Lin Feng woke up feeling stiff. Not the "I slept on a rock" kind of stiff, but the "I am made of industrial-grade rubber" kind of stiff.
He stretched, his joints popping with sounds like gunshots.
DAILY CYCLE COMPLETE. RECOVERY: 100%. STATUS UPDATE: DERMAL DENSITY +15%. CURRENT BUFF: [BRONZE SKIN (LEVEL 1)].
He looked at his arms. His skin, previously pale and blotchy from malnutrition, now had a faint, metallic sheen.
"Exfoliation," Lin Feng decided, rubbing his forearm. "The high-protein diet and the stretching routine are clearing up my complexion. Good."
He checked his inventory. The sack of polished rice was in the corner. The charcoal was burning efficiently. For the first time, the hut was actually warm.
He poured a cup of water. Before he could drink, the wooden door of his hut exploded inward.
Splinters rained across the room. The door hung off one leather hinge, creaking mournfully.
Lin Feng didn't flinch. His analyst brain simply noted: Dynamic entry. Hostile intent.
Two men stepped into the hut.
The first was Dog-Tooth Zhang, looking vindicated, his shattered hand wrapped in dirty bandages.
The second was a man Lin Feng's memories recognized with a spike of primal fear: Headman Wang.
Wang was the tyrant of Northern Creek. He was a mountain of a man, wearing a bear-fur cloak and iron-toed boots. In the mortal world, he was a Peak Martial Warrior, capable of punching through a wooden plank. To Lin Feng, he looked like a boss fight in a tutorial level.
"So," Wang rumbled, his voice deep and gravelly. "Zhang tells me you found a treasure. And that you assaulted a village officer."
Wang's eyes scanned the room, landing greedily on the sack of white rice.
"Polished rice," Wang sneered. "That's food for lords, not wood-rats. You've been holding out on taxes, Lin Feng."
Lin Feng set his cup down. He stood up slowly.
"I paid my dues," Lin Feng said calmly. "The transaction with the merchant was private sector business. It has nothing to do with municipal taxes."
"Big words," Wang spat. He stepped forward, crowding the small room. "In this village, everything belongs to me. The wood, the snow, and your life."
Wang cracked his neck. "Break his legs, Zhang. Then we take the rice."
Zhang hesitated, remembering the "stone head" incident, but fear of Wang was greater. He lunged, brandishing a cudgel.
Lin Feng sighed.
Scenario: Close-quarters combat. Threat: Blunt force trauma. Solution: Leverage.
As Zhang swung the cudgel, the blue interface overlaid the world with a grid.
THREAT DETECTED. ATTACK PATTERN: LINEAR SWING. SPEED: SLOW. SUGGESTED COUNTER: DEFLECT & DISABLE.
Lin Feng didn't think about martial arts. He thought about vector redirection.
He stepped inside Zhang's guard. To Zhang, it was a blur. To Lin Feng, he was simply moving to the point of least resistance.
Lin Feng raised his arm. The cudgel struck his forearm.
CLANG.
It sounded like metal hitting metal.
DEFENSE SUCCESSFUL. DAMAGE: 0%. PASSIVE: [BRONZE SKIN] ACTIVE.
Zhang's eyes bugged out. "He... he's made of metal!"
Lin Feng grabbed Zhang's wrist and twisted. It was a simple restraint technique he'd seen security guards use on drunk employees.
CRACK.
Zhang screamed and dropped the weapon. Lin Feng shoved him aside, sending the thug crashing into the wall.
Headman Wang roared. "Useless!"
Wang charged. This was different. Wang moved with the speed of a trained killer. His fist glowed with a faint, white aura—Inner Qi.
Warning, the System flashed red. High Energy signature detected.
"Die!" Wang shouted, aiming a Stone-Crushing Fist at Lin Feng's chest.
Lin Feng saw the glowing fist. Bioluminescence again? Or maybe static discharge?
He didn't have time to analyze. The System took over.
EMERGENCY OVERRIDE. ACTIVATING SKILL: [IRON MOUNTAIN SHOULDER CHECK]. COST: 10 VITALITY.
Lin Feng's body moved on its own. He dropped his center of gravity, leaned forward, and slammed his shoulder into Wang's chest just as the fist arrived.
It was the first posture from the "Yoga Manual."
BOOM.
The impact created a shockwave that blew the dust off the floor.
Headman Wang, a man who weighed three hundred pounds, was launched backward as if he had been hit by a truck. He flew out the broken door, tumbled through the snow for ten meters, and slammed into the village well, cracking the stone rim.
Silence descended on the hut.
Lin Feng stood in the doorway, rubbing his shoulder.
"Physics," Lin Feng muttered, winded. "Mass times acceleration. He ran right into me. Idiot."
COMBAT RESOLVED. OPPONENT STATUS: UNCONSCIOUS (MULTIPLE RIB FRACTURES). REPUTATION GAINED: +50 (THE TYRANT SLAYER).
[The Imperial Palace: The Royal Training Grounds]
At the exact moment Lin Feng shoulder-checked the Headman, Empress Su Qingyue was sparring with the Captain of the Royal Guard.
Captain Li was a Cultivator of the 5th Stage of Qi Condensation, a genius of the sword. They were moving with blinding speed, steel ringing against steel.
"Your Majesty is distracted," Captain Li said, parrying a strike. "Your form is rigid."
Su Qingyue frowned. She felt... agitated. A restless energy was building in her shoulder.
Why do I feel the urge to hit something?
Captain Li lunged, a practice strike aimed at her chest. It was a fast, fluid thrust.
Su Qingyue's mind went blank. Her body reacted to a threat she couldn't see but could feel through the bond.
She dropped her sword.
She stepped in, dropped her stance, and slammed her shoulder into the Captain.
It was an ugly, brutish move. A peasant's brawl move. It had no elegance, no sword intent.
But it had power.
BOOM.
A shockwave of golden Qi erupted from her shoulder.
Captain Li, a 5th Stage Cultivator, didn't just fly back. He was blasted across the training grounds. He smashed through a wooden weapon rack, rolled three times, and crashed into the stone wall of the palace, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the masonry.
The training ground went deathly silent.
Thirty Royal Guards stared with their mouths open.
Captain Li groaned, sliding down the wall. He coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Your... Your Majesty?"
Su Qingyue stood there, her shoulder smoking slightly. She looked at the devastation.
I didn't use Qi, she thought, terrified and exhilarated. I just... leaned into him.
"Forgive me, Captain," she said, her voice trembling but masking it with authority. "I... underestimated my own momentum."
She looked at her shoulder. The silk of her robe was torn. Beneath it, her skin was unblemished, glowing with a faint, metallic luster.
Iron Mountain Stance, a whisper echoed in her mind. Not a voice, but a memory of a text she had never read.
"The Empress has awakened an Ancient Body Physic!" a guard whispered in awe.
"Silence!" Su Qingyue commanded. "Take the Captain to the infirmary."
She turned and walked away, her heart pounding. Someone is fighting, she realized. The person I am bound to... he is fighting for his life. And he is winning.
[Northern Creek Village]
Lin Feng walked out to the well. Headman Wang was groaning in the snow, clutching his chest.
The villagers had gathered, peeking out from their huts. They stared at Lin Feng with a mix of horror and worship. He had just one-shot the village tyrant.
Lin Feng looked down at Wang.
"The tax rate," Lin Feng said, his voice carrying in the cold air. "Is zero. For everyone."
He didn't do it out of heroism. He did it because he calculated that if the villagers had more money, they would buy more wood, improving the local economy and his own bottom line.
"Y-yes..." Wang wheezed, spitting blood. "Yes, Master Lin. Whatever you say."
SIDE QUEST COMPLETE: LIBERATE THE VILLAGE. REWARD: VITALITY +0.5. HIDDEN REWARD: [VILLAGE HEADMAN'S STASH KEY]. TITLE UNLOCKED: [LOCAL WARLORD].
"Local Warlord?" Lin Feng rolled his eyes at the holographic text. "The translation software on this thing is overly dramatic. I'm just a union representative."
He turned back to his hut.
"Someone fix my door," he called out over his shoulder.
Three villagers immediately rushed to obey, fighting over who got to hold the hammer.
Lin Feng stepped inside and sat on his straw mat. The adrenaline was fading, leaving him hungry again.
He opened the "Yoga Manual" to the second page.
"Okay," he muttered. "That shoulder check was effective. Let's see what the next exercise is. ' The Crane Pierces the Clouds.' Sounds like a good stretch for the glutes."
As he began to contort his legs, the System hummed.
DETECTING SPIRITUAL CONNECTION. SYNCHRONIZING DATA WITH: [BONDED PARTNER]. UPLOAD COMPLETE.
[The Imperial Palace]
Su Qingyue sat in her bath, the water infused with rose petals.
Suddenly, her leg kicked out, splashing water everywhere.
"Your Majesty?" the maid gasped.
"Leg cramp," Su Qingyue lied through gritted teeth, forcing her leg back down. "Just... a leg cramp."
What are you doing? she thought furiously, directing the thought into the void. Stop stretching!
In the snowy hut, Lin Feng sneezed.
"Drafty," he muttered. "Need better insulation."