Cultivation Nerd (xianxia)

Some people were born lucky. Others were simply lucky to be born.

That was how Wun Za saw himself. His entire life had felt like one struggle after another.

He wandered through the quiet, well-paved streets of Wisdom Hall, tugging absentmindedly at the comfortable blue robe he wore. The place didn't have any regulations regarding clothing or rank.

Anyone could wear whatever they pleased.

In Wun Za's opinion, Wisdom Hall wasn't going to last.

Sure, the buildings were impressive. But it sat in the middle of the Four Great Sects without a single Nascent Soul cultivator guarding it.

Like always, Wun Za was just drifting wherever the wind carried him. As a rogue cultivator, he had reached the seventh stage of Qi Gathering at thirty-eight years old. The odds of ever breaking through to Foundation Establishment were slim.

Still, among the recent newcomers, his cultivation was considered relatively high. There was that, at least.

Wun Za made his way toward the towering library at the heart of the Misty Mountains. It was quite a walk from the house Wisdom Hall had assigned him.

He didn't mind.

The moment he stepped inside, the sight of countless floating bookshelves once again stole his breath. No matter how many times he saw them, they were still amazing. It felt mystical.

He knew almost nothing about arrays or how difficult something like this would be to construct. As a rogue cultivator, he'd never received a proper cultivation education. But even he could tell it looked expensive.

Without much ceremony, he pulled a flying carpet from his storage ring.

The flying carpet was the poor man's flying sword. Still, Wun Za wasn't about to complain. Unlike many of the newcomers, he had been fortunate enough to stumble across the corpse of a cultivator years ago. That single stroke of luck had given him a storage ring.

“What should I look for today?” Wun Za muttered.

The library possessed an array capable of searching for books. The problem was he had no idea what he actually wanted.

Another reason Wisdom Hall wouldn't survive. Giving complete strangers unrestricted access to every technique and piece of knowledge they possessed...

It was idiotic.

Not that he was here to criticize. He was here to leech off them and absorb everything he could.

He guided his flying carpet between the shelves, searching for impressive-sounding techniques or hidden knowledge he could later sell through the shady contacts he'd made in a nearby town.

So far he'd earned more than three hundred spirit stones by copying random books from the library. He knew the middleman was cheating him. But it wasn't as though obtaining the books cost him anything. The only expense was the paper he copied them onto.

He hummed a tune from his childhood, whistling through the gap where his two front teeth used to be.

When Wun Za had been a child, he'd worked as one of the city's guides. One of those ragged street kids who led newcomers around town in exchange for a few copper coins. One day he happened to approach a cultivator. The man claimed Wun Za had insulted his intelligence by implying he needed directions. Thankfully, the cultivator had only been at the third stage of Body Tempering. The kick had merely shattered his front teeth. Someone stronger might have taken his head clean off.

After decades of hardship, Wun Za eventually left the city behind. He survived alone in the forest as a vagrant hunter until the day he stumbled upon the corpse of a cultivator. Fortunately, he had cultivation talent.

The rest was history.

At last, one book caught his attention.

Nail Piercer: Combination Technique!

Wun Za immediately grabbed it and flipped through the pages. His heart trembled.

It described a technique created by combining two Earth Grade techniques!

He already had access to Earth Grade techniques and had spent months trying to learn one, with little success. Even so, he had never dared sell any of those techniques outside Wisdom Hall.

He knew exactly how valuable they were. Many clans with Foundation Establishment cultivators didn't even possess a single Earth Grade technique. But this was a Combination Technique. It wasn't technically an Earth Grade technique and merely required two of them.

If he sold this...

Wun Za knew that surviving often meant setting greed aside. Some opportunities simply weren't worth the risk.

But… He wasn't selling an Earth Grade technique. He was just selling a combination technique.

He was only a country bumpkin. How could anyone expect him to know the difference? Really, this was the Hall Master's fault. If Liu Feng hadn't created such foolish rules without accounting for human greed, none of this would've happened.

Wun Za slipped the notebook inside his robe and calmly walked out of the library, his head held high as though nothing had happened.

Badump.

Badump.

His heartbeat thundered in his ears so loudly that he could barely hear his own footsteps. Before long, his confident posture disappeared, and his gaze dropped toward the ground. One hand remained tightly pressed against the notebook hidden beneath his robes.

Lost in thought, he failed to notice someone walking toward him. The collision felt like running face-first into a boulder.

Wun Za tumbled backward onto the ground.

He hurriedly looked up. Having sensed nobody there at first. Wisdom Hall was enormous, yet strangely empty. It was rare to encounter anyone while walking through its streets.

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The moment he recognized who stood before him, his heart nearly stopped.

Those eyes...

Cold? No. They weren't cold. They were simply indifferent.

“You alright?” Liu Feng asked. “Wun Za, wasn't it? One of our newer members. Seventh-stage Qi Gathering.”

Wun Za usually felt invisible. Having the Hall Master remember both his name and cultivation after he'd only recently joined. That felt far worse. Especially when he was in the middle of betraying one of the few organizations willing to accept someone like him.

Behind Liu Feng stood eight women dressed in pale blue robes. Each wore an equally expressionless face.

Who are they?

Wun Za didn’t remember seeing any of them before.

“Oh?” Liu Feng smiled. “A Combination Technique?”

His eyes rested on the bulge beneath Wun Za's robe as though the cloth simply didn't exist.

Actually, he probably could see through it. He had even identified the book by name.

Oddly enough, the fear Wun Za expected never came. Instead, he felt relieved.

“Are you sure you're capable of learning that?” Liu Feng asked. “To use a Combination Technique, the bare minimum is leaving traces in two Earth Grade techniques. After that, you still need to activate both traces simultaneously.”

Wun Za kept his head lowered. He didn't dare meet Liu Feng's eyes. His mind had become a complete fog, and he had no idea what to say or do. Now would have been a good time to say something he had planned before in case he was caught. But he never planned for that. Greed had simply convinced him he'd never be caught.

“Oh,” Liu Feng said, nodding in understanding. “I see. You borrowed the book from the library because you intend to sell it.”

How did he know that? Had Liu Feng been secretly watching him? Why would someone as important as the Hall Master waste his time following a nobody like him? And... Why wasn't he already punished?

Wun Za couldn't understand it.

He had expected threats. Perhaps even an immediate execution. Cultivators were supposed to be arrogant, vindictive, and petty.

Well, Wun Za was a cultivator too, and he'd certainly acted arrogantly toward mortals more than once. Usually it was just to avoid paying for small things. It would've been far too humiliating to admit that a cultivator like him couldn't even afford a proper bed for the night.

So why... Why was the Hall Master calmly talking to him instead?

“Most cultivators can't use this technique,” Liu Feng explained. “Most never leave a Trace in a technique during their entire lives. But if you're going to sell it, don't accept anything below two thousand spirit stones, even if a middleman insists it's worth less.”

Liu Feng rubbed his chin. “In the right circles, you could probably get ten thousand. The book contains quite a few of my own insights into the technique."

Ten thousand. That was more spirit stones than Wun Za had ever seen. Someone with that kind of wealth would be considered rich even among cultivators. Yet, instead of excitement, he felt strangely empty.

Liu Feng placed a hand on his shoulder and helped him back to his feet.

“Anyway,” Liu Feng said as he turned to leave, “try to squeeze as many spirit stones out of it as you can. They'll become cultivation resources. And who knows? You might even break through to Foundation Establishment before turning fifty.”

The group of blue-robed women quietly followed behind him. As they walked past, the young women, none of whom looked older than their early twenties, with some appearing even younger, briefly glanced at Wun Za.

It was a look he knew well. A look he'd endured his entire life. Once, it came from wealthy newcomers he had guided through the city as a child. Later, it came from cultivators born into powerful families. No matter how much he climbed, that look never changed.

Wun Za sighed. He pulled the book from inside his robe and stared at it.

“What am I even doing with my life?” he muttered.

There was no one around to answer. He had drifted through life more on instinct than by choosing what to do next. He became a cultivator because he'd stumbled across a corpse and continued cultivating because he happened to possess a little talent.

Then he spent decades living an utterly mediocre life. He came to Wisdom Hall because it sounded like another opportunity. Even if it seemed far too good to be true. With monsters swallowing more and more of the continent, nowhere was truly safe anymore.

"What a life," he sighed and dusted his clothes.

Head lowered, Wun Za returned to the library pagoda. This time, he openly carried the book in his hand. There, he found Liu Feng again with the same group of girls standing nearby. Unlike before, they weren't trying to hide the disgust on their faces. They looked at him as though he were garbage.

Who even were these people?

Wun Za might've gone over and picked a fight with them. If they weren't all so ridiculously attractive. Also, they were likely stronger than him. Not everyone was qualified to follow the Hall Master around.

“Girls,” Liu Feng said without looking up from the documents in his hands, “I know the Azure Frost Sect has an impressive reputation. But I'd rather you didn't look at my people like that.”

“But Lord Feng,” one of the girls protested. She looked no older than sixteen, with delicate features and a peach-like face. “He openly intended to steal techniques and sell them to some second-rate merchants for less than a quarter of their value. I think Wisdom Hall should establish a proper disciplinary hall and make an example out of him.”

Wun Za frowned, but he didn't argue. He had already pushed his luck far enough. The last thing he wanted was to find out whether Liu Feng truly meant everything he'd said… Or whether he planned to kill him afterward.

“Well,” Liu Feng said as he finally finished reading through the documents in his hands. He looked toward the girls and flicked each of them a blue card. “This is a Wisdom Hall membership card. You're free to wander through the library and borrow as many books as you'd like. Just remember to return whatever you take, and if you want to bring anything beyond Wisdom Hall's borders, simply make a copy.”

The girl who had spoken so boldly stared at the card in her hand, and a faint blush crept across her face. “But... Lord Feng...”

“Don't worry.” Liu Feng smiled knowingly. "You can belong to both Wisdom Hall and the Azure Frost Sect. You're a member of my organization. But you owe me no allegiance. Nor are you obligated to defend me or these lands.”

Liu Feng's smile widened, as if he knew a secret no one else did. “If you'd rather quietly copy techniques without openly admitting it, that's perfectly fine. But some people will do it openly. I won't punish either.”

Wun Za simply stared. Even with his limited experience, he understood just how absurd this was. It was like someone walking into your home, loading your belongings into a cart. While you calmly sat nearby drinking tea.

What exactly was Liu Feng trying to accomplish? None of this made any sense.

Wun Za had never heard of anyone behaving this way. But that wasn't really his concern. If Wisdom Hall eventually burned to the ground, he'd simply walk away. Just like he always had.

These girls came from the Azure Frost Sect. From what Liu Feng had said, they were obviously here to copy techniques for their sect. Techniques Liu Feng himself had created.

Yet he didn't seem the slightest bit interested in stopping them.

Wun Za barely knew the Hall Master. Even so, he had the strange feeling that it wouldn't be long before the other Great Sects came to claim their share as well.

And after them, the smaller sects. Would Liu Feng stop them from copying whatever books and techniques they wanted?

Somehow, Wun Za doubted it. Which also meant his own little business would soon disappear. There was no point selling copied techniques to ordinary farmers. His customers had always been small and medium-sized clans willing to spend over a hundred spirit stones.

But why would they buy from him anymore? All they had to do was send someone to Wisdom Hall. Everything here was free.

“Oh, by the way,” Liu Feng said with a smile. “I'll soon be adding several new sensory techniques to the library collection. They'll have their own bookshelf. Some can detect mental energy. Others can sense spatial fluctuations. There are even a few niche techniques, for example, detecting Yin Qi. Although that one becomes somewhat unreliable during a full moon.”

Liu Feng continued smiling as though he'd merely announced tomorrow's weather. Meanwhile, the eyes of the Azure Frost disciples sharpened like drawn blades. They looked around the library like hungry snakes that had just discovered a field full of prey.

What in the world is this guy planning?

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