Literature Cultivators, Martial Cultivators—those are easy to understand.
Literature and Martial Arts can be considered forms of cultivation.
Poison Cultivation, Medicine Cultivation—those also count as skills. I can understand that.
What’s the deal with Smoke Cultivators and Alcohol Cultivation?
Li Banfeng asked, "Does smoking and drinking also count as cultivation?"
"Of course it counts, why wouldn’t it? Whether it’s smoking or drinking, as long as you can reach a realm, it’s cultivation!" Qin Xiaopang said proudly. "Our village’s Uncle Liu Er had to drink five kilograms of alcohol a day. It was only later we found out he was a Second Layer Alcohol Cultivator!"
Ma Wu sounded skeptical. "This Uncle Liu Er of yours, what does he do for a living? Can he afford Alcohol Cultivation?"
Indeed, not just anyone could afford Alcohol Cultivation. Five kilograms of alcohol a day—how much would that cost?
Qin Xiaopang retorted indignantly, "Uncle Liu Er is a brewer!"
Ma Wu remained skeptical. "Even if he’s a brewer, how much alcohol can he make in a day? He has to drink five kilograms himself. Is his own brew even enough for him?"
Li Banfeng thought Ma Wu was being a bit too pedantic. What if Uncle Liu Er owned a distillery?
But Ma Wu, unexpectedly, really latched onto the subject. "Alcohol Cultivators aren’t common. I’d like to see this Uncle Liu Er of yours. Where is he?"
Qin Xiaopang stood tall and declared, "He’s dead!"
Ma Wu frowned. "How did he die? Don’t tell me he drank himself to death!"
An Alcohol Cultivator couldn’t possibly drink himself to death.
Qin Xiaopang scratched his head. "It was somewhat related to drinking, but you couldn’t say he died *from* drinking. That day, Uncle Liu Er got thoroughly drunk, jumped into the river, and then drowned."
Ma Wu chuckled. "Brother, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but what you’re saying doesn’t add up. How could a Second Layer Cultivator just drown?"
Qin Xiaopang replied earnestly, "Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have drowned so easily. Uncle Liu Er was swimming quite happily in the river, and it shouldn’t have been a problem. The villagers urged him to get out quickly, saying the river mouth was ahead and the current was strong.
Uncle Liu Er said he wasn’t afraid, no matter how strong the current. He claimed he’d seen the Grandmaster, and the Grandmaster had changed his Taoist Sect, turning him into a Water Cultivator."
"Water Cultivator..." Ma Wu stroked his chin, pondering for a long while. "There is indeed such a Taoist Sect, though it’s not common. Did Uncle Liu Er really become a Water Cultivator?"
"Dunno," Qin Xiaopang shook his head. "Anyway, I don’t believe it, and neither did the other villagers. To prove it to us, Uncle Liu Er deliberately swam to where the river mouth’s current was strongest and the water deepest. Then he dove headfirst into the mud at the river bottom. By the time we pulled him out, his mouth and nose were full of mud and sand. He’d long stopped breathing."
Hearing this, Ma Wu heaved a long sigh, apparently convinced by Qin Xiaopang’s words. "Alcohol Cultivation... that path is too perilous."
Li Banfeng asked, "How much did this Uncle Liu Er drink that day?"
Qin Xiaopang answered, "From what they said, twelve kilograms."
Li Banfeng found it truly incredible. But then, considering this Little Fatty had to eat twenty kilograms of food, he figured this place was absurd to begin with.
"Does Alcohol Cultivation really require drinking so recklessly?" Li Banfeng wanted to understand more about its intricacies.
"Of course you have to drink like your life depends on it! Otherwise, how would you ’earn time’?" Qin Xiaopang looked at Li Banfeng earnestly.
"What does ’earning time’ mean?" Li Banfeng still didn’t understand.
Little Fatty looked at Li Banfeng with even more disdain. "How can you be so ignorant?"
Ma Wu patiently explained to Li Banfeng, "No matter the Taoist Sect, once you’re initiated and attain a layer, you have to cultivate. But if you cultivate conventionally, step by step, advancing one layer takes ten years.
So, going from the First Layer to the Second Layer takes ten years. To go from initiate to the Tenth Layer would take ninety years. Can you afford to wait that long?"
Li Banfeng didn’t know how to respond.
He didn’t know how significant the jump from First to Second Layer was, nor the benefits it entailed—whether it was worth ten years of his life.
Ma Wu continued, "If you don’t want to wait, you have to earn back that time. I don’t know the rules for Alcohol Cultivators, but I’ve seen First Layer Food Cultivators. They eat five kilograms of food a day; that’s considered the standard regimen.
If they eat less than that, their cultivation level regresses. Eating ten kilograms a day—that’s ’earning time.’
The extra five kilograms of food helps them earn an extra day’s worth of cultivation progress. If they consistently eat ten kilograms every day, they can advance to the Second Layer in five years!
If they consistently eat double the amount, they won’t need ninety years; they can reach the Tenth Layer in forty-five."
"What’s the benefit of reaching the Tenth Layer?"
Ma Wu said, "In the entire Medicine King Valley, we haven’t even had a Sixth Layer Cultivator. If you reach the Seventh Layer, you’ll be the Leader of Medicine King Valley! And forget Medicine King Valley; in all of Puluo State, Tenth Layer Cultivators are exceedingly rare. That makes you a true local powerhouse!"
Li Banfeng wasn’t interested in being a Leader. "By the time you reach the Tenth Layer, you’ll be seventy or eighty. What difference does being a powerhouse make then?"
"What’s wrong with seventy or eighty?" Ma Wu laughed. "Reaching the Tenth Layer transforms your very life! Your lifespan triples. If you could originally live to be a hundred, you’ll now live to three hundred. At seventy or eighty, by that threefold count, you’re effectively in your twenties—that’s truly your prime!"
Qin Xiaopang slapped his chest. "Ever since I was born, all the neighbors have said I’m a lucky one! I’ll definitely reach the Tenth Layer cultivation level!"
Li Banfeng looked at Qin Xiaopang. "So, Brother Qin, does this mean you’ll have to eat five kilograms of food every day from now on?"
"Once I reach the Second Layer, that won’t be enough..." Qin Xiaopang’s expression turned worried.
He wasn’t worried about his ability to eat that much, but about whether he could afford it. Still, he had already made his choice, knowing that apart from eating, he possessed no other strengths.