I Want to Learn Martial Arts

The sky gradually darkened.

Inside the storeroom of the Datong Trading House.

Chen Fan, dressed in hemp clothes, put down the abacus and writing brush in his hands, yawned, and stretched.

His whole body crackled.

Looking out the window at the dusky sun and the gray-brown city walls in the distance, the handsome young man, who seemed only thirteen or fourteen, flashed a complicated expression in his eyes.

"It's been... half a year since I came here..."

He was a transmigrator.

The place he now found himself in was a feudal dynasty called the Great Gan Dynasty, not any ancient dynasty he remembered from his previous life.

Chen Fan only knew that this place was a small county called Flying Spirit County, under Yan Capital City in Clear River Commandery. He knew nothing else.

As his thoughts wandered, an old man pushed open the door and entered.

Chen Fan reined in his wild imaginings, but his gaze fixed on the cloth purse in the old man's hand.

The old man inspected the many account books and sheets of paper in front of Chen Fan, then nodded with satisfaction. "Little Chen, you've worked hard this month..."

As he spoke, he handed over a cloth purse.

"This is your monthly pay."

Chen Fan happily took the purse from the old man's hand.

"Thank you, Steward Hou."

"Keep up the good work." The old man stroked his beard and nodded kindly at him. He said nothing more and went straight out.

Only then did Chen Fan open the purse. He looked at the clinking copper coins and scattered bits of silver inside, and after confirming the amount was correct, carefully took out the silver and tucked it close to his body. Then he hung the purse from his waist.

A string of copper coins and two taels of silver.

The total came to three taels.

For someone from the commoner class like Chen Fan's predecessor, that was already a great deal of money.

It was enough to cover the meals of an ordinary family of five or six for quite some time!

Chen Fan hadn't been particularly well educated in his previous life, but he had still earned a bachelor's degree.

After transmigrating to this world, he knew far more than ordinary people.

It had taken him several months to learn most of the characters of this other world. Then, after considerable effort, he had finally found work as a bookkeeper!

This was his second month receiving his pay!

Remembering all the troubles he'd faced since transmigrating, the contempt he'd endured from others, and how Steward Hou had come to value him enough to pay him three taels a month, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel deeply moved, despite all the experience he'd brought from his previous life.

At the same time, he was even more certain of one thing.

No matter the world, the accumulation of knowledge was tremendously important!

Chen Fan walked along the broad avenue, carrying the vegetables and meat he'd just bought. His steps were quicker than usual.

The county where Chen Fan lived wasn't particularly prosperous, but its roads were quite wide.

The pedestrians along the roadside also made for a lively scene.

His nose twitched as he caught the aroma of wine drifting from the roadside, and he couldn't help stopping.

He glanced at the wine shop beside him, but didn't linger and left at once.

The Great Gan Dynasty's authorities strictly forbade private brewing.

As a result, wine was outrageously expensive—even more costly than meat!

In his memories, his predecessor had occasionally been able to eat meat, but he'd never seen his family buy wine.

Just then,

a string of unrestrained laughter suddenly rang out ahead. Chen Fan's ears twitched. He narrowed his eyes, stopped at once, and looked down the road.

Hooves thundered, and dust flew in every direction.

A squadron of galloping horses was racing toward them from afar.

At the head of the group, a dandy dressed in fine silks and splendid robes rode a white horse. He looked to be in his early twenties.

The raucous laughter came from him.

As the horses charged forward, cries of alarm rose one after another!

They were inside the county town. By rights, riders weren't allowed to rampage through the streets like this.

But rules were made to be broken, and anyone who dared ride recklessly through Flying Spirit County was no ordinary person.

Even from a distance, Chen Fan immediately knew this was someone he couldn't afford to provoke.

He reacted quickly and hurried to the roadside.

With his small frame, if a galloping horse trampled him, he might break a few ribs even if it didn't kill him.

The pedestrians on the road scattered in confusion, and the street erupted into a clamor.

A sharp gasp suddenly reached Chen Fan's ears.

"Look at that man!"

Chen Fan froze.

He shifted his gaze and saw a young man in white standing stock-still in the middle of the road, seemingly stunned. The galloping horses were about to crash into him.

Chen Fan's pupils shrank. He could almost see the gruesome scene of the young man being trampled and splattered with blood.

A strange feeling flickered through his heart. He immediately rushed out, intending to pull the young man to the roadside.

But before Chen Fan could even stretch out his arm,

the young man in white gave a light laugh, pushed off with both feet, and floated into the air, heading straight for the galloping horses.

Then he reached both hands forward and gently brought them down, pressing them with extraordinary precision against the face of the oncoming white horse.

In an instant, the leading white horse was struck as if by a bolt from the blue. Its front legs buckled, and it crashed to the ground.

The dandy on its back couldn't stop his forward momentum. He flew off the horse and tumbled several times, instantly covered in blood.

"Young master!"

The riders behind him reined in their horses one after another, then hurriedly jumped down.

Chen Fan, standing nearby, stared with his eyes wide open.

"This—"

He was completely stunned by the sight.

The young man in white drifted lightly to the ground. His robes fluttered, seemingly untouched by even a speck of dust.

This was far beyond what a human could do.

Watching the young man in white standing there with such easy grace, Chen Fan felt as if his entire worldview had shattered.

A person could actually reach such heights.

"Martial artist! That's a martial artist who's mastered his cultivation!"

Chen Fan soon heard the commotion among the bystanders.

Martial artists??

Chen Fan's heart stirred.

All kinds of thoughts flooded his mind.

This world didn't seem as simple as he'd imagined.

Could martial arts really be cultivated to such a level?

On the avenue,

the richly dressed young man was helped to his feet by his servants. His face was covered in blood, his mouth twitched, and he had already passed out.

From the discussion around him, Chen Fan quickly learned that the unconscious rich young master was the second young master of the He Clan's third generation.

Chen Fan's heart stirred again.

Although he hadn't been here long, he remembered hearing about this clan.

It seemed to be one of the major lineages in Flying Spirit County. Even the county's several large gangs had to bow their heads to the He Clan!

Then a black-clad man who looked like a steward stepped forward. He regarded the young man in white with deep apprehension. His eyes burned with anger, but he didn't dare act rashly. He merely clasped his hands and said, "May I ask which family you're the young master of? This matter concerns my He Clan..."

The young man in white swept a cold glance over them and shook his head. "I'm Li Linliu of the White Cloud Martial Academy. If you want revenge, you're welcome to try anytime."

At those words, the black-clad steward's eyes froze, and his expression changed at once.

He didn't dare say another word. It seemed he'd heard of Li Linliu's name. His eyes flickered as he signaled to the servants around him to retreat, clearly unwilling to provoke him.

These people weren't fools.

Li Linliu gave a disdainful sneer, then turned and glanced at Chen Fan, nodding to him.

Li Linliu had naturally noticed that among everyone in the street, only Chen Fan had reached out to help him, even if he hadn't actually managed to do anything.

Only then did Chen Fan get a clear look at Li Linliu's face.

His eyes were clear and bright, his features handsome, and his skin so pale it hardly seemed real.

Chen Fan's heart stirred.

This wasn't a young master at all. It was a beautiful young woman disguised as a man!

But Li Linliu merely nodded at Chen Fan, gave him a glance, and then walked away with light, graceful steps.

Chen Fan took a deep breath. It took quite a while for his pounding heart to settle!

His heart wasn't racing because Li Linliu was beautiful, but because a special door seemed to have opened before him!

In the few months since transmigrating, he had heard of martial artists, but he'd never taken the stories seriously. He'd assumed they were no different from the traditional martial arts of his previous life.

But after seeing Li Linliu effortlessly bring down a horse with his own eyes, and witnessing the He Clan's reaction, Chen Fan's heart burned with excitement.

"I want to learn martial arts too!"

A fierce longing surged within him, and from that moment on, he firmly committed the name White Cloud Martial Academy to memory.