Just as Gu Zhan was lost in thought, a transparent panel suddenly appeared before his eyes:
Player: Gu Zhan
Realm: None
Cultivation Technique: Profound Yuan Skill (Not at Entry Level 0/1)
Skill: Wind-breaking Saber (Entry Level 0/1)
Experience Points: 1
...
Staring at the transparent panel in front of him, Gu Zhan quickly realized: this had to be the essential golden finger every transmigrator gets.
He wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of panel,
In his previous life, most single-player mini-games he played had a similar attribute panel.
He tried clicking to add a point behind Profound Yuan Skill.
The 1 experience point instantly hit zero.
Under Cultivation Technique, there was a change. At the same moment, a system prompt rang in his mind:
[Profound Yuan Skill upgraded to First Layer]
[Current realm elevated to Ninth Grade]
In the next instant, Gu Zhan felt a rush of warm energy flow through his body.
Gu Zhan knew this was inner strength,
His former self wasn't a martial artist, but that was only due to a lack of talent for cultivation, not complete ignorance of martial arts. Besides, his father was a Fifth Grade Martial Artist; since childhood, he'd been exposed to martial arts and understood quite a bit.
The Profound Yuan Skill he cultivated was passed down from his father, a Gu Family ancestral technique.
Gu Zhan had a fair understanding of his family's ancestral cultivation technique,
He knew it could be cultivated up to the First Grade Realm. That's why his father practiced it for decades without switching—because it was sufficient.
The path of cultivation is arduous,
His father had trained for decades and only just barely reached Fifth Grade.
As for that martial art, Wind-breaking Saber, his father had specifically found it for Gu Zhan to strengthen his body—a saber technique easy to pick up. But he'd overestimated Gu Zhan's aptitude; even though it was a common saber technique, Gu Zhan had trained for years and barely reached entry level.
...
Suddenly becoming a Ninth Grade Martial Artist, Gu Zhan couldn't help feeling a bit excited. Even though it was only Ninth Grade, the body's transformation was obvious: his skin had toughened significantly, meaning his ability to withstand blows increased, and his strength had changed noticeably. Wielding the two-jin saber no longer felt strenuous.
He looked again at the system interface:
Player: Gu Zhan
Realm: Ninth Grade
Cultivation Technique: Profound Yuan Skill (First Layer 0/10)
Skill: Wind-breaking Saber (Entry Level 0/1)
Experience Points: 0
...
He slowly sheathed the saber,
Gu Zhan looked at the corpse on the ground, squinting slightly,
This Peony was a textbook case of getting too big for her britches,
No matter the era, there's never a shortage of such people. After gaining a bit of achievement by standing behind others, they start thinking they did everything by themselves—especially when flattered by random onlookers, they lose all sense of proportion and forget what they're truly worth.
This Peony was exactly like that,
In this part of Qingping Lane, most residents were just ordinary folk or merchants, and they naturally respected Embroidered Uniform Guards like Gu Zhan's father, which meant Peony, as the Gu Family's maid, was also courted by them.
And in such an environment, Peony started floating,
She imagined that all the respect she received was her own doing. On top of that, Gu Zhan had treated her too well, which gradually led her astray, even to the point of looking down on Gu Zhan—a typical case of self-importance.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Gu Zhan felt nothing inside,
Because he'd fully inherited the former self's memories and emotional impressions,
The previous self, timid as a child, was often taken by his father to the Embroidered Uniform Guard's dungeon to toughen up, even made to personally execute several condemned prisoners.
So when it came to killing, Gu Zhan truly felt little fluctuation.
At this moment,
The commotion in the inner courtyard had alarmed the guards in the outer yard,
A few guards ran inside,
When they saw the corpse on the ground, they were all rather surprised. The Guard Commander approached and asked, "Young master, what happened here?"
Gu Zhan replied coldly, "She tried to harm me—so I killed her!"
The Guard Commander was taken aback but, after a moment's thought, suddenly said, "Young master, I fear something's off about this."
Gu Zhan looked at the Guard Commander and nodded, "That's what I suspect as well. Tell me the details."
When Gu Zhan confirmed Peony had killed his former self, he figured there was someone manipulating her behind the scenes. Otherwise, no matter how inflated a maid became, she'd never so boldly kill her master's kin on her own.
The Guard Commander said, "Peony's been acting odd lately—I've seen her sporting a lot more gold and silver jewelry, and every day she looked over the moon. I thought it was a reward from you, young master. Now it seems something's off!"
Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes, saying, "I've been recuperating these days—no mood to reward her with anything. Search her room and look for clues."
"Yes, sir."
The Guard Commander immediately led two guards away, leaving several others to start dealing with the corpse.
Soon, the Guard Commander returned with a wooden box.
Opening it revealed a box full to the brim with gold, silver, and jewels—worth a fortune, certainly beyond anything Peony could have afforded.
"Looks like someone's been pulling strings behind the scenes!"
Gu Zhan squinted, having at first thought it mere arrogance, only to discover she'd been bribed and incited.
But this made more sense, after all,
If nobody had bribed and egged her on, Peony wouldn't have had the guts to turn on her master no matter how high her aspirations. In this era, the rules of hierarchy were strict; maids like Peony, unlike day laborers, were bound by deed and basically counted as property of the household.
Just then,
Another house guard entered, made a cupped-fist salute and said, "Young master, Captain Chen Fei from the Hundred Households Office is here!"
Gu Zhan nodded slightly, "Invite him to the parlor, I'll be there shortly."
Chen Fei was, nominally, one of Gu Zhan's subordinates.
Gu Zhan had taken over his father's position, assuming a Small Banner post at the South City Embroidered Uniform Guard Hundred Households Office.
The office hierarchy was clear: the Hundred Households commands the whole office, with four Chief Banners beneath him. Each Chief Banner oversees four Small Banners, each Small Banner has four Captains under him, each Captain leads ten Warriors.
In theory, Gu Zhan now had over forty men reporting to him.
However, he couldn't command their respect; almost nobody would listen to him. Of the four Captains, only Chen Fei always backed him. As for the reason, it wasn't that Chen Fei recognized Gu Zhan's ability. It was just that Chen Fei owed a debt of gratitude to Gu Zhan's father.
A few days ago, when Gu Zhan nearly got beaten to death in a tavern brawl, it was also Chen Fei who arrived in time with reinforcements and saved him.
Not long after,
Gu Zhan entered the parlor, and from afar he spotted Chen Fei sitting inside, sipping tea.
Seeing Gu Zhan enter, Chen Fei quickly stood up and saluted, "Lord Gu, the thugs who attacked you last time have all been apprehended!"
Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow,
At the mention of this, he instantly recalled the tavern conflict that day,
He hadn't thought much of it before, but now that he connected it to someone ordering Peony to harm him, it suddenly struck him that perhaps the tavern commotion was no simple accident.
Gu Zhan asked calmly, "Did you get anything out of them?"