Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Life of Labor and Struggle
School was out, and the students swarmed out of the classroom. Some jumped straight from the third-floor windows, while others practiced special footwork as they walked.
Even Xu Bamboo didn’t linger. As a top student, she had cram school at the gym tonight and was in a hurry.
The pressure of senior year was immense. Without extra tutoring, how could they possibly compete with students from across the city?
Some even secretly rolled up their pant legs to give themselves another injection.
Only Yang Shen remained, sitting dazedly in his seat, his attention completely focused within his own mind.
’A system? The kind from novels?’
He immediately began to study this somewhat... unhinged system.
"Immortal Race System..."
"Family Name: The Yang Family (Has yet to obtain a title or renown)"
"Family Renown: 1"
(The news of your uncle’s tragic death has spread within a small local circle, especially among sailors. This is the Yang Family’s only claim to "fame.")
"Clan Leader: Yang Shen."
"Cultivation: None."
"Spiritual Root: Water, Fire, Earth, and Wood Four Spiritual Roots."
"Cultivation Technique: None"
Yang Shen was usually so buried in his studies that he didn’t read many novels. ’These Four Spiritual Roots...’ he thought.
’They sound amazing! Does this mean I can practice Cultivation Techniques of all four elements?’
’Am I... a genius?!’
But his expression soured when he saw the next entry.
"Clan Leader’s Life Chart: Life of Labor and Struggle"
Yang Shen’s face fell. To make matters worse, he could click on the Life Chart for more details.
"Life of Labor and Struggle: Mediocre talent, infinitesimal immortal fate. A life of endless toil with not a moment’s rest."
’Got it. So I’m just a beast of burden.’
Truthfully, Yang Shen had already expected as much. Given his talent and family situation, a lifetime of hard work was inevitable, and great achievements were unlikely.
After all, his Spiritual Root was missing Metal from the five elements.
Of course, this didn’t mean his life would be meaningless. If he could take care of his family, repay the Uncle and Aunt who raised him, and see his two younger sisters married off...
...it might not be a spectacular life, but it wouldn’t be an unhappy one, and it certainly wouldn’t be meaningless.
But now, with the Immortal Race System, it seemed there was a chance for everything to change.
Besides, the system had a further clarification on "Life Chart": "Note: A Life Chart is a personal attribute, but the Mandate of Heaven is stronger than the fate of a man. Change is possible."
’Nice. Very thorough.’
’Otherwise, a "Life Chart" would just be fatalism. You can’t just toss someone with a "good Life Chart" into the mountains to be raised like a wild animal and expect them to become a self-taught master, can you? Obviously not.’
’A "Life Chart" can be changed by circumstances, or even replaced. Similarly, cashing in on a good "Life Chart" requires the right external environment to support it.’
He then began to explore the system’s functions.
But the more he looked, the deeper his frown became.
First, the Immortal Race System was based on managing a family. Its purpose was to forge an Immortal Race that would span across the ages, its prosperity enduring for countless generations.
’Sounds pretty badass.’
He’d never heard of an Immortal Race, but there were rumors on Cyan Blue of "Martial Arts Clans" with lineages stretching back hundreds of years. They produced streams of geniuses, controlled secret family techniques, and possessed wealth, status, and fame. They even held many key positions in the government.
An Immortal Race sounded way more impressive than a Martial Arts Clan.
But the system had a problem. It was focused on the "family." This meant his own advancement, as the Clan Leader, depended entirely on rewards earned by "making the family stronger."
Simply put: only when the family grew would he receive rewards—perhaps a Cultivation Technique, a treasure, or even the chance to change his Life Chart.
If the family failed to grow, being bound to this system was useless. He might as well just go home and drink goji berry tea.
As for how to obtain these rewards, there were three main paths.
One: The Achievement System. The "conditions" and "rewards" are hidden until triggered, but they were easy enough to guess. It would be things like the family’s power and influence reaching certain milestones, or achieving certain historical firsts.
For example, things like "A Bond of Brothers," "Quick on the Draw," or "Holding Nothing Back."
Two: The Quest System. This one provided clear guidance. Simply complete the quests. There was a single "main quest," as well as multiple "side quests" that could be active at the same time. Side quests were somewhat random and could even be timed.
"Current Main Quest: Expand the family to 5 or more members."
"Quest Reward: One random Family Heirloom."
Yang Shen: ...
He counted on his fingers. There were four people in his family.
Himself, his aunt, and his two little sisters in elementary school.
’System, why don’t you just tell me who’s supposed to pop one out right now!’
Fortunately, as Yang Shen read on, he realized he was being shortsighted.
Although the system felt like it had landed in the wrong place, it actually had its own strict logic.
The concept of family was based on bloodline, but it also included influence, allies, wealth, renown, master-disciple relationships, retainers, and even the employees the system referred to as "Long-term Envoys."
It wasn’t just about "having children." In fact, having children was the least efficient method.
For example, Yang Shen was seventeen, still five years from the legal age of marriage. On Cyan Blue, because Martial Arts were so prevalent, the government was extremely strict about early marriage and childbirth to ensure young people maintained a pure heart for their training. They didn’t care if you dated, but getting married early could get you fined into bankruptcy or even thrown in jail.
Even if Yang Shen didn’t waste a second and started making a baby the very night of his twenty-second birthday, it would be nearly a year before the child was born, and another ten years before that child could show any talent for cultivation...
...by which point Yang Shen would be in his thirties and likely worked to death on some construction site.
The system was clear: "family" was an integrated concept. It was based on blood, bonded by emotion, and rooted in power, including master-disciple relationships, allies, renown, and even territory.
If Yang Shen himself became powerful, the family wouldn’t be weak, even if it only had a few direct blood relatives to support it.
Plenty of Martial Arts Clans only had a single heir for generations. Did that stop them from having disciples all over the world? Did that stop them from making the entire city shake with a stomp of their foot?
If all he thought about was having kids, they’d just be a "super-sized family of suffering," a whole household of beasts of burden. Besides, what kind of good wife could he find? Would his children even get a proper education?
So, a "family member" was more than just a direct descendant.
"Family Members: Blood Descendant (1x count), In-law/Disciple (0.5x count), Long-term Envoy (employee/retainer) (0.2x count)."
’Now that’s interesting... have one kid, marry two wives, take on two disciples, or hire five employees... a four-way choice.’
’This still sucks...’
’Might as well check the side quests.’
A moment later, a strange expression appeared on Yang Shen’s face.
"Side Quest: A Beauty’s Favor."
"Quest Summary: You have received help from your friend, Xu Bamboo, but are unable to repay her. As the future lord of an Immortal Race, this may leave a worldly attachment that could endanger your Dao Heart."
"Option One: Kill Xu Bamboo. Refine her into a Puppet to be toyed with day and night, thereby fortifying your Dao Heart."
"Option Two: Repay Xu Bamboo’s kindness, making her feel so grateful that she feels indebted to you in return."
"Time Limit: Three months. After this, the two of you will likely never meet again."
"Quest Reward: Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique."
Yang Shen’s brow furrowed into a knot.
’Is this system for real? Are you sure toying with a puppet day and night is a way to fortify a Dao Heart?’
He was suddenly reminded of the crude jokes one of the guys in his class was always spouting.
’Is a foot massage not also a Path? Is finger work not also a Method?’
For some reason, an image of Xu Bamboo’s tall, slender figure flashed through his mind. He quickly shook his head to clear it.
’Good thing I shook that off fast. Those filthy thoughts almost caught up to me!’
’The system didn’t seem to care whether he was even capable of completing the task... "Refine into a Puppet"? He’d never even heard of such a thing. Then again, the side quests weren’t unique, and he could have multiple active at once. Maybe he’d get a reward that let him do it later?’
Of course, whether he could or couldn’t do it was irrelevant. He wouldn’t.
For him, there was only Option Two.
As for the reward, the Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique... it didn’t sound particularly powerful, but Yang Shen thought it was perfect. He had only ever practiced Martial Arts, never Cultivation. He probably wouldn’t even be able to learn a technique that was too advanced.
On Cyan Blue, Martial Arts was the main driving force of society, consuming the majority of its resources. Countless Martial Arts Practitioners constantly brought back resources and technology from Exotic Realms, fueling the world’s progress.
This created a continuous cycle of training new Martial Arts Practitioners, with each generation of experts refining and perfecting their methods. The system was now highly mature and deeply integrated into daily life and industry.
Yang Shen still had no idea what "Cultivation" really was.
Was it maybe... just a *tiiiiny* bit stronger than Martial Arts?
But forget all that... even if Cultivation was only on par with Martial Arts, he’d still do it. At the very least, it would save him some money.
He’d never heard of Cultivators needing injections.
Unfortunately, this Immortal Race System offered very little personal benefit. Right now, his only ability was to check the information of his family members—like their "Life Chart," which represented their innate talent!
He could check on family members—blood relatives, in-laws, disciples, employees, and so on—at any time.
Outsiders, however, required him to be face-to-face with them and use an Active Release of the ability. Based on his family’s current level, he only had one use per day.
Yang Shen immediately checked his aunt’s Life Chart, which didn’t consume one of his uses.
After a moment, he bit his lip, a sigh of helpless resignation escaping him.
Just like his own, hers consisted of five words:
Life of Labor and Struggle.
As for his two little sisters, the system displayed: Life Chart Undetermined.
What surprised Yang Shen was that checking a Life Chart didn’t display Spiritual Root aptitude. He wondered if anyone else had amazing Four Spiritual Roots like him...
Assuming, of course, that this system was even real.
Yang Shen shouldered his backpack and began the walk home.
The campus was mostly empty now. The evening glow painted the boy’s back in twilight hues.
The light seemed to gain weight, pressing down on his shoulders. The synthetic fabric of his uniform, still damp with sweat, clung to his skin, making him feel stuffy and exhausted.
Did he really... have a chance to change his "Life of Labor and Struggle" Life Chart?
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