Chapter 1

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, blazing like fire.

In the height of midsummer, the azure sky was devoid of a single cloud. The fiery sun roasted the earth; the river water was scalding to the touch, the soil in the fields steamed, and all the trees stood listlessly, looking wilted and lazy.

At this moment, a youth of seventeen or eighteen, standing seven feet tall—roughly over 1.8 meters in this world—with a sturdy build and tanned skin, was working under the blistering sun. As he vigorously hoed the parched clods of earth, he complained:

"Hoeing under the midday sun, sweat drips into the soil."

"Who knows that the food on the plate, every grain is hard-earned."

"Damn it! I finally understand the true meaning of these four lines!"

"When others are reborn, they're either young masters or princes, served by others and loved by all! And I, damn it, am a farmer, hoeing the fields every day, and I've even been saddled with the name Li Dazhuang."

There's an old man at home bedridden, and a younger brother who thinks only of passing imperial exams, ignoring everything and dumping all the burdens on me. The previous host worked himself to death from overexertion and lack of nutrition.

My original name was Li Changfeng. I was an armed police officer who sacrificed my life saving a teammate during a shootout with drug traffickers at the border. I had no parents, no partner, just a squad of good comrades.

To me, the armed police squadron was my home. Dying left me with no worries, but being reborn into a farming family and inexplicably shouldering the heavy burden of a household is truly bitter beyond words.

If not for my background as an armed policeman, my strong will, and my spirit of serving the people, I would have truly wanted to just walk away and ignore these vexing matters.

"Sigh! I can only work hard. I can't bring myself to just walk away. Still half a mu of land left. Keep it up, kid."

"Ouch! Ouch! Poverty is the devil! Grit your teeth and push through!" Li Changfeng hummed a ditty while laboriously finishing the remaining half-mu of land...

Evening.

Li Changfeng finally finished all the plowing. He gulped down a large bag of water and lay on the soft straw to rest for a moment, then grumbled:

"Damn it all, this farm work is more exhausting than my military training back in the day. Tired like a dog every single day—how is one supposed to live like this? Just thinking about it is annoying!"

"Sigh! Let's go, time to go home and eat!" After a day of work, his stomach was pressed against his spine from hunger.

Li Changfeng then shouldered his hoe and walked slowly toward home.

Upon returning to Li Family Village, Li Changfeng suddenly saw five thugs beating up a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy. The boy was being beaten until he cried out for his father and mother:

"Stop hitting me! Stop it! I won't steal from Gold Master again. I'll tell my brother to pay back the money I owe Gold Master, go find him, don't look for me anymore!"

One of the thugs sneered, "With a vegetable-peddling brother like yours, how much money could he have? Probably not even enough to fill the gaps in his teeth. It's much more satisfying to give you a good beating, heh heh!" The thug clenched his fists, preparing to continue the assault.

"No!... Don't!... the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy pleaded."

Li Changfeng, who had been watching from the sidelines, walked over leisurely and said slowly, "That's enough! You've beaten him enough, and you've taken back what was stolen. Call it a day."

Seeing someone intervene, the boy immediately ran to hide behind Li Changfeng and whispered, "Brother! Why did you only show up now? I was almost beaten to death. You handle them, I'm leaving first."

"Heh."

Seeing the bruised and swollen boy, he suddenly felt it was laughable. He was as selfish as ever, good for nothing, a degenerate gambler who only cared about himself and never considered the situation of others.

This was the reason he had been watching from the sidelines; he had long since lost all hope for this family. If not for the sake of his cheap father, he would have left long ago.

"Yo! A mere vegetable-peddling brat, trying to play the peacemaker? You must be tired of living!" a muscular thug said cruelly, clenching his fists.

"I've made my point clear. Whether you accept it or not is one thing, but if you want to fight, I'll keep you company," Li Changfeng said calmly.

"Heh! This brat is arrogant. Big Brother, I can't take it, I'm going first!" said the short thug, Lai Li Tou, who was standing beside the leader.

The thug rushed forward, intending to smash a fist into Li Changfeng's head. Seeing this, Li Changfeng sneered and reached out, pressing a hand firmly onto the thug's head.

The thug flailed his hands and feet, trying to strike Li Changfeng, but he couldn't reach. The thug was only five or six feet tall, while Li Changfeng stood seven feet tall; it was like an adult fighting a child.

Don't let Li Changfeng's lean build fool you; he worked the fields every day and was packed with solid muscle. His strength was far greater than one would imagine, and certainly not something this short thug could compare to.

Li Changfeng smiled slightly, "Shorty! Had enough? Now it's my turn!"

"Eat shit!"

Li Changfeng cursed and delivered a full-force kick. With a loud "bang," the thug was sent flying several meters away. He curled into a ball on the ground, unable to even scream, rolling in agony.

"Damn it! This brat has some tricks. Brothers, all together now!" the muscular thug leader shouted.

Instantly, the four remaining thugs rushed forward to gang up on Li Changfeng. One of them, a thug with a scabby head, threw a straight punch aimed directly at Li Changfeng's face. Li Changfeng narrowed his eyes, caught the incoming fist with one hand, and executed a shoulder throw, slamming him into the ground.

"Bang!"

A sound of flesh hitting the earth echoed, and dust billowed up from the ground.

"Ouch!"

The scabby-headed thug shrieked, his whole body feeling as if it had been smashed to pieces. His limbs went numb, and his internal organs felt displaced.

Li Changfeng then grabbed the thug's hand and twisted it. With a "crack," the bone snapped instantly.

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"

"My hand! My hand!"

The thug clutched his broken hand and screamed desperately.

The other three thugs were startled and didn't dare to step forward. Li Changfeng knew he couldn't hold back; when surrounded by four people, he had to use thunderous force to incapacitate them.

Otherwise, if they caught their breath and attacked again, it would be troublesome. Two fists couldn't fight four hands, so he had to be decisive and strip them of their ability to fight.

The battlefield fell silent. No one dared to make a move. Li Changfeng looked at the three of them coldly, standing perfectly still, trying to suppress them with his presence and force them to retreat.

"Heh! Interesting. You think you can make us retreat with just this bit of strength? Don't be stupid! I've been through countless fights, you think you can scare me off like this?"

"What a joke!"

"Brothers, let's all attack together! He's only one man and can't possibly take on the three of us at once. He's a dead man!" the thug leader sneered.

Seeing that his intimidation hadn't worked, Li Changfeng thought with a bitter smile, I have no choice but to strike first!

With that thought, Li Changfeng moved immediately. In two or three strides, he rushed toward a dark-faced thug and unleashed a combination of Sanda strikes, starting with a left-right straight punch combo aimed directly at the man's face.

He followed up with a swing, then stepped back to gather momentum for a hook, connected with a horizontal elbow strike, and finished with a spinning back kick.

The dark-faced thug was treated like a punching bag. After that barrage of attacks, he was left completely dazed and reduced to a heap, collapsing to the ground unconscious.

"Damn it! This brat actually dares to strike first! Get him!"

The long-haired thug charged forward and threw a kick. Li Changfeng easily dodged to the right, then prepared to land a powerful right hook. Suddenly, a fist the size of a sandbag came smashing toward his face, forcing Li Changfeng to cross his arms over his head to block the blow.

"Bang!"

Li Changfeng was sent stumbling back by the heavy impact. He shook his numbing arm to ease the sensation and watched the thug leader cautiously, thinking, This leader really has some skill; his strength is astonishing. But he's all brawn and no brain. Despite his power, he has no follow-up combos after a full-force punch. I just need to take out his lackey first, then figure out how to deal with him.

Li Changfeng dashed at full speed toward the long-haired thug, deciding to pick off the weakest link first.

Seeing this, the long-haired thug flew into a rage. "Damn it! You really think I'm a pushover? Watch how I crush you, you little bastard! Die!"

The long-haired thug charged at Li Changfeng in a fury and threw a punch. Li Changfeng gave a contemptuous smile. "Perfect!"

He ducked low to dodge the heavy blow, wrapped his arms around the long-haired thug's waist, shifted his weight, and executed a high-lifting back suplex.

"Bang!"

A sound of a head striking the earth echoed out. A crater formed in the ground as the long-haired thug's head was embedded into the dirt, leaving him sprawled limbs-up and unconscious. Li Changfeng had taken him out in one move!

"What a bunch of idiots! Knowing this brat has some tricks up his sleeve, you still charge in like fools. And you, kid—don't think that just because you took out these pieces of trash, you can handle me," the thug leader roared.

"Heh! Enough talk. Let's see what you've got," Li Changfeng said calmly.

The thug leader's expression darkened, and he attacked with a roar, his sandbag-sized fist flying toward Li Changfeng's face. Li Changfeng crossed his arms in front of his chest and ducked low.

He leaned to the left to dodge the strike. When the thug leader saw he had missed, he threw another punch, but Li Changfeng leaned to the right to dodge again.

"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"

"I don't believe I can't hit you!"

The thug leader swung wildly, throwing punches with all his might. After dodging several blows, Li Changfeng spotted an opening. He gathered his strength for a right hook to the gut, followed by a right swing to the head. Taking both hits, the thug leader retaliated with a punch of his own.

Li Changfeng was knocked to the ground. He quickly rolled twice to put distance between them, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and watched the leader cautiously, thinking, This big guy is too strong, and his body is too sturdy. Ordinary attacks won't faze him. There's too much of a weight gap between us. It looks like I'll have to use grappling to take him down.

"You little bastard! How's that? Did you enjoy that punch from your big brother? Hahaha!" the thug leader laughed loudly.

Ignoring the taunts, Li Changfeng attacked directly. He threw everything he had into a combination, but the thug leader took the blows head-on.

The leader managed to land several heavy hits on Li Changfeng, but Li endured the pain, circled behind him, jumped onto his back, and locked him in a triangle choke.

The thug leader's throat was constricted. He struggled desperately but couldn't break free, his face turning bright red as he found himself helpless.

Seeing that the time was right, Li Changfeng whispered into the thug leader's ear, "If you surrender and stop fighting, just tap my hand, and I'll let you go!"

The thug leader hurriedly tapped Li Changfeng's hand. Seeing this, Li Changfeng released him. The thug leader let out a sigh of relief, gasping for air on the ground, and said slowly:

"I give up! Where on earth did a kid like you learn such techniques? You're actually this formidable."