Chapter 3: First Embers of Power
Qinghe Village stirred with the hum of routine. Sunlight filtered through a thin morning mist, casting long rays over the terraced fields and crooked rooftops. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys. Chickens clucked. Somewhere, a pot boiled over open flame.
But none of it felt peaceful to Chen Yu.
Not because he disliked it—but because it was so far beneath what he once ruled. The memory of golden palaces and war banners drifting through clouds haunted him like a song he couldn't quite remember.
Still, he clenched his fists and focused.
This body was weak. Sluggish. He needed strength. Not just to survive, but to ascend again.
> [New Quest Available]
Objective: Complete Basic Body Training at the village grounds.
Reward: Body Tempering Technique (Beginner), Physical Stat Panel Unlock
He made his way to the training yard at the edge of the village—a wide, hard-packed circle of earth ringed by bamboo poles and wooden dummies. A handful of villagers already trained under the eye of a muscular man with broad shoulders and a short, graying beard.
Instructor Wei.
Chen Yu had heard the name in passing. A retired mercenary who had settled in Qinghe years ago, now teaching the village youth simple martial forms.
Wei turned as Chen Yu stepped into the circle. His eyes swept the newcomer from head to toe with the gaze of a man who'd seen too many pretenders.
"You're the one Elder Mo pulled from the stream," Wei said gruffly. "You look like a scholar, not a fighter. What brings you here?"
Chen Yu met his gaze without flinching. "I wish to train."
"And what makes you think I'll waste my time on someone who hasn't even tilled a field or lifted a blade?" Wei folded his arms. "You want strength, earn it. Pick up the staff."
He gestured to a thick wooden rod lying at Chen Yu's feet. Without a word, Chen Yu stooped and lifted it. It was heavier than expected. The weight bit into his arms and shoulders, but he kept his posture straight.
"Good," Wei said, a sliver of respect flickering in his eyes. "Let's see if you can swing it ten times without whining."
The first few swings were easy—controlled, fluid. But by the sixth, his arms burned. By the eighth, his breath grew shallow. By the tenth, sweat rolled down his brow. He stopped, panting.
Wei watched him, then nodded. "Decent form. Rotten endurance. We'll fix that."
The other trainees looked over curiously. A boy with tousled brown hair whispered something to a taller girl with a training spear, who just smirked in response.
Chen Yu said nothing. He planted the staff beside him and exhaled.
> [Quest Complete]
Reward Gained: Body Tempering Technique (Beginner)
New Tab Unlocked: Physical Stats
A translucent scroll appeared before his eyes, unfolding with a faint shimmer:
> [Body Tempering Technique: Beginner]
A basic physical refinement method for cultivating strength through repetitive force and stamina training.
Efficiency: 21% (Body Unsynchronized)
Bonus: Enhanced Muscle Adaptation
He felt it instantly. A low hum in his bones, a strange warmth in his limbs—like his body was beginning to awaken, reshaping itself to the will of his soul.
But what caught his attention more was a locked panel at the bottom of the interface:
> Legacy Integration: 13%
Heaven's Chronicle Authority: Level 1
Next Unlock: 25% - Memory of the Thousand Battle Form
Chen Yu stared at it, a familiar name igniting in his mind.
The Thousand Battle Form... I created that technique in my second campaign.
The system wasn't just giving him strength.
It was leading him back to who he used to be.