After realizing this was an era where people would eat each other alive,
Ye Liuyun had expected there'd come a day when blood would be spilled. He just never thought his first target would be his own brother.
"Phew!"
When it was all over, Ye Liuyun, panting for breath, tossed aside his saber and collapsed to the ground.
The physical exhaustion was secondary; what weighed on him more was a fatigue of the soul.
"Looks like I really am a piece of shit."
Staring at Ye Liufeng's corpse, Ye Liuyun suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh—he didn't even feel the slightest bit disgusted or nauseous at all.
He shook his head, intending to rest and recover some strength.
But then, Ye Liuyun suddenly noticed several small balls of light drift out from Ye Liufeng's dead body—some blue, some green.
"What the hell are these things?"
Souls? Didn't look like it.
Ye Liuyun tried to raise his hand and touch them. In the next instant, a few lines of text appeared before his eyes.
"Detected pickable entries: Robust Physique (Green), Smug Satisfaction (Green), Swordsmanship Talent (Blue),"
"Robust Physique (Green): Your body is stronger and healthier than an average person's."
"Smug Satisfaction (Green): You tend to get overconfident, leading to failures in what should be sure things."
"Swordsmanship Talent (Blue): You possess the innate talent to master saber skills to the level of a first-class martial artist."
Seeing these words, after a moment's daze, Ye Liuyun immediately understood something.
The System! This was his system!
Since transmigrating all these days, Ye Liuyun had tried, but nothing happened. He thought he didn't have any cheat like a system. But now, it seemed he just hadn't triggered it right.
Makes sense. After all, as a transmigrator, how could I not have a cheat?
"System! Are you there? System!"
"…"
Ye Liuyun tried calling out, but didn't get the slightest response.
If not for those floating balls of light, he would have thought he was hallucinating.
Maybe it's not very smart? After a brief silence, Ye Liuyun decided to try another approach.
"System, open my character panel."
Luckily, this time, there was finally a reaction. A light screen that only Ye Liuyun could see appeared before him.
"Talent Entry System!
Host: Ye Liuyun!
Realm: None!
Talent Entries: Petty Theft (White), Luck (Purple),"
"Petty Theft (White): You have pretty good talent at sneaking around and stealing."
"Luck (Purple): From time to time, you'll encounter some extremely lucky events."
What a simple character panel, but this luck entry did surprise Ye Liuyun a little. Apparently, he wasn't entirely useless after all.
He glanced again at Ye Liufeng's strength and suddenly chuckled.
"Sometimes, luck is part of your strength."
Ye Liuyun kept studying for a bit. While the system wasn't very smart, all the necessary explanations were present—he just had to check them himself.
Simply put, everyone has some talents, and Ye Liuyun could seize them by hunting targets.
Meanwhile, talent entries had their own tiers.
From lowest to highest: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, and Red.
"Looks like this purple-quality Luck entry I have is already pretty damn good."
Ye Liufeng's swordsmanship talent was only blue—not even as high as mine.
Looking back, the few entries hovering around Ye Liufeng were already fading, as if about to disappear.
If he recalled correctly, in about half an hour, these talent entries would vanish.
He immediately took the Robust Physique and Swordsmanship Talent entries, leaving that Smug Satisfaction talent behind.
This Ye Liufeng got counterkilled, not just because of my luck, but probably also thanks to his own smugness.
Few who celebrate victory halfway through ever come to a good end.
"Talent Entry System!
Host: Ye Liuyun!
Realm: None!
Talent Entries: Luck (Purple), Robust Physique (Green), Swordsmanship Talent (Blue),"
With these two added entries, his character panel looked a lot more substantial.
As for that original white-quality Petty Theft entry, Ye Liuyun simply tossed it out.
Turns out you could also discard unwanted ones—the system might not be smart, but so far, Ye Liuyun was satisfied with its effects.
He stood up and stretched his body a bit.
With Robust Physique now in place, Ye Liuyun felt his body far lighter, noticeably more powerful than before.
He was about to leave then stopped, remembering something, and walked back to Ye Liufeng's side.
"From today on, I am Ye Liufeng, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
At first, he only wanted to switch identities just to survive.
But thinking about it now—with the identity of a Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it'd be much easier to encounter people with special talents. Besides, rumor had it that in the Imperial Prison run by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, martial artists die every day. Isn't that an opportunity?
A system like mine is never going to let me be invincible right from the start.
A bit of patience is definitely necessary.
With that in mind, Ye Liuyun moved the boulder off Ye Liufeng's body and swapped clothes with him.
Afterward, beside the dilapidated temple, he dug a pit and buried the body.
At least that was a proper burial, more or less.
"You may have been an asshole, but I've already done you this final favor—at least you won't be a wandering ghost. Rest easy, if I think of it later, I'll burn some paper money for you."
Putting up a gravestone? Forget it.
These days, hills are covered with nameless little graves—none bother carving headstones.
Dead people are just too common in this era.
After standing for a while longer, Ye Liuyun picked up Ye Liufeng's saber and walked off.
…
In front of an imposing residence, Ye Liuyun stopped in his tracks.
Almost forgot—Ye Liufeng was already married. The woman was, technically speaking, his sister-in-law.
The original owner had next to no impression of this sister-in-law, having only met her a few times, and she was always putting on airs, looking down from above. Even when facing her husband's brother, she'd never spare him a glance.
No helping it—he was just a good-for-nothing street punk, after all.
Besides, it was said this sister-in-law came from a distinguished background. This mansion belonged to her family. His own brother, though he called it marriage, was really no different than marrying in as a son-in-law.
"Master! Master, you're back!"
Just then, a household servant noticed Ye Liuyun outside the door and hurried out to greet him.
"Mm."
The more you say, the easier it is to slip up.
With that in mind, Ye Liuyun said nothing more, just nodded and followed the servant into the house.
Damn, that's impressive.
Even though he'd been here a few times before, every time he saw such a grand house and thought of his own shabby thatched hut, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Master!"
Just then, a good-looking young woman walked over.
...