Martial Arts Awakening, Bloodfire Fist Master

The first two items in the light screen are normal and have no special features.

The latter two items are the main ones.

The third item is called the Innate Chaotic Spirit Endowment. Zhang Qingshan clicked on it with his consciousness, and immediately some kind of instinctive explanatory information appeared.

The transmigrator, having traversed the chaotic spacetime and acquired chaotic qualities, was reborn into the material world. This resulted in a strange talent that clashed and merged with the rules of this world, originating from a one in a billion chance of chaos, and possessing miraculous effects beyond the imagination of normal people.

It was precisely this conflict and fusion that prevented Zhang Qingshan from awakening his innate wisdom until he was sixteen years old. He was just an honest and simple boy from Zhangjia Village until he appeared in the Zhangjia Village system two months ago and simultaneously awakened his past life memories.

The so-called "imbuing chaos with spirit" refers to [selecting a suitable object and endowing it with chaotic spirituality].

The fourth column—the Spirit Empowerment Slot—is where you select and load items with spirit empowerment.

The system is not complicated. According to Zhang Qingshan's simple summary, its essence should be to select something, add it to the spirit-enhancing slot, and endow it with spirituality, which should make that thing different.

Having a system is certainly a good thing, but unfortunately, it also encounters problems.

That is, when you choose Chaos Enchantment, you will be prompted to put the Enchantment Item into the Enchantment Slot.

When I was in Zhangjia Village, I touched everything I could reach in the village, from hoes and winnowing baskets to pots and pans, and even risked touching someone's bow and arrows and sword, but I got nothing and the system didn't react at all.

One of the reasons for their eagerness to leave Zhangjia Village and venture into the outside world was that they wanted to trigger their cheat abilities through more things in the outside world.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qingshan couldn't help but rummage around in the dilapidated hut once more. There were broken windows, a broken bed, a broken mat, a broken blanket, a small bowl, a thin pot, a small stool, a wooden basin, and a portable earthen stove. The dripping sound he had imagined did not appear.

He shook his head, picked up his yellowed and faded white jacket and shorts, and went to the well in the courtyard to fetch water to wash up.

At this moment, several neighbors in the shed courtyard had also returned, including Old Liu and Xu Jian, the husband of Wang Sao next door.

Right now, they're soaking soybeans, preparing for grinding them in the middle of the night. The couple are both in their forties, and they both look prematurely aged. Although making tofu provides a relatively stable income, it's a job that takes a lot of time and energy.

"Brother Xu is back so early today, looks like business is good."

Xu Jian, who was soaking soybeans, looked up, smiled, and his wrinkles smoothed out. "You young people in Qingshan are so clean; you take a bath every day."

After saying that, he glanced at his wife and said, "You're still a woman, look at other women."

"Pah, I'm just reluctant to waste putty, that's called being thrifty. Look at Old Wang's family, they pour night-blooming jasmine, but they don't wash it every day."

Old Wang's full name is Wang Lesheng, and his wife is Song Hui. The two of them pull a cart to deliver night-blooming jasmine to people in the city who don't have toilets. They don't charge money, mainly because the night-blooming jasmine can be sold to farms outside the city for composting.

They also had a son named Wang Changchuan, who was about the same age as them. He worked as an apprentice in a restaurant for many years, with room and board provided but no wages.

Old Wang and his wife knew they smelled bad. They were huddled in a corner with the cart, but after hearing Wang's wife's teasing, they cursed and went to get a basin to wash themselves.

Widow Xie, who lived next door to the left, was sifting rice bran. When she saw this, even her bitter face broke into a smile.

Old Liu also came out, holding a dark yellow porcelain bowl, drinking strong tea with a smile on his face. He chatted with Sister Xie, thought for a moment, went back into the house, took out a sesame candy, and handed it to Sister Xie's little maid, Chunyu.

Although the entire compound was austere, it had a more lively and welcoming atmosphere compared to the tense atmosphere at the dock, making people feel much more relaxed.

This shantytown was actually just seven or eight shacks lined up in a row, housing six families. There was also a young woman in her twenties named Zhuang Xiaochun who hadn't returned. I heard she was working as a clerk in a cosmetics shop.

After washing himself clean, Zhang Qingshan locked the door and went outside.

Seeing this, Old Liu opened his mouth, stretched out his arm, then pulled it back and sighed.

The other neighbors also had mixed feelings, and in the end, no one said anything.

After Zhang Qingshan walked away, the others started discussing it.

"Young people are young people. They still have energy to carry the bags back. Even if I were willing to give up those ten coins, I wouldn't have the energy to practice boxing."

"Sigh, I've told Xiao Zhang several times already. Zhou Biao has no real connection with the Zhou family in the inner city. He just worked as a handyman for the Zhou family for a few days before. As for his boxing techniques, they're definitely just a hodgepodge, used to fool naive young people every day."

"Stop talking, we're all the same. Your son went to deliver copper coins back then, but you didn't say that at the time."

"Old Xu, who told you not to teach Xiao Chuan your skills as a county militiaman back then?"

"Teach my ass! If I knew how to teach people, I'd be grinding tofu for nothing. Do you think I came from the Holy Dynasty's Divine Martial Army? And besides, how are you going to teach your simple-minded son?"

Zhang Qingshan knew his neighbors would talk about him; it was just common for people from the lower classes to gossip about everyday matters, and they didn't mean any harm.

From the neighbors' perspective, I was a bit immature, not giving back to my family with the money I worked so hard to earn, but instead sending it outside. It wasn't like I was living a proper life. But from my perspective as a transmigrator, I had to do something. Practicing martial arts wasn't just about practicing martial arts; it was also about getting to know the outside world.

I bought a dark yellow steamed bun for a penny to fill my stomach, and after walking for about ten minutes, I came to a courtyard. The courtyard was small and dilapidated, and there was a sign for Zhou Family Boxing hanging at the entrance.

Practicing boxing here costs ten copper coins a day, charged on a daily basis, which suits the economic characteristics of children in this slum.

The master's name was Zhou Biao, and he was said to have been apprenticed to the head instructor of the Zhou family's guards in the inner city.

In Zhang Qingshan's view, there might be a slight connection between the nine fakes and one genuine one. The other party wasn't entirely a fraud; they did have some skill. When recruiting students, they could still leave a mark on a tree trunk with a punch. They were still a bit better than ordinary people, weren't they?

"Hey, Zhang Qingshan, you're here again." "Let me tell you, for just ten taels of silver, you can go to our outer city martial arts school to study for three months. That's real martial arts." "I also heard that for just five taels of silver to the manager of the Chen Family Escort Agency, if you're not too bad-looking, you can also get in as an apprentice." "Shh, stop talking. Master Zhou is here. You're itching for a beating, aren't you?"

Instructor Zhou Biao also heard these words and sneered, "Ten copper coins and a bowl of medicine dregs soup, what do you want in return for a two-wheeled rickshaw?" "Get up and practice, all of you. If you master my Zhou Family Fist, you might be able to work as a handyman in a merchant caravan or brothel."

After practicing for about an hour, everyone dispersed and went home.

By the time I got home, it was already getting dark.

Someone called out, "Xiao Zhang, you have guests at your house."

Zhang Qingshan looked closely and saw a person squatting on the stone embankment in front of the broken wooden door, with sparks flickering in the dim light.

She exclaimed in surprise, "Second Uncle, what brings you here?"

Uncle Zhang Ergui, holding his old pipe, forced a smile through his wrinkled face. "We picked some fragrant herbs at home, which we'll take to the city to exchange for some salt. I'll stay here for the night. Oh, and your parents also asked me to bring you some dried sweet potatoes."

Zhang Qingshan pursed his lips, silently opened the door, lit a fire at the doorway, and cooked a pot of porridge with rice bran, cornmeal, and dried sweet potatoes he had brought from home. Then the uncle and nephew drank it in silence.

There was little conversation, only the slurping sound of people slurping their porridge.

The two lay in bed at night, smelling the sweat on their second uncle's body. Zhang Qingshan didn't say anything. It was unrealistic to expect them to be clean and tidy in this world. Both of them were very tired and fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as they lay down.

As dawn broke, my second uncle was already awake. Looking at the busy work of the other neighbors outside, his sorrowful face seemed to be lost in thought: "Qingshan, I heard you're still practicing boxing. Will it be of any use?"

Before he could reply, his second uncle shook his pipe again.

"Forget it, keep practicing. If you were really so resigned to your fate, you wouldn't have come out to be a porter. But I've heard that the Green Water Gang is very fierce, so you have to be careful. Sigh, this world is full of people who eat people. Even in small villages like ours, there are now refugees passing through."

Zhang Qingshan was making breakfast when his second uncle said he had some dry food in his pocket, waved, and left.

No one said anything. People from poor families aren't that sentimental; most of them keep their feelings buried deep inside.

My second uncle didn't try to dissuade me from carrying the bags, because there were indeed wolves everywhere, not just the Qingshui Gang.

Just like the fragrant thorn that my second uncle sells, it's a unique kind of thorn. After being dried, it's used as firewood for cooking, giving the food a pleasant aroma. It's one of the most popular firewoods among wealthy families.

Even this stuff can't be sold casually. It has to be sold at a low price to the stalls of the Mountain Forest Gang. Otherwise, if they find out, they'll kill your whole family. Zhang Qingshan had heard when he was a child that someone had been hanged by the Mountain Forest Gang because of this stuff.

There's the Clear Water Gang in the water, the Mountain Forest Gang in the mountains, and the Clever Gate Horse Club and Little Green Gang in the outer city, etc. It's pretty much the same everywhere.

Turning back to tidy the bed, I found a pile of copper coins under the bamboo pillow. I counted them and there were twenty of them. My second uncle had long since disappeared. I quietly put them away.

I went out to work, and today someone else was whipped. No one died, but Master Ma deducted three copper coins from my pay.

After returning home, he was about to go learn boxing again when Old Xu, who was soaking beans, stopped him. "Your second uncle, Old Zhang, said yesterday that your Zhang family has it tough too. They're all kind people, and life isn't easy for them. So don't bother learning Zhou family boxing. That's what Zhou Biao teaches. You can practice it yourself without any problems."

After saying that, he tossed over a very thin, old book; it was more like a simple little booklet than a book.

"When we were county militia more than ten years ago, everyone was issued a copy, including Zhou Biao. Don't tell anyone else, in case you ruin his livelihood, he's a ruthless guy."

Zhang Qingshan didn't reply, standing there stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with surprise.

[Beep, the Spirit Empowerment Gauge has detected a unique carrier of truth in this world. It can be equipped. Equip?]