NOVEL WEB Ch. 1
Chapter 1: Interview
True Essence Sect, Divine Mechanism Peak.
Xu Zhengyang stood in the hall of the Divine Mechanism Palace, trying his best to straighten his back to appear more spirited.
Although Xu Zhengyang had lived two lives,
he still couldn't help but feel anxious and extremely nervous when facing a moment that could determine the starting height of his path to immortality.
This kind of pressure was even heavier than waiting for the results of the college entrance exam in his past life, almost suffocating him.
Opposite Xu Zhengyang sat a middle-aged cultivator.
This man appeared to be around forty, with a square face and a long beard.
He was Pei Zhen, at the late Foundation Establishment stage, not only the head of Divine Mechanism Peak, but also one of the powerful elders of the True Essence Sect.
Pei Zhen's gaze was like a torch.
After scrutinizing Xu Zhengyang up and down, he tapped his index finger lightly on the armrest and said, “You are the four-spirit-rooted one with a photographic memory?”
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhengyang quickly bowed and replied, “Elder Pei, that is indeed this junior.”
Pei Zhen nodded slightly.
He got straight to the point, “When you arrived, Yong’er had already passed you the Qi Refining Art. Have you memorized the entire content of this cultivation method?”
“I have memorized it.”
As Xu Zhengyang spoke, a notepad app appeared at the center of his vision, visible only to himself.
With Xu Zhengyang’s consciousness starting to operate, the Qi Refining Art instantly displayed in front of his eyes as translucent subtitles.
This was a superpower Xu Zhengyang had possessed in his previous life.
He could treat his body as an operating system, writing any kind of program he needed within it at will!
Unfortunately, the world Xu Zhengyang was born into in his previous life lacked supernatural power.
So he could only install apps like 【Notepad】, 【Calculator】, 【File Manager】, 【Health Assistant】, etc.—which looked flashy but had very limited practical use.
But after Xu Zhengyang arrived in this world that possessed supernatural powers, he used those apps he had written in his previous life to shape himself into a genius with an innate spiritual root persona!
Afterwards,
Xu Zhengyang diligently managed his image, combining his experiences from his previous life to make a name for himself.
Eventually, through multiple recommendations, Xu Zhengyang arrived at the largest cultivation sect in Qingzhou—the True Essence Sect!
*
Pei Zhen could not see the changes in Xu Zhengyang’s eyes.
Seeing Xu Zhengyang so confident, he directly said, “Since that’s the case, then recite the entire Qi Refining Art for me.”
“As you command.”
Xu Zhengyang agreed and immediately began to recite word for word from the content stored in his notepad:
“Absorb heaven and earth into a single inch, circulate the cycle of the cosmos with every breath, embrace the origin and guard the void, observe the rise and fall of the Qi Sea...”
The Qi Refining Art was the most universally used cultivation method in the cultivation world, so it wasn’t lengthy—only a bit over six hundred characters in total.
So after only a short while,
Xu Zhengyang finished reciting the entire method and stood silently, waiting for Pei Zhen’s evaluation.
Seeing this, Pei Zhen revealed an approving expression and nodded, saying, “Not bad.”
As he spoke, Pei Zhen flipped his right hand, and a book appeared out of thin air in his hand, then calmly instructed, “The Qi Refining Art is widely circulated, and even the mortal world has its inheritance—it’s not enough to prove your talent. This booklet contains about thirty-two thousand characters. You have one incense stick’s time to memorize all its contents.”
Upon hearing that he would be tested on memorization, Xu Zhengyang quietly breathed a sigh of relief and confidently said, “This junior will do his best!”
“Mm.”
Pei Zhen nodded slightly.
Next, without any obvious movement from Pei Zhen, the book automatically floated over to Xu Zhengyang, suspending in midair.
At the same time, a stick of incense also automatically lit itself.
As a faint elegant fragrance spread throughout the Divine Mechanism Palace, the test officially began.
Having done this, Pei Zhen closed his eyes and rested, paying no more attention to Xu Zhengyang.
In an instant, the grand Divine Mechanism Palace became silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Xu Zhengyang had worked hard for many years.
Finally arriving here—whether he could leap over the dragon gate all depended on this very trial!
Xu Zhengyang knew how rare the opportunity was.
So he didn’t dare slack off in the slightest and immediately picked up the book in front of him and started flipping through it page by page:
“First of April, received 7 jin and 1 liang of Duanchang Grass from Spirit Mechanism Peak, received by Xing Yong;
First of April, received 100 bottles of Fasting Pills from Spirit Mechanism Peak, received by Xing Yong;
Second of April, received…”
【Is this an account book?】 Xu Zhengyang thought.
Normally speaking, the logic between paragraphs would be interconnected, and those with literary flair might even include rhymes, making it easier to memorize.
However, an account book was entirely different.
The records within were messy and disorganized—without personal experience, it was nearly impossible to memorize them in a short amount of time.
This might be an extremely difficult trial for others.
But for Xu Zhengyang, it was no more difficult than solving a four-operation equation under ten.
Because he had the notepad app.
So for Xu Zhengyang, the real challenge of this interview wasn’t memorizing—but transcribing!
……
Time passed quietly.
By the time the incense Pei Zhen had lit burned only one-third of the way down,
Xu Zhengyang had already closed the account book and confidently said to Pei Zhen, “Reporting to Elder Pei, this junior has memorized it.”
“Oh?”
Pei Zhen opened his eyes, filled with surprise.
But Pei Zhen said nothing more.
He simply waved his hand, and the account book flew back into his grasp. Flipping it open, he said, “If that’s the case, recite it for me from the beginning.”
“As you command.”
Xu Zhengyang slightly closed his eyes to make the subtitles before him clearer.
Then, Xu Zhengyang began to recite word for word:
“First of April, received 7 jin and 1 liang of Duanchang Grass from Spirit Mechanism Peak, received by Xing Yong;
First of April, received 100 bottles of Fasting Pills from Spirit Mechanism Peak, received by Xing Yong;
Second of April, received…”
The account book had over thirty thousand words—it was quick to browse and record.
But limited by speaking speed, it would take nearly half an hour to fully recite it.
After a long time, just as Xu Zhengyang’s throat was starting to go dry, he finally finished reciting the last entry in the book:
“Twenty-ninth of April, received 2,400 jin of Tier-1 demonic beast broken bones from Divine Mechanism Peak, received by Xing Yong.”
After speaking,
Xu Zhengyang stood respectfully in place, anxiously awaiting his fate.
“Not bad, not a single word off.”
Pei Zhen said with satisfaction, “It seems the people below didn’t exaggerate. Though your talent is mediocre, you truly do possess a rare mental gift.”
As he spoke, Pei Zhen closed the book and said, “However, we cultivators who seek the Dao differ greatly from mortals who study knowledge. After all, rote memorization cannot lead to immortality. You must also learn to apply your knowledge—only by mastering and integrating what you learn can you catch even a glimpse of the Great Dao.”
At this point, Pei Zhen pondered for a moment, then finally decided, “Let’s do it this way. Since you’ve memorized the Qi Refining Art, this is perfect. This Divine Mechanism Palace is built atop the spiritual eye of Divine Mechanism Peak, and contains a spirit-gathering formation—the spiritual energy here is more than ten times richer than outside. With such a superior environment, if you can successfully draw Qi into your body and reach entry level within one incense stick’s time, then I’ll make an exception—and accept you as my disciple!”