The truth about cultivation, and the things those glossy cultivation guides never tell you, is that it’s expensive.

  Really expensive.

  Sure, you can cultivate using just your determination and ambient spiritual energy, sitting by a waterfall, for example, like some enlightened hermit. But building a house with your bare hands is theoretically possible, yet extremely impractical.

  And more importantly, dangerously slow.

  “Attention, Outer Disciples!” Senior Sister Liu called out.

  We’d all assembled in the outer sect courtyard, all of us successful recruits from the Entrance Exam. Clan disciples stood at attention in their customary positions, backs straight, faces full of confidence. Village recruits, what was left of us, huddled together like scared lambs.

  I kept to the back, like I always did on Earth.

  Never volunteer, never stand out, and never make eye contact with anyone in charge when they ask for volunteers.

  “Today you start earning your keep,” Senior Sister Liu said, “each of you will contribute to the sect while cultivating. It’s non-negotiable.”

  Some of the disciples shifted uncomfortably.

  “Your jobs will include everything from collecting herbs and maintaining formations to providing security for the sect and running errands for inner and core disciples. You’ll be compensated with contribution points.”

  She gestured, and several inner disciples handed out jade tablets similar to our ID tokens.

  As soon as I received mine, I sensed a slight pulsating of energy coming from it.

  “These will track your contribution points,” Senior Sister Liu said. “These are the currency of your cultivation journey. Use them wisely. Spend them carefully.”

  “Master, I can interface with the tablet to help you track your earnings and expenditures,” Azure offered.

  “That would be great, thanks.”

  “The sect allocates a base amount of ten low-grade spirit stones per month to outer disciples who reach the minimum cultivation requirements,” Senior Sister Liu said. “However, this will barely cover your cultivation costs, let alone buy any additional materials.”

  That wasn’t encouraging.

  “This is the cost of the basic spiritual resources available to outer disciples,” she said, and I felt my stomach drop with each price. “Cultivation pills: 30 contribution points. Low-grade spirit stones: 10 contribution points each. Hourly usage of the sect’s advanced training facilities: 20 contribution points. Manuals detailing techniques suitable for your cultivation level: starting at 50 contribution points. And then there is…”

  “Master, based on these prices and the average rate of accumulation for outer disciples, most of them will likely be unable to generate enough contribution points to achieve meaningful advancements,” Azure said dryly. “It appears the system is set to create competition among you.”

  “Of course,” I thought back. “This is a cultivation sect, not a charity.”

  “Also,” Senior Sister Liu said, “I will evaluate you throughout the month. Any of you who fail to meet expectations will be assigned to support roles.”

  The way she phrased “support” made it apparent that this wasn’t a promotion.

  I didn’t know what the evaluation would be, but I wasn’t looking forward to it.

  “You have the rest of the afternoon to choose from among the available tasks and begin accumulating contribution points. Your decisions now will significantly impact your future cultivation,” Senior Sister Liu said. “Some tasks offer high pay but also carry high risks. Other tasks may be less dangerous but provide little monetary reward. The art lies in finding a balance that will suit your specific needs.”

  And with that, Senior Sister Liu suddenly disappeared.

  Gone, like magic, leaving behind only the slightest disturbance in the surrounding spiritual energies.

  I wish I knew how to do that.

  The courtyard erupted in chatter immediately after Senior Sister Liu left, as the disciples began discussing which task to pursue. Most of the clan disciples seemed to already know what they wanted. I heard some of them refer to “formation maintenance” and “assisting an inner disciple” as if they were obvious superior options.

  “Ke Yin!”

  I turned to see Wei Lin approaching, his usual wide grin firmly in place.

  Why was I not surprised?

  “Did you decide what you wanted to do yet?” he asked. “My family’s connections could help you secure a position with an inner disciple. If you accept messenger duties, the pay is relatively good and the work isn’t that difficult—”

  “I’m leaning toward herb gathering,” I said as quickly as I could before he could continue on.

  Wei Lin’s smile faltered. “Herb gathering? That’s... well, it’s honest work, but the pay is rather poor. 1-5 contribution points per hour depending on what you find. With formation maintenance, you could earn triple that amount.”

  “I don’t know anything about formations.”

  “They’ll teach you the basics.”

  “And herb gathering seems safer,” I added, which was basically the real point.

  In every single cultivation novel I’ve ever read, the “glamorous” tasks were always the ones that resulted in a fast death. Being an assistant to an inner disciple? Great, until that inner disciple makes enemies and you’re caught in the crossfire. Maintaining a formation? Wonderful, until the formation malfunctions and turns you into a crater of spiritual energy.

  Gathering herbs, on the other hand, consisted of wandering around gardens plucking plants.

  The greatest risk was getting dirt under your fingernails.

  “Master, you’re being paranoid again,” Azure said.

  “It’s not paranoia if they’re really trying to get you,” I replied.

  “No one is out to get you.”

  “Yes they are,” I said. “Just not yet.”

  Wei Lin groaned. “If you’re sure… but I should mention, my family supplies a lot of the spiritual herbs used in the sect. I can give you a comprehensive guide on how to identify valuable herbs for a mere—”

  “I’m fine, thanks,” I said.

  I turned and headed toward the section of the courtyard where the tasks were listed.

  Wei Lin trailed behind me, but I tuned him out.

  “You know,” Azure said thoughtfully, “he’ll keep trying.”

  “I know. Just as long as I continue to say ‘no’, I won’t lose any spirit stones.”

  “A sound economic plan.”

  ***

  The herb gardens ended up being a vast collection of gardens and plots, located at the foot of one of the smaller peaks. The atmosphere within the gardens was thick with spiritual energy and the scents of countless unknown plants.

  An inner disciple sat at a small desk near the entrance of the gardens, processing new recruits.

  “What’s your name?” she asked without raising her eyes from the scroll she was reading.

  “Ke Yin.”

  “Cultivation level?”

  “Stage 1 Qi Condensation.”

  She reluctantly put her scroll down and scribbled on a form.

  “Do you know the basic identification of herbs?”

  “Um... basic?”

  That got me an annoyed look.

  “Basic as in you know what Purple Heart Grass looks like, or basic as in you know what grass is?”

  “Closer to the second option,” I said.

  “Section 2,” she sighed. “Go talk to Lin Mei. She’ll show you what not to kill yourself with. Try not to poison yourself on the first day.”

  “I’ll try my best.”

  Section 2 was a large garden area with numerous plants in varying states of growth.

  Some of the plants glowed faintly with spiritual energy. There were others that pulsed in time with some invisible rhythm. And a few looked completely normal except for the fact that they were growing in soil that shimmered like crushed diamonds.

  “You must be the new recruit.”

  I turned to find a young woman roughly my age staring at me with an unmistakable mixture of amusement and curiosity. Her outer disciple robes were covered in dirt and debris from the plants, and both of her hands were caked with what looked like grass clippings. Despite this, or maybe because of it, she looked completely at ease.

  “Is it that obvious?” I asked.

  “You’re staring at Moon Fern as if you’ve never seen a plant before.” She gestured toward one of the plants that emitted a soft glow. “Most people at least pretend to know what they’re doing for the first hour.”

  “I’m going with radical honesty,” I said. “Seems like the safest bet.”

  Lin Mei laughed at that. “Lin Mei. Section 2 Supervisor.”

  “Ke Yin. Unskilled Herb Gatherer.”

  “At least you’re honest about it,” she said with a grin. “Come on, I’ll show you the basics. Don’t touch any glowing plants unless I say it’s okay to do so.”

  “How can you tell if it’s safe?”

  “If you touch it and don’t die, it was safe.”

  I stared at her.

  “I’m joking,” she said, pulling a weed out of the ground that was growing between two of the plants emitting a soft glow. “Well, mostly. There are hardly any poisonous plants in the outer sect gardens. Those are all locked away in areas where idiots can’t accidentally kill themselves.”

  “I guess that’s reassuring?”

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  “It should be! It means you’d have to try really hard to die here,” she said with a grin as she walked up to a plant with distinctive three-pointed leaves that gave off a faint purple glow. “Now, this is Purple Heart Grass. It’s one of the most commonly grown spiritual herbs in the gardens. It’s worth 1 contribution point per intact sprig.”

  I leaned in to study the plant more closely.

  The leaves had three distinct points, and the soft purple glow from the plant was subtle but noticeable.

  “I think I understand,” I said.

  “You sure?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Three-pointed leaves, purple glow.”

  “Good job,” Lin Mei said. “And this—” she pointed to a plant that looked almost identical to the Purple Heart Grass growing nearby, “—is Common Heart Weed. It’s virtually indistinguishable from Purple Heart Grass, and completely worthless for cultivation purposes. Worth absolutely nothing.”

  I studied the leaves more closely.

  She was right.

  They were almost identical, but the ends were slightly rounded.

  And while the glow was softer, it was more of a greenish color than a purplish one.

  “The difference is subtle,” I said.

  “Exactly,” Lin Mei said. “Which is why most new recruits spend their first week harvesting useless weeds instead of actual spiritual herbs.”

  She spent the next hour walking me through the gardens, pointing out various plants and explaining the differences between them. Some were simple to identify – the Dawn Lotus was literally glowing like a miniature sun. Others required much more attention – the difference between Spirit Grass and Mortal Grass came down to counting the number of veins in each leaf.

  “Master, this really does make sense,” Azure said. “Each plant has unique characteristics that can be systematically documented and—”

  “Are you having fun?” I asked, surprised by his eager tone.

  “The organizational challenge is stimulating. Is that strange?”

  I paused for a second, thinking about how to answer that.

  Azure was created from my soul with the literal purpose of taking care of my inner world.

  I guess it only made sense that he’d get some enjoyment out of organising things.

  “No, it’s not strange,” I finally said.

  My words had a greater impact than I thought it would.

  I could almost feel the satisfaction emanating from him.

  I decided to get back to making contribution points.

  “So,” I said to Lin Mei as we worked, trying to have a conversation that wouldn’t seem suspicious, “How did you end up as the supervisor of Section 2 after only a week?”

  “My family are farmers. They have been for generations,” Lin Mei replied, glancing up from the Spirit Root she was studying. “My mother has a small medicinal herb garden where I spent most of my childhood working.”

  “So, you already had a foundation to build on.”

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Lin Mei said with a smile that held a hint of wistfulness. “The cultivator that recruited me told me about the herb gardens so the first thing I did when I passed the Entrance Exam was start working here.” She pulled up a weed that had been growing between two Spirit Roots. "As for becoming a supervisor; I wasn't the only one from a farming background, but I was one of the few village recruits who passed the Entrance Exam. Most of the clan disciples think herb gathering is beneath them, so they were happy to let someone else manage it."

  That matched what I had seen. The clan recruits were all fixated on the higher-paying tasks, the ones that allowed them to interact with the inner disciples, possibly opening doors to greater opportunities.

  “Do you mind it?” I asked. “The other disciples thinking that maintaining the gardens is beneath them, I mean.”

  “They can think whatever they want,” Lin Mei shrugged. “While they’re trying to gain the favor of inner disciples, I can save up contribution points and work on the practical skills that I’m good at.” She stopped what she was doing and looked me right in the eye. “You know, cultivation isn’t just about combat techniques and profound insights. Sometimes it's about knowing which herb will save your life when you're injured, or which ones can supplement your meditation when you can't afford expensive pills.”

  I couldn’t help but nod along.

  A lot of young cultivators only cared about power.

  They often forgot that cultivation had many paths.

  It was more about finding the one that suited you.

  “My mother always said the best cultivation is the kind that keeps you alive long enough to cultivate more.” Lin Mei continued, pulling a basket from beneath one of the worktables. "Here, this is yours. Start with the Purple Heart Grass in the eastern section. There's a good crop ready for harvesting. Bring back whatever you collect, and I'll verify it before you get credit.”

  “Thanks for the help,” I bowed, taking the basket.

  It was nice to meet someone who actually had common sense in a Cultivation World.

  “Don't thank me yet. You haven't seen how picky the verification process is.”

  I laughed at that, hoping that was another joke…

  ***

  The afternoon passed fast as I worked my way through the eastern section of the garden.

  Despite Lin Mei’s words of warning, I found myself oddly… peaceful. There was something meditative about moving through the rows of plants, identifying the useful ones, and harvesting them, while leaving the rest untouched.

  For the first hour, Azure had been quite active in his guidance.

  But he had a good reason to be – I sucked.

  “That one’s Yellow Plum Grass, Master.”

  “Skip that one. Just a weed.”

  “Don’t miss the Star Anise Root.”

  But after the hour was done, his comments had tapered off, and I lost myself in the repetitive, soothing work.

  “Master, you’re identifying them without my help now,” Azure commented. “Your precision is improving.”

  “Is it? I feel as if I can barely keep track of which plant is which.”

  “You’ve correctly identified 47 specimens in a row. The learning curve seems to be levelling off somewhat.”

  That was encouraging. Maybe I really did have an aptitude for this.

  I was in the middle of harvesting a particularly nice cluster of Purple Heart Grass when I heard two voices approaching.

  “—surely your family’s garden needs high quality spiritual herbs,” the first voice was saying. “My family, the Wei Merchant Family, has been supplying cultivation sects for three generations. Our herbs are guaranteed to be—”

  “That is very kind of you to offer,” the second voice was polite but firm, “but the sect gives all the herbs we need for our cultivation. I don’t want to spend contribution points or spirit stones on outside sources when everything I want is here.”

  “Ah but the sect resources are lower grade than what my family can provide! This Purple Heart Grass you're growing here is good, yeah, but our Purple Heart Grass is grown in soil mixed with spiritual beast manure and watered with mountain spring water that has been-“

  “I'm really not interested thank you.”

  I didn’t even need to look up to know who I’d find emerging from between two rows of plants.

  It seemed Wei Lin had met Lin Mei and was giving her the best sale pitch he could offer.

  As for Lin Mei, she looked patient but even her patience was waning.

  “Ke Yin!” Wei Lin spotted me and his face lit up. “Maybe you could help me explain to Lin Mei here the value of quality spiritual resources-”

  “Pretty sure she said she wasn't interested,” I interrupted and stood up from where I sat cross-legged, dusting dirt off my robes.

  “Yes, but I don’t think she fully understands the benefits–”

  I didn’t bother to listen to what he had to say.

  I turned to Lin Mei.

  “From my experience, there’s no point trying to explain why you’re not willing to buy whatever he’s offering,” I explained. “Just say no and go on with your day, he’ll finally give up.”

  “I see,” Lin Mei said, a hint of amusement creeping into her tone. She looked at Wei Lin. “In that case: no, I don’t want to buy any herbs from your family. No, I don’t need information about spiritual plant cultivation. And no, to any other offers you might be planning to give. Is that direct enough?”

  Wei Lin opened his mouth, closed it, and tried once more. “I… but what if I offered a discount—”

  “No.”

  “Maybe if you just looked at our catalog—”

  “No.”

  “We have some excellent deals on—”

  “No.”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed.

  Wei Lin looked at me with betrayed puppy-dog eyes. “You’re enjoying this.”

  “Little bit, yeah.”

  “Fine.” He sighed dramatically. “I know when I’m not wanted. But when you both realize you could be advancing your cultivation much faster with quality resources from the Wei Family, don’t say I didn’t try to help.”

  With that, he turned and walked off toward another section of the garden, probably to find some other disciple to pitch his products to.

  “Does he do that to everyone?” Lin Mei asked once he was out of earshot.

  “As far as I can tell, yeah. I think it’s just how he’s wired. His family are merchants, so he sees everything as a potential business opportunity.”

  “Even other disciples?”

  “Especially disciples. We’re basically a captive market.”

  “I almost feel bad for him.” Lin Mei shook her head, but she was smiling. “Come on, let’s see what you’ve collected so far.”

  We spent the rest of the afternoon working together, with Lin Mei pointing out herbs I’d missed and teaching me more efficient harvesting techniques. By the time the sun dipped below the hills, my basket was full, my back sore, but I felt strangely satisfied.

  “Not a bad haul for your first day,” Lin Mei said as we took our spoils to the nearby verification station. “You have a keen eye for detail. Most disciples end up with at least thirty percent useless weeds on their first run.”

  “What was my percentage?”

  She began to sort through my haul.

  “Maybe ten percent. That’s good. You’re not from a farming background, are you?”

  “Definitely not. I just... see patterns, I guess.”

  “Master,” Azure called out. “I believe that I am the one seeing patterns.”

  “You’re helping. I take the credit. That’s how partnerships work.”

  “That seems... ethically dubious.”

  “Welcome to the world of cultivation. Ethics are negotiable.”

  The disciple at the verification station quickly categorized what we had brought her before updating our jade tablets.

  Twenty-five contribution points for an afternoon’s work.

  Which, if I read Senior Sister Liu’s price list correctly, was equivalent to two and a half spirit stones or most of a basic pill or an hour's worth of access to the training grounds.

  Not much, but we all had to start somewhere.

  “Same time tomorrow then?” Lin Mei asked as we made our way toward the dining hall.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll stick with herb gathering for the moment.”

  “Smart choice. Safe and steady work. Not spectacular, but it keeps you alive.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of my cultivation philosophy. To stay alive. I can always pursue glory later.”

  “I like that,” she laughed. “Most disciples are the opposite; they're so eager to get ahead they take stupid risks and end up dead or crippled.”

  “That is exactly why I'm here picking herbs.”

  “Can't argue with that logic.”

  When we arrived at the dining hall, Lin Mei invited me to join her and some other disciples, but I decided to find a quiet corner to eat alone. I wasn’t trying to be antisocial; I just needed some time to process everything that had happened today.

  “Master, your social interaction skills are improving,” Azure said as I ate.

  “Is that meant to be some sort of compliment?”

  “Just an observation,” he replied. “You managed an entire afternoon of conversation without revealing your transmigrator status.”

  “Low bar, but I'll take it.”

  I knew what Azure meant though.

  One of the main reasons I struggled to make friends in this new world was the fear of being found out. But it was nice to know I didn’t have to isolate myself. Maybe I would be able to make friends.

  I finished my meal and returned to my cell, sorry, "cultivation chamber." The same old spartan room, but I'd started to think of it as mine. A space where I could drop the facade and just be me. Or whatever version of me I was in this world.

  I sat down on my bed and took out one of the spirit stones that I’d received for my monthly stipend after succeeding in the Entrance Exam and officially becoming an outer disciple.

  I held it up to the light of the lamp. It pulsed invitingly, warm against my palm.

  “Okay, Azure. Walk me through this. How do I actually use this thing?”

  “The process is simple. You enter a meditative state and draw the spiritual energy from the stone into your body. From there you circulate it through your meridians and channel it into your inner world.”

  “What if I mess up?”

  “It could injure your meridians, destabilize your cultivation, or if you really mess up, cause your inner world to collapse.”

  “So, no pressure then.”

  "I'll talk you through it, Master, so you won't accidentally cripple yourself. At least not on my watch."

  "That is strangely comforting."

  I settled into meditation position, spirit stone still in my hand.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on breathing and sinking my consciousness into my inner world.

  The dark void of meditation opened before me. Floating now in the familiar darkness of my inner world, I realised it had grown slightly since I’d first awakened it. The radius was no longer two meters; it was more like three.

  Azure stood in the middle, white robes flowing in a wind that wasn’t there. “Are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Then begin drawing the energy from the stone. Think of it flowing to you like water into a cup.”

  I focused on the spirit stone in my physical hand, on that feeling of energy within, like molten sun with fire in its essence.

  Carefully, I began to draw it to me.

  It didn’t want to come at first.

  But slowly, surely, it flowed through my palm, up my arm, spreading through my body in tingling waves. It felt incredible. It was like drinking the best coffee in the world while getting a massage and winning the lottery all at the same time.

  "Steady, Master. Don't let it overwhelm you. Guide it into your inner world."

  I directed its flow inward, watching as streams of golden light began pouring towards my inner world, piercing the outer layers. The whole space brightened and I felt it stretching slightly, the boundaries pushed outward.

  "Excellent. Now circulate it. Let it fill every corner of the space."

  The energy swirled around the inner world forming like a galaxy, beautiful and terrible and utterly alien. This was power. Real power. The kind that could break trees and demolish buildings and make you more than human. The kind that could make you a god.

  "Don't get lost in it, Master."

  Azure's voice snapped me back from the edge of whatever delusion I had been approaching.

  Right. Focus.

  I continued the process until it drew enough power from the stone that it crumbled to dust in the palm of my hand. When I opened my eyes again after the meditation... I felt different. Stronger. More alive.

  "Was that a breakthrough?"

  “No, Master,” Azure replied. “But your cultivation has advanced slightly. You're now at maybe fifteen percent of Qi Condensation Stage 2."

  "Wow, all that from one spirit stone?"

  “That’s normal at the earlier stages, but as you progress, you’ll need a lot more resources to make the same amount of progress.”

  Yeah, that made sense.

  It didn’t matter what it was.

  The earlier stages were always the easiest and quickest to make progress in.

  I couldn’t expect the same when I was in the later stages of Qi Condensation or the higher realms.

  What mattered the most was consistency.

  I got up and paced back and forth.

  I could feel the energy surging through me. It was exhilarating.

  "You need to be careful, Master," Azure warned. "This is how it starts.”

  "I know," I replied. "I have to be careful not to get addicted to power. And remind myself that I'm just one guy with shaky foundations in a sect of people who could crush me like a bug if I stepped out of line.”

  “That’s true,” Azure replied. “But I was actually going to say staying up late to cultivate one time is the start of many sleepless nights. You should get some sleep. Classes will be difficult if you’re exhausted.”

  “Oh, yeah, that’s good advice too.”

  I got into bed and thought about my first full day of working for the sect.

  I had avoided Wei Lin’s sly sales talk.

  I had picked the safest path to earn contribution points.

  I had found an ally, maybe even a friend, in Lin Mei.

  And I had been able to use a spirit stone without accidentally crippling myself.

  Not a bad first day in a Cultivation World.

  Maybe I could survive this whole cultivation thing after all.

  As long as I kept making the paranoid choice.

  As long as I kept picking the boring tasks instead of chasing glory.

  And as long as I remembered that I was only a human in a world of gods.

  The path that I was walking wasn’t the glorious path the protagonists in cultivation novels walked.

  But it was mine.

  And as long as it kept me alive, that was enough.