Chapter One: The Five Venoms Sect and Iron Shirt Technique
A waning moon hung high in the sky.
Mist drifted thinly, shrouding the landscape.
It was the dead of night, when all was quiet.
Wild grasses grew thick along the mountain stream, mingling with the stench of decay.
Grotesque skeletons, stained black and red, lay scattered across the ravine, exposed to the damp and shadowy air.
Countless poisonous insects and ants crawled over the bodies, voraciously gnawing at the fetid flesh.
Footsteps approached, drawing nearer to the ravine.
Faint curses could be heard.
“Damn it, we should’ve tossed him here during the day. I told you he wouldn’t make it, but none of you believed me.”
“Chen Xuan’s dead. Who do you think will be sent to lure the poisons tomorrow?”
“I’m not going, hell no, that place is terrifying.”
Two shadowy figures, carrying a corpse between them, trudged through the wild grass, one step deep, one shallow.
As they drew closer, the insects and ants scattered abruptly, as if stirred by some pungent scent.
At last, the two figures reached the edge of the ravine and hurled the corpse heavily into the mass grave.
The Mass Grave of the Five Venoms Sect.
For nearly a century, countless bodies had been thrown in. What once was dozens of meters deep was now filled, leaving only a meter or two.
Bang!
The heavy thud echoed as the corpse landed. The two figures clapped their hands and turned to leave.
“The three righteous families of Yun Prefecture will be here soon. Who knows how many will die? It’s getting scarier by the day…”
Their muffled voices faded into the darkness.
No sooner had they left than the swarm of insects and ants surged toward the newly discarded corpse, biting madly.
Crack!
Thunder rumbled.
A sudden bolt of lightning tore from the sky, striking the corpse. The insects and ants scattered in panic.
The body stirred, groaning, and slowly opened heavy eyelids, cursing aloud.
“Damn it, which bastard snatched my… huh?”
Before the words finished, Chen Xuan abruptly sat up, wide-eyed and bewildered, staring at his surroundings.
What the hell!
What the hell!
What the hell is happening?
Where was he?
He felt something sticky in his palm and instinctively looked.
A half-eaten, bloody skull lay in his hand, reeking of putrid decay. The stench nearly knocked him out.
“Mother of God!”
With a scream, Chen Xuan flung the skull away faster than ever in his life, scrambling desperately out of the pit…
…
Half an hour later.
Beside a small stream.
Chen Xuan had finally calmed down, sitting pensively by a large stone, gazing at the crescent reflected in the water, still in disbelief.
Had he transmigrated?
Was it really that casual?
He remembered clearly: he’d been gaming in his room, finally dropping a rare skill book. Before he could pick it up, another player snatched it, and he himself was killed.
In a fit of rage, his vision went black, and that was all he remembered.
When he opened his eyes again, he was here.
Was it really that easy to cross worlds?
What continent was this?
Earth sent so many talents to other worlds each year—had he finally gotten his turn?
Would this be his destined rise?
He searched his mind for information, but the host’s memories were a chaotic mess, full of jumbled fragments. All he knew for sure was that he was a disciple of the Five Venoms Sect; everything else was a blank.
Had he been hit on the head before transmigrating?
Chen Xuan knocked lightly on his forehead.
Swish!
Suddenly, a translucent screen sprang from his mind, hovering before him.
Chen Xuan stared, dumbfounded.
My God! Wasn’t this the attribute panel from his game?
Even this had crossed over?
He rubbed his eyes furiously, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
Host: Chen Xuan
Identity: Disciple of the Five Venoms Sect
Internal Energy: 0
Stamina: 120
Experience: 0
Technique: Iron Shirt, Beginner (0/20)
Title: Newcomer to the Martial World
Fame: Unknown (0/80) (Every 5 points of fame grants 1 luck point)
Luck: 0 (When luck reaches 20, a grand reward can be claimed)
Current Grand Reward: Unavailable
Current Task: Survive one day in the Five Venoms Sect (Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 56 seconds)
After reading, Chen Xuan took a deep breath.
Just as he suspected—it matched his gaming experience exactly.
But wasn’t this a bit unfair?
His technique was Iron Shirt.
He wasn’t sure how this world defined techniques, but in his previous game, Iron Shirt was utterly common, rarely favored.
More importantly, Iron Shirt was an external skill!
Anyone who’d gamed knew that training external skills was a thankless task; they might help early on, but later they became weak, so having an internal cultivation method was vital.
The panel’s internal energy referred to the value gained from internal arts.
Stamina was the value from external arts, essentially physical strength. That 120 meant his strongest punch could deliver 120 pounds of force.
But since he’d only just begun Iron Shirt, a stamina of 120 wasn’t much, barely different from an ordinary person.
“Damn it, how does a Five Venoms disciple end up practicing Iron Shirt? That makes no sense…”
Chen Xuan was baffled.
But still, it was better than nothing.
As long as he gained experience, mastering Iron Shirt shouldn’t be too difficult.
He glanced at his current task: survive one day in the Five Venoms Sect.
Chen Xuan pondered.
Wasn’t this task too simple?
Survive one day—how hard could it be?
Or was there some hidden terror in the Five Venoms Sect?
He flexed his body, preparing to return to the sect.
The task required him to be within the sect; staying away was not an option.
Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed at his ankle.
Chen Xuan looked down.
A strange black insect was latched onto his ankle, biting fiercely.
He quickly grabbed a stone and pried it off, crushing it.
But soon his lower leg grew numb and stiff, the sensation spreading upward.
“Shit, poison! I have to get back, fast!”
His face changed. He hastily loosened his belt and tied it around his leg, limping toward the Five Venoms Sect, stone still in hand.
What kind of hellish place was this?
A random bug bite could poison you?
Now he understood why the current task was simply to survive one day.
It seemed peaceful, but danger lurked everywhere.
He rushed back to the sect with all his strength.
Along the way, the chaotic memories in his mind began to sort themselves, and information flowed into Chen Xuan’s consciousness.
He finally understood how his predecessor had died.
He’d been murdered!
Fed medicinal herbs and thrown into the woods to lure poisons—bitten to death, just like that.
“Damn it, so cruel,”
Chen Xuan cursed inwardly, but he had no time to dwell; the numbness in his leg was intensifying.
He needed to detoxify, and fast.
When he finally limped into the Five Venoms Sect’s territory, a few patrolling disciples immediately noticed him, their faces shocked.
“Who goes there?” one shouted.
“It’s me, I’ve been poisoned!” Chen Xuan cursed. “Help me!”
“Chen Xuan!” The patrolling disciples were stunned, rushing over.
He was still alive?
“It’s a scale bug, not poisonous. Just lie down for a few hours and you’ll be fine,” one disciple said after a glance.
“Not poisonous?” Chen Xuan blinked. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. You don’t know basic skills?” the disciple scoffed.
“Senior Wang, you’ve misunderstood—he only joined two days ago and was sent by Senior Fang Dao to lure poisons. Lucky kid, survived against all odds,” another disciple, marked by a black mole, said with a smirk.
Senior Wang glanced coldly at Chen Xuan. “Fine, you lived, that’s your luck. Go to the herbal hall and apply some medicine, or just rest tonight. You’ll have a slight fever in the morning, nothing serious.”
Chen Xuan thanked them profusely.
He’d finally figured out who was behind his demise.
Fang Dao!
That bastard killed his predecessor?
He’d recalled fragments earlier, but the culprit’s identity was unclear—now it was certain.
“Um, senior brothers, where’s the herbal hall?” Chen Xuan asked, embarrassed.
“Follow the mountain path ahead; you’ll see some buildings with signs,” Senior Wang replied, pointing in the distance.
The herbal hall of the Five Venoms Sect was where outer disciples practiced and prepared poisons—not a secret place, and often busy at night.
“Thank you, thank you!” Chen Xuan said again, limping toward the distant buildings.