Legend of Yei Gui Feng

The world of cultivàtion is vast and is always a

road filled with endless bloodbaths. Throughout

time immemorial countless experts have tread

this blood stained road and left behind their "Legends and legacies. Something shared by those who stand at the far top of the summit is that, regardless of their background, they will always have to start at the far bottom. Of course, not every person is born with the same amount of resources and talent. For those born with insufficient resources, the first thought would be to join a sect and prove one's worth to acquire the limited resources.

The Seven Rivers Sect is one of the four sects of Míng Rì Guó (Country of the Bright Sun). Out of the four sects that make up the defense of this land against the demonic sects, the Seven Rivers Sect is the most open-minded."

"Regarding recruitment, the Seven Rivers Sect has the most strongest promotion requirements. However, there is no discrimination against one's talent, and practically any mortal may join and be promoted as their cultivation base increases. It doesn't matter if one's background is prominent or not. Since every single person must always start from the bottom, this is considered a very fair system in the eyes of many who aspire to cultivate towards immortality.

Currently standing at the foot of the Seven Rivers Sect's first mountain is a boy by the name of Jiu Gui Feng. He is dressed in a set of plain robes. Before Jiu Gui Feng stands an elder from the sect."

"Describing him, he wears a Daoist robe with a flying Spirit Beast emblem behind his back. The raven-haired boy had just finished making a breakthrough yesterday in his cultivation and is now seeking promotion.

'Ahem...' The outer sect disciple makes an awkward expression as he forces himself to smile while averting his eyes to the side before speaking. 'Congratulations on reaching the 5th level of Qi Condensation.'

Jiu Gui Feng can't help but stare at the senior disciple in front of him with a blank expression "'0.5th level of Qi Condensation?' Honestly, I never knew such a level of cultivation even existed. I don't know if I should say you're lucky or unlucky for being the first to acquire such a cultivation base." The senior disciple seemed amazed by the discovery.

Perhaps, in the entire cultivation world, Jiu Gui Feng was the only individual to have ever reached such a level. In a way, this could be considered a talent in being exceptionally untalented.

Jiu Gui Feng's thoughts exploded in frustration:

"What the hell does that mean?! No way! I'm unlucky! You piece of...! 0.5th?! What the hell is this?! Even the weakest person in a xianxia novel would never have such a pathetic level of cultivation, no matter how talentless they are!!! The senior disciple gave the boy a pitying look while patting his shoulder. "I know this might be harsh, but until you reach the appropriate levels, you'll have to continue working in the sect's kitchen." He handed Ye Gui Feng his identity medal back.

Ye Gui Feng continued to look blankly at the senior disciple, who coughed while making his departure using a flying sword that took him towards the peak of the distant mountain.

_Sigh_ Ye Gui Feng sighed miserably as he walked to the kitchen area of the sect with a hunched back.

"It took me a total of three years to make a breakthrough into the 0.5th level of Qi Condensation. This may as well be just slightly above a mortal.

Inwardly, Ye Gui Feng curses about this mistreatment by the gods. As someone born in the 21st century of modern times but died to be reincarnated into this ancient world, shouldn't he be blessed with cheat-like talent that makes him the envy of others, like in the web novels he had often read?

When he had first discovered the existence of immortals in this world, Ye Gui Feng had hyped himself up while shouting, "This is the reason behind why I was born in these times!"

Thinking back to how bright his eyes were at the time, Ye Gui Feng can't help but laugh in ridicule at his naive mindset from a few years back.

"Oh, you're back."

"How'd it go?"

"He's back, and with that look, so nothing good happened."

Eyes gazed upon the sight of Ye Gui Feng's miserable return. Many of them were already at the first level of Qi Condensation. To move out of this place, they would have to have reached at least the third level.

"Alright, enough moping around. Get back to work."

"One of these days, you'll definitely become one of the strongest cultivators in the world!"

"That's the spirit. You'll get there eventually."

Taking in the encouraging words of his seniors, the boy mustered up his fighting spirit and began his daily job in the kitchen to prepare meals for the outer sect disciples

The hours of work soon drew to a close as the kitchen staff began their daily cleaning before preparing to close up shop.

Out of the entirety of the sect, the kitchen had the strongest bonds in teamwork, mainly due to how there were many chances to interact with their fellow peers.

"Alright, put out the fire."

"Shall I go prepare the hot waters for a bath?"

"Yeah, do that."

"Jiu Gui Feng, go get some water from the river with a few others.

"Get in."

There was no proper bathing area within this sect for those working outside. Mostly, everyone could only choose to create a makeshift bathtub out of used materials. For the kitchen staff, the bathing area was quite spacious, as everyone had poured their strength into making one.

"Ah, this is nice. If such days can continue, I'd be quite satisfied."

"Ahaha, definitely."

"But it's too bad tomorrow I'm going for my promotion.

As the others congratulate the person getting promoted, Ye Gui Feng begrudgingly curses at them inwardly.

"Ye Gui Feng, you must catch up quickly."

"Of course, of course..."

Although meant as a joke, it nonetheless hurts his pride, and Ye Gui Feng swears to get back at them.

Upon Ye Gui Feng reaching the age of 15, it quickly dawned on him that he had no hope of ever becoming an immortal. He could only continue to remain at his pathetic 0.5th level of Qi Condensation.

Despite Ye Gui Feng's best efforts in trying to raise his cultivation, he found himself unable to increase it even after five years of painstaking hard work. Ye Gui Feng had no clue as to why it took him so long to realize this, but ultimately, it had taken him five years to set his ambitions down

Day after day, Ye Gui Feng would tie himself to a listless routine of working around the kitchen to prepare food for the outer sect disciples. There was a lot of manual labor involved that Ye Gui Feng didn't wish to think about.

All of the senior members of the kitchen had been promoted, and they were now respected members of the Outer sect. Occasionally, they would come to visit every now and then.

"Sigh... Why didn't I realize this before?" Sitting around in his room, which contained only a desk and a hard bed, Ye Gui Feng sighed.

"I don't have a tragic background. I don't have a female childhood friend. I don't have some sort of prop to my name. I am not the main character. Isn't it obvious that I won't get a cheat-like talent?"

"Like talent coming to me? Hahahaha..." Ye Gui Feng laughs, as if being mocked by his own miserable negativity.

Perhaps this was a truth that Ye Gui Feng had known deep down but refused to admit to.

Recalling the amount of xianxia novels he had read, where the main character, despite being born with poor talent, would always be blessed with some kind of heavenly, divine treasure. After 15 years of living in this world, Ye Gui Feng had never encountered such a thing.

"It means to say that I'm simply not destined to be the main character of this world's legends."

"Aard, screw my ass... No matter how hard I've worked, it's never worked out for me!"

Even now, Ye Gui Feng still hasn't gone past the boundaries of the 0.5th level of Qi Condensation. Most of those he had worked with in the kitchen have already moved on, leaving him as the senior member of the marketplace.

"Forget it... I'll just be happy with my status as the kitchen manager."

The only time Ye Gui Feng can boast is when giving a newly recruited disciple a rundown of the place and a tour of the mountain base. But even that didn't last long, as those disciples would also move on from the kitchen.

Each time that happened, Ye Gui Feng felt like a dagger was cutting away at his self-esteem, making him lose confidence in his own abilities.

Those disciples, at most, would only need three years to move up the ladder of promotion to become an outer sect disciple. At this point, Ye Gui Feng can only cry about his shattered ambitions alone at night."

Indeed, Ye Gui Feng has realized that he is not the main character of this world's story. As that is the case, he has come to gradually accept his circumstances as a talentless mortal.

"_Sigh_ I should sleep soon. Tomorrow is another long day..." Ye Gui Feng quickly tucks himself into bed and sleeps for the night.

Of course, he wasn't receptive to some sort of dream where a divine being would appear in his sleep, granting him unique knowledge or fortune.

"Ugh... The fate of being a fodder is so cruel."

"I'm sorry to all the side characters I've bashed on in the past..."

The early morning arrives as the sound of a chicken's cry acts as the alarm clock, waking up the kitchen staff members. Each of them gets out of bed, gets dressed, and heads to their responsible stations to begin preparations for breakfast.

"Big brother, we're running low on meat. At this rate, the outer sect disciples will grill us..."

To be called "big brother" by the kitchen staff has truly become one of Ye Gui Feng's only joys in life.

"I see that the beef supplies are running low."

The kitchen staff used beef sparingly by cutting up a single steak-sized meat into rice-sized grains before placing them into a soup with actual rice. This increased the consumption of meat for the kitchen staff but led to the outer sect disciples' complaints.

However, being able to hoard the meat for themselves was something that the kitchen took great pleasure in, so they naturally wouldn't care about complaints.

"How many chickens do we have? If their numbers are sufficient, we'll just butcher a few to substitute for the lack of beef."

"That should be enough. But this doesn't solve the long-term issue..."

"It's fine. I'll head to town tomorrow to buy more and have them delivered here by supper."

Over the years, Ye Gui Feng has grown more and more accustomed to being a kitchen staff member. His connections with the people in charge of supplying the sect with food ingredients are extremely good.

Each time he walks down the town's marketplace, Ye Gui Feng would feel like a celebrity as all the aunties and uncles would warmly welcome him, providing him with freebies every time they see him.

"Sorry to have to bother you with this."

"It's fine, it's all good. I'm good for..." Ah..."

A weak laugh comes from Ye Gui Feng, who feels a mix of embarrasment and gratitude

He hunches his back in the manner of a worthless member of society. The junior disciple realized too late that attempting to make his words sound comforting had the opposite effect instead.

"Big Brother Ye, cheer up. In our hearts, you'll always be our senior."

Another one of the juniors in the kitchen speaks up readily.

"You've always treated us very nicely over the years, haven't you?"

As his eyes moisten, Ye Gui Feng is overwhelmed by the warmth he receives from his junior staff members.

"I took care of you all very nicely, didn't I? It looks like that was indeed worth it."

As his eyes moisten, Ye Gui Feng is overwhelmed by the warmth he receives from his junior staff members.

"I treated you all very nicely over the years, haven't I? It looks like that was indeed worth it."

"Of course," one of them says. "Within the kitchen workplace, there are only a few senior members, including Ye Gui Feng. But the one who is most respected by them all is definitely the one who has worked here the longest."

"Alright, let's finish up today's tasks. Tomorrow, we'll have a feast – a steak each."

"Xia Gui Feng, are you heading down to town?"

"Hm?"

One of the senior members of the kitchen, Kong Tu Ye, who was now a member of the outer sect, notices Ye Gui Feng preparing to head down to town.

"Yes."

"Be careful. There have been some sightings of...

"Those from the demonic sects."

"Uh? How did they get into town?"

"No idea. Well, security's gotten tighter, so it should be fine. But just because it has doesn't mean you can let your guard down."

"Then you should be careful as well."

The senior nods as he reaches into his storage bag to pull out a bottle of pills, which he passes to Ye Gui Feng.

"Senior Brother Kong, you really shouldn't give me these. They would be better off in your hands."

As Ye Gui Feng sees no hope in increasing his cultivation base, he feels bad taking these pills from his former senior in the kitchen workplace.

"Nonsense. Everyone misses you in the outer sect. You need to quickly catch up."

Not taking a no for an answer, Rong Lu hastily leaves, forcing Ye Gui Feng to accept the pill bottle.

"_Sigh_ I really don't want to let them down..."

Many of his former seniors and juniors would often come to visit him, bringing Ye Gui Feng such pills that they had saved up over the past few weeks. However, this only makes Ye Gui Feng feel increasingly guilty about not raising his cultivation base despite receiving so much help.

With a heavy heart, Ye Gui Feng sighs and heads to town.

Once in town...

"Ye Gui Feng, take these cabbages."

"Ye Gui Feng, here's some surplus meat."

"Ye Gui Feng, come here."

The marketplace is as bustling as usual as Ye Gui Feng walks about. Every time a shopkeeper sees him, they would openly give him freebies.

This is the place where Ye Gui Feng feels most welcomed.

"Thank you," Ye Gui Feng says, thanking each of the shopkeepers for their generosity. In the past, he had tried to refuse, but he has come to discover that they wouldn't take no for an answer, so he can only gratefully accept them each time he visits.

"They all treat me so nicely. This really does make me feel better about myself."

Ye Gui Feng feels himself to be somewhat pathetic for being so easily touched by this as he makes his way to the biggest butcher in town.

"Uncle, I've come to order some beef for the kitchen staff."

"Oh? I figured as much. You haven't visited in too long - over two months."

"It's been somewhat busy... But then again, I really don't have much of an excuse to forget about coming here."

The ordering and scheduling of delivery for the meat ingredients are quickly settled, as the manager has already prepared the items in advance, anticipating Ye Gui Feng's visit.

With the ordering and scheduling settled, Ye Gui Feng had some free time to walk around town.

"_Sigh_ I feel like I need to do some soul searching."

Perhaps Ye Gui Feng's decision to join the Seven Rivers Sect had been a rash one, as he had found no success in his cultivation. Throughout his time in the Seven Rivers Sect, he had only been stuck working in the kitchen for well over ten years.

When the villagers of Ye Gui Feng's hometown had sent him off, they had encouraged him greatly and given him their blessings. If he went back there now, like this, Ye Gui Feng would truly be making himself a laughingstock.

"No, no, I won't go back. Even if life is rough here, I still want to continue."

"Psst. Hey, come over here."

As Ye Gui Feng continues to walk down the streets of the town, a figure dressed in dark robes waves towards him with their hand in the shape of a cat's paw.

"Hm?"

Turning his head towards the direction of a narrow alleyway, Ye Gui Feng walks towards the suspicious individual. Their appearance gives off a shady and tacky vibe.

With their face covered up by the hood of their dark robe, it's impossible to tell what kind of expression they're making.

"Judging by the badge on your chest, you must be a disciple of the Seven Rivers Sect."

"I'm not sure if I count as a disciple, considering how I'm working in the kitchen... Do you know how unfair the world of cultivation is? If you're lacking talent, you cannot hope to become immortal. Within this world, the strong feed on the weak."

"Yes, yes, I know this truth more than anyone else," Ye Gui Feng said, his voice laced with despair. "I'm a talentless piece of trash who couldn't even reach the first level of Qi Condensation after three whole years of hard work, and has been stuck at the 0.5th level since then."

No one was more aware of this harsh reality than Ye Gui Feng, who had lived in this world for 15 years. The sad truth was so tragic that Ye Gui Feng couldn't help but shed tears of self-pity as he took over the conversation to share his story.

Ye Gui Feng shared his entire life story of being a talentless disciple of the Seven Rivers Sect, staring up at the clear heavens.

Unbeknownst to Ye Gui Feng, the old man beneath his hood had his eyes flashing upon hearing that this boy had a cultivation base of only the 0.5th level of Qi Condensation.

As Ye Gui Feng's narrative continued to grow in length, the shady old man in dark robes seemed to have become speechless, listening intently to Ye Gui Feng while nodding his head every now and then.

Upon Ye Gui Feng finishing his story:

"Since you already know all this, I shall give this to you for the price of four spirit stones.

The shady person hands Ye Gui Feng a thin booklet. There is no title on it, but judging by the special papers used to construct it, this is clearly a cultivation manual.

"_Sigh_ Fine, four spirit stones? Do you truly believe someone working in the kitchen would have such a fortune? You must be underestimating my level of poverty."

Since there was truly nothing Ye Gui Feng could boast about, he might as well boast about his expertise in poverty. Poverty was surely one of his specialties. After working for so long in the kitchen, Ye Gui Feng had never made a single spirit stone to show for his efforts.

"Ah, my life is really filled with misery, isn't it? God is dead and has completely forsaken me."

The old man, seeing that Ye Gui Feng's words were probably true, coughed before continuing to speak.

"Ahem... Very well, consider it a freebie."

"Wait, just who are you?"

"Oh, I am merely a kindhearted traveler who offers free blessings to aspiring youths who wish for immortality."

"No, no, no matter how you try to make yourself sound virtuous, you're clearly suspicious. Don't tell me you're a demon -

"Goodbye!"

From within the robes of the suspicious person, a metal sphere falls, and upon hitting the ground, _Pooooooof!!!_ it explodes to release a dense smoke cloud that causes everyone around the area to cough.

"He was a demonic cultivator, dammit! If I had reported him, I would have gotten a few spirit stones!"