Chapter 2

After asking around, Han Zhao arrived at the entrance of the Datong Bank.

This was a bank opened by the Imperial Court. It had abundant funds and basically every city had a branch.

Perhaps it was because it was early, so there were not many people around.

Han Zhao walked through the main entrance.

When the servant who was cleaning the outer courtyard saw this, he welcomed him warmly and said respectfully, “Young Master, are you doing currency exchange? Or saving money?”

Han Zhao’s expression didn’t change as he nodded. “I’m here to exchange for gold.”

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“Please follow me.” The servant led the way, leading Han Zhao through the door, past the inner courtyard, and out of the hall.

Two short-haired muscular men in black clothes stood at the door of the central room, filled with a fierce aura.

The servant came to the door and bowed. “Young Master, please. The shopkeeper is inside.”

Han Zhao walked in. The inside was quite similar to the bank counter. The wooden fence was fenced in, revealing two U-shaped windows in the middle.

A skinny old man was sitting behind the counter. He wore a small black hat and had a goatee. He was constantly fiddling with his abacus.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, the old man raised his head and sized up Han Zhao’s clothes and expression. He then stood up and greeted, “Greetings, Young Master. I am Qian Yun, the shopkeeper here.”

“Greetings, Shopkeeper Qian. I would like to exchange for some gold.” Han Zhao returned the bow.

As he spoke, Han Zhao took out silver and banknotes from his cloth bag.

“Please wait a moment.” Qian Yun took the banknotes and silver pieces. First, he appraised the authenticity of the banknotes. Then, he picked up a small piece of silver and placed it on it to weigh.

He sized up Han Zhao from the corner of his eye as he weighed the items. Seeing that Han Zhao’s expression was calm, he focused on the task at hand.

“It’s a total of 48 taels of silver and 6 copper coins.” After Qian Yun weighed it, he brought the scale in front of Han Zhao and showed it to him.

“This year, the exchange ratio between gold and silver is 1:10.6. However, our Cloud Prefecture is located in the west and produces more gems. There is less gold in circulation, so the exchange ratio here is 1:11.2. Can Young Master accept it?”

“Alright, let’s exchange it for four taels of gold.” Han Zhao nodded. Among the places that could be exchanged for gold, this was the safest.

The remaining money should be enough for living expenses. He would think of a way to earn money after he became stronger from practicing martial arts.

“One moment, please.” Qian Yun stepped away from the counter and used his key to unlock the front door at the back before entering the back room.

After a while, Qian Yun held a small tray in his hand. On it were four thumb-sized gold ingots. Then, he weighed the gold in front of Han Zhao.

After that was the change.

The shopkeeper took out a clip and chipped off a piece of silver in front of him. Then, he weighed it and cut it again if it was not enough.

Han Zhao thought to himself when he saw Qian Yun carefully chipping the silver, “As expected, television dramas are all nonsense! A hero who slaps ten taels of silver on the table and doesn’t ask for change is a fool with a lot of money.”

“I received 48 taels of silver and 6 copper coins. The change is 3 taels of silver and 8 copper coins. Please keep it well.” Qian Yun wrapped the gold and silver pieces in a red cloth and handed them to Han Zhao.

“Thank you.” Han Zhao looked at Qian Yun’s smiling face and put the money away.

[Judging from his expression, he should have earned some money. However, it’s very difficult to do business, so it’s only right to earn some money. Work hard to charge money, and you’ll become stronger. You’ll be able to earn more money in the future. Don’t take this small amount of money to heart.]

The notification appeared again, and it actually painted a beautiful future for him.

Even a capitalist would cry at this sight.

Han Zhao cupped his fists and left.

Qian Yun pinched the goatee under his chin and revealed a shrewd gaze. He smiled and said to the outside, “Little Five, send this young master off.”

He made a fortune as soon as he opened for business. How delightful.

…

After exchanging for gold, Han Zhao was no longer in a hurry. He went to the roadside stall and sat down, ordering a bowl of oil-doused noodles.

Slurp… Slurp…

Han Zhao ate the noodles in big mouthfuls. He was sweating profusely and his lips were numb from the spiciness.

After finishing the noodles, he took a big gulp of herbal tea and let out a long sigh. “Ah!”

Only at this moment did he truly feel that he was still alive.

After eating a bowl of noodles, the chill in his heart seemed to have greatly reduced.

He took out the copper coins and paid the bill. This meal cost four copper coins.

Even the oil-doused noodles in the inner city were more expensive than the outer city, but the taste was indeed better.

Han Zhao walked home with light footsteps. Just as he was about to leave the inner city, he couldn’t help but spend another copper coin to buy three sticks of candied hawthorn.

…

When he got home, Han Zhao closed the door tightly and held the four taels of gold in his hand.

“System.”

Han Zhao chanted in his mind.

“Charge…”

Before he could say how much money he was charging, the 4 taels of gold instantly disappeared.

[Current Balance: 4 taels of gold.]

[If you want to become stronger, you have to spend money!]

Han Zhao: “…”

Robbery!

[Collected 30 Notification Fragments. Do you want to synthesize a Trait?]

[Synthesized once. Consumed 10 Notification Fragments and 1 tael of gold. You will definitely obtain a one-time-use Basic Trait, Life Simulation.]

“Yes.”

[You have obtained the Basic Trait ‘Life Simulation’. Do you want to start the simulation?]

“Yes.”

[16 years old. Your father died. The Fuyuan Escort Agency suffered heavy losses and moved out of Blackrock City.]

[You went to the Overlord Fist Academy and use the Thousand Silk Guide cultivation method as your tuition fee to become an apprentice at the martial arts school.]

[Your aptitude was too poor. It took you eleven months to barely grasp the basics and reach the Skin Tempering Realm.]

[20 years old. You were only a step away from the Bone Tempering Realm, but you were never able to break through. Hence, you began to cultivate a true qi cultivation method. Unfortunately, your progress was slow.]

[21 years old. You were invited by your fellow sect members to join the Purple Sun Escort Agency and become an escort. At the same time, you were registered in a few small gangs and received an allowance.]

[25 years old. You were lucky enough to break through to the Bone Tempering Realm, but your potential has been exhausted. Your true qi cultivation method has barely reached the first level. You joined a large family in the inner city and became a guard of the Li family. You also married and had children.]

[26 years old. Chu Country invaded and more than half of Cloud Prefecture fell. You moved with the Li family to Yuan Chang County City.]

[32 years old. You were seriously injured in a battle. It took you more than a year to recover.]

[42 years old. Your son decided to join the army, but he died on the front line. Your wife was too sad and died of depression. You were in so much pain that you didn’t want to die and didn’t remarry.]

[45 years old. Cloud Prefecture fell. The Li family moved to Qingzhou. You went with them.]

[48 years old. Your old injuries relapsed and your body weakened day by day. The Li family gave you some money and dismissed you.]

[50 years old. The Great Wei’s Purple Flame Army recaptured Cloud Prefecture and counterattacked the Chu Nation.]

[In the same year, the State of Qi participated in the war. The three countries were in a chaotic battle. Cloud Prefecture was plunged into misery and suffering. Nine out of ten rooms were empty.]

[51 years old. You felt that you didn’t have much time left. You wanted to return to your hometown but died of illness on the way back to Cloud Prefecture.]

“This…” Han Zhao looked at the information in the simulation and fell silent.

Ten years later, Cloud Prefecture would be in chaos. This was too dangerous!

“My aptitude is too poor. That’s a big problem!”

Han Zhao frowned.

[The simulation is over. You can choose one of the following.]

[1: Obtain Trait (including but not limited to additional special effects) (Not Selectable)]

[2: Obtain attribute points (including but not limited to upgrading martial arts)]

[3: Obtain any part of the life experience (including but not limited to memories)]

Looking at the options in front of him, Han Zhao was stunned for a moment because the first option showed that he could not choose.

“Let me see how powerful true qi martial arts are.” After thinking for a moment, Han Zhao decided to learn the cultivation method Han Lin had exchanged his life for first.

“Two,” Han Zhao muttered.

[Attribute Point +1]

Han Zhao took out the green-covered booklet and flipped through it.

There were a total of three levels in the manual. There were more than a hundred words on each level, as well as a human circulation diagram. He spent some time memorizing the first level.

At this moment, there was a change in the attribute panel.

Name: Han Zhao

Attribute Points: 1

Trait: None

Martial Arts: Nameless Cultivation Method (Below Entry Level, Upgradeable)

“Upgrade the nameless cultivation method.”

Han Zhao muttered to himself.

At this moment, his attribute points returned to zero. He felt his lower abdomen heat up slightly, and a warm current surged throughout his body.

The nameless cultivation method was raised to First Level Small Mastery.

“Since it can strengthen the body, let’s call it the ‘Life Nurturing Technique’.”

As Han Zhao thought about it, the words on the interface changed.

Martial Arts: Life Nurturing Technique (First Level Small Mastery 48%; Special Effect: Body Strengthening Level 1)

“I feel like my strength has increased.”

Han Zhao did not know if his current true qi level was equivalent to the Skin Tempering Realm of external cultivation, but he could indeed feel his body becoming stronger.

He closed his eyes and looked inside according to the method recorded in the Life Nurturing Technique.

A wisp of green true qi as thick as a thumb appeared in his dantian.

Han Zhao looked at his hands and focused his Internal Force on them. He immediately felt his strength increase.

[Although this pair of hands is very beautiful, they don’t have much strength. Their true qi is so weak that it’s negligible.]

Han Zhao: “…”

He reached out and pinched the pillow beside him.

He broke off a piece of the solid wood pillow as if he was pinching foam.

“It improved so much?!” Han Zhao revealed a shocked expression. Without true qi, even if he broke his fingers, it was impossible for him to break a piece of the solid wood pillow.

In just one move, one-third of the green true qi in his body had been consumed. In other words, he only had three such bursts of power.

He had heard from Han Lin that even if a martial artist was only at the Skin Tempering Realm, they could deal with three to four armed adults bare-handed if they wore leather armor.

If he did not use his true qi now, he could only run away when facing three to four armed adults.

However, if he could crush the pillow, it meant that he could crush the neck of a Skin Tempering martial artist.

From the looks of it, external cultivation methods could increase the strength of the body and increase the lower limit.

When one’s true qi increased the upper limit, it was obvious that one would actively increase their body’s strength. However, the passive increase was not obvious.

[The best cultivation time for the Life Nurturing Technique is 5 to 10 PM. The increase in true qi is helpful for external cultivation methods.]

A more serious notification appeared.

After the notification appeared, Han Zhao realized that the chill in his heart had weakened a lot.

“Could it be that the Yin energy is the energy source of the notification?” He suddenly reacted. From the moment the notification appeared in his vision, the chill in his heart had been weakening.

However, when a serious notification appeared, the weakening was more obvious, so he noticed it.