Rumble, rumble!
As a thunderstorm brewed outside, Wang Tao sat inside, still fervently battling at his computer.
His team had been working tirelessly for three days and nights. Finally, today brought the promise of successfully pioneering a new dungeon.
Only one health bar remained on the BOSS. It was about to be defeated!
3%!
2%!
1%!
It fell! It fell!
A cheer suddenly erupted in the team's voice channel.
Couldn't wait, Wang Tao controlled his character to approach the body of the fallen BOSS to see what loot had dropped from their first kill.
However, at that moment...
Another flash of lightning illuminated the entire room. The computer screen suddenly went blank, followed by a burst of sparks!
A few seconds later, as the rumble of thunder drifted in, Wang Tao's vision blackened, his body slumping forward.
...
No one knew how much time had passed.
Wang Tao finally woke up in a daze, only to feel a cold hardness beneath him and the unbearable stench in his surroundings.
What he saw was a dim, shabby little wooden hut, littered with dirty clothes, and quite a few mosquitoes buzzing around. The whole place was stuffy and hot, without even a proper window for ventilation.
"What the hell is this place? My copy... My equipment... My first kill..."
With a struggle, Wang Tao tried to stand up, only to suddenly experience a sharp pain in his left leg. Accompanied by the sounds of joints scratching, it felt as if the bone inside had been broken.
"Damn!"
"All I did was play a copy, does it warrant this kind of punishment?"
Wang Tao's first thought was perhaps his frenzied actions over the past few days had been discovered by his family, resulting in him being thrown into this place as punishment.
However, on second thought, he felt something was off.
His parents would be disgruntled with him, but surely wouldn't go as far as breaking their son's leg, right?
Could it be that he had gone through the legendary crossing?
"Ah!"
"It hurts so much!"
At that moment, a vast influx of information pounded into Wang Tao's mind, causing him to feel a splitting headache.
Instantly, Wang Tao's expression twisted, turning ghastly. Beads of sweat dropped from his forehead as he clutched onto nearby rotten wood, causing it to creak under his grip. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably.
And this went on for quite a while.
A bitter smile barely managed to emerge from Wang Tao's pale face.
He really did travel through time...
After calming himself down for a while, Wang Tao decided to accept this reality and start living anew.
Endlessly dwelling on the past was a woman's way, and as a man, one should be able to take and let go of things. Living in the present was the only real thing.
Could reminiscing about the past cure his broken leg?
Clearly, it couldn't.
Thus, Wang Tao decided to first recollect the basic information of this world and make a rough plan for the future.
But no sooner than he started to think, Wang Tao felt an immense headache.
When others traveled through time, even if they weren't the son of a wealthy and powerful family, at the very least they'd be a waste in a large clan, at least they would have a pretty maidservant or an unwed young wife for company.
But this former Wang Tao, he was even worse off than a waste!
Because he was just a lowly horse-keeper for the prestigious Li family. He didn't even have the qualification to cultivate, and now that he had passed the prime age for cultivation, he was doomed to be a servant for the rest of his life, never to see the light of day.
His left leg was broken yesterday while gathering fresh grass in the mountains for the second young lady of the Li family.
Things had come to this point where he could no longer work. The Li family probably couldn't be bothered to keep this useless man, and would likely let him fend for himself.
"How the hell am I supposed to deal with this?"
Wang Tao lamented in his heart; this situation was like a discarded online game account that had been ruined by another player!
Just at this moment.
Bang!
The door of the log cabin was abruptly kicked open.
"Wang Tao, did you collect enough of the cloud mist grass that I asked you to pick yesterday? Second Miss needs it for the horse now, so hurry up and feed it!" A young man with a robust physique stood outside the door, scolding arrogantly.
After seeing him, Wang Tao immediately remembered this guy was also a servant of the Li family, named Qin Gang. Because he was a fawning sycophant, he managed to climb to the position of a petty leader among the servants despite not doing any actual work himself, leaving it all to Wang Tao and his subordinates.
"I've picked all the feed, but I fractured my left leg. I'm afraid I might not be able to feed the horse conveniently." Wang Tao hobbled painfully out of the lodge and handed over the basket full of celestial mist grass he had picked overnight.
"Fractured your leg? You're not faking it to get out of work, are you?"
Qin Gang suspiciously examined Wang Tao's left leg several times. Seeing that the shape of the kneecap was indeed a bit odd, he unexpectedly kicked at the injury.
"Hiss!"
Wang Tao gasped in pain, biting through his lip, only barely managing to suppress a scream.
"It seems you're not faking it. Qin Gang, you go feed the horse today!" A young girl behind Qin Gang, who clearly saw Wang Tao's agony, finally stepped forward and ordered coldly.
Wang Tao looked towards the voice and his expression stiffened slightly.
This nobly radiant and coldly dazzling girl with exquisite beauty was the Li family's Second Miss, Li Qingru. Today, she was dressed in a light purple ruyi edged rosy cloud skirt... she looked like a fairy walking out of a painting.
"Since you were injured while working, here are five taels of silver for you to heal. If you still can't recover and work as normal in ten days, the Li family can't afford to keep you doing nothing. You'll be driven away then."
Li Qingru took out a piece of broken silver and threw it in front of Wang Tao.
“Miss Second rewards you with silver, it’s a massive blessing from heaven, why aren’t you accepting it quickly?”
Qin Gang stared at the silver on the ground, a trace of greed flickering in his eyes. This was equivalent to half a year's salary of an ordinary servant.
“Indeed, thank you for the noble gift, Miss Second!”
Although Wang Tao was skeptical internally, he still humbly picked up the silver and expressed his gratitude.
If Miss Second truly pitied him, she would present a healing pill called the “Flesh Rejuvenation Pill”. Any external wounds, like a broken leg, could heal completely within a day with just one pill.
However, a single Flesh Rejuvenation Pill costs no less than thirty taels of silver. A mere servant, even though sold, wouldn't be worth this much.
Therefore, Wang Tao was well aware that Li Qingru's act was nothing more than a formality, a facade, done so that other servants wouldn’t lose heart.
“Do your work conscientiously and take good care of your injuries. The Li family will never mistreat anyone competent!”
Li Qingru, with Qin Gang in tow, gracefully left.
Wang Tao watched her beautiful figure retreating, feeling inexplicably pressured and bitter.
Indeed.
Li Qingru was not only of noble descent but also had an exceptional talent for cultivation. She was an unparalleled genius that was rarely seen throughout the entire Fengzhou territory.
The martial practitioners of the Saint Brilliance Continent were divided into ten realms: Brittle Strength, Clear Strength, Hidden Strength, Transforming Strength, Elixir Strength, External Gang, Enlightened Heart, Godly Courage, Indestructibility, Unity of Heaven and Man.
The Li family was a well-renowned name within Fengzhou, largely because their patriarch, Li Yuan, had formidable strength and had already reached a level of Elixir Strength – something ordinary people could hardly attain!
A regular martial arts practitioner could achieve Brittle Strength in three years, progress to Clear Strength in a decade, and with another three to five decades of diligent cultivation, could experience a breakthrough to Hidden Strength.
Li Qingru, who was only eighteen years old, had already entered the realm of inner strength through her own cultivation!
Becoming a grandmaster of Qi transformation was just around the corner!
Such an unparalleled prodigy of a girl naturally differed from Wang Tao, a lowly man with no cultivational attainment, by an infinite margin— they essentially belonged to two different worlds.
"Ah, such an outstanding young girl..."
With a sigh, Wang Tao turned around and walked into his little wooden hut.
"Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz..."
Another few mosquitoes buzzed around. Already being in a foul mood, Wang Tao slapped the closest one to death without a second thought.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations to player Wang Tao for successfully activating the Invincible Super God System!"
"System loading, please wait..."
Suddenly, a familiar system prompt rang out in Wang Tao's mind.