After awakening the memories of his past life and gaining a basic understanding of the new world, Zhang Yuan's greatest wish was to become strong, to become a master who could control his own destiny.
He also put in his greatest effort for this.
However, it was always a struggle, and even led to some humorous situations.
More than three years ago, Zhang Yuan once spent all his savings to buy a Secret Martial Arts Manual from a stall in the county town.
At the time, Zhang Yuan thought he had stumbled upon a treasure, and with the "Tiger Subduing Fist" he bought for 200 copper coins, he approached Elder Master Chen for guidance - some parts he couldn't understand.
As a result, he amused the elder greatly.
Although Elder Master Chen was not skilled in Martial Arts, his extensive knowledge and experience allowed him to immediately point out that these stall manuals were crudely made and not genuine at all, merely deceiving people.
As the saying goes, true skills are not passed on lightly; a mere few hundred copper coins could never procure a real Secret Manual.
Moreover, even for genuine manuals, many did not record the most crucial formulas, which needed to be passed down by a master through personal instruction and demonstration.
This made Zhang Yuan realize that the inheritance of Martial Arts Techniques in this world was extremely thorough and strict.
A poor village lad like Zhang Yuan, without any background, found it extremely difficult to learn real skills.
He lacked connections and could not afford the cost!
The setback at Hunter Gao's place was the best proof of this.
However, the unexpected acquisition of "Rock Foundation Skill" offered Zhang Yuan a glimpse of hope in becoming a Martial Artist.
This Secret Manual had been well-preserved by its original owner, carefully protected in a Beast Hide Bag.
Zhang Yuan opened its pages and began to read carefully by the oil lamp.
The "Rock Foundation Skill" had over thirty pages, with durable paper. It documented a Basic Cultivation Technique named "Rock Posture" with detailed illustrations and notes.
The last page was a soup recipe!
Zhang Yuan read it over and over, having a sudden revelation as if a gateway to the Martial Arts Realm was slowly opening up to him!
He couldn't help but feel his heart surge with excitement, unable to calm down for a long time.
The "Rock Foundation Skill" serves as a Basic Cultivation Technique for the Entering Force Realm, used to refine the body, temper the bones, and generate Qi Force!
The Entering Force Realm is divided into three tiers: Light Force, Dark Force, and the Transformation Realm.
The Chen Family guard Zhang Yuan previously defeated undoubtedly belonged to the lowest tier, a Tier One Light Force Martial Artist.
Although this "Rock Foundation Skill" is a Basic Cultivation Technique, it should be quite extraordinary; otherwise, it wouldn't have been treasured and well-protected by its owner.
It had a tremendous impact on Zhang Yuan.
After browsing through it several dozen times, Zhang Yuan suddenly noticed the back cover of the manual was unusually thick.
It was at least three to four times thicker than the front cover!
His heart leaped, and he immediately turned up the oil lamp to take a closer look.
Zhang Yuan found out the back cover held a secret.
There was something hidden inside!
He carefully cut open the cover with a skinning knife and pulled out three silver notes.
One was worth fifty silver taels, and the other two were ten taels each, adding up to a total of seventy silver taels!
At first, Zhang Yuan was speechless, but soon he was overwhelmed with immense joy.
This was because he had been troubled by a five-tael corvée for the past few days, even risking hunting deep into Qianfeng Mountain.
He even encountered something eerie.
Now, he unexpectedly gained seventy taels of windfall!
Seventy taels of silver was not a small amount; it was enough to settle down in the county town.
Zhang Yuan estimated that these three silver notes were the private little treasury of that Nurse Sun, which ended up in his hands for free.
The big stone hanging over Zhang Yuan's heart finally landed.
Cock-a-doodle-doo~
The crowing of a rooster suddenly reached Zhang Yuan's ears, abruptly waking him up.
At this time, Zhang Yuan was stunned to find that the sky outside had brightened a little.
He had just stayed up an entire night!
At the same time, Zhang Yuan heard the sounds of his mother getting up in the next room.
He thought for a moment and stuffed back the fifty-tael note and one ten-tael note into the back of the manual.
Then, Zhang Yuan put the "Rock Foundation Skill" back into the Beast Hide Bag and hid it in the crevice beneath the stones under his bed.
Afterward, he blew out the oil lamp, left the room, and washed up.
After having breakfast, under his mother's worried gaze, Zhang Yuan left the house carrying a bamboo basket.
After the strange incident yesterday, the atmosphere in Chen Family Village was noticeably tenser.
This time, Zhang Yuan did not head into the mountains.
Instead, he followed the small road toward the county town.
"Yuanwa'Er."
On the way, he encountered a village woman who curiously inquired, "Where are you going?"
Zhang Yuan stopped and replied, "Auntie, my mother gave me her last piece of jewelry from the bottom of the chest, for me to exchange in the county town for silver coins to meet the service obligations. Today is the last day."
The silver notes he got couldn't be revealed in the village, so he needed a reason to pay the corvée silver.
Earlier, Zhang Yuan had already rehearsed his story with his mother.
Naturally, he stuck to the same explanation now.
The woman knew Zhang Yuan's family was assigned work again this year, and that an additional five taels of silver was imposed, so she felt very sympathetic.
But she couldn't help much, so she just said, "Be careful on the road."
"Mm."
Zhang Yuan quickened his pace, briskly making his way to the county town.
In this life, the furthest place Zhang Yuan had visited so far was the Linhe County Town ahead.
This county town leaned against the mountains and was near water, surrounded by vast farmlands, making it a well-situated place.
The town had a population of tens of thousands, with convenient water and land transport, bustling and lively.
Upon reaching the county town, Zhang Yuan did not immediately head to the money shop to exchange the silver notes.
He first went to a cloth shop and bought a set of fitting clothes.
Although it was only plain cloth attire, it was brand new, and after changing into it, he looked noticeably different.
Then, Zhang Yuan bought a conical hat and a pair of boots from another store.
He spent almost all of the scattered silver taels he had taken from Nurse Sun's money bag.
After this transformation, he then went to the county town's only exchange office - Fuji Money Shop.
This was Zhang Yuan's first time handling business at a money shop.
As he stepped inside, he immediately felt a sharp gaze land on him.
Zhang Yuan's heart shivered.
It was obvious that there were experts guarding this money shop.
But Zhang Yuan was not flustered; calmly, he walked to the counter and placed a ten-tael silver note on it, hoarsely saying, "Shopkeeper, please exchange for five taels of small silver and five strings of copper coins."
The shopkeeper inside glanced at him and then carefully checked the silver note.
Zhang Yuan's silver note was issued by Fuji Money Shop and had special marks and seals of authenticity.
After verifying its authenticity, the shopkeeper instructed a staff member to provide Zhang Yuan with the small silver and copper coins he requested.
The process went very smoothly.
This was entirely normal, as a ten-tael silver note was insignificant to Fuji Money Shop.
To ensure safety, Zhang Yuan was simply being very cautious.
Better safe than sorry.
After obtaining the silver coins, he swiftly made another round in the county town, buying some medicinal herbs, rice, oil, salt, and sauce.
Then, he returned to Chen Family Village at the fastest speed!