Chapter 2 Night Raid

After calming his excitement, Li Changsheng spoke softly:

"Continue the simulation!"

[Insufficient balance. Current balance: 3 credits. Simulating at the Houtian level requires 10 credits. Would you like to recharge now?]

What the…?

D*mn it!

A single simulation at the Houtian level costs ten taels of silver. Earlier, he had recharged five taels, and now he only had eleven taels left. However, with his current Houtian-level strength, earning money shouldn't be too difficult.

As long as he didn't provoke the major factions in Witch Mountain City, he could live comfortably.

"Recharge ten taels!"

[Recharge successful. Balance: 11 credits.] [Would you like to use the Immortal Cultivation Simulator now? One simulation costs 10 credits.]

'Heartless profiteer!'

"Use it!"

Watching another two taels of silver vanish, Li Changsheng felt his heart bleed. It would have taken him over two years of fishing to save that amount.

[Simulation begins.]

[At night, you sneak into Leopard Lord's house, easily killing him and several of his thugs. You find over twenty taels of silver in his home.]

[After erasing any traces, you return home.]

[The next day, you take the silver to the old cripple and begin learning the Mountain Splitting Fist.]

[On the ninth day, you quietly return to Moon Bay and successfully find two Bone Tempering Grass plants. You keep it to yourself, enjoying the significant boost to your energy.]

[Back in the eastern district, you purchase a month's worth of medicinal baths. Combined with the effects of the Bone Tempering Grass and the old cripple's guidance, your progress in the Mountain Splitting Fist is rapid.]

[At nineteen, you settle in Witch Mountain City, dedicating yourself to rigorous training.]

[At thirty, your progress slows. Knowing that if you don't break through to the mid-Houtian stage before forty, you'll lose your chance, you decide to take risks to earn more money for medicinal herbs.]

[Three months later, a wealthy merchant named Zheng is recruiting guards to escort a shipment. The reward for Houtian-level warriors is a hundred taels of silver each. With your early Houtian stage strength, you successfully join the escort team.]

[Half a month later, your group is ambushed in the Misty Forest by dozens of black-clad assassins. The Zheng family's guards desperately resist, and you're forced to fight. You manage to severely injure one assassin before being beheaded by their leader.]

[You are dead!] [Simulation ended.]

"This world is truly dangerous!"

Li Changsheng frowned slightly. Even with the help of the Bone Tempering Grass, cultivating in the city was slow. Once a martial artist missed their peak and their energy began to decline, further breakthroughs became nearly impossible.

The one time he ventured out of the city to escort goods, he was killed by a group of black-clad assassins.

[Simulation ended. You may retain one of the following:]

[Option one: Cultivation level at age thirty.] [Option two: Cultivation combat experience at age thirty.]

"Option two!"

Li Changsheng made his choice without hesitation. Countless memories of training in the Mountain Splitting Fist and combat experience flooded his mind—all the skills he had accumulated over more than a decade in the simulation.

After a long moment, Li Changsheng opened his eyes and exhaled deeply.

Now, he truly deserved the title of a Houtian-level warrior. He was no longer just a pseudo-Houtian practitioner with raw energy but no idea how to use it.

"Now that I have the strength, it's time to do what I've always wanted but couldn't!"

Li Changsheng gazed coldly in the direction of the market.

At the easternmost edge of the Sanshui Ferry market, in a small, isolated courtyard, Leopard Lord was drinking and playing drinking games with his thugs, enjoying a lively gathering.

All the neighbors around the courtyard had long since moved away, too afraid to live near members of the Canal Gang. Usually, only Leopard Lord and his thugs occupied the place.

"Leopard Lord, tomorrow's the tax collection day. Once we gather the taxes, you've got to take us to the brothel. We haven't been there in a month, and my little brother is starving!"

"Yeah, yeah! I heard there are some new girls in the brothel, fair and tender. The only problem is they're a bit expensive!"

Leopard Lord, a burly middle-aged man, drained his cup of wine and said indifferently:

"You all know that the old hall master who managed the market stepped down. Now's the time to select a new one. I need to grease some palms, or when the new hall master takes over, I might not keep this position!"

"Taking you to the brothel is out of the question this time. But we can definitely have a good meal at Sky's Feast tomorrow."

The thugs' eyes lit up with excitement.

Sky's Feast was the best restaurant in the Sanshui Ferry market. A meal for the ten of them would cost at least two taels of silver—an amount they could never afford on their own.

Even though they couldn't go to the city for some fun, a meal at Sky's Feast was enough to brag about for a while.

A hint of disdain flashed in Leopard Lord's eyes. Even if he had the money, he wouldn't waste it on these good-for-nothings.

If he wanted to indulge in the city, he'd go alone!

The drinking continued, and soon the thugs were swaying drunkenly. Even Leopard Lord, after a few more cups, struggled to focus.

"Leopard Lord, is that someone standing at the gate?"

One of the thugs turned around, pointing unsteadily toward the gate with drunken eyes.

"Huh, there really is someone!"

Another thug stood up and staggered toward the young man at the gate, laughing:

"Isn't this that fisherman from the market? What, coming to deliver tomorrow's tax in the middle of the night? Let me tell you, the tax has gone up. It's one tael per person now…"

"Eh!"

Before he could finish, the young man at the gate let out a soft sigh.

Boom!

With a single punch, the thug was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the dining table and shattering it to pieces. He lay motionless.

The young man, with one hand behind his back, slowly walked toward them.

This…

The incident instantly sobered the group.

"D*mn it, he's rebelling!"

"A stinking fisherman dares to lay hands on our brother!"

These thugs had seen Li Changsheng around the market for years. Even after Li Changsheng killed one of them, they still underestimated him.

Six or seven of them charged at Li Changsheng, shouting threats.

Only Leopard Lord stood a short distance away, his eyes wary. He had some martial arts training, having spent time in a martial arts school in his youth. However, due to his poor aptitude, he hadn't achieved much and had joined the Canal Gang, eventually dominating the Sanshui Ferry market.

Even in his prime, it would have been difficult for him to kill an adult with a single punch and send them flying five or six meters.

"Rock Splitting."

As Li Changsheng uttered these two words, a crisp sound echoed.

Boom!

The six or seven thugs charging at him were sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground, lifeless.

"Houtian-level warrior!"

"Mountain Splitting Fist!"

"You're the old cripple's disciple? Do you know the consequences of offending the Canal Gang? Even the old cripple wouldn't dare cross us! If you mess with the Canal Gang, you're as good as dead!"

Leopard Lord's expression finally changed, his voice threatening but nervous.

"Enough chatter!"

Li Changsheng took a step forward.

Leopard Lord's face turned pale. He spun around and tried to vault over the wall. Facing a Houtian-level warrior, his only hope was to escape back to the Canal Gang.

But he had barely taken a step when Li Changsheng's fist struck his back.

Thud!

Leopard Lord spat blood and collapsed to the ground, his spirit broken.

"Hand over the money you've hidden, and I'll make it quick."

Li Changsheng stepped on Leopard Lord's back, his voice cold.

"Spare me… I'll give you all the silver, just don't kill me!" Leopard Lord pleaded in terror.

Li Changsheng frowned slightly, then raised his right foot and stomped down on Leopard Lord's fingers.

"Ah!"

Leopard Lord let out a blood-curdling scream, nearly passing out from the pain.

The fingers were connected to the heart, and he could clearly see that three of his right fingers were now completely mangled.

"Speak, or the rest of your fingers are next!" Li Changsheng looked down at him coldly.

"I'll talk!" Leopard Lord begged, his eyes filled with desperation. "All the money is in a box under my bed. Go and see for yourself. Just… give me a quick death!"

Boom!

Li Changsheng stomped on Leopard Lord's back, and the man fell silent.

Staring at the bodies scattered around him, Li Changsheng murmured:

"I've read books where the protagonist travels to another world and vomits after their first kill. But I feel nothing. Am I naturally cold-blooded?"