“Substitute Death? Binding a living vessel?”

Wang Ba stared at the glowing screen before him, genuine astonishment flickering in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected that accumulating ten thousand years of Lifespan would unlock an additional reward.

Although this [Substitute Death] divine ability required a steep cost of 1,000 years of Lifespan to bind a creature, the trade-off was incredible. To immunity from a certain-death injury for the price of a millennium? It was the most cost-effective deal imaginable.

The only downside was its limitation against continuous, overwhelming damage. If an enemy could kill him ten times in a second, the ability would lose its value.

Even so, having a divine life-saving technique slightly eased the anxiety that had been gnawing at Wang Ba’s heart.

“I wonder if there will be another surprise at one hundred thousand years?”

He shook his head. “Forget it. Why think that far ahead? I need to decide how to arrange these 5,400 years of Lifespan right now.”

Carrying over five thousand years of Lifespan didn’t feel physically different, aside from a slight boost in energy. Unlike the Rare Fowl, he hadn’t experienced any spontaneous “Lifespan Breakthrough.”

This puzzled him. Was he unable to break through naturally, or was this simply how the human race functioned?

He had no way to test it. In his year at the Sect, aside from chickens and ducks, he hadn’t physically touched another living soul.

“I’ll test it when I have the chance. First, the main business.”

Wang Ba sat on his bed and calculated.

Originally, his only option was to dump everything into the Physique Strengthening Scripture. Now, he had the [Substitute Death] ability competing for resources.

The former would finally allow him to step into the ranks of true cultivators. The latter offered a safety net—a second chance at life in a crisis.

He weighed the options for only a moment before making his choice.

[Current Lifespan: -4,608 Years]

A sensation like a draining tide washed over him as over four thousand years of Lifespan were siphoned from his body.

In that silent, unnoticed moment, the bottleneck that had trapped countless Laborer Disciples for a lifetime… shattered.

Physique Strengthening Scripture, Tenth Layer: Completed.

Wang Ba gently squeezed his hand into a fist. He felt a sudden wave of dazed disbelief.

Is that it?

For a year since entering the Sect, he had toiled in the dirt. He had risen early and retired late, endured humiliation, and bore heavy burdens. All of it was for this single moment—to condense a Spirit Root and reach the sky in one step.

And now, just like that… it was done?

Instead of triumph, a strange hollowness expanded in his chest.

He sat blankly for a while, then slumped back onto his bed, ignoring the dried droppings Alpha-Seven had left on the sheets.

He forced himself to close his eyes.

Time passed in silence.

Suddenly, Wang Ba’s eyes snapped open. He sat up abruptly, a wild, trembling light flickering in his pupils. Excitement and exhilaration finally crashed over him like a tidal wave.

He had finally processed the reality!

“Spirit Root! I have a Spirit Root!”

He hadn’t started Qi Refining yet. He was still technically just a lowly Laborer Disciple. But so what?

He might still face hardships. He might still suffer misery. He might still endure the beatings of this cruel world.

But he knew, with absolute certainty, that nothing would ever be as hard as the path he had just walked.

Moved by a sudden impulse, Wang Ba looked up through the lattice of his window.

On the horizon, the sky was lightening into the pale, fish-belly white of dawn. It was a sight he had seen countless times before, day after grueling day.

But for some reason, he felt that today, it looked particularly beautiful.

“A talisman for testing Spirit Roots?”

Early the next morning at the West Garden Market, the manager of a talisman shop stroked his long beard and shook his head dismissively.

“We don’t carry that sort of thing here. You’d need to go to the ‘Wind Sun Market’ for that.” The manager looked Wang Ba up and down, his eyes lingering on the laborer’s uniform. “But a laborer like you… you can’t enter the Wind Sun Market.”

The manager’s eyes gleamed with a predatory merchant’s light. “However, how about taking a look at this ‘Colorful Splendor Talisman’? It creates a dazzling light show, simulating the effect of testing a Middle Grade Spirit Root! I also have one for a High Grade Single Spirit Root. Want to see? The price is the same, only six Spirit Shards.”

Wang Ba waved his hand. “Thanks, Manager, but no need.”

He had a real Spirit Root; why waste money experiencing a fake fantasy?

In truth, however, Wang Ba felt a little unsure.

Although the system indicated he had completed the tenth layer of the Physique Strengthening Scripture, his body didn’t feel different. His strength and speed hadn’t improved noticeably compared to the ninth layer.

More concerningly, he couldn’t feel the Spirit Root.

If not for his enhanced vision—which allowed him to see Spiritual Qi lingering in his Dantian as it passed through his body—he might have suspected the Physique Strengthening Scripture was a scam.

Cautious as always, he had run to the market at dawn just to confirm his status.

Unfortunately, the mortal market didn’t sell genuine testing tools. Only the cultivators’ market did, and his status barred him from entry.

“How about trying this ‘Minor Flying Sand Technique’?” the manager persisted, unwilling to let a customer leave empty-handed. “It doesn’t require Spiritual Power to activate. It does zero damage, but it lets you experience the feeling of an Immortal casting spells…”

Wang Ba clasped his hands in a polite salute. “I truly don’t need it. Sorry to bother you!”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Watching Wang Ba’s retreating figure, the shop manager’s polite smile vanished. He tugged at his beard and spat on the floor.

“Pah! What a piece of trash. Just a laborer, yet he walks around thinking he’s some hidden pearl! Why doesn’t he take a piss and look at his own reflection? Does he look like he has the fate for immortality? …Coming! Customer, what would you like?”

Wang Ba didn’t hear the manager’s sudden change in demeanor, but even if he had, he would have just chuckled.

He had another purpose for visiting the market.

“Manager, do you have any Rare Fowl or Colorful Ducks?”

“None,” the grain shop owner replied, shaking his head. “The higher-ups have been checking strictly lately. We aren’t allowed to buy sick stock anymore. Want to look at a Precious Pig instead?”

“Oh, hehe, forget it. I have a few healthy Spirit Poultry here. Are you buying?”

Wang Ba ran a full circle around the West Garden Market. The result was grim: not a single sick chicken was left in any of the grain shops.

The crackdown was comprehensive. Even other types of poultry were gone, leaving only a few large, healthy Precious Pigs that were too conspicuous to carry around.

Helpless, Wang Ba sold the few healthy Spirit Poultry he had brought with him for Spirit Stones. With prices high due to the shortage, it was a sure profit, no loss.

Armed with fresh funds, he headed toward Ding-Nine Manor, making a quick detour to the North Pine Market along the way.

He found several grain shops there with their doors sealed tight.

After asking around, he learned the terrifying truth: not long after he left the previous night, authorities had raided the North Pine Market. They had sealed the shops for “selling diseased poultry and endangering the Sect.”

Rumor had it that several Outer Sect disciples who had bought sick chickens were caught and severely punished.

Hearing this, Wang Ba broke out in a cold sweat.

Thank the heavens for his paranoia. He had worn a disguise last night. If even Outer Sect disciples were being dragged out and punished, he—a mere laborer—would have had no chance of escape.

He knew then that his days of “farming” Lifespan by buying sick chickens were over.

Still, Wang Ba was satisfied. During this wave of plague, he had collected nearly three thousand Rare Fowl. That was roughly equivalent to the total stock of a dozen manors combined. Under normal circumstances, accumulating that much Lifespan would have taken three or four years of grueling, cautious work.

“Once I test my Spirit Root and verify my potential, I need to find a way to leave the Sect immediately.”

As he walked, Wang Ba silently planned his escape.

To be honest, a part of him was tempted to stay. He could pretend to be a genius with a “Hidden Spirit Root” and become an official Outer Sect disciple of the Eastern Sage Sect. With the potential of his “Gold Finger,” he wouldn’t just reach the sky in one step—he would soar.

But he dared not forget the shadow lurking within the Sect: the “Ascension Society.”

Yu Changchun, Deacon Li, Old Hou… the conspiracy ran deep.

He had considered reporting them. But what if the Ascension Society’s backer really was the Head of the Clean Mountain Department?

That was a Golden Core True Person.

Did he, a tiny Laborer Disciple who hadn’t even started Qi Refining, have the courage to face such a titan?

Furthermore, he didn’t believe the Sect’s leadership consisted of fools. If they knew about the corruption and let it fester, the implications were terrifying.

Faced with such a complex and deadly web, his best response was simple:

Run.

At all costs. The faster, the better.

Harboring this grim determination, Wang Ba arrived at the entrance of Ding-Nine Manor.

Before he could even step inside, a wailing cry pierced the air.

“I don’t want to go to the front lines! I don’t want to die! I won’t go!”

It was Chu Erniu.