I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart!

As the system's voice rang out, a rather simple game interface appeared before Zhu Youning's eyes.

Across the top were seven large characters: I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart!

On the left was a list of items and martial arts available for exchange. In the middle were adventure instances, but perhaps because something had gone wrong in this other world, the instances were completely nonfunctional.

On the right was Zhu Youning's personal information panel.

[Zhu Youning]

[Realm: Great Star Realm]

[Martial Arts: Tiger Roar Art, Dragon-Snake Spear Technique]

[Martial Arts Currently Training Automatically: None]

[Tiger Roar Art: An internal art compiled from the essentials of many Central Plains sects, its force fierce and powerful. Trait: Fierce True Qi]

[Dragon-Snake Spear Technique: A spear technique Zhu Youning developed through battlefield drills, its moves sharp and swift. Trait: Speed]

[Talents: Battle-Hardened, Born Savage]

[Current Status: Seriously Injured]

[Items: None]

[Current Training Waves: 0]

Looking at the attribute list before him, Zhu Youning was delighted.

That's right, this system had mutated from a game Zhu Youning had played in his previous life.

I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart had originally been an idle game.

It had only one core gameplay mechanic: training.

As an idle game, training naturally happened automatically.

And after it had mutated into a system, that was still the case.

With practiced ease, Zhu Youning immediately started operating the system.

[Ding! Your martial art, Tiger Roar Art, has begun training automatically. It is expected to finish in twenty-four hours, granting one Training Wave. During this period, you can speed up the training process by consuming rare natural treasures!]

[Ding! Your martial art, Dragon-Snake Spear Technique, has begun training automatically. It is expected to finish in twenty-four hours, granting one Training Wave. During this period, you can speed up the training process by consuming rare natural treasures!]

[You can train up to four martial arts automatically at the same time.]

"As expected. Though the main interface has changed a little, the training mechanics are exactly the same as in the game."

Seeing the system's notification, Zhu Youning smiled in understanding.

If nothing unexpected happened, at this time tomorrow, he would receive one Training Wave.

Training Waves were a kind of currency earned by completing automatic training. They could be used to exchange for various items and martial arts in the game.

In other words, this game let you collect all kinds of rewards without having to grind much. After all, it was designed as a laid-back idle game, and its main users were casual players.

In short, as long as Zhu Youning could stay alive and make full use of the system, he would grow stronger with every passing day. In time, becoming invincible in the world might not be impossible.

But right now, his strength was rather lacking.

His injuries from the fall off his horse had yet to heal and were seriously hindering his movements. Even a little strenuous activity brought on intense pain.

So his most urgent task was to recuperate.

That afternoon.

While Zhu Youning was resting, a servant came to inform him that an uninvited guest had arrived at the residence.

The person at the head of the group was a stooped old woman who looked every bit her age.

She was Meng Po, second only to one and above tens of thousands within the Xuanming Cult, Liang State's official assassination organization.

Though Meng Po looked old and posed no threat at all, her martial arts were unfathomably deep. Otherwise, she could never have become the Xuanming Cult's Meng Po.

"So it's the venerable Meng Po."

Zhu Youning was a little surprised to see her, but his words remained calm and composed.

Zhu Youning glanced at Meng Po, and an information panel appeared before his eyes.

[Meng Po (Shi Yao)]

[Realm: ???]

[Martial Arts: ??, ???, ??]

[Talents: ???, ???]

[Items: ???, ???]

Zhu Youning was a little surprised by the information that appeared.

He hadn't expected the information-viewing function to still exist. It had come from I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart, of course. Its only drawback was that it couldn't show information on characters whose realm was higher than his own, or characters he hadn't fought before.

Those two conditions worked together: only when both were met could a character's information be fully revealed.

Meng Po, for instance, was far stronger than Zhu Youning, and the two of them had never actually fought. That was why all he got was row after row of question marks.

All in all, the scouting function wasn't very useful, though it was better than nothing. In I Practice Martial Arts From the Heart, its main purpose was to collect information on the NPCs in various instances and fill out the character compendium.

By then, Meng Po had come before Zhu Youning.

"This old woman pays her respects to Your Highness, Prince An."

As soon as she entered, she bowed to Zhu Youning. As a prince of Liang State, Zhu Youning was highly esteemed and naturally deserved such deference.

No matter how high Meng Po's position in the Xuanming Cult was, at the end of the day, she was merely the leader of an assassination organization.

Still, Zhu Youning wouldn't underestimate her.

This woman was no simple character!

"Please rise, venerable Meng Po."

Zhu Youning started to get up, but a sudden pain in his abdomen stopped him. The movement had obviously been too much and pulled at his wound.

"Your Highness, there's no need to rise. This old woman has come at His Majesty's command to check on your injuries and find a way to help you recover."

Zhu Youning didn't know whether she was telling the truth, so he could only say, "Sorry for the trouble, Meng Po."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Po's figure flashed forward. In the next instant, she was standing before Zhu Youning.

Then she placed her hand on his wrist.

Zhu Youning was somewhat tense, afraid that Meng Po might suddenly attack him, but what he feared never came to pass.

After a long while, Meng Po sighed.

"Your Highness's injuries are severe. You'll need to rest and recuperate. However..."

"However what?" Zhu Youning asked, putting on an anxious tone.

Meng Po hesitated before finally saying, "Your Highness's injuries have damaged your bones and sinews. Even if you recover, you shouldn't exert yourself too strenuously in the future."

"You mean I'll have a hard time returning to the battlefield?!" Zhu Youning slammed his fist down on the table.

The table's HP -1!

He was doing it on purpose, putting on a show for Meng Po.

There was only one reason: to show his weakness to the enemy.

Though Meng Po appeared loyal to the Great Liang dynasty and served as the Xuanming Cult's second-in-command, she had another identity, hidden from the world.

She was Tianyou Star, one of the Thirty-Six Tiangang Captains of the Buliangren.

In truth, she was Buliang Commander's spy planted in the Xuanming Cult, and an enemy of the Great Liang dynasty.

Zhu Youning naturally had to be wary of his enemies.

"Your Highness, don't lose heart. You must stay calm." Meng Po didn't seem especially surprised by Zhu Youning's reaction.

After all, Zhu Youning was the Commander of the Left and Right Longxiang Army of Liang State. He held command over one of Great Liang's six armies, with tens of thousands of troops at his disposal. He had been invincible in attack and victorious in every battle, a mighty figure. Now he had suddenly become a sickly man who couldn't even truss a chicken. How could he not be shaken?

So she spoke earnestly: "This old woman will search for the right medicine and do everything she can to help Your Highness."

Zhu Youning sighed and cupped his hands. "Then I thank the venerable Meng Po."

"It is this old woman's honor to serve Your Highness."

Meng Po humbly shook her head. Then, as though by chance—or perhaps deliberately—she said, "As the only surviving bloodline of Prince Lang's line, Your Highness must take good care of your health!"

Prince Lang was the title of Zhu Cun, the father of the man whose body Zhu Youning now inhabited. Zhu Cun and Zhu Youning's elder brother, Zhu Youlun, were both dead. Zhu Youlun, in fact, had died at the hands of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang.

So when Zhu Youning heard those words, he felt that Meng Po was hinting at something. Considering her true identity, they left him with an inexplicable sense of danger.