Yunzhou, Changshan County.
Dressed in simple work clothes with a wood-cutting knife at his waist, Chen Che sprinted all the way to the village entrance. He bowed to an old man in his fifties who was standing there. The man had a round face, and the wrinkles on his forehead resembled the character for 'king'.
"Master Hu!"
The old man had been gazing at the Spirit Field. He turned his head upon hearing the voice.
"Ah Che, you're here?"
Seemingly aware of the young man's expectations, he got straight to the point. "My apologies, Jinyun Valley has not accepted you. Although you have a Middle Grade Spirit Root, the Valley has always only accepted disciples with a High Grade Spirit Root. You've waited a whole year for nothing!"
Although his words carried a hint of apology, Master Hu's posture showed no remorse at all. He continued to leisurely rotate two jade balls in his hand.
"A High Grade Spirit Root!"
Chen Che raised an eyebrow but still managed a smile. "Whether it worked out or not, I can't blame you, sir. I gave it a shot. Since the Upper Immortals don't think I'm worthy, I'll just give up on the idea completely."
"You're taking it quite well."
Master Hu chuckled, the jade balls in his hand spinning faster. "Although Jinyun Valley didn't agree, well..."
"I understand the customs."
Chen Che handed over a bag of Spiritual Sand. "This is for your trouble."
"You're certainly direct. I thought I'd have to use a few tricks."
He was an Outer Sect Steward of Jinshan Valley, and he came here every autumn harvest to collect Spirit Valley.
During this time, families with children would all try their luck, hoping to use the opportunity to join Jinyun Valley. Upon learning of their rejection, some would weep and wail, while others would refuse to accept the outcome.
But few were as straightforward as Chen Che...
Thinking of this, Master Hu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Ah Che, I see your steps are steady and your aura is stable. Could it be you've found another connection?"
"I wouldn't dare hide it from you, Master Hu!"
Chen Che smiled. "A few days ago, I met an Upper Immortal who taught me a thing or two."
'Some Upper Immortal? More like a wandering Loose Cultivator with no fixed abode!'
Master Hu grumbled inwardly but didn't press the matter. He weighed the Spiritual Sand in his hand and instantly knew the amount.
"Is there anything else?"
Chen Che knew this was a dismissal, so he cupped his hands in a farewell gesture.
"I'll be taking my leave then."
"Another one trying to reach the heavens in a single step..."
Watching Chen Che's departing figure and glancing over the farmers in the Spirit Field—faces to the yellow earth, backs to the sky—Master Hu slowly shook his head.
"But it's normal. The more hopeless these peasant farmers are, the more they yearn for a meteoric rise..."
...
Despite the rejection, Chen Che's mood was not affected in the slightest.
He walked briskly through the Spirit Field.
Before long, he arrived at a solitary thatched hut standing by the riverbank.
Pushing the door open, he found the interior sparsely furnished; calling it "a household of four bare walls" would not be an exaggeration. All he could see was a bed, a stove, and a rice vat.
On the table was a dinner that had already gone cold.
This was his 'home' in this life.
'Sure enough. Trying to change your fate in this world is as hard as climbing to the heavens...'
That was right. Chen Che was not from this world. His predecessor had been the son of a farming family.
They were affiliated with Jinyun Valley, specializing in cultivating the Spirit Fields, and their lives were decent enough.
But the good times didn't last. One day, his father caught a chill and passed away, and his mother followed soon after, dying of grief. Because the original Chen Che was young and timid, his uncle's family seized his farmland under the pretext of 'managing it on his behalf'.
Unable to see a way out, he chose to end his own life by jumping into the river.
At the brink of death, he awakened his Innate Wisdom.
Seeing that survival was unlikely, Chen Che let a ruthless impulse take over. He went to their door with a knife and set their house on fire, only then managing to reclaim his farmland.
Several years had passed since then.
It was just that this world was a difficult place to survive.
Even with the experience of two lives, he had exhausted all his strength just to get a firm foothold.
However, now that he had come to a world where Immortal Demons existed and was faced with the Immortals who had only been legends in his past life, it was impossible for him not to feel a sliver of anticipation. How could he be content with being a farmer, face to the earth and back to the sky, for his entire life?
And so, a year ago, when Master Hu came to collect the grain, he had made this connection.
Only today had the man finally given him a reply.
'In this world, Cultivation is difficult, but survival is even harder! The news of my rejection by Master Hu will spread soon enough, and I don't know how many people are waiting to laugh at my expense. Too bad I'll have to disappoint you all...'
'Because I have a golden finger!'
Chen Che smiled faintly. With a single thought, he vanished from the thatched hut.
...
Air conditioner, ceiling lights, computer.
A soft couch, a bed.
With a SWOOSH, he pulled back the curtains. A soft ray of sunlight spilled in, illuminating the bedroom. His view was of neatly trimmed greenery, and a large scrolling screen in the center of the residential complex was constantly playing various advertisements. This was clearly a decent neighborhood.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed he had entered another world.
And in fact, that was exactly what had happened.
Not long after making his connection with Master Hu, he had discovered an Ancient Seal in the river.
The moment his fingertip touched the Ancient Seal, it transformed into a rainbow-hued light, shot into his mind in an instant, and transported him to a world called 'Earth Element Star'.
After some investigation, he learned that this world also had Immortal Demons.
However, because it had experienced the 'Calamity of Heaven's Fall' five hundred years ago, this world had entered a 'New Era'.
The old situation of numerous competing Sects, each jealously guarding its own secrets, was shattered. A policy of universal Cultivation was implemented to ensure that not a single Immortal Seed was overlooked. Any student with a Spiritual Root, even a Low-grade Spirit Root, could enter a high school for Cultivation.
If their grades were good enough in the future, they could even test into a Daoist School for further studies.
Pursuing the Dao to achieve long life was not an impossibility.
At the same time, thanks to the development of modern technology, the standard of living for ordinary people was also gradually improving.
Thus, Earth Element Star had developed into an urban society with technology far surpassing that of his previous life on Earth. And Chen Che, through a series of coincidences, had become a transfer student at the Six Continents Immortal Sect First Middle School, where he had now been for over half a year.
After this summer break, he would be a sophomore.
Faced with Master Hu's rejection, not only was Chen Che not the least bit upset, he actually found it somewhat amusing.
'A High Grade Spirit Root? For a sect that small, their standards are pretty high!'
The corners of Chen Che's mouth lifted.
Although Jinyuan Valley was the largest Cultivation gateway within a thousand miles, it only had one Foundation Establishment Ancestor, about ten Late-stage Qi Refining Major Cultivators, and no more than two hundred other disciples.
Disciples who entered the Valley had to chop wood for two years, serve tea for two years, and pay respects to their masters for two years. Only after these six years would the Valley impart some basic knowledge. If they couldn't achieve a breakthrough by a certain time, they would be expelled from the sect.
But at First Middle School...
...a single grade level had as many as two thousand students.
There were over a hundred students at Late-stage Qi Refining.
Not to mention the teachers with rich teaching experience, the various subject heads, the grade-level directors...
There were a total of forty-four high schools in the Six Continents.
Seven of which were Xianmen High Schools.
The reason he hadn't abandoned 'Yunzhou' was that there seemed to be a huge difference in resources between the two worlds.
He set down his wood-cutting knife, took off his work clothes, and casually tied up his long hair. In this world, many people dressed in an ancient style, so he wouldn't attract any attention. Just as he finished changing into his school uniform, his phone started ringing. DING-DONG! DING-DONG!
He skillfully picked it up, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and put it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Chen Che!"
A frantic voice shouted from the phone, "Hurry up and open the door!"
After opening the door, he saw a student with a round head, a somewhat cunning and lively glint in his eyes, wearing the same school uniform as him.
Lin Yi.
High Grade Spirit Root, his deskmate.
Lin Yi complained as he glanced at his phone, "I've been calling you for so long and knocking on the door forever with no response. I thought you'd transmigrated or something!"
That's right, he was also a huge novel fanatic.
Chen Che wasn't flustered at all. "How did you know? I just got back from transmigrating."
"Tch! You think I'd believe that? You probably pulled an all-nighter cultivating again."
Lin Yi didn't believe him for a second.
The two of them walked out of the residential complex together.
Before them were tall buildings and bustling traffic, a scene strikingly similar to the metropolises of his previous life on Earth.
They stepped into First Middle School.
Groups of youthful faces in matching school uniforms passed by, laughing and clutching their books. On the sports field, some students practicing Body Refining were sprinting around the track. Sunlight fell on the academic building, reflecting softly off the old ceramic tiles.
He looked up.
The sky was so blue, and a deep breath brought a refreshing sense of comfort.
In an atmosphere like this, even one's mindset would become more youthful.
'If you don't look too closely, this place really isn't any different from a normal high school!'
Chen Che brazenly sized up his surroundings.
"Chen Che, what are you spacing out for? We need to hurry! First period is Old Li's class. If we're late, we're gonna get an earful." Lin Yi said as they walked. Suddenly, he remembered something and turned his head to ask:
"By the way, Chen Che, what's your Realm now?"
"Take a guess."
Lin Yi rubbed his chin, speculating with a serious expression, "Last semester you were only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. I doubt you reached the Fourth Layer over just one summer break."
"Is that so?"
Chen Che just smiled faintly.
He took out his phone and, right in front of Lin Yi, opened his personal data screen:
[Name: Chen Che]
[Age: 17]
[Realm: Qi Refining Fourth Layer]