Qi Yu

Bang!

A heavy punch slammed viciously into the sandbag. The sandbag did not budge, but the boy's fist had already reddened.

Bang!!

Another punch. The boy threw himself into it with all his might, yet the sandbag merely swayed slightly, as if out of pity. His fist grew redder and redder, glaringly so.

Mount Wei City, outer city, Spirit Serpent Martial Hall.

Early winter, morning...

There were only two people.

The main hall was spacious. Sunlight streamed through the carved lattice windows, scattering patches of light and shadow across the floor.

The graceful young man's figure as he threw punches became part of that light and shadow.

The hall master watched from nearby.

The boy wore a martial outfit made of top-grade brocade, paired below with black cotton lantern trousers. The material was excellent, and the hems were embroidered with exquisite golden cloud patterns. They were the signature style of "Heaven Cloud Clothing Shop," the finest clothier in the inner city. These trousers alone were worth half a month's income for an ordinary household. He wore deerskin boots, a gold-thread sash around his waist, and a small sachet embroidered with rose patterns hanging from it. It seemed to be a token of affection from some heiress. Hanging it from his waist was a reminder to everyone—the young master already has someone. Fox spirits from east, west, south, and north, do not try to seduce him.

Compared to those luxurious clothes, the boy's punches and kicks were laughably weak.

The hall master watched in silence before suddenly calling out to stop him. "Young Master Qi, haste makes waste. You're only here to loosen your muscles today, so let's stop here."

A low roar rumbled from the young man's throat. He slammed another punch into the sandbag, then froze in place, as if he had solidified into a statue. His eyes were tightly shut, and unwillingness still lingered at the corners of his mouth. He maintained that feeble posture for several breaths before slowly withdrawing.

Immediately afterward, he bent over, gasping in great gulps of air, then began coughing.

The morning sun outside was bright.

Beyond the window, the clamor of the busy streets gradually rose, accompanied by a nursery rhyme sung in a tender child's voice.

The voice was ethereal and distant, but the lyrics carried an eerie quality:

"When snow falls, raise the great black umbrella; a weak maiden needs a strong man's company. In the twelfth month, do not visit graves; eight bearers must carry the coffin of the dead."

The hall master frowned as soon as he heard the rhyme. "That Umbrella Sect is sinister. Young Master Qi, you'd best stay away from it."

Qi Yu nodded.

The hall master raised his voice and shouted, "Song Xue, bring a packet of blood-activating medicine. Let Young Master Qi go home and take a medicinal bath."

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure quickly flashed out from the martial arena across the courtyard. The sound of brisk footsteps approached from afar, and soon a spirited young woman in a martial outfit walked out carrying two medicine packets. She handed them to Qi Yu, her gaze sweeping over the rose-patterned sachet at his waist.

Qi Yu suddenly took off the sachet, looked at the girl named Song Xue, and held it out. "I'm giving it to you."

Song Xue was genuinely stunned.

The hall master was stunned too.

The two of them had no choice but to be stunned.

Speaking of this, it was necessary to explain the relationship between Spirit Serpent Martial Hall, the Qi Family, and Qi Yu.

The Qi Family was a major lineage in Mount Wei City. Its clan owned many businesses and had a hand in every trade. It had even gained control of the Eastern Commandant among the "Mount Wei Five Directions Commandants" through the route of "selling offices and peddling titles," turning the Eastern Commandant's "Poison Water Army" into a private army in all but name.

Spirit Serpent Martial Hall was one of the more prominent martial halls in Mount Wei City's outer city. Its master was the "Spirit Serpent Vajra," Song Qinghong, an expert in the Seventh Rank Penetrating Force Realm. Experts of that level were rare throughout Mount Wei City, and in the chaotic outer city, his was a force no one dared provoke lightly.

Qi Yu actually had no relationship with Song Qinghong. The one who did was Qi Yu's father, the Qi Family's third son, Qi Changshun.

Back then, Song Qinghong had come from afar, hoping to settle in Mount Wei City, and Qi Changshun had helped him greatly.

The two had been of one mind and heart. They had even become sworn brothers and arranged a betrothal between their children.

Those children were Qi Yu and Song Qinghong's daughter, Song Xue.

Unfortunately, Qi Yu had been pampered from childhood and was quite the wastrel. He looked down on girls who practiced fighting and killing, instead becoming obsessed with a member of the Umbrella Sect. He had thrown money around lavishly and pestered her relentlessly, while the rose-patterned sachet was a token from that believer.

However, the way he had obtained that token... was not because she had fallen for him. A few days earlier, during an Umbrella Sect donation drive, he had directly donated one of the residences under his name. That was how he had exchanged for it.

At this moment, Qi Yu's act of offering the sachet truly left father and daughter dumbfounded.

It was not only the sachet. When the Qi Family had suddenly sent someone yesterday to deliver a calling card, saying that Young Master Qi wanted to come to the martial hall to practice first thing the next morning, Song Qinghong had also been left completely baffled.

Even so, he still gave Song Xue a meaningful look.

Song Xue accepted the sachet.

Qi Yu walked toward the door. When he reached it, he turned back and added, "The scent isn't very pleasant. If you don't like it, throw it away."

Father and daughter watched Qi Yu walk out.

"Dad, what happened to this wastrel? He traded a huge residence for a sachet without even seeing her face, and now he's actually tossed it to me?"

"Perhaps the prodigal has turned back." Song Qinghong pondered. "I didn't teach him anything today, merely tested his resolve. If he can come again tomorrow, then he has resolve."

"But just because the prodigal has turned back, do I have to like him?"

"Let's watch a little longer. Give him another chance."

"I've watched too much already, and been disappointed too many times. In brothels, courtesan houses, gambling dens. Once, when I went to find him, he was using his lackeys to fight Young Master Wang. When he couldn't win, he ran. Then, when he saw me, he actually grabbed me and made me cover his retreat.

"He's rotten to the core, Dad... Do you believe he only got some advice from one of his wastrel friends and wants to put on a show, using our betrothal to sleep with me and try a female martial artist for a change? Heh..."

Song Xue casually put away the sachet, then turned and left.

This was where her father taught his direct disciples and instructed his inner disciples. The martial arena next door was where everyone practiced.

The coachman driving Qi Yu's carriage was in the Leather Armor Realm.

Throughout Mount Wei City.

The Seventh Rank Penetrating Force Realm was the ceiling. Beneath it was the Eighth Rank Bloodburst Realm, and beneath that was the Ninth Rank Leather Armor Realm.

The coachman jumped down from the carriage, eagerly pulled open the curtain for Qi Yu, then asked with a beaming smile, "Young Master, where are we going next?"

"Back to the inner city. Home."

"This..."

The coachman was stunned.

It was so early today. Why did the young master want to go home already?

However, he merely stammered out that one word and said no more.

As the carriage wheels turned, Qi Yu felt the soreness in his body. He stretched backward and reclined on the soft carpet. Cold air carried the bustle of the busy streets inside, along with the fragrance of various flour-based breakfasts.

Qi Yu lifted the curtain slightly. The street before him was fairly prosperous, but in the dark alleys behind that prosperity, and in the labyrinthine poor shanty district beyond those dark alleys, endless chaos was concealed.

The wine and meat of the wealthy stank behind vermilion gates, while frozen corpses lay along the roadside.

As the carriage turned a corner, the coachman angrily shouted, "Are you blind?!"

Qi Yu looked over and saw a passerby pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with a straw mat.

At the bend, the passerby had nearly collided with the carriage. He had now moved aside, lowering his head in fear as he apologized.

"Forget it."

Qi Yu spoke up.

Only then did the coachman let it go.

Qi Yu asked again, "What are you doing?"

The passerby hurriedly replied, "Reporting to you, Young Master, someone in the ward froze to death. I'm taking the body outside the city for a simple burial. I can earn four copper coins per trip."

Qi Yu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Go."

He lowered the curtain, and a panel slowly appeared before his eyes.

[Qi Yu]

[Realm: None]

[Skill Point: None]

[Combat Power: 0~1]

[Martial Art: None]

[Blessing: None]

Yesterday, he had still been a wage slave enjoying the blessings of the 996 schedule—no time during the day, desperately playing at night, staying up late gaming. But in the end, his body had given out. He had been playing a game called [Abandoned World] with cheats enabled when he suddenly lost consciousness.

Then, when he opened his eyes again, he had become the only son of the Qi Family's third son.

And he was very familiar with this panel.

This was his cheat.

Even its wording had not changed.

Nor had the world's style changed.

If that was the case... then beneath this seemingly peaceful facade lay an extremely terrifying shadow.

That shadow was drawing closer, step by step, step by step... in silence.

The only thing he could think of was using Spirit Serpent Martial Hall to grow stronger.

The reason he had chosen Spirit Serpent Martial Hall was that he could see not only his own combat power, but other people's as well.

Song Qinghong's combat power was: 55~110.

Very high!