Life-Stealing System

The 16th year of the reign of King Zheng of Qin, southern outskirts of Yang City County.

The scorching sun baked the earth, and waves of heat rose from the fields like flickering tongues of fire, twisting the distant mountains into fluid, shimmering phantoms.

Beads of sweat the size of beans pelted the yellow soil. A youth dressed in coarse hempen robes had his shirt open, his dark, taut arms wielding a hoe as he buried his head in the task of weeding the fields.

[You have killed a Foxtail Grass, seizing two days of lifespan!]

[You have killed a Wild Barnyard Grass, seizing one day of lifespan!]

[You have killed a Ten-Thousand Root Grass, seizing two days of lifespan!]

[...]

[You have killed a stalk of Yellow Millet, seizing ten days of lifespan!]

Zhao Cheng, head down and working hard, gave a start. He quickly bent down to inspect the millet stalk he had "accidentally killed," feeling a pang of regret.

He had planted these millet stalks bit by bit himself, tending to them until they had sprouted ears, waiting only for them to ripen and be harvested, yet he had carelessly snatched away their lifespan.

These ten days of life meant little to him, but the grain was truly vital; it was the primary source of income and food for a commoner like him.

After taxes were deducted, the remaining grain was nowhere near enough for him to eat, requiring him to live frugally and rely on his uncle's assistance to get by.

He was fifteen now, right in the middle of a growth spurt, and with his sturdy, tall frame, he ate much more than the average adult male.

One must know that for a long period in the Qin State, the standard for adulthood was six feet five inches (1.5 meters), yet Zhao Cheng already stood at seven feet five inches (1.73 meters), taller than many grown men.

For this, he had his system to thank, as well as his uncle, whose family fortune he had nearly eaten dry.

"In this world, where one can't even get enough to eat, what good is living a long life?"

The youth straightened his back, his slender frame as upright as a spear. His open collar revealed taut chest and abdominal muscles, and the sunlight shining on his sweating skin gave it the texture of steel.

[Host: Zhao Cheng]

[Current Lifespan: 109 years, 3 months, 17 days (Can be invested into lifespan to deduce and cultivate martial arts)]

[Current Martial Arts: Basic Body Refining Technique (Flesh Refining, Minor Achievement)]

Zhao Cheng looked for a moment, but resisted the urge to invest his lifespan into refining his body.

Ever since his mother passed away three years ago, he had shouldered the burden of these hundred mu of household fields at a young age. Feeling overwhelmed, he had unexpectedly awakened the system, and in his excitement, he had invested ten years at once to practice the Basic Body Refining Technique.

After that bout of training, his physical fitness had skyrocketed; his physique became more powerful than a young bull, his stamina was endless, and his height had increased significantly.

But what followed was a massive appetite. The rations at home weren't enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. Fortunately, his uncle's help allowed him to weather the crisis.

Since then, besides farming and working, he often went up the mountains to hunt for game, keeping himself so busy he barely managed to feed himself.

Of course, he hadn't eaten his fill many times, so he looked somewhat lean, with knotted, interlaced muscle fibers visible whenever he moved.

However, there were benefits: he could easily tend to these hundred mu of land by himself, and even had the energy to work his uncle's fields and take on odd jobs for others.

Holding down several roles while remaining full of vigor, he was known throughout the surrounding villages as the "Little Iron Man."

"I'll practice martial arts once I can eat my fill. Relying on farming is definitely a dead end, but since I was born in the Qin State, I don't have to worry about lacking the opportunity to get ahead."

Zhao Cheng raised his hoe once more, continuing to clear the weeds.

Over these years, he had figured out the dynasty and location he was in.

The 16th year of the reign of King Zheng of Qin, Huaiyang Village, southern outskirts of Yang City County, Sanchuan Commandery, Qin State.

In this era, no nation was better than the Qin State at breaking down class barriers and allowing one to rise in the world.

Following the reforms of Shang Yang, the Qin State enforced a twenty-rank military meritocracy. Titles were granted based on military achievement, accompanied by land, residences, and servants, along with the privilege of immunity from punishment and an extraordinary social status.

Moreover, within the military, merit was always rewarded; it was extremely fair.

It was also in these past two years that the Qin State, a war machine built on total cultivation and warfare, was rapidly accelerating, rumbling toward the glorious path of conquering the six states and unifying the world.

As long as Zhao Cheng could join the army, he would have no more restraints. He could invest his lifespan into martial arts at will, then conquer in all directions, killing to seize more life.

By relying on this, he could cut his way through the twenty ranks of military merit, step over mountains of corpses, and be appointed a general or a marquis!

But before that, a massive problem stood in Zhao Cheng's way—he was underage.

It used to be fine; the registry for military service only looked at whether one reached the height of six feet five inches. But in this current period, age was the primary standard, with height as a supplementary reference. Combined with his uncle's firm opposition, Zhao Cheng couldn't force his way into the army.

"It is now the 16th year of King Zheng of Qin. A great war will break out in these two years; I must find a way to join the army as soon as possible."

Thinking this, Zhao Cheng's movements quickened. Before long, he had cleared away all the weeds, and his lifespan had increased by another year and seven months.

He stood up, shouldered his hoe, and walked along the field path toward the village, calculating as he went.

"A single weed only provides a few days of life, while rice can provide ten days or more. Cutting down a tree only yields twenty-some days, while a wild rabbit provides anywhere from two to three months. A wolf provides even more; that wild wolf I killed gave me over half a year of life..."

"Following this logic, seizing life is related to the quality of the life form. I wonder, if I were to kill one of my own kind, would it be a one-to-one seizure of lifespan..."

He hadn't walked far, not yet having stepped into the village, when a youth in fine hempen robes approached. His eyes lit up upon seeing Zhao Cheng.

"Irony, have you thought it over? Sell that Jade Ring to me, and you can rest for a year without having to farm so hard."

Zhao Cheng looked at him, feeling somewhat helpless.

This person was Niu Ergui, the second son of the wealthy villager Niu Zhang. He was a year older than Zhao Cheng and they had grown up together, but although his family was better off, he was born with thin arms and legs—a stick-like figure that looked like he would topple in the wind.

Ever since he had seen Zhao Cheng's jade pendant when they were children, he had been obsessed, constantly saving money in hopes of buying it.

Reminded by him, Zhao Cheng had stopped wearing that Jade Ring ever since, but that brat Niu Ergui had a good memory; from the age of seven or eight until now, he had been saving money, and every time he saved a bit more, he would come to ask if he would sell it.

After seven or eight years, the brat hadn't spent a cent, stubbornly scraping together a "huge sum" of five hundred copper coins, and had come to him once again to beg for the purchase.

One had to know that a picul of millet cost no more than ten copper coins, and Zhao Cheng's hundred acres of land only produced one hundred piculs a year; after deducting thirty piculs for taxes, what remained wasn't even enough to eat, let alone save.

That this brat could forcibly squeeze five hundred copper coins out of his old man's hands was truly something to be admired.

However, admiration was one thing, but Zhao Cheng wasn't stupid; that Jade Ring pendant was a family heirloom, and before his mother passed away, she had exhorted him time and again to keep it safe, as it concerned his own origins and that good-for-nothing father.

Although Zhao Cheng had no interest in that father who had abandoned his wife and son, he had to listen to his own mother's words; furthermore, that Jade Ring looked incredibly precious, and even if the price were ten or one hundred times higher, he could never sell it.