Heaven Rewards Diligence

The Liang Dynasty, Yun Prefecture.

Qinghe County.

Lin Clan School, Library.

The autumn wind rustled, rolling up the withered yellow leaves in the courtyard, swirling them on the blue stone slabs.

Dawn was just breaking, the morning star still hanging at the western eave, emitting a desolate, cold light.

"Cough, cough..."

Chen Ping tightened the patched grey cloth padded jacket on his body, held a worn-out bamboo broom, and began to clear the accumulated dust in front of the Library.

The bamboo branches scraped across the stone slabs, making a rustling sound that broke the silence of the early morning.

As a bookboy bought by the Lin Family, Chen Ping's life was no easier than that of the young masters who only knew how to recite classical texts.

Every day, he had to get up at Yin Time (3-5 AM), sweep the courtyard, grind ink, and wash brushes. If the young masters got tired of reading, he also had to serve as an outlet for their frustrations or run errands for them.

"It's been three years since I came to this godforsaken place. Besides learning how to grind ink finer, I've accomplished nothing."

Chen Ping stopped his work, leaned on the broom, and looked at the gradually appearing fish-belly white sky in the distance, sighing deeply.

He was not from this world.

In his previous life, he was a nine-to-five office worker. Although tired, he at least had no worries about food and clothing. He could even watch short videos and see girls dancing after work.

But in this life, ever since his soul inexplicably transmigrated into this starving little beggar three years ago and he was bought by the Lin Family steward, he had completely become an ant at the bottom of the Liang Dynasty society.

There was no legal protection for laborers here, only the family rules of the master's household and the official's rods.

"If I can endure a few more years, until I'm twenty, and still haven't saved enough silver to buy my freedom, I'm afraid I'll rot in this Lin Manor for the rest of my life."

Chen Ping gave a self-deprecating smile, took out a hard, dry black steamed bun from his pocket, didn't mind the dirt, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a big bite.

The flour was rough, like chewing on wood chips, but it could stave off hunger.

After eating the bun, his body felt a little warmer.

Chen Ping walked to the large water vat in the corner of the courtyard, intending to fetch water to wipe the window frames of the Library.

The water in the vat, after settling overnight, was clear to the bottom, reflecting his current appearance.

A seventeen-year-old youth should be at the prime of his life, full of vigor. But the reflection in the water looked exceptionally thin.

His cheekbones were slightly prominent, his complexion sallow, only his eyes and brows were somewhat well-proportioned, revealing a calmness and world-weariness that did not match his age.

"This is fate..."

Chen Ping reached out to scoop water. His fingertips touched the cold water surface, creating ripples.

The moment the ripples spread, the reflection in the water suddenly blurred. It wasn't because of the ripples, but as if a drop of ink had fallen into clear water, spreading rapidly.

Immediately after, the spreading ink began to emit a faint golden-green light, intertwining and swirling at the bottom of the water.

Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively wanted to retreat, thinking he was seeing things in the early morning and had encountered something supernatural.

But the golden-green light grew brighter and brighter, finally exploding in his mind like a thunderclap, transforming into an ancient bamboo slip that slowly unfurled.

On the bamboo slip, four ancient seal characters shone brightly—

[Heaven Rewards Diligence]

"This is... a Golden Finger (Cheat)?"

Chen Ping was stunned. The gourd dipper in his hand fell back into the water vat with a "plop," splashing water.

As a transmigrator, he naturally knew what this was.

For the past three years, he had dreamed of the system's arrival countless times, but each time he woke up, it was to the cold adobe bed and moldy bedding.

He never expected that on this most ordinary autumn morning, it would actually arrive.

As if to answer his doubts, the bamboo slip changed again, revealing a few lines of clear, small characters:

[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence.]

[Attribute: One part effort, one part reward; Skills do not regress, bottlenecks naturally open.]

"Skills do not regress, bottlenecks naturally open..."

Chen Ping muttered to himself. His previously somewhat cloudy eyes instantly became sharp.

These eight words, though seemingly simple, were terrifying.

In all the methods in the world, whether it was studying for imperial examinations or practicing martial arts and cultivating the Tao, the most feared thing was the word "bottleneck."

How many exceptionally talented individuals were stuck at a certain hurdle, wasting their lives, unable to advance even until their vitality declined.

Moreover, a Mortal's skills would regress.

"Hands grow rusty after three days of not practicing" was an ironclad rule.

But with this fate, as long as he was willing to practice, even a pig, as long as it lived long enough and practiced enough, could become Marshal Tian Peng!

"Although this fate is not like those 'sign-in systems' that give divine weapons and sharp tools, nor is it like 'stat-boosting systems' that allow one to ascend overnight, its advantage lies in its steadiness and longevity."

Chen Ping took a deep breath, suppressing the ecstasy in his heart.

He quickly calmed down.

While this Golden Finger (Cheat) was good, he still needed something to practice with.

Currently, as a book boy, the only thing he could access was the Four Books and Five Classics.

If he followed the imperial examination path, with his destiny, it might not be difficult to become the top scholar in fifty to sixty years.

But, could the imperial examinations grant eternal life?

Although The Liang Dynasty was a mortal dynasty, Chen Ping had once read a few words in a miscellaneous record called "Strange Tales of Yun Prefecture" while cleaning the Library.

It was said that in the hundred thousand mountains west of Yun Prefecture, there were immortals who could inhale clouds and exhale mist, and fly with swords.

Even in the secular world, there were martial arts masters who could crack stone slabs and fight a hundred men.

"No matter how high an official's rank, at eighty years old, they're just a handful of soil. Since I've been given this heaven-defying opportunity to change my fate, wouldn't it be a waste of heaven's gift if I didn't seek eternal life?"

A flicker of ambition flashed in Chen Ping's eyes.

"However, immortal destinies are hard to find. This Qinghe County is just a remote border town, where can I find an immortal?"

"The path of immortality is uncertain, perhaps I should start with martial arts."

Chen Ping's thoughts raced.

Although martial arts were not as transcendent as immortality, they could still strengthen the body and prolong life.

It was said that Xiantian Grandmaster could live for two cycles of sixty years, and would be free from all illnesses.

As long as he lived long enough, with sufficient time, his chances of finding immortality and seeking the Way would greatly increase.

This was the strategy of "rescuing the nation by a roundabout path."

"Although the Lin Family is a scholarly household, they also employ over a dozen guards and household servants. Among them, the instructor Wang Meng is said to be a practitioner with real skill."

"However, Wang Meng has a bad temper, and is greedy for money and lustful. It would be as difficult as climbing to heaven to learn from him. Moreover, I am a book boy in the inner courtyard. If I were to secretly practice martial arts in the outer courtyard and be discovered by the master, at best I'd get a beating, and at worst I'd be sold off..."

Chen Ping frowned, unconsciously stroking the rough handle of the broom with his fingers.

He had to find a foolproof method.

"Right, my distant cousin Liu Sanjin!"

A flash of Spiritual Light appeared in Chen Ping's mind.

In the memories of the original owner of this body, there was a distant cousin who worked as a caravan guard at the county town's "Weiyuan Escort Agency."

Although he was just a low-level caravan guard, having worked in an escort agency for many years, he would likely know some basic martial arts or health preservation techniques.

People in escort agencies, traveling all over the country, prioritized survival.

"Tomorrow is the day Lin Family gives the servants a day off. It's only one day a month. Coincidentally, I've saved up three years of allowance, and it's time to use it."

Chen Ping made up his mind, and his movements became lighter.

He filled the water vat with water and polished the window frames until they gleamed.

Although his status was humble, his mindset was completely different now that he had awakened his destiny.

Before, this work was labor; now, it was a form of cultivation to temper his mind.

After sweeping the floor, Chen Ping returned to the servants' quarters and retrieved a small cloth bundle from under a loose bluestone brick beneath his bed.

Inside the bundle were a pile of loose copper coins and a piece of silver the size of a fingernail.

This was all he had saved through three years of frugal living, scraping by. It amounted to about two taels of silver.

In this era where one copper coin could buy two steamed buns, two taels of silver was a huge sum for a servant.

"Money is a bastard, we can earn more after spending it."

Chen Ping's eyes were determined as he tucked the silver into his clothing, close to his body.

This was not just silver; it was his stepping stone to the Path of Eternal Life.