First Arrival in Noble Land (Revised)

For Chen Jinyang, being a mercenary or a hitman was just a job. As long as one was skilled and possessed excellent core competitiveness, one could always scrape by.

Because the environment in his homeland had become stable, he, who only excelled at killing, had no choice but to take his business abroad.

Chen Jinyang was exceptionally good with a blade—or rather, terrifyingly so. People say that at ten paces, a gun is fast, and within ten paces, it is faster; but within seven paces, Chen Jinyang's blade was more lethal. The reason was simple: he was arguably the only known master in the world to have trained his martial arts to the half-step Dan Jin realm. His physical strength was so formidable it defied human limits; tearing tigers and leopards apart was merely a trivial matter for him.

Chen Jinyang once had a dream: once he earned enough money, he would retire to his hometown, marry a woman who wasn't too beautiful, and have two children—preferably a son and a daughter. He would occasionally discipline the little brat (his son) and spoil his little darling (his daughter), then open a small shop and live a plain, simple life for the rest of his days, until the moment he drew his last breath.

It was precisely because of this dream that Chen Jinyang knew the secret to playing the pig to eat the tiger. He rarely revealed his superhuman side to avoid unnecessary scrutiny. However, if you walk the night path often enough, you are bound to encounter a ghost. During a seemingly ordinary rescue mission, Chen Jinyang accidentally revealed a jumping ability comparable to Spider-Man in a moment of crisis, and after that, there was no "after that."

A certain nation that relied on comics to manufacture its national spirit immediately sprang into action. First, an intelligence organization starting with the letter C tentatively designed a trap to capture Chen Jinyang. They failed, because even though they had overestimated their target's abilities, they still underestimated Chen Jinyang's true combat power—he was a killing machine whose basic hardware was in no way inferior to a certain comic book captain. Then, a certain F organization and a certain global flag-planting military force joined the pursuit. They believed that if they could capture this man from the East, the fantasy of a superhero would no longer be a dream. The combat prowess Chen Jinyang displayed during his flight only deepened their conviction.

It was thanks to the pursuers' "adding oil" tactic of sending reinforcements that Chen Jinyang managed to flee for three full years, his hands stained with the blood of those who hunted him. In the end, he could not find a place to settle down. It wasn't that he couldn't return to his hometown to hide—people from home had even come to help—but having taken so many lives, he could no longer turn back. Chen Jinyang could not implicate his kin for his own selfish reasons; that would cause irreparable regret.

You cannot expect a beast accustomed to devouring its own kind to return to the pack. Thus, after a failed attempt to force a breakthrough in his martial arts realm left him nearly paralyzed, Chen Jinyang resolutely chose to face the end, using a magnificent "firework" to draw a period to his journey of flight.

When Chen Jinyang awoke from the boundless darkness, he found himself in a strange forest. It was a typical cold-temperate forest of mixed conifers and deciduous trees, filled with towering trees as tall as a dozen men. The undergrowth was thick with withered branches and fallen leaves, a bleak late-autumn atmosphere tinged with something eerie. Chen Jinyang slowly sat up, completely naked. His skin, covered in ash and stinging from burns, broke out in goosebumps in the cold wind.

Chen Jinyang moved his body. Aside from the cold, he felt full of strength. His old internal injuries had healed without medicine, and he felt as if he had become decades younger. He tried to circulate his blood and qi, but found no response.

After a brief inspection, Chen Jinyang finally confirmed that this was no longer his original body. This body possessed innate divine strength; even without training, his physical power was not inferior to an average peak Ming Jin martial artist. He stood six feet three inches tall—a little over 1.9 meters. His bone structure and muscle resilience were excellent; while not as good as his peak Hua Jin body from his previous life, it was far stronger than an ordinary person's. His inverted-triangle physique was rippling with muscle like a reborn Hercules, and his "equipment" down there was a full size larger (those with dirty minds, go face the wall).

William had originally been a lumberjack hired by a group of adventurers to explore the Hidden Forest. The adventurer party had been scattered by a surprise attack from a group of monsters led by an Ogre. Relying on his sturdy build, William had managed to escape, only to have the bad luck of being spotted by a Griffin. After a Griffin fire-bomb struck, William, who had fled into the dense forest, met a tragic end, and Chen Jinyang had picked up the bargain after his soul dissipated.

The Griffin had already left (a Griffin rarely lands in a dense forest alone, even for food). Chen Jinyang stood up, shivering, while planning his future path. He could be certain this was no longer Earth; he no longer needed to worry about those red-eyed pursuers.

But to survive here, he first had to integrate into this world. However, the host had left behind too few memories, he was a stranger in a strange land, and he didn't even know the language. It seemed he would have to borrow William's identity for now. He wondered if William's family would come looking for him.

Of course, the most urgent matter was to solve the problem of food and clothing, otherwise, he would freeze or starve to death before anyone could kill him.

The autumn in the Hidden Forest was bitterly cold. The withered branches and leaves on the ground had accumulated over countless years, forming a deep layer of humus that crunched softly underfoot. Chen Jinyang followed the tracks William had left while fleeing, hugging his arms and walking barefoot. Along the way, he gathered some soft dry grass and tied it around his body with thin vines; though it offered little protection against the cold, it was better than nothing. He broke a hard wooden branch as long as a man from a fallen tree to use as a weapon. He searched for a long time but found nothing to eat—not even a bird or a rodent. Occasionally, he found a few dried berries on the bushes; he picked the ones that looked non-toxic, chewed them slowly, and swallowed, feeling hungrier than ever.

Chen Jinyang walked for half a day before hearing heavy footsteps in the distance. An indescribable stench mixed with the smell of blood wafted over, making him gag; he had never smelled anything so foul in his life. The footsteps stopped abruptly, followed by a "thud" of something heavy hitting the ground. William was climbing a dirt slope; looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a humanoid giant over ten feet tall not far away, grinning at him. The giant had bulging, sunken eyes, and its blood-stained, dark-brown skin looked like the bark of an ancient elm tree. Its mouth, which stretched almost to its ears, revealed huge, outward-curving canines dripping with white-brown drool. It held a giant club, wore a large piece of animal hide of indeterminate color around its waist, and at its feet lay half a dead packhorse. It was one of the Ogres that had attacked the adventurers earlier.

Ogres loved to eat fresh meat raw, especially living humans. Compared to the monsters in the wild, humans were relatively clean and tidy, making them a delicacy for Ogres—especially young women and children, who could drive an Ogre into a frenzy.

The humanoid giant opened its mouth and let out an excited roar, revealing a mouthful of dark, yellow-black fangs. It swung its giant club like a humanoid tank, roaring as it charged over on its thick legs.

The giant's massive size and ugly appearance were incredibly oppressive. Chen Jinyang felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at the monster, which was half a head taller than him. Anyone would be terrified upon seeing such a huge, vicious monster. What kind of creature was this? The Ogre looked clumsy, but it was actually very fast, howling as it swung its club down at Chen Jinyang's head.

This monster has thick skin and flesh; a wooden stick might not hurt it. I must strike its vital points to be effective. A thought flashed through his mind. Chen Jinyang held the hard wooden stick, calmed his mind, and took a deep breath. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward to meet the charging Ogre. Rooting his feet and channeling power from his waist and legs, he gathered all his strength and lunged forward with the stick. Chen Jinyang was only as tall as the Ogre's chest, so he thrust the stick directly into the Ogre's crotch. With a "snap," the stick broke and the Ogre flipped over. The Ogre clutched its crotch with both hands, toppling like a tree trunk and rolling on the ground, howling in agony.

Chen Jinyang rolled to dodge the falling Ogre, leaped up, and threw away the broken stick. He shook his numb hands, grabbed the giant club the Ogre had dropped, and swung it hard at the Ogre's forehead. After a few blows, he cracked the Ogre's skull, spilling white brains. The Ogre struggled desperately for a while before finally falling silent, its limbs still twitching.

Chen Jinyang dropped the giant club and sat on the ground, panting heavily, feeling his hands and feet go weak and his body drenched in sweat. In just a few breaths, he had used the power-generating techniques of his martial arts to defeat the enemy, but the exertion had left him drained. Although this body had great talent, it had not undergone systematic training and could not support such violent movements.

Chen Jinyang leaned against a tree to catch his breath and wiped the sweat and mud from his body. The wind made him feel even colder; he had to find something to block the chill, or he would damage his vitality. He moved his limbs and began to clean up the battlefield. Aside from the blood-and-brain-stained giant club, the only thing of value on the Ogre was the mottled animal hide around its waist, which could at least block the cold. Chen Jinyang carefully removed the hide, which emitted a nauseating stench, spread it on the ground, and scrubbed it with mud, dry grass, and leaves. After cleaning it slightly, he wrapped it around himself; it was much better at blocking the cold than the grass. He had experienced more brutal things in the past just to survive; what was a little stench compared to that?

Chen Jinyang spent a long time scrubbing the entire hide until the mottled, stained fur turned a dull brown. He shook off the dirt and patted it clean. A complete animal hide, as large as two eight-immortal tables pushed together, lay before him. It was a typical feline hide, tough and smooth, with the head and limbs intact, missing only half the tail. The smell had faded significantly, replaced by the earthy scent of the ground. As he inhaled—Chen Jinyang lay on the ground and retched.

His body's instinctive reaction was still hard to overcome, but he had to endure the smell of the hide; he would get used to it in time. Chen Jinyang wrapped the hide around himself like a monk's robe, tied the two diagonal limbs and the tail together, and with his hairless, ash-covered head, he looked like an otherworldly version of an "African Lama."

Chen Jinyang wiped the blood off the giant club, slung it over his shoulder, and dragged the half-carcass of the packhorse the Ogre had discarded, turning to leave the scene of the slaughter.

Chen Jinyang dragged it for a while before realizing something was wrong. The packhorse had been torn in half by immense brute force, its head shattered, front legs broken, and internal organs gone, with only one hind leg hanging by skin and flesh to the ribs. It was clear this had happened while two monsters were fighting over it, meaning there was more than one monster in this forest. The forest was too quiet; he hadn't encountered a single small animal since he woke up. It was highly abnormal; clearly, this was a dangerous place.

He didn't understand the habits of Ogres. Ogres were extremely greedy, semi-gregarious humanoid creatures that would eat everything they could find near their gathering points, especially as the weather turned cold. This was why the area around an Ogre's lair would be devoid of birds and rodents.

Chen Jinyang felt uneasy. With his current stamina, he could handle one monster, but if more came, he would surely die. He only tore off the packhorse's hind leg to take with him, then dragged the giant club and fled quickly in the direction William had come from. He heard the footsteps of Ogres several times but managed to hide in advance. Luckily, no other accidents occurred along the way, and Chen Jinyang found the adventurers' camp.

The camp was set up in a clearing not far from a small river, and it was in a chaotic mess. Chen Jinyang searched the entire camp and found a ten-yard square canvas tent, two wool blankets, six sleeping bags, a wooden bucket, a dagger, a bent iron bar, and a portable backpack containing flint, ink and a quill, some parchment, salt, a bag of unknown seasoning, and five flat bottles filled with an unknown liquid. Chen Jinyang gathered some dry branches and kindling, lit a fire with the flint, and added thick logs.

Chen Jinyang took the bucket to the small river. The river was about a yard wide, clear to the bottom, and flowed gently. The trees on both banks were shedding their leaves, and with the setting sun, it was a scene of autumn melancholy that matched his own heart. He washed his face in the river and looked at his reflection to admire his new "magnificent" image. It was youthful but foolish-looking; the face shape actually had a bit of Keanu Reeves' flair, but the mood was ruined by his completely bald head. Damn it! I look like a peeled turtle egg! How unlucky! Chen Jinyang jumped into the river with the animal hide on. Surprisingly, the fur didn't absorb water; the hide was truly strange. Wrapped around him, it felt warm even with his chest exposed—it was like automatic heating, though the smell was truly awful. He took a bath in the river, washed the hide and the horse leg, wrapped himself in a wool blanket, and carried the bucket of water back to the camp.

Chen Jinyang hung the hide to dry by the fire with a wooden stick, cut the horse meat with the dagger, skewered it on the straightened iron bar, and rotated it over the fire. He turned the bar with one hand and sprinkled salt evenly with the other. As the flames licked the grease dripping from the meat, it hissed and turned into a faint blue smoke, releasing a rich, savory aroma of roasted meat. He couldn't help but swallow hard, his throat bobbing as he smelled the fragrance. He felt hungrier than ever. He devoured the meal with cold water, and after eating, he roasted the remaining horse meat, cut it into small pieces, and packed it into his bag as rations for the next day.