The Shovel System

The rain continues into the next morning, and the lake swells out over its shores.

Jackie roasts a level 3 magic boar for breakfast inside the safety of his array on the other side of the lake while watching the drizzling rain. The boar's oil drips into the fire, sizzling and smoking, the scent of delicious fresh meat drilling into the old man's nose.

He licks his dried lips while glaring at the roasting boar, gobbling it up dozens of times inside his mind.

Magical beasts are graded by their raw cultivation level, levels 1-8 correspond with levels 1-8 of qi condensation cultivators, levels 9-16 correspond with levels 1-8 of foundation establishment cultivators, while levels 17-24 correspond to levels 1-8 of forming constellation cultivators. Many cultivators also evaluate Daoists that cultivate unknown methods by their equivalent magical beast rank.

Jackie would be evaluated as roughly equivalent to a level 9 magical beast based solely on his Vessel cultivation.

Magical beasts tend to be stronger than their cultivator counterparts, usually taking up to three to eight cultivators of the same rank to defeat one; however, Twilight Cultivators match magical beasts in might for every level as their Vessel cultivation exploits the mysteries behind the beasts' strengths for the cultivators' use.

"Heehee! THIS Pawpaw ain't eating no more worms!" Jackie's lips curve up while his eyes glitter in satisfaction. He had put his new knowledge to good use to hunt down this tasty and big magical boar. Skinning it was a breeze when he channeled his shovel energy from his array cultivation to sharpen his assault shovel.

He spent a handful of shovel points to purchase some seasoning and the roasting spit and some firewood and set up the cooking fire.

Jackie squats next to the spit and gently rotates it to ensure a steady and even char, caramelizing the delicious oily fats of the boar.

Time quickly passes, and the boar has been roasted into a deep golden red. The smell dominates the air, causing the old man to slobber and have to keep wiping his mouth. He slides his shovel into the roast, expecting resistance, yet the meat falls off the bone with a single pass.

His eyes pop open and then shut tight as he chews the bouncy, sweet and succulent meat, the rich, savory flavor dancing across his taste buds. "Mmhmmhf!" He swallows, and the meat hits his belly and then turns into rushing vitality that expands into his body like a balloon.

His shriveled muscles gain back a little bit of their forms, while he feels relaxed.

Jackie gasps, oily lips smacking after the first taste of the magical beast meat. "Dear lord! Gluttony is a sin, forgive me father, for I'm about to let myself loose!"

The old man stuffs more and more of the roast boar into his mouth, smearing the oil all over his face as he chews and swallows and then stuffs more, smacking his lips between each new delicious piece.

A little later Jackie is laying next to the skeleton of the boar, picking his teeth, his face flushed with vitality while his body has returned to his chiseled glory. His heart pumps the magical nutrition to every muscle, repairing the malnutrition he suffered in the cave during the two-week mission.

He stands up and goes through the eighteen shovel self-defense moves one after the other, over and over, stirring the air into a cyclone inside his array.

He keeps practicing, working off the massive meal while pushing his martial art proficiency closer and closer to a novice.

Jackie's food high passes by noon, so he plunges into the lake to wash off the sweat and oil from the small feast and workout. He cleans up and returns, donning his white and gold hanfu.

Jackie draws his wide-brimmed conical grass hat from his system, donning it, alongside the cultivation manual and the tea. He wraps them in the purple grass to keep them dry and ties the bundle together.

The herculean old man tugs his fluffy white beard and then draws his hat's strap tight under his chin. The misty rain creates many small colorful rainbows over the lake.

He swaggers around the lake and arrives at Silent Wolf's yurt. Jackie expands his shovel senses and feels three life forms in the yurt, recognizing them as his students; Silent Wolf, Quiet Bear, and Solemn Wolf.

Jackie clears his throat and senses Silent Wolf adjust his position in the Yurt. The old man extends his fan-sized hand and raps his knuckles against the construction's ivory supports. Jackie announces his presence with three clear knocks.

Jackie wistfully says, "Ahem, your old teacher has returned."

The door's leather curtain is pulled back, and suddenly Silent Wolf's head pokes out to stare at Jackie. The young man is wearing an unreadable expression, he sighs, "Come in. Quiet Bear, boil some water for our 'Teacher.'"

Jackie notices the spite in the young man's voice when he says Teacher, and frowns, but his expression recovers as he bows to crawl into the Yurt, finding a clean and dry spot to cross his legs and sit. He removes his conical grass hat and leans it against the leather wall.

He places the purple grass wrapped bundle next to his feet and accepts the hot water from Quiet Bear, motioning for the pair of students to sit. "Y'all have run into a conundrum since I've arrived. I admire your courage to stay here and wait while I've been unavoidably detained by business elsewhere."

Jackie picks up the package and begins unwrapping it, "Cultivation arts are treasures that are dearly held secrets by all Daoists. Embarking on the path of cultivation requires talent, luck, special encounters, and perseverance. "

Jackie's lips tick up into a quick smile as he internally thanks that giant old grandma Twilight for passing him rudimentary cultivation knowledge relating to the world.

'Could it be?! A cultivation manual?'

The young man's muscles grow taut and his breathing heavier.