"The first year, you broke through the eggshell and saw the first light of dawn. Half a month later, your wings were fully grown, and you began to learn to fly. A few days later, you were already flying skillfully.
Three days later, your parents chased you out of the nest, and you never saw them again…"
"The second year, you were already familiar with the surrounding woodland. Every day, you ate insects and sang with your companions, carefree.
Until one day, a flock of swans flew over your head. You suddenly felt a strong desire to see a higher and vaster sky.
So, you flapped your wings, used all your strength, and soared into the distance.
You left your home, left your flock, and saw a new world. You couldn't help but sing loudly, expressing your feelings: a Sparrow also has the ambition of a swan!
Your cry attracted a hawk…"
"You died. This simulation ends."
… …
Huh?
That's it?
No, can it be played like this?
This is too cruel. The little Sparrow just sang loudly, saying, "A Sparrow also has the ambition of a swan," and then was instantly killed by a hawk…
Does it have to be so black humor?
Liu Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, his expression strange, a little heartbroken, a little amused.
He wanted to get even for the Sparrow, but looking at the "0" behind the 【Spirit Essence column】, he could only sigh helplessly.
A clever housewife cannot cook without rice.
From now on, he would never perform a simulation unless he had at least 20, no, 30 Spirit Essence points, otherwise it would be a waste of points.
It's infuriating! —
The next morning, it was still dark.
In the Tong Family Courtyard's training ground, more than a dozen young house servants were already standing.
They were not old, all between fourteen and fifteen, dressed in gray short clothes, standing in two neat rows.
Soon, a one-armed monk, nearly one meter ninety tall, walked closer.
He wore an iron ring on his head, a black monk's robe, a yellow leather gourd at his waist, and a string of white bone prayer beads around his neck. His limbs were long and thick, his muscles bulging, and a knife scar on his face made him look formidable.
"Is this Master Wu? Although he lost an arm, I feel like one finger… could crush me to death!"
Liu Sheng, mixed in with a group of Sparrows, hopped on the eaves, slowly getting closer.
He only had a quarter of an hour, and he didn't know how much he could learn.
"You little brats are in luck, blessed by the master to learn martial arts…"
Master Wu spoke, his voice full of power, making people's eardrums ache.
Liu Sheng felt even more dizzy and almost stumbled off the eaves.
When he regained his footing, Master Wu's loud voice rang out again:
"Although this 'Black Tiger Fist' is only a low-grade martial art, it combines practice and training, enough for you to use until the Second Realm…
Oh, I forgot you little brats don't understand anything. I'll explain it simply.
Martial Dao begins with Qi and Blood. The First Realm is the Qi and Blood Realm, divided into Entry, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection.
One who reaches Perfection in this realm possesses a thousand jin of strength, can continuously shoot a five-stone great bow, and can cover three to five zhang in one step…"
"Chirp chirp ~"
Liu Sheng gasped, making a bird's cry.
A thousand jin of strength, continuous shooting of a five-stone great bow, three to five zhang in one step, like a mini-superman, and that's only Perfection in the First Realm?
How strong must Tong Bapi's youngest son, a Second Realm Martial Artist, be?!
It seems he still underestimated the martial power of this world.
"…Practicing martial arts without practicing stance is like wandering aimlessly. To practice martial arts, you must first establish your stance. The stance for Black Tiger Fist is called Black Tiger Stance. Watch me!"
Master Wu roared, like a Tiger Roar, full of Evil Qi.
He suddenly squatted down, his feet apart, his single hand forming a claw, like a fierce tiger crouching, its Aura intimidating.
"It feels like facing a fierce tiger…"
Liu Sheng ruffled his feathers and hopped a few steps forward, gaining some insight.
With the "Magpie Eyes" talent, Master Wu's movements appeared like slow motion, completely broken down before his eyes. Every detail of the movements was seen clearly by him.
"All of you, stand properly! If you can't sense Qi and Blood within three months, go back to where you came from…"
Master Wu stood up, letting the house servants try to stand in their stances, constantly correcting them with rough movements, making the servants cry out.
"Time is short. Remember it first, and practice later."
Liu Sheng carefully memorized it. When he felt a sense of weakness in his body, he immediately spread his wings and left.
… …
"Hiss!"
In the house, Liu Sheng followed his memory to assume the Black Tiger Stance. After less than 30 breaths, his vision blurred, his legs went soft, and he almost fell to the ground.
(Note: One breath is approximately 6 seconds.)
Did I practice it wrong?
It was clearly according to the movements taught by Master Wu, so why…
So hungry!
The next moment, an intense feeling of hunger surged, as if he hadn't eaten for ten days, almost making him lose his mind.
Half an hour later.
Liu Sheng chewed and swallowed the last Sparrow bone in his mouth, finally recovering.
The few Sparrows Zhao Lei brought yesterday, along with the last bit of food in the house, had all been eaten by him.
"Practicing stance to cultivate Qi and Blood consumes the body. Only by supplementing with enough food can one continue, otherwise it will harm the body, or even…"
Recalling the feeling of almost losing his mind earlier, he couldn't help but shiver.
No wonder poor families couldn't practice martial arts. Without enough food, especially rich meat to supplement the consumption of martial arts training, it would kill people.
To practice martial arts, one must first solve the food problem.
In short, money!
"Good grandson, aren't you full yet? Grandma will go borrow some grain, you rest at home…"
Liu Apo looked at him with heartache, pulled out a dusty cloth bag, and went out to borrow grain.
Liu Sheng opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. After Liu Apo had walked far away, he grabbed a hatchet and walked towards the mountains.
It was currently a time of scarcity, and every household had little surplus grain.
Moreover, their family had no land now, and their livelihood was cut off. In others' eyes, borrowing grain was like throwing meat buns to dogs; who would be willing to lend?
Grandma would likely return empty-handed, but the old woman was stubborn and couldn't be persuaded.
In this world, it's better to rely on oneself than on others. With "Magpie Eyes" a Sparrow would not believe he couldn't get meat.
Less than half an hour later.
Liu Sheng was breathing heavily, standing under a large tree.
This was a small hill behind the village, belonging to the outermost periphery of Black Wind Mountain, covered in bushes and lush forests.
He transformed into a Sparrow and flew over, which only took a short while, but consumed most of his stamina.
After resting for a moment, he caught his breath. As his gaze moved, all movements within a ten-step radius came into view.
Scorpions, toads, ants, grasshoppers, Sparrows, and… a rat snake quietly slithering towards a Sparrow.
"Such a big one, it must be over ten jin…"
Liu Sheng licked the corner of his mouth, saliva surging. He tightened his grip on the hatchet, his pupils dilated, reflecting the rat snake's movements as if slowed down by more than ten times, capturing its trajectory…
He predicted its next move in advance!
Suddenly, he stepped forward a few paces, raised the hatchet, and swung it down forcefully, cutting through empty air.
The next moment, the rat snake shot out, directly pouncing on the Sparrow, but its neck just happened to be delivered under the blade!
"Puff!"
The snake's head rolled, and bloody blood splattered everywhere, scaring away all the nearby scorpions, toads, and Sparrows.
"There's meat to eat!"
Liu Sheng quickly stepped forward, grabbed the still wriggling snake body, bit the wound on its neck, and "gulped" down the snake blood.
A moment later, he carried the snake corpse and headed home. With these ten-plus jin of meat, he and Grandma would have enough to eat for two or three days.
Or he could exchange half of it for grain.
Most importantly, this experiment proved that "Magpie Eyes" greatly enhanced hunting, especially within ten steps.
He could even predict the target's movement trajectory, thus successfully intercepting it.
If he could find a suitable short-range throwing tool, within this distance, he might be able to… hit a hundred out of a hundred?
"However, why can't I collect the essence and activate the Rat Snake Transformation after killing this rat snake?"
Liu Sheng looked at the essence emerging from the rat snake's corpse and tried to collect it, but his brain throbbed with severe pain, as if it were about to explode.
It seemed that his body's "capacity" was insufficient to activate a second transformation body.
To increase the body's "capacity" and accommodate more transformation bodies, one could only make the body stronger.
And the way to make the body stronger seemed to be… practicing martial arts?
After all that, it still came down to practicing martial arts.
However, practicing martial arts was by no means an overnight affair, and without money, one couldn't practice martial arts.
Therefore, to improve his strength in the short term, he could only collect more "Spirit Essence" and simulate the "Sparrow Transformation."
Back in the village, Liu Sheng found Zhao Lei and asked about short-range throwing tools.
Zhao Lei looked at Liu Sheng suspiciously, frowning:
"You're weak and don't have much strength. If you can throw accurately, throwing knives are more suitable for you, but you have to throw accurately…"
"Thud!"
Liu Sheng nodded, casually threw the hatchet in his hand, and it flew out, splitting a fly eight or nine meters away into two even and neat halves.
Zhao Lei's breath hitched, and his voice immediately softened a few points:
"I didn't expect you to have such a unique skill! It just so happens that I'm going into town tomorrow to sell some hides. Come with me, and we'll get some throwing knives to play with…"
Liu Sheng's lips curved, and a hint of anticipation rose in his eyes.
Shanyang County…
There should be many old items… right?