Chapter 1: Slacking Off: It All Starts with a Good Nap
"I'm never going to grind again!!"
That was Xu Chu's last conscious thought before dying of exhaustion—seven consecutive days of working until 2 AM had finally done him in.
On the bright side, the heavens gave him another shot. He was reborn, and transmigrated into another world entirely.
At first he figured he'd landed in ancient times. After spotting some martial arts masters, he thought maybe it was a wuxia world.
But then he saw cultivators flying around, and it clicked—this was a cultivation world.
With a spiritual root, you could join a cultivation sect, cultivate, and achieve immortality.
The Xuantian Cultivation Realm was ruled by five supreme sects, each commanding territories stretching millions of miles. The one closest to Xu Chu's home was the Tianyan Sect.
When Xu Chu turned sixteen, a Tianyan Sect disciple touring the mortal world detected a spiritual root in him. The entire Xu family practically wept with joy—after all, cultivators were lofty, untouchable beings.
Xu Chu had always been curious about cultivation, so he followed the disciples back to the Tianyan Sect.
Every year during this season, the major sects would send disciples into the mortal world to scout out young people with spiritual roots.
There were at least a thousand people brought back to the sect alongside Xu Chu.
Now, standing in the outer sect plaza, a green-robed elder addressed the group in a booming voice:
"From today onward, you are trial disciples of the Tianyan Sect. Head over shortly to collect your supplies."
"Keep this in mind: you have three years to break through to the fourth stage of Qi Refining. Reach it, and you become an outer disciple. Fail, and you're sent back to the mortal world."
"The names I'm about to call—follow me."
The green-robed elder called out about a dozen names and led them away without another word.
The remaining disciples stood around, confused.
"What's going on? Why'd they take those specific people?"
"Duh. Their spiritual root grades must be high—fifth rank or better. The sect is going to pour resources into them."
"I'd heard it before coming here, but damn—the cultivation world really is just like the real world. High-quality spiritual roots or the right connections, and you get all the resources. Your ceiling is higher."
"Us? No connections, middling roots. All we've got is persistence and hard work."
"Resources are limited. They've already claimed their share with their god-given advantages. We have to kill ourselves grinding just to grab what's left."
Xu Chu stared at the crowd around him, completely floored.
Wait, what?
So I transmigrated into a cultivation world, and you're telling me I still have to *grind*?!
Xu Chu let out a helpless laugh. He really should've seen this coming.
He'd read a lifetime's worth of cultivation fantasy novels back on Earth. Those cultivators didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't rest—sealed away in meditation for years, decades, even centuries. It was one endless cycle: cultivate, or fight over resources.
Nobody grinded harder than cultivators.
And here he'd been naive enough to think he'd jumped from a hellhole into paradise.
Turns out he'd just jumped into a bigger hellhole.
He'd died from overwork in his past life.
And now? Overwork again.
Fine then.
*screw cultivation!!*
He was a handsome guy with a decent family back in the secular world. He'd marry a few wives, live out his simple, ordinary life, and call it a day.
Xu Chu made up his mind and turned to leave.
That's when a voice rang out in his mind.
[Hold on.]
[The "Might As Well" System is online. Please, do stick around and continue on the Path of Cultivation.]
Xu Chu's eyes lit up. Finally—his transmigrator cheat ability had arrived!
Truth be told, ever since arriving in this world, Xu Chu had been trying to locate his system. But try as he might, he couldn't find it.
Turns out it was just waiting for this moment.
Xu Chu suppressed his inner excitement and asked, "So, what does your system even do?"
[Host just needs to keep slackin' off, and rewards will follow. The specifics depend on Host's identity and actions—different slacking earns different rewards. Host will need to explore the details personally.]
Well, if the system's already here, maybe cultivation wasn't so bad after all.
"Oh, right—don't I get a newbie gift pack or something?"
[Oh right, almost forgot! Yes yes, we do have one. Would Host like to claim the Newbie Gift Package?]
Xu Chu sweated. Was this system even reliable? How could you forget something that important?!
"Let's wait until I get to my room."
Xu Chu followed the crowd to the supply station, waited in line, and finally reached the front.
"Your jade token number is your room assignment."
As a trial disciple, he received: two sets of clothing, one copy of the Basic Qi Refining Manual, and one identity jade token.
"That's it?! No teacher, no pills—not even one?! How the heck are we supposed to cultivate?!"
"Only outer disciples get monthly pills and spirit stones. Inner disciples are the ones who take on personal disciples."
"Come on, let's go study the Basic Qi Refining Manual at our rooms. The earlier we get started, the earlier we can get ahead!"
"Good point!"
Xu Chu couldn't help but smirk. Already competing, huh?
In the crowd, Xu Chu stood out like a sore thumb.
Everyone else grabbed their stuff and hurried off, practically sprinting to their rooms.
Xu Chu? Not even slightly rushed. He strolled to his residence, taking his sweet time to admire the scenery. To anyone watching, it looked like he was sightseeing.
Had to admit, being a top-tier sect had its perks. Even the trial disciples' quarters were scenic—crystal-clear mountains, pristine waters, fresh air.
Xu Chu was pretty much the last person to arrive at his lodging.
He looked at the run-down wooden hut in front of him and scratched his head.
"Did I get the wrong address?"
A whole row of rickety, basic wooden huts. Practically horse stables.
This was the accommodation?!
Just then, a voice came from the side.
"Hey there, senior brother. Guess we're neighbors now—look out for each other."
The speaker was a slightly chubby young man, all smiles. He'd be living to Xu Chu's left.
"And me too."
From the hut on Xu Chu's right, another young man emerged—thin as a rail.
The two of them—one fat, one skinny—reminded Xu Chu of Fat Head and Thin Head from that old tale.
It didn't take long to get the names: the chubby one was Jiang Zhixin, and the skinny one was Pang Bing.
Xu Chu pushed open his door and took a look inside. There was nothing but a bamboo bed and a meditation cushion. No chair in sight.
"Alright, I'll bite—I'm a trial disciple and this is what we get? Feels a little... thin on the ground."
Pang Bing chuckled. "Be grateful. Under our feet there's a spirit vein. The spiritual energy here is three times denser than the secular world."
He paused with a sigh.
"Only problem is—we've got two years. Can't break through to Qi Refining Stage Four? You're out. Basically means you'll never have a shot at Foundation Building in this lifetime."
Seeing Pang Bing knew so much, Jiang Zhixin asked, "Brother Pang, you wouldn't happen to be from a cultivation family, would you?"
"Psh, what cultivation family." Pang Bing waved dismissively. "Just got a Foundation Building ancestor, that's all."
Even so, a hint of smugness flickered across his face.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhixin's expression instantly shifted to deference, and he launched into a flurry of flattery.
Jiang Zhixin and Xu Chu both had second-rank spiritual roots. Pang Bing had third-rank. (For the record, ninth-rank was best.)
Pang Bing mused, "The higher your spiritual root rank, the faster you sense qi and cultivate—and the higher your ceiling. For us with second- and third-rank roots? Three to five days just to sense spiritual energy, usually."
"Brother Pang might sense qi as early as tomorrow!" Jiang Zhixin flattered.
Pang Bing ate it up. "Alright, alright—enough talk. Best get to cultivating."
Truth was, once he learned Xu Chu and Jiang Zhixin came from ordinary families with middling roots, he'd lost interest in chatting further.
The two of them headed back to their wooden huts.
Xu Chu wanted to keep talking—learn more about cultivation from them. But they were too eager to start, not willing to waste a single moment.
Back in his room, Xu Chu changed into his trial disciple robes and hung the jade token at his waist.
At least the clothes and token came in handy. Back in the secular world, regular folks would address someone wearing these as "Honored Cultivator."
Sitting on the bed, Xu Chu whispered:
"Claim the newbie package."
[Newbie Gift Package received: The Immortal Codex.]
The Immortal Codex included: the Immortal Dao Technique, plus General Outlines for alchemy, weapon forging, formation arrays, talisman crafting, and puppetry.
Xu Chu tried reading the Immortal Dao Technique first—but couldn't make head or tail of it.
So he switched to the sect-issued Basic Qi Refining Manual instead.
This entry-level technique was refreshingly simple and easy to follow.
The first step of cultivation was sensing the ambient spiritual energy and drawing it into your body. Complete that, and you were officially a cultivator.
Next came circulating the technique, absorbing the qi, and clearing your meridians and acupuncture points—a process known as cleansing the marrow.
Finally, you gathered the qi in your dantian.
Qi Refining stage was simply: sense qi, draw it in, accumulate it.
After getting the gist of the cultivation process, Xu Chu tossed the Basic Qi Refining Manual aside, flopped onto the bed, and fell straight asleep.
Slacking off—
starts with a damn good nap!
Chapter 2: Gaining Cultivation by Sleeping
Most of the nominal disciples at Tianyan Sect were currently in their small wooden houses studying the Basic Qi Refining Formula, hoping to officially enter the sect as soon as possible.
Xu Chu was the only exception—he was sleeping soundly at the moment, already dreaming of becoming an immortal ancestor, roaming freely in the mortal world.
He had slept from the afternoon straight through to the next morning.
If his stomach weren't growling with hunger, he could've slept for another two hours easily.
The moment Xu Chu woke up, he heard the system's voice:
[Host spent his first day as a disciple sleeping while his fellow disciples stayed up all night cultivating. Slacking off successful. Reward: Qi Sensing Insights, Immortal Dao Formula - First Layer.]
In an instant, Xu Chu could clearly feel that his body had undergone some changes, and extra knowledge and techniques had appeared in his mind.
The Immortal Dao Formula was originally such a profound and powerful cultivation method that Xu Chu couldn't even understand it by reading alone. Now he had directly mastered the first layer.
Xu Chu also understood the rarity and power of this technique—it actually cultivated three paths simultaneously: Qi, Body, and Spirit.
Such methods were extremely rare and difficult to cultivate, but once mastered, they were incredibly powerful.
Xu Chu circulated the Immortal Dao Formula and easily sensed the existence of heavenly spiritual energy—he could absorb it as long as he operated the technique.
The next step was to guide the qi into his body and open his meridians and acupoints. Only when he opened a certain number of meridians and acupoints would he be considered Qi Refining Layer One.
Under normal circumstances, wanting to successfully sense qi in one night would require at least a seventh-grade spirit root.
And Xu Chu had just slept through it.
This made Xu Chu clearly understand how powerful the system was.
"Actually, I'm a very diligent and hardworking person, but since the system is this strong, I guess I'll reluctantly slack off then," Xu Chu thought.
Xu Chu made up his mind—he'd eat and sleep his way through the sect, lay low for a hundred years or so, and only reappear once he was invincible.
He got up and left the small wooden house.
Quite a few people had come out of their wooden houses by now. After all, they hadn't even stepped through the gate of cultivation yet—they were all still mortals who needed to eat.
Seeing his neighbors Pang Bing and Jiang Zhixin were there, Xu Chu asked, "Senior Brother Pang, is there a place to eat in our sect?"
Pang Bing shook his head. "Cultivators usually take Grain-Avoidance Pills so they can focus on cultivation without distraction. One Grain-Avoidance Pill keeps you from feeling hungry for an entire month."
"Are Grain-Avoidance Pills expensive?" Xu Chu asked again.
Pang Bing held up one finger. "One low-grade spirit stone can buy five Grain-Avoidance Pills."
*Hiss!* That expensive?!
Xu Chu was stunned.
He knew spirit stones were the common currency among cultivators. Based on purchasing power conversion, one spirit stone was roughly equivalent to five hundred taels of silver.
So even though one low-grade spirit stone could buy five Grain-Avoidance Pills, if converted to silver, that was one hundred taels of silver per pill.
Xu Chu came from a decent family, but he still wouldn't spend money like that. Even if he ate well at every meal, one hundred taels of silver would be enough to feed him for a year.
Also, Xu Chu was a foodie who loved enjoying delicious food. Something like a Grain-Avoidance Pill—this ultra-high-end compressed biscuit—he would never eat it.
Xu Chu said, "At this price, I'm afraid most nominal disciples can't afford it."
Pang Bing confirmed, "Of course not. That's why we're going down the mountain to buy some food at the marketplace and bring it back."
Although he came from a cultivation family, it was just the most ordinary kind.
Taking Grain-Avoidance Pills every month was still somewhat luxurious for him.
"It's not just food—we also need to buy some cotton quilts. This bamboo plank bed is too uncomfortable to sleep on," Xu Chu Thought.
After closing the door, the three of them left the sect together.
They chatted as they walked.
Jiang Zhixin asked curiously, "I wonder if any of our fellow disciples have successfully sensed qi."
Pang Bing sneered, "How could it be that easy? Wanting to successfully sense qi in one night requires at least a seventh-grade spirit root or above. Most people can step into the qi-guiding stage within five days."
Xu Chu remained silent. If he told the two of them right now that he could already guide qi into his body, he wondered what kind of expression they'd have.
Just then, Pang Bing saw a young man wearing black robes and hurriedly greeted him respectfully.
"Good day, Senior Brother."
The other person only nodded faintly and didn't even spare him a second glance.
Even so, Pang Bing showed no dissatisfaction—only admiration and flattery.
After he'd walked far away, Jiang Zhixin asked curiously, "Senior Brother Pang, why was that senior brother wearing black clothes? It's different from us."
"We nominal disciples wear gray; outer disciples wear black," Pang Bing explained.
Jiang Zhixin suddenly understood. "So he's an outer disciple. I wonder when I'll be able to break through to Qi Refining Layer Four and become an outer disciple."
His face was full of longing.
"Sense some qi first. Don't aim too high," Pang Bing said speechlessly.
Xu Chu asked, "Outer disciples probably don't still live in wooden houses, right?"
He left the cultivation matters to the system and was only responsible for slacking off, so he cared more about issues like food and housing.
Pang Bing explained, "Of course not. Our Tianyan Sect has a fourth-grade spirit vein underground. The closer you are to the central area, the denser the spiritual energy. We nominal disciples are at the outermost perimeter—the spiritual energy density is three times that of the outside. Every outer disciple has their own independent courtyard. That area's spiritual energy density is five times that of the outside."
"What about inner disciples?" Xu Chu asked again.
Pang Bing glanced at him. "You're thinking quite far ahead. With our aptitude, if we don't get some major opportunity, we basically won't become inner disciples in this lifetime."
Actually, he just didn't know. But what he said was also the truth.
"Yeah, Foundation Establishment is too far away from us—completely out of reach," Jiang Zhixin sighed.
Xu Chu smiled and didn't say anything more.
He thought to himself: Once I break through to Qi Refining Layer Four, I'll immediately apply to become an outer disciple.
Because he clearly remembered the system's setting—identity and status were different, and the rewards after slacking off were also different.
Simply put: if a bottom-tier student and a top student both slack off, the latter will definitely attract more attention.
The three of them arrived at the foot of the mountain and found carriage rentals, then rented a horse-drawn carriage.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few fellow disciples going up and down the mountain. Almost everyone looked hurried, obviously not wanting to waste time on the road and wanting to get back to cultivation as soon as possible.
Approaching noon, they finally arrived at the marketplace. Actually, it wasn't that far, but they were still mortals, so their travel speed was too slow.
This marketplace was called Tiānshān Marketplace. It was quite large and protected by Tianyan Sect, so it was very safe inside. Many cultivators came here to trade and do business.
It was just that leaving the marketplace was a bit dangerous. Things like house raiding, murder, and silencing witnesses happened frequently in the realistic cultivation world.
Even disciples of Tianyan Sect like Xu Chu and the others weren't necessarily safe. Only those with strength were the safest.
However, as nominal disciples who had just entered and hadn't even guided qi into their bodies yet, they could be described as having no strength to speak of and no wealth to speak of. The probability of being robbed was very small.
Simply put: they were so poor that even robbers wouldn't look up to them.
Chapter 3: You're Really Planning to Fish?
Jiang Zhixin's family situation was quite ordinary. When they learned he was going to become an Immortal Master, the whole village pooled together twenty taels of silver for him before he left.
Xu Chu's family situation was pretty good in the mortal world—generations of merchants. He brought three thousand taels of silver notes when he left home.
As for Pang Bing, who came from a cultivation family, there was no need to mention it—he even had a small storage pouch and some spirit stones.
Actually, Xu Chu could've totally given Jiang Zhixin money to help him make purchases, but Xu Chu wanted to walk around the marketplace himself.
"Let's meet back here in two hours," Pang Bing said, then left directly without waiting for Xu Chu and the others to reply.
Jiang Zhixin hurriedly said, "Alright, Senior Brother Pang."
The three of them separated, each going their own way to shop.
Tiānshān Marketplace was established for cultivators to trade, so there were many cultivators—basically all at the Qi Refining stage, mostly early and mid Qi Refining, with late Qi Refining big shots being relatively rare.
Inside the marketplace was a Spirit Treasure Pavilion that traded various items related to cultivators—magic treasures, talismans, pills, and such.
From other people's conversations, Xu Chu learned that Spirit Treasure Pavilion was actually a chain store—any marketplace of similar size had a branch.
Xu Chu originally thought he'd brought enough money, but after going in and browsing around a bit, he found he couldn't afford many things he was interested in.
Because as long as something was related to cultivators, it all required spirit stones to purchase.
Xu Chu had originally wanted to taste what spiritual rice and spiritual beast meat tasted like, but now it seemed he could only eat ordinary food.
"No wonder they say that for cultivation, method, wealth, companions, and location are all indispensable."
During his shopping, Xu Chu also saw some entertainment venues. If he didn't have to rush back before dark, he really wanted to go in and sit for a while, to see what was different about entertainment venues located in a marketplace.
Then again, he worried that these entertainment venues only accepted spirit stones and not silver. If that happened, he might get thrown out or even beaten up for eating a free meal.
He could only wait until he had enough spirit stones before coming back.
Two hours later.
The three of them returned to the meeting place one after another.
Pang Bing still had empty hands—after all, he had a storage pouch.
Jiang Zhixin also didn't buy much. After all, he didn't have that much money and definitely needed to spend sparingly.
Seeing that Xu Chu also had empty hands, Jiang Zhixin asked, "Do you also have a storage pouch?"
Xu Chu pointed behind him at three men carrying large chests. "The things I bought are over there."
Jiang Zhixin's eyes went wide, finding it somewhat hard to believe. "Are you planning to move house or something? Buying this much stuff!"
"You won't go wrong buying more if you have money. Going back and forth takes nearly a whole day—it's too much of a waste of time," Pang Bing said.
He wished he could use all his time for cultivation. After all, coming from a cultivation family, he clearly understood how important strength was to a cultivator.
Jiang Zhixin stepped forward and asked, "What did you buy? Let me see if there's anything I missed."
Xu Chu opened the chest. Jiang Zhixin took a careful look and thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed his eyes hard.
"Are you sure you didn't buy the wrong things?"
Jiang Zhixin pointed at that fishing rod, question marks all over his forehead.
Besides the fishing rod, there was also a small stool, a lounge chair, pillows and quilts, various spices and tableware, and so on.
If you said you bought these things for traveling, I'd believe you, but we're going back to the sect to cultivate immortality!
"No, I didn't buy the wrong things. I need these," Xu Chu replied seriously.
Slacking off didn't mean doing absolutely nothing but sleep every day—you also had to do some entertainment activities, otherwise life would be too boring.
Pang Bing didn't say anything and directly boarded the horse carriage.
Originally, three people could fit in one carriage, but with Xu Chu's three large chests, one vehicle wasn't enough.
Xu Chu directly paid to rent another one, sitting by himself.
As the sun set behind the western mountains, they finally rushed back to the sect.
Pang Bing directly left, using the excuse that he needed to find someone.
Jiang Zhixin said, "Let me help you carry the chests back."
"I'll give you some fish when I catch some," Xu Chu said.
Although Jiang Zhixin was a flatterer who had wanted to curry favor with Pang Bing ever since he learned Pang Bing came from a cultivation family, his nature was still decent.
Moreover, his family situation wasn't good, and his spirit root was only second-grade. Wanting to follow a big shot in order to go further wasn't wrong—you could even say it was wise. It was just that he didn't choose the right person.
Jiang Zhixin helped Xu Chu carry the three large chests back to his wooden house. The chests contained too many things and were very heavy, so they could only carry one at a time, making three trips back and forth, working up quite a sweat.
"Sigh, even if we were Qi Refining Layer One, carrying these three chests wouldn't be this tiring," Jiang Zhixin said, rubbing his sore arms.
"By the way, I heard there's a lake behind the mountain. Let's go wash up."
Xu Chu agreed, "Okay, and also see if there are any fish in it."
"You're really planning to go fishing?" Jiang Zhixin didn't quite understand.
Who knew how many people in the mortal world wanted to possess a spirit root and join a cultivation sect to become a cultivator.
Yet Xu Chu, who actually had a spirit root, was treating it so uncherishingly.
If they knew that Xu Chu wasn't properly cultivating and chose to go fishing instead, their eggs would probably be scrambled with anger.
"Of course."
As Xu Chu spoke, he took out some fish bait. It was already a bit late today—he could scatter the bait first and go fishing tomorrow.
"You do you," although Jiang Zhixin didn't understand, he didn't continue trying to persuade Xu Chu. After all, everyone had their own choices.
They arrived together at the back mountain's Heavenly Lake.
Heavenly Lake was huge, with no end in sight. Occasionally, they could see fish popping up to the surface and blowing bubbles—and they all looked quite large.
"The spiritual energy here is abundant. The fish meat is probably especially fragrant."
If he hadn't rushed around all day and gotten a bit sleepy, Xu Chu would've definitely done some night fishing.
After a simple wash-up, Xu Chu walked along the lake shore, found a suitable fishing spot, and scattered the fish bait into the water.
By this time, the sky was gradually darkening. Xu Chu returned to his wooden house, took out the food and dishes he'd bought at the marketplace at noon, and ate heartily. Although they were already cold, in a state of hunger, they still tasted very delicious.
He only bought a little food and dishes—after all, there was no refrigerator here, so he'd have to cook fresh tomorrow.
After eating and drinking his fill, Xu Chu went out for a walk to digest, then came back and prepared to sleep.
A future cultivator, living the comfortable life of retirement at such a young age.
In the afternoon, Xu Chu had also bought quilts and pillows, as well as a tiger skin. He spread the tiger skin on the bamboo bed.
Xu Chu lay down on it and revealed a satisfied smile.
"Absolutely fucking awesome!"