Sister La and Mom still weren't back.
Chen Nuo took out the handful of crushed apple pulp from his robes, licked his lips, and hesitated for a moment. He placed half of it in a bowl before putting the other half into his mouth.
Sweet.
Sour.
And astringent!
Honestly, the texture wasn't great. Most of the moisture had been squeezed out, making it dry and astringent. In his past life, this would have been considered complete garbage.
But Chen Nuo's eyes still welled up with tears.
It was sweet!
'It's sweet!'
People can't live without sweetness. Sweetness has always been linked to happiness.
'From now on, I'm going to eat my fill! No, I'm going to eat *well*!'
Chen Nuo thought to himself as he chewed the fruit pulp.
Soon, his stomach rumbled. GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.
He was getting hungry again. It was no surprise—that little bit of food wasn't much, and at fifteen, he was still in his growing years.
Chen Nuo looked at the two bird eggs and the remaining pulp. GULP.
With great difficulty, he turned his head away, walked over to the water vat, and gulped down a ladleful of water.
Then, he took out the book.
It had a blue cover and yellowed pages, but the thread binding was still quite sturdy. It looked like it had been cherished.
Three large words were written on it: *Qi Blood Technique*.
Excitement flashed in Chen Nuo's eyes.
'I can't believe I'm coming into contact with Extraordinary Power so soon! How could I not be thrilled?'
Calming himself, Chen Nuo opened the book.
He began to read it quickly.
After a long while, Chen Nuo stopped.
His eyes were filled with contemplation.
This book was more than just a Cultivation Method; it also contained basic, introductory knowledge about Martial Arts.
It introduced the concept of a Martial Artist.
Martial Artists.
Their main focus was to strengthen their Qi Blood. The strongest among them could single-handedly defeat an army, shatter stone with one punch, run a hundred li in a night, survive being cut by a blade, and resist all poisons. They could even live past one hundred without aging, their lifespans reaching up to 120 years!
The Realms are divided into Nourishing Body, Skin and Flesh, Tendons and Bones, Vital Organs, and Blood Burst—Five Realms in total.
The Qi Blood Technique was a Cultivation Technique for the Nourishing Body Realm, capable of making one energetic, sharpening their hearing and sight, and strengthening their body.
One shouldn't underestimate the Qi Blood Technique. Although paper existed in this world and knowledge wasn't completely monopolized by the upper class, a Cultivation Technique was still something incredibly difficult for commoners to obtain.
To learn one, you could only join a Gang or Sect, risk your life on the battlefield, or even become a dog for the Noble Families. Even those were opportunities people fought tooth and nail for.
So, for Chen Manor to have this was already quite impressive.
'Still, I can't shake the feeling that this level of martial power isn't all that high,'
Chen Nuo grumbled inwardly.
He quickly dismissed the thought. After all, someone in the Nourishing Body Realm could definitely kill two of his current self with a single punch, no problem.
'Dietary supplements, medicinal baths, and Breathing Techniques... the Nourishing Body Realm is mainly about these three things. But I can't even get enough food to eat right now. That's a problem.'
It takes wealth to practice the martial way, while scholars can get by in poverty. Martial Arts Cultivation is a process that consumes resources and relies on Talent. In the early stages, resources are paramount. Without them, even the greatest Talent is mostly useless.
That single point was enough to bar the path for countless commoners.
'Looks like once my body recovers a bit, I'll have to return to my old job of gathering herbs in the mountains.'
'And grain...'
Chen Nuo's brow furrowed. He absolutely had to become the Clan Leader. Without that position, he wouldn't be able to develop quickly and gain the strength to protect himself. But for the moment, he couldn't think of a good way to obtain grain.
'Whatever. I'll think about it from a different angle... like the panel.'
'Wait, the Divine Techniques! I almost forgot!'
Chen Nuo now remembered he had been about to test the Spray Transformation Divine Technique, but had been pulled away to save someone.
'And Communication with the Spirit. I need to verify that one as well.'
[Spray Transformation]: To imbue an object with change through one's own Spiritual nature.
'Spiritual nature... imbue change... what does that even mean?'
A Divine Technique is instinct.
Chen Nuo calmed his mind and carefully tried to feel it out.
Vaguely, just like the instincts to stand or run, Chen Nuo naturally grasped the general idea.
'A strong Will can slightly influence the direction of the change. But the specific outcome—good or bad—is determined by my own Spiritual nature and vital essence. It even depends on luck. I can't completely control it.'
Although he had a rough sense of it, he still needed to test it to be sure of the Divine Technique's effects.
'I need to test it on something.'
Wasting no time, Chen Nuo went into the courtyard to look for a suitable object.
'The stool? No, I still need to sit on it. It's property.'
'The carrying pole? No, that's property too.'
'The medicine hoe? Definitely not. That's *important* property!'
After looking around for a while, Chen Nuo's gaze landed on a piece of black wood about as tall as a person. There seemed to be some mold-like white spots around it.
His father had left it behind. They had originally thought it was some kind of precious wood they could sell for money, but it turned out to be just a log that had been damp for so long it had yet to fully rot. His dad had been so angry he had wanted to chop it to pieces on the spot.
In the end, his mom suggested they just use it as a crude bench, and that's why it was still here.
It wouldn't be a shame if this thing got lost or damaged.
'This is it!'
Chen Nuo stood before the black log, took a deep breath, and focused on the Spray Transformation Divine Technique. An instinctive feeling washed over him.
All the energy in his body seemed to rush toward his throat. His limbs grew weak, and his vision even began to blur, like someone who'd spent consecutive nights partying with girls at clubs and bars, completely drained from debauchery.
Hunger.
The twisting pain of an empty stomach.
'I can't keep this up.'
The weakened Chen Nuo was about to release this life-draining breath. At that moment, a single, powerful thought dominated his mind.
Food!
I want to eat!
Hungry!
WHOOSH—
He exhaled a breath that, in the late summer air, astonishingly formed a cloud of Fog that condensed without scattering, shrouding the black log.
A full three seconds passed before the cloud of Fog dispersed like flowing water.
Chen Nuo collapsed weakly to the ground. Without even checking to see if the wood had changed, he scrambled back into the house, grabbed a bird egg, cracked it open, and gulped it down.
He then found half a steamed bun on the stove and washed it down with half a ladle of water to fill his stomach. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief.
'Damn, that nearly killed me. This body is just too weak. Martial Arts Training... I have to start Martial Arts Training!'
After resting on the ground for a while longer, Chen Nuo went back into the yard and carefully examined the black log.
The black log now faintly emitted a fresh fragrance. The material itself seemed to have changed, appearing glossy and jet-black.
'My thoughts were of food, of wanting to eat... could this thing be edible?'
Chen Nuo scraped off a wood chip and put it in his mouth to chew.
SPIT!
'Dry and astringent, it's just plain wood! Definitely not edible!'
After that, Chen Nuo spent a long time examining it, but he found nothing else.
'I give up! What in the world is this thing's effect?!'
Getting this result after trying for so long was inevitably disappointing, but there was nothing Chen Nuo could do. He had to give up on it for now.
Exhausted, Chen Nuo walked to the side and sat on the bench to rest.
'I won't be able to use Spray Transformation again for a while. Time to try Communication with the Spirit.'
He focused his attention on his eyes. In the next moment...
The world turned black and white, like a television from his past life. It was a little different from the Yin Yang Eye he'd had back then.
Just then, two voices called out.
"Son!"
"Brother Nuo!"
His mom and Sister La returned, carrying baskets and trying to suppress their happy expressions.
And Chen Nuo's own expression changed.
A pale red color.
In his vision, both his mom and Sister La were glowing with a pale red light, completely out of place in the black-and-white world.