Snow was flying heavily, covering the land in frost, presenting a world draped in silver.
In Lin County, pedestrians hurried along, most of them clad in thick cotton-padded jackets, though occasionally one could see someone lightly dressed, shivering like chaff in the wind and snow.
In a certain courtyard, a young man was practicing his fist skills lightly dressed in the snowy wind. Each of his punches was forceful and robust, seemingly emitting a steaming white vapor from the top of his head—an extremely mysterious sight.
After a long while,
He completed a set of fist skills, and the young man's mind stirred slightly, his eyes seemingly capturing lines of text invisible to others.
…
Name: Gu Qingfeng
Age: 22/80
Stage: Initial Stage of Refining Skin
Martial Arts: Mountain Shattering Fist (Beginner)
——
"Looks like reaching a Small Success in Mountain Shattering Fist isn't going to happen quickly!"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head slightly.
His name was Gu Qingfeng. Until the age of sixteen, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary person, but after his sixteenth birthday, he suddenly awakened the wisdom of a past life, possessing memories of an additional lifetime compared to ordinary people.
Upon realizing that he was in a world rife with chaos and moral decay, Gu Qingfeng acknowledged that strength was the fundamental basis for establishing oneself in this world.
Thus,
He spent all of his modest family fortune to successfully join a martial arts hall as an apprentice and learned a fist technique called Mountain Shattering Fist.
Although it was just beginner-level martial arts, it was temporarily sufficient for Gu Qingfeng.
Regrettably,
Gu Qingfeng's talents were average.
After staying in the martial arts hall for several years, he never managed to succeed in mastering Mountain Shattering Fist. Unable to afford the continuing fees, he eventually had to leave and, after much wandering, settled down in Lin County.
It was not until a year ago
that Gu Qingfeng finally managed to reach the Beginner stage in Mountain Shattering Fist.
At that very moment, he discovered the "Golden Finger" that had come with him through the transmigration – it appeared alongside.
A simple attribute panel.
There was nothing else.
Gu Qingfeng had studied it many times but never discovered any additional functions of the attribute panel; it seemed to be just a simple, utterly ornamental panel.
Over time,
Gu Qingfeng had abandoned this idea.
Just then,
he saw that the long-unchanging attribute panel now had an additional line of small text.
"Your first offspring is born (triggered only once)!"
"Reward points *1!"
"Reward Qi Blood Pill *10!"
The sudden changes left Gu Qingfeng slightly stunned, as if witnessing something inconceivable.
The attribute panel now,
was split into two interfaces.
One interface was the recently appeared prompt, and the other was his original attribute panel.
What was different,
was that the current attribute panel now also had some changes from before.
…
Name: Gu Qingfeng
Age: 22/80
Stage: Initial Stage of Refining Skin
Martial Arts: Mountain Shattering Fist (Beginner)
Upgrade Points: 1
——
When Gu Qingfeng's eyes fell on the Upgrade Points, his mind naturally conjured the corresponding information, making him understand the function of the Upgrade Points.
Upgrade Points!
As the name suggests,
they were for elevating the ranks of Martial Arts.
Upon this realization,
Gu Qingfeng tried to apply the Upgrade Point to Mountain Shattering Fist mentally.
Immediately.
Mountain Shattering Fist transformed from Beginner to Small Success.
Following that.
Before Gu Qingfeng could react.
A tremendous surge of Blood Qi Power erupted from his body, and his skin became tougher as if undergoing a significant transformation.
Following that.
Memories related to the Small Success of Mountain Shattering Fist emerged abruptly, displaying scenes in Gu Qingfeng's mind as if he had practiced it thousands of times.
When he checked his attribute panel again, Gu Qingfeng found that his realm had broken through from Initial Stage of Refining Skin to Mid-level.
"I've broken through!"
His face brightened with joy.
It was not until this moment that Gu Qingfeng truly realized the wonderful use of his attribute panel.
Having struggled with Mountain Shattering Fist for many years and barely stepped into the Beginner stage, he now used Upgrade Points to break through to Small Success in one go, also elevating his realm to Mid-level Refining Skin.
In a small place like Lin County, being at Mid-level Refining Skin was quite formidable.
Afterward.
Gu Qingfeng discovered an Item Bar below the attribute panel, prominently displaying a rewarded Qi Blood Pill.
With a thought, a blue bottle appeared out of thin air.
With quick reflexes, Gu Qingfeng grabbed the bottle, uncorked it, and a rich, clear fragrance diffused from it, the bottle indeed contained the corresponding Elixir.
Qi Blood Pill!
Consuming it could enhance a martial artist's Blood Qi, assisting in their cultivation.
Gu Qingfeng had heard about such Elixirs back at the martial arts school, but he had never actually seen one.
After securing the Elixir, Gu Qingfeng continued to study his Golden Finger.
From the hints on the information bar and his own changes, he could confirm one thing, that his Golden Finger seemed to be related to Hou Yi's Bloodline.
"The pressing matter is to find my foster son first!"
Gu Qingfeng mused.
Finding his son was not difficult, considering he had only ever been with a woman once in this world, even though she was not from Lin County, but that was not a problem.
After briefly packing up, Gu Qingfeng shouldered his bag and left the courtyard he had rented for a long time.
…
Ten days later.
Gu Qingfeng returned to Lin County.
But this time, he had an infant in his arms.
During those ten days.
Gu Qingfeng had traveled thousands of miles and, when he finally found his offspring, discovered the child's mother had died in childbirth, leaving only an elderly couple who were incapable of caring for the baby and were planning to abandon it.
About the woman's death.
Gu Qingfeng also felt some sorrow.
Although the two did not have much affection and their relationship had occurred due to some accidents, he still could not remain composed upon hearing of her death.
After giving most of his remaining Silver to the elderly couple, Gu Qingfeng took the child and left.
It was a boy.
Gu Qingfeng named him Gu Yang.
After bringing him back to Lin County, Gu Qingfeng began to worry about how to raise the infant.
After all, he had never experienced raising a child before, and this was his first time having his own offspring in both lives.
There was also another problem.
That was that he was almost out of Silver.
If he did not solve the money issue, not to mention raising a child, he himself might starve to death.
With this thought.
Gu Qingfeng took a deep breath as if he had made a decision, and set out again with the child in his arms.
But this time was different.
He arrived in front of a martial arts school.
"My name is Gu Qingfeng, and I would like to inquire if your martial arts school is hiring instructors?"
"Instructors?"
The martial arts school staff appraised the young man in front of him with a scrutinizing look, especially when seeing him holding a child, his expression even more peculiar.
"To become an instructor is naturally not an issue, but there is one requirement: one's cultivation must at least be at Mid-level Refining Skin!"
With these words.
A confident look appeared on Gu Qingfeng's face.