The Run-Down Martial Hall

A chill wind howled, and withered trees cast ghostly shadows as two furtive figures appeared among the earthen mounds of varying sizes.

"Just dump him here. If wild dogs tear him apart and eat him, he can only blame his rotten luck."

"Pah, what a worthless bastard. Not a scrap of loot on him, and he calls himself a martial hall master."

"All right, all right. Just our bad luck. Let's get going. This damned place gives me the creeps."

The howling, chill wind swept the two figures swiftly away, leaving only a burlap sack behind.

After a while, as though unable to bear the biting wind any longer, something finally stirred inside the sack.

A slit opened in the burlap, and a figure shot out like a leaping fish.

He looked around at the desolate, bleak surroundings, with gusts of chill wind and barking dogs sounding in his ears from time to time.

Wu Yi froze for a moment, unease creeping over him.

Oh, hell. Where have I ended up? Am I even still in the country?

He vaguely remembered standing outside his own martial hall before his eyes closed. Some bastard had landed a heavy blow on the back of his head, and when he woke, he was in this godforsaken wilderness.

But thanks to that blow, he had finally remembered his previous life.

As an utterly ordinary, upstanding young man of the twenty-first century, he, too, had enjoyed the services of the Great Fortune Transmigration Wired Company.

Twenty years had passed since his transmigration, but only after someone clubbed him yesterday had his memories of his previous life fully awakened.

Hoo-hoo-hoo.

A strange bird called from somewhere, making Wu Yi shudder from head to toe.

Better get out of here first.

As that thought crossed Wu Yi's mind, his feet never stopped moving.

Having lived in this world for twenty years, Wu Yi had long known that demons existed. This place was so sinister and eerie that something was obviously wrong. If he didn't run fast, was he supposed to wait around and become an extra meal for something unclean?

It was nearly noon when Wu Yi finally stirred awake in bed.

He was, after all, a martial artist. After a night's rest, he had more or less recovered.

My head's finally clear. Looks like I can't keep drinking so much.

Wu Yi pondered silently while recalling the scene of his attack.

As usual, he had drunk himself into a stupor late into the night. Passing his own martial hall, he had decided to go inside for a look. Just as he was about to push open its doors, a club struck him, sending his world spinning and knocking him unconscious on the spot.

To knock a martial artist at the peak of the skin-flesh realm like him unconscious with a single blow, leaving him utterly unable to resist-even with a sneak attack-his assailant had to be at least at his own realm, if not higher.

They had only knocked him out and dumped him in a graveyard rather than finishing him off. Either it was a warning, or he had simply been lucky to survive.

Looking back over his twenty years of life, he had lived comfortably for the first sixteen under the protection of his father and older brothers. At sixteen, he had reached the peak meridian passage realm, becoming the undisputed greatest genius in Cloudwater City. His family's True Intent Martial Hall had also been the city's foremost martial hall.

That same year, the Yang Emperor had ordered a nationwide military conscription to suppress a raging demon tide at Demon Suppression Pass. The master of the True Intent Martial Hall-Wu Yi's father-had personally led many of his direct disciples there. Several months later, word arrived from the front that everyone from the True Intent Martial Hall had died in battle. From then on, the hall existed in name only, and its standing in Cloudwater City plummeted.

Wu Yi, in whom everyone had placed such high hopes, had also had his foundation crippled one night. His qi channels had been sealed, and his cultivation had regressed to the skin-flesh realm. With that, the True Intent Martial Hall lost its last hope of rising again.

The disciples left or scattered. From that day onward, Wu Yi had drowned himself in alcohol, numbing his days away in despair, right up until today.

Now, including Wu Yi himself as its master, the enormous True Intent Martial Hall had only three people left.

But starting today, he would show everyone in Cloudwater City what a true genius looked like-and show whoever had destroyed his foundation what it meant to be a hidden hand.

Because his cheat had arrived.

Wu Yi stared at the glowing virtual panel before him, wild with joy.

The panel was simple, with only a module labeled "Energy." It showed one unit of bronze energy accumulated, with a note below: "Elevate anything. Nothing is impossible."

Wu Yi also tried calling out to the system, but the panel remained lifeless and utterly unresponsive.

He could only console himself silently: the simpler the panel, the purer the cheat; the purer the cheat, the more powerful it must be.

Next, let's test what this cheat can do. Since the panel says nothing is impossible, let's see what that really means.

Come on! I want to suppress everything in this world! Make me a Heavenly Emperor whose power reaches through heaven and earth!

Half-reclining in bed, Wu Yi waited expectantly for the panel's mighty power to manifest. Instead, everything remained silent, and nothing happened.

When Wu Yi looked at the panel, however, he saw a huge red exclamation mark.

"Elevation to the heavenly emperor realm requires 100 million units of eternal-grade energy. Insufficient energy."

Several more lines then appeared on the panel.

[Energy tiers: bronze-silver-gold-diamond-eternal

Accumulating bronze-grade energy requires one calendar day. Accumulating silver-grade energy requires ten calendar days. Accumulating gold-grade energy requires one hundred calendar days.

Please explore the accumulation rules for other energy tiers yourself.

Currently available: realm elevation, injury recovery, and martial arts proficiency improvement.]

After reading the new lines on the panel, Wu Yi finally understood its purpose.

So this panel's like a toad. Poke it once, and it hops once.

According to these energy tiers, bronze-grade energy was merely the lowest level. Wu Yi reckoned its effects would not be particularly powerful.

With that in mind, Wu Yi began another test.

At a thought, a realm field appeared on the panel, with a plus sign beside it.

[Current realm: peak skin-flesh realm

Realm (+) (freely selectable)]

Wu Yi reached out to tap the panel before him and discovered that he could drag the realm field to select a realm himself.

He first dragged it to the peak meridian passage realm and tapped the plus sign.

A notification immediately popped up on the panel.

"Elevation to the peak meridian passage realm requires ten units of bronze energy. Insufficient energy."

So that's how it works. Wu Yi seemed to realize something, and another thought stirred.

A status field appeared on the panel.

[Current status: severe internal injuries, all meridians blocked (+)]

Seeing the plus sign, Wu Yi immediately tapped it.

This time, no exclamation mark appeared on the panel. Instead, Wu Yi sprang straight out of bed.

Feeling qi slowly begin flowing through his once-blocked meridians again, Wu Yi clenched his fists. His muscles bulged, and vast, explosive power gathered within him.

Mid qi-channeling realm!

Although half his meridians remained sluggish and blocked, Wu Yi was undeniably thrilled.

It was not merely the joy of exploiting a bug in the panel and regaining his strength. Having witnessed its formidable power, he was filled with anticipation for the future.

When he looked at the panel again, it had changed once more.

[Bronze energy: 0 (accumulating)

Realm: mid qi-channeling realm

Status: internal injuries, half of all meridians blocked]

"With this panel, why couldn't I, Wu Yi, climb to the very pinnacle of martial arts? Why couldn't I become invincible beneath the heavens?"

A brilliant light blazed in Wu Yi's eyes, his chest rising and falling as boundless ambition surged within him. Everything he had endured over the years seemed to dissolve like passing clouds and smoke.

But he would never forget the ugly faces of those supposedly friendly, allied factions after disaster struck his family's martial hall. Every one of them had thrown stones down the well, eager to devour his hall and leave nothing behind. Under repeated threats and temptations, he had been forced to cut off an arm to survive.

By now, only this empty martial hall and two disciples remained at Wu Yi's side.

For now, keep things as they are and build up strength in secret. Once I break through to the astral-condensing realm, I'll settle the accounts one by one.

Though Wu Yi had spent several years in despair, he understood that the tree standing tallest in the forest was the first for the wind to break. Once the time was ripe, he would strike with a heavy fist.

The astral-condensing realm was currently the highest level of strength openly known in Cloudwater City. His father had been in the core essence realm, a realm above it, which was why their martial hall had enjoyed such prestige and towered over the entire city.

Martial cultivation realms: skin-flesh realm-meridian-piercing realm-astral-condensing realm-core essence realm...

Come to think of it, the martial hall was far too quiet today.

Even with only two disciples, there would ordinarily be the thuds and clashes of martial practice at this hour.

Sensing something wrong, Wu Yi was about to get up and investigate when the sounds of an argument came from outside the martial hall...