Chapter 1: The Cultivator’s Job Hunt

Four years later…

Cotton-like clouds draped across the sky, and sunlight streamed through their gaps, illuminating Jiangcheng, a city both bustling and vibrant.

On the sidewalk, a young man, dressed in suit pants and a white shirt, stood alongside other pedestrians at the roadside.

However, mere seconds before the pedestrian light turned green, a strange, utterly black creature emerged silently from the shadow of a passerby.

It blinked its two bean-sized red eyes. Then, it extended a limb, seizing a woman’s ankle with a forceful tug.

The next moment, the woman stumbled as if tripped, pitching forward headfirst.

Cars roared past on the street. If she were to fall onto the road, she would undoubtedly be crushed.

Fortunately, in that critical moment, a hand reached out and caught the woman, averting a catastrophe.

The young man, who had grasped her arm, asked with a smile, “Are you alright?”

After a moment of stunned silence, the woman, her face pale with fright, thanked him profusely.

“Thank you. I don’t know what happened just now; it felt like someone tripped me.”

The young man offered a faint smile, a gesture that inexplicably brought a blush to the woman’s cheeks.

Afterward, the young man slowly crouched, feigning to tie his shoelaces. Simultaneously, he extended a hand, enveloped in a pure white glow, delving into his own shadow to retrieve a small, black creature.

This small entity, whatever it was, immediately began to struggle violently upon being seized.

Holding the creature, the young man casually crossed the street with the crowd.

‘Another Shadow Spirit. These minor yokai truly are ubiquitous,’ he mused.

He glanced at the black creature in his hand, then squeezed with force, instantly crushing the bizarre entity.

A Shadow Spirit is a yokai formed from the resentful souls of those who died unjustly. It lurks within shadows and possesses a certain degree of danger.

****

The young man soon arrived at the entrance of a corporate skyscraper, home to a company named Zijing Group.

‘Zijing Group… I hope my luck is better today,’ the young man muttered, a touch of melancholy in his voice.

With that, he walked through the group’s main entrance and headed towards the recruitment office.

Upon reaching his destination, his expression immediately darkened. The usually spacious hallway was now packed with numerous young men clutching resumes.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me, this many people?’ The young man felt a wave of exasperation.

He then glanced in the other direction, where female employees were being recruited. The crowd there was significantly smaller.

He first scanned the resumes of others, then looked at his own, which read: Bai Mengqi, Male, 22 years old, graduated from Jiangdu University with a degree in Computer Design…

Indeed, this was Bai Mengqi, four years older and a university graduate.

His university life had flashed by in an instant. Just days ago, he had left school and was now searching for work everywhere.

But why should he, a dignified Cultivator, have to work a mundane office job like any ordinary person?

The truth was, the nations of this world prohibited ‘ability users’ like him from abusing their powers and disrupting societal order.

If discovered, specialized agencies managing ability users would apprehend them and throw them in jail.

One should never underestimate the relevant departments; they possessed various methods for dealing with ability users.

Since arriving in Jiangcheng, this international metropolis, he had encountered all sorts of ability users, even clashing with some. They varied in strength, weakness, and abilities.

In particular, the Ability Bureau’s special police had almost caught him once.

However, he wasn’t caught for wrongdoing. Rather, he had stumbled upon them while dealing with a malevolent spirit.

Although spiritual energy was scarce on Earth in this era, some legendary beings still existed. Most of them, however, lacked the power to contend with human technology and were forced to hide within human society, living lives indistinguishable from ordinary people.

Of course, as long as they didn’t cause trouble or harm humanity, the ability management agencies wouldn’t actively seek them out.

In other words, some of the people you encountered in daily life might not be human at all.

The ability levels in this world were categorized by the intensity of one’s power, divided from highest to lowest into seven major tiers: S, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

These classifications were made by the relevant departments based on the fluctuations in an ability user’s energy. They weren’t strictly absolute, as great power didn’t always equate to true prowess.

The Shadow Spirit that had tried to harm someone on the road earlier was merely an F-tier, the weakest class.

Ability users were broadly divided into three main categories: Sorcerers, Martial Artists, and Espers.

Sorcerers and Martial Artists developed their powers through cultivation, while Espers were born with their abilities. Espers were the rarest type of ability user and also the most challenging to classify.

Bai Mengqi was considered a Sorcerer, though strictly speaking, he was a Cultivator. To the practitioners of this era, Cultivators were purely beings of legend.

Unfortunately, despite his extraordinary capabilities, he had already interviewed for several company positions, only to be politely rejected each time.

It was evident that even a Cultivator, unless they possessed power capable of truly disregarding modern technology, could only obediently live as a law-abiding citizen.

Bai Mengqi waited patiently, as time ticked by, second by second.

An hour later, he finally heard the interviewer call his name.

“Bai Mengqi.”

The sound immediately jolted Bai Mengqi from his daze.

“Ah, I’m here.”

After responding, Bai Mengqi quickly hurried over, entered the interview room, and sat down obediently.

Three people sat before him, scrutinizing his resume. From their expressions, it was clear they weren’t entirely satisfied with Bai Mengqi’s academic qualifications, yet they still asked a few perfunctory questions.

“Young man, please tell us your thoughts on our Zijing Group, and what your salary expectations are…” the interviewer asked.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mengqi knew his chances were slim. Nevertheless, he expressed his honest thoughts.

“I believe your esteemed company has excellent development prospects, and I wish to join and progress alongside it. As for salary expectations…”

After he finished speaking, the outcome was predictable.

Bai Mengqi emerged with a crestfallen expression, as he had been told to ‘wait for news.’

“Damn it! If I had known, I would’ve cheated on the college entrance exam to get into Kyoto University back then. Now look, I have to pay for my foolish pride, and I can’t even find a job,” Bai Mengqi lamented, on the verge of tears.

After he finished speaking, a mist emanated from his body, coalescing into a silver-haired woman clad in ancient robes, her white garments flowing gracefully.

The woman possessed an ethereal, otherworldly aura. Her appearance was quite similar to Bai Mengqi’s girlish form from years past, yet her beauty was so profound it seemed inhuman.

She was the Great Immortaless residing within Bai Mengqi, who introduced herself as the Immortal Fairy of Longevity, hailing from an otherworldly realm.

“Hmph! You truly deserve this. You must understand a fundamental truth: in any world, strength speaks for itself. Since you possess such abilities, you should use them. Why pretend to be so noble? This is your karma now,” the Great Immortaless scoffed.

Judging by the reactions of those around them, it seemed they couldn’t see the Great Immortaless; only Bai Mengqi could.

Bai Mengqi was left speechless by her words. As a student, he had cared deeply about such matters, but upon entering society, he realized his past ideals had been endearingly naive.

Just as he was about to leave the Zijing Group, passing by the recruitment board, he couldn’t help but stop.

Bai Mengqi’s gaze fell upon the section for female employees. One particular position there made his eyes light up with interest.

Recruiting: Secretary for the President’s Office. Age 22-28. Bachelor’s degree minimum. Must be clever, capable, and presentable. Starting intern salary 5000, rising to 7000 after probation.

Bai Mengqi subtly pressed his lips together, a difficult-to-hide conflict etched across his features.

After a moment of internal struggle, his gaze quickly swept his surroundings, finally settling on the restroom nearby.

Without further hesitation, he quickened his pace towards it. Seizing the moment when no one was around, he guiltily slipped into the women’s restroom.

“Hahaha, boy, can’t handle it anymore, can you? This Immortaless told you long ago, in your world, men have it tough. Why insist on enduring it? Now you still have to bow down to life, don’t you?” The Great Immortaless, trailing Bai Mengqi like a phantom, taunted him.

Bai Mengqi’s face flushed, and he immediately retorted.

“Mind your own business! This is out of necessity, forced by circumstances.”

With that, Bai Mengqi opened his backpack.

Inside, he had another set of clothes: a black women’s business suit.

Though extremely reluctant, Bai Mengqi still took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Disguise Art: Release.”

A white light illuminated Bai Mengqi’s body. As it dissipated, a tall, exquisitely beautiful young woman appeared in the restroom.

This was Bai Mengqi’s current appearance.

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