Chapter 5: Understand the Attribute Panel! Open the Treasure Chests!

At this moment!

The panel displayed a prompt: “Granted the rank of [Squad Leader], reward: one ordinary treasure chest.”

“Another treasure chest.”

Zhu Ying’s face broke into a smile.

Not long after.

Battalion Commander Wei Quan concluded the rewards for soldiers who distinguished themselves in this campaign.

“This bandit suppression operation is temporarily over.”

“All soldiers return to camp and rest well.”

Wei Quan shouted loudly.

Following this,

thousands of soldiers marched toward their respective barracks.

“Zhu Ying, you’re amazing! First time in battle and you killed five bandits, even beheaded their leader.”

“Didn’t look like it—you’re so slight and delicate, yet you cut down bandits like a demon.”

“Made Squad Leader in just over two months—you’ve got a brilliant future ahead.”

“Congratulations.”

A group of soldiers familiar with Zhu Ying came forward to congratulate him.

“Thank you,” Zhu Ying replied with a cheerful grin.

Of course,

many new recruits looked at Zhu Ying with envy.

After all, these new soldiers in the battalion had enlisted alongside Zhu Ying; now he had been promoted first—even if only to Squad Leader, it was still an official rank.

Back in the barracks.

“Zhu Ying.”

“From now on, you’re Squad Leader.”

“These ten new recruits are under your command.”

At the barracks entrance,

Liu Lei said with a smile.

“Your servant accepts the order,” Zhu Ying replied immediately.

Back in the barracks.

Zhu Ying took off his battle armor, removed his sword and bow, and placed them on the weapons rack.

The ten new recruits in the barracks watched him nervously.

Before the bandit suppression, they had all been equal new recruits; now Zhu Ying was their superior, and they still felt uneasy.

“What are you all standing there for?”

“Do what you’re supposed to do. Do you think I’m going to eat you?”

“Rest well while you can—there’s no telling when we’ll be sent out again to suppress bandits.”

Seeing the soldiers’ stiff, tense posture, Zhu Ying chuckled, half-irritated.

Finished speaking.

Zhu Ying immediately lay down on his bunk and closed his eyes to rest.

Yet his thoughts sank into the panel.

“Attribute panel.”

A mental call.

The panel appeared.

Host: Zhu Ying

Age: 13 years

Strength: 190 points [One point equals one jin of force.]

Speed: 156 points [Higher value means faster speed.]

Constitution: 102 points [Higher constitution means stronger defense and faster recovery from injury.]

Endurance: 101 points [Higher endurance means sustained energy and abundant physical strength.]

Spirit: 104 points [Higher spirit means clearer thinking.]

Lifespan: 88 years, 32 days

Storage Space: 1 cubic meter

“All attributes exceed 100 points. Reward: one ordinary treasure chest.” The panel displayed another prompt.

“I finally understand the attribute values.”

“A normal person’s attributes should hover between eighty and one hundred. Strength varies by individual; an adult male over eighteen should exceed one hundred. I’m only fourteen, so my stats naturally differ from adults.”

“This time, my strength alone increased nearly a hundred points.”

“Each bandit killed randomly granted twenty points; looting corpses gave one to five points, though lifespan yielded slightly more.”

Studying his attribute panel, Zhu Ying pondered deeply.

After thoroughly understanding the panel’s mechanics,

Zhu Ying returned to the present.

“Three treasure chests.”

“I wonder what treasures they’ll yield?” Zhu Ying thought, curious.

Then,

“Open all treasure chests,” Zhu Ying ordered.

“Host command: opening all ordinary treasure chests.”

“Obtained Huang Jie upper-grade cultivation technique: [Henglian Gong].”

“Obtained [Steel Blade].”

“Obtained [Riding Mastery].” The panel displayed three prompts in succession.

“Cultivation technique?”

Seeing the first reward, Zhu Ying’s heart leapt.

Two lives lived.

And in his past life, he had lived in a modern world where cultivation techniques existed only in novels—now one had actually appeared from a treasure chest.

“Extract technique,” Zhu Ying said without hesitation.

Instantly,

the [Henglian Gong] technique flooded into Zhu Ying’s consciousness.

Henglian Gong: Cultivating one day increases 10 points of Strength, 10 points of Constitution, and 10 points of Endurance. [Effect diminishes as all attributes rise.]

“This technique is incredible—it grants ten points per attribute daily. Three attributes at ten each, so ten days equals one hundred points, a hundred days equals one thousand, a year equals three thousand six hundred fifty. Even if I only cultivate at night, I’d still gain two or three thousand points a year.”

“After a few years of this, wouldn’t I become invincible in the world?” Zhu Ying thought, thrilled.

If he had thousands of points in strength, what could one punch accomplish?

Would even the city gate withstand his punch?

And Constitution and Endurance would rise the same way.

Especially Endurance—could he fight a hundred women in one night?

“I’ve hit the jackpot.”

“The Shen family.”

“Shen Wansan, Shen Rong.”

“Clean your necks and wait for me.”

“My grandmother once saved your entire Shen family—she rescued Shen Wansan himself, which is how your family became one of Great Ming’s greatest fortunes. But you didn’t just forget your debt—you tricked me into joining the military, forcing me into the most chaotic borderlands to die in bandit suppression.”

“If you wanted to break the engagement, just say so—I’d have cursed you a bit, nothing more. But you tried to kill me. I will never forgive the Shen family.”

Mentioning the Shen family,

Zhu Ying’s heart surged with hatred.

Since age eight,

he had traveled with his grandmother and the steward to Beiping Prefecture, settling there.

They had gone to Beiping because of an old connection with the Shen family—and a betrothal contract with their eldest daughter.

Shen Wansan had four legitimate daughters; the first three were already married, leaving only the fourth.

But merchants value profit above all.

For Shen Yan’er, the Shen family had found a better marriage prospect.

They looked down on Zhu Ying, a ruined branch of a fallen house.

To ensure the engagement ended, they conspired with officials in Beiping Prefecture to register Zhu Ying into military service and transfer him to the perilous Danning Prefecture—intending to see him die in the chaos.

But now, things were different.

They sought to kill Zhu Ying—but instead, they had gifted him.

Looted attributes.

Cultivated the technique.

Become the only cultivator in this world.

Zhu Ying’s future is promising.

As for the Shen family.

Zhu Ying will not let them go unpunished.

“Cultivate diligently, hurry up and grow stronger.”

“It’s the twentieth year of Hongwu. According to historical records, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang should be preparing to launch a campaign against the Northern Yuan. As a border region, we are still under the Ningning Guard Battalion, and we’ll likely be sent to the battlefield.”

“If we truly reach the battlefield, it won’t be as simple as suppressing bandits.”

“We must grow stronger quickly, or we’ll never rise in rank or gain power.”

Zhu Ying thought to himself.

“Extract horsemanship.” Zhu Ying snapped back to attention and extracted this skill.

Unlike the transmission of cultivation techniques, this horsemanship felt like a complete inheritance, directly flooding into Zhu Ying’s consciousness and granting him perfect mastery.

……

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(End of Chapter)