"Exactly how do you expect me to carry ten boulders up that mountain, each of which is heavier than 100 kilograms?"

"I don't really. Not at all. I expect you to get punished due to your failure in this task."

"But-but..."

"Listen up, young man. The sect recruits one or two mortal disciples at every selection ceremony. If we really try to intentionally oppress them, then this whole process would be completely unnecessary. Whether you can do the tasks or not is your problem, not ours. This sect only cherishes those who have it in themselves to explore their total potential, not slackers. You think one thousand kilograms of boulders in total is an impossible amount for you?

Ask any of your peers, they have five times of that amount as the target limit. We went easy on you knowing full well that you are a mortal. If you find this unfair, go sit in a corner and wait for the punishment. "

Han Xuhan glared at the elder in charge of overseeing this public task and gritted his teeth in frustration. Initially, he had thought he could carry the boulders with enough effort and perseverance, given some time. But when he saw the size of each boulder and realized the fact that all of them were twice as heavy as him, he finally understood that this sect had a very harsh attitude towards their mortal disciples.

Perhaps they were trying to test his perseverance. But this was completely illogical.

Even if he was a buff adult male with forged muscles, it'd be a heavy task for him to carry up those boulders to the peak of the mountain, not to mention that he was a thin young man who wasn't even an adult yet.

"What's the punishment?"

"Deduction of five spirit stones. "

Xuhan almost spat blood at the answer. This was daylight robbery!

He would actually prefer the manual labor than this! But he knew that option was out or the question given his lack of substantial physical strength.

Xuhan handed over the spirit stones with a gloomy expression after a few moments of consideration and walked away from there while the rest of the kids watched him go with a sympathetic expression laced with schadenfreude.

"If this goes on, I won't last long here even with the amount of spirit stones I have right now. First of all, I need to cultivate to the first layer of physique transformation realm, for which, I need to buy a cultivation method and resources from the sect. This should substantially boost my physical strength, which can be helpful in accomplishing the daily tasks. I also need to rank up to the second layer to avoid expulsion within one month..."

Han Xuhan clutched his pockets and decided to take a walk into the archives pavilion in order to see if there was any suitable cultivation method for him.

The archives pavilion was a very large building with multiple floors and a pagoda like structure. There were many disciples outside and inside, discussing about different techniques or studying what to buy from there.

Xuhan felt quite nostalgic as he paid the entrance fees and entered the building. As a mortal outer court disciple with zero cultivation, he could only access the first and second floor of the building.

All of this was quite familiar to him! After all, every xianxia protagonist experienced this scene at least fifty times in every book! They would always search every nook and cranny of the archives for cultivation techniques because they didn't want to cultivate the popular techniques since it'd look "uncool" for a protagonist to go with the flow...

Somehow, they also managed to find a cultivation technique no one wanted to learn because of its handicap and with their monstrous luck and cheats, they would remove that handicap to become the strongest cultivator in the same realm...

Am I, Han Xuhan, that lucky?

Hahahahaha.....

Xuhan could almost hear the mocking, snide, uproarious laughter coming from the sky.

He chose to explore the lowest floor first since the second floor asked for more entrance fee. There were dozens of scrolls carefully preserved into intricately carved showcases. The techniques were divided into many categories. Such as, the elemental techniques, the techniques of force manipulation, the techniques of heavenly law, the techniques of physical strengthening, techniques for soul strengthening and many more.

Not expecting everything to be so neatly catalogued, Xuhan was taken aback at first before choosing the techniques for physical strengthening first since that was his priority at the moment.

There were four scrolls in the showcase marked with the label of physical strengthening techniques.

One by one, he opened them all.

1- Spiritual Bones: a technique that allows the practitioner to use spirit qi from outer sources in forging a skeletal form of their own body which helps strengthen their bones and becomes an additional layer of protection inside their body. The spiritual bones also can absorb qi from the surroundings to replenish themselves and become sturdier automatically at later stages of the technique. This technique is suitable for anyone in the physique transformation realm to the peak of soul transformation realm. A cultivator above these realms will have no use for this technique.

Priced at - 101 spirit stones per volume, five volumes in total.

Special discount- 1 spirit stone.

"Wow, that discount sure is special!"

Xuhan gnashed his teeth while feeling quite nostalgic about his previous life. Wasn't this very similar to his shopping experience there as well?

2- Warrior's body: This technique allows the practitioner to reinforce their meridians, arteries and veins with spirit qi, thus making them sturdier, stronger, and physically many times more capable than an ordinary cultivator's body in the same layer of a realm. It also improves one's physique, enhances particular attributes and cleanses impurities and disease. Only useful to cultivators in soul transformation realm and below.

Priced at- 121 spirit stones per volume, three volumes in total.

Special discount- 1 spirit stone

Xuhan was slightly confused by the price of the second technique. Clearly, the first technique looked more useful than the second in a deadly situation. Why would this have a higher price?

He turned around and asked an older disciple not far away from him,

"Senior, I'm new here. Could you tell me why the spiritual bone technique has a lower price than the warrior's body?"

The older disciple seemed amused by the question.

"Did you read the description correctly, junior? The spiritual bone technique has to be cultivated INSIDE yourself, inch by inch, layered over your bones. Can you even imagine how painful the process is? This technique is only popular among the perverted masochistic cultivators. Stay away from those who buy this!"

"...Thanks for the warning, senior."

Heart shaking, Xuhan went back to reading the descriptions of the rest of the techniques, swearing internally that he would never trust any description of this sect ever again; he had had enough of being scammed by them.

3- Divine manifestation of physique: a technique that allows the practitioner to manifest random traits of divine physiques that have been lost to the world. After practicing this technique to the peak of physique transformation realm, a cultivator has a chance of manifesting a random divine trait that boosts their physical prowess to an unsurpassable peak. It has only one volume, useful for physique transformation realm cultivators.

Priced at- 255 spirit stones.

Special discount- 5 spirit stones

Xuhan couldn't help but click his tongue at this technique where everything was up to fate. A random divine physical trait? He could see the hidden emphasis on the word 'random'. No wonder the discount is so high...

4- Dragonskin : a technique that allows the practitioner to cultivate an extremely sturdy armour as a form of extra skin over their body that is fueled by their spirit qi and as well as produce spikes and hooks from the exterior as a both shield and weapon. Useful for cultivators till the soul transformation realm.

Priced at- 300 spirit stones per volume, three volumes in total.

No discount, fixed price

"Yep, the only useful thing here is a fixed price item."

Xuhan chuckled drily.

So what should he choose?

He wasn't a masochistic pervert, so number one was out.

Cultivating a buff body didn't seem to be very useful other than being able to flex his pecs at every skinny disciple out there, nope.

Divine manifestation technique? One that was heavily reliant on luck?

Haha haha hahaha... Han Xuhan's luck was so extraordinary that he would probably turn into a divine dog in heat or a divine whale on top of the mountain peak and die from asphyxiation, yeah, doesn't seem very prospective...

The last one? It seemed very useful, but the price was way too high. Even though he had taken a massive loan and could be called a tycoon now, he still couldn't afford to buy anything that expensive. Furthermore, it was a technique that focused on battlefield strategies rather than physical attributes, which would be nearly useless to him at the current situation.

What a difficult situation...

Xuhan was just fussing over what to do when he saw his martial brother, Mu Ran the-man-with-planet-sized-ego, strutting toward a shadowy corner of the room as soon as he had entered.

Xuhan's eyes lit up. FINALLY!

This guy definitely had a protagonist halo over his head. Look at that snitchy behaviour. He definitely knows something. Isn't that a standard xianxia protagonist behaviour? Looking down on the proper techniques and picking up something from the trashbin?!

"Senior, what are those stacks of papers in that shady corner over there?" Xuhan asked the guy beside him in a low voice.

"Oh? Those are dangerous and extremely circumspect techniques that can harm the practitioner or have zero effect other than wasting your time. They're cheap, and if you are tempted by that, you're welcome to destroy your own future."

The older disciple answered mildly while sparing a glance at the young junior beside him, expecting to see a disappointed face, only to find that the boy looked so happy by that answer that the disciple almost thought he was looking at the wrong person.

"Thank you so much for the advice, senior!"

Xuhan profusely expressed his gratitude and sneaked toward Mu Ran alertly.

Mu Ran seemed to be muttering to himself while he looked through the dusty scrolls no one wanted.

"Hmm, not bad, but this isn't suitable for me. The Twin Dragon Devil Reverend physique would be averse to these elements. Ah, that's not good either. What to choose..."

Xuhan had caught some of the words and almost spat blood upon hearing that this guy already had a physique.

The Twin Dragon Devil Reverend physique?

Fuck, that name alone is enough to make many disciple's legs go limp. It sounded so cool!

I want something like this too...

"No no no, is it really not here? How can that be? One of the reasons I came to this sect was for that technique..."

Mu Ran kept muttering as his hands swept through the pile of scrolls.

Xuhan's heart was beating like a drum. Which technique would this guy choose? Was it some divine technique no one in the sect could identify?

Suddenly, Mu Ran's hands paused. A scroll had caught his eyes. He took it in his hands and slowly opened it.

"Heavens...this is it! It really is here! No one can stop me anymore!"

Xuhan chose this exact moment to interfere.

"Martial brother! What are you doing? You cannot possibly attempt to practice a technique from that pile of trash! What if it harms your cultivation?

I, your martial brother, cannot bear to see this! We are from the same mountain peak. If you have any trouble in choosing cultivation methods, please ask us for help. That pile of trash only harms innocent and shy people like you!

Please listen to me and throw that scroll away! Why would you attempt something so insane? If you need money, I can pay for you! "

Mu Ran was dumbstruck by this sudden change of situation. What was going on? What was this guy doing? Should he kill him for interfering with his business?

Oh wait, this guy seemed to be speaking out of goodwill. Was he really trying to help him? What a simple minded peasant!

Nevertheless, he was touched by this fool's concern for him. After all, he was still young and someone unfamiliar caring for him so made him feel nice.

It would weigh on his consciousness if he bullied such an innocent fellow. He, Mu Ran, was a man of justice, and whatever he felt like doing was just and proper, if he said so himself!

Since this peasant seemed to be good person, i, Mu Ran, shall give him an opportunity to serve under my feet and sing my praises while I dominate this world!

Thinking thus, Mu Ran chuckled generously and threw a small scroll at Xuhan from the pile under his feet.

"Martial brother, I know who holds goodwill toward me when I see them! So I will tell you a small secret. This scroll in my hand holds a technique that is tailor made for a person like me due to various circumstances. You can rest assured that it'll cause no harm to me! As for that technique I gave you just now, it's an erm... amazing technique too. Become my underling and cultivate this technique. We shall conquer this world together!"

"Become your underling?"

It was Xuhan's turn to be stunned this time. What the fuck was wrong with this guy's brain?

"Well, you're a mortal who needs a good cultivation technique. And I am already close to breaking through to the first layer of physique transformation realm. So I'm leagues stronger than you are. Is it not normal for the weak to seek shelter from the strong?

Besides, I already rewarded you with that...awesome cultivation technique! Are you refusing my goodwill and offer of protection?"

Xuhan felt a chill down his back. What a fucking airtight logic! This guy looked like he'd kill Xuhan if he refused...

"Umm...but, I haven't cultivated yet. So I need time to reconsider something like that..."

"No problem! Just cultivate it peacefully and ask for my help if you face any trouble! Being my underling is an awesome opportunity that many would die for! Contact me as soon as you make up your mind."

He laughed uproariously and left with the scroll in his hands, leaving a flabbergasted Xuhan behind.

"With a cultivation level of zeroth layer of physique transformation realm, this guy is boasting about world domination???

I haven't made a wrong choice. This guy is definitely a protagonist level character!

No one else would be dumb and proud enough to say something like this, unless they were extremely confident about their future path!

Becoming the protagonist's underling to praise him every five seconds and enjoying the fruits of his heaven defying fortune like a useless trash?

Would I, the reincarnated enigma Han Xuhan, who aims to make the heavens regret messing with me, stoop so low ?

Fuck yeah, of course I will."