Minor Accomplishment in Saber Technique, Blood Moon Hanging in the Sky

"Kachaa!"

Amid the crisp crack, the round wood split cleanly in two.

[Skill: Cleaving Knife Technique (Minor Accomplishment) (Trait: None)]

[Cleaving Knife Technique Experience +1]

[Progress: (0/300)]

"I've broken through from Initiation to Minor Accomplishment..."

In that instant, the final point of experience seemed to trigger a qualitative change in the Cleaving Knife Technique after its quantitative accumulation.

He chopped wood much faster, and his strength had increased considerably as well. Every strike landed with absolute precision.

Holding the Cleaving Knife, Chu Fan felt a strange familiarity well up inside him.

Though the Cleaving Knife in his hand was heavy, it felt like an extension of his own arm.

The Cleaving Knife Technique had merely advanced from Initiation to Minor Accomplishment, yet he already understood how to exert his strength to unleash greater chopping force and how to channel his power to conserve more energy!

He suddenly felt a wave of weakness...

Chu Fan still felt reluctant to stop, but he could only put down the Cleaving Knife.

At this rate, accumulating 300 experience points would not be difficult and would not take very long.

Unfortunately, there was not much wood left in the courtyard, not enough for him to grind his way to 300 points.

To make matters worse, his stomach had long been rumbling with hunger. After chopping wood, he felt his entire body tremble, while his right hand shook especially badly.

With such a frail body, it was no wonder those martial men from the Seven Star Gang looked down on him.

Chu Fan carried the dry wood into the Kitchen, ladled up a dipper of cold water, gulped it down, then lit a fire and began cooking the fish.

Before long, the water in the pot boiled. The broken pieces of Wheat Cake gradually dissolved, blending with the fish into a lump of paste.

The fish porridge smelled rather strong, but Chu Fan could not be bothered to care. As long as it filled his stomach, that was enough.

Once the fish porridge had cooled slightly, he wolfed it down until not a drop remained.

After eating, Chu Fan paced back into the courtyard.

With hot porridge in his belly, the Cold wind brushing his face no longer felt bone-piercing.

However, there was hardly any wood left in the Courtyard corner. If he wanted to accumulate 300 experience points, he would have to find another way.

Chu Fan sat on a small stool, deep in thought.

When people were young, one of the most troublesome things was deciding what they would do with their lives.

Chu Fan before his transmigration had been the same.

But now, he no longer had that problem.

Because he knew what he would do with his life...

With the Mountains and Rivers Map, he had to practice martial arts!

He absolutely had to practice martial arts!

He had to practice martial arts even if he had to rack his brains and stake everything on it!

Though Chu Fan had never practiced martial arts, he understood that chopping wood and chopping people were not necessarily so different.

The more advanced the Cleaving Knife Technique became, the easier it should be to take someone's life.

He casually stood a piece of round wood upright. His gaze swept over it, and a flash of saber light suddenly appeared...

With a "kachaa," the round wood split apart.

The Cleaving Knife Technique's experience increased by another point.

After reaching Minor Accomplishment in the saber technique, the force, speed, and accuracy of his strikes had truly become worlds apart from before.

If he could train this saber technique to its limit, he wondered whether he could chop down those ruffians like Liu Da.

But after thinking it over, that might not be the case...

Liu Da and the others had once studied at a martial arts school for half a year. Though they had been expelled for their poor aptitude and bad conduct, they were still far beyond ordinary commoners.

Chu Fan had personally seen Liu Da shatter a bluestone with one punch... With such skill, relying solely on this crude wood-chopping technique, he would probably have difficulty matching him.

The Cleaving Knife Technique made his strikes faster, fiercer, and more accurate, but in the end, it could not yet be considered True Martial Arts.

Chu Fan had once listened to a Storyteller at a restaurant, and one of the stories had mentioned that martial artists could circulate Qi and Blood, using their Qi and Blood Force to split stone.

Only after learning to call upon his Qi and Blood Force would he have any chance of contending with Liu Da and the others.

Thinking of this, Chu Fan understood even more clearly that he absolutely had to learn True Martial Arts.

Chopping wood could raise the experience of the Cleaving Knife Technique.

Once he learned other martial arts in the future, he should be able to improve them in the same way!

Unfortunately, the path of joining a martial arts school was closed to him—even if he sold his ancestral home, he still could not raise the exorbitant tuition.

The Outer City grew increasingly desolate and chaotic. If this huge residence were in the Inner City, its value would be more than double.

Yet because it was in the Outer City, he could not even scrape together the entrance fee for a martial arts school.

Moreover, practicing martial arts was not something that could be accomplished in a single day. After half a year, he would have to pay tuition again, and the later expenses would be a bottomless pit.

Where was he supposed to raise all that Silver money?

After pondering it over and over, Chu Fan still felt that joining the Seven Star Gang was the best course of action.

Eight hundred li of Qingyang County was filled with overlapping Peaks and Ranges.

Three thousand li of Blackwater River stretched vast and boundless, its waves surging across the horizon.

Across this land, the Three Major Gangs and Four Great Clans had entrenched themselves, their Forces intertwined like the roots of an old tree.

The livelihoods of ordinary commoners all existed beneath the shadow they cast.

Though the Four Great Clans were not as powerful as the Three Major Gangs, they were deeply rooted in Qingyang Ancient City and represented a path to survival in the eyes of the children of many poor families and the Vagrants.

For the sake of one full meal, countless young Vagrants scrambled to sell themselves into slavery to those Four Great Clans, yet they might not even be accepted by those families.

But Chu Fan would rather be a beggar than someone's slave. He had long abandoned any thought of selling himself into slavery.

As for the Three Major Gangs of Qingyang County...

The Blood Saber Sect, the Seven Star Gang, and the Ironclad Sect.

After a brief consideration, the words Blood Saber Sect immediately felt like thorns in his back, and he removed it from consideration without hesitation.

This was because in his memories of the past, he had suffered endless bullying at the hands of this sect. That misery was etched into his bones.

Two years ago, his parents had passed away one after another, leaving Chu Fan alone. After exhausting every possible effort, he had scraped together a small sum of Silver money and found an old fisherman to teach him fishing, allowing him to make a living on Blackwater River.

But the fishermen of Blackwater River could not escape the control of the Fishing Dock, no matter what they did.

Wanted to rent a fishing boat or fishing gear?

Looking across the entire area, the only place to find them was the Fishing Dock.

But the rent was frighteningly high, as if they were knocking out one's bones and sucking out the marrow.

How many fishermen, helpless for a time, rented boats, only to find themselves shackled by invisible chains? They became laborers of the Fishing Dock for the rest of their lives, exploited until they could neither live nor die.

What if they refused to rent? That meant cutting off their livelihood. They could only watch themselves starve to death, without even room to struggle.

Even if they were lucky enough to haul in some fish, when they tried to set up a stall on shore, besides the heavy stall fee, two or three tenths of their earnings would still be taken by the Fishing Dock.

If they dared sell their catch privately, they could easily be cornered by the Fishery Bullies and have everything snatched away...

Those vicious, baleful Fishery Bullies were no more than vicious dogs raised by the Fishing Dock.

And the Fishing Dock of Qingyang County had been firmly clutched in the hands of the Blood Saber Sect for many years.

Those people were Fierce and cruel. They exploited the fishermen to the bone, and no one knew how many people they had driven to their deaths over the years.

Every day, Chu Fan went down to the river before dawn and returned only at sunset. Even when he caught plenty of fish, he still ended up with no food for one meal after the next.

Of such a ruthless and lawless gang, anyone in the Jianghu who had heard even a little about them would change color at the mere mention.

How could Chu Fan possibly join hands with them?

That left the other two major gangs...

The Ironclad Sect ran gambling houses and brothels. The sect was a cesspool filled with Thieves and Scoundrels. Unless he truly had nowhere else to go, it was not worth considering for now.

Only the Seven Star Gang, though not entirely benevolent either, had originally been the Caravan Gang. Having traveled far and wide, it placed somewhat greater importance on Jianghu principles. Compared with the other two factions, it could still be considered somewhat "upright."

These gangs and clans fought endlessly over trifling benefits, with flashes of blades and swords never ceasing. Ordinary gang members who joined them mostly became Cannon Fodder in their struggles.

That was why the children of ordinary families, even if they racked their brains to enter Wealthy Families and sell themselves into slavery, accepting their orders, beatings, and abuse, would still refuse to casually set foot in these gangs.

But Chu Fan could no longer afford to worry about so much. He only hoped to enter the Seven Star Gang, embark on the path of martial cultivation, and struggle for a sliver of life.

With the Mountains and Rivers Map, anything was possible!

Back then, he had wanted to join the Seven Star Gang but had been unable to. Now, if he could train the Cleaving Knife Technique to the Realm of Transformation within these few days, perhaps he could use this skill to Knock on the Gang's Door?

At this thought, Chu Fan felt both apprehensive and expectant.

After resting for a short while, he picked up the Cleaving Knife and split all the remaining wood in the courtyard.

Saber light flashed, and Wood Shavings flew everywhere...

[Spiritual Essence: 0.1]

[Progress: (49/300)]

After glancing at the Mountains and Rivers Map, Chu Fan suddenly felt his heart jolt. His gaze froze on the Mountains and Rivers Map...

His Spiritual Essence had clearly been 0 before. When had it become 0.1?

Where had this 0.1 Spiritual Essence come from?

He carefully thought back. It had not increased while he was chopping wood. Could it have been because of that bowl of fish porridge just now?

In any case, this tiny amount of Spiritual Essence could not do anything, so after thinking for a moment, Chu Fan rose and left the house.

The Cold wind struck his face. He tightened his clothes and walked to a small residence, where he knocked on the door. "Aunt Wang, are you home?"

"Who is it?" an aged voice called from inside.

"Granny, it's me, Xiao Fan."

Before long, an old woman with white hair opened the door shakily. "Xiao Fan, did fishing go smoothly today?"

"I caught several big fish, but that guy Liu Da snatched them away. Forget about that..." Chu Fan said, "Granny, it looks like it may snow today. How much Dry Wood have you prepared? I came to help you chop some firewood."

"That Liu Da truly is a wicked creature..." Aunt Wang shook her head repeatedly, then said joyfully, "Oh my, what a good child. Come in, quickly!"

A few Chinese cabbages grew in Aunt Wang's courtyard. She and her husband were both old, had no sons or daughters, and usually made a living by selling vegetables.

Ever since Chu Fan's parents had passed away, Aunt Wang often gave him some leftover vegetable leaves that had not sold.

That was why, when Chu Fan thought of chopping wood, her home was the first place that came to mind.

Looking at the mountain of firewood piled in the Courtyard corner, Chu Fan's eyes flickered with Bright Light, as if he had seen a priceless treasure.

"Xiao Fan, have some water first..." Aunt Wang turned to pour him a drink.

"Granny, don't trouble yourself. I just drank some water at home." As he spoke, his gaze never left that pile of firewood.

It was as if it were not ordinary firewood, but a staircase leading to the peak of the martial path.

In this world, the gap between rich and poor was Worlds Apart. Even the things used to light fires and keep warm were completely different.

Ordinary commoner households mostly used firewood, while only Wealthy Families were willing to burn refined charcoal.

Whenever winter approached, every household had to prepare enough firewood. Only Aunt Wang and her husband were old and frail, unable to go into the mountains to chop wood, so they had to exchange their own vegetables with their neighbors.

Those thick, large logs were extraordinarily difficult for the old couple to chop. They often used the thin firewood first, leaving the thick ones for last.

Without waiting for Aunt Wang to call him over, Chu Fan simply took a small stool and sat down.

The rust-covered Cleaving Knife in his hand seemed to possess a spirit.

When he had first begun learning the Cleaving Knife Technique, he needed several strikes to split a single piece of round wood.

Now that his saber technique had reached Minor Accomplishment, eight or nine times out of ten, he needed only one strike.

But after the technique advanced, gaining each point of experience became increasingly difficult. Often, it took six or seven strikes before he saw any increase.

Even so, Chu Fan was extremely satisfied with this speed.

A little over 200 experience points would not take very long and would not tire him too much.

To see himself slowly improve bit by bit, to see every ounce of effort bring results... Who could refuse such temptation?

Many people did not work hard or were unwilling to work hard because, when all was said and done, hard work did not necessarily bring rewards, nor did it necessarily bring success.

Chu Fan had worked hard in his Previous Life as well. He had started businesses time and again, exhausting his heart and soul, only to end up successfully saddled with a huge pile of debt.

But now, the Mountains and Rivers Map gave him One Proof, Eternal Proof. Every bit of effort he put in brought a return. Even such rough labor as chopping wood left him utterly captivated.

[Cleaving Knife Technique Experience +1]

Wherever the saber light flashed, the firewood split with a crack.

Chu Fan felt his wrist growing steadier, while the momentum of his blade became increasingly precise.

More strangely, after his experience passed 150 points, it unexpectedly became easy again. Often, a single strike yielded one point.

The progress of this Cleaving Knife Technique was truly advancing a thousand li a day!

[Cleaving Knife Technique Experience +1]

[Progress: (199/300)]

Before the sky had gone completely dark, Chu Fan finally pushed his progress up to 199 once more.

"Only 101 points left!"

Chu Fan set down the Cleaving Knife and rose, suddenly feeling a stabbing pain in his palm.

When he raised his hand to look, he saw that two blisters had already been rubbed raw, oozing thin traces of blood.

He had been immersed in the improvement of the Cleaving Knife Technique and had not noticed anything at all.

"Granny, it's getting late. I'll come back tomorrow to help you chop wood."

Chu Fan rose, feeling somewhat reluctant to stop.

"Thank you for your hard work, child..." Aunt Wang shakily brought over two Sweet potatoes and several vegetable leaves.

If it had only been those two Sweet potatoes and the cabbage leaves, Chu Fan's effort in chopping wood would not have been worth the return.

But he had never come to Aunt Wang's home to chop wood for the sake of these things.

The Sweet potatoes and cabbage leaves had merely been unexpected gains.

"Sweet potatoes..."

Chu Fan blinked as he looked at the Sweet potatoes in Aunt Wang's hands.

The written language and spoken language of this world were the same as those of the ancient world before his transmigration.

There were even Sweet potatoes.

But Chu Fan could be certain that this was absolutely not the ancient world from before his transmigration.

He raised his head and looked at the moon in the sky.

A Blood Moon as large as a millstone hung overhead, crimson as blood, resembling the single eye of a Netherworld Demon God as it coldly gazed down upon all living beings...