2: Chapter 2 The Second Life, A First Glimpse into Martial Arts (Part 1)

Chen Shi discovered that after he died, he did not fall into complete darkness; instead, he appeared in a peculiar space.

It was as if he were perched high above infinite dimensions.

A peculiar panel floated in the void, radiating a profound and eternal brilliance.

With just a single glance, he understood what it was.

This was his golden finger!

The golden finger he had waited for his whole life, the one he had sought but never obtained!

'True Spirit Myriad Worlds Simulator'

At the same time, a flood of information surged into his mind, instantly making him understand the cause and effect.

In his previous life, he had died suddenly from overwork while working late at night, and at the same time, a full-scale nuclear explosion had just erupted in this parallel world.

Thousands upon thousands of overlapping nuclear explosions had accidentally opened a space-time rift, not only connecting to his original world but also unexpectedly connecting to an unknown world.

His soul, which was about to dissipate, was swept into the space-time rift and simultaneously fused with a strand of special purple energy from the unknown world.

Not only did he survive, but his status also underwent a transition, causing his true spirit to reside in an infinitely high place.

And this space-time simulator was the golden finger generated for him by his high-status true spirit, combined with the memories of reading web novels in his previous life.

After a moment of realization, Chen Shi could not wait to open the simulator.

It read:

'In your first life, your life was full of hardships. You lost your father at a young age and struggled to survive under your mother's care. Even though you awakened the memories of your previous life, you could not change anything;'

'In your youth, you encountered the legendary scene of a broken engagement. Amidst feelings of grief, indignation, and surprise, you shouted that famous line, but no miracle occurred;'

'In the following years, your mother, with whom you depended on each other, passed away. Before she died, she arranged a marriage for you, and with the help of your father-in-law, your life gradually improved;'

'The birth of your son made you ecstatic, and you placed all your hopes on him, but unfortunately, it was not ideal. Gradually, you resigned yourself to fate, feeling that this was not bad either;'

'As time passed, your father-in-law and wife passed away one after another. You felt lonely again, but fortunately, you still had your son. Soon, your grandson was born, and you were very happy, but you never thought that your own life would soon come to an end.'

'You did not stir up much of a storm in this life. Throughout your life, you only circled within the village. You could be considered unknown, but you did leave some traces behind.'

'Evaluation: White Two-Star'

'Reward: 20 Points'

'Please choose your destiny point allocation to start your second life.'

'Root Bone: 0 (+)'

'Comprehension: 0 (+)'

'Family Background: 0 (+)'

'Will: 6'

'Tip: Destiny points can be allocated immediately or accumulated for the next life, but after each life, everything except Will will be reset to zero.'

Chen Shi understood the function of the golden finger.

It allowed him to constantly reincarnate, leave traces in the world, and extract origin energy to convert into points, thereby allowing him to constantly grow.

After all, he was just an ordinary person who had obtained a supreme status due to an accident; he had the status but no power.

(PS: Family Background affects the map range and starting point, Root Bone affects martial arts training speed, lower limits, and special talents, and Comprehension affects the understanding and mastery of cultivation techniques and martial arts, as well as later potential.)

All-in, he must go all-in! Going all-in is a kind of wisdom!

All 20 destiny points were spent by Chen Shi.

The hardships of that life made him deeply understand how important family background was.

So he allocated 10 points to Family Background, 6 points to Root Bone, and 4 points to Comprehension.

10 points of Family Background could ensure he was born into a normal family in town, 6 points of Root Bone could give him a chance to practice martial arts, and 4 points of Comprehension would ensure he could at least enter the door of cultivation techniques.

He could only do so much; after all, the first life was too difficult, and there were no more points to allocate.

A white light flashed, and Chen Shi entered his second life.

Hansha Town.

A handsome young man slowly woke up. In this life, he also awakened his memories at the age of 10.

Chen Shi was very satisfied; this age was just right for practicing martial arts.

Although 6 points of Root Bone probably would not take him very far, he was satisfied just to be able to have initial contact with martial arts, and at the same time, see if he could secretly help his descendants from his first life.

Hansha Town was not far from Lieshi Town, where Heishi Village was located, and only ten years had passed.

In this life, his identity was surprisingly good.

His father's surname was Lin, and his given name was Zhen.

He was a manager at the town's martial arts hall and had the strength of the Ox-Skin Realm.

It was just the right profession, was it not!

However, Chen Shi had also become Lin Shi.

While he was lost in thought, a tall, sturdy, middle-aged man pushed the door open and walked in.

His body still carried a trace of dust; it was his father, Steward Lin Zhen.

His rough palm habitually rubbed the top of his head, and his voice was booming:

"Awake? Good. I have already agreed with the Hall Master; I will take you to the martial arts hall today to test your Root Bone. Whether you can embark on the path of martial arts depends on today."

Lin Shi had expected this, but he showed anticipation on his face and obediently nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Father. I have been looking forward to this for a long time."

He knew clearly that the starting point created by the 10 points of Family Background in this life was an opportunity he could not have even prayed for in his previous life.

His father, Steward Lin Zhen, was a manager at Houshan Martial Arts Hall, and his mother, Wang Caixia, was a woman from a side branch of the town's powerful Wang clan, even if it was just a side branch.

In this Hansha Town of over four thousand people, it was enough to save him ten years of detours.

The father and son walked all the way to the martial arts hall. The merchants on the street saw Steward Lin Zhen and all smiled and called out, "Manager Lin," and Steward Lin Zhen responded with a nod to each of them.

Hansha Town was under the jurisdiction of Pantie City and, along with Lieshi Town and Huisha Town, was one of the three towns under Pantie City.

On this wasteland where exotic beasts ran rampant and survival was difficult, the martial arts hall was the pillar of Hansha Town and also the most top-tier force in the town.

For children from ordinary families, even just the opportunity to enter the martial arts hall to test their Root Bone would cost them years of savings.

Entering Houshan Martial Arts Hall and passing through the bustling Martial Arts Arena, Steward Lin Zhen took him directly to the Hall Master's study in the backyard.

Hall Master Zhou Yue was a top-tier Iron Skin Realm martial artist in the town and was also the pillar of the Hansha branch of Houshan Martial Arts Hall.

Seeing the father and son enter, he did not put on airs and pointed to the wooden stool opposite him: "Sit. Is this the child?"

"Yes, my son, Lin Shi. I trouble you to take care of him, Hall Master." Steward Lin Zhen lowered his posture and pushed Lin Shi, "Hurry and pay your respects to the Hall Master."

Lin Shi bowed properly and did not say much.

Hall Master Zhou Yue nodded and reached out to place his hand on his spine. A trace of imperceptible, warm energy probed into his body through his back and traveled throughout his body along his meridians, carrying a sense of heaviness he had never felt before.

That was the Golden Qi energy that only an official Iron Skin Realm martial artist could control.

(PS: Golden Qi ≈ The primordial energy of a higher world that entered through the space-time rift caused by the nuclear explosion, mixed with the metal veins of this world to form the localized Heaven and Earth energy.

Unlike normal Heaven and Earth energy, this Golden Qi suppresses electronic technology, causing the entire world to only be able to have pure physical-structure steam technology, while also causing biological evolution to tend towards metal-biological composite life.)

A moment later, Hall Master Zhou Yue withdrew his hand, and his brows furrowed imperceptibly.

Steward Lin Zhen's heart instantly tightened, and his voice trembled slightly: "Hall Master, how is Shi'er's Root Bone...?"

"Lower-class Root Bone; his blood-qi resilience is insufficient, and his meridians have limited width."

Hall Master Zhou Yue's tone was flat as he gave the final verdict: "If he plays it safe and steady, cultivating to the Ox-Skin Realm is his limit; there is basically no hope for the Stone Skin Realm."

Steward Lin Zhen's face instantly turned pale, his lips moved, and he could not speak for a long time.

He himself had been stuck in the Ox-Skin Realm his whole life, so he knew too well what this limit meant.

On the contrary, Lin Shi was calm inside, and even breathed a sigh of relief.

It was exactly as he had expected; 6 points of Root Bone in exchange for a stable Ox-Skin Realm limit was enough.

In his previous life, he did not even have the chance to practice martial arts and was trapped in Heishi Village for his whole life. In this life, he had already gained a huge profit.

Steward Lin Zhen recovered after a long while, then gritted his teeth and bowed deeply to Hall Master Zhou Yue: "Thank you, Hall Master."

After speaking, he pulled Lin Shi and turned to walk out, his palm clenched tightly.

"Let's go, we will go find Instructor Wang. Even if you can only reach the Ox-Skin Realm, Dad will make sure you practice this skill thoroughly."