One - Am I alive?!

Alex stood in a daze as he watched the vanishing back of a young man on the crowded streets of Sky Fortune City.

Just a few seconds ago, he watched in pain as his body had been torn apart due to the derailing of a train right as it arrived at the train station. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to die such a painful and unexpected death.

There wasn't even time to prepare, as it suddenly invaded the platform.

Staring at his surroundings, he wondered what was going on, but before he could even ask anyone nearby, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and an influx of memories reached his mind.

He was Lin Xiaodong, a direct descendant of the Lin Clan of Green Mulberry City. His parents were of a low standing within the clan, meaning his status was considerably at the bottom of the main clan.

Compared to the branch clans though, he was someone of higher status that demanded respect.

As the memories of his entire life surged in. Lin Xiaodong was caught by surprise and didn't know how to react.

How did this even happen?

He believed in reincarnation, but taking over another's body was simply an inconceivable idea to him! Besides, was he Alex Hawthorn, or was he Lin Xiaodong? Were they one and the same? Perhaps his memory of his life as Alex Hawthorn was brought back to life and not the other way around?

Was that even possible?

Choosing not to dwell on these thoughts, he went back home to think.

Sitting on his chair, he looked at the fireplace and took a deep breath.

"Sir, are you alright?" Wan Rong, his maid, asked with a worried tone in her voice.

"Ah, Wan Rong, sorry... I was just in a daze."

His maid was holding a trail with a tea set and started preparing everything as she usually did when he came to this room.

"May I ask what is on master's mind?" Wan Rong's question made Lin Xiaodong sigh and look at her.

"Wan Rong, what would you do if you suddenly discovered that the world is a lot bigger than you imagined before? That the stars above us are filled with life and that an infinite number of mysteries are waiting behind them?"

The question had been lingering on his mind ever since he recovered the memories of his life as Alex Hawthorn on planet Earth. Compared to the life of an office worker he had before, he now lived in a world of endless possibilities where even achieving superhuman feats is possible through sheer effort and hard work.

In this situation, how could he remain calm? Every time he looked at the blazing flames that burned the wood, he pondered on the mysteries of the universe and the secrets behind his reincarnation. Was this a natural occurrence? Another rule that describes the behavior of matter and the universe? Or was this the work of an entity with power beyond comprehension?

Wan Rong was stunned by her master's words. How did that Lin Xiaodong who barely had any interest in things other than living lazily come up with such flowery words that seemed to have stemmed from a poem?

Worried, she approached her master and touched his forehead.

Lin Xiaodong was stunned at his maid's behavior.

"What are you doing?"

"So you don't have a fever... How strange... what happened to make you think of those things?"

Hearing his maid's words made him smile helplessly. She thought that he was sick because he was spouting nonsense.

"I'm fine, Wan Rong, I'm really curious about those matters I stated before."

"This..." Not knowing what to do, Wan Rong took a few steps back and pondered for a while before replying in a not-so-sure tone of voice. "If the young master is curious about the mysteries of the world... then the young master should become stronger to find the answer on his own. The world is very dangerous, after all, only martial artists are strong enough to survive the ferocious beasts and villains hiding in the woods."

Wan Rong's words, stunned Lin Xiaodong.

That's right. The world he lives in is a very dangerous one compared to Earth. Society here would never be able to live in a state compared to his previous world because of how the world worked.

Not only were beasts a constant threat to the livelihoods of the common people, one person with enough talent and resources can become akin to a god, and a single move of one such person is enough to decimate an entire city. Life is too fleeting and accidents can happen anytime, the only reason why humans even managed to reach their current level is that they managed to adapt and grow stronger from observing the ferocious beasts in ancient times.

"You're right..." Lin Xiaodong took a deep breath as his mind became clear and his thoughts revolved. "No matter what goals I have, the first step is to become strong enough to protect myself!"

And those words were merely the tip of the iceberg. With a worldview as vast as his, how could he not be excited to explore the mysteries of the universe? Becoming strong enough to protect himself is just the first step, he wouldn't stop until he could reverse time and space and be free from the constraints of reality itself!

At this moment, Lin Xiaodong felt like he was enlightened, the world became brighter, and felt a light all over despite being overweight. His mind was clearer and his inner organs felt like they had been improved somehow.

What is this feeling? What is going on?

As he pondered those questions a floating screen appeared before his eyes with text on it.

[Congratulations on achieving enlightenment despite being originally from Earth! You have unlocked the Idle Martial Arts System!]

[Name: Lin Xiaodong

Age: 15

Potential: Upper 2nd Rank

Talent points: 1

Body Transformation Realm: Strenght Training

Essence Realm: None

Soul Realm: None

Skills: None

Idle Slots: 1 (Nothing)

]

[Anything can be placed in the idle slot, from training skills to cultivating itself. Do something and attach it to Idle Slot 1.]

This...

Wan Rong watched as he stared at the void and suddenly felt a premonition in her heart. 'Why do I feel as if something scary is going to happen? T-this... the Young Master couldn't possibly be coveting my body, right?'

As she blushed and stood in a daze in her dream world, imagining her young master forcefully making her his, Lin Xiaodong was already calculating in his mind what to do.

'I can't remain a mortal in this world! Since the opportunity has presented itself, I shall do my best to grasp it with an iron grip!'

Standing up, he drank the tea in one gulp and left to his courtyard to train, fortunately, his family owned a few iron trees that were commonly used for those in the Strenght Training realm to refine their bodies so he wouldn't have to walk all the way to the outskirts of the city just to find one.

Staring at the tree that was as hard as iron, he covered his hands in straps of clothing and took a deep breath.

He remembered the contents of the Beginner Martial Arts Training manual that was sold all over the city and started following the methods described in it.

Bang, bang!

Putting most of his strength into his fist, he punched the tree as hard as he could. The pain of the hits was like electricity that traveled all the way up to his arms making the muscles slightly numb with pain.

This type of hellish training was much better than just lifting weights. The Beginner Martial Arts Training manual described how every being in the world had qi in it and how injuries were capable of stimulating the qi to seep inside the flesh, bones, and muscles, strengthening them greatly.

The biggest problem with this type of training is how punishing it was. Even if it's more effective than normal training, nobody had a body that could heal all those injuries to the hand and arms on its own.

There was a need for expensive healing herbs that greatly enhances the body's healing power. Without it, one would be risking leaving behind hidden injuries that could affect one's battle prowess and progress while cultivating.

Lin Xiaodong wasn't rich enough to buy those things.

Even the Blood Ginseng that he had gifted to Lin Ming cost 150 Liangs. If he were to use this type of herb continuously for his training, he would have to spend about five to six times his monthly wage.

The best he could use was the leftover stock of Green Dalis that his family sells. It's a small herb that can be used for healing. If he wished to give it to Lin Ming to assist him in his training, his parents wouldn't allow which is why he didn't even consider it before. But since it's for himself, they shouldn't have a problem with it.

Cleaning his mind, Lin Xiaodong stopped distracting his mind and focused on the task at hand.

Hours later, he stopped punching and stared at the tree that didn't have a single mark on it with a helpless sigh. Compared to Lin Ming, he was quite far behind. His good friend was already on the verge of reaching the next stage while he was still at the beginning.

His lack of training over the years caused his progress to fall greatly behind. Not to mention that Lin Ming had better talent than him.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new talent to buy! Fist techniques talent!]

Just as he started to recover his breath, the notification appeared out of nowhere, almost frightening him. After reading it, he couldn't help but look at the talent points on his status screen.

"Let's spend it once. Although I don't know how to get one yet, I'm curious to know the effects."

As he did so, he felt like something within him had changed.

The painful and sore feeling in his arms disappeared in an instant and in its place, he felt a sudden wave of strength!

"Holy shit! What is happening?"

After a while, the feeling vanished leaving him with his mouth agape without knowing what exactly had just happened.

Blinking his eyes, he stared at the tree and tried punching it.

This time, as he followed the manual, he felt like the descriptions and drawings on it had come to life. He could see the figures in the book merging with himself as he punched following the method just like it was written.

A loud bang rang alerting every servant of his house in the nearby rooms. The tree bark had sunk inwardly and the tree sap was seeping out slowly from the place he had hit. Moroever, despite the increase in strength, he didn't feel a thing in his hand, almost as if it wasn't damaged!

What is this? How could it be?

Did spending that talent point made him a lot stronger? Is that even possible?

Despite his doubts, the truth was there for him to see and nothing he said could refute the fact that the tree had sunk inwardly and that the mark on it was left behind by his punch.

Still, the most incredible thing wasn't the punch itself nor the strength of his punch, it was how it was executed.

It was no exaggeration to say that his mastery of the Beginner Martial Arts manual had suddenly increased by a lot. If he could have thrown punches following the technique so well in the past years. He would have progressed a lot more! Not only would his strength be higher, even the injuries he acquired in the process would be less!

Unfortunately... 'Sigh... it's not enough for me to pass the entrance test of the Seven Profound Martial House, is it?'