Progress

(Not a system, this is traditional xianxia. If you have doubts, keep reading—everything has a reason.)

The young scholar with a fair face, dressed in cotton clothes, raised his hand—and what he held was unmistakably the half of a game console that Li Qi had lost!

Then, to his even greater shock, another burly man walked out from the Mighty Gang and pulled the other half from his pocket!

Holy shit! His home had been robbed?!

These people had gone to his house and stolen his game console?

Even though the thing was already broken—when he'd found it, it was only half—he'd kept it by his side as a memento, stored in his dwelling.

The Mighty Gang had taken advantage of the River Opening, when the Wave-Pushing Gang's home was empty, to have someone steal it?

What secret did his game console hold? How had the missing half been retrieved, and the half from his house also stolen?

Were they asking for death?! That thing was not only useless, but if he reported it to the authorities, the thief would be caught and severely punished.

The constables of this world were no pushovers—they could fly through the sky, burrow into the earth, divine traces, and track with formidable skill. The thieves who dared tangle with them had to be at least on the level of Thief Saint Bai Zhantang.

A mere boatman daring to steal? He'd definitely be caught and made an example of.

He had always kept his mouth shut about his transmigration, but now... it seemed something was off.

He held his breath, not making a sound, but his eyes were fixed on that young scholar.

The man held the reassembled console in both hands and looked at the crowd:

"Do you know why I came here, why I offered a reward, and promised a technique in exchange for you bringing me this strange object?" the young scholar said, holding up the console.

The burly men below shook their heads in unison, even the Mighty Gang's leader among them.

Seeing them shake their heads, the young scholar's expression took on a hint of superiority.

"We who pursue the Paths—some chase the Heavenly Path, mastering nature's forces, wielding Earth Fire, Water, and Wind. With a flick of the finger, they summon wind and rain; with a wave of the hand, they turn earth into steel. They know the Heavenly Mechanism, discern gain and loss, court good fortune and avoid disaster, free from calamity."

"Some chase the Human Path, uniting the hearts of the many, manipulating the fate of the world. On the battlefield, their ten thousand troops sweep all before them; seated in the hall, they enjoy the offerings of the realm. They can establish a nation and found a Divine Dynasty, drawing the strength of the masses into themselves. All the kingdoms of this world belong to the Human Path."

"And still others chase the Reason Way, seeking the principles by which objects and mechanisms operate, taking those principles for their own use. In offense, they forge weapons and machines; in defense, they build towering fortresses and high walls. They discern patterns, see through truths—this is called 'clarifying all things through reason,' using reason to distinguish and understand everything."

He spoke with ease, his expression smug.

But just as he was about to continue, he saw that all the burly men around him were utterly baffled, their faces blank and clueless, not understanding a word.

His smugness and pride deflated in an instant. His face fell, and he sighed: "Ah, forget it. You lot are as stupid as pigs and dogs, so naturally you wouldn't grasp such grand principles."

Then he composed himself, raised the console again, and said: "Still, though you're like livestock who only know how to work, I won't deceive you. This object was born from one of the Paths, called the 'Outer Path.'"

"Among all the Paths, the Heavenly Path is supreme, commanding the Ten Thousand Paths. Yet there is one Path that refuses to submit to the Heavenly Path's rule, and no one knows where it came from. Even the Reason Way cannot discern its laws. This Path is named the Outer Path."

"A little over three years ago, I was in the mountains and detected an anomaly through divination. But Outer Path objects are bizarre and unpredictable—divination methods struggle to trace their tracks."

"So I spent two and a half years performing a great ritual, and only then did the results point me to the Mighty Gang. The ritual's outcome hinted that the Mighty Gang could obtain an Outer Path object for me. So I came down the mountain and had you do the work, using your manpower to search for it."

"That's why you spent the past few months scouring the mountains, and why you couldn't qualify for the River Opening. After all, your energy was all spent helping me find things. I didn't tell you before because I was worried you'd leak the information."

He explained to the Mighty Gang's men.

But on the other side, Li Qi, who had been listening to all this, was utterly stunned.

The Mighty Gang couldn't get the River Opening qualification because this man had ordered it?

The Outer Path? That was basically a transmigrator! This guy had divined his existence? Holy shit, that meant he was in serious danger!

Wait, calm down. He'd just said, "Outer Path objects are bizarre and unpredictable—divination methods struggle to trace their tracks." That was exactly why he'd only detected the existence of an Outer Path object, not its specific form.

Even calculating the game console had only given him a faint anomaly. It took another full two and a half years and a great ritual to pinpoint the clue of the 'Mighty Gang.'

He didn't know what the great ritual was, but anything requiring two and a half years couldn't be easy.

So it seemed his identity as a transmigrator hadn't been exposed?

Putting that aside for now, he'd keep watching.

He knew the game console's true nature—it was junk. Aside from being an Outer Path object, it was completely useless. The motherboard was broken. What good was it? Just a keepsake.

But the technique the young scholar had promised the Mighty Gang might affect the future balance of the city's three boatman gangs. He needed to at least gather some intel here.

And besides... this was his first real glimpse of this world beyond its lowest rung.

He'd never heard of the Paths before. In three years as a boatman, he knew far too little about this world, confined to the bottom of society, where even vegetables required careful thought, and meat came only as a reward.

He didn't want to spend his whole life in a boatman gang.

But no one cared about Li Qi's inner turmoil. The young scholar, after rambling on about why he'd sought out the Mighty Gang, happily tucked the console away.

"Ahem. We who walk the Shaman Path must not defy our true hearts. My heart is pure and honest, so I don't wish to deceive you. That's why I've told you the truth about my orders, and I won't skimp on the reward I owe you."

"This technique is your payment." The young scholar waved his hand lightly, and a purple light coalesced in his palm.

The moment he saw that purple light, Li Qi's mind suddenly roared!

It felt like a sledgehammer had smashed into his skull. Stars burst before his eyes, a violent nausea surged up, his legs gave way, and he slid to the ground, tumbling out from the corner of the wall!

Shit!

The shock sent a cold sweat down his back. Though his head still throbbed fiercely, he forced himself to look up, trying to stand.

But when he raised his head, he saw that all the other burly men were the same—clutching their heads, howling in pain, even rolling on the ground. The young scholar had already turned around, ready to head back to his room.

No one noticed him!

An opportunity!

Even though the pain made cold sweat pour down and his vision went dark, he immediately forced his body to endure, pushing through a brain that felt like it was boiling, stumbling and staggering as he ran toward the distance not far away.

But before leaving, he looked back once.

That one glance happened to catch the leader of the Mighty Gang, who, while rolling on the ground, locked eyes with Li Qi.

"Someone's there!" he struggled to roar.

On Li Qi's side, danger and dread flooded his entire body, to the point where he couldn't even maintain his thoughts, remembering only one thing.

Run! Run fast! Or else he wouldn't be able to escape!

Stumbling and staggering, he sprinted all the way, even knocking over quite a few people on the road, drawing curses from several passersby.

There was even a burly man who, after being bumped, directly threw a punch at him, knocking him to the ground, half his face swelling up.

But Li Qi seemed oblivious, crawling on the ground with vacant eyes, only murmuring, "Run... run fast..."

That burly man wanted to hit him again, but seeing this, his anger turned to disgust. He spat, "Pah, turns out he's a lunatic. This lord won't bother with you."

After saying that, he kicked him once more and then swaggered off.

Li Qi, however, felt nothing at all.

Because he could no longer feel his own body.

What he felt now was like someone using an iron hook to pierce through openings like his nose and ears, then slowly scraping out his brain matter.

An almost unimaginable pain completely shattered his consciousness, leaving him unable to think beyond the single notion of "escape."

And so, barely managing to roll and crawl, he charged back to the riverbank.

The second haul wasn't over yet, so the Wave-Pushing Gang people were still there.

He barely made it there, then collapsed to the ground, rolling twice.

"Brother Li!?" someone spotted him first.

"Brother Li's injured! Go call Uncle Liu," a boat tracker immediately said.

Arriving here, Li Qi finally let out a breath of relief. The moment his taut string relaxed, a fierce wave of dizziness hit him, dragging him straight into the abyss of unconsciousness.

His vision went pitch black.

His body felt as if crushed by a boulder, unable to move.

Suddenly, streams of data scrolled before his eyes.

He'd studied programming before, and vaguely remembered... this looked like calling memory to load?

Why... was he seeing data streams in front of his eyes?

In a daze, Li Qi's faint consciousness stirred with confusion.

But those data flashed past rapidly, then vanished.

Finally, a string of error messages came through!

The entire data stream turned red, piling up in his mind with a swish-swish-swish, completely filling his vision.

Then, a huge ERROR occupied all his thoughts.

"Ugh—! Ah!" This sensation made him howl in pain!

Next, all sensation abruptly ceased. He jerked upright, drenched in cold sweat, his clothes soaked through as if he'd just come out of the water.

"Brother Li's awake! Water, bring water!" a boat tracker shouted.

"Water your head! Meat soup, meat soup!" Uncle Liu knocked that person on the head and called to the other trackers.

"Right, right, right, meat soup! Bring the soup over!" that person quickly said.

A bowl of meat soup was passed from hand to hand. Though the trackers couldn't help swallowing their saliva, it quickly reached Li Qi's hands.

But Li Qi, with a horrified look, was at a loss, trembling so much he couldn't even hold the bowl.

Seeing the soup about to spill, Uncle Liu immediately reached out, took it, and brought it to his lips.

Li Qi instinctively gulped it down, drinking the soup and meat clean. His strength and hydration were replenished, and he finally recovered a bit of energy.

Seeing this, Uncle Liu helped Li Qi up and waved at the other trackers: "Stop crowding around, you stink! Clear some space and let the wind blow through. If you've got nothing to do, go guard the second haul. We'll be taking over soon—don't mess up the real work."

Hearing this, the other trackers, though still a bit worried, did as Uncle Liu said and all filed out.

Uncle Liu then supported Li Qi, slowly helping him into a shed by the river dock, a place fishermen used to rest.

"What happened? How did you end up like this?" After helping him inside, he asked Li Qi anxiously.

Because right now, Li Qi's expression was terrified, half his face swollen, his whole body covered in dust, as if he'd rolled all the way back.

Uncle Liu knew this young man, Li Qi. Though his origins were unclear, he was steady in his actions, sharp-minded, could explain many principles, and had strong talent—mastering the Wave-Pushing Strength in just two years, something many old boat trackers who'd trained for ten years couldn't do.

Even though this Wave-Pushing Strength technique was crude, with only one layer to the top, it was still a technique. Mastering it in two years made him the most talented person Uncle Liu had ever seen.

How could someone like that be scared into such a state?

But Li Qi did not answer him.

Because in his eyes, the world had changed.

He wasn't looking at Uncle Liu. His gaze was fixed on the River Opening ceremony outside.

Beneath the great ship of the ceremony, a very abrupt frame—its design style utterly rustic—had appeared.

And written on it were Chinese characters:

"River Opening Ceremony, Progress: 46%."

Corresponding to this line of text, inside the frame was also a progress bar, its fill hovering just past the halfway mark.

He turned to look at the towmen drinking soup on the other side.

Below the towman, a line of text appeared, along with an equally rustic frame.

"Eating, Progress: 84%."

Inside the frame was the same kind of progress bar, and it rapidly filled up, reaching 100%.

The moment the progress bar hit 100%, that towman just happened to finish his broth.

Then he set down his bowl and let out a long breath.

The progress bar above the towman's head changed to "Resting, Progress: 1%."

"Xiao Li? Li Qi?" At that moment, Uncle Liu's face appeared before Li Qi. He had leaned in close, expression worried, brows tightly knit.

Li Qi could clearly see that above Uncle Liu's head was a progress bar identical to the previous two.

"Reading Expressions, Progress: 21%."

Inside that frame was plainly displayed what Uncle Liu was doing right now!

"Xiao Li?" Uncle Liu raised his voice.

"Ah!" Li Qi quickly answered. He suppressed the confusion in his heart, setting aside for now the question of what had appeared before his eyes.

"What's wrong? What happened to you? Are you injured?" Seeing that Li Qi had finally replied, Uncle Liu hurriedly asked.

"No, nothing. I'm fine." Li Qi stood up, shaking his head as he walked toward the edge of the awning. He looked around, then asked, "How long was I out? Did anyone chase after us?"

"You were unconscious for less than a quarter of an hour. No one chased us. Were you discovered by the Mighty Gang?"

"Yes. I saw that the Mighty Gang had somehow hooked up with an expert, who taught them a new technique!" Li Qi said.

A technique!

Hearing those two words, Uncle Liu's face went pale in an instant.