"Brother Zhang, have you heard? Old Liu's big-bottomed wife and his daughter Meilin are both pregnant. Rumor has it that the child in both their bellies has the same father, and it's one of the Young Masters from the manor..."

  Smack!

  Zhang Wei slapped the young man's head. "If you don't speak, no one will mistake you for a mute."

  The young man chuckled awkwardly, "Brother Zhang, what's the big deal? Everyone at the stables is whispering about it."

  "Alright, alright."

  Zhang Wei waved his hand, pointing at a bucket of horse feed. "Once it's mixed, take it to the stables and feed Storm Rider."

  He sent off the young man who loved to gossip.

  Zhang Wei picked up a large bowl, scooped a steaming bowl of feed from the pot, and sat on the bluestone outside the stable, eating by himself.

  At the Huang family's stables in the Divine General's Manor.

  The horses ate better than the people.

  The feed was rich with soy milk, eggs, and soybeans.

  It smelled delicious.

  He devoured a large bowl, panting.

  "Burp~"

  He let out a satisfied burp.

  Then, Zhang Wei lay flat on the bluestone in the shape of the character "大" (big).

  He placed his hands behind his head.

  Gazing at the night sky.

  The bright moon hung high, casting a cold, clear light.

  "A transmigrator ending up like this, I must be one of a kind..."

  Zhang Wei sighed with mixed emotions.

  He felt a bit melancholic.

  After two and a half years in this world, through hard work, he had stood out among the stable hands and become the exclusive groom for "Storm Rider." He had already reached the pinnacle of what a servant could achieve.

  Perhaps after decades.

  When Old Liu kicks the bucket, he might vie for the steward position at the stables.

  But even the best outcome would be like Old Liu, spending a lifetime raising horses, marrying a maid discarded by the master, and having children who would continue to be servants.

  That would be considered lucky.

  If he encountered a master with a lecherous nature, marrying could mean his wife might be taken by others.

  Even worse, if he had a daughter with some beauty.

  Both wife and daughter could be taken by others.

  This wasn't Zhang Wei's imagination, but what Old Liu was experiencing...

  Better to be a beggar than a household slave.

  After transmigrating, he felt this saying even more deeply.

  "Zhang Wei! My Young Master sent me to ask about the story of Monkey Sun. What happened to him after he was trapped under Five Finger Mountain?"

  Suddenly, a young boy's voice rang in his ears.

  Zhang Wei turned his head and saw a young servant in blue sneaking over.

  He quickly sat up and waved his hand, "Go back and tell the Ninth Young Master not to trouble me. The Seventh Madam has said if I tell you stories again and delay your martial practice, she'll break my legs."

  The young servant said, "My Young Master said the Seventh Madam is going back to the Spirit Sword Sect to visit her family and won't be in the manor. He told you not to worry. My Young Master also promised that if you tell him the story of Monkey Sun, once he comes of age, he'll bring you under his wing, and you'll enjoy endless wealth and beautiful concubines."

  Zhang Wei shook his head like a rattle, "Unless the Seventh Madam personally permits it, I absolutely dare not agree."

  In the Divine General's Manor, where martial prowess was paramount.

  Stories, arts, poetry, and music were considered distractions and a path to ruin.

  After a severe beating, Zhang Wei had come to understand this deeply.

  Seeing Zhang Wei's firm refusal.

  The young servant stopped trying to persuade him and quickly pulled out ten taels of silver, "I can pay you."

  Zhang Wei glanced at it, "It's not about the money..."

  Young servant: "Fifteen taels!"

  "At least thirty," Zhang Wei doubled the amount.

  "Deal!" The young servant was overjoyed and quickly took out more silver.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Zhang Wei: "...At least sixty."

  The young servant was furious, "How can you raise the price after we've agreed?"

  In the end.

  After some intense bargaining, they settled on fifty taels.

  The young servant looked pained, "After the Young Master's morning practice, meet at the usual place. You must remember to come."

  "Mm-hmm, see you."

  Waving goodbye to the servant.

  Zhang Wei hurriedly returned to his earthen bed with the silver.

  His brow couldn't hide his joy.

  Fifty taels of silver!

  He wondered if it was enough to activate the system.

  As the thought crossed his mind, a text panel suddenly appeared before him.

  [Talent · Life Simulator.]

  [Insufficient balance!]

  [Please recharge!]

  This was the golden finger he had when he transmigrated.

  However, this "Life Simulator" golden finger was still unusable, always displaying "Insufficient balance" and "Please recharge" whenever he opened it.

  Zhang Wei had tried various methods and discovered that only the currency of this world could be used to recharge it.

  In the two and a half years since transmigrating, he had already recharged 32 taels of silver and 10,240 copper coins, totaling 42.24 taels of silver.

  Youth has no price.

  Recharge has no progress bar.

  But Zhang Wei firmly believed.

  As long as he kept recharging, one day, he would accumulate enough to activate the system.

  "System, recharge me!"

  Zhang Wei silently chanted in his heart.

  The heavy silver in his hand instantly vanished.

  [Recharge successful!]

  [Current balance: 94.24 taels.]

  [Would you like to spend 50 points to start a life simulation?]

  "It's done?!"

  Zhang Wei's body trembled, his eyes moist.

  Two years, he finally gathered enough silver to meet the system's activation conditions!

  He eagerly clicked "Yes."

  Immediately, a line of text appeared before him.

  [At sixteen, you transmigrated to the Divine General's Manor and became a servant in the Inner Court.]

  [At seventeen, you decided to attach yourself to the powerful, becoming a lackey like the Nine Thousand Years. After some observation, you discovered that the Huang family disciples had to wake up at four every morning, wash up, eat breakfast, and gather at the Martial Practice Field by five for morning exercises... life was extremely dull.]

  [So, with your vast knowledge, you decided to become a storyteller, filling the void for the Huang family disciples.]

  [In the entertainment-starved Divine General's Manor, your stories were a hit. In just a few days, you attracted the attention of over a dozen Young Masters and Misses...]

  [Your status in the Inner Court rose rapidly...]

  [Even a Miss of the Huang Family admired your talent and secretly fell for you. Knowing this relationship was impossible, you gently declined her and swindled five taels of silver from her.]

  [Just as you thought the future was promising, you were severely reprimanded by the Seventh Madam Lin Yinghua, who accused you of corrupting the manor's morals and leading the Huang family disciples astray. She said you deserved to die, but due to someone pleading on your behalf, she spared your life, only giving you a severe beating before expelling you from the Inner Court and assigning you to the stables to feed horses.]

  [Using your connections from the Inner Court, you did well at the stables. The steward assigned you to care for a Miss's beloved horse, Storm Rider.]

  [At eighteen, you received a large sum from the Ninth Young Master and decided to take the risk and meet him.]

  [That afternoon, your actions were exposed.]

  [You were taken away by the Enforcement Hall...]

  [Knowing the danger, you used all your savings to bribe the steward. He accepted the money, promised to spare your life, and even revealed that your secret dealings had been discovered by a stable hand named Wu Feng, who reported you to the Seventh Madam...]

  "Wu Feng?"

  Zhang Wei's eyes narrowed.

  He was a trusted lieutenant he had recruited at the stables, always loyal.

  Yet behind his back, he was a snitch?

  Could it be he resented Zhang Wei for taking the Storm Rider groom position from him?

  [The next day, after a severe beating, you were expelled from the Divine General's Manor and sent with a group of prisoners to the Liangzhou Borderlands to build a city...]

  [On the third day, you were locked in a beast cart, traveling all day.]

  [On the fourth day, you traveled all day.]

  [On the fifth day, on the way to exile, you saw a masked man in black flying through the air. Without a word, he began a massacre, and in moments, the group was slaughtered.]

  [As you were still in shock, the masked man approached you, his voice hoarse: "Zhang Wei! Finally, I've caught you!"]

  [The man in black called your name, shocking you. As you tried to ask questions, everything went black, and you lost consciousness...]

  [In slumber...]

  [In slumber...]

  [After soaking in a precious medicinal bath, your body was strengthened, successfully entering the Martial Path, stepping into the Skin Refining Stage...]

  [You are being soul-searched...]

  [...]

  [Your body is on the verge of collapse...]

  [You died.]

  "The man in black was after me??!"

  Looking at the simulation text before him, Zhang Wei was bewildered.

  He had imagined many ways to die.

  But he never thought someone would come to assassinate a powerless stable hand like him, even going so far as to kill court officials... This last point almost ruled out the Divine General's Manor.

  Great Wei had four Divine Generals, and the Huang family was one of them.

  The Huang family guarded Liangzhou, deterring demons, with ten generals in the family, known for their loyalty and honor, enjoying endless wealth and prestige in Great Wei.

  Such a top-tier martial family wouldn't openly kill court officials for a mere servant. If they wanted him dead, they could simply order his execution.

  But if it wasn't someone from the Divine General's Manor.

  Then who could it be?

  In over two years since transmigrating, he had never left the Divine General's Manor. His activities were limited to the Inner Court and the stables, always cautious, never offending anyone, yet someone still came specifically to kill him?

  And the person who wanted him dead.

  Was either rich or powerful.

  Just the fact that they could fly was extraordinary.

  Even more absurd was that the medicinal bath he soaked in, while unconscious, directly allowed him to enter the Martial Path and step into the Skin Refining Stage!

  This was truly defying the heavens.

  It's known that martial training should start from childhood. He was too old, having missed the best time to train.

  Moreover, it's said that when starting martial training, one must maintain a virgin body, and according to memory, the original owner of this body was a true craftsman, indulging at least ten times a week.

  The doctor, after checking his pulse, shook his head, saying: "The primordial yang is lost, the innate essence severely depleted, and with age, the innate qi from the womb has dissipated. Without a miracle, he can never become a martial artist in this life."

  It was like a death sentence.

  Yet just one medicinal bath directly allowed him to enter the Martial Path!

  Who could it be?

  Who would go to such lengths to deal with him?

  [Simulation ended, generating rewards. You can keep one of them.]

  [①, The cultivation at the peak of the Skin Refining Stage.]

  Seeing the reward, Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

  The things from the simulator could manifest in reality.

  Great!

  Zhang Wei decisively chose ①.

  The next moment, a warm current flowed through his body, his bones crackling, and a strong vital qi and blood surged within him, giving him a feeling of boundless energy.

  His body no longer felt heavy.

  Even his breathing seemed light and free, unlike the sub-healthy state from doing too much needlework before.

  Zhang Wei reached down and thought, "It's indeed much firmer."

  He was referring to his abs.

  Now, his muscle definition was perfect. In a modern club, he'd be a top pick, destined to be adored by wealthy ladies.

  Just that his skin was a bit too pale, somewhere between wheat and snow white, not quite manly enough.

  "I heard that in the Skin Refining Stage, ordinary weapons can't harm you, and your body can withstand blunt force..."

  Feeling the immense power within.

  Zhang Wei stood up.

  With qi sinking to his dantian, he threw a punch.

  "Boom!"

  The earthen bed, which had been his for a year, broke with a loud crack.

  Looking at his unharmed fist, Zhang Wei couldn't suppress a smile.

  He knew.

  He was about to rise.