System Activation!

That night, Fang Yuan drifted in and out of unconsciousness, with a dull ache in his chest.

It was not until noon the next day, when grayish-white light filtered through the window, that he struggled to open his eyes.

His throat burned with dryness, and his entire body felt as though it had been taken apart and hastily put back together. Even the slightest movement tugged at his wounds.

But it was far better than the feeling of being on the verge of death last night. At least his mind was a little clearer.

He tried moving his fingers, confirming that the bloodstained document was still pressed tightly against his inner shirt.

Only then did he finally remember. Someone else's name had been written on his examination paper, and when he went to report it, he had been beaten half to death instead.

Fortunately, a hunter returning from a night hunt had come across Fang Yuan collapsed on the road. Otherwise, he would have lost his life.

He had nearly earned the title of the shortest-lived transmigrator in history.

The woman was asleep with her head resting against the Kangs Edge. Heavy dark circles lay beneath her eyes, and even in sleep, her brows were tightly furrowed.

His younger sister was curled up on a little stool in the corner, her small head bobbing as she dozed.

Looking at the bare earthen house, the empty rice jar, and the two family members who had been frightened sick and worn to the bone because of him,

an anxiety unlike anything he had ever felt gnawed at Fang Yuan's heart.

Since he was here, he might as well settle in. Fang Yuan now had one more reason to grow stronger.

Growing stronger was not something to be merely talked about. It meant real, tangible martial strength!

This world had Martial Dao, according to the original owner's memories. True Martial Dao—real skills capable of splitting mountains and shattering stones!

Unfortunately, literature impoverished while martial arts enriched. The routines taught at the county's Martial Arts Schools were all meant to fool people; the true Cultivation Methods were held in the hands of the county's powerful clans.

For ordinary people, learning martial arts was far too difficult! He understood that.

Had the previous owner not once dreamed of becoming a martial artist? But reality was that, leaving aside the difficulty of obtaining a Cultivation Method—

Martial arts required good food, medicinal baths to temper the body, and a master's instruction. Which of those did not cost money?

In the end, he could only choose the seemingly lower-threshold Imperial Examination, yet he had never expected... a scholar was good for nothing.

Without martial strength, others could not even be bothered to reason with him. The principles in books were for people to look at, not to put to use!

Looking at the crumbling tiled house, Fang Yuan shook his head. The family had already been overwhelmed by the burden of supporting his studies.

Just when his studies should have begun paying off, he had once been able to copy books for others in his spare time and supplement the household income.

But now that his scholarly title had been stolen, that copying work would surely be cut off as well.

With the Education Commissioner ruling this place with one hand covering the sky, who would dare hire him to copy books?

A scholar was good for nothing—fucking right!

He slammed a fist viciously onto the kang, wrenching his wound. The pain made him suck in a sharp breath, yet an even deeper unwillingness surged within him.

Just as Fang Yuan was pondering how to practice martial arts and obtain a Cultivation Method,

when that desperate agitation reached its peak, a soft "buzz" suddenly rang in his mind.

An extremely concise, cold, emotionless voice abruptly surfaced:

[Proficiency System loaded.]

Immediately afterward, a translucent phantom resembling a game interface unfolded at the bottom of his vision. Its lines were simple, with only a few sections:

[Name: Fang Yuan]

[Realm: None]

[Cultivation Method: None]

A system?

As a transmigrator, he was no stranger to such a thing. But when it truly appeared on him, he instantly held his breath.

He tried focusing his thoughts on it, trying to touch it and communicate with it, but the interface showed no response at all. It was deathly still.

"Can't interact with it? Is it just a panel?" He frowned, and the tiny flame that had just ignited in his heart wavered again.

He refused to believe it. Since it was called the "Proficiency System," it had to be made to "move"!

His gaze swept around the room before finally landing on the old chopping knife used for splitting firewood in the corner.

The blade was mottled with rust, while the wooden handle had been polished bright from use.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he struggled down from the kang.

The commotion woke the woman and his younger sister. Both were startled to see him suddenly get out of bed.

"Husband, you're not healed yet. Lie back down!" His wife hurried over to support him.

His younger sister rose timidly as well, her large eyes full of confusion and fear.

Fang Yuan waved a hand without speaking. He merely staggered to the corner, bent down, and picked up the heavy chopping knife.

A cold sensation seeped into his palm.

He drew a breath and recalled the most rudimentary chopping motion he had seen in television dramas in his previous life.

Then, using every scrap of strength currently in his body, he violently swung at the empty air before him!

The movement was clumsy, his force awkward, and it sent a stabbing pain through his ribs.

But at the instant the chopping knife swung out—

the lifeless panel at the bottom of his vision suddenly flickered in the [Cultivation Method] section!

[Cultivation Method: Basic Saber Technique, Progress 1/10000]

At the same time, an incomparably faint current of heat, almost imperceptible, silently flowed through the arm that had swung the blade for a moment.

Though tiny, Fang Yuan sensed it clearly!

It worked!

Did that mean that as long as Fang Yuan swung the blade ten thousand times, he could achieve mastery of the saber technique?

Fang Yuan vaguely felt that once he mastered the saber technique, some sort of change would occur!

At that thought, Fang Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and suppressed excitement rushed to his head.

Ignoring his body's protests, he raised the chopping knife again and began hacking at the air, once, then again.

The movements remained ugly and entirely without form.

But in the eyes of his wife and younger sister, his behavior was strange to the extreme.

A gravely wounded scholar, instead of lying down properly, was holding a chopping knife and wildly slashing at empty air? His face was pale, yet his eyes shone with a frightening brightness.

"B-Brother?" His younger sister shrank back in fear and hid behind her sister-in-law.

The woman's face was also filled with uncertainty. Her hand clutched tightly at the corner of her clothes; she did not dare go forward, nor did she dare stop him.

Watching her husband in that almost crazed state, her eyes reddened again, and panic and fear filled her heart:

Husband couldn't have... gone mad from the blow, could he? In this family, the man was the sky. If he went mad, this family would truly be finished.

She could only watch helplessly as Fang Yuan swung the chopping knife again and again, panting heavily, beads of sweat rolling down his pale forehead, yet gritting his teeth and refusing to stop.

The "Proficiency +1" that inevitably appeared after every swing became the only thought sustaining Fang Yuan at that moment.

There was only one word in his mind: Practice!

The chopping knife slipped from his hand and struck the ground with a dull clang.

Fang Yuan braced himself on his knees and panted heavily, sweat dripping from his chin.

His arms felt as though they had been filled with lead, too heavy to lift, while the old wound beneath his ribs throbbed faintly with every breath.

Yet strangely, alongside that extreme exhaustion came an indescribable sense of fullness.

His whole body felt warm, as if he had just drunk a bowl of piping-hot millet porridge. Heat radiated from deep within his body and flowed into his Limbs and Bones.

Though his muscles were sore and weak, his blood and qi seemed to have become much more active. They were no longer as cold and sluggish as when he had first awakened.

With a thought, he focused his awareness on the System Panel at the bottom of his vision once more.

[Name: Fang Yuan]

[Realm: None]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Saber Technique Proficiency: 17/10000]

Cultivation Method?

Fang Yuan was slightly stunned.