Taiji Vajra Art

Beyond question.

Jiang Jingnian was not from this world.

He had transmigrated from Earth, a university student who had received a proper higher education in a modern, peaceful society.

In his previous life, Jiang Jingnian's death had differed from the vast majority of accidents. He had not been sent flying by some hundred-ton truck king.

Instead, it had happened during an extreme sports competition sponsored by Red Bull.

At a crucial moment, he had made an operational mistake, leading to tragedy.

In that instant of accident, the agony had lasted only briefly, because he had soon lost consciousness and fallen into permanent darkness.

When he opened his eyes again.

Jiang Jingnian had arrived in this world, one that vaguely resembled a certain era from his previous life.

It was the end of a dynasty.

The last emperor had abdicated, and the imperial system that had stretched across countless dynasties no longer existed.

Warlords battled in chaos, and the people could not make a living.

The Western powers carved up the land.

Beyond that, there were many other differences.

This world actually possessed martial arts, and according to rumors heard on the streets, terrifying Demon Wraiths also existed.

The Demon Wraiths were all hearsay, so they could be set aside for now.

As for martial arts.

They were not like the fighting or boxing techniques of his previous life, but truly powerful martial arts that could condense one's blood and qi, even project force through the body to wound people from afar.

As for why he, a mere rickshaw puller—

A laborer at the very bottom of society—

Could come into contact with martial arts at all?

That was because he had been reborn in this body after its former owner had passed through the inner district of the Stockade while carrying passengers. He had stumbled upon several martial arts masters fighting to the death, and the residual shockwaves of the force they emitted had shattered his heart meridians alive.

The terror of martial arts truly killed without a trace.

Because he had not borne the attack directly, nor had it been aimed at him at all. It had merely been the fringe aftershock released by others exchanging blows.

Thus, when his heart meridians ruptured, it had not been obvious at the time. Like cracks appearing in porcelain, it would not completely shatter at once; there was a delay.

The original owner had not died immediately. Yet when he had rushed home in panic and lain down, he had suddenly stopped being able to hold on.

When he opened his eyes again.

The soul within the shell had already been replaced.

Or perhaps it had fused with a soul from another world.

Jiang Jingnian had inherited most of the original owner's memories.

As for why he had been able to live again despite his body's shattered heart meridians.

That was likely because, when he transmigrated here, he had awakened some sort of trait that repaired the lifeless body.

Namely, the attribute panel before him.

"I've been in this world for nearly two months now, all told."

"Last month, I swallowed my pride and asked Fifth Uncle to pull some strings, to see whether he could get me into a martial arts school. Yet in this world, martial arts are not taught to outsiders... No, more accurately, martial arts are not taught to the poor."

"In this concession, without a certain family background or a permit signed by the foreigner administration, I cannot even become a menial worker at a martial arts school."

"Even trying to switch careers for another job is harder than climbing to the heavens, let alone anything else."

"And the concession is already like this, much less elsewhere. It is either war or famine so severe people eat one another. The original owner's parents had risked their lives to send him into Peace City, all for a chance at survival."

In his previous life, Jiang Jingnian had always been a young man with a spirit of adventure. He sought thrills and flexibility; otherwise, he would not have died in an extreme sport.

So, after living a second life.

He would not blindly flaunt himself.

But neither would he cower away and slowly develop.

This was a chaotic age where having today did not mean having tomorrow.

He remembered clearly how the original owner had died.

An honest, dull-witted, quiet rickshaw puller at the bottom of society, who did not dare make a sound even when passengers casually haggled him down or cursed at him.

He had not provoked an enemy, nor had he done anything conspicuous.

He had merely passed by.

Then he had been caught up in someone else's deadly clash.

Before he had even realized what had happened.

He had died.

Like a weed by the roadside, he had died without a sound, unknown to anyone.

"This world is dangerous... but it is exciting too."

"And I am not without confidence."

Jiang Jingnian watched as, after the ring was devoured and refined, the technique entry on the attribute panel before him gradually changed from locked charcoal gray to pale blue.

Without hesitation.

He directly touched the technique slot with his consciousness.

The trait entries on this attribute panel gave him a chance to escape hardship.

Over the two months since his transmigration, through repeated probing and experiments, he had discovered that he could appraise and fuse special items, causing one of his attributes to advance and leap forward.

For example, apart from the [Taotie] trait he had possessed upon transmigrating.

Both his [Archetype] and [Technique] attributes could advance by devouring special items through the [Taotie] trait.

In the gaming terminology of his previous life.

That was called "allocating points."

As for allocating points, there was a certain randomness to it.

The first special item he had bought on credit had been a jade thumb ring. It had extracted a trace of warm jade essence and added it to [Tai Chi Fist (Proficient)], causing [Tai Chi Fist] to advance into [Tai Chi Nourishing Life Technique].

As for how he had acquired Tai Chi Fist, he had learned the twenty-four-form simplified Tai Chi Fist in a university club during his previous life. Here, it had zero combat power.

After it advanced into [Tai Chi Nourishing Life Technique], it barely counted as getting through the door and could condense a thread of blood qi.

That was also why he pulled his rickshaw faster and more strongly than the other rickshaw pullers.

Of course, even with vigorous blood qi and abundant energy, he was still only an ordinary person with a strong body, not a martial artist.

After all, no change had yet occurred in his [Archetype].

As for the special items he obtained afterward, those that did not match the technique slot and could not be added to [Technique] were all fed to [Archetype].

Feeding them directly to [Archetype] did bring improvement, but not as much as improving his technique, and there was a limit.

For example, after roughly six special items, it was now stuck at over ninety percent. Even if he continued devouring more, they could no longer be directly used for advancement.

After all, the Archetype entry was charcoal gray.

It could not be selected.

Drawing on literary works and television dramas from his previous life, Jiang Jingnian guessed that he himself was like a container, while Archetype was the "water" inside it. His capacity had reached its limit and could no longer hold more "water."

As for how to improve the container.

That might still depend on [Technique].

After [Tai Chi Nourishing Life Technique] fused with that trace of Metal Essence from the copper ring, its icon immediately underwent a drastic change.

After a moment, it shattered.

Then it transformed into strange symbols filled with secretive meaning and utter chaos, before gradually becoming words from Jiang Jingnian's previous life that he could understand.

[Tai Chi Vajra Art].

Only two words differed—one nourished life, while the other was Vajra. They were worlds apart, heaven and earth apart.

Jiang Jingnian closed his eyes directly. In an instant, scenes of bitter martial training appeared in his mind. Every figure was himself, densely packed and endless beyond measure.

In the end, all those figures practicing martial arts diligently.

Merged into one.

The figure in his mind finished its form and sat down. Behind it, the phantom silhouette of a Golden Bell Shield faintly formed.

The Golden Bell Shield's phantom replaced the phantom of White Crane Spreads Its Wings that had originally remained in his mind. It represented the technique he cultivated transitioning from a life-nourishing art into a Vajra Art.

And when he opened his eyes again.

A trace of golden luster had appeared in those black pupils.

Jiang Jingnian stood, wolfed down the remaining half of the baked flatbread in his hand in a few quick bites, felt the fullness in his stomach, then looked once more at his panel.

[Name: Jiang Jingnian]

[Trait: Taotie]

[Technique: Tai Chi Vajra Art (Beginner)]

[Archetype: Ordinary Person (99%)]

Both the technique slot and the Archetype slot had changed to some extent.

Especially the Archetype slot: the bottleneck that had been stuck at ninety-five for a long time had finally loosened after his technique advanced.

"After the technique advanced, my body seems to have changed as well."

"My blood qi is flowing faster and more vigorously. Besides that... I seem to have become harder?"

He looked down at his hands.

He did not know whether it was an illusion, but the palms and backs of his somewhat callused hands had inexplicably gained a faint bronze sheen.

Sure enough.

Going all in was a kind of wisdom.

Throwing all the borrowed money onto himself was the only way to truly gain returns.