Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

Once you've mastered the art of tree felling, it only takes you an hour to cut down a hemlock tree.

It's more than twice as fast as before.

Jiang Shi swung his sword forcefully at the hemlock tree, and the tree fell down with a crash.

Then he seized the time to cultivate the "Wood Spirit Technique".

[Proficiency +10]

[Wood Spirit Technique: Beginner (35/500)]

Yesterday's cultivation and today's two hemlock trees have increased his proficiency by a total of 35 points. At this rate, it won't be long before he can break through to the minor completion stage of the "Wood Spirit Technique".

Looking at this lush hemlock forest, he wondered how much his Wood Spirit Technique would grow if he could cut down all of these trees.

Jiang Shi was filled with motivation.

"Junior Brother Jiang, you are truly gifted," Chen Tao remarked as he approached Jiang Shi after he saw Jiang Shi chop down a hemlock tree.

"However, the most difficult part of cutting down the hemlock tree is not the felling itself, but the process of turning it into firewood."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shi thought about it and realized that it was indeed true; a hemlock tree weighed approximately 300 to 500 jin.

If it's just about felling trees, one tree a day, then you can cut 1000 jin in two days and complete the task in four days.

The task of 2000 jin per month is not difficult at all.

But the woodshed job was the worst because it involved cutting down trees for firewood.

Chen Tao only spent two or three days felling trees, and the rest of the time was used to cut firewood.

"But we've finished the tree-felling task for today. Now we still have to deliver firewood to the outer gate."

Jiang Shi and Chen Tao returned to Ding Courtyard.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard a loud, heart-wrenching cry.

"Manager Lin! I beg you, please give me another year... just one more month, and I'm sure I can break through."

In the courtyard, a young boy knelt on the ground, tightly hugging Manager Lin's leg, wiping away tears and crying out.

"Hmph!" Manager Lin said with disgust, kicking the boy away.

"Breakthrough? You still want to break through! The rule for disciples in the miscellaneous courtyard to break through two levels of Qi Refining within a year is fixed. If you want to stay and continue cultivating, you'll have to pay!"

"You want to cultivate immortality without money?"

When Steward Lin saw that his brocade robes had been smeared by the young man, his disgust deepened.

"Manager Lin! As soon as I break through, I'll immediately make up the difference. Please, I beg you to be lenient."

The boy tried to pounce on Manager Lin.

Suddenly, a ball of flame appeared in Steward Lin's hand and shot towards the boy.

"Ah! Spare me, sir!" The boy's screams echoed through the flames, then quickly subsided.

The courtyard was completely silent.

Senior Brother Liu Jie from Courtyard C and the senior handyman from Courtyard A were both too frightened to speak.

Manager Lin is at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining stage, just one step away from the Foundation Establishment stage. In the courtyard, he is the local tyrant, holding the power of life and death over everyone.

"Listen up, everyone: if you want to cultivate, you have to pay me. Anyone who dares to default will face the consequences."

"Clean this place up for me," Steward Lin instructed the senior servant, then turned and left.

"Go and tidy up this place." The experienced servants were naturally unwilling to do it themselves, so one of them instructed Liu Jie.

"Yes, senior brother!" Liu Jie bowed respectfully.

After the senior servants left.

Liu Jie straightened up and resumed his usual arrogant demeanor.

"Hey you, surnamed Jiang, come here. Go and clean this place up."

I haven't been able to squeeze any money out of Jiang Shi this morning, and I'll keep thinking about it.

Jiang Shi didn't say anything. He carried the boy's body to the cemetery with a blank expression and erected a wooden tombstone for the boy.

He didn't know the boy's name, nor did he ask; he simply carved the image of a seeker of the Way.

Seeing the boy's death, Jiang Shi understood even more the cruelty of the cultivation world.

The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is vividly portrayed.

This strengthened his resolve to seek the truth.

After burying the boy, Jiang Shi found Chen Tao.

He suggested that Chen Tao would be in charge of transporting firewood from now on, while he would be responsible for chopping and splitting it.

He is destined for success, and as long as he can master chopping and splitting wood, he will surely become very fast.

Transporting firewood was too time-consuming and couldn't be shortened, which greatly wasted his time and energy.

It would be better to cooperate with Chen Tao. That way, Chen Tao would only be responsible for transporting firewood, greatly reducing his workload and giving him time to cultivate.

Chen Tao was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately agreed.

He felt he had come out ahead. After seeing the boy die, Chen Tao felt a mix of emotions. He had been in the courtyard for three months, and because of logging and chopping wood, his cultivation level had not changed much.

Now that someone is helping him, and he has spare time to cultivate, he naturally agrees.

This is a win-win situation.

After reaching an agreement, Jiang Shi went to the hemlock forest early the next morning with a day's worth of dry rations.

Jiang Shi was immersed in the mechanical operation of constantly swinging his axe, chopping and felling trees.

He was like a ruthless tree-cutting machine.

Except for the time he would stop to cultivate the [Wood Spirit Technique] after each tree fell, he spent the rest of his time chopping down trees.

[Proficiency +1, Proficiency +1]

Soon my tree-cutting skill level was maxed out.

[Felling the tree: Perfection]

Once you reach perfection, your level can no longer be increased.

Jiang Shi can now cut down four hemlock trees in an hour.

After that, Jiang Shi started practicing chopping wood again.

[Proficiency +2, Proficiency +2]

[Learning to chop wood]

【Chopping Wood: Beginner (6/500)】

Because logging and chopping wood are related, Jiang Shi, who has a perfect logging skill, has twice the proficiency in chopping wood.

This made Jiang Shi even faster and more efficient.

A week later.

Jiang Shi held an iron axe, with a large pile of firewood beside him.

It weighs a full 3000 jin (34 catties).

He accomplished in just one week what others take two or three months to do.

Chen Tao stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

He watched as Jiang Shi improved every day, chopping trees and firewood faster and faster.

Jiang Shi's abnormal learning ability shocked him.

"Junior brother, what remarkable comprehension!" Chen Tao exclaimed with deep admiration.

I've heard that some people learn swordsmanship and magic very quickly, but those are just legends.

After getting to know Jiang Shi, Chen Tao realized that there really are geniuses in the world.

"It's a pity that Junior Brother has five spiritual roots; otherwise, with that comprehension, entering the inner sect wouldn't be a problem."

Chen Tao himself possesses the aptitude of four spiritual roots, even better than Jiang Shi.

Therefore, he was not jealous of Jiang Shi's speed in felling trees.

It's just a sigh.

Moreover, the better Jiang Shi did at felling trees and chopping firewood, the more relaxed he became, and he wouldn't have to worry about felling trees and chopping firewood anymore.

Chen Tao pulled his small wooden cart, loaded with firewood, toward the courtyard.

Jiang Shi then raised his iron axe and chopped at the hemlock tree.

[Seeking Medicine: Dacheng (100/3000)]

Harvested by: Da Cheng (15/3000)

Logging: Perfection

Chopping wood: Perfection

[Wood Spirit Technique: Minor Success (23/1000)]

A week of felling trees, cutting them down, and training allowed Jiang Shi's skill level to increase exceptionally quickly.

Jiang Shi intends to cultivate the "Wood Spirit Technique" to perfection in this hemlock forest.

By then, even if he has the aptitude of five spiritual roots, he will be able to break through to the second level of Qi Refining.