Martial Saint: Starting with Accumulating Experience

The midday sun was scorching hot.

The air was sticky and damp.

Pedestrians on the street tried to stay close to the shadows, and when they had to be exposed, they would curse the awful weather and then quicken their pace.

The few shady spots under the trees were occupied by stray dogs and beggars.

On the dockside barges, sacks were piled high on the deck, bulging and full.

On the shore, Chen Feng carried a bag of coarse rice on his shoulder, sweating profusely. The stone slabs under his feet were scorching hot, and he could feel the heat rising up his soles even through his straw sandals.

His coarse cloth jacket was already soaked through, and now the burlap sack was pressing down on him, the rough cloth rubbing painfully against his neck.

Each bag weighs a hundred pounds; unloading one bag costs one penny.

The foreman would take a cut, and the canal gangs would collect a "starting wage." After a day of hard work, an ordinary porter would only receive seventeen or eighteen coins, barely enough to make a living.

……

"Here, this is yours." After the new foreman checked the money and confirmed it was correct, he handed it to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng took the coins, spread them out in his hand, and quickly scanned them – twenty coins.

His brows furrowed immediately. He was a hard worker, and being sixteen or seventeen, he was young and strong. Plus, the wages were higher in the hot weather, so after deducting his commission, he shouldn't have only received twenty coins.

It must be that the new foreman rounded down his pay.

Chen Feng didn't say anything more, understanding that if a conflict arose, he would lose even the twenty coins, so he had no choice but to accept them. The foreman was satisfied with his honest appearance and left to settle the wages of the other workers.

"Sir! This isn't right! Why is there only this much?"

"I counted them clearly, that's exactly how it is, stop making things up!"

A few porters who questioned the rules were reprimanded, while most chose to silently accept the criticism and swallow their anger.

Ignoring the commotion behind him, Chen Feng strode away, a mechanical voice ringing in his ears—

[You've worked as a porter for a day... Experience +67]

[You were harassed by the foreman and witnessed the harsh realities of society... Experience +100]

He was momentarily stunned, never expecting that being swindled out of his money would lead to such an unexpected bonus.

Chen Feng is not a native of this world.

Instead, he came from Earth, and in his previous life, he worked overtime and stayed up all night to finish projects, which led to his sudden death from overwork.

When I opened my eyes again, I had been transported to this world.

After absorbing the original owner's memories, he learned that martial arts actually existed here. Once cultivated to a certain level, uprooting willows and splitting rocks would be a piece of cake.

Powerful martial artists hold status and position comparable to sages and powerful ministers.

High above.

The reason why the Canal Gang was able to exploit the common people so ruthlessly was entirely due to its leader, who possessed superb martial arts skills and was unmatched in the entire continent.

Not to mention the Grand Canal gangs, which are too far away.

Within Pingcheng alone, numerous gangs, large and small, rely on their martial arts skills to oppress the people at will, and even charge monthly management fees, making life unbearable for the people.

Fortunately, Chen Feng was not completely destitute.

When he transmigrated, he awakened something called the Experience System.

As long as you accumulate experience, you can continuously improve your martial arts skills.

Ignoring the bottleneck.

The way to gain experience is simple: experience all kinds of new things. He tried it; even climbing over the wall to secretly listen to lessons at a children's school could broaden his experience.

It's just that a small amount was added.

Moreover, the more experiences one has in the same situation, the less experience the system will give. For example, if he works as a porter doing hard labor, he might gain several hundred experience points on the first day, but that number will gradually decrease thereafter.

When he first came into this world, his experience grew rapidly. It only slowed down after he adapted.

Chen Feng silently summoned the system.

An attribute panel appeared before his eyes, and only he could see the text on it.

Name: Chen Feng

[Experience: 12275]

[Exercise: Simplified 24-Form Tai Chi (Complete)]

A martial art is divided into five stages: initial understanding, minor success, mastery, consummate skill, and finally, perfection.

"I never imagined that the Tai Chi I learned in high school in my past life was actually a minor martial art. It made me stronger and gave me more strength to lift things. I didn't need much experience to reach the pinnacle of Tai Chi, perhaps because I already had a certain foundation?"

"I have a feeling that there are still some changes after it's perfected, but there aren't any other buttons on this panel... Oh well, I'll study it later."

"It's been almost two months since I came into this world. I've finally saved enough money to learn martial arts. The next step is to go to a martial arts school to become an apprentice. As for this porter job, let whoever wants to do it do it."

Walking down the street, Chen Feng carefully put away the money he had saved, which totaled nearly three taels. In such chaotic times, it was absolutely forbidden to easily display wealth. If he were to run into a few scoundrels with malicious intentions, he was not yet a martial artist and would be no match for them.

The original owner was knocked unconscious after drinking.

He died unexpectedly.

That's how he was able to live a second life.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng put the money bag into his pocket, carefully covered it, and quickened his pace to go home.

……

I got home half an hour later.

Chen Feng's home was located in a slum in Pingcheng. The alleyways were dark and cramped, and the corners were damp and moldy. As soon as you entered, you could smell a stench, an odor of numbness and decay.

This is where the lowest rungs of Pingcheng live, struggling on the edge of life and death, barely clinging to life.

The summer tax season is approaching, and a large portion of the people here will be unable to pay their taxes and will be conscripted into the army. The women will be sent to work, and the men will go to the front lines. The war in the north is escalating, and there are also rebellions in various places, leaving the army with a significant shortage of troops.

However, even if they survived the summer tax, there were still autumn and winter taxes. All sorts of miscellaneous and exorbitant taxes also emerged during this period of dynastic turmoil.

This doesn't even include the monthly management fee collected by the gang. If they don't pay, they'll be forcibly sold into slavery.

As soon as Chen Feng arrived home, he saw a fierce-looking, burly man with several henchmen loitering in the alley. The burly man had a face full of scars, and when he saw Chen Feng, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Kid! Get over here right now!"

This man, named Liu Dabiao, was a leader of the local gang, the Black Tiger Gang, and was responsible for collecting "management fees" for this area.

Chen Feng feigned a flustered expression, quickly stepped forward, and bowed his head with a fawning smile, "Brother Biao, what brings you here? Didn't we just pay this month's management fee...?"

Liu Dabiao interrupted impatiently, "This is the money we're giving as a gift to our father, the gang leader, for his birthday. Twenty coins per person, not a penny less!"

Twenty coins! That's outrageous!

Chen Feng was immediately startled. He had just received twenty coins as wages, and now they were coming to ask for it back. Could they have come specifically to see him?

I glanced at the other residents near my home out of the corner of my eye. Some had their doors tightly shut, with sobs coming from inside, while others had their doors smashed down...

Chen Feng's thoughts raced. Most of those neighbors had been unable to pay their fees and had suffered the consequences.

Twenty coins, his daily wage as a young laborer.

People living in slums can't just take things out whenever they want.

"Brother Biao, you see... I really don't have much money. Could you give me a few more days? I'll definitely make it up to you later."

Chen Feng pretended to be a poor wretch and said pitifully.

After Chen Feng pleaded poverty, Liu Dabiao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "There's no such rule! If you don't pay now, I'll break your legs!"

Chen Feng then shakily pulled out a small, tightly wrapped cloth bag from his pocket. When he opened it, he revealed twenty-two copper coins inside.

He counted out twenty coins with great sorrow and handed them to Liu Dabiao.

Liu Dabiao took the money, weighed it in his hand for a moment, and asked, "Aren't you a porter at the docks? How come you only have this little bit of money?"

"It's all that damn new foreman's fault! He embezzled my wages!"

Chen Feng was indignant.

Liu Dabiao glanced at Chen Feng's slightly bulging clothes, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes.

"Why is your chest so bulging? What good stuff are you carrying? Can't you share some with me?"

Chen Feng had no choice but to take out the coarse flatbread he had just bought from his pocket.

He said with great heartache, "Brother Biao, this is the dinner I just bought. Would you like me to share a bite?"

"..."

"You should keep it for yourself."

Liu Dabiao looked Chen Feng up and down a few times, seemingly to see that he really didn't have much money, before saying, "Okay, you've passed."

Then he roared, "Everyone still alive, don't forget next month's management fee! Let's go."

After shouting, Liu Dabiao ripped at his clothes, spat on the road, and led his henchmen away.

After the group left, a chorus of wails filled the alley—they were all poor families who had paid twenty coins as a tribute for nothing, and would probably go hungry for several days to come.

However, Chen Feng did not pity his neighbors.

He had witnessed firsthand how, after all the men in a family were taken to the army, the remaining women were humiliated, oppressed, and robbed by these same people from the lower class, becoming an outlet for everyone's emotions... and were eventually driven to suicide.

The original owner was feared by them because he was young and strong, and he was alone with no worries. Otherwise, he would have been taken advantage of long ago.

In this dog-eat-dog society.

Either the hunter or the prey.

……

"Looks like I need to become a martial artist sooner rather than later to settle down a bit. I'll report to the martial arts school tomorrow!"

Chen Feng touched the money bag he had hidden, his thoughts drifting.