1: Chapter 1 countdown: three days left. I'll grab a Foundation Establishment Pill first.

When Lin Ye opened his eyes, someone kicked him right in the waist.

"You piece of Trash, sleeping until the sun is high? If you don't finish watering the spiritual fields today, don't even think about dinner!"

The supervisor Fatty Wang's greasy face filled his vision, spittle almost spraying onto his face. Before Lin Ye could recover, a wave of memories that didn't belong to him flooded his brain—the world of cultivation, the Qingyun Sect, a Utility Disciple, having the Aptitude of Trash, living like a dog every day.

Died from overwork in his past life, only to continue being a beast of burden in this one?

Just as he was about to curse, his gaze suddenly froze.

Floating in thin air above Fatty Wang's head was a line of translucent text:

[ Opportunity: In 3 days, 2 hours, and 15 minutes, pick up a "damaged foundation establishment pill" left behind by a predecessor under the third crooked tree on the cliff behind the mountain. Countdown: 71:45:33 ... 32 ... 31 ... ]

Lin Ye's breath hitched.

Lin Ye spent the entire morning in a daze.

He discovered a pattern: as long as he focused his attention on someone for more than three seconds, that line of text might appear. Above the Outer Sect Disciple Senior Brother Li's head was [ In 5 days, a batch of "Qi Gathering Powder" will be produced by mistake in the Pill Refining Room; he will hide three pills ]. Above a passing white-clad Inner Sect Senior Sister's head was [ In 1 month, during the Secret Realm trial, she will accidentally enter an ancient cultivator's Immortal Cave and obtain a fragmentary Sword Control Technique ].

Opportunities! They were all Opportunities!

But every time he checked, a needle-like pain would shoot through his temples. By noon, when he tried checking a fifth Outer Sect Disciple, his vision went black, his nose heated up—two streams of nosebleed flowed down.

"Can only check five people a day..." Lin Ye wiped away the blood, but a fire burned in his heart.

This was his only trump card to turn his life around in this dog-eat-dog world!

His first target, naturally, was Fatty Wang's foundation establishment pill. Even if it was damaged, it was an unreachable treasure for a Utility Disciple.

Over the next two days, Lin Ye behaved more obediently than a dog. He worked desperately during the day, and at night, he used the moonlight to sneak near the cliff behind the mountain to scout. The crooked tree was easy to find, but the ground beneath it was full of rocks and weeds, and he couldn't see where any Medicinal Pill might be.

When only half an hour remained on the countdown, Lin Ye hid in a bush not far away in advance. The night wind was bone-chilling, and he shivered from the cold, yet he stared fixedly at that spot.

Time was up!

The moonlight shifted just right, shining onto an inconspicuous rock under the crooked tree. The surface of the stone actually emitted a faint glow, and then, with a soft "click," it cracked open. A dark yellow Medicinal Pill, covered in dust and with a crack on its surface, rolled out from the gap.

Fatty Wang's Opportunity!

Lin Ye's heart raced, but he didn't rush out immediately. His past life in the workplace had taught him: when faced with an Opportunity, the worst thing you can do is act without thinking.

He grabbed a stone and threw it hard in the opposite direction.

"Bang!"

The sound was exceptionally jarring in the silent night.

Almost simultaneously, a black shadow darted out from behind a higher mountain rock, lunging straight toward the source of the sound! The figure was small and thin, moving extremely fast—it wasn't Fatty Wang at all!

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Lin Ye's back. This Opportunity, there was actually someone waiting to reap the rewards?

The black shadow searched there to no avail, then turned around, cursing: "Damn it, the Opportunity fluctuation was clearly here..."

Taking advantage of the moment he turned, Lin Ye slid out silently like a civet cat, snatched the still-warm foundation establishment pill, stuffed it deep into his robe, and then curled up into the deeper shadows, holding his breath.

The black shadow returned to the tree, found the gap empty, stood stunned for a few seconds, and then suddenly exploded in rage: "Who?! Who dares to steal from me!"

He searched frantically for a moment, then finally left resentfully.

Lin Ye squatted in the darkness for another period of time before slowly retreating from the back mountain. Returning to the foul-smelling dormitory for Utility Disciples, he crawled under his covers, his hand gripping the Medicinal Pill still trembling slightly.

It wasn't fear; it was excitement.

If he could see it, he could snatch it. This cruel world of cultivation had finally revealed a crack for him.

The next morning, Lin Ye was woken up by a commotion.

In the center of the Miscellaneous Chores Courtyard, Fatty Wang, like a crazed wild boar, grabbed a thin Utility Disciple by the collar with bloodshot eyes: "Speak! Was it you who went to the back mountain last night!"

That Utility Disciple was the black shadow from the night before; his face was deathly pale as he shook his head frantically.

Fatty Wang clearly had a special method to sense that his Opportunity had been intercepted, but he had found the wrong person.

Lin Ye lowered his head, pretending to be afraid as he shrank back into the crowd. At this moment, his gaze unintentionally swept over Fatty Wang's head—the line for the Opportunity countdown had vanished, but a new, blood-red line of text had appeared:

[ Karma Entanglement: Opportunity stolen, intent to kill born. Within 3 days, he will hire the Outer Sect Disciple "Black Fiend" to investigate and eliminate the suspect. Countdown: 71:59:59 ... ]

Lin Ye felt a chill run through his entire body.

Almost simultaneously, a hoarse and arrogant voice came from outside the courtyard gate:

"Supervisor Wang, I heard you lost something here?"

A young man wearing the black robes of an Outer Sect Disciple, with a scar on his face, leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his eyes sweeping over every Utility Disciple in the courtyard like a poisonous snake.

Above his head, a line of text floated prominently:

[ Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 6. Recent Opportunity: None. Current Intention: Taking money to do a job, would rather kill the wrong person than let one go. ]

Lin Ye's fingers unconsciously rubbed the callus on his thumb.