Chapter 1

In the year 1452 of the Great Fortune era, at the Zhe Long Mansion, Gaoliu County.

Creak~

Glancing at the chaotic dormitory behind him, Li Yuan pushed the door open and stepped out, not waiting for the last person to leave the room.

The morning mist of late autumn had not yet fully dissipated, and wisps of smoke were already rising from the houses in Gaoliu County. Faintly, human voices could be heard.

What met his eyes was a small courtyard. Six or seven boys, around his age, wearing hemp clothes, were busy with their tasks.

Washing up, chopping wood, fetching water, making fire, cooking...

"Phew!"

Tightening his thin gray hemp robe, Li Yuan took a deep breath and joined the apprentices at their calls.

A day as an apprentice at the "Weapon Forging Shop" began with chopping wood and fetching water.

"Just one month and three days, how can I endure twelve years? This is too hard... It was already difficult to learn things in my previous life, and it's even harder in this one!"

Working diligently, Li Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In his previous life, it took him only two or three years to learn the skills of mountain cultivation, funeral rites, and assisting difficult childbirth from his wild Taoist master.

But being an apprentice at the "Weapon Forging Shop" required twelve years!

Three years of miscellaneous work, two years of assisting, and seven years of service!

Li Yuan cursed inwardly but didn't dare to slow down his hands. He could only sigh that he had "awakened" too late. When he woke up, he had already "sold" himself to the "Weapon Forging Shop."

And because his body was too weak, he wasn't assigned to the front courtyard...

Bang!

Suddenly, a dull sound came from the kitchen.

The fat man holding a large ladle kicked a gray-clothed apprentice to the ground, his facial muscles twitching.

"You damn brat, I suffered so much to learn this skill of flipping the ladle and cooking. You dare to steal it?!"

"Master Sun, I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again, I won't dare to do it again..."

The apprentice hugged his head and wailed, but he didn't dare to dodge, enduring a severe beating.

The other apprentices in the courtyard were as silent as cicadas in winter, and Li Yuan lowered his head, his face expressionless.

When apprentices made mistakes, the masters could scold and beat them at will, as it was written in the "indenture contract."

"Apprentice, apprentice, three years of slavery" was not just a saying.

That fat man, Master Sun, who could flip the ladle, was also a half-master, overseeing a dozen apprentices and the eating and drinking of a hundred or so people at the "Weapon Forging Shop." With a bad temper, beating and scolding apprentices was a daily occurrence.

When Li Yuan first arrived a month ago, he almost had his head cracked by that ladle...

"Move faster, the masters in the front courtyard are about to wake up. If you delay their meal, it won't just be a few kicks!"

Master Sun weighed the ladle in his hand and cursed.

The apprentices didn't dare to look up, but their movements became even faster.

Only when the fat man returned to the kitchen did the beaten apprentice silently get up, enduring the intense pain without delaying his work.

Li Yuan's expression was wooden.

The "Weapon Forging Shop" was one of the largest blacksmith shops in Gaoliu County, employing a hundred or so guards, masters, assistants, and apprentices.

Apprentices, of course, had the lowest status. Not only did they earn little and eat poorly, but they were also often beaten and scolded. To have better treatment, one had to become an assistant or even a master.

"Twelve years..."

When the four suns rose above the sea of clouds, the food was finally ready, and the busy apprentices finally had some smiles on their faces.

Apart from meal times, the apprentices had little free time throughout the day.

Chopping wood, fetching water, preparing charcoal, moving various iron ingots, cleaning weapons, sweeping...

Despite this, the "Weapon Forging Shop" always had no shortage of applicants.

The reason was simple: the "Weapon Forging Shop" offered the best treatment among the places that recruited apprentices in Gaoliu County.

Not only did they receive thirty copper coins a month, but their meals were also much better than those at herb shops, carpentry shops, and the like.

Blacksmithing was a very hard job, and one couldn't do it without a full stomach.

Of course, apprentices didn't have this treatment. They only got a bit of oil every seven days, and even this was enough to satisfy them.

At other places, they could only see a bit of meat on the first and fifteenth of the month, and some places didn't see any oil all year...

When the sun was high and the sound of hammering could be heard faintly from the front courtyard, the apprentices finally had their breakfast and a brief rest.

"Three years to become an assistant..."

The apprentices squatted in groups by the walls. Li Yuan squatted in a corner, holding his bowl of porridge, feeling a bit bitter as he held the steamed bun with his sore arms.

In his previous life, although he was an unregistered wild Taoist, he still had some benefits from working in the countryside with his master. Even at his worst, he never felt as miserable as this.

At this moment, he couldn't help but miss his previous life.

Beer, drinks, small barbecues, air conditioning, TV, sofa, phone... even his master, who was obsessed with getting registered and becoming a Taoist priest until his death.

"How did I end up here?! Can I go back?!"

Swallowing the steamed bun with the rice soup, Li Yuan looked up at the four suns in the sky, almost shedding tears.

How did I end up here?

In the past month, Li Yuan had thought about this question many times, repeatedly recalling his memories before he was transported.

As an unregistered wild Taoist, after his master's death, he almost couldn't find work in the countryside and had to change careers, opening a small supermarket in his hometown. Though he didn't have much money, he lived a peaceful life.

"That day, I was lying on the sofa playing with my phone, and then... wait, the ordination ceremony!"

Like a lightning bolt piercing through the fog, Li Yuan trembled, almost spilling half a bowl of rice soup on the ground!

"That's right, the ordination ceremony!"

Suppressing his excitement, Li Yuan squatted back down, not drawing attention from others, but his thoughts couldn't help but wander.

In his previous life, his master, who never managed to get registered, had left him half a Taoist book.

He had read it a few times but wasn't very interested. He didn't believe in the "ordination to become an immortal" that his master was obsessed with.

Until the day before he was transported, he suddenly remembered the ceremony recorded in the book.

And then...

"Was it because of that ceremony?"

Swallowing the half steamed bun and half bowl of rice soup, Li Yuan still pondered.

He didn't think that the ordination ceremony could cause him to be transported, but he couldn't think of any other possibility.

"Ordination, receiving the talisman from the sky..."

Li Yuan murmured in his heart.

He was not unfamiliar with ordination.

Taoists believe that talismans are naturally formed by heaven and earth, copied by deities, and passed down to the world.

Only after receiving the talisman and being registered in the celestial registry, with a position and divine duties, can a Taoist wield the talisman and possess the incredible powers of summoning spirits, pacifying the five directions, subduing demons, and healing diseases.

"Did the old man's obsession with 'ordination to become an immortal' have any truth to it?"

Li Yuan murmured in his heart.

He didn't believe in the old man's obsession. What era was it to still believe in ordination and immortality?

In his previous life, he knew several Taoists who had received the talisman, but none of them had any supernatural powers.

Especially, the half-book recorded an unorthodox ordination.

A proper ordination ceremony not only includes the talisman but also scriptures and precepts, and requires a ritual with a supervisor, a transmitter, and a guarantor.

The so-called "heavenly ordination" recorded in the book was indeed simple, even crude...

But now...

"I've been transported, what's impossible? Although... what if?"

Li Yuan's thoughts wandered.

Rationality told him it was unlikely, but he still harbored a glimmer of hope.

What if?

"What if I, no, if I, the Taoist, really have the opportunity to receive the talisman and become an immortal?"

The more he thought, the more his heart raced. If it weren't for the wrong time, he would have immediately performed the ceremony.

What the hell are apprentices, assistants, masters, and shopkeepers?

The Taoist wants to go home!

The Taoist wants to become an immortal!