White Mountain.
Black Water.
Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on a cold, hard bed.
The room was dimly lit, and he could only vaguely make out the outlines of objects.
The sound of thunderous snoring surrounded him. He sat up and looked around, realizing he was on a large shared bed.
He was on the outermost side of the bed, right next to a latticed wooden window.
The air was filled with the stench of sweat, causing Xu Yuan to frown.
A question immediately arose in his mind.
Where is this? Wasn't I at home?
He remembered that he had been working on a game hack at home. How did he end up here?
Oh, right.
There seemed to be an electric leak from the computer. He got shocked, felt a numbing sensation throughout his body, and then lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, he was here.
At that moment, fragmented memories suddenly appeared in Xu Yuan's mind.
Mountain village, drought, war, bandits, fleeing for survival… Forge Sword Manor.
This was a martial arts world where demons roamed freely, and bandits ran rampant.
It was the end of a dynasty. The Great Sui Dynasty's control over the regions had drastically weakened, and powerful local forces had risen.
Half a year ago, the original owner of this body had stumbled into the Forge Sword Manor and became an apprentice.
The Forge Sword Manor was a faction that relied on forging weapons for survival. It had around five to six hundred people and was considered a relatively strong force within a hundred-mile radius.
The original owner's daily tasks mainly involved doing miscellaneous chores, tasks that required no technical skill.
After browsing through the memories of the original owner, Xu Yuan realized that he had transmigrated.
Immediately, Xu Yuan thought of something and called out in his mind.
"System!"
No response.
"Golden Finger?"
"Old Grandpa?"
"No way!"
As a transmigrator, he actually didn't have a cheat? That didn't make sense!
Were the novels all lies?
Or was it because he never spent money on in-game purchases in his past life?
Thinking of the game hack he had been developing before transmigrating, Xu Yuan couldn't help but sigh.
"Ah, if only the hack could have come with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a light blue screen instantly appeared before his eyes.
**[Name]**: Xu Yuan
**[Age]**: 13
**[Health]**: 100 (based on current body)
**[Cultivation]**: None
**[Techniques]**: None
**[Available Attribute Points]**: 0 (can be used to improve techniques and skill proficiency)
**[Skills]**: Inspection (passive skill, reveals information about all targets within sight)
Looking at the simple panel in front of him, Xu Yuan was stunned.
This familiar interface was exactly the unfinished hack panel he had been developing.
The panel had actually followed him through the transmigration. This was fantastic!
He was very familiar with the panel's capabilities since he had developed it himself.
According to his design, each attribute point could increase proficiency by 100.
And obtaining attribute points was simple—just eat.
The more advanced the food, the more attribute points he would gain.
However, these were just features in the game.
Whether they had changed in reality would require some testing.
Fortunately, food at the Forge Sword Manor was plentiful and free.
This saved him a lot of trouble.
When it was time to eat, he could test how much food was needed to gain one attribute point.
Just then, a rhythmic bell sounded.
"Dong dong dong weng!"
Xu Yuan instinctively looked out the window. The sky was just beginning to lighten.
Upon hearing the bell, the apprentices who had been sound asleep quickly got up.
Xu Yuan scanned the room and noticed that at least twenty people were staying here, all teenagers around his age.
From the original owner's memories, he learned that these were all apprentices who had entered the Forge Sword Manor in the same batch as him.
As Xu Yuan observed the others in the room, a short and sturdy boy next to him spoke up.
"Xu Yuan, aren't you getting up? The manor lord is teaching martial arts today. Don't you want to learn?"
From his memories, Xu Yuan knew the boy was named Lin Chuan, and he had a decent relationship with the original owner.
Hearing Lin Chuan mention martial arts, Xu Yuan immediately became interested.
He got up and followed Lin Chuan to the gathering point.
By the time they arrived, over a hundred people had already gathered.
Xu Yuan's gaze swept across the crowd, and he noticed that above everyone's head was an exclamation mark.
"!"
When Xu Yuan focused on one of the exclamation marks, a simple attribute panel would appear.
For example, a slightly stocky, dark-skinned boy not far away.
**[Name]**: Li Ergou
**[Age]**: 15
**[Health]**: 120
**[Cultivation]**: None
**[Techniques]**: None
This person's health was 20 points higher than his, but given that the boy was taller and stronger, it made sense.
The others were similar, with no martial arts cultivation to speak of.
The apprentices were mostly between 12 and 16 years old, with health values around 100.
Among them, the highest health value was 150, belonging to a 14-year-old named Qi Shan.
What surprised Xu Yuan was that despite having such high health, Qi Shan wasn't particularly muscular, only slightly stronger than Xu Yuan himself.
Xu Yuan couldn't help but marvel at the differences between people.
After waiting for a moment, the manor lord, Li Tieren, clad in a blue brocade robe and with a burly build, stepped onto the raised platform at the front.
He scanned the apprentices and said in a loud voice:
"I've heard that many apprentices have been falling ill recently, severely affecting the manor's business."
"Today, I've decided to teach you a body-strengthening fist technique—Tongbei Fist."
"You can practice this technique after work to strengthen your bodies."
"In three months, anyone whose poor health affects the manor's business will be expelled. The Forge Sword Manor doesn't tolerate idlers!"
…
The apprentices were terrified upon hearing this.
Seeing that his intimidation had worked, Li Tieren changed his tone and said, "Of course, with punishment comes reward!"
"If anyone can reach the first level of Body Forging within three months, I will directly promote them to a manor guard!"
Whoosh!
The apprentices were thrilled to hear that not only would they learn martial arts but also have a chance to become guards.
Their initial fear vanished, and they eagerly prepared to showcase their skills for a better future.
Xu Yuan immediately understood that this was a classic case of "carrot and stick."
Curious about the manor lord's cultivation, Xu Yuan checked Li Tieren's information.
**[Name]**: Li Tieren
**[Age]**: 38
**[Health]**: 480
**[Cultivation]**: Body Forging, Level 5
**[Techniques]**: Tongbei Fist (3rd Realm—Proficient)
Seeing that the manor lord was only at the fifth level of Body Forging, Xu Yuan had a feeling that reaching the first level in three months would be extremely difficult.
The manor lord's "carrot" was likely just an illusion, something most people could see but never achieve.
At that moment, Manor Lord Li Tieren's voice rang out again.
…