Chapter 3

### Chapter 3: Perfect Tranquility

Ding Hao stood firm, surprising the servants in his household.

However, after bullying this waste of space for over a decade, how could a few words change anything?

Thus, as Ding Hao sat down to meditate again, the maid walked in once more. This time, she was more cautious, looking up at the lintel above the door. There was no ash this time, nor anything else.

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a black shadow flashed, and she was startled, quickly retreating.

Thud! A sharp, cone-like object was nailed to the spot where she had been standing. The maid looked up to see Ding Hao holding another candlestick, glaring at her.

"You, a waste of space, actually dare..." The maid was shocked. If she had been a bit slower, the sharp tip of the candlestick would have pierced her, with a terrifying outcome.

"You are a servant of the Ding family. If I kill you, I will only lose my status as a cultivator. But if you harm me, you will die! Do you think I dare or not?" Ding Hao's eyes glinted with a fierce look as he threw the second candlestick at her.

"Ah!" The maid in the red dress finally feared and screamed, running away.

This world was like that: the kind-hearted were bullied, and the gentle were ridden. The former Ding Hao was kind and wouldn't defend his rights, so he was bullied to the end. Now, seeing that Ding Hao had changed, these people finally knew fear and dared not disturb him again.

"Finally, I can enter tranquility."

This time, Ding Hao didn't need to pretend to meditate. He held a stone, calmed his mind, and truly began to enter tranquility.

"Drinking wine and singing, how long is life? The mind is calm, the heart is clear, not a speck of dust."

With these words, Ding Hao immediately entered the state of tranquility.

...

At the same time, a group of soldiers passed by the main road far from the Ding family's residence. They were escorting a sedan chair, and behind it was a tall horse.

"Stop the sedan! Stop the sedan!" The curtain of the sedan was suddenly lifted, and a middle-aged man shouted loudly.

"What's wrong, Dean Min?" The man on the white horse quickly followed.

The man in the sedan hurriedly pushed aside the curtain and walked out, his face filled with joy. "City Lord Ling, I feel it! It's nearby, perfect tranquility, someone has entered the state of perfect tranquility!"

"Perfect tranquility, impossible! In the entire Wu Prefecture, only a few can enter perfect tranquility! I don't remember any strong cultivators living here. How could there be perfect tranquility? Dean Min, are you mistaken?" City Lord Ling Yunxiao said, somewhat disbelieving.

"It's impossible to be mistaken!" Dean Min was very excited. "I have a second-grade Spirit Root, and my Spirit Root emphasizes tranquility. Therefore, I am very sensitive to it. In our Nine Provinces Academy, whenever someone enters perfect tranquility, I can feel it, and it has never failed! This person who can enter perfect tranquility must be a great talent, and I want to recruit them to our academy for proper cultivation!"

Ling Yunxiao said happily, "That's wonderful! Heaven blesses Wu Prefecture, and a new talent has emerged!"

After saying this, he ordered the soldiers, "Go immediately to the nearby houses and ask if anyone is meditating. Report back quickly!"

"Understood!" The soldiers responded loudly and scattered to ask.

"Is anyone in your house meditating?"

"Knock, knock, knock, open the door!"

"Is anyone in your house meditating?"

On both sides of the street, all the doors of the houses were knocked on by soldiers in white robes and silver armor. After opening the door, they would ask, "Is anyone in your house meditating?"

"Meditating?" The butler, Old Ding, opened the door. His mustache twitched, and he asked, "Soldiers, what do you need with someone who is meditating?"

The soldier said, "Good news, great news! Deputy Dean Min of the Nine Provinces Academy is back to visit his family. He sensed that someone nearby has entered perfect tranquility and is asking! If we find the person meditating, they will be taken to the Nine Provinces Academy for proper cultivation!"

"Such good news, soldiers, please wait a moment. I will go back and ask."

Old Ding immediately called for a maid, "Go quickly and see if Junjie and Juncun are meditating. If it's them, I, Old Ding, will have hit the jackpot! Entering the Nine Provinces Academy, the next step is the Immortal Refinement World!"

However, the maid soon returned and reported, "The eldest master has gone out, and the young master is reading a book."

Old Ding was greatly disappointed and asked, "Is anyone else in the house meditating? If it's another servant's child, that's also good. Their success can help my two sons."

The maid shook her head, "No one in the house is meditating." Then she thought of something and whispered, "Butler, that little waste of space... seems to be meditating..."

"Little waste of space! How is that possible!?" Old Ding's eyes widened in shock, but then he sneered, "He's a waste of space, unable to awaken at 15. How could he enter perfect tranquility!"

The maid hesitated, "What if it's him?"

"Even if it is, it can't be him!" Old Ding said disdainfully, "A little waste of space, who knows if he can even meditate! Even if he does, it's at most a low-level tranquility. A waste of space is a waste of space!"

After saying this, he walked out of the house and smiled, "Soldiers, I've asked, and there's no one meditating in my house. I'm truly disappointed."

"That's a bother." The soldier bowed and walked to the next house.

After a while, Dean Min and his group returned, sighing, "There are some people meditating nearby, but none of them are the one I'm looking for. I'm disappointed."

City Lord Ling laughed, "Perhaps it's not the right time."

"Perhaps so." Unable to find anyone, Dean Min could only return to the sedan, and the group headed back to the city lord's residence.

After they left, a while later, Ding Hao finally woke up in the room.

"Feels so good!"

After an hour of meditation, when he opened his eyes, Ding Hao felt that the world around him was more vivid, the colors brighter, and the sounds clearer. He nodded, "The fundamental reason is that my six senses have been enhanced, so I see things more clearly and hear sounds from farther away. This world is indeed different. The effect of meditation is much stronger than on Earth!"

Ding Hao was very satisfied with the results of this meditation, but he was disappointed that he hadn't broken through the Immortal Aperture and awakened his Immortal Root during perfect tranquility.

"It doesn't matter. The so-called Immortal Aperture is just the Conception and Governor Meridians. By practicing meditation for a long time and accumulating strength, I will eventually break through. This is not a problem!" Thinking this, Ding Hao nodded confidently and stood up.

"Since I'm in this world, how can I not go out and see it?"

Ding Hao went to the main hall and called for Old Ding, "Butler, I want to go out and buy some things. Bring me some silver."

Old Ding thought, "The little waste of space is asking for money now?" His face darkened, "You don't know the value of money! A single book costs ten taels of silver! The family has various expenses, and if I didn't contribute monthly, the Ding family would have fallen apart long ago! You're asking me for money? I have only two words: no!"

"No?" Ding Hao sneered, "You say the family expenses are high. Then I ask you, where did the fifty taels of silver the state gives us each month go? The nine courtyards of the Ding family have been reduced to five! Where did the money from the houses you sold go? Old Ding, I warn you, I may not say it, but I know! If you give me the money today, it's fine. If not, bring out the accounts, and we'll go to the city lord's residence to settle this!"

"You!" Old Ding was startled, thinking, "This little waste of space has changed today, how formidable!"

At that moment, a tall, fierce woman rushed in, Old Ding's wife, Lady Chen. She immediately started cursing, "Little waste of space, you still have the nerve to ask for money? You want your mother's money, the Ding family's accounts? Your family can't even afford an accountant! If I didn't bring money from the Chen family every month, your state allowance wouldn't even cover the servants' wages! You little waste of space, go back and do your own accounting!"

At that moment, a maid came to report, "Butler, butler, the young master refuses to eat and insists on eating the bristle beast meat."

Seeing the scene, Ding Hao knelt before the ancestral wooden statue and bowed three times, saying loudly, "Ancestors, open your eyes and see! This is the state of the Ding family. Your own descendants are called little waste of space, while the children of the butler and servants are treated as masters! They refuse to eat anything but bristle beast meat, while I, the master, don't even know what it tastes like. Where in the world is there such a master and servant relationship?"

Seeing him pray to the ancestral statue, Lady Chen's face turned pale, and she was afraid, but she still said, "Your ancestors haven't shown any signs for years. They might have already perished in the upper realm!"

Ding Hao said, "Great-grandfather, did you hear that? When you're done with your business, take some time to show a sign and help the family below."

Although the Ding family's ancestors hadn't shown any signs for a long time, there was no definite news that they were dead. Old Ding was also a bit afraid and scolded, "Woman, do you have the right to speak? Get out!"

After driving Lady Chen away, he took out two taels of silver and gave them to Ding Hao, "Master, the family really has no money. I've already said I used it to buy a book. These two taels are the last of the circulating silver, and I'm giving them to you."

The miserly butler finally gave out two taels of silver, and Ding Hao took them and left.

Walking out of the Ding family's residence, Ding Hao stepped onto the wide road, and what he saw opened his eyes!

On both sides of the street, various bustling shops were filled with goods; various workshops where workers used Immortal Root techniques to efficiently produce items; in the fields, no one was seen, but the crops were lush; in the sky, the sun was bright, and the clouds were white, everything was peaceful and orderly.

"This world is truly astonishing, the pinnacle of ancient civilization. With the use of various Immortal Root techniques, people's lives are incredibly prosperous. There are no disasters here, no earthquakes or hurricanes, no illnesses. Compared to Earth, this is almost a paradise!"

Although this was such a perfect world, there were still poor people and those who were discriminated against.

Ding Hao also saw some beggars on the street, and no one looked at them.

They had no jobs and no income, relying on begging for food. The people of this world were very discriminatory towards ordinary people. Even if their food rotted in the warehouse, they wouldn't give it to the beggars for free, so the beggars lived a miserable life.

"Is this my future life?" Ding Hao clenched his fists and thought, "I have half a year left. I will definitely awaken my Immortal Root, I will!"

As he spoke, a medicinal shop appeared ahead, and he walked in to take a look.

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