Era of Mist

The job posting was clear: meals provided, but not housing. Of course, "meals provided" didn’t mean he’d get his own private kitchen or specially prepared dishes. What it meant was he could have a meal with the other workers in the cafeteria before or after his shift.

It was a little after 8:00 AM, and the cafeteria was serving food. Since the workers were also on an eight-hour, three-shift system, other mealtimes also coincided with shift changes.

Shi Tiexin went to the window and got a meal. It looked greasy and full of meat, with a mountain of white rice piled high. He looked down at the sauce, especially at all the meat swimming in it. The aroma was incredibly fragrant.

But most of the workers around him looked resentful at the sight of the food. Some of the more hot-tempered ones even cursed under their breath. Shi Tiexin was used to it.

The workers at the Meat Processing Plant didn’t like to eat the meat they produced themselves. As for why, the full-time workers on the production line weren’t willing to talk about it with a temp like him.

The security checkpoint guard was a position that tended to offend people. Here, Shi Tiexin was ostracized and isolated. When it was crowded, people would even deliberately take his seat, driving him away with sarcastic remarks.

So, Shi Tiexin always found a corner to eat by himself in silence.

The food smelled fragrant, so much so that it was almost cloying, but Shi Tiexin ate without tasting a thing. He shoveled rice into his mouth, his mind racing.

He was facing a huge problem.

One word—money.

The kind of money you use to pay off debts, the kind that proves even a single penny can fell a hero!

This job was tough, but Shi Tiexin wasn’t afraid of hard work. The problem was that working as a shift-based security guard made it difficult to find other jobs. He’d spent the last two days trying, but every position he could find required long hours of intense physical labor, which conflicted with his security shifts.

It wasn’t that short-term, hourly jobs didn’t exist, but they often required a certain level of Heart Skill and Strength Skill to qualify. The high-paying ones, in particular, had ridiculously high requirements.

Shi Tiexin had tried applying for a temporary supermarket stock-taker position, confident that his calculation skills were more than adequate. One ad offered fifty points an hour—an astronomical wage. But when he got there, he found his competitors were all at Heart Skill Second Level, or even the third level and above.

One girl, in particular, he estimated might even be at the fourth level of basic Heart Skill. With just a glance, she could rapidly calculate the total price of an entire cart of goods, leaving Shi Tiexin dumbfounded.

He’d tried it too. His calculation accuracy was just as good as the girl’s, but his speed was far inferior. At times like this, claiming he was at the Perfect Realm of the first level was useless. The job didn’t require complex composite calculations, just simple addition and, at most, subtracting some discounts. As long as you had an Excellent Realm and made no mistakes, the fastest person got the job.

Out-skilled and with nothing to say for his defeat, Shi Tiexin could only leave the supermarket in dejection.

Other high-paying hourly jobs were much the same, mostly snapped up by high-level Cultivators looking to make some extra cash on the side.

Back at Fengming First Middle School, a Cultivator was an extraordinary and rare sight, with opportunities flocking to them. But not here, not in this world where everyone cultivated and the Martial Dao flourished. In Tumu Castle, a Cultivator at the second major realm or higher might be considered valuable, but those at the second, third, or even fourth level of the first major realm were not rare at all.

Naturally, Shi Tiexin couldn’t compete with them.

In many cases, a flourishing Martial Dao and universal cultivation didn’t mean more opportunities for those at the bottom. In fact, it was the opposite. The more widespread cultivation became, the harder it was for the lower class to obtain resources and opportunities, making it even harder for them to cultivate. It was a vicious cycle that quickly left them far behind their peers from wealthier families. Most of the time, this was a gap that couldn’t be closed by hard work alone.

Growing up, Shi Tiexin had often felt that this was a hopeless world.

There was an old saying: he who is not afraid of being cut to pieces dares to unhorse the emperor. In the past, even the supreme ruler of the mortal world was just flesh and blood. There were times they had to be wary, to compromise. If they truly risked everything, even a lowborn could drag down a superior and cut them down.

But it wasn’t like that anymore.

Resources and opportunities were all monopolized. Even if you risked your life, it was useless. Ten Shi Tiexins together couldn’t beat Nurse Sister Shi Yu Hui, let alone those higher-level, more powerful Cultivators. In the eyes of those masters at the Second Layer or even the Third Layer Heaven, Shi Tiexin was probably nothing more than a speck of dust, not even worth a mention.

If it weren’t for the restraints of the law, if they decided not to let the lower class survive, there would be truly nothing the lower class could do.

Getting back to the topic of part-time work, after careful consideration, Shi Tiexin realized there wasn’t a single hourly job suitable for him. He wasn’t afraid of hardship or exhaustion, but the hourly jobs he could do just didn’t pay enough for the effort. Even if he worked himself to death, he still wouldn’t make enough money to pay off his debt.

Besides, the security job was exhausting too. If he became too fatigued and made a mistake while on duty at the checkpoint, it would only lead to more trouble.

The most crucial thing was his Verbal Arts cultivation.

’If I spend too much time on part-time jobs, how will I advance my Verbal Arts? My Verbal Arts only has a few notches left. If there was no way to reach the Perfect Realm, I wouldn’t agonize over it; I’d just break through and start cultivating the second level. But since the Perfect Realm is right in front of me, and the Celestial Golden Light is already prepared, there’s no way I can give up on these last few notches.’

’I don’t just have to achieve perfection, I have to do it fast!’

’I have to break through with the Perfect Realm before the qualification test and rush to at least a passing grade in the second level!’

’But the consequences of having my credit rating lowered for not paying my debt are also serious... Fuck, who was the good Samaritan who sent me to the hospital anyway? If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be in this fucking mess! I could’ve just stayed cooped up in the Orphanage, practicing calligraphy and sleeping, sleeping and practicing. I would have finished the first level’s Perfect Realm long ago!’

’And with my current recovery rate, I would have been perfectly fine in a few days anyway, with no side effects at all. Some "good Samaritan" shoved me into a pit of debt and left me stuck between a rock and a hard place. I... I... I, son of a bitch, of course I can’t curse someone out for doing a good deed, but I’m really fucking losing my mind right now!’

’So, when all is said and done, how the hell am I supposed to make a lot of money, quickly and easily?’

’Hmm... the normal ways are definitely out...’

’Mmm—I need to think of some clever, unconventional method. One that matches my abilities. What special talents do I have... special... especially long...’

’Huh?!’

’Why did Captain Chen’s "related work" suddenly pop into my head?! No, no, that idea is too dangerous. I need to kill it right now. Even though I, Shi Tiexin, am handsome, dashing, and charming enough to make any young lady swoon, I can’t do "related work"—who knows if the client would even be a young lady?’

’What if it’s an old aunty?’

’What if it’s Brother Lao Hei!’

’Better keep thinking of other ideas. Right now, what’s my most outstanding ability... besides that big water pipe... what else is there...’

"Yo, hi, can I sit here?" A young man, also in a security uniform, with a sunny expression, ran up to Shi Tiexin’s side. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of white teeth. "Hi, hi! My name is Si Chongtian. I’m new here today. Please show me the ropes, senior!"