Chapter 1: The Creation Point Arrives Late, but It Arrives
Clang, clang, clang…
The steady ring of hammer on iron echoed from a courtyard in Da Feng Town. Neighbors sighed, helpless against the noise, but none dared complain.
Inside the courtyard, a youth of seventeen or eighteen, bare-chested beneath a dark apron, swung his hammer tirelessly at a glowing block of iron. Sweat drenched his back as he shaped the red-hot metal into the form of an axe.
His expression remained focused and unshaken.
"Tao-ge, it's almost done."
Beside him, a boy not yet ten, also shirtless and dusted black with soot, worked the bellows with all his might. Seeing the axe's form emerge, he couldn't help but smile.
"Mm. Keep the fire strong."
The youth—Lu Tao—spoke calmly. When the iron began to cool, he clamped it and pushed it back into the furnace.
"Alright."
Whoosh, whoosh—
The fire roared higher, flames licking skyward.
As Lu Tao stared into the blaze, his mind drifted. Within the flickering flames, he seemed to glimpse the sprawling modern city of his past life.
Because Lu Tao was not of this world—he was a transmigrator.
In his former life, he had been nothing more than a laborer. The days were hard, rising early and working late, but at least there was freedom—one day off each week.
Here, he was a blacksmith. Under the Axe Gang's thumb, he forged axes day and night. Out of twelve working hours, at least five were spent hammering iron, and there were no days off.
As for pay…
An axe was worth two hundred copper coins. After deductions, he saw only half—barely one hundred. Enough to eat and sleep, but with nothing left to buy the medicinal brews required for martial training.
Thinking of martial arts, Lu Tao silently called out: System.
A glowing panel appeared in his mind.
Name: Lu Tao
Cultivation: Body Tempering (Skin Stage) – Initial Phase
Cultivation Techniques: Man-Bull Body Refining Skill (0/5 Basic Mastery), Thunderbolt Fist (0/3 Basic Mastery)
Skill: Lu Family Hammer Technique (0/3 Basic Mastery)
Creation Points: 0
Three days ago, the moment he transmigrated, he had awakened his system ability—an interface that allowed him to add stats, along with a one-cubic-meter storage space. He thought it would be his golden chance to escape the Axe Gang.
But after three full days of experiments, he still hadn't found a way to earn Creation Points.
With no choice, he kept forging axes under their watch.
"Lu Tao, you little brat, slacking again? Do you want to die?"
A shout cracked through the air.
The courtyard door banged open. A burly, scar-faced man stormed in.
Lu Tao's face paled. He quickly bowed his head. "Brother Wang, I wasn't slacking. The axe is almost finished—it just needs reheating."
"Still talking back? Do you think I'm blind?"
Wang Jinshan surged forward, fist raised.
Lu Tao sighed inwardly, then smoothly pulled out ten copper coins, presenting them with both hands. "Brother Wang, calm your anger. The axe will be done soon. Take these and enjoy some wine."
"Hmph. Next time, I'll break your legs."
Snatching the coins, Wang Jinshan pocketed them without shame. After a cold glare and a glance at the half-forged axe, he swaggered out again, off to prowl Da Feng Town.
Lu Tao clenched his teeth.
His pay was already halved by the Axe Gang, and this dog still came daily to extort him. In the end, each axe left him with barely seventy copper coins.
The body's original owner had been worked to death this way, ground down by labor and endless extortion. His despair made way for Lu Tao's arrival.
Lu Tao had considered resisting. But his strength was pitiful. The Axe Gang had dozens of members, all at least Body Tempering cultivators. Against them, he had no chance.
They were ruthless besides—crippling was the lightest punishment. Families had been slaughtered without mercy.
Da Feng Town drowned in grievances, but no one strong enough to stop the gang had reason to intervene.
For a weakling like him, escape wasn't even possible.
The thought left him suffocating with helplessness.
To transmigrate with a system ability, only to live so cravenly—he couldn't accept it.
How do I earn Creation Points?
He asked again, but the system gave no reply.
"This broken thing… what kind of useless system is this?" Lu Tao almost cursed aloud.
"Tao-ge, the iron's red," Wu Ming said quietly.
When Wang Jinshan had barged in, the boy had hidden, trembling in silence. Only once the thug left did he dare breathe again. He was used to it.
"Mm."
Lu Tao calmed himself and said nothing more. He drew the glowing iron back out and hammered steadily.
Forging an axe took several stages: hammering, filing, tempering, polishing. The hammering alone required tens of thousands of strikes to purge impurities and make the metal fit for weapons.
After three days of effort, the axe was nearly complete.
Clang, clang, clang—
The rhythm filled the courtyard. A quarter of an hour passed.
Finally, the axe took form.
Blade, head, body, and handle were forged as one. Rough, but usable—it could chop firewood, though not much more.
Just as Lu Tao prepared to begin filing, his eyes froze.
A line of text shimmered above the axe.
\[Axe: 0/1]
(A rough axe, unfiled, untempered, unpolished. Adequate for chopping firewood, but dull for cutting grass.)
"This is…?"
Lu Tao's heart leapt. He summoned the System panel.
Creation Points: 1
His breath caught. For three days he had waited, and at last, a point had appeared.
"So this is how to earn them…"
Hope returned. The path to freedom had finally cracked open.
"But what do those numbers mean? Can the axe be upgraded? If it costs Creation Points… I can't afford to waste them."
His eyes narrowed. "Xiao Ming, do you see anything on this axe?"
The boy blinked in confusion. "See what? Nothing."
"As expected…" Lu Tao nodded. Casually, he said, "It still has impurities. I'll hammer it a bit more."
He struck it again, but the numbers didn't change.
"Maybe it needs to be used."
Cooling the axe in water, he hefted it and swung lightly at a nearby wooden stump.
At once, the text shifted.
[Axe: 1/1 (Upgradeable)]
(A rough axe, untempered, unpolished. Adequate for chopping firewood, but dull for cutting grass.)
Lu Tao's eyes gleamed.
"Xiao Ming, are you hungry? Go buy something to eat. I'll call you later."
He pressed three copper coins into the boy's palm—Wu Ming's daily wage.
"Thank you, Tao-ge!"
Overjoyed, Wu Ming bolted off toward town to buy flatbread.
When the boy was gone, Lu Tao closed the courtyard door with care.
Gripping the axe, his breath steadied.
He whispered in his mind—
Upgrade.
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