" Brat! Hurry up. You have not yet cleaned the floor. His Highness is going to be visiting the mansion today."
"Yes, Sir."
With a sigh filled with exhaustion and body aches, I dipped the cotton threads of the mop into the bucket filled with water.
DRIP
DRIP
I ran along the floor using the mop I had made. No, not made. It was better said that I invented the mop. Invented was the correct word since I was the first one to make this item in this continent.
I was a proud inventor of the ultimate cleaning tool-the mop—such a great Innovation.
DRIP
DRIP
SWISH
Looking at the shining floor, I felt depressed. I went from being a doctor, enjoying the comforts and respect of the modern world, to being a 4-year-old servant child raised by the Dai Family in Soul Land. Yes, the same Dai family, which was the same royal family of the Star Luo empire, featured in Soul Land.
SMACK
Feeling the hit on the back of my head, I wanted to scream at the fatso and my current pitiful state, but I held back. A eunuch serving the royalty was not someone I couldn't offend.
"What are you daydreaming about, kid? The prince will be here soon. Get out of my sight. Now. Don't anger him with your presence when he arrives here. Just because the head servant praises you doesn't mean you can slack off. Go clean the windows. Now."
"I already completed it, sir."
SMACK.
"Then, get lost."
My heart filled with envy as I observed the eunuch effortlessly traverse the 10-meter hallway, not leaving a single mark on the floor. I could still hear his distant mutters about me being a lazy kid who got lucky by catching the eye of the head servant.
Even without his eunuch identity, his power as a soul master was enough to make me swallow all my resentment and anger. While the soul masters couldn't kill just because they had the power, it was a different matter if a normal citizen opposed them. Then even the other soul masters won't say anything if he beats me up.
Yes, just beat me up. He couldn't kill me even if I shouted back at him. Killing without reason could easily brand a soul master as an evil soul master, making them a target for everyone to hunt. It was a delightful surprise for me when I found that out.
SIGH.
I took the mop, whose making and presentation to the Head servant helped me land the job in the mansion. Now, I stored it in the cupboard and got back to the training grounds.
The ordinary army of the empire had a military base adjacent to the Dai family's vacation mansion, where I was employed. So, naturally, I did my best to train my body. It was a bad idea, considering my young body, even in this fantasy world. But I couldn't care less. I just couldn't imagine enduring the life of a servant, considering the knowledge I had.
As for the consequences of my current stupidity in the later stages of cultivation, I must first reach that stage.
Besides, there are many healing martial souls, herbs, and treasures that could deal with them. Some of which I know because I had read the novel, Soul Land. Not just one, I had also read two before losing interest altogether.
Not just that, I knew that this world was connected to a sealed divine throne and Heavenly Jewel change. Well, those two were the ones I remembered. Even then, I had started forgetting, considering how far away they were from the current me. Thankfully, I had a war to remember them.
[Ding.]
With the confidence that sound brought, I entered the training grounds.
-
-
——-Star empire, Ordinary army military base, Training ground———
"HAI."
SWISH
"HAI."
SWISH
"HAI."
Looking at the ordinary soldiers training with their weapon martial souls practising their army formation, I felt sad for them and even more fearful about my future. Their lack of innate soul power, something beyond their control, confined them to a lifetime of being pawns.
This guy's lifetime achievement would be cannon fodder.
Especially when I considered the fact that this land would plunge into a continent-wide war.
Shaking my head to clear these thoughts, I began my daily routine of running around, but couldn't shake the negative thoughts that weighed on my heart.
My heart sank as I observed the soldiers brandishing their polished spears, knives, and swords, a symbol of the world's unfairness.
They all had good martial souls, but lacked innate soul power or had only one or two innate soul powers. Essentially, this makes them unable to pursue the Soul Master path. Not everyone was fortunate enough to be born into the Blue Dragon Tyrant family.
At least, these guys had suitable martial souls. Most normal folk couldn't even enter this mansion.
The only reason I could enter the mansion was because I was still unawakened. Additionally, I also impressed the head servant with my invention of a cleaning mop. Hence, I turned my fate around from a lifetime of begging to securing three meals a day when I passed the servant's recruitment in the orphanage. Otherwise, I would have thrown away just for looking at the gates of this mansion.
I feared so because, according to the orphanage, my parents were normal people.
Despite the chance of not having the innate soul power, the orphanage raising me could be attributed to the dead parent's cat martial souls. Being their son, me inheriting a cat-related martial soul was a good possibility.
The royal family's marital soul, being a white tiger, played a role in ensuring that all cat family marital souls were included in the empire's welfare schemes.
SNORT
More like a massive net thrown for talents who would be loyal to the fault in the future.
Then, the talented cat soul masters found from the wide net cast by the empire's welfare benefits would be absorbed into various families, such as Zhu, Xu, and Huang. These families all had cat-related marital souls.
In the same way, members of these families, mainly the Zhu family, would then go higher in the hierarchy [Dai] by marriage, ensuring that the Dai family has a stable marital inheritance.
It was unfair to citizens or orphans born with other martial souls, but for the first time in both lives, I was the one benefiting from the unfairness. So, I was happy.
ARGH
I felt the hit of the wooden spear on my face as the soldier continued his movement to do a 360-degree turn and hit my back.
WHACK.
Feeling the hit as I got up from the ground, "I had had enough. What is wrong with you? I am just a normal 4-year-old. I didn't even have my awakening ceremony."
Soldier Hu just chuckled and said, "You are the one who asked me to teach you to fight, kid. Unfortunately, this is fighting. The way you are, you will be beaten into the ground, no matter the fight. At least the exercises you are doing seem to have some effect. You could take the hit."
Unlike most of the people who were equivalent to medieval-age folks from the Earth, I could be considered knowledgeable. Who would have thought that my gym experience would be helpful here?
I answered by shouting with all my strength and pulling my hand back, "AHHH!"
[AI pointer: Tighten the biceps and Trapezoid more. Lighten the weight on the right foot….]
I did as I was told and punched.
SWOOSH
Soldier Hu raised an eyebrow at me, a sudden correction. Not just him, even I, I could feel and see that the Punch had all my strength behind it. This was the courage that inspired me to aim for much more in life. My cheat. An AI. Despite its massive limitations and dependence on me, it was a cheat.
THUMP
"Well, that is comfortable." Looking at Solider Hu calmly looking at my fist that hit his abdomen, I felt annoyed at seeing him not even a budge. So much for a reincarnation; I didn't even get a stronger body.
That's the reason I was afraid my innate soul power would 0.
After all, since my body had no transmigrator benefit, then my martial soul may be the same.
The next thing I saw was the spear coming at me like a bat. I didn't need to say what the ball was, right?
-
-
-
-
SLURP
SLURP
SLURP
Looking at the soldiers drinking the last few drops of broth from the food I cooked, I sighed. After a day filled with work and getting beaten up, I still had to cook for them. Well, this one was on me, considering that I was the one who made the deal to cook for them in return for training me.
BURP
I smelt the burps before the rest of them were heard.
BURP
BURP
BURP
"I can't believe you cook better than the old cook, Wian. I mean, that crooked guy has a bread martial soul. Each day, I am increasingly happy with the captain's decision to allow you on the grounds, a punching bag for a stressful life and a talented cook. A heaven-sent deal, if there was any."
I felt a weary smile come to my face at that. While the martial soul might give the old cook an advantage, it doesn't change the fact that he didn't come into contact with various ingredients and spices due to his civilian life. Having lived in my previous life cooking for miserable bachelor stomachs, it was easy for me to cook dishes that satisfied them. I mean, the old man Wian didn't even touch the spices in his entire life till he joined here.
I missed my mother's ironic cooking. Ironically, I remembered the taste clearly, even now.
DUM
"Enough. Stop teasing the kid, and get back to your posts."
Just like that, everyone silently went back into formation. Looking at the tall 7-foot, scarred man who stood after eating the food I made, I couldn't believe it even now. I saw his martial soul lighting up, and a warmth surged into me, making me groan in pleasure.
UUHUH
"Now, go back to your room, Zhang."
I bowed to the captain, "Thanks for your help."
He just waved off as he went back to his post. Who would have thought the fierce man had a healing martial soul, a good one at that, the Vitality cane?
Unfortunately, his innate soul power was just 2. Even after 20 years, he had only reached level 16. A pitiful rank, but enough to hold the post of a captain in the ordinary army.
As I walked back to my room, I looked at my profile and made my AI.
[Name: Zhang Kun.
Age: 4 Years.
Martial soul: unknown.
Soul power: unknown.
Spiritual power: spirit origin.
Knowledge mastered: General surgeon of the 21st century.
Database:
Contents of the Dai Family vacation mansion: Soul power and its basics, common soul beasts in continent, Geography,...]
The only thing I filled the database up with was the commonly available books. The only ones my status could allow me to access. I entered the database page by page, as I was scheduled to clean it a month ago.
Yes, I hold a high status as the cook and cleaner in the Dai family vacation house.
Thankfully, reincarnation did possess its benefits. Though, they were out of reach to me right now.
The only thing I was sure of was that my spiritual power was in the spirit origin realm. Well, everyone was born into that level, but I was sure that I was on the higher end because I was an adult who reincarnated into a child's body.
At least, I hope so.
Closing the door to the small room that had one bed and a window, I felt miserable. With a sigh, I sat on it, from having a two-story luxury house in the modern world to a servant's room in Soul land. My life was something else.
It's time to end the pity party of the day and get to the task. I took a deep breath and sat in the lotus position.
To think that it took me dying and reincarnating in a fantasy world to take up meditation.
AI, show me the updated cultivation method.
[Ting. Ting.
Changes made based on the common meditation technique in the library and the information about the various meridians and their effect on soul power…]
My AI was not overpowered and, frankly speaking, quite barren when I first found it. It was about a year ago, and I found it. It was initially quite emotionless and limited. But, it was quite adaptable.
From the initial days when it started with simple math problems, it can now even analyse and make small-scale observations from the things I see and hear every day. I was thankful it could access my knowledge and senses. Otherwise, I would have gone insane.
Even so, I found that the AI was limited, almost human-level. Of course, it could work 24/7, with no exhaustion and 100% concentration. But, it was at the human level.
I even did tests on this aspect. I concentrated and worked hard to assist the head servant with some accounting for the mansion. It surprised me that the AI and I had only a difference of a few minutes. I was faster. Even so, at least I had hope.
I was exhausted after the test, but the AI was capable of working even more. Just that fact gave me courage. As a doctor, I knew how much potential the human body has when it works hard, especially in this world.
Hence, my current attempts.
[.....Ending the path in the muscles of the body. Ensuring a stable supply of soul power throughout the body.]
I found that the meridians, widely mentioned in fantasy worlds, mirror the intricate pathways of the human body's arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels.
Although the people in the soul land may have more advanced knowledge regarding the relationship between meridians and soul power, I am confident that my understanding of the interconnected pathways between the meridians is superior to theirs.
I mean, I was a fucking surgeon. A professional who came from a society that ripped apart and studied the normal human body. I mean, I knew which nerve goes where and does what. Every single one of these knowledge points requires research and experiments on humans. Thankfully, Earth already did that.
As a doctor, I knew them. Of course, a small part of my pride got hurt because the reason Soul Land didn't bother researching was that a single herb or healing soul skill was enough. Meaning I was useless as a surgeon here.
Decades of hard work are useless.
Slap.
With a slap to my face, I ended my venture into depression. I didn't want that. So, I began using the meditation method that I had invented.
[Start from the GIT [Digestive tract], go forth into the liver via portal vein...]
The digestive system [food] was the major source of Heaven and Earth energy for the martial soul. It was common sense to start from there.
[… into a radial artery in hands..]
[…. into a femoral artery in thighs …]
On and on, I went through the same thing in my mind. Over and over while keeping a steady breath. Yes, just in my mind. Because I don't even know if it's working, as I couldn't sense any soul power, I just imagined there was something there, and it was hopefully moving according to my instructions.
There was a reason martial soul were needed for the cultivation to start. Without it acting as a bridge, it was not possible to even sense the energy. Of course, if you are a previous cultivator like Tang San, then there was no problem.
Fuck, if I could cultivate, I was sure I could also get full innate soul power. The moment the martial soul awakens, it would be fixed unless one got a heaven-sent opportunity.
The only reason I persisted with this futile task was that the meditation seemed to have at least replaced sleep, leading me to hope it was working. It was a better assumption than the alternative, which was that mediation replaced rest for me since I was a baby. Considering this was a fantasy world and spiritual energy existed, it was a possibility.
CHIRP
CHIRP
Listening to the chirping of birds, I turned to see the dawn breaking in the window. I sighed and faced the sun while concentrating on the vessels in the eye. I completed my imaginary paths over and over. Hoping for something.
[Retinal artery…]
Although I didn't experience any sudden improvement, I persisted in searching for the so-called purple Qi of the morning sun. After all, Purple Qi absorption was a surefire method of increasing vision and spiritual power. And it was on the retina of the eye that all the light rays fell on. Even the purple qi, which was a form of sunlight.
UGGH
UGH
Holding back my annoyance, I got back to my feet. After all, I needed to return to my cleaning duties. I wish I knew if the method was even working.