Chapter One: Standing Guard at the Imperial Palace

In the imperial palace of the Great Qian Kingdom, the sky was overcast and heavy snow drifted down, blanketing everything in silver.

Liang Jin stood beneath the eaves in armor, spear in hand, as motionless as a statue.

Though the falling snow had not yet reached him, the bone-deep cold seeped through his armor and into his flesh.

“Without realizing it, I’ve already been in this world for a full month...”

Liang Jin sighed inwardly.

Somehow, he had been thrown into a world much like an ancient dynasty’s age, and had become a palace guard in the imperial troops.

Life in the imperial guard was tedious: on duty in the palace, standing watch, patrolling, guarding the gates; back at camp, drilling, drinking, and visiting brothels.

Liang Jin had never imagined he would actually endure such a life for an entire month.

This was a remote place, quiet and deserted, with only Liang Jin on guard duty.

That allowed him to slack off now and then.

In earlier years, the palace had been heavily guarded, and the phrase “one post every three steps, one sentry every five” would not have been an exaggeration.

But now, the palace’s defenses were nothing like they once were.

The Great Qian had just suffered a defeat abroad and paid out a great sum in indemnities.

At home, it was busy with disaster relief and suppressing rebellions, spending money like water.

The court had no funds left, so it had no choice but to cut the imperial guard down by a huge number.

On top of that, the officers within the guard were not only skimming grain and pay, but the practice of taking pay for men who did no work had grown more and more rampant.

As a result, the palace guard was increasingly stretched thin, and security had grown lax.

Especially since the emperor himself was a fool.

This Great Qian Dynasty already bore the signs of a dying state.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

A little palace maid came trudging over, laboring under a wicker basket full of dirty clothes.

When she reached Liang Jin, she set down the basket and pulled a pair of insoles from her robes, secretly tucking them into his armor.

“Brother Jin, these cotton insoles are for you.”

“They’re very soft. Put them in your shoes, and your feet will stay warm when you’re on watch.”

The little maid was named Su Lian, fifteen years old, and she worked in the laundry bureau washing clothes.

Young as she was, she had entered the palace five years ago, and had known Liang Jin for five years as well.

Su Lian was very kind to Liang Jin, often quietly hiding scraps of cloth to bring him.

Liang Jin thanked her.

“Thank you, Little Lian.”

“Next time I come by, I’ll bring you some medicine for frostbite.”

He looked at the frostbite on Su Lian’s hands, where the skin had split open, turned black, and could not even bleed anymore.

A pang of melancholy rose in Liang Jin’s heart.

In his memory, Su Lian had begun serving as a palace maid at ten, which was already considered late; in his past life, the famous Wan Zhen’er from history had entered service at only four.

This damned feudal society.

“Brother Jin, I’ve got thick skin, so there’s no need to trouble yourself, and I’m used to it already.”

“I have to keep my hands in water all day. Even if I put on medicine, it would wash off after a few rinses. It would just waste your money.”

Su Lian said it offhandedly, without a care.

Liang Jin silently shook his head.

He knew Su Lian had endless laundry to wash every day, and after finishing her work she still had to serve the older women in charge before she could sleep.

Su Lian was only a lowly maid and had no资格 to serve concubines; the “aunts” she mentioned were merely senior maids who handled affairs.

Swish, swish, swish...

The sound of sweeping arose.

A little eunuch came into view, carrying a broom and sweeping away the snow as he approached.

Seeing him, Su Lian said happily, “Brother Jin, look, it’s Brother Bao!”

The little eunuch was named Zhao Bao, sixteen years old, and worked in the cleaning department, where he was responsible for tidying up.

He, like Su Lian, was one of Liang Jin’s longtime friends.

All three were orphans, and all three were at the very bottom of the palace hierarchy. Add to that their similar ages, and their bond had grown extremely close; though not family, they were more like family than family.

So whenever Liang Jin was on duty, the three of them would secretly gather there to talk.

When Zhao Bao came near, Su Lian pulled out another pair of insoles and handed them to him.

“These are for you.”

Zhao Bao looked around cautiously before taking them, then complained in a low voice, “Keep it down. If someone sees us, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

He kept turning his face away, hiding as if embarrassed.

But Liang Jin had already noticed the bruise on his cheek and asked, “You got beaten?”

Zhao Bao covered the bruise with his hand and replied, “I’m fine.”

“Brother Jin, I’ve finally seen it clearly. In this palace, even if you yield and obey everywhere, you’ll still be bullied because of your lowly status.”

“The people who insulted me, looked down on me, and treated me like dirt—I’ve remembered every one of them.”

“If there ever comes a day when I rise above this, I’ll pay them back a hundredfold, a thousandfold!”

When Zhao Bao said this, his young face was set with clenched teeth, and deep resentment showed through every line of it.

Seeing this, Liang Jin sighed softly in his heart.

In his memory, when he had first met Zhao Bao, Zhao Bao had been a naive and innocent child.

A few years had passed. Though Zhao Bao was only sixteen, his expression already carried something that did not belong to his age.

Life for a little eunuch was equally harsh. No one in this palace had an easy time.

Su Lian also looked worried.

“Brother Bao, in a couple of days I’ll steal you some candy. When I was little, my mother always said candy makes the pain hurt less.”

“Don’t worry, I’m really good at stealing things,” Zhao Bao said with a smile.

Then he turned to look around once more before drawing something from his robes.

It was actually two handwritten copies.

On the cover were several large characters: The Dark Moon Palm.

Lowering his voice, Zhao Bao explained mysteriously, “Two days ago, didn’t Steward Zhang, who was on duty, die? The higher-ups sent me to clean out and empty his room.”

“As it turned out, I found a hidden compartment. Inside was a martial arts manual.”

“I secretly copied it down. Brother Jin, Little Lian, here—one for each of you.”

At those words, Liang Jin’s heart moved.

A martial arts manual!

That was right.

This world had martial arts.

The imperial guard was also the only army in the country made up entirely of martial artists.

But martial artists differed in strength as well.

The strongest were first-rank martial artists.

The weakest were ninth-rank martial artists.

When the imperial guard drilled, instructors would also teach some rudimentary techniques.

Those with outstanding talent could learn more advanced skills.

The body Liang Jin inhabited had no talent for martial arts. He had been stuck at ninth rank for years without breaking through, and so had never had the chance to learn superior techniques.

But if he had a good manual, it might help him advance.

There were many manuals in the palace, but those of the lowest ranks were not qualified to read them.

For palace servants at the bottom, even a single manual was precious.

For Zhao Bao to have such thoughtfulness was even more valuable.

So Liang Jin took the handwritten copy without the slightest courtesy and tucked it into his robes.

Su Lian, however, waved her hands.

“I don’t want it.”

“I hear training in martial arts is very hard. I spend all day washing clothes from morning till night, and after I finish serving the aunts at night, I can only rest.”

“I’m exhausted already—where would I find the time to practice martial arts? You and Brother Jin can learn it.”

Su Lian had simple thoughts and no great ambitions.

That only made Zhao Bao glare at her in exasperation.

“You really have no ambition! In this palace, only those who can bear the hardest hardships can rise above others.”

“Forget it. If I ever climb up one day, I’ll cover for you and Brother Jin. Then nobody will dare bully you.”

“All right, we’d better scatter now. If someone sees us, we’ll only bring trouble on ourselves.”

After delivering the handwritten copy, Zhao Bao felt guilty as though he had done something sneaky, and did not dare linger.

Thus, after a brief chat, the three parted ways.

Liang Jin continued his watch.

When no one was around, he took out the handwritten copy and looked through it for a while, only to feel somewhat disappointed.

The Dark Moon Palm was a soft, yielding style, while the martial arts Liang Jin had learned in the imperial guard were hard and forceful.

The internal energies of the two clashed.

Merely following the method in the copy for a short while made Liang Jin feel uncomfortable all over.

To practice the Dark Moon Palm, he would have to disperse all the hard, forceful inner energy he had cultivated before.

It was essentially starting over from the beginning.

“So this Dark Moon Palm may be good, but it doesn’t suit me.”

“Zhao Bao is starting from zero, and as a eunuch, this palm technique suits him better.”

Liang Jin was not discouraged.

Because...

he had a system.

Every day on guard duty, he could sign in and receive rewards.

Most of the rewards were improvements in martial cultivation.

After signing in continuously for a month, Liang Jin had already broken through from ninth rank to eighth rank.

That speed was nothing short of astonishing.

Precisely for that reason, Liang Jin did not want to disperse his inner energy and begin cultivating the Dark Moon Palm.

“The sign-in time is almost here. I wonder what reward I’ll get this time?”

A panel appeared before Liang Jin’s eyes.

Host: Liang Jin

Cultivation: Eighth-Rank Martial Artist

Martial Arts: Imperial Guard Long Fist, third level; Coiling Dragon Staff Technique, second level; Dark Moon Palm, not yet begun

These few lines were the summary of Liang Jin’s current state.

Simple, but sparse.

The sign-in time had arrived, and Liang Jin pressed the Sign In button without hesitation.

Just as he assumed it would be like always, granting him martial cultivation, an unexpected change occurred.

The panel suddenly blazed with golden light.

Immediately after, a new line of text appeared:

Congratulations to the host for completing one full month of consecutive sign-ins. The "Manifest Divine Presence" function has been unlocked.

An external incarnation, manifesting divine presence, saving all living beings.

This manifestation destination: Giant Ox Township

Congratulations to the host for obtaining the first external incarnation.

Trait acquired by this external incarnation: talisman water healing

An incarnation will be randomly dispatched momentarily...

In his astonishment, Liang Jin suddenly felt as though his soul had been seized by an invisible force and, in an instant, drawn toward some faraway place.