"Although I am only a novice disciple now, at least I have become a disciple of the Hidden Dragon Sect. I believe that as long as I work hard, I will eventually become an outer disciple and even an inner disciple!"
The sixteen-year-old youth braced himself and walked toward the door.
His name was Qin Yi, a transmigrator from Earth.
When he first transmigrated into this world, he had been a ten-year-old orphan living in a simple house left behind by his late parents, together with his one-year-old younger brother.
However, they were not entirely poor or without support. Qin Yi and his younger brother still had an aunt who was the mayor's wife.
Therefore, although they were orphans, their lives were relatively comfortable, and no one dared to cause them trouble.
When Qin Yi turned eleven, a mysterious man came to his door and asked him to take care of a baby.
At first, he wanted to refuse. His house was not some kind of orphanage, after all. However, the mysterious man offered a large amount of gold as payment for raising the child.
How could he refuse?
Even though he was not living in poverty, there was nothing wrong with earning more money, right?
No matter the world, the temptation of money was difficult to resist.
Moreover, it was just taking care of a baby.
He had already been raising his younger brother since transmigrating; adding one more infant would not be a problem.
He did not know whether it was a curse or a blessing, but ever since he took in that mysterious baby, his "affinity" with infants had inexplicably increased.
On his way home from the market one day, Qin Yi found an abandoned baby girl on the street. Unable to bear leaving her there, he brought her home.
Later, news of his benevolent act spread throughout the town, and some people began sending their parentless babies to his house.
Qin Yi wanted to refuse decisively, but once again, money… oh, money.
He felt ashamed of his true motive. Therefore, he swore to take good care of the children and never treat them unfairly.
Five years later, Qin Yi had already adopted nine abandoned children, unknowingly turning his home into something akin to an orphanage.
However, in this world, no one knew the term "orphanage." Perhaps only Qin Yi was familiar with it, and he was also the first and likely the only person to establish one in this world.
For that reason, he developed it quietly and named it Little Stars Orphanage.
At the same time, the long-absent mysterious man appeared once again.
Qin Yi initially thought the man had come to take his child back, but he was mistaken.
The mysterious man merely observed the baby from afar and had no intention of approaching.
Sometimes, Qin Yi wondered why the man had left his child with someone else in the first place if he could not truly let go.
However, it was not Qin Yi's place to concern himself with such matters. It was none of his business.
He had been paid, and the mysterious man did not seem to harbor any ill intentions toward him. So, he simply let things take their natural course.
Before disappearing once more, the mysterious man left Qin Yi a letter and a token.
And thanks to that token, Qin Yi somehow managed to enter the Hidden Dragon Sect.
Five years ago, when he realized he had transmigrated into another world, he had been excited, confused, and slightly afraid.
Qin Yi had thought he had arrived in a world where people could move mountains and split seas, just like in the novels he used to read. However, after living here for five years without witnessing even the slightest supernatural phenomenon, he began to doubt his fantasies about this world.
Perhaps he had merely crossed into another ordinary world—a backward one where even the internet and cell phones did not exist.
It was simply a dull world.
Then why had "God" sent him here in the first place?
To make up the numbers?
An accident?
Or just for amusement?
Whenever Qin Yi thought about this, he felt like crying, yet no tears would come.
However, after receiving the token from the mysterious man, he finally regained his long-lost hope for a supernatural life in this world.
He was excited and nervous at the same time.
What if… what if this was just another cruel joke, like when "God" had forcibly thrown him into this world?
Yet he could not suppress his curiosity.
So, in order to find the answer, he gathered his courage and decided to head to the location written in the letter. Even if what awaited him was nothing but empty hope, it would not matter.
At worst, he could simply return and continue living peacefully, taking care of the children at Little Stars Orphanage.
A year later, after Qin Yi finished arranging everything at the orphanage, he finally set off on his journey to the place mentioned in the mysterious man's letter.
He was not overly worried about his younger brother and the children at the orphanage, as his aunt had promised to take care of them in his absence.
As long as his aunt remained there, no one would dare cause trouble at the orphanage. Because of this, he felt at ease leaving them for the time being.
He promised to send a letter to his younger brother every year and to return home as soon as possible.
***
The Sacred Continent was divided into four major regions:
The eastern region was known as the Azure Dragon Region.
The northern region was known as the White Tiger Region.
The southern region was known as the Black Tortoise Region.
The western region was known as the Vermilion Bird Region.
Each region seemed boundless, and they were separated from one another by the Endless River.
The Azure Dragon Region was renowned as the Land of Ten Thousand Sects. It was a territory governed by countless sects, with the Hidden Dragon Sect standing tall as one of the great sects within the region.
The Hidden Dragon Sect possessed a profound foundation. Although it had declined in recent years, it still ranked among the top fifty sects.
Through the token given by the mysterious man, Qin Yi successfully entered the Hidden Dragon Sect through the back door.
Under normal circumstances, that token would have allowed him to enter directly as an outer disciple or even an inner disciple. However, because his martial aptitude was only low-grade and he had begun cultivating at an older age, he was assigned to the Novices' Quarter and became a novice disciple instead.
As Qin Yi walked to the door, he saw dozens of novice disciples in grey robes. He walked over and stood somewhere behind the group.
"Alright, listen! Since you became a novice disciple of the Hidden Dragon Sect. From now on, you are isolated from the mortal world and will work peacefully as an unofficial disciple."
At this time, a man with a long face and sharp eyes spoke. He is Deacon Liu, the one who charged in the Novices' Quarter.
"As a novice disciple, your job is to stay in this place for a maximum of five years. Your food is covered by the sect, and all you need to do is keep the Novices' Quarter clean, chop wood to warm yourselves, wash your own clothes, and the last one is to cultivate yourself. Basically, everything you do is for yourself."
"In the five years you have cultivated in the Novices' Quarter, if any of you manage to step into the first Stage of Qi Condensation, you will be immediately admitted to the outer sect. The sooner the better."
"However, if you are still unable to step into the first Stage of Qi Condensation within five years, the sect will have no other choice but to kick you out and will never again give you the opportunity to cultivate in this sect."
"Living as a novice disciple is going to be tough. However, do not be discouraged; every powerhouse needs to experience hardship. These minor hardships are nothing in the path of becoming a great cultivator."
The Deacon finished his encouragement and paused, then continued:
"Alright, that's all I can say. Spread out now and do your best to pull yourself together in this place!"
The novice disciples then left one after another.
Qin Yi also took a broom and walked towards the closest building.
All he needed to do was keep this place clean. Fortunately, he was not alone: otherwise, he would have died from exhaustion.
After all, Novices' Quarter is too huge for himself to clean.
Qin Yi turned his head towards the outer sect gate, which was not too far from his sight.
It was close but out of reach.
He was silent for a moment, then muttered: "I swear, I will enter there and become an official disciple of the Sleeping Dragon Sect!"
The flame ignited inside his heart as the spirit keep reminds him to work hard.
He snapped out and began his work.
Time passed as the sky began to close the curtains.
Soon, Qin Yi returned to his wooden house.
At the same time, the Deacon started to distributed cultivation handbooks for novice disciples. Though, it was only the basic cultivation technique in the sect. However, it is still better than nothing.
Qin Yi's house.
"You can practice cultivation in your time off. If you manage to reach the First Stage of Qi Condensation, then you will be promoted to the outer sect." The Deacon flicked his wide sleeve.
After that, a small booklet, upon the cover of three characters, wrote: "Qi Condensation Manual."
As soon as Qin Yi laid eyes on the characters, he began to breathe hard.
This small booklet is a legendary cultivation manual!
A small booklet that can turn an ordinary human into a legendary cultivator!
He was about to receive it, but he was interrupted by a sudden mechanical voice that resounded in his ears.
[Detected, the Host meets the activation requirements…]
[The system is now being activated…]
[Activation is successful, the Host can now start the extraction.]
"System?"
"Extraction?"
Qin Yi's pupils slightly shrunk.
Legendary Golden Finger!
It has been six years since he crossed over this world, and his Golden Finger finally arrived!
Qin Yi's thoughts quickly moved. He tentatively asked: "Ugh... What does extraction mean?"
[Host can perform extraction on anything in the world. Whenever the Host performed the extraction, the Host will gain everything from the target.]
The mechanical voice sounded in Qin Yi's ear.
"I can perform the extraction on anything?"
Qin Yi muttered to himself. It was a bit unbelievable to hear.
"What?" The Deacon frowned.
"Ugh, nothing, Sir." Qin Yi scratching his nose embarrassedly and hurriedly makes an excuse, "I was too excited after receiving the cultivation manual for the first time."
The Deacon nodded as if he understood Qin Yi's current mood. He is just quite dissatisfied with Qin Yi's attitude for not properly listen to his explanation.
Forget it. This boy could only blame himself if his cultivation goes wrong!
The Deacon flicked his sleeve and left.
Upon watching the deacon figure disappeared, the original Qin Yi's respectful face broke into a smile.