Wang Mu took the axe. It didn't feel very heavy, maybe just over twenty pounds?
He could still swing it.
Recalling Uncle Tie Niu's stance, Wang Mu chose the smallest Purple Shuo Tree and swung the axe down with all his might.
BANG...
The powerful recoil sent the axe flying from his grasp.
Wang Mu stumbled backward several steps until Uncle Tie Niu steadied him by the shoulders, allowing him to barely stop.
... Wang Mu was speechless.
He glanced at the Purple Shuo Tree and found not a single mark where he had struck.
Is it that hard?
"Don't worry, take it slow," Uncle Tie Niu said, utterly unfazed, as if he had expected this. "When I first started chopping trees, it was the same for me. Persistence is success. If you can't carry on, we'll go back. You keep chopping this one. I'll go elsewhere to try a few more."
With that, Uncle Tie Niu walked toward the other side of the Purple Wood Forest.
Wang Mu picked up the axe again, feeling a numbness throughout his body.
After thinking for a moment, he focused his consciousness.
[Current Action Points: 1]
[Cultivation: Chopping (+)]
[Travel: -]
Indeed, I can use Action Points now.
The '+' means I can use Action Points for training.
So...
After hesitating for a few seconds, Wang Mu made up his mind, spent an Action Point, and applied it to his Chopping skill.
The next moment, Wang Mu's whole body shook. A strange sensation rose within him as if he had entered some miraculous state.
Immediately after, Wang Mu picked up the axe. His body's movements became unified. Power surged from the ground, his thighs squared, his waist became the core, transferring strength to his arms, and finally focusing in his wrists...
He swung the axe!
The Purple Shuo Tree moved slightly.
But quickly, Wang Mu swung again, his movements almost identical to the previous one.
Wang Mu had no idea how long this marvelous state lasted. During it, he didn't feel fatigue, only enlightenment.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
CRASH!
The Purple Shuo Tree toppled. Wang Mu's axe swung through empty air.
Wang Mu suddenly snapped back to his senses, only to feel a wave of utter exhaustion sweep over him.
He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, his vision slightly blurred.
Then he saw a face filled with shock.
It was Uncle Tie Niu.
His eyes stared as if he had just seen a monster.
"Uncle, how long has it been?" Wang Mu asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"It's past noon... The sun is about to set," Uncle Tie Niu said, his voice somewhat subdued. "I just took a nap..."
?
Are you sure you didn't oversleep? Wang Mu thought.
"Did I... succeed?" Wang Mu asked.
Uncle Tie Niu looked at the fallen Purple Shuo Tree beside them and nodded. "You did. Let's go back."
Saying this, he paused, his voice taking on a subtle tone, "You're physically weak, kid, but you're quite the little monster. Such strong willpower!"
"It took me half a month to barely cut down one tree back then, and you managed it in a single day... Not bad, not bad at all!"
With Wang Mu on one shoulder and the already sectioned firewood in the other hand, Uncle Tie Niu headed back to the village.
Back in the village, they had dinner at Aunt Hong's house.
It was a meal in this Otherworld, one that Wang Mu enjoyed greatly. He wasn't sure if it was because of the ingredients or his overwhelming hunger.
Night had fallen by the time he returned to his cabin.
Lying in bed, Wang Mu focused his consciousness once more.
[Current Action Points: 0]
[Cultivation: Chopping (1)]
[Travel: -]
Level 1 Chopping?
Wang Mu remembered that in the game, cultivating the Chopping skill would improve basic Attributes like Root Bone.
After a day of Chopping, Wang Mu ached all over. However, after eating, he felt somewhat better, though still very tired.
「The next day.」
When Wang Mu got up, he felt full of strength.
Although I don't have a status panel, I can definitely tell I've changed quite a bit after using that Action Point, Wang Mu mused, unable to quite articulate the sensation.
That day, Wang Mu continued to follow Uncle Tie Niu to chop Purple Shuo Trees.
He didn't enter the same state as yesterday, but Wang Mu still managed to spend the whole day felling a smaller Purple Shuo Tree. His body still ached, but it was much more tolerable than the day before.
There was no change in his status panel, yet Wang Mu could still feel he had grown a bit stronger.
It just wasn't as dramatic an improvement as when he had used an Action Point.
I wonder how these Action Points recover? Is it like in the game, four points a month?
Wang Mu shook his head and clenched his fists.
Just two days of chopping trees made Wang Mu feel as if he had been training for half a year; the sensation was quite miraculous.
「Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.」
During this month, Wang Mu gradually grew accustomed to the peaceful life in Anle Village and became more familiar with its layout and people.
His daily work remained the same: chopping trees.
The village had a substantial demand for Purple Shuo Trees. These trees had a wide range of uses, from cooking fuel to making tools; their applications were numerous.
Throughout this month, Wang Mu didn't see any outsiders visit the village.
He became more proficient at chopping trees, and his body grew stronger. He could now easily fell a tree in a day and still have energy to spare.
I could probably knock out my past self with a single punch now... Wang Mu mused.
Also, during this month, Wang Mu inquired around and learned that there were no Martial Arts or Cultivation Techniques available in the village. The villagers chopped trees and fished, relying solely on their own innate strength.
It's purely instinctual combat strength, the kind where they haven't learned any formal techniques, he thought.
The weather remained poor, and the distant sky was still incredibly gloomy.
According to the villagers, it was still an Immortal Crossing Tribulation, though the situation had improved significantly compared to a month ago.
The villagers were no longer using Evil Avoiding Golden Light Talismans, which indicated that it had become much safer recently.
It was probably nearing the end of the Tribulation.
However, Wang Mu mused, It's been going on for a month now... What Realm is this Cultivator in? Who's ever heard of a Heavenly Tribulation lasting this long?
Of course, Wang Mu didn't dwell on it too much; his development period in the Newbie Village was still far from over.
What disappointed him was the recovery rate of Action Points. They seem to only recover one point a month? Not four points like in the game, he thought.
Indeed, after using his Action Point, it wasn't until a certain day well into the following month that Wang Mu saw his Action Points increase by one.
「That night」
Wang Mu was hesitating about what to do with this single Action Point.
Should I continue Chopping trees, or do something else? It's a pity. It would be great if I could Travel, he thought.
He knew that Travel is specifically for triggering plot events and is extremely important. In the game, if you only focused on Cultivation and development, you might never even encounter the final boss.
There was a famous saying in the game: "Cultivate for three years and become a beggar; Travel every day and become a hero."
If you started as a rich merchant or from a prestigious family and just holed up cultivating, you'd most likely end up a beggar. It's the same in reality; without some fortuitous encounters, it's hard to succeed through sheer hard training alone. Unfortunately, the timing of events triggered by Travel is unpredictable, especially in reality.
As he was pondering, suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the outside, and the Heavenly Vault seemed to blaze with light.
Wang Mu looked out the window. The pervasive Thunder gradually faded, and it seemed a meteor streaked across the sky...
"Ah, a meteor," Wang Mu remarked.
He had adapted quickly to this past month of life in the Otherworld.
How should I describe it? It's very similar to my childhood days in the countryside... Life without cell phones and computers... it's not that hard to get used to. And I can feel myself changing, like playing a character development game. It has its own unique appeal.
This Action Point...
Wang Mu focused his consciousness.
[Current Action Points: 1]
[Cultivation: Chopping (+)]
[Travel: !]
"Huh!"
Wang Mu felt a jolt of anticipation.
An exclamation mark has appeared next to Travel! This means I can use an Action Point to trigger a story event!
Without hesitation, Wang Mu immediately spent the Action Point. The panel changed accordingly:
[Travel: Yunlai Creek (!)]
A location has appeared. Does this mean there's a special event at Yunlai Creek?
Wang Mu felt a surge of excitement.
Yunlai Creek was a small stream near the village—though, in Wang Mu's eyes, it was more like a large river.
Without hesitation, Wang Mu got up, grabbed a torch, and walked out of the village. Before long, he arrived near Yunlai Creek.
Wang Mu followed the riverbank, searching carefully as he went.
After he had walked about two or three hundred paces, the calm surface of the creek rippled slightly. Then, within his line of sight, a figure lay collapsed on the bank...
It was a woman!