“What’s the point of guarding this crappy intersection?”
“There’s not even a bird around. Are these bandits going to fly down?!”
At the foot of the isolated mountain, with its sheer, thousand-foot cliffs, Chen Song and Wei Xian, two junior clerks in black robes, yawned idly, bored out of their minds.
Today, the garrison had marched out to suppress bandits. The City Lord had mobilized five thousand troops to completely surround the mountain bandits’ stronghold on Bald Head Mountain.
With five thousand soldiers attacking a few hundred bandits in their old lair, it was practically a ten-to-one fight, a guaranteed victory. Not to mention, there was also an adult from the Demon Suppressing Division overseeing the operation, ensuring nothing would go wrong.
However, such an easy opportunity for merit wouldn't just fall into the lap of a powerless junior officer. Naturally, his subordinates could only be assigned to guard the cliff.
“What can we do? We can’t compete with connections, and we’re not ambitious ourselves, so we can only settle for guard duty. Alright, don’t say too much, or you’ll displease Brother Ning.”
The two glanced at Ning Yue, who was resting in the shade of a tree, looking calm and unhurried. They couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Following such a superior, achieving great feats was out of the question, but at least they could live a stable life.
Not long after, shouts of battle suddenly erupted from the mountaintop. The deafening clang of swords and blades echoed loudly.
The garrison’s general assault had begun!
Chen Song and Wei Xian looked up at the peak. Though obscured by clouds and mist, they couldn’t see clearly, but both drooled with envy.
Just then, a blood-soaked body, its clothes disheveled, fell from the sky, breaking through layers of branches, and slammed with a thud directly below the cliff, startling countless birds.
After that, there was no sound.
A fresh corpse was an invaluable treasure, always the most coveted opportunity for the garrison’s “body searchers.”
Chen Song and Wei Xian exchanged glances, their hearts surging. Peerless martial arts manuals, divine weapons, and even piles of silver and gold seemed to beckon before their eyes.
Without a word, both of them turned and rushed towards the body.
Dust billowed up from the winding path.
“Brother Xian, let me have this body, and you’ll be my great elder brother for life.” As they ran, Chen Song, who had fallen behind, quickly made a promise to gain an advantage.
But upon hearing this, Wei Xian ran even faster, accelerating in a straight line and leaving Chen Song several body lengths behind.
“Fair competition, first come, first served!”
Chen Song had no choice but to grit his teeth and chase, not giving an inch.
Just as the body was within reach, both of them suddenly saw a blur.
A figure in a short blue robe had somehow already appeared in front of the corpse.
He reached into the abdomen, tore open the tattered clothes, and with lightning speed, grabbed the spoils, stuffing them into his embrace. Then he checked the pockets, waistband, and ankles.
From top to bottom, he meticulously searched, his movements fluid and natural.
This scene made Wei Xian, who had finally caught up, so angry that he almost stumbled and choked.
Chen Song, who was behind him, had his eyes turn red.
“You audacious madman, how dare… how dare… Thank you, sir, for disposing of the body on our behalf.”
The words on Wei Xian’s lips were forced back by a glance from Ning Yue. He had long heard that his superior possessed exceptional lightness skills and impressive archery, and today he truly witnessed it.
His accusation smoothly turned into flattery, but his heart was filled with bitterness. Chen Song, panting behind him, also dared not speak.
Ning Yue merely curled his lips. “Pah! What a pauper, no wonder he became a bandit.”
He turned to look at the two, seeing their expressions of suppressed anger, and couldn’t help but smile, comforting them: “It’s truly a waste for you two to follow me, a powerless flag officer. Take this silver and split it.”
He pulled out the dozen or so taels of silver he had just acquired from his embrace and handed it to them. His previously bulging chest pouch immediately deflated by half.
Visibly, genuine smiles bloomed on both their faces, and they were utterly convinced. A dozen taels of silver, even split between them, was equivalent to three or four months of their military pay.
“Thank you, Brother Ning! We are willing to serve you with all our hearts and minds until death.” The two said in unison, with cheeky smiles.
Before the money was distributed, they called him ‘sir,’ but after, he became ‘Brother Ning.’
Ning Yue waved his hand. “Go back. I still need to investigate here.”
“Yes!” The two turned and left, beaming with joy.
Ning Yue watched their retreating figures grow distant, then reached into his embrace, clutching several light banknotes in his hand, unable to conceal the smile on his face any longer.
“I’m rich! I’m finally rich!”
The bandit who had just fallen to his death was clearly no ordinary person. Besides the dozen or so taels of silver, Ning Yue had also found a full five hundred taels in banknotes.
A year ago, Ning Yue transmigrated into a low-ranking soldier in the Great Abyss Dynasty and awakened the ‘Pay-to-Win Martial Arts System.’
With the system’s transmigration gift package, he maxed out his talent points. His ‘Heavenly Martial Star’ enlightenment ability was enough for him to cultivate even top-tier martial arts without hindrance.
Coupled with his previous life’s ‘Red Romance’ top sales agent’s incredible social skills, he successfully rose from a mere black-robed clerk to a junior flag officer in just one month.
Young in age, with a blue robe on his back and the system in hand, as long as he earned more money and spent heavily on the system, and maintained normal bodily functions, Ning Yue believed his future was promising!
But he soon realized something was wrong. His mortal physique severely limited his martial arts progress. While he understood the techniques at a glance, his cultivation speed was incredibly slow. Coupled with the low income of a grassroots official, his cultivation remained limited to this day.
To advance in officialdom, building connections was one aspect, but making money was even more crucial.
Coincidentally, Ning Yue’s pay-to-win system was a big spender. Most of his meager military pay and limited gray income went to the system, just to achieve his current cultivation, leaving him with no extra money to bribe his superiors.
Not to mention, the aristocratic families were deeply entrenched and colluded with each other, completely blocking the path for commoners to advance.
This path was blocked, but Ning Yue wasn’t disheartened. If officialdom was a dead end, he would just bide his time until he became a saint.
Ning Yue had initially thought that this foreign world of the Great Abyss, with its demon invasions and rampant bandits, would be a great place to gain merit and loot treasures from corpses.
Who knew that in the past year, there hadn’t been many battles, and for guaranteed victories like this, it was never his turn to act.
After waiting for so long, he finally got his chance to turn his fortunes around.
【Host: Ning Yue】
【Bone Structure: Mortal Bone】
【Talent: Heavenly Martial Star】
【Realm: Skin Polishing Initial Stage】
【Internal Cultivation: Military Skin Polishing Technique (Great Accomplishment 70%)】
【External Cultivation: Cloud Chasing Steps (Great Accomplishment 70%), Eight Desolations Night Battle (Minor Accomplishment 50%), Cold Star Archery (Great Accomplishment 95%)】
【Wealth Points: 500 points】
Then, let’s upgrade!
The progress value next to ‘Military Skin Polishing Technique’ in the cultivation section began to change rapidly, quickly reaching the Perfection realm, while his wealth points rapidly depleted.
An intense, agonizing pain instantly spread throughout his body, like ten thousand ants gnawing at him, accompanied by unbearable itchiness. His skin felt as if it were being hammered by iron and tempered by fierce fire.
Ning Yue felt like he was covered in a soft, incredibly tough armor, and his strength surged accordingly.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Military Skin Polishing Technique has reached Perfection, and your realm has advanced to Skin Polishing Great Accomplishment!】
Not enough!
Ning Yue gritted his teeth and invested the remaining wealth points into his bone structure.
200 wealth points instantly dropped to zero. The words ‘Superior Mortal Bone’ blurred in a blink, slowly replaced by the four characters ‘Ape Back, Wasp Waist.’
His muscles began to writhe continuously, and his bone structure was violently stretched.
Ning Yue’s face instantly turned pale, and sweat poured down him, but he didn’t utter a sound.
However, this intense pain came and went quickly. After enduring for a moment, the agony slowly receded like a tide.
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your bone structure has been upgraded to ‘Ape Back, Wasp Waist’!】
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your Blade Art, Eight Desolations Night Battle, has advanced to Great Accomplishment (70%)!】
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your Lightness Skill, Cloud Chasing Steps, has advanced to Great Accomplishment (80%)!】
【Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your Cold Star Archery has reached Perfection! You have comprehended the secret technique ‘Three Arrows Chasing Stars’!】
My mortal bone structure has held me back for too long!
Ning Yue’s whole body trembled, and he felt a sense of liberation, like a bird long caged finally returning to nature. This transformation was no less than a complete rebirth.
His Skin Polishing technique reaching Perfection was a natural progression, but the pleasant surprise was that after his bone structure improved, the progress of his long-practiced lightness skill, blade art, and archery also surged.
Cold Star Archery even directly reached Perfection and allowed him to comprehend a unique secret technique!
Ning Yue secretly estimated his current combat power. While still far from a banner commander in the Muscle-Strengthening realm, he could at least hold his own among the flag officers in the Flesh-Refining realm.
Just then, the two junior clerks returned, their expressions even more urgent than when they had rushed to claim the body earlier!
Wei Xian cried out, “Sir, run! The enemies are really flying down from the cliff!”
Ning Yue turned back in astonishment.
He saw long ropes, like vines, dangling down.
Bandits in various colorful clothes were silently and rapidly climbing down the swaying ropes!
Cultivation Realms Explained: Skin Polishing, Flesh Refining, Muscle Strengthening (External Heaven and Earth), Bone Forging, Marrow Cleansing, Blood Changing (Internal Heaven and Earth), Innate, Qi Absorption…