Chapter 2
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Chapter 2: Ah, I’m Alive
“Someone has been killed! Someone has been killed! Someone has been killed…”
Gasps of alarm rippled through the crowd, but when Butcher Zheng’s piercing gaze swept over them, they quickly covered their mouths and fled in disarray, some were crawling and rolling in their haste.
In no time, the market was deserted as everyone had hurriedly fled.
Only Butcher Zheng stood still, gazing at the young body lying on the ground with a look of confusion.
He had a question echoing in his heart.
What happened?
Initially, he believed that this troublemaking young man was a martial arts-enthusiast knight. At first, Butcher Zheng had been patient and tolerant, but when he could no longer stand it, he drew his knife and attacked without holding back.
But unexpectedly…
Recalling the young man’s last display of boxing skills, Butcher Zheng covered his face in disbelief.
Of course, that wasn’t the issue.
The issue was that he killed someone!
He killed someone right on the street! And many had witnessed it!
“Run!”
Butcher Zheng quickly packed his belongings and ran out of the small town.
Despite his large and imposing frame, he moved swiftly and gracefully, quickly disappearing from sight.
Not long after.
At the corner of the alley near the vegetable market, another Qiao Mu walked out, looking almost identical to the first.
He casually glanced down at his body lying in the middle of the market before stretching his muscles.
“The previous body was only 15 years old and hadn’t fully grown yet.”
“Now, it’s much better.”
Compared to the 15-year-old body lying on the ground, Qiao Mu was noticeably taller, with a more robust physique. While he maintained a well-proportioned figure, faint muscle lines traced along his limbs.
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, a long-life lock, with a texture resembling jade and stone, appeared.
This strange long-life lock was a peculiar object that appeared with Qiao Mu after he crossed over. On top of it was a peculiar pattern of a serpent with a tail in its mouth, and the circular body of the snake surrounded large characters.
Longevity and Immortality.
“Longevity” and “immortality” are two separate concepts.
Longevity means that Qiao Mu has eternal life and will never grow old.
Immortality means Qiao Mu has an immortal body, even if he is killed, he can keep coming back to life.
The cost of resurrection is lifespan.
Every time Qiao Mu comes back to life, he loses a portion of his lifespan, and his body ages. Yet, what’s even more peculiar is that his power grows as his body grows older.
For every 10 years of lifespan consumed, he gains 10 years of strength.
The more deaths he endures, the older he becomes, and the older he gets, the stronger he becomes.
“What is this Old Immortality Cultivation System?” Qiao Mu complained, gazing at the lock of longevity in his heart, while more information emerged in his mind.
This Death Assessment: C (a martyr’s death. Sadly, they died too quickly and were weak, using their life to exchange for the other party’s escape out of fear of punishment.)
Lifespan Consumption: 3 years
Remaining Resurrections this week: 4 out of 5
Current age: 18 years old
Skill: Long Life Fist (Beginner)
Before, Qiao Mu was 15 years old, just a young beginner who had recently started learning martial arts.
However, he died once, losing three years of his lifespan.
After resurrection, his body aged to 18 years old, and his martial arts skills also improved by three years.
Just like this moment.
Qiao Mu tightly clenched his fists, and in his heart, he recalled the memories of the past three years spent diligently practicing the Long Life Fist.
Three years that felt like a single day—dry and monotonous.
Each move and form of the Long Life Fist is formed step by step through three years of intense practice, conditioning his muscle into memory.
“If I were to practice martial arts slowly on my own, I’m afraid it would take more than three years to reach my current level.”
Qiao Mu thought to himself.
A day consists of only twenty-four hours.
Everyone needs to eat and sleep, and everyone has laziness and mundane matters to deal with. It’s hard to find a large amount of time every day for martial arts practice.
But an external aid is different.
Qiao Mu’s three years of martial arts practice were incredibly focused, and the time efficiency reached 100%, a theoretical existence.
As for the price he paid, it was three years of his life…
Qiao Mu stretched his arms and legs, his arm muscles strong and powerful, with well-defined muscle lines.
Aging from 15 to 18 wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Death Assessment reached C level, consuming three years of my life in one go?”
Since Qiao Mu had traveled to this era, this was his first encounter with a C-level Death Assessment.
He looked up, his gaze shifted from his own lifeless body to the small hill outside the city—the direction Butcher Zheng had fled earlier.
“I don’t have enough experience with death to know what caused me to receive a C level evaluation this time. Butcher Zheng must be more than just an ordinary person.”
A butcher who could effortlessly crush a cutting board is surely more than just a butcher.
Qiao Mu, no longer concerned about his own lifeless body, briskly walked towards the outskirts of the city to chase after Butcher Zheng.
“I can’t let him go!”
“I need him to kill me several times!”
What Qiao Mu sought was not just simple death.
Otherwise, he would only need to keep committing suicide.
The meaningless act of suicide represents D-level death assessment. This kind of death only wastes one’s lifespan without any benefit. It causes Qiao Mu’s body to age but doesn’t contribute to the growth of martial arts skills, making it utterly pointless.
So what Qiao Mu pursues is a high-quality and highly regarded death.
……………………………………………………
In the forest outside the small town.
Butcher Zheng rushed in alone and entered the dilapidated temple at the end of the mountain road.
The old temple was in ruins, with leaves covering the courtyard and cracks on the Buddha statue in the shrine. The cushion in front of the Buddha statue also had dents.
The temple was empty, except for a white dove perched on the wall of the temple, grooming its feathers.
“No one here?” Butcher Zheng looked around and, realizing that there was no one, he took out a pen and paper to write down what had happened with Qiao Mu.
He knew he had to escape as soon as possible.
But what had just happened seemed suspicious, making him even more cautious.
“…That young boy was arrogant in his words, and I thought he had some kind of advantage or special skills, so I didn’t hold back…” he wrote on the paper.
“But what was even more peculiar were his martial arts moves…”
Butcher Zheng paused his pen, recalling Qiao Mu’s precise moves.
“The martial arts he practiced seemed to be the Qiao family’s Long Life Fist.”
When Butcher Zheng wrote up to this point, he quickly folded the letter and tied it to the leg of a white dove, but there was worry in his eyes.
Qiao family’s Long Life Fist was once famous, claiming to be an internal martial art inherited from the Taoist school, which can extend life and improve health.
A hundred years ago, the Qiao family had produced a martial arts grandmaster, said to be a hundred years old but with youthful appearance, and a strong vitality. Therefore, the news reached the Great Yan Imperial Court, and they invited him to the palace to teach Long Life Fist, which sparked a wave of martial arts fever among the aristocracy.
But that was already a thing of the past.
“Didn’t the Qiao family already die out? Is there someone left?” Butcher Zheng muttered to himself.
“If that person is really a vengeful orphan from the Qiao family, then this time it wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Butcher Zheng understood the principle of “if the roots are not removed, the weeds will grow again with the spring breeze.”
“It would be most secure if all the descendants of the Qiao family are dead.”
While he was thinking, Butcher Zheng suddenly turned around.
Someone had appeared at the broken temple gate, looking almost exactly like the young Qiao Mu, who had previously died at the hands of Butcher Zheng.
“Um…” Butcher Zheng shuddered as he remembered the smile on the young Qiao Mu’s face before his death.
Without waiting for him to speak, Qiao Mu let out a loud shout:
“You killed my younger brother! I want you to pay for it with your blood!”
After saying that, he rushed forward in big strides.
Those words only solidified Butcher Zheng’s suspicions.
Upon careful examination, the Qiao Mu standing before him was indeed a few years older compared to the young Qiao Mu that he had previously killed with his own hands, approximately around the age of eighteen.
“So you’ve come seeking revenge for your brother,” Butcher Zheng reached for the sharp knife at his waist, suddenly remembering something.
“Young man, is your last name Qiao?” he suddenly asked.
Qiao Mu replied, “My surname is Li, my name is Li Jing, and I am adept at a technique called ‘catching a blade with bare hands’ with a hundred percent accuracy.”
