Chapter One: Less Than Cattle and Horses

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"Yu Chuan, the First Lady wants you to chop wood. Are you sleeping here, lazing around?"
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"Smack!"
A crisp sound jolted Yu Chuan awake from his slumber, a fiery pain instantly blooming across his face!

Yu Chuan shot upright, his gaze fixed like a blade on the plump woman before him.

He struggled to suppress the urge to grab the iron axe beside him and hack this vile woman in two, forcing himself to rise slowly.

Standing nearly one meter ninety, his height made the woman instinctively retreat half a step.

But with the First Lady as her backing, she immediately stepped forward again, her momentum restored.

Yet, when Yu Chuan picked up the axe, and those eyes of his glinted with murderous intent, she couldn't help but feel a shiver of fear.

"Yu Chuan, don't think just because you're a member of the Yu clan you can live off us for free all day!"

With a final threat, the fat woman turned and left.

Yu Chuan, thin and gaunt, stared fiercely at her receding back until she vanished around the corner.

He looked at the mountain of firewood before him, recalling the dream he'd just had.

"What a worthless dream," he muttered.

Rubbing the burning redness on his cheek, a chill flashed in his eyes. "One day, I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs..."

So much wood, and they expect him to do it alone.

This rotten Yu clan—he couldn't endure even another day here.

Ever since his father's disappearance, he had lost everything; all his father's legacy was reclaimed by the family.

All of it orchestrated by the so-called First Lady, who, relying on her powerful maiden clan, ran roughshod over the Yu family.

That useless uncle of his never dared utter a word, yet he still called himself the Yu patriarch.

As for Yu Chuan, once a young master of the Yu clan, he'd fallen lower than a servant.

Any servant dared order him about, even beat him.

Resentment had long since taken root in Yu Chuan's heart. For this First Lady who had stripped him of everything, he wished nothing less than to cut her into a thousand pieces!

Though he was from a collateral line, the class divide was stark—and even the servants each had their own patrons.

He'd endured for seven years, suffering torment all that time, waiting until he finally turned fifteen.

He had to push harder. If he could enter the county magistrate’s office and become a novice cultivator, he would one day wipe away all his shame!

Fifteen days from now, the county office would recruit novices.

By then, every youth aged fifteen or older would be eligible to participate.

This was his only chance to change his fate: only by passing the exam and entering the office could he begin cultivation, become a novice, and have a chance to climb higher, step by step, toward the peak.

Only then could he trample everything beneath his feet!

However, this was no ordinary recruitment—it required proof of worth.

A trial, in which the arena was filled with monsters and mortal danger, with life and death left to fate.

If one could hunt a single monster and return alive, one would earn the title of novice.

At this thought, Yu Chuan found new strength for chopping wood.

Since his father disappeared, though he was a collateral branch member, he was treated worse than a beast of burden in the Yu family.

No, to be precise, he was worse off than a beast.

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"Bang!"

A piece of withered wood shattered instantly, tossed aside onto the pile.

"Ribbit~"

A toad crawled out from a tree hollow. Yu Chuan, axe in hand, turned to regard it coldly, his cracked lips pressed together.

How long had it been since he'd tasted meat? He could no longer remember.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, gripping the axe tighter, his gaze growing feverish.

"Swish!"

The axe flew out, spinning straight for the toad.

The creature hadn't even realized what was happening before it was cleaved apart.

Blood spattered. The axe pinned the toad's corpse firmly to an old tree root.

Yu Chuan strode over, yanked out the axe—and noticed a flash of light within the toad's body, as a small bottle rolled out.

???

Holding the axe and the toad's remains, Yu Chuan stared at the bottle on the ground.

He’d killed a toad with his axe, and out rolled a bottle larger than the toad itself?

He picked up the bottle. A small slip of paper was attached.

"Marrow Cleansing Pill?!"

Yu Chuan's pupils contracted in shock. He immediately opened the bottle and poured out a bright yellow pill the size of a longan fruit.

A rich medicinal fragrance assaulted his senses, stirring his very spirit!

This Marrow Cleansing Pill was a rare treasure, only granted to, and consumed by, novice cultivators.

On the open market, one pill was worth a fortune—priceless.

The authorities strictly controlled all such elixirs; very few ever leaked out.

Even powerful local families like the Yu clan had only a handful of Marrow Cleansing Pills.

This was a medicine to cleanse the muscles and marrow, only used when a genius was born in the clan, and then only possibly for a single pill.

Yu Chuan had never dreamed he might one day obtain such a pill. Given his own background and collateral status, he was never to be compared with the direct line.

He could never have hoped to be honored with a cleansing of his bones and sinews.

As for whether this was truly the Marrow Cleansing Pill, Yu Chuan cared not.

If it was poison, he was already sick of this world—departing would be a release.

He tilted his head back and swallowed the pill whole.

Soon after, his body grew feverish, a warm current surging upward from within, cleansing him from the inside out.

A whole incense stick’s time passed before the heat finally faded, leaving him drenched in sweat.

He felt surging strength throughout his body, no hunger at all.

Still, not one to waste, Yu Chuan skinned the toad and ate it raw.

“Crunch, crunch...”

“Gulp~”

Afterward, he hefted the axe and split all the firewood in one go, barely feeling any strain.

"The Marrow Cleansing Pill truly lives up to its reputation!"

But now, darkness was falling.

It was time for a meal.

Yu Chuan drove the axe into a stump and strode toward the kitchen.

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Here, meals were a free-for-all; if you could snatch some food, you ate—if not, you went hungry.

That was the reason for Yu Chuan's thinness: more often than not, he failed to get any food.

But today, this meal would be his!

Entering the kitchen, he found dozens already waiting for food—none with the surname Yu.

They were all servants of the Yu family.

Indeed, Yu Chuan had sunk to the point of fighting servants for a meal.

To the other Yu clan youths, Yu Chuan was all but invisible.

"Food's ready!"

Someone shouted.

Yu Chuan grabbed a bowl and joined the scramble with the other servants.

Soon, he was holding a large bowl of some unidentifiable gruel, and found a seat outside the kitchen.

Just as he began to eat, three Yu family servants approached, empty bowls in hand.

"Brother Chuan, can you really finish all that?"

The lead servant, Li Da, was a burly man with a prominent scar on his face—but his own bowl was already scraped clean.

He was a regular at snatching Yu Chuan's food.

Yu Chuan ignored them, focusing on his gruel.

Suddenly, a large hand seized his bowl, attempting to snatch it away.

But Yu Chuan’s grip was surprisingly strong.

Not only did the bowl not budge, but he kept shoveling gruel into his mouth.

"So you refuse to show respect, eh? Hand it over!"

Li Da, feeling humiliated, flew into a rage and kicked at Yu Chuan’s chest.

Had that kick landed, Yu Chuan would have broken ribs at best, perhaps even vomited up the undigested toad.

Yu Chuan’s gaze turned icy. He leapt to his feet and, before Li Da could exert force, kicked him to the ground.

Then, seizing his half-eaten bowl, Yu Chuan smashed it down on Li Da’s head.

Once!

Twice!

With a final crash, the bowl shattered.

Yu Chuan’s fists followed, raining blows without pause.

Only when Li Da began to wail and beg for mercy did Yu Chuan stop, but only after a final relentless flurry.

The other two, clutching their bowls, stood dumbfounded.

At last, Yu Chuan stopped.

Li Da lay unconscious. Yu Chuan slowly turned to face the other two.

"Yu Chuan, you truly have some nerve!"

Suddenly, a familiar, grating voice sounded not far away.