"Hiss."
Lu Changfeng slowly opened his eyes.
His head felt like it was splitting open.
"What’s going on...?"
A stream of unfamiliar memories flowed into Lu Changfeng’s mind.
’I’ve transmigrated?’
After absorbing the memories, Lu Changfeng understood his situation.
He had transmigrated into the body of someone in another world with the exact same name.
This world was in a chaotic era. The Imperial Court was weak, and the powers of great families and Sects were intricately intertwined.
The common folk lived in utter misery.
The original Lu Changfeng came from a scholarly family, but his parents had died young, and their family fortune was stolen by a wicked servant.
Now, at fifteen, Lu Changfeng had nothing to his name except for a residence and a maidservant.
His predecessor only knew how to bury his head in books. His body was extremely weak, and a few days ago, he’d caught a cold that developed into a persistent high fever.
After dying late one night, his body was occupied by the Lu Changfeng who had come from a world away.
’In these chaotic times, studying for the imperial examinations is a dead end. Who knows how many years the provincial and prefectural exams have been postponed.’
’In this world, learning some Martial Arts for self-protection is the most direct path!’
CREAK.
The bedroom door opened, and a slender, pretty maidservant walked in slowly, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup.
"Ah, Young Master, you’re awake!"
"Are you feeling any better?"
Lu Changfeng searched his memories. This was the maidservant his parents had bought and adopted years ago. Her name was Chunzhu. She was two years older than him, currently seventeen.
The two had grown up together. Though nominally master and servant, their relationship was more like that of siblings.
After their parents’ death, it was actually Chunzhu who took care of Lu Changfeng most of the time.
"I’m all better now. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days, Sister Chunzhu," Lu Changfeng said as he got up.
Although his body was still a little weak, the cold had disappeared quickly after his transmigration.
"Here, drink this medicinal soup. It will help you regain your strength," Chunzhu said, handing the bowl over.
Lu Changfeng didn’t refuse and reached out to take the bowl.
The moment their fingers touched...
Lu Changfeng suddenly froze.
An interface had appeared before his eyes.
Name: Chunzhu
Root Bone: Lower B Class
Talent: Low-Grade Lightness Talent
’This... it’s a bit like the interface from that game I was playing before I died, Martial God. Don’t tell me it transmigrated with me?’
"Copy?"
An option popped up on the interface.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Changfeng chose not to.
’I don’t know what it costs to copy a Root Bone and Talent. I’d better figure that out first.’
"Young Master, please drink the soup and get some rest."
"I’ll come get you when breakfast is ready."
Chunzhu was visibly happy to see Lu Changfeng’s recovery, but she still urged him to rest well.
Lu Changfeng nodded and watched Chunzhu leave.
Then he focused his attention back on the interface.
’Since I can see others’ Root Bones and Talents, I should be able to see my own, right?’
With a mere thought, the interface rippled.
Name: Lu Changfeng
Root Bone: Lower D Class
Talent: None
...
Lu Changfeng was speechless.
’So my Martial Arts Root Bone is even worse than Chunzhu’s? And not just by a little, but by a lot?’
Lu Changfeng fiddled with the interface for a while longer and finally figured out how it worked.
The interface was called the "Copy Interface."
A copy opportunity would refresh once every forty-nine days.
This meant he had, on average, a little over seven copy opportunities per year.
That wasn’t too bad.
The interface could display the Root Bone and Talent of anyone within a ten-meter radius.
In order to copy a Talent, he needed to physically touch the target.
Just a touch, not a kill. It would be a bit difficult, but not impossibly so.
’The cooldown for the next copy ability will only start after I use the current one.’
’Looks like I’ll have to go out after breakfast and find a better Talent to copy.’
’This body is already extremely weak. If my Talent is also too low, I’ll never be able to practice Martial Arts.’
Lu Changfeng downed the medicinal soup in one gulp.
As the warm soup settled in his stomach, Lu Changfeng immediately felt a warmth spreading through him. The qi and blood throughout his body began to surge.
This medicinal soup was quite effective.
After resting for a moment, Lu Changfeng put on an outer coat and walked out of his room.
"Young Master, why are you up?"
Chunzhu asked in surprise from the main hall.
The residence Lu Changfeng lived in was simple. It had a small, open-air courtyard in the front and three rooms in the back. The central hall was divided into an inner and an outer section.
The inner part served as the kitchen and storage room, while the outer part was for receiving guests.
There were two rooms on either side of the hall; the one on the left was Lu Changfeng’s, and the one on the right belonged to Chunzhu.
This, of course, was not the old Lu Family estate. After their original residence in the Inner City was sold, Lu Changfeng had been forced to move with Chunzhu to this small courtyard in the Outer City left to him by his parents.
Even so, compared to the other old, rundown hovels in the Outer City, this little courtyard, with its walls standing over two meters tall, was actually quite nice.
"Mhm, my cold’s gone. I’m just getting some fresh air," Lu Changfeng replied.
Lu Changfeng waited in the courtyard for a short while.
Chunzhu finished preparing breakfast and called Lu Changfeng into the hall to eat.
Lu Changfeng sat at the table, his brow furrowing slightly as he looked at the food.
Breakfast was extremely simple: a watery congee with barely a grain of rice in it.
A small dish of wild vegetables was placed directly in front of Lu Changfeng. It seemed Chunzhu didn’t intend to eat.
Noticing Lu Changfeng’s expression, Chunzhu looked deeply ashamed. "Young Master, I’m so sorry. All the money went to buying that dose of medicine for you. We don’t have much food left in the house, so this is all there is."
"But don’t worry, Young Master! I’ll be paid for my work in a few days. Then we’ll at least be able to eat our fill!"
Hearing this, Lu Changfeng cursed his predecessor inwardly. ’What a good-for-nothing.’ Ever since they moved into this small courtyard, they had likely been surviving solely on this young woman’s labor.
Lu Changfeng nodded slightly, a heavy feeling settling in his heart.
He finished the watery congee in one go, pushed the dish of wild vegetables in front of Chunzhu, and then turned to walk outside.
"Young Master, where are you going?"
"I’m going to see if I can earn some money on the streets."
"But Young Master, what about your studies?"
"What era do you think this is? We have to adapt. There will be plenty of time to study later. Let’s focus on filling our stomachs first!"
Lu Changfeng gave a dismissive wave and left the courtyard.
Chunzhu stared at the small dish of wild vegetables before her, tears glistening in her eyes. ’It’s all my fault I’m so useless... Forcing Young Master to give up his studies...’
...
Lu Changfeng walked out of the alley and onto the main street.
The streets of the Outer City were narrow, and the sanitation was appalling.
Homeless people with the pale faces of the starved were a common sight. In some remote corners, there were even bodies lying motionlessly, their state of life unknown.
Lu Changfeng averted his gaze and focused on the interface.
The interface displayed the Root Bone and Talent of anyone within a ten-meter radius.
Name: ?? (Sesame Cake Vendor)
Root Bone: Lower D Class
Talent: None
’This sesame cake vendor... Lower D Class Root Bone.’
Name: ?? (Vagrant)
Root Bone: Mid E Class
Talent: None
’This vagrant has a Mid E Class Root Bone? So there’s an E Class after D. That’s actually pretty rare to see.’
He kept looking.
Lu Changfeng grew increasingly frustrated. Most of the people on the street had D Class or E Class Root Bones; none were as outstanding as Chunzhu’s Lower B Class.
As for Talents, he hadn’t found a single one.
’Besides, I’m not even thinking about Talents right now,’ Lu Changfeng thought. ’A Talent is just the icing on the cake. Since I haven’t even stepped onto the path of Martial Arts, Root Bone is obviously what’s most important.’
’To find a good Martial Arts Root Bone, I need to observe actual martial artists.’
’Trying my luck randomly on the streets like this is just a shot in the dark.’
Lu Changfeng thought of the perfect place: the Martial Arts Halls in the Outer City.