Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence! Stone Crushing Palm!

[Enter "mt" to test purity.]

[Head pat~]

Great Liang Dynasty, Nujiang County.

Lu Chen's eyes snapped open, and he rolled over to sit up from the wooden plank bed.

The river breeze seeped through the cracks in the walls, carrying moisture and the smell of fish. Around him, the snores of his fellow workers rose and fell, mixed with the stench of foot odor and sweat.

Without hesitation, Lu Chen put on his worn, faded hempen short uniform and pushed open the wooden door.

In a corner of the yard were several discarded stone millstones, tools he used daily to temper his strength.

His feet parted, rooting themselves to the ground, fingers like hooks. He drew a breath of the morning air, and his previously hunched body straightened instantly.

He exhaled the stale air, and he moved.

His palms struck out alternately. Without any surge of internal energy, each swing of his palm carried a dull whistling sound. The edges of his hands, calloused from constant striking, were thick and dark gray.

This was a common technique: Stone Crushing Palm.

No profound footwork, no flashy variations, just pure, solid technique. By continuously striking hard objects to strengthen the bones and muscles of his hands, he could, in its deepest stages, make his hands as hard as iron, capable of splitting stone.

'Palms like iron and stone, power rises from the earth, mind calm and spirit focused...'

Lu Chen's expression was focused as he repeated the tedious eighteen forms of the palm technique over and over.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the dusty ground, scattering into eight petals.

Half an hour later, the muscles in his arms throbbed with a dull ache, his fingers trembling slightly. Lu Chen slowly concluded his practice, exhaling a stream of breath like white silk.

"Although Stone Crushing Palm is basic and only cost five hundred copper coins, as long as you're willing to practice, the body's feedback won't lie."

Lu Chen massaged his sore arms, his gaze focusing on the space in front of him.

There, a semi-transparent, pale blue panel floated, visible only to him.

[Name: Lu Chen]
[Age: 16]
[Talent: Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence (One part effort, one part reward, ignores bottlenecks)]
[Martial Art: Stone Crushing Palm (1st Realm: Glimpse of the Threshold 45%)]
[Skill: Carrying (2nd Realm: Proficient 80%)]

Seeing the slight fluctuations on the panel, the fatigue in Lu Chen's eyes vanished, replaced by a burning intensity.

He had been in this world for three months.

From the helplessness of his initial transmigration into the body of an orphaned child on the verge of starvation, to his current ability to survive at the Nu River dock, it was all thanks to the confidence this panel gave him.

This was the Great Liang Dynasty, a world where imperial power had waned, dynasties warred, and demons roamed.

The lives of ordinary people were cheaper than grass carp in the river.

Lu Chen had no family background, no innate talent. The only things he could rely on were this body and the rules that guaranteed rewards for effort.

In this chaotic world, if he wanted to avoid being bullied, if he wanted to control his destiny, he had to practice martial arts.

"Poverty in literature, wealth in martial arts." Lu Chen couldn't afford expensive medicinal baths and tonics, so he could only use the most arduous method: accumulating proficiency through time and sweat.

Grumble...

A thunderous protest rumbled from his stomach, the pangs of hunger striking.

Practicing martial arts consumed a tremendous amount of energy. He had only drunk two bowls of thin congee last night, and his body was already sending out warnings.

Lu Chen walked to the water vat in the yard, picked up a gourd ladle, and scooped up a gourdful of cold water. He gulped it down, glug glug, barely suppressing the burning sensation in his stomach.

"I need to earn money. I need to eat meat."

Lu Chen wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Without meat to supplement his energy, forcing himself to practice martial arts would only deplete his foundation and ruin him.

The sky had brightened considerably. His fellow workers in the yard began to wake up one after another, their noisy chatter shattering the morning tranquility.

Lu Chen tightened the hemp rope around his waist and strode out of the courtyard, heading towards the Black Water Wharf by the river.

The Nu River dock, with its myriad of sails, was the economic lifeline of the county town. Countless merchant ships docked here daily, handling a vast amount of cargo.

This was also the territory of the "Black Water Gang."

By the time Lu Chen arrived at the wharf, the place was already bustling with activity.

Bare-chested laborers shouted in unison, carrying heavy sacks and shuttling back and forth across the swaying gangplanks.

"Yo, Lu kid's here?"

A thin, dark-skinned middle-aged man saw Lu Chen and grinned, greeting him.

This was Uncle Wang, an old fellow worker who had brought Lu Chen into the trade.

"Morning, Uncle Wang."

Lu Chen nodded, no wasted words. He walked straight to the foreman, collected his numbered token, and joined the ranks of the carriers.

The task today is to carry a boatload of fine rice, with each sack weighing a hundred catties.

For ordinary people, it's a struggle to carry a hundred catties on flat ground, let alone walk across a wobbly gangplank and endure the scorching sun all day.

But Lu Chen is different.

He walked up to the mountain of rice sacks, grabbed two corners of a sack with his hands, and exerted force with his back.

The hundred-catty sack felt much lighter in his hands. Without anyone's help, he directly tossed it onto his shoulder.

This display of skill earned him envious glances from the other newcomers, who were already panting.

This was the effect of the Carrying skill reaching the "Proficient" level.

Over the past three months, Lu Chen hadn't just been moving goods; he had been using his work to hone his force-exerting techniques.

How to use the spine's "great dragon" to support weight, how to use leg muscles to buffer pressure, how to adjust breathing rhythm.

These experiences solidified into skills, allowing him to do the heaviest work in the most effortless way.

One hour, two hours...

The sun was high in the sky, and its rays baked the dock.

Most of the laborers were already too tired to stand up straight, gasping for air with every few steps. Some had weak legs and fell to the ground with their goods, drawing the wrath of the overseer's whip.

Only Lu Chen's steps remained steady.

His clothes were already soaked with sweat. He could clearly feel his strength growing with every contraction and expansion of his muscles.

This feeling of becoming stronger made him ignore his physical fatigue.

It wasn't until the sun began to set, casting a glow across the river, that the day's labor finally ended.

Lu Chen received his wages for the day: sixty copper coins.

This was considered high pay among the laborers; he had worked hard and hadn't slacked off.

Before the coins had even warmed in his hand, a shadow fell before him.

"Lu Chen, it's time to pay this month's dues."

The speaker was a burly man with a face full of coarse flesh and a scar on the left corner of his eye.

Scarface, a minor leader in the Black Water Gang, was in charge of the laborers in this area.

He was followed by two gang members holding short clubs, who looked at Lu Chen with amusement.

Lu Chen's fingers tightened slightly, the copper coins in his palm digging into his skin.

The rules of the Black Water Gang stipulated that anyone making a living at the docks had to pay two hundred copper coins a month as "protection money," euphemistically called "management fees."

This sum was the hard-earned money of a laborer for three to four days of work.

A surge of resentment rose in Lu Chen's chest, but he suppressed it.

His current strength was only slightly better than an ordinary person's. He might be able to handle one or two thugs, but facing the numerous members of the Black Water Gang, who might even include trained martial artists, would be like throwing an egg against a rock.

Impatience ruins a grand plan.

Lu Chen's face remained expressionless as he took out a string of prepared copper coins from his tunic. Adding the coins he just received, he counted out two hundred and handed them over.

"Boss Scar, I've been ready for a while."

Scarface took the coins, weighing them in his hand. His triangular eyes scanned Lu Chen up and down, and he said with a fake smile, "Good for you, kid. I heard your strength has increased quite a bit lately, that you can do the work of two men? Not bad, you've got potential. Keep working hard and don't think about useless things."

With that, he reached out and patted Lu Chen's cheek. The pat was neither heavy nor light, but it was filled with humiliation.

Then, Scarface and his men swaggered off to the next laborer.

Lu Chen stood in place, his hands, hanging at his sides, slowly clenched.

In that moment, he even felt like unleashing a Stone Crushing Palm directly onto the man's disgusting face.

But he didn't.

He watched Scarface's retreating back, his eyes deep.

"Two hundred coins..."

Lu Chen murmured softly, carefully tucking the remaining few dozen coins into his inner pocket.

This little money wouldn't even be enough to buy a few days' worth of rice.

This feeling of being exploited, squeezed, and having his life held in someone else's hands pushed his desire for strength to its absolute peak.

If only he could break through.

If only he could train the Stone Crushing Palm to a higher realm, reaching the legendary "Skin Refining" stage, then even the Black Water Gang would have to think twice before messing with him.

Lu Chen turned and left the dock. Instead of heading directly back to the communal housing, he turned into the market.

He stopped in front of a butcher stall.

Looking at the fresh red pork on the chopping block, his Adam's apple bobbed.

"Boss, give me a pound of offal, the pig's lungs and liver."

Lean meat was too expensive, thirty wen per jin. He couldn't afford it.

Pork offal was cheap, had a strong smell, and was troublesome to prepare, but it was meat after all. It had fat and oil, and could replenish qi and blood.

"Alright! Ten wen total!"

The butcher skillfully cut off a large piece of pig lung and liver, wrapped it in lotus leaves, and handed it to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen paid, and carrying the meat, quickly walked back.

Tonight, he would eat well.

And then, he would practice this Stone Crushing Palm to death!

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