Pain!
My head hurts so much!
Never joining a company party again.
Never drinking alcohol again.
Jiang Shi's consciousness was blurry, only feeling his head splitting from pain, his stomach churning endlessly, as if two different knives were stabbing at his brain and stomach, stirring wildly, causing indescribable agony.
Why do people like alcohol?
Why does company bonding have to involve drinking?
With countless doubts and anger, Jiang Shi's consciousness grew hazy, gradually losing sense, as if even the pain in his body suddenly lessened greatly.
···
No idea how much time passed.
A primitive dwelling made of mud and thatch.
The humidity was heavy.
The smell was pungent.
Inside the house, besides a bed, a blanket, a table, and several roughly made porcelain bowls, there was no other furniture.
Beside the bed.
Jiang Shi looked pale, bewildered and shocked, incredulously staring at his calloused hands, then scanning the simple room, as a torrent of information surged through his mind, waves of it incessantly crashing against his brain, causing a slight headache.
So!
Have I transmigrated?
Did drinking kill me?
"Jiang Shi, the owner of this body is also named Jiang Shi, nineteen years old, injured in a territorial dispute, bedridden."
He murmured, quickly organizing the information in his mind.
The world he transmigrated to seemed to have an ancient setting called the Great Xuan Dynasty, vast in territory, unknown how many miles...
But soon he showed surprise, realizing this world was not simple.
There are demons!
There is martial arts!
Extremely dangerous!
And the current dynasty seems to be in a perilous period.
Bleached bones lie exposed in the wild, for miles no rooster crows.
Furthermore, demons and evildoers run rampant, foreign invaders invade, coupled with frequent extreme weather, droughts, floods, locusts, corpses fill the fields, people resort to cannibalism, ordinary people's lives are unbearable.
The original Jiang Shi was from a village near Zhenwu Temple because three years ago, the village was slaughtered by demons, all villagers were tragically killed.
Only Jiang Shi and a few others narrowly escaped.
Having nowhere to go afterward, they turned to the nearby Zhenwu Temple, becoming one of its Outer Sect disciples.
Zhenwu Temple, renowned for hundreds of miles, a famous Martial Arts Sect, always highly prestigious.
Observatory Master Red Sun Daoist, his martial arts cultivation unfathomable, even called a living immortal.
But!
After Jiang Shi and others became disciples of Zhenwu Temple, due to poor talent, having missed the age for martial training, they were relegated to Outer Sect Farming Disciples.
However, Zhenwu Temple, being a Martial Arts Sect after all, even for Outer Sect Farming Disciples, they casually gave them a basic Cultivation Technique called Dragon and Snake Force.
As for whether they could make something of it, it all depended on themselves.
After becoming Outer Sect Farming Disciples, if they can't make something of it within five years, they will be sent down the mountain to fend for themselves.
It's precisely the third year now.
But as the saying goes: Where there are people, there's Jianghu.
Among the Outer Sect Farming Disciples, it was not absolutely peaceful, scheming against each other, filled with strife, far more intense than the upper levels.
Often fighting fiercely for a little more land.
Zhenwu Temple has no detailed management concept for farmland, each Outer Sect disciple has fixed three acres of land, needing to hand over 1800 jin of food per year; anything left is theirs alone.
Therefore, to leave more grain, Outer Sect Farming Disciples often lightly fight each other, with bloody battles almost visible every day.
According to the current Great Xuan Dynasty's grain yield, one mu of land can produce about 400 jin of grain per season, three mu of land harvested twice a year yields exactly 2400 jin, removing 1800 jin handed over to the Sect, leaves only 600 jin for oneself.
Although it's enough to stave off hunger, it's always necessary to think for the future.
Once over five years, most Outer Sect Disciples will be sent down the mountain, living difficultly without money.
So all Outer Sect Disciples try to store as much grain as possible within these five years, to sell, exchange for silver coins to save for the future, in case they are sent down the mountain, they can make a living.
Jiang Shi was angered when his acre of good land was taken by others, but was beaten down in just a few moves, returning to his room and died that very night.
"In ancient society, land is life, taking extra land is like killing half of someone, no wonder the original was so radical."
Jiang Shi muttered to himself.
Though 600 jin of grain can be left per year, how much would be left after eating? Converted to copper coins, it would be even less.
Jiang Shi carefully moved his sore body, suddenly lifting his shirt, only to see a dry chest and abdomen covered with bruises and injuries, hurting immensely with a slight movement.
His expression stiffened.
Were these inflicted by someone's fists?
The person who killed the original probably mastered the Dragon and Snake Force, right?
He struggled to recall, soon remembering the culprit's face and information.
The person who killed the original was named Liu Si.
A notorious bully among Outer Sect Farming Disciples, tall, extremely strong, he had long become a seasoned one in the group.
Almost no Outer Sect Farming Disciple hadn't suffered under him, most people were taken advantage of by him.
The original's portion of land happened to be adjacent to Liu Si's, taken substantially each season, season by season, until it became unbearable.
"Forget it, just arrived, definitely can't fight, enduring for peace's sake."
He continued examining his body.
Dry, dark skin, as if not bathed in years, also seemingly malnourished long-term, thick layers on black skin, hardly resembling nineteen.
Moreover, weak and frail, making one doubt if killing a chicken could be hard.
Such a frail body, still dared to fight?
Suddenly!
Jiang Shi felt something amiss, his mind seemed to have another set of information.
He looked puzzled, delving into it, feeling the light in his vision flicker, as if piercing through a thin film, a series of texts instantly appeared.
Name: Jiang Shi
Cultivation: Unranked
Cultivation Technique: None
Martial Technique: Dragon and Snake Force (not initiated)
Talent: Dragon Elephant
Reputation Value: 0 (Collect 10,000 Reputation Values to unlock the next talent)
Is this···
A system?
Jiang Shi was amazed.
There's actually a system?
A wealth of information surfaced in his mind with this text, being rapidly absorbed by his brain.
This was a Reputation Value System, just needing to collect a certain number of Reputation Values to unlock a talent.
Each unlocked talent had its uses.
And as the first time using the system, the system randomly gifted the host a free talent.
The free talent he received was Dragon Elephant.
Dragon Elephant: Body like a dragon and an elephant, every day power increases by 100 jin, initial power 1500 jin, equivalent to Entering Strength Third Stage.
"Entering Strength Third Stage? This Dragon Elephant Power is so strong?"
Jiang Shi was amazed.
According to the information in his mind, the world's martial cultivation is divided into Entering Strength's eleven stages, each progressive and challenging, with every opened stage, power surges remarkably.
Anyone who achieves entering strength becomes superior, instantly an elite Inner Sect disciple from an Outer Sect Farming disciple.
Now he got the Dragon Elephant talent, unexpectedly equivalent to Entering Strength Third Stage in the Inner Sect disciple!
This is simply a meteoric rise.
Even more crucial!
Power will exponentially increase every day onward.
Now it's 1500 jin, tomorrow it will be 1600 jin.
"The future is boundless, the future is boundless..."
While he marveled, suddenly, the damaged door burst open, and a burly figure barged in.
Jiang Shi was startled, hastily shutting the panel afraid someone might see it.
But he quickly showed doubt.
Was the panel only visible to himself?
"Jiang Shi, something happened! Two days ago, the crops you planted were vandalized!"
Jiang Shi was stunned: "Take me to see!"
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