Chen Ye opened his eyes.
Before him lay a mottled wall, an earthen kang big enough for four people to sleep on, and the gray light filtering through a window covered with tattered paper.
His mind was a complete muddle.
Wasn't I working overtime?
Where am I?
The next second, fragments of memory surged into his mind like a rising tide.
The Jing Dynasty, Year Nine of the Shenwu era.
The Gao Family, Chen Ye...
Eight minutes later, he had digested the information. Sitting miserably on the edge of the bed, he stared at the spiderweb beneath the roof beam and let out a long sigh.
He had transmigrated.
He wasn't a prince or heir, nor was he the son of a wealthy family. He was an ordinary, low-ranking servant of the Gao Family.
Fine.
He sat up and tested out this unfamiliar body.
Young and sturdy.
His hands and feet were rough and calloused. He was clearly good at hard labor.
"What are you dawdling for, boy?" someone shouted hoarsely from outside. "Hurry up."
"Coming." Chen Ye answered instinctively.
Recently, the head of the Gao Family had taken it into his head to select a batch of clever, dependable servants from the estate and give them a chance to learn martial arts.
He was lucky enough to be chosen.
Chen Ye jumped out of bed and followed the crowd toward the middle courtyard.
The Gao Family's middle courtyard was packed with people.
They were all servants selected from different parts of the estate, just like Chen Ye.
The oldest looked no more than twenty, and the youngest only thirteen or fourteen.
The servants whispered among themselves, excitedly discussing the chance to learn martial arts.
"I heard they called us here to teach us kung fu!"
"That's right. The master picked Guard Zhang himself and told him to teach us personally."
"If I learn a couple of moves, I'll be able to throw my weight around wherever I go!"
Chen Ye watched in silence without saying a word.
Standing directly in front of him was a bald, burly man.
The man was packed with bulging muscles, as if he had been cast from solid iron. He stood there like an iron tower.
Even from five or six paces away, Chen Ye could feel the savage aura radiating from him.
It was the kind of oppressive presence that only came from someone who had blood on his hands.
Zhang Tieyi.
Chen Ye dredged the name up from his original host's memories.
He was the Gao Family's chief guard, and on the master's orders, he would be their instructor.
Zhang Tieyi's sharp gaze swept over the crowd, and the noisy courtyard fell utterly silent.
"Among the families of Qinghe Prefecture, my Gao Family isn't the largest in terms of wealth! So why do countless people still fight tooth and nail to get through our doors every year?"
Zhang Tieyi answered his own question. "Because out of all the families, only my Gao Family keeps nothing to itself! As long as you perform well enough, you'll have a chance to earn rewards and learn martial arts!"
"Most of you would never even get your hands on martial arts, even if you fought to the death, if you weren't with the Gao Family!"
"Today, I pass on the master's teachings. Remember this kindness well! From now on, serve the Gao Family diligently!"
The sound of people swallowing filled the courtyard.
Children from poor families grew up fast. Who didn't know what it meant to have a skill they could rely on?
And this was martial arts, the kind that could defy fate and change their lives!
"Though our Gao Family is only a lesser branch, this Tiger-Capturing Fist is fierce and domineering. In terms of power, it's no worse than the hereditary martial arts of those second-rank noble families!"
"But before you learn the fist, you must learn the stance. Watch closely!"
Zhang Tieyi set his feet apart, one forward and one back, clenched his fists, and settled into the Fixed Posture.
Chen Ye watched without blinking.
In his previous life, he had been nothing more than an ordinary workhorse. He was full of curiosity about martial arts, something he had never encountered before.
"Fixed Posture mainly trains your spirit, eyesight, and the foundation of your waist and legs."
"Relax your shoulders! Keep your neck straight. Don't hunch your chest or back! Imagine there's a thread suspending the crown of your head!"
"Hold this posture for half an hour!"
At Zhang Tieyi's barked command, everyone clumsily tried to imitate him.
Chen Ye copied the posture, but a flicker of disappointment passed through him at the sight of this utterly ordinary stance training.
It was a far cry from the martial arts he had imagined, where people soared through the sky and Sword Qi streaked in every direction.
Half an hour. One hour.
It didn't sound like much.
During the first stick of incense, most of them still had the energy to think about how to distribute their strength.
When the second stick began, all that could be heard was their uncontrollable panting.
By the third stick, most people's legs had started trembling slightly, and no matter how hard they gritted their teeth, they couldn't stop them.
With a thud, someone couldn't hold on and collapsed.
Then came one thud after another.
Several people slumped to the ground at once.
Every one of them looked as if they'd been fished out of the water, their clothes soaked through with sweat.
Chen Ye gritted his teeth. A stubborn, almost ruthless force surged through him. He pressed his trembling knees down half an inch, then drove them firmly back into place.
"Breathe... in... out..."
Chen Ye tried to regulate his breathing.
In his previous life, he had run marathons. He knew that when people were pushed to their limits, the harder they gasped, the more oxygen-starved they became. He needed to let his breathing follow his body's rhythm.
Chen Ye tried a few times and was surprised to find that the aching, swollen feeling in his legs really did ease a little.
It hadn't disappeared. Rather, breathing had raised the threshold at which the pain became unbearable.
Chen Ye had no time to puzzle out how it worked. He only knew that this let him hold on longer.
By the fourth stick of incense,
Zhang Tieyi had disappeared at some point.
Aside from Chen Ye, only three people were still standing in the courtyard.
The fifth stick of incense.
Two more fell.
The last person still holding out against him turned bluish purple in the face. He somehow endured for half a stick of incense, then his eyes rolled back and he toppled straight over.
Someone hurried over to catch him.
Chen Ye was still standing.
He didn't know why he was still holding on.
Zhang Tieyi had already left. No one was watching, and no one would say anything if he gave up.
But he didn't.
Because he felt that his body hadn't reached its limit yet.
It wasn't just what he thought. He really hadn't reached it.
By the sixth stick of incense, Chen Ye's legs began to buckle uncontrollably. It was as if someone had broken them. He had completely lost all feeling in them.
He knew this was the real limit.
"Whew..."
Chen Ye knew that too much of a good thing could be harmful, so he decisively dropped the stance and let out a long breath.
The moment he relaxed, both legs turned to mush. He couldn't stand at all.
Chen Ye hurriedly grabbed a nearby corridor pillar and sat down, his chest heaving.
Sweat dripped from his chin onto the ground, leaving a round, dark spot of just the right size.
Just then, a strange sense of relief welled up from within his flesh and blood.
No.
It wasn't a feeling of relief.
A warm current was rising inside him.
Chen Ye's expression froze.
A golden speck of light, fine as a grain of wheat, suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
The next moment, a soft screen of light unfurled silently before him, like silk stirred by a gentle breeze.
He was stunned.
[Name: Chen Ye] [Current Martial Art: Foundation Cultivation Technique (Not Initiated)] [Realm: None] [You can pawn your lifespan to obtain corresponding cultivation progress] [After pawning it, redeeming your lifespan will cost twice as much. Only talent, luck, and wealth can be used] [Remaining lifespan: Three years and sixty-one days]
Chen Ye stared at the last line, his face changing slightly.
Three years and sixty-one days.
He had only three years left to live!
And now this Pawn System wanted him to trade his life for cultivation?
Chen Ye was speechless. He almost wanted to laugh.
Was this thing determined to make sure he didn't live too long?
But before he could laugh, his gaze shifted upward, where he noticed another line of information.
[Foundation Cultivation Technique (Not Initiated)]
It was the Foundation Cultivation Technique, not the Tiger-Capturing Fist!
Chen Ye narrowed his eyes slightly.
Was there something wrong with the stance training itself, or had the system "translated" the Tiger-Capturing Fist into the Foundation Cultivation Technique?
Or was Zhang Tieyi deliberately lying?
If it was the latter, then this was serious.
Chen Ye suppressed his shock and unease, and his expression returned to normal.
After resting for a while, the others gradually left. At the steward's direction, they cleaned out the latrines, swept the courtyards, hauled water, and led the horses and oxen to drink...
They were kept busy until the sun slanted west, and only then were they allowed to rest.
By the time Chen Ye climbed onto the earthen kang that night, he was utterly exhausted and didn't even have the strength to speak.
Seeing him like that, his roommates gave up on trying to cozy up to him and wisely stopped talking.
Before you continue