This Money Wasn't Spent in Vain

"Crack!"

Zhao Han continued chopping. In reality, after his Mad Saber Nine Forms Realm had improved, he still needed to chop fifty more logs.

Mad Saber Nine Forms [Simplified, Unranked, Beginner 0/50, Chop fifty logs]

With his Skin Refining Realm as a foundation, Zhao Han's chopping speed was incredibly fast. In a short time, he had chopped enough logs.

But he still didn't get up.

Mad Saber Nine Forms [Simplified, Unranked, Proficient 0/100, Chop one hundred logs]

"Looks like I'm determined to chop wood today!"

"Er Gouzi, go get more firewood. Bring as much as you can. My great axe has been thirsty for a long time!"

"Ah? Okay, okay."

Er Gouzi was dumbfounded. Could chopping wood be addictive? He couldn't feel it at all.

But speaking of which, he truly envied the Skin Refining Warriors. They didn't get tired no matter how much they chopped.

He was just an ordinary person. After chopping this much, his limbs would definitely ache, or even dislocate from exhaustion.

Zhao Han spent the rest of the afternoon chopping wood.

Until around six in the evening.

Mad Saber Nine Forms [Simplified, Unranked, Master 0/1000, Practice the saber form ten times amidst howling wind and rain]

"Howling wind?"

Zhao Han was stunned. This simplified Mad Saber Nine Forms was quite strange. Practicing the saber in wind and rain? But the weather was like this, where was the howling wind, where was the torrential rain?

It seemed like it hadn't rained in ten days to half a month.

Shaking his head, Zhao Han decided to focus on the Black Wolf Fist, which was simple and had a clear goal.

As soon as he stood up, Zhao Han felt his own strength increase slightly.

Whether it was his strength, legs, or skin, they had all become stronger or tougher.

Although it wasn't a lot, the improvement was still noticeably felt.

After all, he had only practiced three Unranked martial arts, and there was still room for progress.

Since he didn't have high-quality, high-level martial arts.

Then I'll just pile up the quantity. When the quantity is large enough, it can sometimes rival quality.

Products manufactured in factories on Blue Star in his previous life might not be good. Poor quality is poor quality, defective products are defective products. Don't give me the excuse of high output.

Any more would just be substandard defective products, only fit to be disposed of cheaply.

But in this world, it was entirely feasible!

Because practicing more yielded significant increases.

With the System's simplification as a huge cheat, Zhao Han feared nothing more than taking on too much.

He arrived at the mess hall and, under the curious gazes of the other old apprentices, queued at the back to get his food.

He didn't see Liang Feng. He was a formally apprenticed disciple, so his meals were probably better.

The food was served by a handyman. The portions were generous, with three dishes and one soup, all served in small bowls and carried on wooden trays.

The staple was four plain steamed buns or a bowl of white rice, your choice.

The three dishes consisted of two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

Scrambled Eggs with Chives counted as one meat dish, Stir-fried Lettuce with Meat as another meat dish, and Stir-fried Water Spinach as the vegetable.

The soup was Cabbage and Tofu Soup.

It seemed like cabbage and tofu were standard in this world, seen everywhere.

However, they ate lettuce too frequently in this world. No wonder night blindness was quite severe, and even Skin Refining Warriors found it hard to avoid.

Zhao Han complained deeply, but he still finished the Stir-fried Lettuce with Meat.

"Oh my gosh, it's so delicious!"

The cook's skills were excellent, much better than the cook at the Poisonous Snake Gang's communal kitchen.

Seeing Zhao Han gobbling down his food, the surrounding apprentices couldn't help but show disdain.

This newcomer looked like he was born starving. Had he only eaten once every three days, or hadn't seen meat in half a month?

He could afford the three taels of silver, yet he ate like this? Was the food really that delicious? It's not even as good as what my family's cook makes.

Everyone grumbled, categorizing Zhao Han among the wealthy.

To be able to study martial arts at the Mad Saber Martial Arts School, one had to save up diligently. The lowest tier was the wealthy.

Commoners and the poor could not afford the exorbitant fees at all.

Most of those present had families involved in trade, owned shops, held high-paying positions, or had relatives who were Martial Artists.

In short, their income was sufficient to afford martial arts training.

Only a handful of people came from influential families; they didn't eat in the mess hall but went for better meals.

This small minority had inherited powerful martial arts, yet they still came here to train. Their only purpose was to network and build connections with promising Martial Artists.

The vast majority, everyone else eating here, were the ones genuinely relying on martial arts training to advance and achieve social mobility.

"Burp!" I haven't eaten this full in a long time. Zhao Han let out a satisfied belch after his meal.

"Comfortable, these three taels of Silver were well spent." Zhao Han nodded, approving of the food.

Someone else would naturally clear and wash the bowls. Zhao Han patted his backside and left.

"This new guy is just too... stingy."

"He looks like a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. That's how country folk are."

"I think he wasted those three taels of Silver. He's probably heartbroken about it."

"Most likely, his family owes a mountain of debt. He scraped this together bit by bit. I guarantee he'll be packing his bags and leaving in a month."

Several people even started placing bets on Zhao Han. Little did they know, Zhao Han had gotten all that money by killing people and scraping it together.

"Practicing Black Wolf Fist here doesn't seem like a good idea. I should find a dark alley outside and practice quietly."

Zhao Han glanced at the training grounds, then walked towards the main gate.

Old Man Mi sat hunched over in a chair, eating his meal.

His food was the same as the laborers', not like the apprentices'.

There was no meat, only stir-fried wild vegetables and Cabbage and Tofu Soup.

It seemed he was hired as a laborer too, not some connection brought in to guard the gate.

"His skin is wrinkled at seventy or eighty, and he looks quite pitiful. This must be what they called a Widower in ancient times."

A Widower, meaning someone old and without a wife or who had lost their wife, living a lonely and miserable life.

A small minority of widowers in modern times were different, traveling around with their pensions, living incredibly carefree lives.

Zhao Han sighed. This damned chaotic era.

In a chaotic world, how could anyone be spared? Everyone was displaced.

Zhao Han felt a pang of compassion.

From his breast pocket, or rather, from his System space, he took out a half-pound piece of dried meat and half a Flatbread, handing them over.

Old Man Mi looked up, puzzled, at Zhao Han.

A piece of dried meat, half a Flatbread, what was the meaning of this?

"Old Man Mi, I'm just trying to make a good impression. Please accept this as a meeting gift."

"I often go out late, so I'd trouble you to leave the gate open for me from now on, so I don't have to climb the wall."

Old Man Mi was taken aback for a moment, then happily accepted the dried meat and Flatbread, waving his hand with a smile. "What's the trouble? I'm an old man, I don't sleep much. What harm is there in staying up a bit longer to leave the gate open for you?"

"Thank you for your trouble." Zhao Han said, then left.

Watching Zhao Han leave, Old Man Mi carefully examined the dried meat, finding it wasn't poisoned.

He also checked the Flatbread meticulously; still no poison.

Old Man Mi stuffed the dried meat and Flatbread into his mouth in one go, showing no signs of old age.

"This kid, what exactly is he here at the Mad Saber Martial Arts School for?"

"Asking me to leave the gate open for him? I never close the door after I go to sleep anyway."

"Hmph, who cares who you are. If you interfere with my taking my Weird, there's only death for you."