48: A frail and sickly scholar? An unconventional servant of the Five Elements Sect!

At the foot of the Five Elements Sect, inside a hidden cave.

"Crack! Snap!" A teeth-grinding sound of bones popping echoed.

Gu Yang, originally two meters two tall and as sturdy as an ox, was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This was an advanced version of the "Bone-Shrinking Technique," which Gu Yang named the "Compressed Biscuit Method."

He forcibly compressed and folded his steel-dense muscles, hiding them in the gaps of his bones and deep beneath his skin. Although his size had decreased, his density had doubled; at this moment, he was like a walking super-alloy.

A moment later.

A youth, one meter eight tall, stepped out. Though his figure remained upright, he looked slightly thin.

He changed into a washed-out scholar's robe, held a folding fan from who knows where, and even placed a pair of non-prescription glasses on the bridge of his nose.

Gu Yang looked at himself in a water mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

"This temperament, this build—this is definitely a scholar who lacks the strength to truss a chicken."

"From today on, I am not Gu Yang; I am... Gu Weak Chicken."

...

Outside the mountain gate of the Five Elements Sect, there was a sea of people.

As the number one Sect in the Chaotic Star Sea, the Five Elements Sect's annual recruitment ceremony for Utility Disciples attracted countless Mortals and Loose Cultivators who came to try their luck.

"Gu Weak Chicken" mingled in the crowd, holding the recommendation letter forged by the Dragon Palace, looking "timid."

"Next! Gu Weak Chicken!"

The Elder of the outer Sect responsible for the assessment shouted impatiently.

Gu Yang quickly stepped forward, respectfully handed over the recommendation letter, and then placed his hand on the giant Spirit Testing Stone.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The Spirit Testing Stone had no reaction; it even felt like laughing (if it had consciousness).

Gu Yang's body was full of muscles and blood Qi; without even a trace of Spiritual Qi, how could it possibly detect a Spiritual Root?

"A Mortal? No Spiritual Root?"

The Elder frowned, glanced at the recommendation letter, and snorted coldly:

"Although you have a recommendation letter, my Five Elements Sect does not keep idlers. Without a Spiritual Root, you cannot even perform Qi Intake; how can you cultivate? Get lost!"

As he spoke, he waved his sleeve, intending to drive Gu Yang down the mountain.

"Elder, wait!"

Gu Yang suddenly began to cough violently, covering his mouth with a handkerchief (pretending to cough up blood), looking frail and wind-blown.

"Cough, cough... Elder, although this student has no Spiritual Root and has been sickly since childhood, that does not mean I am useless!"

"Although my body is poor, to treat my illness, I have been exercising since I was young. My strength... is just a little bit bigger."

"I don't want to cultivate; I just want to enter the Sect to farm a little, preserve my health, and earn a living."

"Great strength?"

The Elder was amused to the point of anger, pointing to the thousand-catty boulder used to test potential Body Cultivators nearby, and mocked:

"With that build of yours? If you can lift that stone, I will make an exception and accept you!"

The surrounding candidates also burst into laughter.

"Him? With those thin arms and legs, don't let the stone break your waist!"

"Haha, a scholar should go take the imperial examination, why come to cultivate?"

Gu Yang pushed up his glasses and smiled shyly.

"Then... this student will make a fool of himself."

He walked up to the half-person-high boulder.

He didn't take a horse stance, didn't circulate Qi, and didn't even roll up his sleeves.

He extended his right hand, raised an orchid finger (to fit the scholar persona), and gently pinched the edge of the stone with his thumb and index finger.

"Rise."

A light word.

Whoosh—

That thousand-catty Blue Steel Rock was lifted up easily by Gu Yang with two fingers, as if it were a piece of Styrofoam!

Not only that, he also shook the stone in the air, as if twirling a handkerchief.

"Oh my, this stone seems a bit light. Is it hollow?"

The whole place was dead silent.

The laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone's mouths opened into an "O" shape.

The Elder's eyes were about to pop out, and he didn't even notice that he had pulled out a few strands of his beard.

One hand? Two fingers? Lifting a thousand catties?

This is what you call "a little bit bigger" strength?!

This is called frail and sickly?! Then what are we? Cripples?

"Elder, look..." Gu Yang put down the stone (gently, not daring to use force for fear of smashing through the floor) and looked at the Elder with an innocent face, "Does this count as passing?"

"Passed! Passed!"

The Elder swallowed hard, looking at Gu Yang as if he were looking at a humanoid Yao Beast.

"I didn't expect you to have innate Divine Power! For such a talent, going to mine... oh no, going to farm is simply a waste of talent!"

"However, since you want to farm..." The Elder rolled his eyes, "It just so happens that the Spirit Medicine Garden is missing a Utility Disciple to carry Spirit Fertilizer. That job is too heavy, and no one wants to do it, so you go there!"

"Spirit Medicine Garden?"

Gu Yang's eyes lit up instantly, brighter than the stars in the sky.

The medicine garden is good! The medicine garden is full of Spirit Medicine!

Is that a job position? That is clearly the kitchen of a buffet restaurant!

"Thank you, Elder! This student will surely work himself to the bone, until his dying breath! I love the smell of fertilizer the most!"

...

That afternoon.

Gu Yang collected a set of grey robes for Utility Disciples and, carrying two buckets of "Spirit Beast dung" exuding rich Spiritual Qi, strode into the Forbidden Ground of the Five Elements Sect—the Hundred Herb Garden.

As soon as he entered the garden, a refreshing medicinal fragrance rushed toward him.

As far as the eye could see, the mountains and plains were full of Spirit Medicine!

Red Vermilion Fruits, purple Ganoderma, and ginseng that looked like little dolls... Every plant exuded alluring Wood-attribute Spiritual Qi.

"Gulp."

Gu Yang's Adam's apple rolled, and he felt every cell in his body roaring: Eat! Eat! Eat!

"Calm down, Gu Yang, you must calm down."

"You are a scholar, you must pay attention to your table manners."

Gu Yang looked around and confirmed no one was nearby (the Medicine Garden Elder was meditating in the house).

He put down the fertilizer buckets and walked to a century-old "Green Wood Vine."

"Little cutie, growing so lushly, you must be tired, right? Let me help you prune your branches and leaves."

Snap!

He pinched off a tender leaf and stuffed it into his mouth.

【Ingested First-Grade High Grade Spirit Medicine... Wood-attribute affinity +1...】

"Hmm, a bit astringent, but the aftertaste is quite good."

Gu Yang narrowed his eyes, revealing a simple, honest smile like an old farmer.

"It seems that this illness of incomplete Five Elements will soon be cured."

"The Five Elements Sect is truly a good place."