Entry

Great Qian Dynasty, Chengping Year 1, Yunzhou, Cloud Sun City, autumn.

A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy leaned against the city wall, basking in the sun. His curled-up body looked somewhat sturdy, and his delicate face carried a ruthless edge.

After all, Jiang Liu was famous for fighting with ferocity and throwing caution to the wind. That made the local ruffians and little brats afraid to approach him recklessly!

With a thought from Jiang Liu, a deep-blue light screen visible only to him appeared before his eyes.

Auxiliary System:

Name: Jiang Liu

Realm: None

Skills: None (Entry, Minor Accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, Perfected)

What skill does the system recognize, anyway? I've been here for almost half a year, yet I haven't learned a single skill?

Jiang Liu muttered gloomily. He raised his head and looked around. The weather was getting colder, so earning more silver was the sensible thing to do.

Otherwise, winter would be difficult to get through. The world was growing more chaotic by the day, and business at restaurants and inns was poor. Even odd jobs were hard to find.

At sunset, Jiang Liu dragged his weary body home. The earthen house in a secluded corner of Flowing Cloud Alley was the only property he had inherited from his predecessor.

On the day he had transmigrated, the neighbors had nearly occupied it. Jiang Liu had suddenly awakened, frightening them all away.

Not long afterward, word spread that Jiang Liu had died and come back to life. Only then did the surrounding neighbors stop bullying him, afraid they might bring disaster upon themselves!

After taking over the body, Jiang Liu had gradually familiarized himself with the matters of this world.

Fortunately, he had inherited his predecessor's memories. He roughly recognized the written language, and spoken communication was much the same as in his previous life, allowing him to blend in fairly quickly.

His predecessor's parents had died before Jiang Liu transmigrated, leaving him alone. After burying his parents, the predecessor had been overwhelmed by grief, giving Jiang Liu the opportunity to transmigrate.

Drawing on his experience from working in an office, as well as his young age and glib tongue, Jiang Liu helped restaurants and inns attract customers.

That was the only way he could barely keep himself fed. He had no wages. Occasionally, generous customers would tip him three or five copper coins.

"Eight hundred and sixty-three." Jiang Liu took out all his worldly possessions and counted them. When will I ever save enough money to go to a Martial Hall?

Cloud Sun City was filled with Martial Halls. As long as one wanted to learn, one could always find one suited to them—provided they had enough silver.

The saying went, "Poor in letters, rich in martial arts." Jiang Liu had asked around the entire Western District. The cheapest Martial Hall required ten taels of silver just to enter, not including the costs of medicinal decoctions and food during martial training.

One tael of silver was officially valued at one thousand copper coins. Ten taels meant ten thousand copper coins, which left Jiang Liu thoroughly depressed.

"Don't run!" A loud shout suddenly came from outside, followed by a burst of noise beside the house wall, as if something had fallen there.

"Over there! Chase him! Don't let him get away! He dared steal from our Fierce Tiger Gang—he must be tired of living! Once we catch him, we'll skin him and pull out his tendons! Catch him alive—the gang leader is offering a reward!" A large group of Fierce Tiger Gang members roared past.

After watching them leave, Jiang Liu poked his head out and saw something seemingly lying by the wall. It was wrapped in black cloth and would have been impossible to notice without looking carefully. It was simply too dark!

Jiang Liu groped around and picked it up, then immediately returned inside. When he opened it, he found a thin book with only a few pages.

No wonder it had been wrapped in cloth. Otherwise, with it being carried all over the place, no one would have been able to find it!

"Fierce Tiger Fist." He saw those words written on the cover. This was the Fierce Tiger Gang's boxing technique? No wonder they had pursued it so desperately!

Jiang Liu picked up the pages and carefully flipped through them. There were five moves in total, along with methods for exerting force, circulation routes, training tips, and instructions for preparing the accompanying medicinal decoction—eight pages altogether.

"Ding! Martial technique discovered: Fierce Tiger Fist. Record it?"

The Auxiliary System's voice rang out.

"Yes." Jiang Liu hurriedly answered in his mind.

Auxiliary System:

Name: Jiang Liu

Realm: None

Fierce Tiger Fist (Not Entered 0/10)

Delight spread across Jiang Liu's face. It really could record techniques! He had thought this Auxiliary System was useless.

Opening the pages, he found that the Fierce Tiger Fist had been developed by observing the movements of fierce tigers and refining them according to the habits of the human body. It included a method for circulating energy and medicinal decoctions to replenish the blood and qi.

It also briefly introduced the realms of martial practitioners. Before Entry Grade were the four Body Refinement Realms—Skin Tempering, Flesh Hardening, Bone Tempering, and Blood Exchange. After Entry Grade came ranks one through nine, with first rank the lowest and ninth rank the highest! As for what came after ninth rank, the book did not say.

The beginning of the martial path consisted of four Body Refinement Realms. At Skin Tempering Great Accomplishment, one's skin became as tough as old oxhide, impervious to ordinary blades and swords! At Flesh Hardening Great Accomplishment, one could freely gather and disperse the muscles throughout the body! At Bone Tempering Great Accomplishment, blood and qi pierced through the bones and emerged, forming a protective layer of blood and qi! Once Blood Exchange was complete, all the body's stagnant and corrupted blood was expelled, leaving one as if reborn.

How exactly do I enter the first level? Should I practice by following the moves? Jiang Liu wore a thoughtful expression.

He assumed a stance and began practicing the first move exactly as shown in the book. Since it was his first time, his movements were unfamiliar and highly inaccurate. He repeated it more than a dozen times before finally getting it right. Then he saw the panel react.

Fierce Tiger Fist (Not Entered 1/10)

So it only worked when he practiced the proper movements? Jiang Liu followed the prescribed movements of the Fierce Tiger Fist meticulously from beginning to end. The panel reacted again.

Fierce Tiger Fist (Not Entered 2/10)

When he performed the correct movements for the third time, his entire body convulsed with pain, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from him! He had probably overtrained, and his young age meant his nutrition could not keep up.

Tomorrow, I'll buy the herbs and prepare the medicinal decoction according to the instructions to nourish my body! Otherwise, training like this every day will easily deplete my foundational blood and qi.

The next morning,

Jiang Liu felt as though his entire body were being torn apart! It was the aftereffect of overtraining. Enduring the pain, he got up. Today, he had to go to the pharmacy and buy several doses of the Fierce Tiger Fist decoction to replenish the blood and qi his body had lost.

Right, he also had to dispose of the black cloth bundle and the boxing manual somewhere! Fortunately, the system had already recorded the technique. He also remembered the method for preparing the accompanying medicinal decoction.

He did not know whether it was because his soul had transmigrated, but Jiang Liu felt that his memory had become much better than before.

Jiang Liu followed Flowing Cloud Alley deeper in, heading in the direction the thief had fled the previous night. When he passed an abandoned residence, he saw no one around and tossed the black cloth bundle into a corner by the wall.

He continued forward, secretly keeping an eye on his surroundings. When he saw that no one was there, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He emerged from the other end of the alley, turned, and headed for a pharmacy.

Less than an hour after Jiang Liu left, a lecherous middle-aged man furtively entered Flowing Cloud Alley.

As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Where did I drop it? Damn it! I went through so much trouble to get that information. I can't afford to lose everything after failing to steal the chicken!'' He looked around and gradually ventured deeper into the alley.

"Huh? So it was here! Thank goodness I found it! At least my efforts weren't wasted! Brother Bai, I'll avenge you! Go in peace! I'll take care of your family!" The lecherous middle-aged man hurriedly stuffed the black cloth bundle into his bosom. After looking around and seeing that no one had noticed, he quickly left.

Jiang Liu arrived at An Sheng Pharmacy. "Shopkeeper, I'd like to buy some medicine."

The pharmacy apprentice came over. "Esteemed customer, what medicine do you need?"

"Do you have Lifeblood Grass?"

"Esteemed customer, we do! How much do you want?"

"How much is it?"

"Ten copper coins per stalk. Take a look, esteemed customer. How many would you like?"

"Give me five. Please wrap them up. I'll take them now."

"Certainly, esteemed customer. Please wait a moment!"

Jiang Liu carried the five stalks of Lifeblood Grass to several other pharmacies in succession, buying the remaining nine herbs he needed. One dose required ten herbs in total! He spent five hundred copper coins altogether. Money vanished too quickly! Buying just five doses had nearly emptied his entire fortune.

When he returned home, he put the herbs into the earthenware pot in order and began preparing the decoction.

Ding!

Alchemy (Not Entered 1/10)

Hey! What a pleasant surprise! Preparing medicine counted as a skill too!

P.S. The strength of human martial practitioners is divided as follows: the elementary stage, the Body Refinement Realm (Skin Tempering, Flesh Hardening, Bone Tempering, Blood Exchange); the intermediate stage, the Ranked Martial Practitioner Realm, divided into ranks one through nine, with ninth rank the highest; and the advanced stage, the Grandmaster Realm, divided into the three realms of Minor Grandmaster, Grandmaster, and Peak Grandmaster. Above all of them was the supreme stage that had not appeared anywhere on the continent for over a thousand years: the Martial Saint.