This World

The stars shimmered through the mist, and heavy clouds hung overhead!

The quiet city alley was strewn with trash. Stray cats and dogs darted back and forth, yowling as they fought over territory.

Suddenly, a patrol car roared past, its siren blaring shrilly!

"Quick, quick! Don't let him get away!"

"The suspect may be a martial artist. Everyone stay alert. If necessary, open fire."

A group of armed officers sprinted into the pitch-black alley.

Zhao Rui carried an old travel bag on his back, his mood low as he kicked an empty, battered can out of his way. It clattered loudly, scattering the cats and dogs huddled in the corner.

"Lost again. This talent thing really is infuriating!"

Zhao Rui thought glumly.

Just then, a rush of wind came from behind him. A shadow darted closer, its hand chopping toward his neck like a blade.

Zhao Rui's swordlike brows furrowed slightly. He tilted his head, then flipped his left elbow upward and caught the incoming hand blade with one hand.

The shadow's eyes widened in astonishment. Before he could react, his body flew backward like a ragged sack and slammed hard into a garbage can.

The shadow's vision went black, and he passed out on the spot.

"I was already in a bad mood. Why'd you have to pick a fight?"

"Sure, I can't beat those guys, but I'm not a damn weakling either! Fuck!"

Zhao Rui spat and shook his head in self-mockery, never breaking stride as he disappeared into the shadows of the alley.

Only after he had vanished did five or six armed officers arrive at the alley entrance.

"Captain, that person just now...!"

"He was probably a Professional Martial Artist. Leave him alone. Check on the suspect first. If he's still breathing, cuff him and take him in. Remember to install a suppression device beforehand!"

"Yes, Captain!"

A moment later!

"Captain, his ribs are broken, but he's alive!"

"Take him away!"

The group had arrived in a hurry without breaking a sweat, and now they hurried off again, escorting the suspect away.

Name: Zhao Rui

Height: 182 cm

Martial Arts Available to Copy: Butterfly Catching Hand (Copy?)

Copy Progress: 0/10

Available Advancement Points: 0

...

What was this?

Zhao Rui froze, astonished as he stared at the transparent panel of numbers that had appeared out of nowhere in his mind.

Could it be the system panel every transmigrator was supposed to get?

Three days ago, Zhao Rui had awakened memories of his past life—or, more accurately, of the world in the previous dimension.

At a glance, this world looked much like a certain period of Earth Star, the world of his previous life. Cities were filled with towering buildings and bustling traffic, while the countryside was lush with greenery and thick vegetation.

Even the course of history and technological development were strikingly similar.

Every day, people worked hard to make a living, streaming through the world in bustling crowds.

But it was all just a façade.

As a martial artist, Zhao Rui knew that this world wasn't entirely the same as his previous one. The biggest difference was that martial arts actually existed here.

Martial arts—or the martial path—were much like those described in the wuxia novels of his previous life. Practitioners who reached great heights could unleash Palm Force to Split the Air and leap seven or eight zhang into the sky.

Some could even channel Internal Energy through their bodies, rendering ordinary blades and guns harmless, or pluck flowers and leaves to injure people without a trace.

Of course, those were only the things Zhao Rui had witnessed with his own eyes. As for the people online who could fly through the skies and burrow underground, it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake.

Anyway, this officially registered Professional Martial Artist had never seen anything like that.

Martial arts had become commonplace in this world, and everyone knew the martial path existed.

But that didn't mean everyone could master it.

Ordinary people lacked the talent—or couldn't produce internal energy—so they could only train their bodies without cultivating energy, just as people had in his previous life, learning the forms but not the qi.

In this life, Zhao Rui was the sort who was neither here nor there.

If you called his talent poor, he still had a knack for martial arts and decent bone structure. He was far from an ordinary person who would spend their whole life mediocre, never even making it through the door.

But if you called his talent good, he still fell short of the top prospects in both comprehension and spiritual aptitude.

No matter how hard he worked to make up for his shortcomings or how early he got started, he was still missing something the best had.

His predecessor had trained hard for ten years before barely becoming a Professional Martial Artist. He'd planned to use his martial arts specialty to take the Gaokao.

Martial artists in this world were divided into Professional Martial Artists and Non-Professional Martial Artists.

Professional Martial Artists were, as the name suggested, officially registered and assigned to work in martial arts innovation, combat, and fighting.

They could be found throughout security forces, professional sporting events, and the security departments of government offices and businesses.

In a way, they weren't much different from the combat-sports athletes of his previous life. They simply had much greater personal strength and could scale walls and leap across rooftops with ease.

The other kind were Non-Professional Martial Artists—those without official registration, operating outside the formal channels of the authorities.

They could be found in the open or in the shadows, and they were by far the more numerous. Some worked for private armies, some joined gangs, some opened their own martial arts schools, and others entered amateur competitions.

Because they were so powerful, these unregistered martial artists were difficult to control. Society as a whole was far more chaotic than in his previous life.

It felt a bit like Hong Kong City Kung Fu Era or the turmoil of the Republic of China: guns and kung fu, violence, murder, drug trafficking, gang clashes, underworld vendettas—chaos everywhere.

Orderly appearances in the open stood in stark contrast to the glint of blades in the shadows.

Still, Zhao Rui was only an eighteen-year-old student in this life. His experience was limited, and most of what he knew came from the news and people around him.

He had just finished competing in an invitational tournament hosted by the district martial arts association.

Unfortunately, he'd been knocked out before the top hundred.

"Fucking hell, my talent's just as useless as it was in my previous life!"

In his previous life, Zhao Rui had been a professional billiards player in his province. Unfortunately, his skills were limited, and he'd never managed to stand out. All he could do was serve as a practice partner for the team's top prospects.

And he'd kept at it for years!

Who didn't have a little pride? Who didn't want to show off, to stand above the rest beneath the spotlight?

Unfortunately, in competitive sports, talent sometimes just couldn't be made up for with hard work.

"Hey, handsome, wanna have some fun? You're so good-looking, I'll do it for two hundred!"

Just as the appearance of the panel had stirred up his emotions, a long-haired woman in revealing clothes appeared around the corner. Leaning against a tall wall, she threw him a flirtatious wink and spoke in a teasing tone.

Zhao Rui turned toward her voice, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected the woman to be so pretty.

Her delicate features were like a jade carving, and her curvy figure had all the right proportions. The skin she left exposed was smooth and fair; he could tell without touching it that it must be silky and soft.

Her legs, visible beneath her miniskirt, were long and straight, their graceful curves alluring enough to make it hard to look away.

Whatever else martial artists gained, their eyesight was certainly sharp.

What a shame. A woman that beautiful was selling herself!

Zhao Rui shook his head with a sigh. Two hundred? He didn't even have two hundred.

"Big sis, I'm still a virgin. They say you're supposed to pay for someone's first time!"

The pretty woman's expression visibly stiffened. Then, with a seductive smile, she said, "So how much do you want me to pay you?"

"Twenty thousand! I'm not lifting a finger for less!"

Zhao Rui shamelessly declared.

The woman was clearly offended by his words!

With looks like hers, she was supposed to pay him? What kind of topsy-turvy nonsense was that!