Chapter 7: Join If You Can't Beat Them, But Beat Them Up First!
Advancing from a mortal to the Body Refining Realm meant an elevation in his Martial Arts Realm.
The number of traits Chen Yi could equip and the probability of drawing each quality of trait increased accordingly!
[Name: Chen Yi]
[Realm: Body Refining Stage 3]
[Cultivation Method: Reckless Bull Strength (Low-Grade, Beginner)]
[Equipped Traits (3/5): Simulator [Prismatic], Well-Developed Deltoids [White], Hunger Resistance [White]]
[Acquired Traits (80): Serious Punch [Green], Hard Work Pays Off [Green], The Older the Luckier [Green], Low-Grade Root Bone [Green]...]
[Current Probabilities for Qualities:]
[White (Common) 89%, Green (Rare) 9%, Purple (Epic) 1%, Golden (Legendary) 0.99%, Prismatic (Mythical) 0.01%]
He gained a large pile of traits in one go.
At first glance, the majority were useless White traits.
In reality, they were indeed mostly useless.
But at least each had a unique effect. In certain specific situations, they might come in handy.
Chen Yi could now equip five traits.
He sorted the traits by quality.
Then, he equipped [The Simulator], [Low-Grade Root Bone], [Serious Punch], [Hard Work Pays Off], and [Hyper-Beast Pain Perception].
Chen Yi really wanted to know how to start the next simulation.
With a thought, the Simulator trait displayed a text prompt for him.
[Simulation cooling down, 1 year remaining.]
[You can choose to complete the following Guide Quest to instantly gain a simulation opportunity.]
[Guide Quest: Join If You Can't Beat Them!]
[Reveal your Martial Artist cultivation, infiltrate the Black Stone Gang, and find an opportunity to escape!]
[Rewards:]
[1. Simulation Attempts +1]
*[2. Boutique Trait Extraction 1 (The quality of a Boutique Trait is not necessarily high, but it is guaranteed to have a positive effect)]
[3. Low-Grade Spirit Tool: Flame Iron Heavy Sword]
"A Mythical Trait really is a cheat. Getting a new simulation also comes with rewards."
The cooldown time was too long; Chen Yi didn't want to wait.
Besides, the content of the Guide Quest fit his current situation perfectly.
There were Martial Artists in the Black Stone Gang.
If he jumped into the river to escape now, those Martial Artists would chase him on boats, and Chen Yi might not necessarily escape.
Unless he sacrificed Da Chun again.
Moreover, Chen Yi had already decided to take Da Chun with him.
This was his life-saver.
Counting what happened in the simulation, Da Chun had saved him twice.
Ignoring him would be too cold-blooded.
"Pretend to join the Black Stone Gang, then find a suitable time to leave with Da Chun. That's the plan!"
Thinking of this, Chen Yi acted immediately.
"Clang!!"
He flipped his hand and smashed the dirty bowl containing thin porridge onto the ground.
"Damn it! Steamed buns and porridge every day! And we don't even get enough to eat! Even a scholar can't survive on this, let alone coolies like us!"
Chen Yi complained loudly.
The surrounding workers were stunned, their eyes widening into circles.
"Has Chen Yi gone mad?"
"Does he want to be whipped to death?"
"Does he enjoy being whipped and is looking for trouble on purpose?"
"Oh... I heard some people are perverted like that."
The commotion Chen Yi caused attracted the attention of the overseers.
"Chen Yi! What do you think you're doing!"
Before his voice faded, Da Chun also smashed his bowl.
"Clang!!"
"Da Chun! What are you doing!!"
Da Chun grinned, baring his teeth.
"I don't know what I'm doing!! I just really felt like smashing a bowl!!"
"You fool!"
An overseer whipped Da Chun aside to cool off.
Then he strode toward Chen Yi and lashed out fiercely.
"Making trouble! You haven't eaten enough whips, have you?! Asking for a beating!"
The leather whip whistled in the wind.
The coolies were usually beaten into submission. Seeing the whip raised, even if it wasn't aimed at them, fear appeared on their faces, and their bodies instinctively dodged backward.
In contrast, Chen Yi, the target, didn't dodge or evade. He stared straight at the bully who preyed on the weak.
Supervising a group of starving coolies didn't require Martial Artists.
These whip-wielding overseers were just ruffians with a bit of strength.
"Snap!!"
Chen Yi raised his hand and firmly caught the incoming whip.
The overseer thought Chen Yi was a blind cat meeting a dead mouse—just lucky to catch it.
He tried to pull the whip back, only to find abruptly that the leather whip had already been yanked away by Chen Yi.
"Give me the whip! Are you trying to rebel?!"
Chen Yi sneered and lashed the whip onto the ground. The force was clearly much greater than the overseer's!
The sound of the leather whip striking the wooden planks pierced eardrums, and the sturdy planks on the pier shattered on the spot!
Everyone on the pier sobered up and looked over.
"Rebel? You deserve to use that word to describe yourself? You really think you're a local emperor?!"
Chen Yi showed no mercy. With the strength of a Body Refining Stage 3 Martial Artist, he lashed the whip onto the overseer.
The man's skin split open instantly, the wound deep enough to see bone!
"Pfft!!"
This lash penetrated the torso, injuring internal organs, and sent the overseer flying, vomiting blood, into the turbulent Qing River.
Seeing this, the other overseers immediately surrounded him.
"Chen Yi! You dare hit an overseer? You don't want to live! Seize him!"
These people were all mortals.
They just had the advantage of numbers.
When their whips hit Chen Yi, he didn't feel much pain.
On one hand, his Blood Qi was high, and his physical body surpassed mortals.
On the other hand, he had the [Hyper-Beast Pain Perception] trait, weakening the sensation of pain.
Facing their siege, Chen Yi charged forward with a stride; no one could stop him!
Using the whip as a rope, he strangled an overseer's neck and threw him into the river with an over-the-shoulder throw.
Immediately after, a sliding tackle knocked down three or four men. Using the whip as a rope, he tied them together and tossed the bundle into the river!
Seeing this, the hands of the remaining overseer trembled.
"You... your skills are this good?"
Actually, what "good skills"?
It was purely high stats!
Fast enough!
Strong enough!
Tough enough!
Fighting many alone was a piece of cake.
Moreover, the overseers were armed only with whips, not bladed weapons like swords or sabers.
Chen Yi stomped heavily on the floorboards, tilting up the other end.
Like being on a seesaw, the last overseer was catapulted into mid-air and then fell into the river in a sorry state.
The crowd of coolies was completely dumbfounded, their mouths wide enough to swallow an egg.
The overseers who usually beat them until they cried for their parents were all knocked into the water by Chen Yi alone in two shakes of a lamb's tail!
Now they were all struggling in the river water, shouting for help!
Foreman Wang Qiang looked at the group of overseers in the river and sneered.
"Alright, Chen Yi. So you have a few tricks up your sleeve. If I don't make you suffer a bit today, I'm afraid you won't submit to discipline!"
He was a Martial Artist.
But Chen Yi knew he was only at Body Refining Stage 1.
For every stage increased in the Body Refining Realm, the Blood Qi doubled compared to the previous stage.
Even if Wang Qiang knew martial arts, how much power could a Stage 1 Body Refiner exert?
In a low-end PK (player kill/fight), it was all about comparing stats; flashy moves were useless!
Wang Qiang swapped his whip for a pair of small hammers.
If these things hit a person, they could easily break bones.
Wang Qiang thought that as a Martial Artist, dealing with a weak and frail coolie would be effortless.
But as soon as the fight started, the pair of small hammers ended up in Chen Yi's hands.
"What's going on..."
He hadn't even seen clearly what happened!
Looking at Chen Yi, who was close at hand, holding the dual hammers with a faint smile on his face.
Wang Qiang panicked!