Old Man Yi's laughter rang out,
"HAHAHA!
This just reminded me kiddo, I forgot to tell you that after you got knocked out I took control of your body and dealt with those annoying guys.
Seems like you have become a hero because of me!
Aren't I just amazing?"
"..."
...
At the same moment this happened, Zhang Wei got a notification from the System.
[Congratulations Host, you've successfully completed a task required of a background character- Spread rumours of the protagonist's deeds!]
{You receive seventy days worth of cultivation using [Choose cultivation technique]}
[Since the Host has followed the System's tip well, and completed his first significant task, an additional reward is issued.]
{You receive 2x Temperory Luck Booster (Stackable)}
Seeing such generous rewards, Zhang Wei, who was in the middle of cleaning the kitchen, couldn't help but have a satisfied grin on his face.
I knew it was right to rely on those chatty fellows to spread my over-exaggerated rumours!
A whole seventy days of cultivation, and an item that can boost something as mystical as luck!
To be honest, Zhang Wei had been doubting the System's usefulness for a while. During the past year without a protagonist in sight, he'd been tempted numerous times to just abandon the whole 'background character' role and get mushy with side characters who would be successful in the future.
In fact, if it wasn't for the System's threats of deactivating a couple of times after getting close to a 'side character', he would have long been good friends with multiple of them!
Now, for the first time, Zhang Wei had felt that his perseverance and tolerance to temptation had finally paid off!
With this influx of good news and a boost in motivation, Zhang Wei began cleaning with more effort whilst whistling the tune of 'Don't Worry, Be Happy".
Of course, seeing his sudden mood shift, all the other workers were giving him strange looks as if wondering why someone was so glad about cleaning the floor that was covered in the disgusting remnants of people's lunch.
After an hour or so, Zhang Wei had finished up his work for the day and headed home excitedly as he knew that today was going to be the day.
The day of his first ever breakthrough since arriving in this cultivation world!
Chapter 5: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 5)
Back in his dorm, which was merely 10 square meters in area, Zhang Wei was sitting on his tiny bed in a lotus position.
His eyes were tightly shut, and beads of sweat were dripping down his face, meanwhilst his facial expression reflected that he was struggling.
Yes, this was him attempting to break through!
From the information that he had gathered, and the memories of the previous Zhang Wei, he knew that to break through to the next stage he had to gather a certain amount of spiritual energy using breathing techniques, spirit herbs, or spiritual pills.
Once he had gathered that amount of spirit energy in his dantian, he then had to condense it into as small a sphere as he could muster.
Once it became small enough, he would then experience a feeling of satisfaction and comfort which indicated that he had successfully broken through to the next stage.
At this point in time, Zhang Wei had already condensed his ball of spiritual energy for five hours and felt that he was finally about to achieve a breakthrough!
It had to be known that the reason Zhang Wei was finding it proportionately more difficult to achieve a breakthrough than Lin Fan, who could break through five times in a few hours, was due to a host of different reasons.
Firstly, Lin Fan was a protagonist. And as a protagonist, he wasn't someone who could be measured with common sense.
Secondly, Lin Fan had already cultivated up to that level before, and even further, therefore he had already experienced reaching such a stage and it was naturally easier for him to get there as compared to a first timer like Zhang Wei.
Thirdly, Zhang Wei's talent was incredibly average.
No seriously, if there was a statistic for cultivation talent, Zhang Wei would be slap bang in the middle.
His ability to circulate spiritual energy through his meridians to the dantian and his spiritual energy manipulation was every bit inferior to a monster like Lin Fan therefore, naturally, his breakthrough speed and difficulty would be affected.
Lastly, Zhang Wei was currently in a very strange position.
Usually, when someone reaches the point of breaking through to the 4th stage of the foundation building realm, they'd have proper experience with breaking through since they've gone through stages 1-3.
However, Zhang Wei was an anomaly.
He hadn't personally cultivated his way to this stage but, rather, got transmigrated over into someone else's body that had reached this stage!
He didn't have the practical experience of breaking through!
Sure, he had the memories of the other 'him' breaking through but they were akin to scenes from a movie. None of those memories helped a lot with important factors such as, keeping his cool or actually controlling and condensing the spiritual energy.
So as you could tell, it wasn't an easy time for Zhang Wei to break through.
Fortunately though, even with obstacles, the process of overcoming minor realms wasn't particularly difficult- All it involved was to continuously repeat the same form of manipulation repeatedly until success.
Rarely, were there any cases of people failing to break through a minor realm under the conditions that said person was fully focused. And even if Zhang Wei did fail, he'd at most only have to recultivate some spiritual energy, heal some minor injuries and try again.
As expected, soon enough, Zhang Wei's eyes opened and he let out a large sigh of relief.
4th stage of foundation establishment realm!
He had finally succeeded!
As he got up from his bed and stretched, he noticed that he felt lighter.
When compared to before, he felt like a few kilograms had been removed!
Zhang Wei's face lit up, and he couldn't help but marvel over how cool this moment was.
To think that... I'd be able to experience a cultivation breakthrough in my life!
Simply unbelievable.
Although there have been some hardships with living in this foreign world, such as a lack of a proper bathroom, there have also been numerous great moments I've had here.
I've been able to see bizarre things I could've never even imagined before like people flying on swords, or beasts larger than entire buildings!
I've also got a weird System that wants me to become an 'ultimate background character', and encountered a real protagonist!
Isn't this a lot better than before, when I just aimlessly rotated between a schedule of studying and working, just so I could continue living in a boring world?
And I'm sure things will get even more fun, and I'll see a lot more, once I get stronger!
Feeling exhilarated from the breakthrough, Zhang Wei couldn't sit still.
But sadly, the sky had already turned dark and the moon was hanging up above- Meaning that most people would be asleep.
It was to be expected though as by the time he finished his task it was late afternoon, and he had spent five whole hours to breakthrough.
After a while of contemplating what to do, a good idea popped up in his head.
Isn't it Friday today?
Heh, that means that those four guys are meeting up for their talking nights!
Usually, I wouldn't go to the meet-up as I'd be focused on cultivating or testing the System- Plus, who the hell wants to talk with a bunch of bored guys- but... Today calls for a celebration!
As he had determined his next actions, he opened up his window and hopped out!
There were four dormitory buildings in the servant compound, each had three floors- Zhang Wei's dorm on the ground floor and in the east dorm building.
His destination was at the north dormitory building on the ground floor, it was the location of Tan Lin's dorm- Tan Lin was also Zhang Wei's first friend.
It took Zhang Wei around fifteen minutes to arrive at Tan Lin's dorm, and he instantly knew which window to go to as light could still be seen seeping through the wooden window that had a sign saying 'Tan Lin's Divine Divinations' hanging on it.
As Zhang Wei got to the window, he knocked on the window sill three times and said,
"I anticipatedly await the day that Chef Pei comes back and cooks for us all day!"
A click could be heard after Zhang Wei said his phrase, and without hesitation, he pushed open the window and jumped in.
As soon as he got in, the ordinary room with only a candle providing light was revealed to him.
Inside, were three people.
All of them were wide-eyed looking at Zhang Wei as if he were an exotic animal- They were clearly surprised by his appearance.
As soon as he saw their expression, Zhang Wei frowned a little and said with a worried tone,
"What's with the shock?
Are you guys missing your fathers so much that you've mistaken me for him?
Sorry to tell you, but I don't accept having children as braindead as you lot."
Hearing him talk, all of them began oohing in amazement as if hearing him speak was a revolutionary thing, and completely ignored his joke as if it was passing air.
Just then, one of the three present, who had brown hair and eyes, turned to the person closest to the window and pointed at him saying,
"Tan Lin you sly f*cker!
Is this Jin Feng in disguise or something, because I'd much rather believe that is the truth rather than your scammy divination being accurate for once!"
After the brown-haired boy said that, the boy next to him, who had reddish hair and green eyes, joined in with the accusations and said,
"Yeah! That freak would rather meaninglessly breathe rapidly by himself every night than show up to our meetings!
I always knew there was something fishy about that ugly b*stard Jin Feng suddenly having a sneaky link in the maid compound, it seems like this is another trick of yours!"
Hearing all this, the boy who had blonde hair and blue eyes and let Zhang Wei into the room, frowned and said confidently as if he were challenging them,
"Hmph, Zi Hua, Tang Fen, you both have clearly underestimated this master of fate's power and are resorting to heinous slander!
I, Tan Lin, know well that you both don't want to buy me the quintuple beef feast tomorrow.
But you have no choice!
He is here, in flesh!
You can even personally inspect whether or not this guy truly is the freak we all know and despise!"
Zi Hua, the one with brown hair and eyes, stood straight up and approached the confused Zhang Wei.
Once he reached him he patted his shoulders and ruffled his hair for a moment.
After getting shoved away by Zhang Wei, he looked over to Tang Fen, the boy with reddish hair and green eyes, with a grim expression.
"Tang Fen, I think that we may be done for."
Zhang Wei was just about to cut in and bring some form of normality back until Tang Fen dropped to the ground on his knees and said in disbelief,
"I-Impossible!
H-How could I p-possibly be willing to buy a degenerate like Tan Lin something as pricy and scrumptious as a quintuple beef feast?!
This has to be a horrid nightmare, otherwise, the heavens must be unjust!"
Silence suddenly filled the room.
That was when the confused and annoyed Zhang Wei looked over at the only person who didn't seem heartbroken and spoke again saying,
"Tan Lin, why are you scaring these dumbasses like this?
I told you that I was going for a breakthrough after work, and you know that every time I have a breakthrough I end up coming here."
As if they heard enlightening words from a sage, the two lifeless and depressed boys seemed to have rejuvenated as they sat back in the wooden seats they were sitting on and let out a relieved sigh.
Tang Fen even began muttering about how the heavens are just!
Tan Lin let out a disappointed sigh then grumbled,
"Tch, damn you, Zhang Wei!
I was about to get myself two hearty meals if you hadn't meddled in this!"
He laid back down on his bed and continued,
"Anyways, it's nice to see you again and congrats on the advancement. Grab one of the seats laying in the corner and sit down, we were just talking about how that old man Wei Changping must have a bountiful inheritance waiting for the fortuned one!
I mean come on, he looks like he's been stuck here since the beginning of time itself!"
Zhang Wei laughed and went to grab a chair, then once got it he sat down comfortably and asked,
"What, the old guy who always talks about the old days of the sect and stinks of fish all the time?"
All of them said at the same time,
"Yup."
Zi Hua added into the conversation saying,
"I've heard rumours from some of the seniors that say that old Wei's so in love with fish that he married a green-scaled spiritual tuna!"
Tang Fen also said,
"Do you guys think the tuna's in the inheritance, I wouldn't mind some fish for dinner, to be fair!"
Zhang Wei and the rest all started to chat about random topics.
Some were about funny stories.
"Hey Tan Lin, remember that time when one of the newbies begged you to change their fate for a few meal tickets!"
"Ah yeah!
That guy was completely nuts!
He was going on and on about how he wanted me to help him become a true god-king that ruled the nine heavens, how he'd like a pet baby dragon god along the way, as well as a sword forged by the greatest blacksmith!
Hahaha! The funniest thing was that when I offered the bargain price of two chilli chicken feasts, a triple beef feast with quality rice, and a big bowl of rice, he instantly roared that I was asking for an outrageous amount and walked away with a beet-red face!"
Some were about depressing news.
"I actually can't believe that ultra-high value men like us have been one-upped by the ugliest man to grace this planet since time immemorial!
What does that b*stard Jin Feng have that we don't?"
"Brother Zi is too right, every time we, or almost anyone in the servant compound, tries to talk to a maid we are treated like scum!
Is it even our fault that we don't have wives yet?"
"I reckon we swallow our pride a bit and ask how that guy has done it!
Because although I don't fear death, I do fear growing old and musty without having a wife to look after me!"
And others were about serious events.
"Hey guys, the next servant tournament is in a few days!
I heard some people are betting high stakes this time, what are you guys gonna do?"
"I think I'll back off this time, I've made some good pocket change with divination scamming and I don't feel like going bust betting on the wrong guy!"
"Same as Tan Lin, I'll just sit back and watch."
Hearing the topic of the servant tournament come round, Zhang Wei was silent and immersed in his thoughts mean whilst everyone was chatting.
If I'm going by novel standards, isn't this going to be the time when Lin Fan enters the outer sect?
And If I'm going to be assisting the protagonist as a good background character, shouldn't I also go for an outer sect position?
But I've only just broken through to the 4th stage of foundation establishment!
But...It's not like there haven't been any 4th stage top tens.
In the servant courtyard, some of the old dogs were all powerhouses at the 6th or 7th stage of foundation establishment and had trump cards. His meagre 4th stage would normally get crushed before he got the chance to reach the top ten.
But this didn't mean that there weren't any precedents of lucky individuals who got lucky matchups and reached the top ten.
Luck, huh?
Hmmm, I was planning on saving the luck boosters for later once I encounter a dangerous situation or auction house, but it seems like the System has given them to me for this reason.
But then again, even though it does hurt using those luck boosters, who says there aren't going to be even greater gains by stalk-following Lin Fan around?
Plus, hehehe, if I just bet everything I own on the protagonist wouldn't I make a pretty penny off it?
"Hey, Zhang Wei, what are you doing for this year's servant competition?
Everyone in the room looked at him, as he was the only one left to answer.
Zhang Wei smirked as he pointed to himself and said casually,
"Me?
What will I be doing?"
He took a momentary pause before saying arrogantly,
"I'll be entering the outer sect, so you best be preparing to cheer me on with all you've got!"
They all went wide-eyed again and shouted,
"WHAT?!"
Chapter 6: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 6)
(Next Morning)
(East Dormitory Building, Zhang Wei's Dorm)
Zhang Wei was currently scavenging through his entire room to scramble together everything of value he had to his name.
From proper hard currency, copper coins, to something nigh worthless such as the rock-solid sock he kept laying around for a certain reason- absolutely everything was being gathered in one place.
Why was he doing this?
To bet on the upcoming competition, of course!
If he didn't take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to make a bunch of cash, he may as well off himself using tofu*!
After a while, he'd found and collected basically everything and counted up the approximate value of his items.
...Three-hundred and seventy-two coppers, should be the total if I manage to sell all of the assets.
Not bad, not bad!
His amount of wealth was, indeed, not bad.
Considering factors such as time spent in the servant quarters, cultivation, and type of tasks taken, Zhang Wei could be said to be doing quite well for himself for a servant who just advanced to the 4th stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.
On average, newbies and lower ranked servants were around the 1st and 2nd stage of Foundation Establishment and were usually quite poor due to higher extortion rates and fewer job opportunities- They only had maybe twenty to a hundred copper coins if considering their entire net worth.
More experienced individuals who had been here for quite a few years usually had around the cultivation of around 3rd, 4th or 5th stage and their wealth varied on whether they had side hustles or low expenditure, but would have greater wealth than newbies by default as they had accumulation and the extortion they received was less- Usually, they had wealth of two hundred to five hundred, but the value could vary.
And the old dogs with higher cultivation had far more wealth than the previous two groups as, Qin Gou did not extort them in order to prevent any unexpected backlash, and they had deep accumulation due to the numeral years they've been here- In fact, the competition betting is run by one of the oldies.
Since Zhang Wei was in the upper median even though he only took safe tasks, it could be said he was relatively well off.
But even this amount didn't feel good enough, Zhang Wei wanted to make more.
So he began to ponder on what he could do throughout the next week to substantially raise his wealth whilst also making sure to not impede his martial arts training.
Should I take higher-risk tasks such as tending to pet spirit beasts or spirit plants?
No!
If one of the beasts just so happens to have an appetite for me, then I'll die without a grave!
And what if I mess up one time, and the outer sect disciples who own them kill me for it?!
Zhang Wei shivered as he thought of getting swallowed whole by a giant wolf, or being slashed in half by an angry disciple.
Although I don't fear death, I don't want to take such meaningless risks.
Remember, I am not the protagonist!
I'm just some background character who is susceptible to becoming fodder, therefore, if I put myself in such a dangerous situation wouldn't I be asking for it?
Although Zhang Wei is putting it nicely, in reality, he's just a coward.
Just the notion of having to fight in a competition that had a risk of death was enough to shake him up.
Honestly, if it weren't for him being in possession of the system's luck boosters and the fact that he wanted to continue growing stronger easily by following the protagonist, he would just stick to staying with his friends in this place!
But could you blame him?
He came from a world where he didn't have to worry very much about life-threatening situations, even since arriving here he had been actively avoiding conflict and danger, so his only form of battle experience came through the previous Zhang Wei's memory- Which wasn't very extensive.
And in fairness, he was just an eighteen-year-old that came over to this almost alien world by himself. In his previous world, he would have only recently been considered an adult and been delegated more responsibilities!
So becoming extremely vigilant to the point of cowardice in such a situation wasn't a particularly unexpected event.
Hmm, just what should I-
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Just as he was in the midst of thinking of other ways to make money, a sudden rapid knock on the door of his dorm could be heard.
Strange...who would be knocking on my door at this time?
Whenever those four decide to come round, they always through the window. So rarely does anyone knock on the d-
Wait a minute... when has anyone EVER knocked on my door?!
At that moment, Zhang Wei realised how low his presence truly was- It was to the point that he felt those 'low-key' Xianxia protags should take notes from him!
However, Zhang Wei didn't have time to dwell on this as he had to answer the door for a rare visitor!
He got up from the bed he was sitting on, brushed his long black hair with his hands to tidy himself up, and hastily walked over to the plain wooden door.
As he firmly grasped the wooden handle, his breathing quickened a bit due to a tinge of excitement arising inside him alongside various questions that were racing through his mind, such as,
What will my first visitor in a while be like?
Will they come inside, or will it just be a short conversation?
Why am I so jumpy over answering the damned door?!
As the door creaked open and the view of the hallway that was always outside alongside the shoulder of someone was reflected into his vision, his anticipation rose!
As the door was fully opened, Zhang Wei was perplexed as he saw four people with serious expressions standing at the door.
What are these four dumbasses doing, and why do they look like the world is about to end?
He was about to ask what they were here for before one of them stepped forward.
He had black hair and emerald green eyes, he was tall with broad shoulders and an extremely handsome face- By appearance alone, even the protagonist, Lin Fan, paled in comparison to him.
"My good brother Zhang, we have all come here to have a chat with you."
Hearing his words, Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down as if he were trying to ascertain whether this was truly the same person he knew.
After a few moments of checking, Zhang Wei stepped aside to stop blocking the doorway, and sat down on his bed whilst saying confusedly,
"Uhhh, sure. We can talk.
I've recently rounded up all my belongings because I'm planning on selling everything, but you can all grab a chair from the pile to sit down on."
They all scuffled in, grabbed a seat, and then sat around the bed that was in the corner of the room.
Each of them had both their hands intertwined and were leaning forwards- As if they were businessmen or something.
The first to speak up was Tan Lin, he said in a calm and dead-serious tone,
"Why are you adamantly courting death?
Even though you've 4th stage, and become stronger than most people, you should know well that you'll still get crushed on that stage!
Those old monsters who hog the top ten all year round will decimate you!
...And that's not me being an asshole, but me being truthful."
The moment he uttered those words, Zhang Wei began to fight the most difficult battle of his life to date.
The fight to hold back his laughter.
There's no way he ambushes me with the most absurd line conceivable like that!
I know this is meant to be a serious conversation and all.
But come on, Tan Lin!
Was it really necessary to pull out the 'courting death' card?
In fact, this phrase would only be found comical by Zhang Wei, who was a transmigrator and avid reader of Xianxia novels, since it was a commonly used phrase in this world- Akin to saying 'hello' or 'good night' back in Zhang Wei's previous world.
From mortals to immortals, everyone said this when someone was doing something extremely stupid and/or dangerous!
Zhang Wei himself had heard it a few times in the past but still couldn't stop finding it hilarious.
So due to him trying to restrain his laughter and being unable to speak, everyone was just sitting in silence and staring at Zhang Wei, waiting for an answer.
Whilst Zhang Wei was pulling the best poker face he could muster.
"..."
After a couple of breaths of time, Zhang Wei took a deep breath and then began saying in a determined voice,
"Although I know where you're coming from, I want to give it a try!
I'm aware that we've talked about it a few times in the past and deemed it better to just stay as servants and muck around, but recently I've realised that maybe that isn't the best option!
Don't you guys also hope to, one day, get out of this miserable little compound, and move on to greater things in life?
Don't you guys have some ambitions as well?
I know I do!
I've got nothing and no one outside this sect, and therefore I don't want to leave it. Even though my aptitude is incredibly average and I wasn't able to become a disciple, I still don't want to give up my dreams!"
Hearing him preaching, the four of them were surprised but remained silent.
Zhang Wei continued,
"Two years!
That's the time I have left before the cutoff, and after that even if I get top ten I won't be allowed in as a disciple.
So don't you think that we should at least try our best to get in while we still can?"
After hearing his words, the others started to contemplate.
Seeing that his excuse worked, Zhang Wei thought,
In all honesty, that was a complete lie.
If it weren't for the circumstances, I'd be the first to advocate for peacefully living life here!
Anyways, with these words, it should have at least given them the drive to try and get into the outer sect. As it'll be a bit lonely without these guys' company!
If I provide a bit of support and all things go well, in two years or so they might also join me in the outer sect as well!
As he thought of this, he began to feel proud of himself for his incredible foresight!
After a while, Tan Lin stood up and said with a big smile on his face,
"And here I thought you were the most cowardly in our group but seems I've been fooled!
You're absolutely right, Zhang Wei!
If I, Tan Lin, don't have at least that much ambition, what difference is there between me and a dog?
Plus, wouldn't it be too much of a shame if I don't take my divinations onto a greater stage?
I've made up my mind, regardless of the fact that I'm only at the 3rd stage of the Foundation Establishment, I'll also join you and participate this time around!"
W-What?
After that, one by one, they all started to express their resolution to also participate!
"I agree as well!
Originally, I didn't mind staying here because the food was good and everyone wanted to stay. But after thinking about it, I realise that there is probably even tastier food waiting for me outside this place!
In the books I've previously read about, there have been mentions of various tasty things.
Diamond-shelled lobster king, Pheonix-feathered fiery chicken, nine-flavoured true ginseng... It's all waiting for me out there!
T-That's why I'll also join you guys in this competition!"
Tang Fen, you crazy b*stard! You are willing to risk your life for some better grub!?
"I also concur!
With my god-given handsomeness, wouldn't it be disrespectful to my ancestors, and the heavens, if I get stuck in a place like this?
I've heard from rumours that there are all sorts of immortal fairies and goddesses in the world, and I know that they are just waiting for someone as elegant as me to appear in their lives!
So it's only natural that I take part in this tournament alongside you all, in order to move on to the next chapter of my life!"
Wouldn't it have been simpler to say that you're just horny?!
"Hmph, if all you have the guts to go.
Then why wouldn't I, Zi Hua, have the balls to do so as well?
Back when my father was still alive and kickin, he'd tell the young me that we were actually descendants of an ancient immortal emperor.
Now, I'm not sure about the validity of those claims but, looking at me, It's most likely true!
And as they say, how could a mighty dragon be willing to act as a dog?
Therefore, I will also join the competition this year!"
...What went wrong?
I never meant to make these guys join me like this!
Feeling the urgent need to stop this mass suicide mission, Zhang Wei stood up and spoke up again,
"Hey, guys... I've got no nice way to put this but... you'll be crushed into smithereens!
This isn't some joke, you know!
There are some real powerhouses participating, and they won't stop at just defeating you!
You might even die!"
Why have the roles suddenly changed, damnit?!
Wasn't this supposed to be them trying to persuade me to not risk my life?
Hearing Zhang Wei's words, everyone looked at him as if he was an idiot.
Their gazes all seemed to say,
"And you think you'll do better than us?"
They then outright ignored him, and started to excitedly talk about training and sparring with each other.
Zhang Wei could do nothing other than to sit back down and listen with a blank expression that masked the immense amount of nervousness he was feeling.
Oh god, what have I done?!
I've actually just indirectly sent my friends to their own deaths! What do I do now?!
Chapter 7: Five Years Of Insignificance (Part 7)
In a covert grassy clearing, located at the edge of the servant compound, a boy with black hair and blue eyes was sprawled on the ground panting heavily as if he'd just run a marathon.
It was Lin Fan!
It had been over a week since his altercation with Steward Qin, and his life had changed drastically due to the exaggerated rumours that labelled him as a hero, a true dragon amongst men!
From almost everyone being unnaturally kind and helpful towards him, people begging him to learn his secrets, to some even outright offering him money for so-called 'protection fees'!
Except from when he was taking a sh*t, he almost had no peace to himself!
And this, as you would expect, was really bad for Lin Fan- Who had to, effectively, speak to himself in order to communicate with the friendly grandpa who was inside of him.
Not only that, Lin Fan had multiple other secrets that he absolutely did not want others to find out, whether that be his sudden jump in cultivation level, to the mysterious god-like breathing technique he owned.
Luckily though, Lin Fan managed to find a decent spot that no one ever visited- A place where he could find peace of mind and focus on cultivation and martial arts.
After a few moments of gasping for air, Lin Fan shouted with a wide grin on his face,
"Hahaha!
I've done it!
I've reached initial mastery of the Crimson Emperor's Fist Art!
How's that old man?!"
After shouting that, a voice rang out in Lin Fan's head and said in a slightly surprised tone,
"Not bad, not bad, you brat!
It seems like you have some talent after all!
Of course, it still pales in comparison to this old immortal, who achieved initial mastery after a mere three days.
But nonetheless, this is quite an impressive achievement!"
Hearing the voice, Lin Fan's expression soured a little and he grumbled,
"You shameless old braggart!
Don't you ever get sick of flaunting your greatness to someone who's less than a fraction of your age!
I heard that when people grow older, they become more mature and humble. However, it seems that either you are an oddball, or the one I heard it from was talking nonsense!
And I'm more inclined to believe it's the former!"
Lin Fan then sat back up, and said impatiently with furrowed brows,
"And will you hurry up and let me continue cultivating properly?
I don't even get why you've abruptly decided to make me condense and destroy the ball of spirit energy that I formed to break through after I stepped into the seventh stage of the foundation establishment realm!
I could've effortlessly reached the body refining realm by now!"
Hearing the incessant complaints coming from the teen-aged Lin Fan, Old Man Yi felt a headache creep up on him.
"Brat Lin, I've told you before.
The path to cultivation is akin to building a large tower.
Every increase in a major realm is like adding on a new level to that tower, and for that tower to become tall and soar to the sky, it requires a stable foundation to be laid first!
Foundation. Is. Key.
To achieve an impeccable foundation, it is a necessity to break through under perfect conditions.
The reason I've only started to impose this level of strictness at the seventh stage, even though you were doing decently well before, was that the seventh stage has a profound secret behind it.
From old scriptures and tomes that I've gathered and read throughout my life, I was able to get a hint towards the importance of particular stages and realms.
And these scriptures had unimaginable origins, they were cultivation notes linking to Ancient Emperors!
They are individuals who held heaven and earth in the palms of their hands, people who even I can only look up to!
What's worse is that after finding out about the importance of these realms, I could only grieve over the fact that I hadn't had the chance to perfect my foundations and explore these mysteries!
So, now do you understand why I am doing this?"
After saying this, Old Man Yi began thinking to himself,
Although this brat is indeed still too impulsive and impatient, he is, without a doubt, a monstrous prodigy.
Even an old monster like me, who has seen and experienced a lot, cannot help but be shocked.
To think that there would be such a time where I'd see someone be able to achieve initial mastery on that insane technique. Even those Holy Sons and Daughters of top-tier factions would require a year or two, let alone someone like me who took a whopping twelve!
Heh, but isn't this great?
Instead of rotting in the netherworld like I was supposed to, I am able to watch and nurture this monster and bring out his potential!
Hahaha!
I wonder what those dumb fossils up there will feel after this kid thoroughly destroys their stuck-up descendants!
Whilst Old Man Yi was absorbed in his own thoughts, Lin Fan's eyes gleamed with ambition after listening to his words.
He started mumbling to himself,
"Flawless foundation...Ancient Emperors...Heaven and Earth..."
He paused for a moment to think before abruptly jumping up to his feet and proclaiming with fervour,
"I, Lin Fan, swear to the heavens that I'll reach such a level and beyond!
No matter if my bones get crushed, or tendons get severed, I'll forever work towards it!"
After swearing that oath, he took a deep breath before asking with determination,
"Hurry up old man!
Aren't you meant to be some big shot?
Give me some tips on how to better establish my foundation!
I want to see, personally, how great these so-called Ancient Emperors are and whether their notes are worth such praise!"
Listening to Lin Fan, Old Man Yi was speechless.
"..."
Hearing no reply, Lin Fan became even more confident and decided to tease a bit,
"What's with the silence?
Cat caught your tongue from my sheer awesomeness?"
Old Man Yi could no longer take listening to this audacious junior, and shouted angrily,
"YOU STUPID BRAT!
Just what is a greenhorn like you getting so cocky over?
Maybe, instead of looking down on mighty figures, you should concentrate on advancing from a toilet scrubber to an outer disciple in this backwater sect!
Isn't this competition meant to be happening in a few hours anyway?
You better get running, otherwise, you'll be back to cleaning up someone's leftover dinner in the form of brown sludge for another three months!"
As if his words were lightning, Lin Fan jolted out of his delusional arrogance and charged toward the servant compound.
As he ran, he said out loud with a beet-red face,
"I'm not a toilet scrubber, but an honourable martyr!
Get it right, you damnable old fogey!"
From the pace Lin Fan was running, one could tell that he really didn't want to scrub sh*t anymore.
...
"Today's judgement day, shitheads!
Make sure to stick to the plan, and everything will be A-OK!"
As Tan Lin said this to the other four at the table confidently, he gleefully shovelled another rice ball into his mouth.
Hearing his words everyone began to happily chat about their aspirations after entering the sect, or what they would do for next year if they failed.
Except for Zhang Wei.
Currently, he was sitting on the simple wooden bench, that every table at the cafeteria had, not touching a single piece of food- which was incongruous with the rest of the table that was happily stuffing in as much as they could eat!
The reason for this?
Naturally, the notion that this was his new friends' last meal haunted him to the point where he had no appetite.
I'm f*cked.
Not a single word during this past week has gotten through to these braindeads!
It's as if they've all been possessed by the souls of martial arts maniacs!
Throughout the past week, the entire group all kept to their promises and worked incredibly hard to prepare for the tournament.
They sparred intensely for as long as they could, and then even during rest time they discussed aspects each person could improve on. At night, they would gather together and discuss tactics and plans for certain situations!
They were diligent to the point where Zhang Wei couldn't help but re-evaluate his opinion of them.
However, even with this, Zhang Wei never gave up on trying to discourage them from participating.
After all, regardless of how much effort they put in, a week's a week!
How could these slackers catch up to those diligent servants who have trained for ages to prepare for this?
These geniuses also think shovelling down as much food as they can is a good idea!
I've explained multiple times that if they eat so fast, they could get indigestion or stomach cramps!
What will they do if mid-fight they lose concentration, and die a miserable death?!
For the umpteenth time in this past week, Zhang Wei urgently felt a need to slap some sense into these guys. So he stood up and slammed the table to make a loud thud sound, and pleaded solemnly,
"Brothers, please don't do this to me!
I've known you all for multiple years and had the greatest time of my life with you all.
I don't want to see you all die a dog's death!
So, for my sake, can you all reconsider going balls deep into this suicide mission?"
They all looked over at Zhang Wei and shook their heads resolutely.
"Brother Zhang, I'm determined to do this. My ambitions won't let me back out!"
"Don't you get sick of repeating the same sh*t like a broken record? Even if we get an unlucky draw, we can just give up as soon as we get on stage!"
"The women are waiting for me, so I cannot comply."
"The food is waiting for my stomach, I cannot comply."
After saying that, they all continued eating and talking about plans and tactics, alongside some final tips for each of their martial arts techniques.
Zhang Wei, seeing that it was futile to say anymore, slumped back down on the bench and quietly ate a riceball to try to quell his nervousness and frustration.
You dumb, stupid, idiots!
As per those Xianxia novels, those bastards in the competition are all ruthless and merciless. Otherwise, how else can the authors justify the fact that the MC beating the living sh*t out of random people?
In fact, I'm betting my soul on the fact that you guys are going to be the sacrifice to introduce how heartless those f*ckers are!
Do you really think a simple, 'I give up, please don't hurt me' will stop them?!
After realising how certain their deaths will be, Zhang Wei clenched his free hand under the table and mentally brought up the System interface.
The moment he willed it, a translucent grey box floated in front of him.
Currently, the System screen only had one selectable option.
[Inventory]
He mentally selected the [Inventory], and then a grid replaced the previous screen- It was a 10x10 grid with equal-sized boxes.
Currently, only three boxes filling the first three across the top row had an icon, signifying an item in it, whilst the rest were blank.
One box contained an icon of a four-leafed clover with a 'x2' in the corner, the one next to it had a wooden spoon inside it, and the last one had a teapot.
He then mentally 'tapped' on the four-leaf clover icon, and the screen changed into a bigger version of the icon in the corner and some information.
The information read,
=========================
[Luck Booster (Temporary)]
[Method of use- Activates on command]
[Description- Boosts luck, what else do you want me to say?]
[Duration-Depends on your luck]
==========================
This sh*tty System!
I initially thought this thing would be the emotionless type that did its best to help the host, but only now do I see how naive I was!
Zhang Wei must've read this info page hundreds of times during the past week in hopes of any updates, but regardless, he still couldn't hold back the impulse to curse the System for toying with him.
What sort of description was that supposed to be?
Was this meant to be a funny joke? Did the System really think it was a great comedian?
Honestly, due to the ambiguity of the description, Zhang Wei had contemplated many times whether he really wanted to participate or not.
He really did want to believe in the System, but with the b*ullsh*t it's pulling, he couldn't bring himself to do so.
However, in the end, he still decided to go along with it.
Firstly, if the System was able to do something as great as boosting his cultivation then why would it let its host die due to a defective/trash product?
Also, it knew that this powerful System wanted him to assist these 'protagonists' for some reason, so he was somewhat confident that this thing would carry him to the top ten.
But what he wasn't sure of, but wanted to know, was the limits and true effect of this so-called 'luck-booster'.
He wanted to know whether its luck-boosting effects could spread to his friends, and protect them alongside him!
Unfortunately, the System seemed to give him no indication of any of this- So he could only put blind hope in it.
Just as he was about to further deliberate on the luck booster, Tan Lin's voice called out to everyone as he said,
"It's starting in half an hour, let's hurry up and go!
Remember to keep this in mind, if things go south and there is no retreat... Aim for cutting of the bloodline!"
The rest of them nodded with grins, and they all stood up to get make their way to the tournament site.
Zhang Wei also stood up last and followed behind whilst thinking nervously.
Surely that was just a joke...right?