Character Interface

Wan City, Nanyang Prefecture, Great Jin Dynasty.

On Ximen Street, the bluestone road stretched out straight, leading directly to the West Gate.

In front of a magnificently constructed mansion, two giant stone lions stood in stone basins on either side, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws with a ferociously imposing air.

The mansion's vermilion gates were studded with brass nails the size of teacups that glinted in the light. On the plaque above the gate, the two characters for "Liang Mansion" were written in gold lacquer, the strokes as sharp as iron hooks and silver needles, possessing an extraordinary vigor.

Deep within the residence, on a raised stage, two youths of about fifteen or sixteen years of age were locked in fierce combat with weapons in hand.

In a corner not far from the stage, a few servants gathered together, whispering to one another as they watched the battle.

"It looks like the Second Young Master is going to win this one too. He's already won five matches in a row. Getting into the final round should be no problem, and he might even break into the top three."

"Mhm, I'm betting on the Second Young Master too. His internal energy cultivation has reached the seventh rank of the Martial Path, and his martial skills are practiced to perfection. Among our Liang family's younger generation, he should have no trouble ranking in the top three."

"True, the Second Young Master's strength is enough for the top three. Besides him, the Sixth and Seventh Young Masters should also be among the top. It's just a pity about the Fourth Young Master."

At the mention of the Fourth Young Master, the servants present fell silent. Various expressions appeared on their faces; some sighed for him, some gloated, and others remained indifferent.

After a moment, someone whispered, "Sigh, it's all fate! With the Fourth Young Master's strength, if he had participated in the Grand Competition, he definitely would have taken first place. Who could have foreseen that on the eve of the competition, while sparring with the Ninth Elder, he would be accidentally struck and severely injured, missing the event entirely?"

"It is indeed a great pity. Come to think of it, the Fourth Young Master was always very polite to us servants. Who would have thought he'd suffer such a sudden misfortune? I heard this Grand Competition was linked to the entrance qualifications for the Floating Cloud Pavilion. What a shame..."

Just then, a sturdily built youth wearing a long cyan robe, his face deathly pale, walked slowly toward them.

"Shh! Quiet! The Fourth Young Master is here!" Seeing him, the servants immediately stopped their discussion.

"Greetings, Fourth Young Master!"

"Mhm." The youth nodded slightly, then cast his gaze toward the stage. As he watched the battle, he murmured to himself, I never expected that something like transmigration would actually happen to me.

He had been a fresh college graduate. While playing a newly launched web game, he felt sleepy and prepared to rest his head on the desk, but he never expected his vision to go black. When he came to, he was in this world, and three days had already passed.

Over these three days, he had absorbed and integrated the fragments of memory left behind by this body, gradually organizing information regarding his current situation.

In this life, he was named Liang Bo, sixteen years old, a descendant of the Liang family, one of the three great clans of Wan City. His parents had long since passed away.

Although he lived in a prominent family like the Liang clan, he never lacked for daily necessities, yet he was treated with cold indifference in every other aspect, receiving far less than other family members.

Fortunately, the original owner of this body had been diligent, and with his own good natural talent for cultivation, he had already broken through to the peak of the seventh rank of the Martial Path by the age of sixteen, just one step away from the sixth rank. This speed of cultivation was rare even in a large family like the Liang clan; at the very least, few among the younger generation could compare to him.

As a family built upon martial arts, the Liang clan held a Grand Competition every year to encourage their youths to train hard. Those who reached the top three received heavy rewards and were recommended by the family, gaining the qualification to enter the Floating Cloud Pavilion, a top-tier sect of the current age, to continue their training.

With Liang Bo's strength, he had originally been highly likely to place in the top three, or even take first place. However, on the eve of the family competition, while sparring with his clansman Liang Cheng, he was "accidentally" struck and severely injured by the man, eventually losing his life and being replaced by the current Liang Bo.

As he pondered this, a maid wearing her hair in twin buns came trotting over from a distance, clutching a thick outer robe. She handed it to him and whispered, "Young Master, you have just recovered from a serious injury and need to rest well. Why are you running out so casually? Hurry back and rest!"

Hearing this slightly reproachful urging, Liang Bo turned his head to look at her. With her delicate face, dark and bright eyes, and small green cotton dress, she could not be called a beauty, yet she was the person closest to Liang Bo since he arrived in this world.

This maid was named Xiao Qing. She had been bought for him by his mother while she was still alive. She was two years his junior and had been with him since childhood for many years. After Liang Bo transmigrated, she had been the one to care for him attentively while he was severely injured, allowing him to gradually recover.

He smiled and said, "It's fine. My injuries have mostly healed. Lying in bed all the time makes me want to come out for a walk."

Xiao Qing hesitated, but insisted, "But Mr. Cheng said yesterday that you still need to rest more."

The girl's eyes were clear and bright, her features still somewhat youthful. Don't let her age fool you; she could be very stubborn in some respects.

Unable to refuse, Liang Bo could only offer a wry smile and turn toward his room, with Xiao Qing hurrying to catch up.

"Young Master, the Ninth Elder came by again just now. He sent some medicinal herbs for you. I took a look, and they are all the most precious kinds, worth at least a dozen taels of silver."

"Ninth Uncle? Did he say anything?" Liang Bo frowned and asked.

"No, he just told you to rest well and strive for a speedy recovery."

Liang Bo remained silent for a moment before asking, "Xiao Qing, what kind of person do you think this Ninth Uncle is?"

"Young Master, why are you asking that?"

"It's nothing, just a casual question. Don't overthink it, just tell me what you think."

Xiao Qing thought for a moment and said, "I think this Ninth Elder is a decent person. Even though he accidentally injured you, he has come by almost every day these past few days to show his concern, ask about your injuries, and bring the best herbs. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have recovered so quickly."

"Is that so?" Liang Bo replied noncommittally, though he sneered inwardly.

To others, his Ninth Uncle seemed to have truly "accidentally" injured him, but Liang Bo would never believe that.

One had to know that the Liang family's annual Grand Competition was directly related to one's ability to enter the Floating Cloud Pavilion, and only youths under eighteen were eligible to participate.

Liang Bo had been highly expected to take first place among the younger generation, yet his clansman had not struck him too early or too late, but precisely on the eve of the competition—causing him to miss it due to severe injury. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed deliberate, meant to eliminate a competitor for someone else before the competition began.

It was just difficult to determine for the time being who had instigated Liang Cheng to do such a thing.

Back in his room, Liang Bo temporarily pushed the thought of tracking down the culprit to the back of his mind and began to consider his future plans.

This world esteemed martial arts above all else; only those with great strength would be respected and hold high positions. If one lacked strength, even with a prominent identity, it was difficult to earn the respect of others.

Therefore, diligent martial training was his only way out and would be his sole pursuit in this life.

However, learning martial arts always required the guidance of a master. The Liang family was merely a local clan with a small scope and lacked high-level martial arts. To pursue the peak of the Martial Path, staying in the Liang family would not suffice; he had to enter those prestigious sects.

Originally, with Liang Bo's strength, he had a good chance of winning the Grand Competition and successfully joining the Floating Cloud Pavilion. But since he had missed it, his only path to joining a prestigious sect was to participate in the Martial Academy Grand Competition organized by the government and the major sects at the end of the year.

This Martial Academy Grand Competition was like the college entrance exam of this world. All youths under eighteen could sign up. If one could achieve excellent results in the competition, they could be admitted into prestigious sects or join the government's martial institutions.

However, compared to the "guaranteed" nature of the family competition, the scale of the Martial Academy Grand Competition was much larger. It was not just the Liang family disciples participating, but young martial artists from the entire Nanyang Prefecture. Even with Liang Bo's strength, he had no guarantee of achieving good results or entering a major power like the Floating Cloud Pavilion.

Just then, his body suddenly stiffened, and a string of text appeared in his mind.

"This, this is..." Once Liang Bo saw the content of the text, his jaw dropped in shock.

What appeared before his eyes was the character interface from the web game he had played before transmigrating, which read:

Liang Bo—

[Cultivation]: Seventh Rank of the Martial Path

[Techniques]: Baoyuan Energy 3/10

[Martial Skills]: Purple Lightning Blade 4/20, Cloud Piercing Palm 3/10, Heavenly Wind Wishful Steps 2/10, Dragon-Elephant Blade Technique 2/10, Mysterious Void Blade Technique 2/10, Lion Wrestling Hand 2/10, Gale Blade Technique 2/10, Shadowless Fist 1/10, Nine-Curve Blade Technique 1/10...

[Skill Points]: 0

Liang Bo's eyes went blank for an instant, but he quickly regained his senses, and his entire being was swept up in excitement.

"Great! Is this my golden finger?"

He looked at his various stats, his heart filled with exhilaration, but then he began to smile wryly.

"This guy, the martial skills he practiced are so messy. He actually practiced over twenty different skills, but unfortunately, not a single one reached a profound level; they are basically all at the introductory stage. Does this guy not understand the principle that 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'?"

In Liang Bo's view, practicing so many martial arts only to have them all remain at a superficial level was not as good as practicing just one to perfection.

Of course, he also knew that martial arts were easy to learn but difficult to master. Reaching the introductory level was not hard; each skill took only a few months to grasp initially. But reaching a profound level required years, or even decades.

The original owner of this body obviously wanted to learn more skills to have more means of responding to enemies, thereby increasing his combat effectiveness in the short term. Such thinking wasn't necessarily wrong, but it didn't align with Liang Bo's philosophy.

He blinked, discovering a small red symbol behind the character interface, shaped like a gear. It was so tiny that one would not notice it without careful observation.

Liang Bo focused his attention on the gear symbol, and a piece of information appeared in his mind:

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