Metamorphosis

Returning home that evening, Jiang Tian lay on his bed. Instead of rushing to sleep, he summoned the system panel.

He intended to use all the trait points he had accumulated today.

The reason he hadn't added points at the Martial Arts Hall was out of fear that any strange occurrences might be noticed; for the sake of caution, it was better to do it at home.

[Host: Jiang Tian]

[Lifespan: 16/17]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Arts Mastered: None]

[Traits: Average Bone Structure (Green) (290+/500), Innate Wisdom Root (Blue) (27+/1000)]

[Trait Points: 710 points]

After Jiang Tian had finished his Post Standing practice, Bai Ergou had chatted with him for a while.

Through their conversation, Jiang Tian learned that the two most important things in martial arts were bone structure and comprehension.

Bone structure determined one's lower limit.

Those with good bone structure could at least reach the Manifest Energy realm.

As for comprehension, it determined a person's upper limit.

In the early stages of martial arts, bone structure was particularly important. Judging by the attitudes of Yuan Long and the other disciples today, this point was crystal clear.

With this thought in mind, Jiang Tian no longer hesitated and poured all his points into his bone structure.

[Trait: Average Bone Structure (Green) → Excellent Bone Structure (Blue) (500/1000)]

The moment the panel appeared, Jiang Tian's eyes widened abruptly, his pupils shrinking to the size of needle points.

Every bone in his body began to tremble slightly, and a wave of soreness, numbness, and swelling erupted from deep within his bone joints, as if countless tiny ants were gnawing and crawling inside.

He gritted his teeth, struggling desperately to keep from crying out.

Before this sensation could pass, his body was hit by alternating waves of cold and heat; when cold, it felt like falling into an ice cellar, and when hot, like being placed in a furnace. These two extreme sensations struck in turns, accompanied by a tearing pain.

He felt as though his entire skeleton was a piece of iron being repeatedly forged.

One moment he was thrown into a high-temperature furnace, burned red-hot, and then struck and shaped by an invisible heavy hammer; the next, he was plunged into freezing cold water with a hiss, sending white steam rising into the air.

This process repeated over and over again.

During this, Jiang Tian could clearly feel his bones becoming thicker and sturdier, with his blood vessels and meridians becoming more resilient... it was like a "metamorphosis"!

He didn't know how much time had passed, but this long "metamorphosis" finally came to a halt.

Jiang Tian slowly opened his eyes.

In the dim room, his clear, dark eyes became exceptionally vibrant, like two cold stars lit in the night, his gaze bright and sharp.

"Hoo—"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, feeling the changes brought about by the trait upgrade.

His bones were thicker, and his stature seemed to have grown a bit taller.

He rolled off the bed and stood barefoot on the floor. After measuring himself, he estimated that by the units of his past life, he must be at least 1.8 meters tall now.

When he had first transmigrated, his predecessor was less than 1.7 meters tall, as thin as a bamboo pole.

It was fortunate he hadn't added the points at the Martial Arts Hall, or else someone would have seen this strange transformation firsthand...

Just as he was thinking this, a foul, fishy stench slowly drifted into his nostrils.

Jiang Tian looked down and saw that at some point, a layer of sticky black liquid had appeared on his body, like thick motor oil, coating his skin and emitting a pungent, fishy odor.

"So stinky!"

He waved his hand to fan the air and quickly walked out of the room to wash off in the courtyard.

On this early spring night, the chill had not yet faded.

A few days ago, he would have been shrinking his neck even while wearing clothes. Now, standing in the courtyard bare-chested, he didn't feel cold at all.

The water vat in the corner of the courtyard was covered by a thin wooden board. Jiang Tian lifted the lid to find a layer of thin ice inside.

He swung his fist, smashed the ice with a "crack," and scooped up a ladle of cold water to pour over his head.

The icy water ran down his spine, giving him a jolt, yet he felt incredibly refreshed.

Just as he finished wiping his face, low, hushed voices drifted from the room.

"...Minghai, are you really going outside the city to suppress the bandits? That's the stronghold of the Poison Wolf Gang. After all these years, when has a suppression ever succeeded? When has no one been injured? If you ask me, you should talk to the County Magistrate!"

"Don't go..."

"I know what you mean. But as a Squad Leader of the City Patrol Division, how can I disobey orders?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Your husband isn't a fool; how could I just charge in blindly? It'll be fine."

Poison Wolf Gang?

Jiang Tian's gaze narrowed.

He knew a thing or two about this Poison Wolf Gang.

It was a bandit den entrenched between Blackwater County and the neighboring Red Peak County, boasting a significant scale with several strongholds at the border of the two counties.

As the number of refugees had increased in recent days, the gang's influence had risen right along with them.

It was like a thorn stuck in the hearts of both county seats.

If left unchecked, it would sooner or later lead to a major disaster. But to deal with it—all those strongholds were up in the mountains, easy to defend and hard to attack, requiring a massive mobilization every single time.

Every year, the two county seats would join forces to suppress the bandits, tossing and turning for a month or so, only to end with a lot of thunder but very little rain.

But in previous years, they had always used the garrison troops stationed outside the county, so why was the City Patrol Division being deployed this year?

Jiang Tian frowned slightly, feeling a vague sense that something was wrong, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

The City Patrol Division was under the command of the county magistrate; they were the magistrate's own men.

The garrison troops, on the other hand, were under the jurisdiction of the Thousand-Household Office and were legitimate imperial regular forces. The two groups operated independently and rarely mixed.

"Forget it, time to sleep."

Jiang Tian shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it.

Even if he did discover something amiss, there was nothing he could change.

Besides, his eldest brother had martial arts to rely on and was a Squad Leader, not a foot soldier charging into the front lines; what could possibly happen to him?

The next day, before dawn had even broken.

Just as a sliver of pale white appeared on the horizon, Jiang Tian was startled awake by a commotion.

It was the sound of his eldest brother, Jiang Minghai, putting on his clothes and buckling his saber.

Immediately after, the footsteps stopped in front of his window.

Just as Jiang Tian was about to get up and put on his shoes, his brother's voice rang out, kept very low as if he were afraid of waking someone:

"Xiao Tian, while I'm away... take good care of your sister-in-law for me."

"It's freezing out, so stay inside and sleep a bit longer. Only when you're well-rested will you have the strength to practice martial arts."

Jiang Tian hurriedly slipped on his shoes and pushed the door open as fast as he could.

The courtyard was empty; where could his brother's figure be?

The cold wind poured in, causing the door panels to creak.

Jiang Tian stood at the doorway, stunned for a moment, his thoughts surging.

Jiang Minghai had given him a warmth he had never experienced in his past life, and combined with the blood flowing through this body, it made him clench his fists tightly.

"Don't worry, brother."

He responded heavily in his heart, "I will definitely take good care of sister-in-law."

Steadying himself, Jiang Tian suppressed his surging emotions and began his Post Standing in the courtyard.

There was still a while before the Martial Arts Hall opened, so he could only practice in the yard.

Although there were no wooden stakes, simply standing in the posture could still circulate his blood and qi; it was better than nothing.

For some reason, he felt a lingering sense of unease.

On one hand, there was the pressing issue of his lifespan, and on the other, the refugees he had seen yesterday, coupled with the business regarding the Poison Wolf Gang... all these things strung together gave him an indescribable feeling, leaving him deeply unsettled.

Great chaos was coming.

The top priority was to raise his realm as quickly as possible.

Only then could he gain a firm foothold in this chaotic world.

"Hoo—"

Jiang Tian exhaled a breath of stale air, his face flushed, steam rising from the top of his head as if he had just stepped out of a steamer.

"Time to eat."

His sister-in-law's voice came from the kitchen, as cool and detached as ever.

"Coming!" Jiang Tian replied, lifting his feet to head toward the kitchen.

He had only taken one step.

"Thump, thump, thump."

The wooden door was knocked upon.

"Brother Tian! Brother Tian! Are you home?"

There were at least two or three people outside, their voices urgent, the sound of their pounding on the door sharp and jarring in the morning alleyway.

Jiang Tian frowned, searched his memory for a moment, and walked over to pull back the bolt.