The First Steps

The next few days passed by uneventfully. Liu Ming would wake up early to finish tasks for Yan Bao and by the afternoon he was practically free.

Liu Ming exercised daily, hoping to reach the threshold of the first gate's foundation consolidation stage. After a rigorous workout session, Liu Ming went to explore the city. There were stalls and shops everywhere on the main street. You couldn't throw a pebble one meter and not hit a merchant.

Over these past few days Liu Ming had been visiting this market frequently after receiving a basic allowance from Yan Bao for his help at the Foreign Affairs office. He was no longer hungry, and he was ready to learn what this new world had to offer. Besides looking at the adventurers guild, Liu Ming expanded his horizons to the various sects around the province. The three main sects were the Flying Tiger Sect, Immortal Sword Sect, and the most prestigious sect, the Seven Heavens Sect.

Each sect had their own particular styles and Liu Ming didn't quite know what he wanted to go for. The Flying Tiger Sect prioritized attacks using the absolute full potential of one's body, while the Immortal Sword Sect, of course, followed the way of the sword. The Seven Heavens was a notable outlier to both of these singularly focused sects, expanding their horizons to all weapon and martial arts types. With its proud lineage the sect made itself known thousands of years ago.

Liu Ming wanted options, and Seven Heavens had them. However, Liu Ming would need at least a gate level of two to even attempt their entrance exam. Over 98% of possible applicants were discarded. Liu Ming would have to level up and soon. Most common people had at least a mid-grade gate one level before they died, and Liu Ming was even weaker than those people.

Liu Ming walked through the various streets in the city and stumbled upon a shabby looking building. The building itself was older than old, however, it had a certain charm to it. A sudden scream tore Liu Ming's attention away from the quaint building and he rushed to the nearest alleyway.

Muffled screams were heard towards the end of the alleyway and Liu Ming bolted down the dark corridor. At the end he saw a man beating a woman senselessly. "How DARE you! You dare to talk back to me you filthy wench! You can barely carry my bags and yet you think you have the right to speak back to me?!" The man said, bringing his hand down upon the woman. A painful sob came out of her mouth.

"HEY! Stop!" Liu Ming yelled out. The man turned around and stared at Liu Ming. "Hahaha, a poor mortal dares to interrupt my disciplining session. You made a mistake boy." The disgusting man through the lady at the wall and slowly approached Liu Ming.

Liu Ming had barely any combat experience, even if he had studied some low level martial arts in his past life. He was not confident he could beat this horrible man. Liu Ming, however, was never one to shy away from an ass kicking to prove a point.

Liu Ming lowered himself into a stance he learned from his past life. This martial arts turned a low amount of power into something capable of breaking bones. He raised his fists. "Oh, the cockroach wishes to fight back, eh?" The man grinned, flashing a sinister smile. Liu Ming couldn't tell what gate level the man was at, but judging from his muscles and semi-toned body he was most likely at the upper-end of gate one or freshly crossed over into gate two.

The man swung out at Liu Ming, his arms crackling. Liu Ming barely dodged the incoming punch. Liu Ming took the opportunity to counter attack and swung his right fist up to the mans chin. The man drew back before the punch could land, however.

The man feinted a punch and sent a kick into Liu Ming's ribs. The blow caused Liu Ming to fly down the alleyway, blood spurting out of his mouth.

'Damn, it hurts everywhere!' Liu Ming thought to himself, coughing up more blood. He wiped off his lips and got up. Now, he was starting to get pissed off. Liu Ming had the chance at reincarnation and he was still pitifully weak. Liu Ming's pupils constricted as he felt a sudden weight in his lower abdomen. A power seeped from his heart, flowing into his core. His first gate's power had finally consolidated. However, now was not the time to be looking over his new found power. Now was the time to beat this a**hole to mush.

Liu Ming sprang towards the man, feeling lighter than he had ever felt before.

The man looked startled at the sudden speed from Liu Ming. 'He wasn't this fast a minute ago, since when was he so fast?' The man thought to himself.

The man started taking this fight more seriously and he lowered himself as well. Liu Ming utilized his previous life's martial arts to a scary extent with his new body, flying around like a swallow, nearing the man. Liu Ming sent out a sudden punch catching the man off-guard. The man blocked the punch, however, a bruise slowly enveloped his arm.

The man suddenly got angry, as this pest had actually dared to hurt him. The man started going on the offensive, throwing out punches. Liu Ming was barely able to keep up with the man's pace. Liu Ming slowly adjusted to his new found speed and closed in once again to the man.

Liu Ming sent out a kick, crushing two of the man's ribs. The man suddenly coughed up blood.

'How?' The man thought to himself. 'He was so weak before the fight, h-ho...' The man looked at Liu Ming once again, staring straight into his core. 'This boy reached the foundation stage!? And he was this strong? I'm only at stage seven of gate one, how's there such a difference!?' The man's eyes went bloodshot. "You're going to die today pest!" He said, taking out a short blade.

Liu Ming saw the blade and paled. Things were different when there were just fists, but now the man is desperate. The man came in wildly at Liu Ming, however, a sudden thunk was heard from behind the man's head. Liu Ming didn't think and rushed in, catching the man at his weakest, throwing consecutive punches to his face.

The man, under the torrents of punches, fell to the ground. "Urkgh..." The man said, drowning in his own blood. Liu Ming sighed. He looked over at the woman standing a few meters away, holding a large brick. "Thank you..." Liu Ming said. The woman was quite pale, and looked really hurt. "Is this man a noble?" Liu Ming asked her. She shook her head. "Good." Liu Ming said, grasping the man's head and twisting it to the side with a sudden jerk.

Pop, pop.

'If he was a noble things could've been messy. Even if this is the first person I've killed, I'll still have to do it again.' Liu Ming thought silently, gripping his fists. 'This is a world driven by power, I must overcome this fear of killing.'

Liu Ming sighed and stood up. "How bad are your wounds?" Liu Ming asked the woman. "U-um, not too bad." The woman said in response. Liu Ming shook his head, "Do you have any place to stay?" He asked. She shook her head no. "Would you like one?" He asked her. The woman paused for a moment.

Liu Ming took the money slip from the man's pockets and transferred all of his funds to his slip. He also spent a minute searching the man while the woman tried answering his question. "Come with me then. Your safety will be assured, no one will come for you, however, I suggest wearing this." Liu Ming said, throwing a cloak he found in the mans bag at the woman.

"The name's Liu Ming, pleased to meet you." Liu Ming said, introducing himself. "Um, my mas- caretaker usually calls me Tea." The woman said looking at the ground. "Like as in, herbal tea? Huh, ok Tea, let's go."