Summit Farmer
Chapter 1112 - 112 The Importance of Power_1

Chapter 1112: Chapter 112 The Importance of Power_1

"This restaurant’s vegetable dishes have a really unique feature, after eating them, everyone can enhance their Qi and blood. I make a point of eating here once a month," Harlan Swift gestured for Peter Brown to sit down.

After a bit of polite deference at the table, Harlan Swift took the seat of honor, and Peter Brown reluctantly took a seat at the lower end.

"Brother Wang, getting regularized so quickly is really awesome. When you first arrived at the Sanitation Section, everyone thought you would be ousted, but you turned things around in such a short time, something nobody expected," Brooke Coleman praised Peter.

They all had just shared how long they had been in the Immortal Realm and ranked themselves accordingly. By that measure, Peter was the least senior among them.

Now, Peter also understood the age classification for a Cultivator, regardless of how many years one has spent in Cultivation. Starting from the time one leaves the standard, the baseline age is twenty years old, which meant that from this point, Peter was only twenty years old in his Immortal age. Among them, the eldest was Kimberly Harrison, who was twenty-five years old.

Natalie smiled at Peter and said, "Immortal age isn’t much of an issue; we’ve just arranged the order for convenience in addressing each other. Don’t think of us as much older."

Peter chuckled and said, "To tell the truth, I still know nothing about the affairs of the Immortal Realm, and I will need to ask for your guidance."

Harlan Swift said, "Brother Wang, the affairs of the Immortal Realm cannot be compared with those of the Phantom Realm. The Phantom Realm carries with it the intent of various operators, so the minds of those who come out from there are completely different. Our minds are not so different, and that’s why we are able to hang out together. It would be really difficult to interact if it were anyone else."

Peter nodded and said, "That is very likely. Brothers and sisters, please enlighten me on some of the rules here."

Kimberly Harrison said, "I have been here a bit longer, and the trials and tribulations are indescribable. Let me tell you about them."

As everyone continued eating, the explanations began.

After a while, Kimberly Harrison said, "Actually, there is one key thing for basic Immortals like us, and that is power. Without power, no matter how much wealth you have, it amounts to nothing!"

"Why is that?" Peter immediately inquired.

"Let’s say you started a business, and it grew substantially. However, without power and support behind you, any power-holder can attempt to seize your wealth. What will you do when they come knocking?"

"What about the law?"

"The only law is not to commit treason. As for robbery and seizing property by force, can’t powerful people settle these matters easily?"

At this point, Peter could only nod his head; it was indeed a disheartening reality where someone without Power could struggle even to protect themselves.

"That’s why everyone is fighting to become civil servants!" Natalie declared.

"There’s no helping it," Brooke Coleman said. "Being a civil servant is a way to protect oneself. After becoming a civil servant, you get various kinds of security. If you can gain some Power, handling matters related to wealth becomes easier."

Harlan Swift lamented, "We Cultivators are even more disadvantaged, having no relatives, no allies here; we have to rely solely on ourselves to make it. Many people struggle for a long time but ultimately end up on the path to becoming civil servants."

"Aren’t we regularized? Does that count as being civil servants?" Peter asked.

"Speaking seriously, we can’t really be considered civil servants yet, only quasi-civil servants. Only those who’ve passed the Examination and secured their position are regarded as official civil servants. Otherwise, why would we need to take the exam?" Natalie explained.

"Has everyone taken the exam? Is it hard?" Peter asked curiously.

Brooke Coleman sighed, "If we look at the intelligence of us Cultivators, studying isn’t really an issue, but as people who have emerged from the Cultivator, there’s a problem with our intelligence. Studying is truly taxing. I’ve taken the exam twice without passing!"

"Are the civil servant exams fair?" This was a critical concern, given the situation on Earth, and Peter was understandably worried.

Shaking his head, Kimberly Harrison said, "You don’t have to worry about that. Everything is operated by AI, with no human intervention. From setting the questions, marking the papers, to assessing the capabilities, everything is done by AI. In this respect, it is fair; they select the top scorers."

"As long as it’s fair," said Peter.

"It’s so hard! For those of us who came from the Cultivator, the success rate in these exams is incredibly low. Brother Wang, I heard from Brother Swift that you’re planning to take the exam. I think you should reconsider. Not to mention how well you’ll do, the 5000 registration fee alone is daunting; saving money isn’t easy for us," said Kimberly Harrison, voicing her concern.

"With your situation, as long as you study diligently, I believe there is hope. There’s no need to rush," Natalie said reassuringly.

Peter considered for a moment and said, "So, the Indigenous People are much stronger than us?"

"Naturally, their spiritual power is much stronger than ours, giving them an advantage in learning. Anyway, I think that while Cultivators are given the opportunity to participate, there is still racial discrimination at play. With our level of Divine Sense, the likelihood of us passing is very small."

At that moment, Harlan Swift turned to Peter and said, "Initially, I was encouraging you to take the exam, but now it seems I haven’t considered everything. With your situation, you would just be throwing money away if you tried now. It’s better to review and make sure you’re prepared before signing up."

Now that Peter knew these vegetables could also be useful, he was already thinking about concocting a potion to increase Divine Sense Energy, and this gave him more confidence regarding the examination.

"I will take this matter into serious consideration," he said.

Brooke Coleman looked to Peter and said, "Let’s set aside the exam for now. After all, we are only quasi-civil servants; a single misstep could lead to someone stripping us of our positions. We should help each other out normally and never let anyone take our positions away. If we lose this post, our lives are probably over."

Hearing these words, the mood among them turned somber, everyone understanding the significance of their position.

Peter realized the intent behind Harlan Swift’s dinner invitation—for everyone to stick together for support.

This was Peter’s first time interacting with others since his arrival, and he asked many questions he didn’t know before. The more he inquired, the more Peter felt that the officials here were a privileged class, reaping all sorts of benefits just by holding an office.

The goal seemed clear: become a civil servant, find an opportunity to hold an official position, and ensure the security of his potion-selling business.

Peter was now even more determined to pursue a path in officialdom. As everyone said, for a Cultivator, this was the only right course to take.