Steady Cultivation: Starting With the Perk “Work Hard, Rest Hard” Chapter 2: Selecting Cultivation Techniques!

Two quarters of an hour passed. 

The second round of incense burning concluded. 

Those disciples positioned behind the Valley Master had advanced to the ninth row, where almost five hundred had managed to draw Qi into their bodies successfully! 

Over five hundred more hadn't yet drawn Qi and had to stay put, anticipating their third try. 

Right then, the Valley Master called over a young disciple and gave him twelve sticks of Spirit Drawing Incense to handle the third round of Qi drawing. 

Afterward, the Valley Master grinned contentedly at the successful Qi-drawing disciples and declared, “Now, I'll guide you to the Scripture Pavilion where you can choose your beginner cultivation techniques!” 

With a sweep of his hand from the Valley Master, a surge of green light enveloped the group. 

Su Yuan suddenly felt as nimble as a bird, and the sharp hunger pangs in his belly disappeared right away. His energy surged back, fully restored. 

“Hmph, the perks of immortal cultivation are truly handy!” Su Yuan mused inwardly. 

The over five hundred disciples trailed behind on the ground, soon reaching the front of that edifice. Indeed, the signboard over the entrance displayed “Scripture Pavilion.” 

“First-row disciples, step inside first!” the elder gestured to the assembly. 

So, the fifty in the first row proceeded inside steadily. 

The rest of the disciples displayed looks of envy. 

Only after the elder went in did hushed murmurs erupt among the waiting crowd. 

“Wow, I hear that in this group of Immortal Seeds, two possess supreme Spirit Roots?” 

“One is Ye Bufan with a supreme dual Spirit Root, and the other is Liu Muwan with a supreme triple Spirit Root. Sadly, neither has a single Spirit Root, making Nascent Soul breakthrough a real challenge!” 

“Ha, why worry about them? With your mid-grade quadruple Spirit Root, even reaching Foundation Establishment is out of reach!” 

“Heh, still far better than a low-grade Spirit Root!” 

A person whispered to himself, “I need to get into the outer sect. If not, hitting the fourth layer of Qi Refining would drag on for eight or nine years; outer sect cuts it down to just three years!” 

“One lead early means leads forever—hope I snag a profound-grade cultivation technique!” another fretted over the selection ahead. 

Su Yuan overheard quietly, picking up on the heavy pressure weighing on the disciples, particularly in his sixth row and the fifth row in front. Everyone buzzed with resolve, striving to crack the top two hundred come the March assessment's close. Su Yuan realized that even prior to true cultivation, the rivalry burned hot. 

Such eagerness among the disciples came as no shock. 

The divide between outer sect disciples and those stuck with miscellaneous duties loomed enormously vast! 

In terms of workload, resource abundance, variety of Daoist arts, and elder mentorship—differences gaped wide! 

Su Yuan himself yearned to join the outer sect. 

Soon enough, the first row's fifty disciples started filtering out. 

Cheers and gasps rose from up front. 

“Whoa, Ye Bufan snagged an earth-rank supreme cultivation technique!” 

“Incredible! The other supreme Spirit Root holder got an earth-rank high-grade one too! So envious!” 

Exclamations rippled through as the pair of supreme Spirit Root disciples claimed spots at the forefront, exuding pride. Ye Bufan, the young man, emanated a genius's unmatched vibe. 

Apart from the supreme ones, a few high-grade Spirit Root disciples also claimed earth-rank low-grade techniques, drawing jealous stares. The majority of high-grade Spirit Roots settled for profound-grade supreme ones. 

Though these methods were all geared for the Qi Refining stage and appeared alike at first glance, superior grades offered greater potential. Crucially, they amplified early progress immensely—some accelerated training manifold, while others solidified spirit energy, bypassing tedious refinement, rendering them leagues above the basics. 

“Second-row disciples, come in!” the elder's call echoed from within the structure. 

The second row's group hurried inside, hearts pounding with anxiety. 

While Su Yuan eyed the Scripture Pavilion, a poke came from beside him. 

He looked over to find a youth clad in fine garb. 

“Yo, kid, what's your name?” the youth queried, head cocked in haughty fashion. 

“Su Yuan. And yours?” Su Yuan responded. 

“Zhang Wei here, sixth young master of the Zhang clan. We dominate the magical artifact trade!” The youth beamed with arrogance. 

Su Yuan paused expectantly but got nothing more, then rubbed his head and prompted, “So?” 

Zhang Wei blinked in surprise. Why didn't Su Yuan fawn like his brother would? 

“Our business spans vast, pulling in over ten thousand spirit stones each day!” Zhang Wei pressed on. 

“How many spirit stones you carrying now?” Su Yuan's gaze sparked as he inquired. 

“...Zero!” 

“Pfft! Fibber!” Su Yuan scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

Zhang Wei flustered, “Wait, Immortal Seed Valley rules ban outside items!” 

“Alright, I'll buy it this time. But what's your angle with all this?” Su Yuan got straight to it. 

Zhang Wei faltered, then bent close and murmured, “They hand out fragment spirit stones daily in Immortal Seed Valley. Hand yours over to me, and once we're out, I'll repay a thousand times over!” 

With Su Yuan unmoved, he added, “You're miles from outer sect eligibility anyhow. As a miscellaneous disciple, trading worthless fragments for real low-grade spirit stones—sounds like a win, right?” 

Fragment spirit stones were mere shards, holding scant spiritual energy and minimal worth. A hundred made a full one. Zhang Wei scorned them usually, yet in Immortal Seed Valley, they ranked as top cultivation aids. 

Su Yuan blinked in astonishment, “That isn't allowed, is it?” 

“On paper, sure, but in practice, they overlook it. It offers low-talent folks a shot at spirit stones for initial cultivation—a subtle aid to disciples! Thus, the leaders wink at it. Plus, it gauges a disciple's networking, flexibility, and foresight.” 

“Who fed you that info?” 

“My brother!” Zhang Wei slipped, then backpedaled, “Er, I deduced it myself!” 

Su Yuan eyed him doubtfully. 

Zhang Wei's cheeks tinted red. 

“You can't handle this solo. Eight hundred plus miscellaneous disciples out there!” Su Yuan pointed out. 

“Aiming for four or five on average suffices! Twenty for safety's sake!” Zhang Wei replied earnestly. 

The rivalry here hit hard? 

Su Yuan inwardly reeled. 

He pondered deeply. Things looked grimmer than he'd figured. He craved outer sect entry; resources demanded earning. He'd assumed talent and insight sufficed, but clearly, layers complicated it. Lacking connections or gifts, early backing eluded him. 

‘This immortal path cuts deep. Fingers crossed my traits pull through!’ Su Yuan reflected quietly. 

He shook his head toward Zhang Wei, “No thanks, I'm gunning for outer sect!” 

Zhang Wei stared at Su Yuan, astonished, plainly skeptical. 

“Low-grade dual Spirit Root for me; odds aren't zero. You?” Zhang Wei shook his head. 

That a dig? 

Su Yuan peeked at his system interface. 

[Name]: Su Yuan 

[Region]: Green Vine Continent 

[Rank]: Unknown (1/100) 

[Realm]: Qi Refining Stage Level One (0/100) 

[Attribute 1]: Work Hard, Rest Hard: You excel at work-rest balance. Extended rest yields superior cultivation gains. Current rest: 0.8 shichen 

[Attribute 2]: To be unlocked 

Su Yuan settled instantly. System in hand, outer sect entry would come easy. With effort, inner sect lay within reach! 

That fueled his assurance. 

Zhang Wei regarded Su Yuan puzzledly before chatting up others. 

Post-Su Yuan exchange, Zhang Wei flowed better, striking apparent deals with nearby folks after a few words. 

Su Yuan spotted the smug grin lighting Zhang Wei's face. 

The cultivation realm's spoiled heirs in action? 

Beyond Zhang Wei, similar maneuvers unfolded elsewhere. Plenty of affluent types indeed! 

Before long, the sixth row's moment arrived. 

Su Yuan trailed the group into the Scripture Pavilion! 

Against his expectations, the interior held numerous faint orbs of light. Scanning around, over a thousand orbs dotted the space! 

The Valley Master instructed, “Feel free to test the light spheres based on your Spirit Root's quality and count. A glow means you're suited to practice that technique. Brighter glow signals stronger gains. Start choosing!” 

Su Yuan froze. This counted as... selecting cultivation arts? 

He watched as certain disciples probed the orbs, sparking glimmers. 

Zhang Wei advanced steadily to the Gold-Water Spirit Root section, brushing past orbs and tapping them briskly. 

Su Yuan reached the zone for Fire, Metal, Wood triple Spirit Roots. Descriptions lay under each orb. 

Some focused on pure fire attribute spirit energy; others blended fire-wood dual traits, with a few mixing all three. 

Su Yuan tested them sequentially. 

Certain orbs illuminated, others faded, yet overall, the intensity climbed steadily. Around one-fifth along, it hit maximum, then tapered off further in. 

Su Yuan got it: later techniques required steeper aptitude, dropping his match naturally. 

By rights, as a transmigrator, Su Yuan ought to push to advanced picks, irk elders, draw scrutiny, gain renown, trigger his second system trait, hasten progress, stun the masses, climb sect ranks, and ultimately... perish! 

Su Yuan cast a lingering glance into the Scripture Pavilion's depths before pivoting back! 

Back by the peak glow zone, he spotted three top-shining orbs. They linked to a pure Wood attribute method named “Burning Wood Technique,” a Metal-Fire dual one dubbed “Spirit Tempering Technique,” and a Wood-Metal-Fire triple called “Burning Wood Spirit Tempering Technique.” 

Su Yuan eyed the trio's titles curiously. Why the segmented designs? 

He craved the full set! 

Su Yuan positioned himself at the “Burning Wood Spirit Tempering Technique” and touched his brow to it. 

Instantly, a torrent of info surged into his thoughts, sparking mild headache. Luckily, it was mere rote learning, and the method's potency ensured flawless recall! 

“Yellow-rank supreme ‘Burning Wood Spirit Tempering Technique’?” 

Yellow rank it was, but supreme grade fortunately! He'd noted mid-grade Spirit Roots grabbing similar yellow-rank picks. 

“Selection done? Exit now!” 

The Valley Master's words reached Su Yuan. 

Su Yuan dashed out, paid respects to the Valley Master, and left the Scripture Pavilion. Right outside stood Zhang Wei. 

Zhang Wei's eyes lit up, querying, “What grade technique did you get?” 

“Yellow-rank supreme!” Su Yuan grinned. 

“Mine's profound-grade low. Surprised my top match was just profound-grade low! Outer sect spot's locked tighter now!” Zhang Wei boasted with a cocky grin. 

Su Yuan's grin faded as he walked off. 

“Hold up, wait!”