Cultivating by picking up attributes, I accumulate my strength!

Chapter 1: Langlang Village

Great Zhou, County of Skyfire.

Langlang Village.

It's harvest season, the sun is shining brightly, and the blue sky is azure as far as the eye can see. It's another rare harvest day of the year.

In September, the southern winds turn the wheat yellow, and the rice paddies spread a sweet scent over ten miles.

Bees dance atop the wheat, seemingly expressing joy at the harvest. One by one, the farmers work in the golden wheat field, sweating profusely. They bend over to wave their sickles. Despite the busy nature of their work, they don't have happy expressions.

"I am exhausted. Surely, I can't continue toiling away on the Landlord's property forever?"

In the field, there was a young man who stood tall. His features are sharp and rugged, his skin is wheat-colored and healthy. His robust physique is half exposed.

Years of labor made his muscles very sturdy, his hands are callous and dry, but they still can't hide the rugged masculinity that he exudes.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead with a worried look, looking up at the blazing sun through the gaps between his calloused fingers. His vision was blurred by numerous reflections.

The sun seemed to be emitting light and heat inside his head.

"In my previous life, in the year of 996, I worked myself to the bone only for the company to go under. Now I've crossed over and I'm still toiling away for a landlord. Is my destiny just to be a worker?"

The laboring Han Ye paused, took a deep breath, and spoke with a tone of utter helplessness.

Yes, he had crossed over.

Following a car accident, he came to this world and became a man named Han Ye, sharing both the surname and the given name.

It has been a few months since he arrived. All he knows from inquiring around is that this place is ruled by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In simple terms, this is a dynasty that has never existed in historical records.

His plan to become the National teacher by predicting the future and educating the Emperor has been dismantled.

At the beginning, he thought he could turn his life around and enjoy his cross-over experience. But he soon discovered that his original body had been sold to a landlord. He was a tenant farmer, and according to the contract, he would remain in this position for twenty years.

On the surface he's a tenant farmer but in reality, isn't that just slavery?

Twenty years means he must stay in this place until he reaches his forties or fifties, constantly cultivating until old age sets in, wasting his life away with hard work.

He was just twenty years old!

Upon this thought, he was quite unable to accept this reality.

This world was too boring. There were no cell phones, no charming online friends, no Coke, no air conditioning.

Time went by extremely slowly. From sunrise to sunset, there was no amusement per se. His days felt like years.

For the first time, he realized how long a day could be.

Every day when he has free time, apart from listening to the gossips from the aunties in the village, there doesn't seem to be anything interesting.

Therefore, he has been thinking about ways to escape.

"Da Niu, keep a lookout for me. If the overseer comes, let me know. I need to go take a leak."

Han Ye yells this towards the wheat field in front of him.

"Alright!"

A jovial man in the field responds with a smile.

Han Ye walked over to a nearby crude latrine, intending to skive off work.

He felt like the sweat was about to leave him dry and lightheaded.

At the manor, the diet was mediocre, with clear soup and dishes of coarse grain. The work was hard under the burning sun.

He had only been here for a few months. Who could bear the future days?

"I must find an opportunity to run. This is no life for a human."

Han Ye used some water from a basin full of muddy water to wash away the sweat on his face, which made him feel a bit better.

In the shade, he squinted at the blazing sun above.

All of a sudden.

The blazing sun seemed to transform into an actual beam of light that shot straight into his mind.

His pupils contracted and his mind blanked out. He fell unconscious before having any chance to react.

When he woke up again, his ears were ringing.

Opening his eyes in a daze, he instantly remembered the vision and quickly sat up.

"That probably wasn't just a hallucination."

Did he just witness the true spirit of the sun?

Suddenly, Han Ye rubbed his eyes and noticed a mysterious line of text appearing before him. It read:

"Accumulation (now awake): Freezing three feet isn't caused by a single day of cold; wearing away a stone by dripping water isn't caused by a single day of work. If you receive this destiny, you can pick up other people's attributes, constantly accumulate and promote, and never shine, until when you do, it is astonishing."

"Destiny?"

Upon seeing this, Han Ye suddenly understood.

In his previous life, he had read many novels and he was well aware of what this was.

It is often said that everyone has a destiny that is determined by heaven. Some are destined to become kings or valiant generals and even if they become destitute, they would eventually become emperors or kings, while others are destined to till the land, impoverished for their entire life. No matter how rich they are, if their fate isn't good, they will not remain wealthy past three generations.

In other words, everyone's fate is different, and his destiny is Accumulation.

What caught his attention was:

Pick up other people's attributes.

How would he pick them up?

Could it be that they are randomly dropped?

With these thoughts, he returned to the field.

However, he discovered that all the wheat in his field had already been harvested.

Did someone help with his work?

Who could be that kind?

Han Ye was surprised. When he looked up, he saw a robust man walking towards him, wiping the sweat off his face with a white towel and laughing heartily:

"Brother Han, you're finally back. I saw you were gone for so long and feared you would get scolded by the foreman, so I took the initiative to help you with the harvest. I hope you don't mind me doing your work."

Hearing this, Han Ye felt a touch of emotion.

Even a twinge of being moved.

In his previous life, he had seen the coldness and warmth of humanity. Unexpectedly, a simple farmer in the village was more reliable than those so-called friends, relatives, and colleagues.

This person was named Wang Da Niu, a well-known strongman in Langlang Village. He was honest and sturdy, seemingly always full of energy and very diligent in his work.

Han Ye smiled gently, shook his head and said, "How could I blame you? I should be thanking you. I don't need my wages for today, you can have them. Mainly because I was really tired just now and took a break at the side."

"No need, no need, it's not easy for us all to make some money. I just happened to be able to help."

Wang Da Niu waved his hand, chuckling.

"Brother Da Niu, have you ever thought about leaving Langlang Village for a wider world?"

Han Ye casually mentioned.

Wang Da Niu scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly, "Our family, for generations, have been farming. Occasionally fishing and hunting, I'm used to this kind of life, if I leave this place, I would not know what to do."

Han Ye was somewhat lost when he heard these simplistic words.

Yes, perhaps their life in the ancient times was just like this.

It's just similar to his past life's bustling world, hence he could not suppress his loneliness, thinking that such life is not suitable for him.

Now that he has the destiny of "Accumulation", maybe this is the beginning of a turning point.

"Brother Da Niu, everyone must have a dream."

Han Ye smiled and said, "Look, marrying a pretty wife, having a chubby son, and just sunbathing at home every day. Ain't that nice?"

At the mention of a wife, Wang Da Niu's eyes immediately lit up, "Han brother, you're right. I need to get married. After all, you've been educated and seen much more than I have. As for dreams, I can't think too far."

Seeing that his words had an effect, Han Ye smiled happily.

During his idle times, he often told stories to the village children, so Wang Da Niu knew that he could read and write.

"Da Niu! Come and help transport some grain, load up a cart."

Not far away, seven or eight peasants were shouldering bags of wheat and loading them onto carts. One of them called out to Wang Da Niu.

"Coming!"

Wang Da Niu responded cheerfully and quickly stepped up.

He took a step forward, scooped up a sack full of wheat ears, and shouldered it easily.

Then the second bag, the third bag, the fourth bag...

"Hey ho!"

Until Wang Da Niu shouldered eight bags of wheat ears.

Others shouldered two bags or three bags if they were stronger, but he alone had eight bags of wheat ears on his shoulders!

"Da Niu, can you shoulder a few more bags?"

Some villagers nearby half-jokingly asked when they saw his performance.

Wang Da Niu breathed deeply and said without concern:

"Bring it on!"

"Alright!"

After adding two more bags of wheat ears to each shoulder, a total of four bags, Wang Da Niu's face was flushed, but he still walked as usual.

When he got to the cart, he furrowed his brows and dropped the twelve bags of wheat ears accurately onto the other wheat bags.

"Whoa!"

At this moment, a flickering green light orb fell from Wang Da Niu's body, spreading a faint glow.

Han Ye, who was standing at a distance, rubbed his eyes in disbelief because it seemed he may have seen wrong.

After confirming that no one else could see it, he slowly walked over and carefully approached the light orb.

In the blink of an eye--

The "Accumulation" destiny in his mind emitted a golden light, and the green light orb on the ground was sucked in like a storm, entering his mind.

At the same moment, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

"Pick up Attribute: Power of an Ox+1"

"Absorb?"

To see this, Han Ye's eyes lit up.

Could this be the correct way to use "Accumulation"?

It seems this strand of green light orb is the attribute that Wang Da Niu just dropped.

Power of an Ox.

If absorbed, could he become as strong as Wang Da Niu?

After thinking about it for a while, Han Ye resolutely chose to absorb.

As the green light orb was absorbed by the golden light--

A panel appeared before his eyes at the same moment.

"Name": Han Ye

"Cultivation": Mortal

"Destiny": Accumulation

"Owned Attributes": Power of an Ox (Green)

"Power of an Ox (1/100): Incredibly strong, has the power of an ox, inexhaustible strength."

"Power of an Ox?"

Han Ye rejoiced in his heart.

"Han Ye, are you here to help too?"

A peasant brother carrying a sack turned his head and saw Han Ye standing at the side, laughing and asking.

"Uh... Yes!"

Han Ye nodded, also shouldered four or five sacks, and sent them to the cart.

He suddenly looked at his own palm and realized that his strength had increased considerably.

This sack weighed nearly one hundred kilograms, and five sacks would be five hundred kilograms.

Now, he was able to lift it easily with one hand.

A few strands of green light orbs fell from Wang Da Niu's feet.

"Pick up Attribute: Power of an Ox+1"

"Pick up Attribute: Power of an Ox+2"

...