If the poor don't take risks, they'll stay poor for life

"Hahahaha..."

A strange burst of laughter rang out in unison from behind the millstone.

The four of them stared wide-eyed at one another. None of them had expected such a mysterious gathering.

This was embarrassment's mother opening the door for embarrassment—embarrassment had come all the way home.

After a while.

Mo Chen, with his thicker skin, was the first to break the awkward silence. "Brother Li, Brother Shi, how about we all stop pretending and go take a look together?"

Little Five hurriedly nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. We all want to learn martial arts anyway, so why not climb the wall together? We can discuss it with each other too."

Li Dazhuang and Shi Yong exchanged a glance, their faces red with embarrassment. They nodded awkwardly. "That works..."

Then the four of them acted at once, running straight for the courtyard wall and climbing up.

In the neighboring courtyard.

Hong Tieniu stood in a horse stance with his eyes closed, his brow faintly furrowing.

"Strange! Why do I keep feeling like I'm not wearing clothes while practicing my stance today?"

He opened his eyes and looked over his clothes from top to bottom.

He was clearly dressed properly, yet he kept feeling as if people were watching him, like thorns prickling at his back.

"Forget it! I won't practice tonight. Martial arts can't be rushed. I'd better make a patrol first."

After muttering to himself, Hong Tieniu went over, picked up his saber, and left to patrol.

On the wall, Mo Chen and the other three exchanged a look and slipped down in perfect unspoken understanding.

"That guard definitely won't be practicing tonight. Let's go!"

Li Dazhuang called out, and Mo Chen and the others nodded and followed.

The four of them filed after one another, hunched over as they returned to the Chore Servant Courtyard to sleep.

As for whether the other three could actually fall asleep, Mo Chen had no idea.

He only knew that he had achieved his goal and gained the beginner-level Fierce Tiger Fist.

The corner of his mouth curled up, and he slept especially sweetly that night.

"Get up! Get up!"

The fourth quarter of the Tiger Hour.

Another busy day was about to begin.

This time, Mo Chen did not wait for Little Five to call him. He rolled over and sprang off the bed.

Unlike his usual groggy, lifeless self.

Mo Chen was especially energetic today, as if his whole body were filled with inexhaustible strength.

"Entering the Fierce Tiger Fist didn't just increase my strength and muscles. Even my spirits have improved!"

Bright-eyed and smiling, Mo Chen picked up his axe and headed for the woodshed.

Little Five, meanwhile, yawned nonstop beside him.

"Oh, mother of mercy, I'm exhausted!"

"Brother Mo, how are you so energetic?"

Mo Chen smiled. "I slept pretty well last night, so naturally I'm in better spirits."

"I'm so jealous of you!" Little Five sighed with a miserable face, going to work as though he were going to a funeral.

At the woodshed.

Li Dazhuang and Shi Yong were yawning one after another as well, with heavy dark circles under their eyes. After chopping only three bundles of firewood, they had already yawned more than a dozen times.

"Damn it, after getting back last night, I couldn't sleep all night."

"Me too. I kept thinking about learning martial arts."

"I can't go tonight. My body can't take it. I've thought it through too—I'm already this old. I passed the age for learning martial arts long ago..."

Li Dazhuang shook his head and sighed.

Shi Yong gave a bitter smile as well. "True. We're too old. We can't compare to young people anymore."

In Great Mystic, men were considered adults at sixteen.

After turning sixteen, they could marry and have children, become officials, or join the army.

Li Dazhuang and Shi Yong were both over thirty-five. In Great Mystic, where the average lifespan was only fifty or sixty years, they truly were no longer young.

"Mo Chen, you're looking pretty lively."

Seeing Mo Chen chopping firewood vigorously, Shi Yong could not help saying enviously.

Mo Chen stopped his axe and deliberately wiped away sweat as though he were out of breath. "Brother Shi, I'm not like you two, with enough energy to let your minds run wild. I dropped straight into bed when I got back yesterday. Where would I get the energy or strength to think about anything else?"

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As he spoke, Mo Chen brought his axe down and split the firewood before him in two.

Shi Yong and Li Dazhuang watched his movements and shook their heads helplessly at the same time.

"Indeed. Learning martial arts isn't so easy."

By evening.

Mo Chen quietly climbed onto the wall again.

Li Dazhuang and the others had already given up on learning martial arts, so he was the only one who came tonight.

This time, the person next door had changed. It was no longer yesterday's Hong Tieniu, but a lean, wiry guard.

The man moved through the courtyard like a snake, his movements balancing hardness and softness, though softness took the lead and concealed hardness within it.

His footwork was nimble and ever-changing, while the flashes of his hands were swift, precise, and ruthless, striking straight at vital points.

As he exerted force, hissing sounds came from his mouth. Using sound to bolster his momentum, he was like a great snake coiled in the courtyard.

The crickets and rats in the corner trembled in fear, not daring to make a single sound.

"Is that the Snake-Form Palm Technique?"

Mo Chen watched the man's circling steps and snake-shaped palms, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

The Snake-Form Palm Technique emphasized a relaxed, supple upper body and agile lower limbs.

Its movements were infused throughout with the words "soft" and "fast."

After the lean guard performed the Snake-Form Palm Technique twice, he suddenly brought over a cage, set it in front of himself, and lit an oil lamp.

Mo Chen looked over in surprise. Inside the cage was a white snake as thick as a thumb.

"Hisss—"

The white snake immediately became alert upon seeing someone. Its body curved, its head rose high, and its red forked tongue flickered endlessly from its mouth, never leaving the lean guard's position.

"Very good! Whether my White Snake Nine Transformations Palm can break through to mastery depends on you!"

The lean guard gave a sinister smile and began imitating the white snake's movements.

Watching this, a flash of understanding suddenly crossed Mo Chen's mind.

"So martial arts practice can draw inspiration from the movements of beasts..."

He thought of Cloud Deer Mountain.

Every afternoon, they had to go up Cloud Deer Mountain to gather firewood.

It was said that wild beasts were not scarce in Cloud Deer Mountain. It was only that the hunters had wiped out the beasts around its outskirts, which was why they rarely encountered any.

"If that's the case, can I also find some wild beasts to imitate?"

His Fierce Tiger Fist had only just entered the beginner level.

Catching a tiger to imitate was obviously unrealistic.

But he could venture into the deep mountains to search. Once he found tigers and snakes, he could observe them closely, study them, and imitate them.

In the pitch-black night.

Mo Chen calmly watched the lean guard secretly as he imitated the white snake.

By the light of the oil lamp, Mo Chen secretly copied the white snake's movements as well, yet he could never grasp their essence.

Only half an hour later, after the lean guard performed the White Snake Nine Transformations Palm once more, did Mo Chen stop watching and return to the Chore Servant Courtyard to sleep.

[Martial Art: Fierce Tiger Fist (Beginner)]

[White Snake Nine Transformations Palm (Not Yet Begun)]

Lying in bed.

Mo Chen opened the system panel.

Sure enough, the White Snake Nine Transformations Palm had appeared on the panel.

Mo Chen's heart remained completely calm. With both hands tucked beneath his head, he stared at the ceiling and let his thoughts wander.

"Yesterday I learned the Fierce Tiger Fist, and today I learned the White Snake Nine Transformations Palm. Unfortunately, I only have two qian left in my pocket. It isn't nearly enough to exchange for martial arts cultivation progress."

His most urgent task was to make money—a great deal of money.

But Li Dazhuang and Shi Yong watched him every day, making it hard for him to leave their sight.

After thinking it over and over, Mo Chen felt that he could not just sit and wait for death. He had to take the initiative.

He did not understand many principles, but as a transmigrator, there was one principle he understood very clearly.

If the rich did not take risks, they would remain rich for life.

But if the poor did not take risks, they would remain poor for life.

So, Mo Chen decided to take risks.

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