Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

"Master, this is the last time I'll call you Master. We've been following you around these past two years, swindling people left and right, putting in a lot of effort. It's time you give us what we're owed. Hand over the silver and we'll go our separate ways," the disciple demanded.

"No use staying silent. The accountant is leaving too and he's already brought the silver. We're just informing you."

"Don't say your eldest disciple isn't leaving you a way out. I'll leave you these ten taels of silver, enough for you to live on for a while."

"Brothers, let's go."

The group contentedly collected the silver, some carrying off vases that looked like they might be worth something.

As they left, some of the disciples offered words of advice.

"Master, don't con people anymore."

"That's right, the righteous path in this world is full of vicissitudes. You need to walk the straight and narrow. Do you know how hard it is for me to fly backwards every time I have to coordinate with your Thunder Palm? It really hurts when I land. I'm not out of line taking your vase, am I?"

"Big Brother is impressive, his movements are so practiced, he has people totally fooled."

Each departing disciple would pass by the seated Master and offer a few simple words. They seemed to be advising him, but it was more like...

Heh, pushing their luck.

The originally noisy hall quieted as the disciples left.

Sitting in the main seat was a dumbfounded young man, watching the scene unfold before his eyes, stunned in his heart.

What was going on?

How did he suddenly arrive in this unfamiliar place in the blink of an eye?

Soon, memories came flooding in. After processing them, he more or less understood the situation.

His predecessor was actually the spitting image of a swindler from another world. Leading a group of disciples with superb acting skills, he had set up a martial arts hall in Ankang County and made a killing, attracting trouble as a result. Challenged repeatedly, his reputation was left in tatters and he was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Damn it all.

What a rotten way to begin.

Why couldn't he have transmigrated ten days to half a month earlier?

He would have long since grabbed his money and run.

"Sigh."

Leon Wei stood up, massaging his temples. This really was a headache. Glancing at the hall that had nearly been stripped bare, he grabbed the measly ten taels of silver and stuffed them in his robes. Since the deed to the martial arts hall was his, if he sold it now and took the money and ran, it wasn't an unworkable plan.

Thinking this, his resolve hardened.

Sell the hall for a low price, take the money and flee, find somewhere else to lay low.

As for this place?

He definitely wasn't staying. With his ruined reputation, he'd be pointed at and whispered about as soon as he stepped out the door. Having just transmigrated, he wasn't about to suffer that humiliation.

Walking to the door, preparing to find someone to take it off his hands, he saw there was still a scrawny youth in the courtyard lifting a stone block to train his strength.

Leon Wei searched his memories for a while. He had some impression of this person.

But not much.

He couldn't even remember his name.

"Why haven't you left?" Leon Wei asked.

The scrawny youth put down the stone block and walked over to Leon Wei, respectfully saying: "Master, I'm not leaving."

Seeing his reluctance to leave, Leon Wei sighed. Reaching into his robes, he fumbled around and took out five taels of silver. "This is all I have left. Take it and go."

He originally had ten taels, now only five remained. His situation was going from bad to worse.

Thump!

The scrawny youth knelt down. "Master, I don't want the silver. I truly won't leave. Them leaving is their business, but I won't abandon you. Back when you saw I was in a difficult situation, you gave me twenty taels of silver to properly bury my mother and let me enter the hall to study martial arts. Although I haven't learned much, your kindness to me is immense. I can only repay it with my life. If I left now, I'd be less than a pig or a dog."

"You..." Leon Wei sized up the scrawny youth. He wasn't handsome, with sausage-like lips, and a hint of foolishness shining from his clear eyes. He was stubborn, the type who wouldn't change his mind once it was made up.

"Master, my name is Jin Ray."

Jin Ray knew the Master definitely didn't know his name, but that wasn't the point. The point was that he was determined to stay by the Master's side. In the Master's eyes, he saw weariness, hardship, despair.

He knew the Master's heart ached.

He wanted to help the Master regain his confidence and truly stand up again.

Just as Leon Wei was preparing to dissuade him with all the patience he could muster, something strange appeared before his eyes.

He saw two lines of text floating above Jin Ray's head.

Rubbing his eyes, it wasn't an illusion.

[Jin Ray's Wish]

[Hopes the Master can get back on his feet (0/1), reward: 1 White Wish Point]

Seeing this, his heart started pounding.

A cheat?

I knew it, transmigrating without a cheat, what would be the point?

Stay calm, must stay calm.

In that moment, Leon Wei slowly straightened his back. Turning to the side, he took a few steps, then suddenly whirled around. Hands clasped behind his back, he stared intently at Jin Ray.

"Jin Ray, do you also think that your Master, having been repeatedly challenged and defeated, is truly inferior to them?"

"Huh?"

Jin Ray looked up at his Master.

For some reason, he actually saw a glimmer of wisdom in his Master's eyes. No... it wasn't the light of wisdom. It was the light of a brilliant strategist, in total control of everything.

Leon Wei turned his back.

"Your Master has been single-mindedly focused on cultivating and lacked discipline over the disciples, leading to a mix of dragons and fish, to the point they were causing trouble outside while carrying the hall's reputation. In order to clean house, your Master had no choice but to do this. Looking at it now, the results are quite good. The trash has left, with only you remaining."

Saying this, Leon Wei suddenly turned around, forcefully pointing at Jin Ray. "And you are that dragon. From now on, you are the Head Disciple of Lin's Martial Hall. Do not disappoint me."

Jin Ray was dumbstruck, trembling with excitement.

"Yes, Master. Jin Ray will definitely not let you down."

Jin Ray wept, eyes red. The once confident and proud Master had returned. All his worries had been for nothing.

[Jin Ray's wish fulfilled]

[White Wish Point +1]

Very good, a worthy disciple.

The prompt sounded in Leon Wei's mind. Following that, an interface appeared in his field of vision.

[Cultivation: Unranked]

[Martial Art: Thunder Palm (Novice)]

[White Wish Points: 1]

[Note: Wish Points can be used to draw lots]

Draw lots, draw lots.

Leon Wei couldn't wait. As soon as the thought entered his mind, a circular lottery wheel appeared before his eyes. The items on the wheel were densely packed. From the tiny text, he could make out a few things.

[Thunder Palm Proficiency 10, Thunder Palm Proficiency 20, Thunder Palm Proficiency 30... Thunder Palm Proficiency 100, Qi Blood Pill x1...]

Too many, really too many.

There were a huge number of items, but it seemed the Thunder Palm Proficiency rewards were the most numerous. As for the other rewards, they were stacked on top of each other, making them hard to see clearly.

[Consume 1 Wish Point]

[Begin Drawing Lots]

It was spinning, starting to spin.

All flashy and fancy, why not just let him add points directly? Why bother with a lottery? But the lottery did indeed increase anticipation and the feeling of participation. It was well designed.

[Congratulations on drawing: Thunder Palm Proficiency 200]

[Martial Arts realm increased]

[Thunder Palm realm increased]

[Thunder Palm realm increased]

Instantly, a flood of martial arts memories poured into his mind. Images flashed by as his body underwent changes. The qi and blood within his body boiled, muscles bulging.

It was as if this body had been locked away in a dark room, undergoing bitter training.

Checking the interface.

[Realm: Qi Blood 3rd Stage]

[Martial Art: Thunder Palm (Minor Success 100/500)]

In that moment, Leon Wei's heart surged with towering waves of emotion. Awesome, this was just too awesome. Directly going from an ordinary person to a martial artist, with the Thunder Palm jumping from Novice to Minor Success.

He clenched his fists, feeling the changes in his body.

This was damn well the feeling of power!

His previous thought of grabbing his money and running disappeared.

A man should rise again where he falls.

Even if his predecessor had been humiliated, now that he had taken over, he had a responsibility, a necessity, to take back his pride.

Remembering Jin Ray was still kneeling there, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and walked over to a wooden post, softly saying: "Jin Ray, today your Master will show you what true martial arts looks like."

Jin Ray looked up.

He saw his Master face the wooden post and suddenly strike out with his palm.

With a bang, the post shattered into pieces, splinters and chunks of wood scattering all over the ground.

"This palm strike contains twenty years of effort. What do you think?"

"M-Master, you're only twenty this year though."

"Heh! Your Master has had extraordinary talent since childhood, beginning cultivation from the womb."

Leon Wei clasped his hands behind his back, head held high, gazing at the sky. His back, the only thing Jin Ray could see, suddenly seemed tall and unfathomably mysterious.

"Ah..."

Jin Ray gaped in shock.

Bang!

The door to the martial arts hall was kicked open.

"Leon Wei, get your ass out here!"

Damn it! What the hell is going on?

Who are these clueless fools interrupting me when I'm trying to look cool in front of my beloved disciple? I had just struck the perfect pose, building up my imposing aura, ready to unleash it. But before I could look badass for more than three seconds, these guys had to barge in and ruin it.

I glanced towards the entrance where three men in gray martial arts uniforms strode in one after another. They had an aggressive, arrogant air about them, holding their heads high with their noses pointed to the sky, giving off an extremely domineering vibe.

"What are you here for?" Jin Ray immediately stepped forward and angrily reprimanded them. Then he said in a low voice to me, "Master, they are from the Three Blades Martial Arts School."

Three Blades Martial Arts School...From the memories of my predecessor, I knew some information about them. In Ankang County, there were quite a few martial arts schools, but only six had truly stood the test of time. They were divided into the top three and bottom three schools.

Our Lin Family Martial Arts School and the Three Blades didn't belong to those six. The schools that made it into the top six received county tax benefits. But in exchange, they had to take on the responsibility of protecting the local area, such as assisting the county magistrate in apprehending criminals and suppressing bandits.

My predecessor's school had been challenged twice in a row by two of the bottom three schools. As for why people from Three Blades were here now, I could make some guesses after thinking it over.

I sized them up. Then a prompt appeared:

[Wang Meng's Wish] [Our school master's wife is so hot. I really hope I can sleep with her again tonight. (0/1) Reward: 3 White Wish Points]

This wish revealed quite a lot of secrets with its content. And surprisingly there were three wish points. Could it be that the more difficult the wish, the more points it gives?

Wang Meng walked up to me and took out a letter from his robe, slapping it on my body. "My school's master has sent you a challenge letter. Remember to accept the challenge in three days."

"Let's go." Wang Meng turned and left with his lackeys without looking back. When he reached the door, he stopped, raised his hand to point at me standing there dumbfounded, and arrogantly declared, "I'm warning you, don't even think about running. Our people are watching you."

A threat, a blatant threat.

I watched their departing figures, then looked at the challenge letter in my hand, feeling a bit stunned. What kind of era is this that the custom of martial arts school challenges is so intense?

"Master, what should we do now?" Jin Ray asked nervously and indignantly. "They are bullying us too much."

"It's alright, we'll deal with things as they come. Don't worry," I said with a confident smile, lightly patting Jin Ray's shoulder. "You do what you need to do. From now on, you just need to have one thought - that your Master is always worthy of your trust."

Suddenly, I noticed a new wish appear above Jin Ray's head:

[Hopes that Master can defeat the head of Three Blades Martial Arts School, Ma Sandao (0/1) Reward: 1 Gold Wish Point]

Oh? Seeing the wish point turn gold startled me for a moment. I pondered that this made me realize a possibility. If it's like in games, could this be the difference between the main storyline and side quests?

Thinking about it, there really was that possibility...

"Yes, Master!" Jin Ray responded with full enthusiasm. He then went to continue lifting stone weights, beginning to properly train his strength. If you want to practice martial arts, you must first train your body. Without a good physique and strength, it definitely won't work.

I left the martial arts school and walked out the main gate. As soon as I appeared, it immediately attracted the attention of many vendors. Obviously, the arrival of people from Three Blades Martial Arts School had already set off speculation among them.

Some vendors whispered to each other, discussing in low voices.

What could I say about this? My predecessor had been repeatedly challenged, kicked around until his reputation was in tatters. It was his own fault for putting on too many fake performance matches and scamming who knows how many people. He had already lost a restaurant and an inn from being defeated.

Now the only property left was the land the martial arts school was built on. Three Blades challenging us was precisely to seize our school.

Before achieving any accomplishments, anything I say would be useless.

Looking at the wish prompts above the vendors' heads, I carefully examined them and finally selected one I could complete. The other wishes were all too outrageous.

[Kai Zeng's Wish] [Hopes to sell all the remaining tofu pudding in the pot so he can go home and rest early. (0/1) Reward: 1 White Wish Point]

See, how simple, practical and pure this wish is. Unlike this bunch of guys whose wishes are all so unrealistic - things like getting rich overnight or wanting to sleep with the most expensive courtesan at some brothel.

I haven't even done those things myself, so how could I help you all achieve them?

I walked over to Kai Zeng's stall and glanced at the tofu pudding in his pot. "How many bowls are left?"

"Eight bowls."

"Pack them all for me."

"Can you finish them?"

"Yep."

"What flavor do you want?"

"Savory, with all the toppings."

I sat down on a stool next to the stall, picked up a pair of bamboo chopsticks and wiped them with my sleeve. Previously, eating eight bowls of tofu pudding would have been a bit difficult and get too cloying. But now that I had stepped onto the martial path, my appetite was naturally much greater than ordinary people.

Before long, Kai Zeng placed all eight bowls of tofu pudding on the table, in a great mood. He had thought the remaining eight bowls might not sell out, but then what he wished for happened.

Kai Zeng looked at the young me, wiped his hands with a towel, walked over to the table and sat down beside me. With the best of intentions, he advised, "Leon Wei, you should leave as soon as you can."

"Leave? Why should I leave?" I asked.

Kai Zeng sighed, "Don't take this old man who only sells tofu pudding lightly. I've been in business for decades and experienced countless things. Our Ankang County is a large county with many martial arts schools being founded. But in these past few decades, the only constant has been the top three and bottom three schools.

As for the ins and outs of the other martial arts schools, this old man knows it all. Back when Leon Wei first came here to open a school, he paid off the right people, started classes and the money came rolling in. The six major schools all saw this.

Do you know why after two peaceful years, trouble started this year?"

Kai Zeng's voice was very soft, audible only to me.

I put down my spoon, looked at Kai Zeng and said, "Old sir, you mean the pig has gotten fat so it's time to slaughter it?"

"Yes, that's the principle. The six schools eat the meat and gnaw on the bones. The remaining soup is left for the other martial arts schools. I presume the people from Three Blades just now came to deliver a challenge letter, right?" Kai Zeng said.

"Mm, it's a pity an old man as wise as you is just selling tofu pudding," I said with a smile. Then I picked up a bowl of tofu pudding and poured it into my mouth.

Kai Zeng shook his head, "There's nothing to pity. When you live long enough, you see a lot."

He had hoped that I would quit while I was ahead, find a way to sell the martial arts school at a low price, take the silver and leave. But from how I looked now, I clearly wasn't willing to go.

I held the bowl and gulped it down, my thoughts spreading out as my mind became active. Combining my predecessor's memories, I analyzed the situation of the martial arts schools in Ankang County.

The top three and bottom three schools were distributed across six districts in the county town, each occupying their own territory.

Our Lin Family Martial Arts School was located in the district of one of the bottom three schools.

The ones who had challenged us were the bottom three schools that controlled the other two districts.

Damn, so you kick me and I kick you, and we all get rich together by slaughtering the pig?

The top three schools respectively controlled the canal transportation, salt and iron trades, and human trafficking.

The bottom three schools had their influence reach into the daily lives of the common people, controlling the east market, west market, and tile factories.

When I thought of this, I realized the six martial arts schools in Ankang County were indeed extraordinary, having truly infiltrated the economic lifelines of the county.

Especially with the six schools colluding together.

They weren't to be trifled with.

When I first awakened this golden finger ability, I had thought of defeating every school in the city and becoming number one in Ankang.

But now it seemed I needed to be more stable.

A while later, all eight bowls of tofu pudding were demolished, the empty bowls neatly arranged. I took out a silver tael from my robes. "Kai Zeng, the bill please."

"Leon Wei, this old man can't break that. How about we just forget it? You can pay next time," Kai Zeng said.

"No, definitely not." I immediately refused. The reason I drank eight bowls of tofu pudding was to fulfill a wish. If he didn't take the money, the wish wouldn't be completed. Wouldn't I have eaten them for nothing then? "You take this money. I'll drink the remaining amount next time."

I'd rather give more than not give at all. What I wanted was wish points. Silver and the like were all external possessions.

"Wait a moment." Kai Zeng hurriedly took out some tools from under his stall - a set of scales and scissors. He carefully measured, then decisively cut off a corner. "Leon Wei, eight bowls of tofu pudding is a total of forty copper coins. You keep the silver, I'll give you another sixty copper coins in change."

I wasn't too familiar with the prices of things in ancient times, but I knew about these tools. I smiled and put away the cut silver, then took the sixty copper coins in change. They were a bit heavy and not very convenient to carry.

[Kai Zeng's wish fulfilled] [Rewarded 1 White Wish Point]

"I'm off then."

With the wish completed, I had to continue strolling around the city. If I wanted to get stronger, I needed to effortlessly fulfill wishes and take advantage of this challenge three days later to make my stand.

As I left, the vendor at the next stall said enviously, "Kai Zeng, you profited this time, even receiving cut silver."

Kai Zeng just smiled without a word.

Silver was rarely seen. Most ordinary folk only ever saw copper coins at most. The exchange rates were different.