Sword Invincible

[Initial Entry: Sword Invincible (Color).]

Great Cang Kingdom.

White Sheep County.

Inside a Desolate House in the southern part of the city.

The moment Shen Zhou opened his eyes at dawn, a prompt like this appeared above his head. Only he could see it.

He wasn't surprised.

After all, it was common knowledge that transmigrators got cheat abilities.

The problem was, he didn't feel any different.

"Is this cheat ability a dud?"

Doubt stirred in Shen Zhou's heart as he examined the Entry. Does 'Sword Invincible' mean I need to have a sword first?

At that thought, he looked down at himself.

He was fifteen, fair-skinned and handsome, with refined features. But he owned nothing; when he turned out his pockets, they were cleaner than his face.

Of course, that wasn't his fault.

After transmigrating, he'd become a little beggar with no identity, no background, and no history.

Since he was a beggar, it wasn't surprising he'd ended up in such a sorry state.

He looked around.

The abandoned house was in ruins. Besides the dry grass he'd gathered to sleep on, all that remained was a few roof beams from where part of the ceiling had collapsed in the corner, along with some broken tiles and rubble.

But that wouldn't stump him.

"Who says a sword has to be a standard iron sword? Doesn't a wooden sword count?"

Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow and silently gave himself a pat on the back for his cleverness.

He decided to try it.

So, among the pile of junk, he quickly found a reasonably suitable piece of wood. Then he used the battered hatchet he usually carried for self-defense to hack and shape it. In no time, he had a wooden sword about the length of his forearm, rough on the surface and uneven in its overall shape.

The moment the wooden sword took shape, Shen Zhou gripped it.

In an instant, a surging force welled up inside him for no reason and swept through every limb and bone. The powerful sensation made him raise the sword and casually swing it toward the broken house's entrance.

A crescent-shaped Sword Qi shot out.

Puff, puff, puff...

The waist-high weeds in the ruined courtyard were instantly shorn off at the stems. Then, with a bang, even the base of an abandoned stone mill was cleaved in two. Its broken surface was smooth as a mirror, as if it had formed naturally.

"Hiss... it really works!"

Shen Zhou drew in a sharp breath, disbelief and delight shining in his eyes.

He hadn't expected that a single Entry could grant him such tremendous power out of thin air, without any cultivation at all. It was downright heaven-defying.

"With power like this, where in the world can't I go?"

Looking at the wooden sword in his hand, Shen Zhou was overcome with boldness. At last, he felt he had what it took to make his way in this world.

But before he could enjoy himself for long, the wooden sword, too fragile to withstand the Sword Qi it had unleashed, finally went crack and crumbled into powder in his hand.

And as the wooden sword disappeared, leaving his hand empty once more, the mysterious power inside Shen Zhou drained away in an instant, like water leaking from a vat. It vanished without a trace.

"..."

Seeing what had happened, Shen Zhou froze.

So "Sword Invincible" really meant exactly that: once he had no sword, he was nothing, huh?

Just as Shen Zhou was wondering where he could get a real sword sturdy enough to withstand his abuse, three more little beggars crawled out of a pile of dry grass in another corner of the broken house.

None of the three was very old. They were fourteen, thirteen, and eleven.

Two boys and a girl.

They'd met Shen Zhou's predecessor while begging on the streets, and later joined him to beg together and scrape by.

The three had also been woken by the commotion.

A Dai, second in the little group, rubbed his bleary eyes and looked over. "Boss Zhou, why are you clanging around so early?"

The third, San Mazi, had a round head and a face dotted with pockmarks. He yawned and mumbled, "I think I heard Boss Zhou chopping wood. Are you cooking something?"

At the mention of food, San Mazi perked right up and sat straighter. But after scanning the room and seeing nothing to eat, he slumped back down.

Then even Xi Mei, the youngest, couldn't help saying, "Brother Zhou, I'm hungry too."

A Dai turned to look at the sky outside. "It's getting late. We should head out to beg."

With that, A Dai, San Mazi, and Xi Mei all got to their feet. As they were about to leave, they looked back at Shen Zhou, who still seemed to be processing things, and called out, "Boss Zhou, what are you standing there for? Let's go."

Shen Zhou stared blankly.

Wait, I was already invincible beneath the heavens, and you still wanted me to go beg?

Before long, four little beggars were on the streets of the southern district.

As A Dai and the others begged on the street, Shen Zhou crouched gloomily at the roadside, shaving a wooden sword.

After all, this was the weapon that could make him "invincible."

Until he got an iron sword, he'd probably have to rely on this thing.

Just thinking about it made his balls ache!

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What made his balls ache even more was that a man who was invincible beneath the heavens still had to beg here. Unbelievable!

Just then, the Three Little Ones managed to beg for two flatbreads, which the four of them shared.

As they ate, Shen Zhou couldn't help asking the Three Little Ones, "A Dai, if someone was already invincible, how could he make money quickly in the city?"

After all, he hadn't transmigrated long ago. Even after receiving this body's memories, he still knew very little.

At the question, the Three Little Ones immediately perked up.

San Mazi spoke first. "He could become a thief and rob the rich. I heard a wealthy gentleman in the county got robbed last month, and lost tens of thousands of taels of silver in one go."

Shen Zhou's face darkened. "Can't you think of anything decent? If you're invincible, why become a thief? Doesn't that make you look bad? How could you show your face later, once you were famous?"

Xi Mei joined in while eating her flatbread. "You could open a martial hall. I've seen lots of martial halls in the county. That means it must be a profitable business, or so many people wouldn't open them."

Shen Zhou pondered for a moment. "That's a decent idea, but opening a hall and taking in disciples requires capital to rent a place. It'd take too long to see a return. Any other ideas?"

At last, A Dai spoke. He was usually more sensible and level-headed than the other two. His brows furrowed as he said, "If that person is really powerful and wants to make money fast, he could challenge martial halls."

Shen Zhou looked over suspiciously. "Challenge a martial hall? How does that make money?"

A Dai explained, "Before opening, every martial hall has to pay a deposit to the City Lord's Mansion. It's meant to stop people from taking students' fees and running off. By the rules of the martial hall world, if someone successfully challenges a hall, that hall has to take down its signboard. The signboard goes to the victor, who can take it to claim the deposit.

"In the past, many martial artists who'd made progress in their cultivation challenged martial halls to make a name for themselves. If they succeeded, they got both money and fame.

"It's also a way of encouraging martial artists!"

Shen Zhou's eyes lit up as he heard this.

That idea sounded pretty good.

No sooner said than done!

Though he'd transmigrated, Shen Zhou still had the same impatient temperament he'd had before, as a post-zero-zero kid. When he had something on his mind, he couldn't bear to put it off for even a moment.

He quickly shoved the rest of his flatbread into his mouth, then picked up the three short wooden swords he'd finished carving. Rising to his feet, he said with high spirits, "Come on, I'll take you to challenge a martial hall. We'll win, trade the signboard for money, and then eat at a restaurant!"

"..."

The Three Little Ones froze in place.

So the invincible person you'd just been talking about was you?

In front of Ma's Martial Hall.

Shen Zhou and the Three Little Ones looked up at the sign hanging over the martial hall's entrance, their expressions all different.

Shen Zhou's eyes were bright and sharp as an eagle's.

To him, that signboard was a huge lump of silver, just waiting for him to reach out and take it.

But to the Three Little Ones, the signboard was a tall, ferocious beast, waiting for them to walk inside so it could swallow them whole.

A Dai looked at Shen Zhou with concern and tentatively asked, "Boss Zhou, you're not actually serious, are you?"

San Mazi nervously swallowed and said, "Boss Zhou, I think we'd better not go. I heard the Hall Master of Ma's Martial Hall is a Blood Coagulation Eighth Grade martial artist. His Horse-Breaking Fist and Blazing Sun Art are both exceptional. If you go in there, I'm afraid..."

San Mazi didn't finish, but his meaning was clear enough.

Even little Xi Mei didn't think Shen Zhou could do it. Her small face was full of worry.

The martial artists' cultivation realms went from Blood Coagulation to Transformation Realm to Heaven Heavenly Firmament... The first three stages, each a hurdle in its own right.

Blood Coagulation Eighth Grade didn't sound like much, but to ordinary people, that was an expert among experts.

But to Shen Zhou, who'd already obtained an Entry, it was nothing at all.

Shen Zhou paid no attention to their expressions and said confidently, "Relax. Didn't I just tell you? I'm already invincible beneath the heavens. What are you afraid of? Come on, let's go in and take down their signboard!"

With that, Shen Zhou strode into the martial hall.

A Dai and the others tried to stop him, but they were a step too late.

Watching Shen Zhou's back, San Mazi couldn't help sighing ruefully. "Yesterday, the four of us were still being chased all over the street by Blackie and his gang from the next street. Just one night later, how'd you become invincible beneath the heavens?"

A Dai also sighed helplessly. But Shen Zhou had already gone in, and the four of them had always stuck together through thick and thin, so they could only hurry in after him.

By the time A Dai and the others entered, Shen Zhou had already explained his intentions to an apprentice at the martial hall. The apprentice immediately doubled over laughing, pointing at Shen Zhou. "Challenge the hall? You? Hahahaha... Brothers, come quick! Someone's here to entertain us..."

Laughing on his own wasn't enough. He turned and called over the other twenty-odd apprentices practicing their punches in the hall. After he told them why Shen Zhou had come, the whole room erupted in laughter.

"What day is it today? Someone actually came to our door to make us laugh. Now that's something!"

"I know these little guys. They're beggars who ask for food on the street. They can't even afford to eat, yet they think they can challenge a martial hall. What a joke!"

"No, no, maybe they're hidden experts who'd been experiencing life and comprehending the Martial Dao all along... Pfft, hahaha... Sorry, I can't keep making this up..."

Watching the martial hall's apprentices laugh without restraint, A Dai and the others trailed behind Shen Zhou, their cheeks burning. They wished the ground would swallow them up.

This was so humiliating!

Shen Zhou's face slowly darkened, anger rising in his eyes.

If he didn't teach them a lesson, these people would really think he'd come to their door to juggle for them!

Shen Zhou's gaze sharpened. He gripped one of the three wooden swords tucked at his waist.

In an instant, the Entry activated, and power flooded his body!

He casually swung at a tea table for guests in the main hall of the martial hall.

One motion, one sound.

The solid-wood tea table shattered on the spot, scattering into a heap of wooden splinters.

The laughter in the hall abruptly stopped.

Only after the room had fallen silent enough to hear a pin drop did Shen Zhou speak again. "Can you bring your Hall Master out now?"

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