Han Zheng was enveloped by darkness, as if trapped in a nightmare, struggling to wake up yet unable to do so.
Suddenly, a blurry light exploded before his eyes.
What came into view was an old, deserted temple, with a Buddha statue missing half its face lying beside him, stained with strands of blood, which seemed somewhat eerie, as if gazing at Han Zheng.
"Hiss! That hurts."
Han Zheng rubbed his head, only to find his hand covered in fresh blood.
A jumble of memories surged into his mind, forcing him to accept the reality that he had transgressed into another world.
In his previous life, Han Zheng had been a game designer in a small company; after working overtime for a week straight, he had tripped and fallen in the subway and never got up again.
When he woke up, he had become the Han Zheng of this world.
After sorting through the memories in his mind, Han Zheng's brows furrowed tightly, and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"What kind of damn mess of a world is this?"
Great Zhou had been established for three thousand years, and the entire dynasty was already riddled with holes.
Demons were creating havoc, cults roamed rampant, rebels were rising, sects and noble families dominated regions, and the common people could barely survive.
This life's Han Zheng was born in Black Stone County of the Jingzhou Prefecture in the Southern Mountain of Great Zhou.
His mother had passed away early, and his father was a clerk in the County Government, with no real power, responsible only for writing documents and earning a meager salary.
Last year, Han Zheng's father had managed to save some money and sent the just eighteen-year-old Han Zheng to the Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy in Black Stone County to practice martial arts.
In such turbulent times, scholars couldn't survive long; only strength was the fundamental means to protect oneself.
But before Han Zheng could even graduate from his apprenticeship, his father had fallen ill and passed away not long ago.
To hold a funeral for his father, Han Zheng had almost sold all his family property, leaving him virtually penniless.
But why was he in this dilapidated temple?
His memory from yesterday was incredibly hazy; Han Zheng could only recall leaving class at the martial arts academy, after which everything was a blank.
Could it be that he had been struck and lost his memory?
Han Zheng glanced at the somewhat eerie Buddha statue.
Before he transmigrated, he was supposed to have been leaning against this long-neglected Buddha statue, which then collapsed due to its rotten base, causing his previous self to be crushed to death.
Barely managing to stand up, Han Zheng suddenly rubbed his eyes and looked ahead incredulously.
Was he seeing hallucinations from being hit?
[Taotie Furnace activated]
[The host can sacrifice any materials to break through in martial arts or enter the furnace for cultivation]
Han Zheng, gazing at the immense bronze furnace that had appeared before him, which was engraved with lifelike Taotie Dragon Patterns.
The ferocious and aggressive aura rushed towards him, incredibly real.
He rubbed his eyes again, but the Taotie Furnace before him remained as clear as ever.
Wasn't this the last update for the game he worked overtime on in his previous life?
In his previous life, Han Zheng was responsible for operating a mini-program game—killing monsters, leveling up, simple and mindless.
Such games usually had a very short lifespan, spanning just a few months or at most half a year before they reached the end.
This was the first game that Han Zheng independently led, and he felt quite attached to it.
So, in the last update, he designed the Taotie Furnace, a generous feature.
Players could sacrifice all the low-level materials, equipment, potions, and various other miscellaneous items in their backpack to the Taotie Furnace in exchange for breakthroughs in skills.
They could also sacrifice these items directly for experience points to level up insanely fast.
Now that he had crossed over, had the Taotie Furnace setting crossed over with him?
But surely he couldn't keep lugging around such a huge furnace wherever he goes, right?
Just as this thought emerged in his mind, the Taotie Furnace before his eyes instantly vanished.
However, Han Zheng could feel that it was inside his mind, ready to appear at a moment's thought.
Han Zheng squinted his eyes in contemplation: A golden finger for transmigration? Was he meant to kill monsters and level up in this world?
But the problem was, at the very least, they should have given him a newbie gift package.
The Taotie Furnace was a setting created by Han Zheng for the endgame.
Early on, where would one find so many materials to sacrifice? He surely couldn't begin by sacrificing his own life, right?
No sooner had this thought appeared than the Taotie Furnace emerged again.
[No sacrificial materials detected currently. The host can use lifespan, one of the Six Senses, one of the Five Limbs, one of the Three Souls, one of the Seven Spirits, one of the Seven Emotions, one of the Six Desires, or any other existence the host possesses for sacrifice]
The lifelike Taotie Dragon Pattern with red eyes wide open, its mouth gaping as if to swallow the heavens and devour the earth, exuded an indescribable greed.
Beneath was a table similar to a game attribute description.
[Name: Han Zheng
Cultivation: Postnatal Opening Veins Realm (opened forty-one acupoints)
Martial Arts Skill: Postnatal Realm's Iron Elephant Skill (Skill Level 17%)
Current Status: Concussion]
"I really have to fill it with my life? What exactly can be used as sacrificial material?"
[The Taotie Furnace consumes all things, it does not refuse any comer, and it will notify the host when sacrificial materials are detected.]
Han Zheng was beginning to regret this.
Had he known there would be such a thing as transmigration, he would have made the setting of the Taotie Furnace even simpler.
He waved his hand and the furnace before him disappeared.
Han Zheng walked out of the broken temple; the eastern sky was turning pale, a sign that dawn was near.
From afar, one could vaguely see a city of no small scale, built entirely with black stone bricks—that place was Black Stone County.
Had he actually run to the outskirts of the county town?
Nowadays, the area outside the county town was extremely dangerous.
Demons devoured humans, bandits plundered wealth; venturing out of the town alone was riskier than ever.
Although dawn was approaching, it still wasn't safe, so Han Zheng quickly made for Black Stone County with brisk steps.
After running some distance, Han Zheng looked back at the ruined temple and suddenly found it strangely peculiar.
A small temple housing only one Buddha statue, round on top and square at the bottom, its surface mottled with dark red, resembling an open, gaping mouth of blood.
A watched pot never boils.
It took Han Zheng almost two hours to reach the city gates, where the soldiers were just beginning to open the doors.
Following the memories in his mind, Han Zheng weaved through the dilapidated alleys until he finally found his home.
A small house with green bricks, complete with a courtyard.
Though still clean and tidy, the house had been nearly stripped of all valuable possessions not long ago to pay for his father's funeral.
Thus, Han Zheng's home could be described as bare, with nothing but a bed left.
After taking a bucket of water to clean the wound behind his head, Han Zheng glanced at his reflection in the well.
He was quite handsome in this life; not to say outstandingly beautiful, but at least he had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with a refined appearance.
Glancing at the time, the early class at the martial arts hall was about to start.
Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy offered two types of classes, early classes and main classes.
Early classes lasted half a day, while main classes, held once every ten days, lasted the entire day.
According to his memories, Han Zheng was very diligent and had not missed a day of class since joining the academy half a year ago.
After all, the opportunity to join Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy was something his father had almost emptied their family coffers for.
Only with three hundred silver pieces and a robust and healthy physique could one qualify to enter the Martial Arts Hall.
Even if you were sickly, bringing a thousand silver pieces to the Martial Arts Hall wouldn't secure you a spot.
Despite his diligence, Han Zheng's talents were only average.
After joining the Martial Arts Hall, Li Jingzhong began teaching the disciples the basic Inner Strength technique, Iron Elephant Skill. Han Zheng had only managed to unblock forty-one acupoint meridians after half a year of practice.
The more advanced disciples had already unblocked more than fifty meridians.
Just as he was about to leave the house, Han Zheng's stomach growled.
But after searching the house, he only found half a cold bun, which he hastily swallowed down with some cold water before rushing out.
Black Stone County was divided into four districts: East, West, South, and North.
Han Zheng's home was in the North City, which was mostly populated by poor citizens; the houses were tightly packed, almost like a slum.
Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy was located in the most prosperous East District, where three large courtyards were connected to serve as the training ground.
When Han Zheng arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, the other disciples had almost all assembled, waiting for the class to begin.
Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy had about a hundred people, a few from rich families, but most were children from well-off households.
After all, with martial arts came wealth; the tuition fee for the Martial Arts Hall was three hundred silver pieces—beyond the means of an ordinary family.
A moment later, a man in his fifties, dressed in black warrior clothing with a square and dignified appearance, stepped out from inside the Martial Arts Hall.
This man was the Martial Arts Hall Master of Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy, Li Jingzhong, nicknamed "Long-Armed White Ape," a master of the Innate Transcendence Realm.
With his White Ape Extended Arm Fist, he could split stones and withstand swords and spears. In Black Stone County, he was a well-known figure.
Casting a glance around, Li Jingzhong spoke in a deep voice, "You disciples have joined the Martial Arts Hall for as short as half a year and as long as seven or eight months. You should have all mastered the basics of Iron Elephant Skill, and it's time for your first major examination.
Martial arts is an unforgiving path: if you do not advance, you will fall behind. After the great exam, those who do not qualify will have to leave the Martial Arts Hall.
It's not that I lack compassion, but the path of martial arts is just that cruel. Without talent and perseverance, staying in the Martial Arts Hall is just a waste of time."
As his words fell, a stir erupted among the disciples, with most of them in a state of panicked confusion.
Being expelled from the Martial Arts Hall would not only mean their money was wasted, but it would also prove they were nothing but mediocrities and failures, not suited for practicing martial arts.
"Silence!"
Li Jingzhong walked down the steps to the front of the training ground's stone pillars.
"What is Martial Arts? Martial Arts is something that is honed over time, with persistence!
You refine Inner Strength within the body's acupoint meridians after birth.
The human body has three hundred and sixty-five meridians, aligning with the number of celestial stars in the Great Zodiac. Each meridian unblocked significantly enhances one's strength.
There are also twelve major meridians that control the flow of strength in the body, and unblocking each one greatly increases your control over your strength.
By merging the power of the meridians and breaking through the twelve major meridians, making them harmonious, do you qualify to step into the Innate Transcendence Realm.
Innate Transcendence, as the name implies, is to revert from the Postnatal to the Innate, transforming from a cocoon to a butterfly, shedding the mortal body.
This step is even more difficult, as you must relentlessly scrub every inch of your bones and every thread of flesh with the Inner Strength of your meridians—it's an excruciating process.
In the initial stage, you have skin as tough as copper and bones as hard as iron; in the middle stage, you develop golden muscles and jade-like sinews; and in the late stage, you have mercury blood and silver marrow.
Upon perfect completion, your body is as pure and flawless as white jade, known as the Water and Fire Immortal Clothes, capable of withstanding worldly fires and floods.
But do any of you know that ninety-nine percent of martial artists will never reach the complete Innate Transcendence Realm, attaining the Great Success of Water and Fire Immortal Clothes?
Postnatal and Innate are merely the first steps on the path of martial arts, and yet they are so difficult, as formidable as ascending to the heavens!"
With his words complete, Li Jingzhong swung his arm and fiercely smashed it against the nearby stone pillar.
Like the White Ape shaking its arm, the force of the wind whistled and burst.
Accompanied by a loud explosion, the stone pillar didn't just break, but shattered into powder!
"This punch is the culmination of thirty years of dedication to martial arts!"
Li Jingzhong glanced at the many disciples who were already stunned, and spoke solemnly, "Today, I will teach you your first Martial Arts Skill, the Vajra Fist.
In three days, the great exam will begin. Those who have unblocked fifty meridians, one major meridian, and have a basic grasp of Vajra Fist will be considered qualified!"