Chapter 4: The Spring Cultivation Technique
Chen Jie walked out of his house, turned back to look at the dilapidated building, and couldn’t help but sigh, “This is truly a home with nothing but bare walls.”
Chen Jie wasn’t a pessimist. He had experienced hardship before. Back when he dropped out of middle school, he had nothing. But through his own relentless efforts, he eventually reached financial freedom and a life of comfort.
He had been poor and wealthy before, understood the causes of poverty, and knew the path to prosperity. That’s why he wasn’t lost about his future.
However, the most urgent task now was to solve his food problem.
With that in mind, Chen Jie headed toward the back mountain.
Along the way, he observed the crops in the villagers’ fields. They were in a transitional phase, neither fully mature nor completely barren. It seemed like another year of poor harvests. Who knew how much grain the villagers would have left after paying taxes to the authorities?
Behind Xiantao Village stood a large mountain called Dahei Mountain, which was part of the Daba Mountain Range. The mountain was dangerous, filled with wild beasts. From its midpoint upward, a poisonous miasma lingered, preventing ordinary people from venturing further.
Even the famed martial artists in the town dared not enter recklessly.
Rumors said that treasures lay within the poisonous mist. Once, someone managed to retrieve a blood-red lingzhi mushroom from the area, selling it to a martial artist for ten taels of silver—becoming rich overnight.
In short, the mountain was a place where opportunities and dangers coexisted.
But that had nothing to do with Chen Jie.
His destination today was a mountain valley at the foot of Dahei Mountain—Black Bear Valley.
Black Bear Valley got its name from reported sightings of bears in the area.
When Chen Jie arrived, he saw dense forests and towering trees. Villagers rarely came here to chop wood because the government taxed them on firewood.
The trees in Black Bear Valley were considered state property, and every year, villagers had to pay a firewood tax. The more they chopped, the more they had to pay.
The villagers already struggled under the weight of more than a dozen different taxes each year—many barely had enough to eat.
Thinking about the burdensome taxes of this world, only one phrase came to Chen Jie’s mind: “Tyrannical governance is fiercer than a tiger.”
The forest in Black Bear Valley had a mix of tree species, but locust trees were clustered in a specific area. Chen Jie soon arrived there and unexpectedly found a dead rabbit beneath a large locust tree.
He picked it up. The rabbit was quite heavy—around seven or eight jin (about 4 kg). After skinning and gutting it, there would still be three to five jin of meat, enough to last a day or two.
That was a relief. At least food wouldn’t be a problem for the next couple of days.
Thinking about the two sisters back home, Chen Jie felt a sense of satisfaction. They would get to eat meat—a rare occasion worth celebrating.
Just as he was about to head back, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He thought about the wary attitude the two sisters had toward him and decided to give them some time to calm down.
Right now, they would probably be happier not seeing him.
With that thought, Chen Jie sat down under a large tree and opened his system interface.
Earlier, things at home had been chaotic, so he hadn’t had time to check it properly. Now was the perfect moment to explore this system, which could very well be his key to survival.
He examined the system carefully and made some discoveries:
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The intelligence system was currently at Level 1, providing five new pieces of information daily. However, the upgrade conditions were unknown.
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The intelligence updates seemed to be based on personal experience—things he had seen, touched, or passed by. He wasn’t sure if information from hearsay or thoughts would also count.
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The system also had a personal stats panel, which intrigued him the most.
He summoned his personal panel:
[Chen Jie]
Realm: Uninitiated
Cultivation Technique: Spring Cultivation Technique
Evaluation: "You seem to have learned some medical skills, but at the same time, it seems like you haven’t."
Chen Jie felt a little awkward reading that last line.
What was that supposed to mean? Was this Schrödinger’s medical knowledge?
But what really caught his attention was Spring Cultivation Technique.
Was this a martial arts manual?
Did he really possess such a treasure?!
After a moment of contemplation, a memory resurfaced—on his seventh birthday, his grandfather had taught him a breathing technique.
However, being young and lazy, he had only practiced for a few days before losing interest. Shortly after, his grandfather suddenly passed away, and he never bothered with the breathing technique again.
Wait—didn’t his grandfather also give him an old, yellowed book that day?
Yes! That book contained the Spring Cultivation Technique!
Realizing this, Chen Jie immediately stood up and dashed home.
From reading novels in his previous life, he understood how valuable martial arts techniques were in ancient times—especially in this high-martial world.
He knew this world was ruled by martial might. The memories in his head told him that martial artists were the most revered figures.
Martial artists could easily lift hundreds of jin and leap onto rooftops with ease.
Even the county magistrate had to show respect to powerful martial artists.
That was why everyone wanted to learn martial arts. Unfortunately, very few ever succeeded.
Because in this world, martial arts knowledge was tightly controlled by the government, noble families, and martial sects.
The only way to learn was to:
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Join the army
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Become a servant of a noble family
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Join a martial sect
There were no real martial arts schools for commoners.
Even if you had money, you couldn’t simply hire someone to teach you.
Why? Because without martial strength, you wouldn’t have wealth to begin with.
Even if, by some stroke of luck, you inherited wealth like Chen Jie had in his past life, the powerful factions would find a way to take it from you.
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The government would impose special taxes. Refusing to pay? That’s treason.
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The gangs would demand "protection fees." Refusing to pay? Expect a beating.
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The noble families would fabricate a lawsuit against you.
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Even street thugs could trick you into gambling, making you lose everything overnight.
He had personally experienced these tactics before.
In this world, without martial strength, everything is meaningless.
But now, he had a way out—the Spring Cultivation Technique.
He had to find it!
If he wanted to survive in this world, he had no choice.
He had to grow stronger!