Foundation Restored, Looking Toward the Martial Path

Da Qing 280. As you set out in your boat, you saw two figures fighting atop the lake's surface. Sword Qi sheared up waves several meters high, and you quickly rowed away.

The next day, the Qing He Gang issued an order: all fishermen were to put out on the lake and search the vicinity of Green Lake for a young man. You realized he was one of the two martial artists who had fought yesterday.

The fishermen found nothing. A month later, the disturbance gradually died down, and you sighed that you simply did not have the fate of a protagonist.

Da Qing 283. At twenty-eight, you were already a seasoned fisherman. Your 1.26-fold foundation made your strength, vitality, and endurance noticeably greater than those of others. Years of hard labor had left some fishermen your age prematurely aged, but you remained vigorous, still in the prime of life.

Da Qing 284. Uncle Ji's daughter, Ji Xiaoyu, came looking to play with you every day.

Da Qing 285. You heard that the Qing Kingdom had gone to war with the neighboring Wu Kingdom. You thought, What the hell does that have to do with me?

Three months later, you were forcibly conscripted.

You entered the military camp and underwent a month and a half of training, but you suspected someone had embezzled the soldiers' pay, because the meals only filled you to seventy percent.

Or perhaps you were simply stronger, so your appetite was larger.

With training that included the basics of martial arts, you felt that you now counted as an Unranked martial artist.

Da Qing 286. You were issued a spear and a suit of wooden armor, then arrived at the frontline battlefield with the army.

After only one day of rest, your unit was sent into battle. Amid a battlefield of over a thousand men, you and a familiar comrade guarded each other's backs, barely surviving the slaughter.

A fierce general suddenly charged out from the Wu Kingdom's army, wielding a Meteorite Hammer weighing several hundred jin and sweeping everything before him. You tried to avoid him—and succeeded.

But with a casual swing, he smashed one of your soldiers to pieces. Half the soldier's arm landed on your head, and you were knocked unconscious on the spot.

Unconscious on the battlefield, you never woke again. You died.

Please select one reward to inherit:

1. Detailed memories of seventeen years.

2. Military martial arts skills from one and a half months of training + a trained physique

3. Foundation increased by 17%.

"Of course it's 3!" Yun Shou chose without the slightest hesitation. Even if a month and a half of martial arts training had been decent, it could never compare to a full 17% increase in foundation!

Ding! Foundation +17%. Current foundation: 130%.

"1.3 times... I should be a little better than ordinary people now, right?" Feeling his body suddenly become much lighter, Yun Shou could not help stretching lazily. Vitality surged through him in an endless stream.

He had not eaten his fill when he was young, and the severe damage to his vitality at age twelve had left his 114% foundation weaker than that of an ordinary person...

But at 130%, he was absolutely a cut above ordinary people!

Yun Shou felt as though he had finally held his head high. "Now those martial arts schools that looked down on me in the simulation..."

He fell silent for a moment. Those martial arts schools would probably still look down on him. Being only slightly better than ordinary people still meant he was ordinary.

If he wanted martial arts schools to beg him to become their disciple, he would probably need to raise his foundation to 200%, perhaps even 300%!

Shaking his head, he knew one simulation could not send him soaring to the heavens in a single step. He had not even become the most basic kind of martial artist, so he should obediently go out fishing.

Tomorrow, he would fight again!

That day, Yun Shou's luck was average, and he did not encounter any large schools of fish.

Still, thanks to his greatly improved strength and stamina, hauling in the nets was much easier today.

When he returned at dusk to Qing He Village beside Green Lake, he handed over his catch to the crafty shopkeeper under the Qing He Gang.

"Eleven jin and six liang. Fifty-eight copper coins." The shopkeeper handed him a handful of coins with a beaming smile, looking every bit the sly profiteer.

Damn crooked merchant!

Yun Shou cursed inwardly, but he still accepted the coins with an excited expression.

It was said to be fifty-eight coins, but there were probably four or five missing. If he pointed that out in front of the shopkeeper, he would instead be falsely accused and beaten.

And if these fish made it into Qingcheng, they could sell for at least a hundred coins.

But this place was controlled by the Qing He Gang, and all the fishermen worked under them.

The shopkeeper's place was the designated fish-selling point. If fishermen dared take their catch into the city to sell, they would no longer be allowed to fish here.

Those like Yun Shou, who had signed contracts of indenture, had it even worse—they would be beaten half to death!

You inhuman Qing He Gang. Every advantage you take of me now, I'll settle each and every one of them with you someday!

Yun Shou made his fierce vow inwardly.

But for now, he had better follow his heart and play it safe.

On his way back to his shabby little hut, he heard Old Man Wang scolding his son.

Old Man Wang was the old fisherman who had pulled him from the water two years ago.

Unfortunately, he would be gone two years later in the simulation.

Old Man Wang's son had used his father's funeral money to marry a wife instead of burying his father. Yun Shou found that unpleasant, but Old Man Wang himself might have preferred it.

After all, it was far more important for his son to have a wife than for him to be buried in the dirt.

There were three forms of unfilial conduct, and having no descendants was the gravest.

Yun Shou greeted the two of them, returned to his room, and dropped straight into bed.

Fishing consumed a great deal of energy. After returning, he had little strength left for anything else.

Early the next morning.

Yun Shou's eyes snapped open as he looked toward the system.

The daily simulation opportunity had arrived again.

What was there to hesitate over? Simulation—activate!

Ding! Foundation -1%. Current foundation: 129%.

Da Qing 269. Thanks to your good physique, your daily fishing catches were much better than before.

Da Qing 270. Old Man Zhu of Qing He Village caught a "Little Black Dragon," an exceptionally precious Black Blood Wonder Fish, and the Qing He Gang rewarded him with thirty taels of silver.

Yun Shou said, "Why didn't this part appear last time... Is it because the Simulator only selects certain events, or because the changes to my mindset and strength after one simulation caused a butterfly effect?"

Or perhaps it was both?

Da Qing 271. You happened to hear of the Young Talents Grand Competition. The young heroes participating in it started at the Second-Rate level of martial artist.

You inquired about the classification of martial artists and learned that they were divided into several ranks: Unranked, Third-Rate, Second-Rate, First-Rate, Martial Master, and Grandmaster.

Among them, Martial Masters could establish martial arts schools and were powerful figures renowned across a region. Qingcheng, one of the few major cities in Beichuan County, had only three martial arts schools in total.

"Third-Rate, Second-Rate... What lame names." Yun Shou was speechless. They were concise, easy to remember, and easy to distinguish, but they did not show even a trace of a martial artist's ferocity or grandeur.

Da Qing 273. Uncle Ji's daughter was born and named Ji Xiaoyu. You liked the little girl very much.

Da Qing 275. A girl from Qing He Village confessed her feelings to you. You hurriedly refused, because you were all about lust without love.

Speaking of lust, then one had to... Forget it. You were afraid of catching some disease. Better to save money and redeem yourself early, avoiding the forced conscription ten years later.

Da Qing 279. You were twenty-four, with a current foundation of 139%. You felt you were comparable to some sturdy guards and hired thugs.

Da Qing 282. You finally saved enough money to redeem yourself five years early. From then on, the sky was high enough for birds to fly free. Uncle Ji and the others tried to persuade you, unable to understand: redeeming yourself was one thing, but you had nothing now—why give up this iron rice bowl?

You resolved to leave and headed straight for Qingcheng... With your fairly good physical qualities, you became a guard for a wealthy household in the city: the Chu Family.

You came into contact with proper martial arts: the Iron Body Technique and the Heaven-Piercing Arm. You could choose one of them as your core martial art.

"The Heaven-Piercing Arm sounds pretty good." Yun Shou rubbed his chin.

You chose the Iron Body Technique.

"...Self-Adversary!"