Eight Divisions Vajra Skill

"The little beauties at Bright Moon Tower, you wouldn't believe it... Like ripe peaches, slick as can be!" The gray-clad brawny man planted a foot on the steps, smacked his thigh, and grinned lewdly.

As soon as he finished, laughter burst out all around them.

A few men joined in, and whistles and filthy jokes erupted like a boiling pot.

Sun Yu pulled his stiff, threadbare padded jacket tighter and leaned his back against the tree trunk. The dirty jokes from the other side were enough to make anyone drowsy. He didn't even lift an eyelid.

Today marked his seventh day since he'd transmigrated into this world.

He hadn't become some rich young master, nor had he been blessed with the fate of a martial arts prodigy.

The shock and resentment he'd felt at first had been worn away over these past few days. Now, all that remained was resignation.

His current identity was that of a household servant raised by the Qian Family of Nanqiao Town.

Put plainly, he was a drudge sent into the mountains to hunt and risk his life for his masters.

"Yu, what do you think a woman like that feels like?"

Someone shoved his shoulder.

Sun Yu came back to his senses. He looked at his companion, whose eyes gleamed like a hungry wolf's, and tugged at the corners of his cracked lips.

"Like the feeling of those two copper coins in your pocket disappearing. Save your energy. We still have to risk our necks in the mountains this afternoon." There was little interest in his eyes.

"Ah..." Er Niu rubbed his frozen hands and let out a long sigh.

"Oh, right. Brother Wang said this morning that Steward Zhou's raising our monthly dues again. Ah, he's driving us straight to our deaths."

Sun Yu didn't answer. His fingers, hidden in his sleeves, dug hard into his palm.

His constitution was too weak. Every day, just making it back from the mountains alive with two pieces of game was a stroke of luck, and his yield was always the worst.

If the dues went up again...

There was only one fate waiting for him: to starve to death in the winter snow.

Seeing that Sun Yu stayed silent, Er Niu didn't rub salt in his wound.

Just then, the noisy crowd around them fell silent.

Steward Zhou strolled over from the front, carrying a black leather whip, his eyelids drooping halfway.

Several men hurried over with their backs bent. Their leader rubbed his rough hands together, grinning from ear to ear.

"Master Zhou, it's cold out. What brings you here in person?"

In response to their flattery, Steward Zhou merely tapped his boot with the whip.

"Since you're all here, I have an announcement."

His gaze swept over their blue, frostbitten faces. "It's gotten cold, and the household's kitchens don't have enough meat. This month, each of you will pay two extra snow hares in dues. If you can't pay, consider the consequences carefully."

The men who had just rushed to greet him went weak at the knees, nearly dropping to the ground. Their smiles looked more like grimaces, yet they couldn't force out a single word of protest.

Steward Zhou paid them no mind. With his hands tucked away, he continued strolling along.

Leaning against the tree trunk, Sun Yu was instantly soaked in cold sweat beneath his clothes.

Two extra snow hares? He hadn't even touched a rabbit's fur in days. This was clearly a death sentence.

Just then, a burst of silver light exploded without warning in Sun Yu's vision.

He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his face hard, telling himself it was just the spots he'd started seeing from hunger.

But when he opened his eyes again, the silver glow hadn't faded. It was fixed stubbornly to his retina.

The light stretched and warped, piecing itself together into a translucent panel.

Sun Yu's breath caught.

His ten fingers, hidden in the sleeves of his threadbare jacket, began to tremble uncontrollably.

He'd waited seven whole days!

At the center of the panel, a line of emotionless text slowly took shape.

[Eight Divisions Vajra Skill (Beginner) +]

Sun Yu froze.

It was the stuff they'd taught in the wellness club at his university in his previous life.

Back then, he'd practiced the moves casually in his dorm for a few days, then dropped it because he thought it was useless. He hadn't expected those memories to come with him.

His gaze swept over the entry and fixed on the faintly glowing "+" beside it.

Anyone who'd played games knew what that meant.

He held his breath, focused his mind, and touched it.

Three breaths later, the black "+" abruptly turned into a streak of white light and shattered into the panel.

The text twisted and rearranged. [Beginner] abruptly became [Proficient], and the plus sign disappeared.

Before Sun Yu could react, a searing current surged out of nowhere from his tailbone. With a thunderous rush, it raced along his spine and into every limb!

Hundreds, even thousands, of images of himself practicing the Vajra Skill flooded his mind, along with the muscle memory.

Warmth streamed through his hands and feet, which had been stiff with cold only moments before.

Even his lungs, which had felt tight for the past two days, suddenly opened up.

Sun Yu clenched his fist, feeling the extra strength that had appeared in his palm.

"Holy..."

His Adam's apple bobbed, and wild delight burst into his eyes.

Other people needed years of practice to achieve this. All he'd had to do was add a point.

At the thought, Sun Yu's breathing grew heavier.

On the way back, Er Niu noticed that Sun Yu didn't look anxious at all. If anything, he seemed a little pleased.

On the road back to the Servants' Compound, their footsteps crunched through the snow.

Er Niu hunched his shoulders, fretting and tugging at his hair. He glanced at Sun Yu, then froze.

Normally, after walking these two li of mountain road, the sickly fellow would have been gasping for breath.

But now, Sun Yu was breathing evenly, and even the lifeless look that had clung to his face for so long was gone. His eyes even shone with a light he couldn't quite suppress.

"Yu, you..." Er Niu nudged him with an elbow and lowered his voice.

"Have you lost your mind? Skin-Peeler Zhou's raised our dues by twenty percent. We won't even have coarse rice porridge to drink in the second half of the month. How can you still smile?"

Sun Yu snapped back to his senses.

He quickly tamped down his pounding heart and tugged at his stiff, frozen lips. "Will looking miserable make snow hares appear? I was thinking about how to set snares in the mountains this afternoon."

At the mention of going into the mountains, Er Niu's face fell even further. He spat hard on the ground. "What a miserable world! The young masters of the Qian Family get meat and fish to fuel their martial training, and they keep their techniques under lock and key. We poor wretches can only go to Black Crow Mountain and fill it with our lives!"

Sun Yu didn't reply. His hand, hidden inside his sleeve, slowly clenched.

The memories in his mind told him that this was a world where martial prowess ruled.

A powerful household like the Qian Family of Nanqiao Town could throw its weight around for a hundred li in every direction, raising and driving hundreds of outsiders like livestock.

Could ordinary people cross the threshold into martial arts?

Without a technique or meat to nourish them, it was nothing but a pipe dream.

Night fell, and snores rose throughout the communal sleeping hall.

Sun Yu lay flat on his bed, his eyes wide open.

From the time he'd returned from the mountains that afternoon until now, he'd tried countless times, but the "+" on the panel hadn't budged.

He wasn't afraid of hardship. He was afraid the system was a one-time thing.

If he could only add a point once in his entire life, then in half a month he'd still be driven to his death for failing to pay his dues.

Sun Yu gritted his teeth, unconsciously picking at the rough bedboard with his fingers.

Then came two muffled clangs from outside the window, signaling the night watch.

The Hour of the Rat had arrived.

At that very moment, the panel before Sun Yu's eyes rippled like water.

His pupils contracted sharply.

A faintly glowing "+" had reappeared beside [Eight Divisions Vajra Skill (Proficient)]!

In the darkness, Sun Yu licked his dry lips, a piercing light bursting into his eyes.

"So it was... one point a day!"