Reading Ten Lines at a Glance

Dawn broke, and the eastern sky paled.

Willow Town, West Street.

"Young master, it's time to get up." A girl's clear voice rang beside his ear.

Chu Ming struggled to open his eyes and looked at the maid waiting beside the bed, bent at the waist.

"Xiao Shan, how come you're always so punctual?"

He had been in this world for ten days now. Being woken at the Mao hour still took some getting used to. In his previous life, it was only six in the morning at that time.

Six o'clock, and he'd only just be getting ready to sleep. Why was he getting up?

He'd worked through the night on a manuscript until dawn, so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open. Before he could even lie down, he collapsed—and when he woke again, he'd transmigrated here.

The original owner had been the third young master of a wealthy merchant family in the city, but as the illegitimate son of a maid, he'd been pushed around at every turn.

A year ago, his mother had died. Then the wealthy merchant's principal wife had driven the third young master out of the family, accusing him of being an idle good-for-nothing who brought shame on the family name.

Those two charges hadn't been trumped up by the madam. The original owner really was like that.

He didn't read the Classic of Poetry or the Art of War, but loved travelogues and storybooks.

He didn't practice martial arts to strengthen his body, but preferred listening to songs in the pleasure quarters.

In Chu Ming's eyes, that was the very definition of being good-for-nothing—living only to eat and wait for death.

The Great Qin Dynasty faced covetous foreign tribes at its borders, while demons and evil spirits ran rampant.

A young man like the original owner, if he had any ambition, should either have sat the exams to earn an official post, or donned armor and joined the army to fight the enemy.

Even without lofty ambitions, at sixteen, he should have been ready to take responsibility for a small household.

He could only say the original owner had been born lucky. Even if he wasted his life, his wealthy merchant father might despise him, but wouldn't let him starve. He didn't have to worry too much about food and clothing.

But no matter how lucky you were, you couldn't keep squandering it. The original owner spent all day lost in travelogues, ate irregularly, and over time grew so frail he could barely walk. At last, one night...

"Xiao Shan, why isn't there any meat in this morning's porridge?"

"Young master..." The maid looked uneasy. "The madam hasn't sent anyone with this month's allowance yet."

"Isn't there anything left over?"

"Young master spent it all on travelogues and storybooks..."

Served him right if he starved to death!

Chu Ming downed the morning porridge in a few gulps. It had hardly any flavor, but he really couldn't go without food. This body was far too weak.

The little maid swallowed unconsciously. Hadn't the young master always hated plain porridge?

"Is there any more?"

"Gulp... Th-there's a little."

Chu Ming watched the maid's flustered expression and gently patted her hair. "Oh, you can have it."

"Huh? You're not having any more, young master?"

"I'm full."

Chu Ming went to the desk, sat cross-legged, and picked up a travelogue titled Sword Gourd Travels.

The story in Sword Gourd Travels was much like the ones he'd read in his previous life. It followed a wandering hero with a sword and a gourd, roaming the land in search of immortals.

Xiao Shan saw that the young master had started reading as soon as he finished eating. Worry appeared on her faintly flushed face.

The young master's serious illness before had been caused by reading those travelogues.

But she was only a little maid. Whatever the young master did, she had no right to interfere.

Chu Ming glanced at the maid as she left, then calmly continued reading Sword Gourd Travels.

At the same time, several lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Reading (Beginner): Read Ten Lines at a Glance]

[Progress: 90/100]

"Almost there. If I read all day today, I should be able to fill the progress bar."

On the second day after transmigrating, this panel-like thing had appeared. He didn't need to think too hard to know what it was.

Put simply, it was a cheat panel for grinding skills.

In the ten days since, he'd tried all sorts of things, like boxing and practicing with blades and spears, but no other skills had appeared.

Thinking it over, he figured it had something to do with the foundation the original owner had built by reading travelogues for years.

As for anything else... his clumsy moves were worse than a child's, with no technique at all. His body was weak, so how could any skills appear?

In the courtyard outside.

Xiao Shan carried the empty bowl toward the kitchen.

"Has the young master finished?" asked an old man with graying hair and a straight back.

"Ah... Good morning, Steward Fang. The young master gulped it all down."

"Didn't he ask for more?"

"He did..." Xiao Shan recalled the young master's expression and hesitated. "But it seemed like he didn't, either..."

"You little rascal, are you making a fool of Grandpa Fang?"

"No, Steward Fang. Xiao Shan wouldn't dare."

"Call me Grandpa Fang!"

"Grandpa Fang, Xiao Shan thinks the young master has changed."

"Oh? How has he changed?"

Inside the room, Chu Ming's gaze was sharp as he swiftly scanned the travelogue.

Each page had more than twenty lines. He could finish one in two or three breaths.

Progress: 91... 92... 93...

At noon, after Chu Ming had read most of the travelogue, the numbers on the panel stopped ticking upward.

[Reading (Minor Accomplishment): Never Forget What You See]

[Progress: 1/100]

He'd finally ground his way up to the next level.

"From Beginner to Minor Accomplishment, 'Read Ten Lines at a Glance' became 'Never Forget What You See'..."

Chu Ming half-closed his eyes, recalling the contents of Sword Gourd Travels.

Reading ten lines at a glance meant reading quickly, but forgetting quickly too. He hadn't retained many of the words; it had felt like skimming past flowers on horseback.

But now that he had the ability to never forget what he saw...

He waited about half a quarter of an hour, until he'd mostly forgotten what he'd just read, before picking up the travelogue again.

This time, not only did he read quickly, but the words seemed carved into his mind. Even after turning more than a dozen pages, he could still clearly remember everything that came before—and even recite it from memory.

"With both the ability to read ten lines at a glance and the ability to never forget what I see, I could easily read the Classic of Poetry and the Art of War and pass the exams."

"It's just that the progress seems to be rising much more slowly."

After finishing Sword Gourd Travels, he'd only gained two points of progress in Reading at the Minor Accomplishment level. Compared to before, the difference was like heaven and earth.

He set Sword Gourd Travels aside and picked up another travelogue.

The original owner hadn't left him much money or property, but he'd certainly left behind plenty of travelogues—more than twenty books.

He flipped through them one after another, and the [Reading] progress crept upward.

By the time he'd reread every travelogue, the progress had barely reached 20.

After that, no matter what he did, the progress wouldn't change.

He'd committed every story in those twenty-odd travelogues firmly to memory. He could read the first page and automatically recite the next. How could his progress go up like that?

"I probably need new books..."

"But books cost money, and getting my body back into shape costs money too..."

Chu Ming put down Sword Gourd Travels, went outside, and stretched his limbs in the courtyard.

Grinding skills looked easy, but it was actually exhausting.

If he hadn't been more patient than most people to begin with, sitting there doing something so tedious for half a day would have been no easy feat. The original owner was another matter.

After a few laps, fatigue washed over him.

"Young master, you should go back and rest." Steward Fang, sitting beneath the eaves, spoke in an even tone.

"Mm."

Though he didn't want to admit how weak this body really was, Chu Ming genuinely couldn't hold out any longer.

He went back inside to rest. The night passed without a word.

The next morning, after breakfast, Chu Ming looked through a few travelogues. The [Reading] progress had barely increased. It was stuck at 23, refusing to budge.

With no other choice, he tried punching his palm, swinging his legs, and stiffly practicing some martial arts moves he'd seen in his previous life, hoping to grind out a skill like a martial technique.

But after more than half an hour of effort, no martial arts skill appeared. Instead, he was completely worn out.

After resting for a while, he went to sit in the courtyard and read travelogues.

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Xiao Shan wiped her hands and hurried over to open it.

"Xiao Shan, have you thought over what I told you last time?" a somewhat shrill voice asked.

"Qin Gui!" Xiao Shan stumbled backward in fright.

Steward Fang hurried over at the sound and stood in the doorway, his expression icy.

The moment Qin Gui saw Steward Fang, fear flashed across his face.

"Steward Fang, no, well, I came to deliver the monthly allowance." As he spoke, Qin Gui took money from his robe and held it out.

The monthly allowance?