Chapter 2: Zhao Yun's Martial Legacy!

Just as Jia Jing was feeling a bit disheartened, a mechanical‑sounding voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Jia Jing was startled, then burst into great joy:

"I knew it; the system might be late, but it will never be absent!"

In the past three months, Jia Jing had repeatedly tried to locate his golden finger and the system, all to no avail; he thought there was none, but the system only appeared after three months of loading.

Jia Jing calmed himself to understand the system's function and found it extremely simple: as long as one meets the promotion criteria, one receives a system reward, with no punishments or tasks required.

【Ding! Promotion Reward System binding complete!】

【Since this is the system's first activation, you may choose a reward once!】

【Choice 1: Choose the military promotion path, reward: Zhao Yun's martial legacy; Zhao Yun's martial power, Hundred Birds Paying Homage to Phoenix Spear Technique, Arrow Technique, Gallant Qi, Longdan Bright Silver Spear, Azure Rainbow Sword…】

【Choice 2: Choose the civil promotion path, reward: Zhang Juzheng's legacy—photographic memory, mastery of poetry and song, Confucian inheritance, the way of governing the state…】

【Please, host, make a selection!】

A series of system voices rang in Jia Jing's mind, and a nearly invisible transparent light screen appeared at his line of sight, clearly displaying the two options.

Jia Jing didn't hesitate for a second and declared resolutely:

"Choice One!"

Zhao Yun's martial legacy and Zhang Juzheng's legacy—no need to choose, right?

The Jia Family is the leading line of founding military merit; as a descendant, he gains double the results in military affairs, while in civil matters it is extremely difficult.

If it were a prosperous era, he might have hesitated and taken the civil path!

But now the Da Han Empire is on the brink of collapse, a scene of impending chaos; what is more secure than one's own martial power!

Strength! It is the foundation for survival and purpose in chaotic times!

Not to mention the pinnacle general Zhao Yun's martial legacy! Missing it would be a regret for a lifetime!

Zhao Yun's martial legacy can be said to be the very foundation that helps Jia Jing secure his place in this world.

He fully understands the golden value of "seven advances, seven retreats, single‑rider rescue of the master."

Among a million Cao troops, one spear thrust felled Gao Lan from his horse; another thrust felled Chunyu Dao from his horse; in the next round he beheaded Xing Dao Rong; another spear thrust felled Zhu Ran from his horse; within three combos, the spear pierced Zhang Wu; within three combos, the spear pierced Yan Ming; he fought evenly with Wen Chou for fifty‑sixty rounds, and fought evenly with Xu Chu for thirty rounds.

Zhao Yun's martial legacy is absolutely top‑tier among all generals in human history.

【Ding! Selection successful!】

【Would you like to claim the reward immediately?】

The moment Jia Jing made his choice, system voices rang in succession.

【Claim it, claim it now!】

Jia Jing returned indoors, shut the doors and windows, and immediately chose to claim the reward.

【Buzz!!!】

Just as Jia Jing finished speaking,

from the void, a powerful force of qi and blood surged into Jia Jing's body,

simultaneously his mind filled with countless intricate martial knowledge and battlefield data, and the room gained a nine‑chi spear and a treasured sword.

Everything happened so naturally, without any awkward or abrupt feeling.

Time flowed like water; half an hour passed quickly, and Jia Jing's tendons, bones, blood vessels, even his gallant qi and internal organs were silently and completely transformed.

Zhao Yun's martial legacy not only grants unparalleled internal strength and martial skill, but also a battlefield talent and experience that is all courage.

Another full half‑hour passed before this inheritance was finally complete.

Jia Jing's external spirit, qi, and vitality changed markedly, and his eyes now held an invisible decisive, fierce warrior aura.

His outward form changed little, but lifting his clothes revealed that his once fair, soft skin had become robust bronze‑colored muscle, as if poured with steel, with a wasp‑thin waist and ape‑like arms, exuding strength.

"Boom!" Jia Jing stepped out of the courtyard and couldn't help but strike the date‑tree with a full palm; a muffled thud sounded as the trunk, as thick as a bowl's rim, was cut at the waist, and the upper half was flung over two meters away.

"What terrifying power!" Jia Jing felt joyous; with his current strength and martial skill, there should be few opponents in the entire Da Han Empire.

"With the system inside, it's time to make some changes!"

"First and foremost, of course, rely on the system to quickly get promoted and claim rewards. That means I must go onto the battlefield!"

"Meanwhile, see if there's a chance to leave the Jia Mansion; this rotten mess is best kept at a distance!"

Jia Jing gazed toward the world beyond the mansion, his eyes distant and profound.

The next day, dawn.

As the morning light first appeared, hundreds of maids and old women of the Jia Mansion were already bustling.

However, unlike the cautious, bowed‑head demeanor of other households' servants, many of the Jia Mansion's retainers were flamboyant, boasting and reckless; some shirked work, and many spread gossip about their masters behind their backs.

In a small courtyard on the east side of the compound, Jia Jing rose early and was now practicing his martial arts beneath another date tree.

Mottled light shifted with the swaying leaves; the fresh morning breeze brushed his face, making Jia Jing feel refreshed, and his spear seemed to become a long dragon, swirling the fallen leaves and generating a rumbling thunder‑like roar as it cut through the air.

Suddenly, a scolding shout like that of a shrewd woman from not far away shattered the courtyard's tranquility.

"You wretched maid! You can't even hold a food box steady! Tomorrow I'll send you out to sell, what good are you for?"

Jia Jing frowned slightly, lowered his spear, and looked toward the doorway,

and saw a robust woman, her face dark, walk up to a five‑ or six‑year‑old little maid and shout loudly.

The little maid wasn't particularly pretty, but her hair was tied in twin buns, her jade‑green maid uniform looked festive, and she was somewhat petite and frail.

She had just fallen to the ground, the food box tipped over, bewildered; after the scolding, her head drooped lower, tears already welling in her eyes.

"What are you standing there for! Pick it up quickly, I'll punish you by making you starve all day to teach you a lesson!"

The robust woman grew even more sullen and scolded again.

"Yes!" The little maid didn't dare retort, hurried to stand, ignoring the scrapes on her knees and palms.

Jia Jing, seeing this, probably understood what had happened.

The little maid was named Xiao Jiaoer; she was the maid who drew the curtain in front of Jia Mu's hall.

Having been sold into the Jia Mansion since childhood and left without support, she had, over the past few months, grown close to Jia Jing; she often vied to bring him meals, and whenever she got a chance to be with him, hearing a few new stories from his mouth would make her happy all day.

Jia Jing originally had to get his own meals from the Jia Mansion's small kitchen, because he was not favored in the main house, his birth mother had died early, his father did not love him and he lacked a mother's affection; now, though he was nearly grown, he did not even have a servant maid to wait on him.

Although eating was not a problem, he mostly picked up the leftover, inferior food that others had discarded.

Only after Xiao Jiaoer grew close to the time-traveled Jia Jing did she often take the initiative to fetch his meals for him.