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[Headpat~]
Great Liang Dynasty, Nujiang County.
Lu Chen opened his eyes and swung his legs off the wooden bed.
River wind slipped through the cracks in the wall, bringing dampness and the fishy smell of the water. Around him, his fellow workers snored in fits and starts, the sound mingling with the stink of feet and sour sweat.
Without hesitation, Lu Chen put on his worn, faded hemp shirt and pushed open the wooden door.
A few discarded stone mill wheels lay piled in the corner of the yard. They were the tools he used to build his strength.
He planted his feet apart, rooted them to the ground, and curled his fingers like hooks. He drew in a breath of morning air, and his hunched frame straightened in an instant.
He exhaled the stale air and began to move.
His palms struck out in alternation. There was no surge of inner power, just a dull whoosh with every swing. Years of striking hard surfaces had left thick calluses along the edges of his hands, stained a dark, bluish gray.
This was the common-as-dirt Stone Crushing Palm.
It had no profound footwork and no flashy variations. It relied on a solid stance and sheer force. By repeatedly striking hard objects, one strengthened the bones and muscles of the hands. Mastered to a high level, the hands became hard enough to split stone and crack steles.
Palms like iron and stone, strength rising from the ground, mind still and spirit focused...
Lu Chen concentrated, repeating the dull sequence of eighteen palm forms again and again.
Sweat seeped from his forehead, slid down his cheek, and fell into the dust, shattering into eight petals.
Half an hour later, a dull ache and numbness spread through his arms. His fingers trembled slightly as he slowly finished the set and exhaled a stream of breath as white as a silk ribbon.
"Stone Crushing Palm may be crude and shallow, and it only cost five hundred copper coins, but if you're willing to practice, your body's feedback won't lie."
Lu Chen rubbed his aching arms and focused his gaze on the space in front of him.
A translucent, pale blue panel hovered there, visible only to him.
[Name: Lu Chen] [Age: 16] [Talent: Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence (One part effort, one part reward; ignores bottlenecks)] [Martial Arts: Stone Crushing Palm (1st Realm, Initial Mastery 45%)] [Skill: Carrying (2nd Realm, Proficient 80%)]
At the slight change on the panel, the weariness vanished from Lu Chen's eyes, replaced by a burning intensity.
He had arrived in this world three months ago.
From the helplessness of first waking up in the body of an orphan who had starved to death, to surviving now at Nujiang County's docks, he owed it all to the confidence this panel gave him.
This was the Great Liang Dynasty, an age of fallen imperial authority, warring kingdoms, and rampant demons.
An ordinary person's life was cheaper than a grass carp in the river.
Lu Chen had no family backing and no talent. The only things he could rely on were this body and a rule that guaranteed a reward for every effort.
In this chaotic age, if he wanted to avoid being bullied and take his fate into his own hands, he had only one choice: practice martial arts.
Literature required little, but martial arts demanded wealth. Lu Chen couldn't afford expensive medicinal baths or supplements, so he had to use the simplest method: piling up practice through time and sweat.
Grrr...
His stomach rumbled like thunder, hunger washing over him.
Martial arts training consumed a great deal of energy. He'd had only two bowls of watery porridge the night before, and now his body was sounding the alarm.
Lu Chen went to the water vat in the yard, scooped up a dipper of cold water, and gulped it down until his belly was full. It barely eased the burning in his stomach.
"I need money. I need meat."
Lu Chen wiped the water from his mouth with his sleeve.
Without meat to replenish him, forcing himself to train would only drain his reserves and ruin his body.
Daylight spread across the sky, and his fellow workers gradually woke, their noisy voices breaking the morning's quiet.
Lu Chen tightened the hemp rope around his waist, strode out of the courtyard, and headed for Black Water Wharf by the river.
Angry River Wharf was alive with sails, the economic lifeline of the county seat. Countless merchant ships docked there each day, loading and unloading their cargo.
It was also Black Water Gang territory.
By the time Lu Chen reached the wharf, it was already bustling with noise.
Bare-chested laborers chanted work songs as they carried heavy sacks, crossing the swaying gangplanks again and again.
"Well, look who's here. Lu, you made it?"
A skinny, dark-skinned middle-aged man grinned at Lu Chen and greeted him.
This was Uncle Wang, an old hand who had brought Lu Chen into the trade.
"Morning, Uncle Wang."
Lu Chen nodded. He didn't waste words. He went straight to the foreman for a work token, then joined the hauling crew.
Today's job was unloading a ship full of polished rice, each sack weighing a hundred pounds.
For an ordinary person, even carrying a hundred-pound load across level ground was hard enough. Crossing a trembling gangplank with it, then working under the blazing sun all day, was another matter entirely.
But Lu Chen was different.
He walked to the mountain of rice sacks, grabbed a hemp sack by its two corners, and drove his strength through his back and waist.
The hundred-pound sack felt much lighter in his hands. He needed no one to help him; he swung it straight onto his shoulder.
His display drew envious looks from a few new hands nearby, who were already panting with exhaustion.
That was the effect of his Carrying skill reaching the "Proficient" level.
For the past three months, Lu Chen hadn't just hauled cargo. He'd used the work to hone his technique.
How to brace the weight with the spine, how to cushion the strain with the leg muscles, how to adjust his breathing.
These lessons had solidified into a skill, allowing him to do the heaviest work with the least effort.
An hour, then two...
The sun climbed high, scorching the wharf.
Most of the laborers were so tired they could barely straighten their backs. Every step came with three heaving breaths. Some had legs so weak they collapsed with their loads, drawing a whipping from the overseers.
Lu Chen alone kept a steady pace.
His clothes were already soaked through with sweat. He could clearly feel his strength growing with every contraction and release of his muscles.
The sensation of growing stronger made him forget his physical exhaustion.
Only when the sun sank west and the last light spilled across the river did the day's labor finally end.
Lu Chen collected his wages: sixty copper coins.
That was a high wage among the laborers. He'd worked hard and never slacked off.
Before the coins had even warmed in his hand, a shadow fell across him.
"Lu Chen, it's time to pay this month's dues."
The speaker was a burly man with a face full of jowls and a scar at the corner of his left eye.
Scarface, a Junior Leader of the Black Water Gang, was in charge of the laborers in this section.
Two gang members carrying short clubs stood behind him, watching Lu Chen with mocking grins.
Lu Chen's fingers tightened slightly, the copper coins biting painfully into his palm.
The Black Water Gang's rule was that anyone making a living at the wharf had to pay two hundred copper coins a month in "protection money," which they generously called a "management fee."
That was three or four days of a laborer's hard-earned wages.
A surge of anger welled up in Lu Chen's chest, but he forced it down.
He was a little stronger than an ordinary man. He might be able to take on one or two thugs, but facing the Black Water Gang, with all its numbers and its possible martial artists, would be like throwing an egg at a rock.
A small sacrifice now could prevent disaster later.
Expressionless, Lu Chen reached into his clothes for the string of copper coins he'd prepared, added the wages he'd just earned, counted out two hundred coins, and handed them over.
"Scarface, I had it ready."
Scarface took the coins and weighed them in his hand. His triangular eyes sized Lu Chen up, and he gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Smart boy. I hear you've gotten a lot stronger lately. Can do the work of two men all by yourself, huh? Not bad—you've got potential. Keep it up, and don't go getting any ideas."
With that, he reached out and patted Lu Chen's cheek. It wasn't a hard slap, but the humiliation was plain.
Then Scarface swaggered off with his men to the next laborer.
Lu Chen stood where he was, slowly clenching the hand hanging by his side.
For an instant, he wanted nothing more than to slam a Stone Crushing Palm into that repulsive face.
But he didn't.
He watched Scarface's retreating back, his gaze dark and deep.
"Two hundred copper coins..."
Lu Chen murmured under his breath, then carefully tucked the few dozen coins he had left into an inner pocket.
It wasn't even enough to buy several days' worth of rice.
The feeling of being exploited and squeezed dry, with his life in someone else's hands, drove his desire for strength to its peak.
If only he could break through.
If only he could train his Stone Crushing Palm to a higher level and reach the legendary "Skin Tempering" realm. Then even the Black Water Gang would have to think twice before laying a hand on him.
Lu Chen turned away from the wharf. He didn't head straight back to the courtyard, but instead turned into the market.
He stopped in front of a butcher's stall.
Looking at the bright red pork on the cutting board, his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Boss, I'll take a pound of pork offal. The lungs and liver."
Lean pork cost thirty copper coins a pound. He couldn't afford it.
Pork offal was cheap. It smelled strong and was a hassle to prepare, but at least it was meat. It had fat and could replenish his blood and energy.
"Coming right up! Ten copper coins!"
The butcher swiftly cut off a large piece of lung and liver, wrapped it in a lotus leaf, and handed it to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen paid, took the meat, and hurried back.
Tonight, he'd eat well.
Then he'd train this Stone Crushing Palm until he dropped!
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