The Road Ahead Was Unknown

The change was that a new entry had suddenly appeared in his skill panel: Five Animals Qigong.

And once it appeared, a message unfolded in Li Hai's field of vision:

"Upgrade Five Animals Qigong from Level Zero to Level Three—yes/no?"

"Huh?!"

Li Hai raised an eyebrow. "It can do that, too?"

As the thought crossed his mind, he tentatively selected [Yes].

Bzz—

In an instant, the vital energy in Li Hai's body, which had been on the verge of dissipating, suddenly boiled and surged out of nowhere. It grew stronger and stronger, until it far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

His fading vitality and ailing body changed along with it. In the blink of an eye, without any transition, his former exhaustion and frailty gave way to vigor and robust health.

It could be said that, while Li Hai's combat strength hadn't improved much, his life expectancy and the vitality of his organs now completely trounced those of his past self—a man who looked tall and sturdy, but was always in a state of poor health due to frequent all-nighters and bad eating habits.

"Whew—"

Li Hai let out a long breath of foul, murky air, then sat up straight on the rickety bed.

He looked down at his ragged clothes and his small, slender frame, then shook his head with a sigh.

"What a hellish start."

He'd transmigrated into the body of a penniless beggar with no status, someone who could barely manage to get enough to eat. He really had drawn the short straw.

Fortunately, after transmigrating, he'd somehow gotten a system that seemed incredibly powerful to help him out. Otherwise, he had no idea how he'd face the road ahead.

"From what just happened, this system seems to let me quickly learn other people's martial arts, then reach the maximum level as soon as I've learned them, without having to cultivate at all. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Li Hai folded his hands behind his head and slowly leaned back against the bedframe, grinning lazily. "If this ability really has no limits, wouldn't that make me completely invincible?"

He couldn't yet tell whether the system's ability to force him to learn and level up had any limits, but that didn't stop him from dreaming about the future.

As the saying went, if you had money, you ate a feast; if you didn't, you drank cold water.

An unhappy day was still a day, and a happy day was also a day. So why not make yourself a little happier?

That was just the kind of person Li Hai was: no matter when or where, he always found a way to enjoy himself.

So he wouldn't waste any effort trying to figure out where the system came from or what it wanted.

He'd be better off finding something fun to do with that time.

Tap, tap, tap.

Just then, footsteps drifted closer from outside the door.

Li Hai glanced over and saw that it was the fat old man from before.

Behind him came a middle-aged man in a gray-green robe, with a sharp mouth and a monkey-like face.

"Huh, the poor wretch can sit up on his own. He even looks pretty lively."

After entering the room and seeing that Li Hai was already sitting up, the robed middle-aged man laughed and said to the old man, "Doctor Zou, your medicine is impressive. One dose, and you've cured him completely."

Doctor Zou was just as puzzled.

He'd only given the beggar a bowl of calming decoction and barely fed him any porridge. How had the man found the strength to sit up the moment he turned around?

But as an old hand, he simply stroked his short beard and made something up.

"Heh heh, Steward Liu, there's something you don't know. To help the beggar recover faster, I deliberately added a few extra herbs. Looks like they worked quite well."

"Impressive."

The middle-aged man gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, Doctor Zou. I'll put in a good word for you with the master."

"Haha, thank you for the trouble, Steward Liu."

Doctor Zou continued, "If there's nothing else, Steward Liu, I—"

"Go on, then." Steward Liu waved him off. "Just collect your pay from the accounts office."

The old doctor said no more. He smiled, cupped his hands, and turned to leave.

Once the doctor had gone, Steward Liu stood with his hands behind his back and looked at Li Hai, who had been quietly watching him the whole time. His expression was indifferent as he asked, "Wretch, what's your name?"

"Li Hai."

Li Hai smiled freely. "Li as in 'fierce,' Hai as in 'shocking.'"

"Oh? What a strange name."

Steward Liu looked surprised. "Weren't your parents afraid it would bring you misfortune?"

Li Hai merely smiled and didn't answer.

"Never mind."

Steward Liu nodded, then beckoned. "Come with me. My master wants to see you."

With that, he walked out on his own.

Li Hai said nothing. He climbed out of bed, shuffled into his worn-out shoes, and slowly followed him out of the earthen hut.

The moment he stepped outside, he discovered that the hut stood amid a sprawling, abandoned garden, overgrown with weeds and strewn with ruins on every side.

A cool breeze rustled through the night.

Under the gauzy moonlight, with crows calling from somewhere out of sight, Li Hai felt that the place was positively haunted.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up."

A shout came from nearby.

Li Hai followed the sound and looked up. Twenty or thirty meters away, a dozen burly men in fitted clothes stood around Steward Liu, each gripping a staff as tall as his brow.

A few of them even held thick, dark firearms.

All the burly men, who looked like hired thugs or guards, were staring intently at Li Hai, as if afraid he might run away.

At the sight, Li Hai immediately understood.

That master—whoever he was—hadn't saved him out of kindness. He probably had some dangerous motive he didn't want known.

Otherwise, why would his men be acting so viciously?

But when you were under someone else's roof, you had to bow your head.

There weren't any martial arts in the skill panels of Steward Liu or the thugs. Even a clever housewife couldn't cook without rice; he had no way to raise his strength. So all he could do was take things one step at a time.

Li Hai smiled silently, then walked toward Steward Liu.

Seeing that he knew his place, Steward Liu nodded with satisfaction, turned, and strolled off into the distance.

Li Hai followed Steward Liu and the others as they made their way through the abandoned garden. They passed row upon row of black-tiled buildings and green pavilions, eventually reaching a large manor and entering it.

"Master, I've brought the man."

Following Steward Liu's respectful announcement, Li Hai walked into a courtyard deep within the manor.

As soon as he entered, his gaze was drawn to the center of the courtyard.

An enormous grand chair stood there.

Seated upright in it was a tall, powerfully built old man with a gray beard, dressed in a black antique robe.

Behind him stood a thick wooden stake, oddly marked with patches of blood.

For a moment, Li Hai thought he saw a few resentful spirits circling the Blood Wood Stake, wailing in misery without end.

"Hiss—"

Li Hai was privately astonished. "This old man is no ordinary person."

The moment he saw the old man, he had the uncanny feeling that the man... didn't seem human at all. He seemed more like a tiger that had gained the power of a spirit—a vicious tiger demon crouched in its chair, licking its claws and waiting to pounce at any moment on anything in the courtyard.

Li Hai also saw that the resentful spirits didn't dare approach the old man, even though he was right beside them. They only dared circle the Blood Tree Stump.

"Was it an illusion?"

Li Hai shook his head sharply and opened his eyes to look again. The resentful spirits he'd glimpsed earlier had vanished without a trace.

Only the burly old man, who looked more like a ferocious tiger than a human, remained seated in the grand chair, unchanged.

So... this imposing old man was probably the master Steward Liu had mentioned.