Experience

The midday sun blazed down mercilessly.

The air clung damp and sticky with heat.

The people on the road kept as close to the shade as they could. When they had no choice but to step out into the sun, they cursed the wretched weather, then quickened their pace.

The few patches of shade beneath the trees were already occupied by stray dogs and beggars.

On the Canal Boats at the dock, sacks were piled high on the decks, bulging full,

while on the shore, Chen Feng carried a sack of brown rice on his shoulder, sweat pouring down him. The flagstones beneath his feet had been baked scorching hot by the sun. Even through his straw sandals, he could feel the heat creeping up from the soles of his feet.

His coarse cloth gown had long since been soaked through. Now that the sack was pressing down on it, the rough burlap rubbed his neck raw.

Each sack weighed a hundred jin. Unloading one earned a Copper Coin.

The foreman took a cut, and the Canal Gang charged a "Starting Work Fee." After a day of backbreaking labor, ordinary dockworkers could take home only seventeen or eighteen Copper Coins at most—barely enough to get by.

"Here, this is yours." After checking the count, the new foreman handed Chen Feng his wages.

Chen Feng took them and spread the Copper Coins across his palm. His eyes swept over them. Twenty Copper Coins.

His brows immediately knitted together. He had worked diligently, and at sixteen or seventeen, he was young and strong. On top of that, wages were higher in the hot season. Even after the cut, there was no way he should have been left with only twenty Copper Coins.

The new foreman had definitely "rounded down" his wages.

Chen Feng said nothing. He knew that if he caused a scene, he might lose even those twenty Copper Coins, so he could only accept them. Seeing how meek he was, the foreman seemed satisfied and went off to pay the other workers.

"Sir! This can't be right! How come we only got this much?"

"I counted it properly. This is what you're owed. Don't you dare make trouble!"

The few dockworkers who questioned the pay were roundly scolded. Most of the others silently accepted their wages, swallowing their anger.

Chen Feng paid no mind to the commotion behind him and hurried away. A Mechanical Voice rang in his ears—

[You worked as a dockworker for a day... Experience +67]

[The foreman gave you a hard time, showing you the harshness of society... Experience +100]

His expression flickered. He hadn't expected being cheated out of his wages to bring him an unexpected bonus.

Chen Feng wasn't a native of this world.

He had crossed over from Earth. In his previous life, he had worked overtime through the night to rush a project and died of overwork.

When he opened his eyes again, he had transmigrated into this world.

After absorbing the Original Owner's memories, he learned that Martial Way truly existed here. Those who cultivated to a certain level could uproot willow trees and crack metal and stone with ease.

Powerful Martial Artists held a status on par with sages and ministers of state.

They stood high above the masses.

The Canal Gang could exploit the common people at the bottom with such impunity because of its Gang Leader. His martial skills were peerless; within the entire province, no one dared oppose him, and no one could defeat him.

But enough about the Canal Gang—that was too far away.

Even in Pingcheng alone, gangs of every size relied on their martial skills to bully the people as they pleased. They even collected some kind of monthly management fee, leaving the common folk in dire straits.

Fortunately, Chen Feng wasn't completely empty-handed.

When he transmigrated, he had awakened something called the Experience System.

As long as he accumulated Experience, he could keep advancing his Martial Arts.

It ignored bottlenecks.

Gaining Experience was simple, too: he only had to try new things. He had tested it himself—even sneaking over the wall to listen in on lessons at a school for toddlers could earn him Experience.

Just not very much.

Besides, the more often he repeated the same experience, the less Experience the system gave him. For example, when he first worked as a dockworker, he could earn hundreds of Experience in a day, but the amount gradually dwindled afterward.

When he had first arrived in this world, his Experience had risen at a dizzying pace. It only slowed once he had gotten used to things.

Chen Feng silently called up the system.

An Attribute Panel appeared before his eyes. He alone could see the words on it—

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Experience: 12275]

[Cultivation Technique: Simplified 24-Form Tai Chi Fist (Perfection)]

A Martial Art had five stages: Initial Glimpse, Minor Success, Entering the Hall, Mastery, and finally, Perfection.

"I never expected the Tai Chi Fist we learned in high school in my previous life to count as a minor Martial Art. It made me a little stronger, and gave me more strength for hauling things. It didn't take much Experience to raise the Tai Chi Fist to Perfection. Maybe it's because I already had some foundation?"

"I have a vague feeling that I can still make some changes now that it's at Perfection, but there aren't any other buttons on this panel... Never mind. I'll look into it later."

"I've been in this world for almost two months now. At last, I've saved enough money to learn martial arts. Next, I'll go to a martial arts school and take a master. As for this dockworker job, whoever wants it can have it."

As he walked, Chen Feng carefully secured his savings. He had nearly three taels in all. In these Chaotic Times, he absolutely couldn't let his money show. If he ran into a few Laizi with bad intentions, he wasn't a Martial Artist yet, and two fists couldn't beat four hands.

The Original Owner had been clubbed from behind after getting drunk.

He had died unexpectedly.

That was how Chen Feng had gotten to live a second life.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng tucked his money pouch into his chest, held it carefully in place, and hurried home.

By the time he got home, half an hour had passed.

Chen Feng lived in the Slums of Pingcheng. The alleys were dark and cramped, and the corners were damp and moldy. The moment you stepped inside, you could smell the stink—the scent of numbness and decay.

The people who lived here were Pingcheng's lowest stratum, struggling at the boundary between life and death, dragging out their wretched existence.

The Summer Tax was almost due. A large number of people here wouldn't be able to pay, and would end up being hauled off into the army. The women would be put to work, while the men would be sent to the front lines. The fighting in the north was growing fierce, and rebel uprisings were breaking out in various regions. The army was desperately short of men.

But even if they made it through the Summer Tax, there were still the Autumn Tax and Winter Tax. All kinds of random, exorbitant levies were appearing at once amid the dynasty's turmoil.

That wasn't even counting the gangs' monthly management fee. If you didn't pay, they would drag you off and force you to sell yourself into slavery.

As soon as Chen Feng arrived home, he spotted a fierce-looking, burly man and several underlings wandering through the alley. The man's face was covered in folds of flesh. When he saw Chen Feng, he bellowed at him.

"You! Get your ass over here!"

The man was named Liu Dabiao, a local Black Tiger Gang enforcer who was responsible for collecting the "management fee" in this area.

Chen Feng put on a frightened expression, hurried over, and bowed with a smile. "Master Biao, what brings you here? Didn't we just pay this month's management fee...?"

Liu Dabiao impatiently cut him off. "The Gang Leader's father is celebrating his birthday. This is a birthday gift, twenty Copper Coins per person. Not a single one less!"

Twenty Copper Coins! What a rip-off!

Chen Feng was startled. He had only just received twenty Copper Coins in wages, and now they were already at his door demanding them. Had they come specifically for him?

He glanced at the other homes nearby. Some had their doors firmly shut, with bursts of sobbing coming from inside. Others had their doors smashed in...

Chen Feng's thoughts raced. Most of those neighbors had probably been unable to pay and had suffered for it.

Twenty Copper Coins was a whole day's wages for a young laborer like him.

How could people living in the Slums simply produce that kind of money?

"Master Biao, you see... I really don't have any money. Could you give me a few days? I'll make it up to you later, for sure."

Chen Feng put on the pitiful air of a poor wretch.

After Chen Feng pleaded poverty, Liu Dabiao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "There's no such thing! If you don't pay now, I'll break your legs!"

Only then did Chen Feng shakily pull a small, tightly tied cloth bundle from his chest. He unwrapped it carefully, revealing twenty-two Copper Coins inside.

With a heart full of pain, he counted out twenty Copper Coins and handed them to Liu Dabiao.

Liu Dabiao took them and weighed them in his hand. "Aren't you a dockworker? How come you've got so little money?"

"It's all because that damn new foreman stole my wages!"

Chen Feng sounded indignant.

Liu Dabiao glanced at Chen Feng's slightly bulging clothes, a trace of greed flashing in his eyes.

"Why's your chest all bulged out? Got something good in there? Don't you know you should share some with me?"

Chen Feng had no choice but to pull out... the Coarse Cake he'd just bought.

In utter anguish, he said, "Master Biao, this is the dinner I just bought. Why don't I give you a bite?"

"..."

"Keep it and eat it yourself."

Liu Dabiao looked Chen Feng up and down a few times. It seemed he had decided Chen Feng really had no money left before he finally said, "All right, you're off the hook."

Then he bellowed, "Anyone still alive, every last one of you, don't forget next month's management fee! Let's go."

After shouting, Liu Dabiao tugged at his clothes, spat onto the road, and led his underlings away.

After they were gone, wails filled the narrow alley. These were all poor households. They had been forced to hand over twenty Copper Coins for nothing, and now they would probably go hungry for days.

Still, Chen Feng felt no pity for these neighbors.

He had once seen with his own eyes what happened after all the men in one household were taken away to serve in the army. The women left behind had been humiliated, bullied, and robbed by these same people at the bottom, becoming an outlet for everyone's pent-up frustration... In the end, they had been driven to suicide.

The Original Owner had been young and strong, and lived alone with no one to worry about. The neighbors had been wary of him. Otherwise, they would have devoured him alive long ago.

In this society, people ate one another alive.

You were either the hunter or the prey.

"Looks like I need to become a Martial Artist as soon as possible if I want even a little peace. I'll go sign up at a martial arts school tomorrow!"

Chen Feng touched the money pouch he had hidden away, his thoughts drifting.