Chapter 1 The Stone Throw

This feat of tossing stones from the ground and lifting them to the sky earned thunderous applause, and the watching crowd was simply awestruck.

Zhou Jing slammed the boulder down with a thud, not even slightly out of breath. He clasped his fist in the other hand in a cupping gesture, as locals did, and laughed.

"Just showing off! This is just a little stone-tossing trick. If you folks find it amusing, I'd appreciate a small reward. Thanks in advance, elders!"

With that, he moved closer to the crowd to collect his reward. Unfortunately, he didn't have any tools like a gong or a hat, so he borrowed a piece of cloth as a makeshift pouch.

Many of the loafers who had cheered the loudest were now as coy as unmarried girls when it came time to give rewards. They fumbled around in their pockets for a long time, but couldn't produce a single coin, stammering excuses and cupping their hands in farewell.

It seemed that freeloading was a fine folk tradition in any world.

Zhou Jing walked around, collecting only scattered copper coins. Before long, he finally arrived in front of the middle-aged scholar and his companions.

Without a word, the middle-aged scholar took out a whole ingot of silver from his bag and placed it in the pouch, causing the copper coins to clang loudly.

His generosity caused a stir among the surrounding villagers.

Before Zhou Jing could reply, the middle-aged man cupped his fist in the other hand, bowing to Zhou Jing. His face was eager as he solemnly said,

"Brother, I see that you have great skill, and I am very pleased. I would like to invite you to a feast to get to know you. I hope you will do me the honor."

Zhou Jing had noticed the three of them a long time ago. When the burly man had almost lifted the boulder, he knew that these three were probably of some importance. He had already intended to get to know them, and their invitation was exactly what he wanted.

He imitated their gesture and returned the greeting, replying, "It's no problem at all. I won't refuse an invitation from you."

As a youth who had grown up in the interstellar era, his flowery speech was not intentional. It was the effect of the "language analysis function," which automatically translated his words to closely match the syntax and context of the current world.

Zhou Jing collected his rewards and followed the three men into the tavern by the roadside.

Although this tavern was in a village, it still had a second floor.

The group went upstairs, ordered a private room, and took their seats.

"What would you four gentlemen like to order? Although we're just a village inn, our cook is exceptionally skilled. The Wu Family Manor always hires our master to help with banquets!"

The waiter was all smiles, his eyes constantly glancing at Zhou Jing.

He had seen Zhou Jing performing in the tavern earlier and knew that this strong man was extraordinary. He had also seen the middle-aged scholar's generosity, so he was particularly enthusiastic.

"Good wine and good food, bring it all..." the burly man said subconsciously, but suddenly remembered that the middle-aged scholar had told him not to drink too much, and couldn't help but look over.

The middle-aged scholar immediately forgot his previous instructions, waved his hand, and laughed loudly. "Today, we are fortunate enough to meet a hero like you, brother. Let's drink to our heart's content. First, bring us Sijiao wine. We won't leave until we're drunk!"

"Alright! Although our wine is from the village, the taste is mellow. All the guests praise it. Please wait a moment, gentlemen, and I'll go get the wine."

The waiter left the room and soon returned with a tray. In no time at all, he had set out a table full of wine and dishes.

"Brother, please."

The middle-aged scholar raised a bowl of wine to signal.

"Please." Zhou Jing picked up a wine bowl, clinked it with the three men's bowls, and downed it in one gulp.

The wine flowed down his throat and warmed his stomach, making him feel faintly hot all over.

The brewing technology of this era was not very advanced, and the alcohol content was limited. Zhou Jing estimated his own resistance, and it was likely that he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

With a bowl of wine in his belly, he finally opened the floodgates of conversation.

The middle-aged scholar cupped his fist in the other hand and introduced himself:

"My name is Li Chun, and I have a nickname 'Qingfeng Shan' (Gentle Breeze Fan). I'm just a humble person, serving as the second-in-command of Hongyun Mountain. There were too many people around just now, so I didn't introduce myself.

The truth is, I'm wanted by the government and have my reasons. I hope you won't be offended, brother."

"So you're Brother Li Chun."

Zhou Jing cupped his fist in the other hand, his heart stirred.

It seemed that this man was a member of the Green Forest. That was quite a coincidence. Apostle Number Four had the life goal of [Gathering in the Mountains and Forests], and he wanted to get to know some "professionals." He didn't expect to run into one so quickly.

The information from the main world was more than a hundred years different from the current era. He only knew some geography and history, and was completely ignorant of the current situation in the Green Forest... How powerful Hongyun Mountain was, and how much weight Li Chun's name carried, he didn't know anything.

Li Chun then pointed to the burly man and spirited woman beside him, and introduced them:

"These two are also my brothers on the mountain. This is 'Divine Mace' Lu Yunzhao. His double maces can split rocks, and ordinary people can't get close to him. He's a well-known hero in the Green Forest and sits in the third seat of the mountain stronghold. This is his younger sister, 'Embroidered Blade' Lu Xinniang. She has mastered a good silk-winding sword technique, and her skills are also quite good. She is the sixth leader of my Hongyun Mountain."

"Brother and Sister Lu, please."

Zhou Jing cupped his fist in the other hand to the two of them, and the two siblings hurriedly returned the greeting.

He paused for a moment, pondered for a moment, and said solemnly:

"My name is Chen Feng. I have lived in the mountains for a long time and know nothing of the world. I have only recently come down from the mountains. I am ignorant and have never heard of your names. I will punish myself with a bowl."

After saying that, he directly raised his head and finished another bowl of wine.

The panel popped up with a message that the synchronization rate had increased, but he didn't bother to look at it.

Li Chun and the others were a little surprised.

When they saw Zhou Jing performing earlier, they thought he was a wandering martial artist, but they didn't expect this strong man to be a mountain dweller, a person from outside the world.

If they were facing someone from the Green Forest, they could simply invite them to join the stronghold, and the other party would know what was going on. However, facing this "Green Forest newbie," it was not appropriate to use the ways of the Green Forest to make friends.

Lu Yunzhao didn't think too much and clicked his tongue in wonder:

"Brother Chen, your divine strength has really amazed me. I usually pride myself on my bravery and have rarely lost in fights, but compared to you, brother, I am ashamed."

"Your strength is not bad either. You can lift that boulder, so you're not a useless person."

Zhou Jing didn't deliberately humble himself and accepted the compliment frankly, but he also returned a polite compliment.

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but spend 30 Star Realm Points to use detection on the three of them, obtaining their attributes.

The results surprised him a little.

Among them, Lu Yunzhao had the highest physique, actually having 15 points. According to the standards of the Beast World, he had reached the threshold for the first strengthening of abnormal blood.

And Li Chun, who had the lowest physique, also had 10 points.

According to Zhou Jing's experience, ordinary people who reached 10 points of physique already had bodies that had been tempered a thousand times. It was almost impossible to improve further.

But looking at Li Chun's thin appearance, it was clear that he was not the kind of bandit who trained his muscles.

What surprised him the most was that the three people in front of him all had some "energy" attributes, more or less.

Among them, Lu Yunzhao still had the highest, with 15 points of energy, and Li Chun, who had the lowest, also had 6 points of energy.

Zhou Jing analyzed in his mind:

'Those who can train energy are basically on the edge of the extraordinary. Either the physiques of the people in this world are different, or the cultivation methods circulating in this world are actually extraordinary, but they are just weaker. It is also possible that the energy concentration in this world is higher, but their system development has not kept up...'

'Hmm, it may be a low-martial system like Jin or Inner Force.'

Zhou Jing became a little interested. This meant that this Star Realm was not completely without the extraordinary.

While he was thinking, Lu Yunzhao continued to speak, admiringly:

"Brother Chen, I'm not exaggerating, but your strength is almost unparalleled in the world. How did you train it?"

Zhou Jing came back to his senses and nodded, "It was innate, I never trained it deliberately."

Hearing this, Lu Xinniang blinked her bright eyes and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Chen, with your strength, you're a good material for martial arts. I wonder what your martial arts skills are like?"

"I rarely fight with people, so I don't know."

Lu Xinniang's eyes rolled around, and she was a little eager to try, tentatively saying, "Then why don't we—"

But before she could finish, Zhou Jing added:

"But when I lived in the mountains, I often fought with lions and tigers. I have torn apart at least eight or ten tigers and leopards... Sister Lu, what were you going to say just now?"

"...Nothing."

Lu Xinniang quickly buried her head and shoveled rice into her mouth.

Zhou Jing then looked at Li Chun and asked curiously, "Brother Li, you are known as Qingfeng Shan (Gentle Breeze Fan), but where is your fan?"

"Cough, cough, come on, eat, eat."

Li Chun coughed to cover up his embarrassment. How could he say that he had been so frightened that he had broken his fan? He quickly changed the subject and urged everyone to eat.

The group exchanged cups of wine, and the atmosphere was lively.

During the feast, Zhou Jing seized the opportunity to ask the three industry insiders about the situation in the Green Forest and martial world, which ordinary people rarely knew.

Li Chun intended to make friends, so he answered everything he knew.

According to him, the world was dark, and refugees were everywhere. In the mountains and lakes of various places, there were many Green Forest heroes gathered. The government often launched encirclements and suppressions, but it was difficult to eradicate them.

The Green Forest of the world was generally divided into North and South. There were many large strongholds in the Northern Green Forest, and they were the most fierce. Some people had even broken through state capitals, and their fierce names could stop children from crying at night.

In comparison, the South had rich farmland. Although there were many exorbitant taxes, most people could still survive. Therefore, the Southern Green Forest was not as radical as the North, and their fierce names were not as resounding.

Hongyun Mountain was a stronghold in the Southern Green Forest. There were six leaders in the stronghold and two or three thousand bandits. It was not a large stronghold, but no one dared to underestimate it, all because the leaders in the stronghold were highly skilled, and ordinary people did not dare to provoke them.

For example, the third leader, Lu Yunzhao, was a well-known expert in the Southern Green Forest. No matter which stronghold he went to, he would be a fierce general. Even his younger sister, Lu Xinniang, had a nimble and exquisite sword technique, as if she was embroidering flowers, and ordinary stronghold leaders were no match for her.

However, although bandits were rising everywhere, no one dared to shout out the slogan of uprising, so in the eyes of the officials in the court, it was just a minor problem.

In addition to the Green Forest, there was also the martial world. However, although the martial world was related to the Green Forest, strictly speaking, it seemed to be another circle. Apart from the镖局 (Biao Ju, armed escort agencies) that traveled north and south, the relationship between martial artists and the Green Forest was not close.

After three rounds of wine and five rounds of dishes, the group's faces were flushed with alcohol. Apart from Zhou Jing, the other three were already slightly drunk.

Li Chun took another sip of wine and suddenly asked, "Brother Chen Feng, I see that you make a living by performing. I wonder if you have a place to go? Do you have any relatives to rely on?"

Zhou Jing's heart stirred, and he shook his head. "I have no relatives and no one to rely on. This time, I came down from the mountains because I was tired of staying in the mountains and wanted to travel around. I don't have any particular place to go."

Hearing this, Li Chun put down his chopsticks, put down his wine bowl, and suddenly stood up, cupping his fist in the other hand to Zhou Jing and bowing, saying:

"Brother, it would be a pity to waste your talent! A true man should eat big pieces of meat and drink big bowls of wine. That's what a good life is! If you don't mind, why not come to my Hongyun Mountain and take a seat? I am willing to give up the position of second leader to you, Brother Chen Feng!"

Here it comes, is this the legendary taking-a-knee-and-pledging-allegiance?!

Zhou Jing found it novel.

Had Apostle Number Four's upgraded talent [Kingly Aura] taken effect?

Zhou Jing pondered for a moment and stepped forward to help Li Chun up, but he did not immediately agree, saying:

"Brother Li, I have no plans to join the Green Forest at the moment. The purpose of my coming down from the mountains this time is to see this colorful world and see what this world is like. I want to travel around and see, and I hope you will understand."

Although Apostle Number Four's life goal was to gather in the mountains and forests and rebel, these mountain bandits were not good people.

Of course, in this chaotic world, being an outlaw was not unacceptable. Perhaps resisting the government officials and wealthy gentry who oppressed the people was a "heroic act."

Zhou Jing planned to observe for a while. He wanted to think more about Apostle Number Four's personality and goals, and he was unwilling to join the mountain in a hurry as soon as he arrived.

However, he did not cut off the conversation. He grabbed Li Chun's arm and said:

"But since you treat me so warmly, I will definitely go to Hongyun Mountain to meet you in the future. I hope you won't think that I am going to freeload and chase me down the mountain."

Li Chun was a little disappointed that he had not succeeded in inviting him, but when he heard this, he immediately perked up and laughed loudly:

"Hahaha, what are you saying, brother? My stronghold is always welcome to Chen Feng to settle down!"

Zhou Jing also laughed twice and pulled Li Chun back to his seat.

His plan was that he would not join the stronghold for the time being, but it was okay to visit this kind of Green Forest stronghold.

After all, he would probably set foot in this industry in the future, and he could first listen to the experience of industry insiders, analyze industry pain points, and learn advanced industry methods.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just then, the door of the private room was suddenly knocked.

Everyone stopped talking and looked in the direction of the sound. They saw the waiter smiling sheepishly as he opened the door. Outside the door stood an old man in green clothes, dressed cleanly and meticulously, obviously different from the villagers in rough clothes.

The old man in green swept his gaze around and fixed it on Zhou Jing. His eyes lit up, and he hurriedly took a few steps forward, cupping his fist in the other hand and saying:

"Are you the hero who was performing earlier?"

Zhou Jing glanced at him and nodded, "That's right. Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I am the steward of the Wu Family Manor. My second young master heard that a hero had performed the amazing feat of tossing stones from the ground and lifting them to the sky, and he was very impressed. He sent me to find you and invite you to the manor for a chat. May I ask what your name is, hero?"

"Chen Feng." Zhou Jing nodded, paused for a moment, and asked, "What does your second young master want me to do?"

The Wu family steward smiled and said, "My second young master has loved martial arts since he was a child and has trained in good martial arts skills. He likes to make friends with experts the most. This time, he sent me here to hire you as an instructor at Wu Family Manor, and the monthly salary will definitely not be low."

Hearing this, Li Chun and the others fell silent and looked at Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing stroked his chin, a little surprised.

He didn't expect that he would be offered two jobs in one day just for throwing a stone.

One wanted him to be a bandit, and the other wanted him to be a bodyguard... Hey, they were exactly the opposite.

He thought for a moment and asked, "What is your second young master's name? What kind of weapons does he use?"

"To tell you the truth, my second young master's name is Wu Zhen. He has studied with many famous teachers and is proficient in all eighteen weapons."

The Wu family steward was not ashamed and started bragging as soon as he opened his mouth.

Zhou Jing hmm'ed and waved his hand, "I know the matter. I will visit Wu Family Manor when I have time, and we will talk about it then."

The Wu family steward did not say goodbye, but said embarrassedly: "Hero, my second young master's intention is to have me find you and bring you over immediately... I wonder if you could move to the manor so that we can host a banquet to entertain you."

Zhou Jing glared, slammed his hand on the table with a bang, causing the dishes to bounce, pretended to be angry, and shouted:

"I am talking with my friends, and your second young master wants me to abandon my friends and go see him immediately? What nonsense!!"

He was not really angry, but he remembered to act according to the Apostle's personality. With Brother Number Four's violent temper, he would not abandon his newly acquainted friends and go see the local wealthy family just because he was called.

With this slap on the table, the [Ferocity] talent was directly activated, and his whole body exuded a fierce aura!

The Wu family steward felt like a tiger was rushing towards him, and he was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. He retreated involuntarily, making a loud thumping sound on the floor as he retreated directly out of the room.

The waiter next to him was even more limp and sat directly on the ground.

Not only him, but even Li Chun and the others were taken aback, and a chill ran down their spines. The alcohol in their bodies was instantly sobered up.

The three couldn't help but look at each other, their hearts pounding.

"Brother Chen's ferocity is so heavy!"

"This power is really rare, it's like meeting a tiger on the road."

These thoughts couldn't help but arise in the minds of Li Chun and the others.

The Wu family steward was sweating profusely and quickly apologized: "Oh, I misspoke. Please continue eating, and I will go back and wait for the hero to come to the door."

After saying that, he didn't dare to stay in front of Zhou Jing and scurried away as if he was fleeing.

After Zhou Jing finished scolding, he casually picked up a wine bowl. Seeing that the three people beside him were stunned and silent, he laughed: "Don't let this spoil the fun, let's drink."

"Yes, yes, yes, let's drink."

The three came back to their senses and quickly picked up their wine bowls and clinked them with Zhou Jing.

Although Li Chun and the others were famous figures in the Green Forest, they didn't dare to be as casual as before in front of Zhou Jing, a "newbie." They were a little restrained for some reason.

On the other side, the Wu family steward hurriedly returned to the Wu family mansion in the center of the village and reported the news.

In the backyard of the Wu family manor, there was a martial arts training ground. In the open space, a shirtless young man was using a staff.

This young man had a strong body of refined muscles, and the staff swept out with a whooshing sound, which was quite powerful.

Seeing the steward arrive, the young man stopped his movements, casually placed the staff on the ground, raised his chin, and asked:

"Did you find the performing man I sent you to find?"

This person was the second young master of Wu Family Manor, Wu Zhen.

The steward nodded and briefly explained the situation, saying helplessly: "But that man is drinking with someone and doesn't want to come with me. He said to let us wait."

Wu Zhen frowned, seeming a little impatient.

"A wandering martial artist who makes a living by performing has quite a temper... Well, if he has real skills, I can put up with him."

After mumbling a few words, Wu Zhen waved his hand to dismiss the steward, telling him not to disturb his martial arts practice.

However, at this time, he suddenly remembered something and stopped the steward again, asking:

"By the way, where did Third Brother go? Why haven't I seen him today? Did you see him in the manor?"

The steward thought for a moment and remembered, saying:

"The third young master took some servants out early in the morning, seemingly because the master ordered him to collect debts. Last year, the master frequently lent money to several farmers, drew up loan agreements, and had them use their farmland deeds as collateral. They can't repay the debts now, so it's time to take back the land. Also, the master rented out several plots of land to tenant farmers at low prices a few years ago, requiring them to hand over the full amount of grain. If they can't complete the amount, they have to compensate. The harvest has been bad in recent years, so they can't reach the quota, and they have to be chased to repay the debt."

Wu Zhen was accustomed to this and nodded, asking: "Is my father still at home?"

"The master has gone out to find his mistress and is not here."

"Alright, you can go now. When that performing man comes to the door, come and call me."

Hearing this, Wu Zhen waved his hand, told the steward to leave, and continued to practice with the staff, his energy seemingly inexhaustible.