1: Chapter 1 Immortality and Books: The Correct Way to Be a Sweeper
Heavenly River Sword Sect, Scripture Pavilion.
The afternoon sunlight slanted down, passing through the carved window lattices.
The air held the dry scent of pine ink mixed with old paper.
Countless dust motes floated within the beams of light.
Just like these long and tedious years.
Li Mo held a balding broom, his movements calm and rhythmic.
"Sha— Sha—"
The sound of the broom brushing against the ground was monotonous and dull, yet it brought an extraordinary peace to his heart.
It had been a year since his Transmigration into this world of immortal cultivation.
From panic, to resignation, and now to his current state of being at ease.
He hadn't received a brilliant skeletal structure, nor did he have an old grandpa in a ring.
An Outer Sect Elder's words, "There is absolutely no possibility of Foundation Establishment in this lifetime," had severed all his hopes.
Thus, he was dispatched to the Scripture Pavilion to become a sweeping Servant.
To others, this was the end of the immortal path, a destination for trash.
To Li Mo, however, this place was paradise.
Because he had awakened a secret.
[Eternal Youth].
Not immortality, but Eternal Youth.
His body would forever remain at the age of twenty.
As long as he wasn't hacked to death or killed by an explosion from Qi Deviation, he could live forever.
Living until the end of time.
"Since I can't die, what's the rush?"
Li Mo stopped his broom, wiped the light sweat from his forehead, and his lips twitched in a self-deprecating smile.
Becoming an immortal ancestor is too tiring, and all the fighting and killing is too dangerous.
This Scripture Pavilion is warm in winter and cool in summer, and it even provides meals; it's practically a perfect Holy Land for retirement.
He swept the dust into a dustpan, his gaze falling on a small booklet on the bottom shelf of the nearby bookcase.
"Tianhe Sword Sect Servant Code of Conduct".
The first floor of the Scripture Pavilion mostly contained miscellaneous studies, gazetteers, and martial arts for Mortals. True immortal cultivation methods were all on the second floor and above, which was a forbidden zone for Servants.
Li Mo didn't care.
To learn more about this dangerous world, he would read even these boring regulations over and over again.
He looked around; the manager wasn't there.
Li Mo leaned against a corner of the bookshelf and sat down, skillfully opening the "Code of Conduct" he had already read three times.
The moment he closed the book, a strange sound rang in his head.
[Ding!]
[Detected that the host has completed reading the "Tianhe Sword Sect Servant Code of Conduct." Great Reader System successfully activated.]
Li Mo's fingers tightened around the book, and his heart skipped a beat.
But his expression didn't change at all; he only thought to himself, "System?"
A light screen unfolded before his eyes.
[Host: Li Mo]
[Race: Human Race (Longevity Body)]
[Realm: Mortal]
[Current Book Being Read: "Tianhe Sword Sect Servant Code of Conduct"]
[Extracted Trait: Reading the Room (White)]
[Trait Effect: You can perceive subtle changes in the other party's emotions and see through their true intentions beneath their words.]
Reading... can extract traits?
Li Mo looked at the "Code of Conduct" in his hand, which was regarded as waste paper.
Just because I read this crappy book on how to be a Servant, I got an ability called [Reading the Room]?
What if I read a sword manual?
Or an alchemy book?
His breathing quickened slightly.
He possessed an endless lifespan; what he lacked most was the power to protect himself.
Now, it seemed this power didn't require him to engage in life-and-death struggles; it only required... reading?
"Li Mo! You lazy bum, slacking off again!"
A sharp scolding exploded.
It was the manager of the Scripture Pavilion's first floor, Wang the Skinner. With a cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining, he had no hope for the Great Dao and loved to embezzle the Servants' spiritual rice.
Normally, Li Mo would have already stood up to apologize for his offense.
But this time, Li Mo turned around, and the world before him was different.
Manager Wang, his face full of jowls, walked over in a rage.
[Reading the Room] trait took effect.
In an instant, Li Mo saw through the things beneath that facade of anger.
It was anxiety.
And fear.
He doesn't really want to scold me; he's looking for an outlet... The jade token at his waist that opens the storehouse is gone! He's as anxious as an ant on a hot pan; scolding me is just to hide his panic!
In a split second, Li Mo understood everything.
The back he was about to bend straightened imperceptibly.
"Manager Wang."
Li Mo spoke in a low, respectful voice before the other could erupt: "Please don't be angry yet, Manager. While I was sweeping just now, I seemed to see a glint of jade in the corner of Row C's Bookshelf. I wonder if it might be something you misplaced?"
The venom Manager Wang was about to spew got stuck in his throat.
The ferocity in his eyes quickly faded, replaced by ecstasy: "Row C's Bookshelf? Are you sure?"
"I have poor eyesight and wouldn't dare touch your things, Manager." Li Mo lowered his eyes, looking honest and dutiful.
Wang the Skinner couldn't care less about him now; that was the storehouse key—losing it was a capital offense!
He rushed toward Row C's Bookshelf in a frantic hurry.
A moment later, a long sigh of relief came from that direction.
When he walked back, the jowls on Wang the Skinner's face had smoothed out, and his gaze toward Li Mo was much more favorable: "Ahem, Li Mo, you're quite meticulous. Since the floor is swept, I'll allow you to rest early today."
With that, he hummed a little tune and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Li Mo stood where he was, his heart trembling.
This was [Reading the Room].
A white trait, at the bottom of this strictly hierarchical Sect, was a divine skill for survival!
This System really has something to it.
He took a deep breath, turned, and looked at the endless rows of bookshelves.
At this moment, these silent bookshelves were like gold mines waiting to be excavated in his eyes.
"If I read a hundred martial arts books, could I stack up enough to create an immortal cultivation combat technique?"
"If I read a thousand travelogues, could I know everything under heaven without even leaving my house?"
Li Mo's blood began to boil.
He was immortal; what he lacked least was time.
He walked to a corner and pulled out the thinnest basic technique—"Basic Breathing Technique".
"My Aptitude was poor before, so I couldn't sense Qi. Now that I have the System, I refuse to believe I can't make something of this!"
Li Mo found the most remote corner, sat cross-legged, and opened the book.
Outside the window, the sun was sinking in the west.
He read extremely slowly and with great focus.
He repeatedly chewed over every word and every line of the mantra, completely immersing himself.
When the last page was turned, that crisp notification sound rang out once more.
[Ding!]
[Host has completed reading "Basic Breathing Technique." Extracted Trait: Qi Sensing +1 (White)]
[Trait Effect: Slightly increases the ability to perceive Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.]
Boom!
The moment the trait was loaded, Li Mo's forehead felt a surge of heat.
The previously dead and heavy air suddenly "came alive."
He closed his eyes and circulated the breathing mantra he knew by heart.
His Meridians, which had shown no reaction before, now actually held a faint, ethereal coolness!
That was Spiritual Qi!
The Spiritual Qi was as thin as silk, but he truly felt it!
This was not just a Breakthrough from nothing; it was the breaking of the "unable to Cultivate for life" curse!
"It really... works!"
Li Mo snapped his eyes open, his fists clenched, and his eyes grew hot.
Poor Aptitude? It doesn't matter.
If one "Basic Breathing Technique" gives one point of Qi Sensing, what about ten? Or a hundred?
As long as I read enough books, even if I were a pig, I could stack enough traits to turn into Marshal Tianpeng!
He forcefully suppressed his ecstasy.
Be low-key.
I must remain low-key.
In this world, geniuses die the fastest; the one who lives until the end is the winner.
Dusk was approaching, and the Scripture Pavilion was about to close.
Li Mo put the book back in its place, resumed his dull and honest Servant appearance, and picked up his broom to walk toward the door.
Just as he was about to step out the door, he caught a glimpse of a pair of mung-bean-sized eyes staring at him sneakily from the shadows of a bookshelf.
Li Mo's footsteps paused.
[Reading the Room] triggered instinctively.
From those eyes, he actually read a sense of wretchedness and longing, as if from a "fellow traveler."
It was a dusty gray mouse.
It stood upright, its two front paws struggling to hold a palm-sized illustrated booklet.
That was a Stick-figure Sword Manual Li Mo had drawn on scrap paper when he had nothing to do.
One person and one mouse, separated by several yards, stared at each other.
Li Mo narrowed his eyes.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
This smile was full of deep meaning.
"Interesting..."
He didn't drive it away; pretending not to see, he walked straight out of the Scripture Pavilion and conveniently closed the heavy door behind him.
The road to longevity is long; perhaps having another book buddy wouldn't be so bad?