Fufeng City, under the setting sun.
Chen Qiu, dressed in hemp garments, was staring blankly toward the nearby city gate, where a sect called "Sky-bursting Gang" was recruiting disciples en masse. A chubby man, who claimed to be an elder of the outer sect, was enthusiastically shouting through a wooden megaphone.
"The annual disciple recruitment event of the Sky-bursting Gang has begun!"
"Don't miss out as you pass by!"
"The day of becoming an Immortal is today!"
"Just by joining the sect, you'll instantly receive 100 coins!"
...
His name was Chen Qiu, and he had transmigrated not long ago.
Today was his thirty-first day since arriving, and after thirty days of hard labor chopping wood, he had finally saved up over two thousand coins, allowing him to rent a small house for himself in this unfamiliar city.
Chopping wood was a physically demanding job.
The employer specifically requested "Iron Wood," a type of tree extremely hard to chop, and the areas where these trees grew were monopolized by local tyrants, charging an entrance fee for anyone wishing to chop wood on their land.
He spent 29 days only managing to scrape together scraps of Iron Wood that the local tyrants neglected, competing with villagers for the sparse growth and earning barely enough daily to make ends meet.
He was somewhat clumsy and really couldn't master the skill of chopping wood.
Fortunately, on the 30th day, he learned how to chop people.
That's how he made a small fortune.
...
Since he had a good day starting his work yesterday, he took a day off for himself today; spending 300 coins to rent a small house, wandered around during the day, and spent a few more coins on pork head meat, peanuts, and a half jin of liquor to celebrate in his house.
He took a break for the day and would chop wood again tomorrow.
He was looking forward to this feast, the most sumptuous dinner since his transmigration.
It seemed a small step.
But it represented a significant step in establishing himself in this strange world.
His mood was quite good all the way, even excited to hear that a theatrical troupe from the Capital would soon enter the city; he went specifically to join the crowd. Before this, his mood had been very good, until he heard the three words "Sky-bursting Gang."
He began to feel a bit dazed.
This oddly familiar unfamiliarity almost made him wonder if he hadn't transmigrated but had fallen asleep instead.
This world had Immortals, he knew.
But he rarely entertained the thought of pursuing Cultivation; he just wanted to survive, and if he could be slightly extravagant, to have pork head meat at every meal and to never get caught for chopping people, because even securing food and warmth was hard, let alone dare to think about Cultivation.
And this "Sky-bursting Gang" sect felt tacky to him: even a mere external elder was an Immortal, but why was he shouting so vulgarly like a peddler?
Most of the people around merely glanced and passed by; for so long, not a single one paused, maybe this world's longing for Cultivation was really that low?
Chen Qiu shook his head and did not linger much longer; perhaps it was just a coincidence in name. At that moment, the theatrical troupe also made a grand entry into the city surrounded by a bustling crowd.
The status of performers in this world was not high.
But it couldn't hold back the fact that this troupe had a famous Capital singer, who performed without selling her body. It was said that a high-ranking official from the Capital once offered three Spirit Stones for a night of romance but was tactfully refused, naturally, many wanted to see what this woman worth three Spirit Stones looked like.
He tiptoed for a glance and thought she was alright; it seemed like people in this world hadn't seen much luxury.
...
After watching the spectacle, Chen Qiu didn't linger and directly turned and walked towards the inner city.
Just then—
Perhaps he had stood still for too long, or maybe because he was moving against the flow in the crowd, in any case, the shouting elder of the "Sky-bursting Gang" noticed him, bellowed, and quickly ran toward him.
"Fellow Daoist, halt!"
"..."
Chen Qiu's mouth twitched slightly, holding the oil-paper wrapped pork head and the porcelain bottle of liquor, without any hesitation, he turned and walked away.
"Fellow Daoist, please halt."
The voice behind him grew louder.
His stride also increased.
But after all, being an Immortal, the elder was faster and quickly caught up, panting and angrily accosting him with hands on his hips, "What the hell are you running for?"
This Immortal really had a foul mouth.
Since he couldn't outrun him, Chen Qiu no longer struggled; instead, he changed his expression to one of sincere dread, bowed deeply, and carefully said, "Forgive me, Immortal. I didn't realize the Immortal was calling out to me. May I know what commands you have?"
But unbeknownst to the man, Chen Qiu's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
An Immortal?
An Immortal who could barely run a few steps without gasping for breath? That was a pretty lame Immortal.
"Don't play dumb!"
The chubby man, irate, pointed at Chen Qiu's nose and scolded, "I am the outer sect elder of the 'Sky-bursting Gang,' responsible for recruiting disciples in Fufeng City. To Cultivate or not, just say the word!"
A vulgar and physically weak Immortal.
Seemed like he could be killed with just a couple of swings.
Chen Qiu unconsciously felt for his wood-chopping knife, yet his expression remained respectful as he straightened up and explained, "Respectfully, Immortal, I was born without any Cultivation Talent, so I never thought about stepping onto the path of seeking Immortality..."
"Forget it, never mind."
After the man took a few deep breaths, just as he was about to speak, his expression suddenly turned peculiar, "Dude, what did you just say? Cultivation Talent?"
Chen Qiu was slightly startled, at a loss for words for a moment - were the Immortals in this world so down-to-earth? To use the word "dude" when talking to mortals?
Although slightly perplexed, he still instinctively responded, "Yes."
"Hahahaha!!"
Upon hearing this, the plump man drenched in cold sweat wiped his forehead, snatched the pig's head meat from Chen Qiu's hand without caring about his image, tore open the oil paper, and began chewing vigorously, noticeably excited, "Very good, very good!"
"..."
What the man didn't see, however,
was that Chen Qiu's expression had visibly cooled. This pig's head meat was something he had been looking forward to for a month, possibly the happiest event since he had traveled through time. Everything he had done today was in preparation for enjoying this meal.
And now...
His cherished pig's head meat had just been snatched away by this pig-headed man in front of him, inspiring a hatred far surpassing that of a cuckolded husband.
Chen Qiu scanned the surroundings. Since a troupe had entered the city today, the city gate was crowded with onlookers. The place was bustling, and quite a few soldiers were maintaining order, making it inconvenient to start a fight here.
There was a bamboo grove not far away, which might suffice for a chopping spree.
Just as he was calculating where to strike, the man finally wiped the grease from his mouth corners, "Big hammer 80, how much for the small one?"
"..."
Chen Qiu was stunned, a trace of disbelief flashing through his eyes, thinking he was the only one who had traveled through time, but apparently, it was a group!"
After hesitating for a moment,
"40?"
"Palace Jade Liquor, what comes next?"
"One hundred and eight per cup."
"Good brother." The plump man contentedly hugged Chen Qiu's shoulders, then, after packing up his 'Sky-bursting Gang' flag at his stall, led Chen Qiu to the nearby bamboo grove.
...
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Fat Long. Back on Blue Star, I was a startup company CEO. How should I address you, brother?"
"My name is Chen Qiu. Back on Blue Star...I was self-employed."
Chen Qiu nodded thoughtfully, getting a preliminary hold on this chubby man—an entrepreneurial company, likely one barely afloat.
Outsourced all financing; never paid social security.
Guaranteed no holidays on Saturdays; no guarantees of holidays on Sundays.
Employees would file lawsuits just as the company was about to collapse.
"But are you sure your name is Fat Long? Does Blue Star even have that surname?"
"No."
Fat Long nodded confidently, "I picked it myself. When you're away from home, you craft your own identity. It's so hard to recruit disciples these days. If you don't create a prominent name for yourself, who would follow you?"
"The story I made up for myself goes like this, 'When I was born, a celestial phenomenon appeared in the sky, a fat five-clawed dragon circled the sky nine times before entering my body, proving that one day I would rise to greatness!'"
"People can find messages in fish, so a birth accompanied by a five-clawed golden dragon seems reasonable, right?"
After taking a deep breath, Fat Long casually took the liquor from Chen Qiu's hand, drank it in one gulp, then contentedly burped, "It's been a long time since I had such good food and drink."
"..."
Chen Qiu looked at the now empty porcelain bottle, touched the woodcutter's hatchet he had in his clothes calmly, glanced around without saying a word, and softly asked, "Aren't you an outer sect elder of the Sky-bursting Gang? Can't you afford pig's head meat?"
"Didn't I tell you, when you're out, identities are what you make of them; Sky-bursting Gang is just me."
"So you mean you have no sect? Nor are you an outer sect elder?"
"No."
"You recruit disciples without a sect?"
"With disciples, doesn't a sect naturally form?"
"..."
Chen Qiu fell silent again, saying nothing. Most people would think to establish a sect before recruiting disciples. This man's idea was to have disciples first and the sect would naturally exist. He wouldn't judge who was right or wrong but could only say this man had guts.
"Then you promise to give 100 wen just for joining? Do you have the money?"
"No money, ah."
Fat Long nodded seriously, "But I always send new disciples into the Secret Realm. If they survive, they get paid afterward. If they die, no need to pay. And if they survive, the treasures they bring out from the Secret Realm will be worth far more than 100 wen."
"Is the mortality rate in the Secret Realm very high?"
"Very high."
"What if they survive and refuse to give you the treasures?"
"I'm in the sixth level of Qi Refinement Realm, definitely stronger than the newbies. If they don't give, I can just take it by force."
"If you're already at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, why don't you enter the Secret Realm yourself?"
"Didn't I mention, the mortality rate in Secret Realm is very high, I'm a bit afraid of dying, aren't you?"
"I am too."
"Even so, how will you handle your sect's mountain gate? A sect must have a mountain gate, right?"
"Our sect focuses on having outer disciples travel abroad. Only when promoted to Inner Sect Disciple can one see the Mountain Gate."
The two exchanged glances, and Chen Qiu found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
He just knew it, none of these startup CEOs were trustworthy.
This isn't recruiting disciples at all, this is just recruiting people to die for you, and you only offer them cakes without any tangible benefits—no wonder no one is joining. If anyone actually joined, it would be a miracle.