"Did I just break through?"
Chen Ming looked at his hands, feeling the real power within his body and the new insights in his mind about the Iron Horse Stance. There was an indescribable feeling in his heart.
The original owner began practicing martial arts at thirteen, starting with the Iron Horse Stance. He trained for three years, hit a bottleneck, and no matter how hard he tried, couldn't improve.
The bottleneck lasted for four years.
Even while working as a shop assistant in a busy trading firm, he persisted in practicing the Pile Skill daily, come rain or shine, just to maintain his condition.
Now, with just two Experience Points, he had broken through the bottleneck, advancing to a higher level.
He glanced at the panel.
[Name: Chen Ming]
[Level: 3]
[Current Points: 0]
[Cultivation Technique: Iron Horse Stance (Second Level 0/200+)]
[Martial Skill: Three Talents Fist (Proficient 21/200+), Eight Trigrams Saber Technique (Beginner 12/100+)]
Suddenly, Chen Ming turned his head and looked towards the two prisoners hiding in the corner, then proceeded towards them.
Upon hearing footsteps, the two prisoners screamed in fright, "Spare us...we won't dare again...ah..."
What followed was a flurry of punches and kicks, accompanied by screams of pain.
The other prisoners nearby cheered, though regretfully too dark to see, judged by the sounds—a truly brutal beating.
...
Chen Ming kept beating them for several minutes until their pleas for mercy weakened, finally stopping.
"Why didn't I gain any Experience Points this time?"
He pondered.
Was it because you can only gain points from the same person once?
Or was it because they lacked any will to fight, hence not counting as a battle?
Which reason was it? More data was needed for confirmation.
"Looks like I need a way to leave this prison."
Listening to their whimpering groans, Chen Ming got annoyed and said, "Shut up."
The two prisoners immediately trembled, not daring to make a sound.
He moved to a spot away from the toilet, found a relatively clean place to sit down, and began studying this newfound golden finger.
...
Unknowingly, it was dawn.
Chen Ming spent his first night after crossing over in this environment.
Suddenly, footsteps approached from outside.
Two prison guards shouted, "Chen Ming, come out."
One reached for a key and unlocked the chains.
Chen Ming felt an uneasy suspense, uncertain of what awaited him. Interrogation methods in this era were always crude and straightforward—no confession meant severe punishment.
He wasn't afraid of a beating, but rather feared their underhanded tactics to cripple him.
He smiled placatingly, "Two officers, may I ask what you need me for?"
One guard, with dark skin, glanced at him and laughed, "If you behaved like this yesterday, you wouldn't have taken such a beating."
So it was you who beat the original owner to death.
Chen Ming bowed his head lower and said, "Yesterday, it was my ignorance that caused trouble for you two."
The guard remembered how stubbornly the guy held out yesterday, beaten to the brink, yet refusing to confess. He'd rarely met such defiance.
Unexpectedly, overnight, the boy seemed to have transformed completely.
It seemed that however hardy a person is, tools of torture are harder.
He teased, "Looks like yesterday's beating opened your eyes."
"Indeed, I'm scared of being beaten."
The guard was about to say more when his companion coughed lightly and said, "Chen Ming, the Jin Family has withdrawn the charges, you can go home."
"Ah? Really?"
Chen Ming was pleasantly surprised.
"Of course, collect your belongings and you can leave."
...
After escorting him out.
The dark-faced guard was puzzled, "Brother Sheng, why are you so courteous to him? Even returning his set of clothes? The material is new and worth quite a bit."
Brother Sheng replied thoughtfully, "You saw it yesterday, how tough Chen Ming is. Overnight, his personality changed and became so forbearing. Do you think he's scared?"
"What else?"
Brother Sheng said quietly, "I've seen someone like him before. Wronged, equally tough, refusing to plead guilty. After years in prison, completely changed. Disappeared after release. Years later, suddenly returned with bandits, eliminating his former accusers."
The dark-faced guard gulped, "Brother Sheng, don't scare me."
Brother Sheng walked inside, hands behind his back, saying, "That person became the Green-backed Wolf."
Green-backed Wolf?
The dark-faced guard was startled, feeling uneasy.
The largest bandit gang in the county, rampant for ten years, raiding traveling merchants, notorious enough to silence crying children.
...
Chen Ming walked out the cell door, feeling a sense of liberation, the tiger returning to the mountains, sweeping away all gloom from his heart.
"Ah Ming."
Suddenly, someone called him. He turned and was pleasantly surprised, "Brother?"
Standing not far away was the original owner's elder brother, Chen Rui.
Chen Ming suddenly understood it was this elder brother who got him out.
No wonder the Jin Family withdrew the charges, and the government office suddenly released him.
Chen Rui seemed somewhat weary, but upon seeing him, his previously furrowed brow relaxed instantly.
Chen Ming walked over and said earnestly, "Thank you, brother."
"We are brothers, no need for thanks. Let's go home, your sister-in-law's waiting for news."
After speaking, he boarded a somewhat old carriage nearby.
Chen Ming followed onboard, emotions stirred.
In the original owner's heart, there was some estrangement with this elder brother, lacking closeness.
After their father's passing, Chen Rui inherited the family business and soon stopped providing Chen Ming with money for martial arts.
With no choice, Chen Ming accepted Chen Rui's arrangement, working at Jin Yuansheng as an assistant.
He naturally felt resentment, hardly returning home since then.
In the end, when trouble arose, it was this dear brother who worked tirelessly to rescue him from jail.
Sadly, the original owner could no longer see this.
...
After over an hour, they finally arrived home.
Chen Ming disembarked and saw his sister-in-law, Wei, prepared a fire basin at the door for him to step over, using willow branches to sweep away misfortune.
Nearby, many neighbors watched the commotion.
"Chen Er's out?"
"Good that he's out."
"Such a good person, beaten so badly, it's a pity."
"I said, Chen Ming grew up under our eyes, would never engage in such lawbreaking activities..."
"..."
Chen Rui thanked the neighbors and brought his family inside.
Chen Ming, with keen ears, heard some discordant voices among the crowd, "Chen Da probably emptied the family's savings to bail out this worthless brother."
"Indeed, I heard Wei even sold her dowry."
"It's such a pity, Chen Rui, such an honest and hardworking person, being dragged down by a brother like this."
"I wouldn't have bailed him out..."
"Look how smart the Zhang Family is, as soon as Chen Er caused trouble, they came to annul the engagement. Avoiding his burden."
"..."