How come I was born a deity?

Chapter 2: The Book Bar

As the autumn recruitment season draws to a close, November has already begun to feel noticeably cold.

Chen Qi stood on the main street in the bustling downtown area of ​​Qingcheng. The streetlights changed from green to red, and cars drove past him one after another.

"Handsome guy," a middle-aged woman at a roadside stall said to Chen Qi with a smile, "Would you like a hand-pulled pancake? It's delicious! We have bacon, eggs, chicken strips—whatever you want!"

Chen Qi glanced at the menu on the shopping cart and asked, "Do you have pork floss?"

The woman answered cheerfully, pulling a pancake from the plastic bag. "Yes, do you want anything else?"

Chen Qi waved his hand, "No need, I'm not buying anything, I was just asking."

The older woman: "..."

Despite the murderous glare from the middle-aged woman, Chen Qi calmly walked across the street and arrived at the address his father had given him.

In front of me is a bookstore, not very big, occupying only one storefront on the street.

But the bookstore didn't even have a sign in front of it, which really didn't look like a business.

Chen Qi pushed open the glass door with a wooden sign that read "Closed~" and the first thing he saw was a reading area with the floor hollowed out. Inside, there were colorful beanbag chairs and large cushions, allowing guests to enjoy reading in all sorts of comfortable or awkward positions.

There are wooden bookshelves on both sides, piled with a large number of books, but they look messy and don't even have the most basic organization.

Further inside, there is a staircase leading to the second floor, but a sign in front of the staircase reads "Employee Area, Do Not Enter".

At the far end of the bookstore is a bar counter. The wall of the bar counter has been hollowed out to serve as a shelf, displaying all kinds of drinks and alcoholic beverages. Rather than calling it a bookstore, it's more accurate to describe it as a book bar that combines the functions of a bookstore and a quiet bar.

A very beautiful woman was sitting in front of the bar.

She wore her hair in a high ponytail, a white sports vest over a greyish-white windbreaker, and light brown loose cargo pants, giving her a sharp and capable look.

A beauty mark at the corner of her eye added a touch of allure to her already sharp eyes.

"Reading is free, but using the restroom costs ten yuan," the woman said, picking up a cup of Want Want milk from the bar and taking a small sip as she heard the door open. "But if you order a drink, using the restroom is free."

Holy crap, what a rip-off! They charge ten yuan for a single toilet visit?

Chen Qi felt a chill run down his spine and said, "I'm not here to use the restroom, I'm here to look for a job. My dad told me to come and work here."

"Looking for a job?" A hint of confusion flashed in the woman's eyes. "Who's your father?"

"Chen Fuzhou".

Upon hearing those three words, the woman paused, putting down the Want Want milk in her hand. "You're Senior Chen's son and last disciple?"

What does it mean to be both a son and a closed-door disciple?

Besides teaching me how to grapple, what else did he teach me?

The woman jumped down from the round stool at the bar, walked up to Chen Qi, circled him, and looked him up and down, muttering, "He's just an ordinary person... How strange."

After a moment's hesitation, the woman gestured for Chen Qi to follow her to the reading area, where she pulled out two beanbag chairs to sit down.

"Did Senior Chen tell you anything before he sent you here, like... what we do?"

Chen Qi shook his head. "No, he didn't say anything, he just told me to come over."

"You're leaving this to me too...?" The woman sighed and said, "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Shen Nianxu, and I'm the temporary owner of this bookstore. Before you decide to take this job, I need to explain things to you first."

Shen Nianxu raised her eyebrows slightly. "Do you believe in superpowers?"

Chen Qi nodded, "I believe you."

The flattened mountain outside Qingcheng was his handiwork. If you don't believe in the existence of superpowers after this, then it's really strange.

"That's good," Shen Nianxu nodded. "There are demons and monsters in this world, and your father is the one who fights against them."

"The so-called superpowers I just mentioned are actually the abilities possessed by cultivators. Ordinary people can't fight against those demons and monsters, but cultivators can. What they need to do is prevent those demons and monsters from affecting the normal lives of ordinary people."

Chen Qi nodded. "It's much simpler than I thought. To put it bluntly, it's about being a superhero hidden behind the scenes!"

Shen Nianxu rolled her eyes at him. "Not everyone can become a cultivator. First, you need to have the qualifications. Having the qualifications is the first step to becoming a cultivator."

"I've already spoken to Senior Chen. If you don't have the qualifications, you should just live the life of an ordinary person and not get involved in the world of cultivators. Otherwise, it will only do you harm and no good."

Chen Qi: "What did my dad say?"

Senior Chen said, "Hahaha! How could that kid not be qualified? If he's not qualified, I'll eat shit! Three pounds of it!"

Chen Qi: "..."

Yes, it's very much like her dad's style.

"Then, how do I know if I'm qualified?"

Shen Nianxu stood up, pulled a crumpled book from the bookshelf, and handed it to Chen Qi. "This book is the foundation of all cultivators' practice. If you follow the methods in it and you have the aptitude, you can learn it within a month."

"But if you don't have the aptitude, let alone a month, even if you were given a year or a lifetime, you still wouldn't be able to step into the threshold of becoming a cultivator."

Chen Qi took the crumpled book from Shen Nianxu's hand. Its surface was slightly yellowed, and the four characters "Dunjia Tianshu" could be faintly seen on the cover. Whether it was real or not was unknown.

Even if you have the qualifications, it will still take almost a month.

Isn't this a bit too long?

Just as Shen Nianxu was about to say something, she suddenly noticed several dark figures standing outside the bookstore.

A bald, middle-aged man stood outside the door, smiling, and gently knocked on the glass door.

Shen Nianxu's face darkened, and she said to Chen Qi, "Go over to the bar and see what's going on. I have to entertain some rather unpleasant guests now."

Chen Qi didn't refuse, after all, this was their territory. Following Shen Nianxu's orders, he sat on the small round stool in front of the bar, opened the first page of the "Book of Escape Techniques," and began to scan the contents.

In the reading area, Shen Nianxu made a gesture, and the glass door opened by itself without any assistance.

Outside the door, a bald, middle-aged man walked in with two bodyguards in black suits, leaving the rest of the people at the door.

"Hello, Ms. Shen," the bald man said, sitting down on a beanbag chair. "It's been a while since we last met."

Shen Nianxu didn't give them a friendly look, "What brings the He family to my little bookstore? If it's not urgent, please leave."

The bald man raised his hand to interrupt Shen Nianxu, "Of course there are important matters. The former owner of the bookstore served as the person in charge of the Qingcheng cultivator circle for a full five years, but now that he is dead, the position of person in charge is naturally vacant."

Shen Nianxu frowned slightly. "Does your He family want to seize the position of head of the family?"

"That's exactly what I mean," the bald man said with a smile, his words devoid of any hostility. "You should know what kind of privileges the person in charge has in the corresponding city. Not only can they mobilize all the cultivation resources in the city, but all their actions are also officially endorsed. This is exactly what our He family lacks."

"The meeting of the leaders will be held at the end of the year. The bookstore has also gained a place in Qingcheng. In the voting process for the leaders, you will also have a vote. I hope... that you can cast your vote for our He family."

Shen Nianxu's tone was unfriendly, "Vote for you? If your He family becomes the leader of Qingcheng, I'm afraid the bookstore will be removed from Qingcheng the next day."

"How could that be?" the bald man laughed. "In Qingcheng, which is under the management of our He family, we only welcome organizations with strength. Your bookstore did have a lot of influence before, but the former boss is dead, and you are the only one left. Your influence has been greatly reduced."

"Unless a second cultivator of the same or even stronger level as the former owner appears in the bookstore, the decline of your bookstore is inevitable. There is no need for our He family to deliberately target it; it will naturally disappear into the river of time."

Shen Nianxu pursed her lips. "What if I told you that Senior Chen doesn't want the bookstore to disappear for the time being?"

"Senior Chen?" The bald man's expression changed for the first time. "You mean Chen Fuzhou?"

"Yes," Shen Nianxu sneered, "There are some special reasons why Senior Chen still needs the bookstore to stay open. If you don't care about Senior Chen, you can target me and make the whole bookstore close down."

"However, I can't guarantee what Senior Chen will do next."