Chapter 1: Mo Hua

In the 20,022nd year of the Daoist calendar, on the tenth day of the ninth month.

Tongxian City, outside the gate of Tongxian Sect, on the mountain.

Ten-year-old Mo Hua, dressed in a simple outer disciple robe, squatted behind a large rock at the foot of the mountain, bored, holding a grass root and drawing complex patterns on the ground.

By the time it was the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), the disciples of the sect began to climb the mountain in twos and threes, chatting and laughing.

A small, fat boy wearing an outer disciple robe adorned with precious jade, accompanied by two or three lackeys, found Mo Hua, who was happily drawing something behind the rock.

The small, fat boy looked around left and right, and upon seeing no instructor, he cautiously called out,

"Mo Hua!"

Mo Hua looked up, revealing a handsome face, his eyes clear like a pool of water.

The small, fat boy lowered his voice, "Is it done?"

Ten-year-old Mo Hua patted his chest like a little adult, "When I do it, you can rest assured," and then took out several array diagrams from the storage bag behind him, white paper with red ink, and handed them to the small, fat boy.

"Check if there's anything wrong."

The small, fat boy solemnly took the diagrams, opened the copy, and looked at it seriously, then said with a pained expression,

"I can't understand it..."

Mo Hua patiently explained,

"The instructor assigned the basic array patterns of the Five Elements. I've drawn them for you and deliberately made six mistakes to prevent the instructor from realizing these patterns weren't drawn by you..."

"Six mistakes... isn't that a bit too many...?"

Mo Hua looked at him silently.

The small, fat boy immediately recognized his mistake and reflected,

"One shouldn't be too greedy. It's already good that I can submit the homework assigned by the instructor. If it's done too well, it might raise suspicion. If the instructor finds out and tells my father, he'll definitely beat me up. It's not worth it, not worth it..."

Mo Hua nodded, "You're truly a remarkable young master, to figure it out so quickly!"

The small, fat boy stuffed two spirit stones into Mo Hua's hand, "Mo Brother, you have a good eye, knowing I'm smart! Here are the spirit stones. Next time the instructor assigns array homework, I'll still come to you!"

Saying this, he tucked the array diagrams into his chest and ran up the mountain like a streak of smoke.

Mo Hua carefully stored the two spirit stones and picked up another piece of grass to continue drawing on the ground.

A moment later, a thin young master with a gold-sprinkled paper fan appeared, his face sharp and adorned with even more jade.

Mo Hua also gave him an array diagram. The thin young master glanced at the diagram and gave a signal to his servant. The servant stepped forward to take it and handed Mo Hua two spirit stones.

The thin young master, holding the array diagram, did not leave immediately. He suddenly closed his fan and said arrogantly, "I am also very skilled in array diagrams, but I don't have the time to do these basic ones, so I had you do it for me."

Mo Hua, not bothering to respond, picked up the grass and continued drawing on the ground.

The thin young master, somewhat annoyed, sneered, "It's said that among the initial Qi Cultivators of Tongxian Sect, you draw the best array diagrams. I wonder how you compare to me. How about we have a competition sometime?"

Mo Hua thought, since you have me do your array homework, what do you think of your own level?

But adhering to the principle of harmony, Mo Hua still lifted his head and said flatteringly,

"Of course, the young master's array skills are much higher. The Qian family is the largest clan in Tongxian City, and their array traditions are unmatched by other cultivators."

The thin young master's expression softened, and he asked, "Then tell me, among the initial Qi Cultivators of Tongxian Sect, who has array skills that can match mine?"

"There are some..."

The thin young master was displeased, "Who are they?"

"Like me..." Mo Hua certainly wouldn't say such a foolish thing.

"There are quite a few, too many to count."

The thin young master was clearly angry.

"This is a good thing!" Mo Hua lied.

The thin young master sneered, "With a family background not as good as mine, fewer spirit stones, yet higher array skills, there are many such people. Are you saying I'm stupid and can't match them? What's good about this?"

Mo Hua said, "Even the most talented cultivators in Tongxian City, no matter how well they learn, will eventually work for the Qian family's Ten Thousand Treasure Tower, refining artifacts and drawing array diagrams for you..."

"Think about it, even at the initial Qi stage, you have Foundation Establishment cultivators working for you. Even at the First Rank Array Master stage, you have Second Rank Array Masters at your command. How impressive is that! The stronger the cultivators under you, the more capable you appear!"

The thin young master was stunned, then suddenly realized, "It does make sense!"

"Understood, right?"

The thin young master nodded, looking down at the cultivators below, his head held even higher,

"Excellent! Excellent! No matter how talented or hardworking you are, you will still end up working for the Qian family!"

The thin, sharp-faced young master of the Qian family strutted away with his chest puffed out.

After tricking the Qian family's young master away, Mo Hua continued practicing array diagrams on the ground with a grass root.

Soon, a few more wealthy cultivators came over, paying with spirit stones and buying several array diagrams from Mo Hua. By the time Mo Hua's hand-copied array diagrams were all sold, he had twelve spirit stones in hand.

Twelve spirit stones were not insignificant for a wandering cultivator, but for cultivation, they were far from enough.

Mo Hua sighed, his young face showing a hint of helplessness.

For the lower-level cultivators, cultivation was hopeless...

In the first year of the Daoist calendar, over 20,000 years ago, the largest power in the cultivation world—the Daoist Court—unified the Nine States of Daoism, enfeoffed noble families and sects, and established a unified rank system, standardizing the levels of cultivation professions.

The Daoist Court also issued the Daoist Law, constraining cultivators, prohibiting them from killing indiscriminately, plundering, or taking supplements.

The cultivation world developed and prospered for over 20,000 years, becoming extremely vast and populous, with countless cultivators.

However, while the Daoist Court was flourishing, the noble families were enjoying luxurious lives, and the sects were dominating their regions...

Only the lower-level wandering cultivators, with no support, lived in poverty and had no hope of cultivation.

After over 20,000 years of development in the cultivation world, ordinary people without spiritual roots were gradually eliminated, leaving only those with spiritual roots who could cultivate. However, the more cultivators there were, the more spiritual energy was consumed, and the spiritual energy in the world was nearly depleted.

Now, if a cultivator wants to cultivate, they need both a lineage and spirit stones.

However, the major families control the spirit mines, and the lower-level wandering cultivators lack spirit stones. The major sects monopolize the lineages, and ordinary wandering cultivators have no way to cultivate.

In Tongxian City, the vast majority of wandering cultivators, lacking both lineages and spirit stones, can only remain at the initial Qi stage for their entire lives.

The initial Qi stage is merely a humble ant under the vast sky of Daoism.

And Mo Hua is one of these countless ants.

And he might very well be one for his entire life!

Mo Hua's young face was slightly bitter.

The Dao might be equal, but cultivation is not...

Mo Hua is a Second Rank Qi Cultivator, born into a wandering cultivator family, both his parents being initial Qi Cultivators.

His father, Mo Shan, hunts demons for a living, constantly battling demon beasts, leaving his body scarred. His mother works in the kitchen of a dining hall, suffering from the heat of the stoves, often coughing and in pain.

His parents, living frugally, saved all their spirit stones to allow Mo Hua to enter the outer sect of Tongxian Sect for cultivation.

However, no matter how much Mo Hua cultivates, with his mid-to-lower-grade spiritual root, which is only slightly better than ordinary people, he is destined to be an ordinary cultivator in a world of geniuses.

No matter how much he cultivates, he might only remain an initial Qi Cultivator.

With a difficult family situation and no spirit stones, Mo Hua can only, like other disciples, cultivate up to the Sixth Rank Qi stage and then leave the sect to learn a trade to make a living.

But Mo Hua is also naturally weak!

The professions that initial Qi Cultivators rely on for survival, such as refining artifacts and hunting demons, generally only accept physically strong body cultivators. Mo Hua, being naturally weak, might not even find a job to make a living.

If he marries and has children in the future, the burden will increase, and all the spirit stones will be used to support the family.

Without spirit stones for cultivation, Mo Hua's cultivation will stagnate forever, and he will remain an initial Qi Cultivator for his entire life.

Just like all the poor wandering cultivators in Tongxian City.

Just like the countless lower-level cultivators in the cultivation world.

A lifetime of being an initial Qi Cultivator!

Ten-year-old Mo Hua sighed, gathered his thoughts, and entered the sect for class. After a day of cultivation, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters, read some cultivation books, and went to bed at midnight.

When Mo Hua closed his eyes, a broken stele appeared in his mind's eye.

The broken stele had no words, but from the moment Mo Hua saw it, he knew its name:

The Dao Stele!

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(End of Chapter)

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