Martial Arts Modifier

Gray Mist Forest, Earthhead Village.

A three-meter wall had been built around the village. Beyond it, gray mist billowed and shrouded the view; as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but dense fog.

The stone gate at the village entrance stood wide open. A four-cornered incense burner sat beneath it, three sticks of human-blood incense giving off pale-red wisps of smoke. The smoke gathered without dispersing, shooting straight into the thick fog like ropes before vanishing from sight.

The villagers thronged together, craning their necks toward the misty forest outside. Some young and middle-aged men dressed entirely in black stood in two rows, each gripping a hemp rope as thick as a wrist, waiting solemnly.

Three hours had passed...

At the front of the left row, Chu He, dressed in black with an immature face, stared at the eerie thick fog ten meters away and furrowed his brow.

He had been transported into this world for a month already.

At first, he had thought he had arrived in ancient times. But as time passed, Chu He increasingly realized just how ridiculously wrong he had been.

Take this monthly expedition beyond the village... the danger was not the mist, but the demons, monsters, and strange horrors lurking within it.

"Not good! One stick of human-blood incense has gone out!"

The gray-haired village chief rushed to the incense burner in a few long strides, his eyes widening as he stared at the extinguished incense stick on the left.

"It's Uncle Li Si's second son!"

"What happened? Wasn't everything fine before?"

"Who knows? Maybe he ran into something strange!"

The crowd erupted in alarmed cries, whispering anxiously among themselves. Uncle Li Si's family, in particular, wept until they were inconsolable.

The extinguishing of human-blood incense meant that person was already dead.

But at that moment, the first incense stick on the right also dimmed, its ember fading as it silently went out.

The villagers' chatter and weeping abruptly fell silent.

"Pull! Hurry and close the stone gate!!"

A rough, hoarse voice exploded beside Chu He's ear.

A burly old man appeared beside the village chief. His expression was stern, his eyes narrowed as he spoke in an unquestionable tone.

At his command, everyone pulled together. The thick hemp ropes stretched taut, and the heavy solid-wood stone gate slowly began closing toward the middle.

"No, we can't close it! Zhang Li hasn't returned yet. If you close the gate now, aren't you cutting off his way back?"

The village chief's white beard trembled as he tried to stop them.

"There's no time."

Hong Shou turned to the village chief. "From our village to Plow Village and back is only a three-hour journey, yet Li Zhu and Liu Tie's human-blood incense went out during that time. That is enough to show that the place where they encountered something strange wasn't far from the village! You know very well whose hunting ground this is. We can't drag the whole village into danger because of one person!"

The village chief opened his mouth, but had no words to offer.

Seeing this, Hong Shou roared at the stunned crowd, "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and close the gate!"

"Yes, Master."

The men in black answered.

The burly old man before them was the head of the village orphanage, as well as a martial artist of considerable strength. Any children whose families had been destroyed by strange horrors would be sent to him for adoption.

Hong Shou taught these children martial arts while they were young. Once they grew up, they took on the duty of protecting the village.

Over time, Hong Shou and the orphans came to address one another as master and disciples, and Chu He happened to be one of them.

Ignoring the stinging pain from the hemp rope scraping against his palms, Chu He leaned back, his feet plowing furrows through the ground as he desperately hauled on the rope.

Just as the gate before him was about to shut, the thick fog suddenly churned. A blood-covered figure crashed through the wall of mist and sprinted desperately toward the gate, screaming himself hoarse.

"Open the gate! Hurry, open the gate! The monster behind me is coming!"

At those words, the villagers' faces changed drastically. They scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing several meters away from the stone gate.

Hong Shou's expression turned grave. His left hand silently settled on the hilt of the blade at his waist as, through the crack in the gate, he saw Zhang Li stumbling and crawling forward.

Seeing the red wisps of smoke still coiling around Zhang Li's waist, he exchanged a glance with the village chief. They nodded in tacit understanding.

"Open the stone gate a little and let Zhang Li in."

The gate was pushed outward slightly. Zhang Li happened to reach it then, and the instant he squeezed through the village entrance, everyone pulled the ropes again. The gate slammed shut in the blink of an eye.

Chu He felt something. In that instant before it closed, his gaze passed through the gap and caught sight of a woman's skin flying out from the mist, floating lightly like a paper kite.

What was that!?

A monster from the mist?

Or one of the strange horrors from the legends?

It was Chu He's first time seeing something so bizarre, something that defied all reason. He froze where he stood, his mind thrown into chaos.

Zhang Li's face was deathly pale. After entering the stone gate, he could no longer hold himself up. His legs gave out, and he toppled straight down.

Chu He instinctively stepped forward to catch him, but the instant he touched Zhang Li's wrist, an uncanny chill pierced his palm and made him shudder. He could not help pulling his hand back.

"Ding-dong! Special energy detected. Martial Arts Modifier activated. Absorbing strange energy. Energy +1!"

A cold electronic synthesized voice suddenly appeared in Chu He's mind. Even as he wondered if he had misheard it, shock surged through him.

Wasn't this modifier the cheat program he had made for a game in his previous life? How had it come with him to this world?

The next moment, a simple blue information panel appeared before Chu He. It moved with his field of vision, as though it had been etched onto his retina. Only a few lines of information were displayed on it.

[Chu He]

[Martial Art: Golden Bell Shield (Beginner) ↑]

[Energy: 1]

"What are you standing there for? Save him!"

Liu Ci, one of his senior brothers, saw that Chu He had not only failed to help but had even pulled his hand back. He immediately shot Chu He a displeased look.

"Oh... right, right, right..."

Chu He came back to his senses. His expression remained perfectly normal, and though he agreed aloud, his feet instead took several steps backward.

Whether the modifier was real or not could wait. But he had heard that phrase, "strange energy," loud and clear. Why would he rush to help?

The others around them lifted Zhang Li from the ground. Unlike Chu He, they had not felt that bone-chilling cold. Ignoring Chu He's odd behavior, they supported Zhang Li and headed toward Hong Shou.

"What happened after you left? How is Plow Village?" Hong Shou stuffed a handful of medicine into Zhang Li's mouth and asked.

As the medicine took effect, some color returned to his gaunt, pale cheeks. Zhang Li swept his gaze over the villagers gathered around him. Recalling his harrowing experience, he cried out mournfully, "Plow Village... everyone in Plow Village is dead! Even the Land God Temple was razed to the ground!"

"What!?"

The village chief and Hong Shou exchanged shocked looks.

Plow Village was a village closer to Black River Town. Both its population and defensive strength surpassed those of Earthhead Village.

It had been wiped out without a sound?

The other villagers were likewise stunned by the news, an indescribable terror spreading through their hearts.

Noisy, heated discussions erupted like a rainstorm.

"Let's go back first."

The village chief sensed the shift in atmosphere and immediately spoke up.

"That's right, let's head back first. Zhang Li is in terrible condition and needs treatment at once. Everyone, disperse for now."

Hong Shou instantly understood the village chief's intent. Cutting off everyone's wild speculation, he did not forget to reassure them. "Plow Village is far from us, so there's no need for everyone to worry too much. As for Li Zhu and Liu Tie, the village will provide compensation later. Their families will not be treated unfairly."

As one of the most influential people in the village, Hong Shou's words carried even more weight than the village chief's. No matter how uneasy the villagers remained, they could only disperse one by one.

Chu He belonged to Hong Shou's side, so he naturally followed Hong Shou and the others as they took Zhang Li toward the martial arts training courtyard.

But as they walked, Chu He noticed that at some point, a huge lump had risen on the back of Zhang Li's head. Through the stretched, translucent skin, he could vaguely see pus and blood swirling inside.

The next moment...

"Pfft!"

The blood-filled lump burst. A cloudy eyeball bored out from the back of Zhang Li's head, then stared fixedly at Chu He, glowing red.

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