Chương 1: The World

Starlight filled the air, and the fog and clouds were heavy!

In the quiet city alleys, garbage is everywhere, and stray cats and dogs roam back and forth, barking and vying for territory.

Suddenly, a patrol car sped by, blaring its siren!

"Quick, quick, don't let him get away!"

"The criminal appears to be a martial artist. Everyone be careful and cautious. If necessary, you may open fire."

A group of armed police officers ran quickly into the dark alley.

……

Zhao Rui, carrying an old travel bag, kicked a broken aluminum can blocking his way with a depressed expression, making a clanging sound that startled the cats and dogs in the corner.

"Lost again. Talent is such a frustrating thing!"

Zhao Rui thought to himself sullenly.

Just then, a gust of wind swept from behind, and a dark figure rapidly approached, its hand slashing towards his neck like a blade.

Zhao Rui frowned slightly, tilted his head slightly, and then flipped his left elbow upward, catching the incoming palm strike with one hand.

The shadowy figure was immediately shocked. Before he could react, his body flew backward like a rag doll and crashed heavily into the trash can.

The figure felt a sudden darkness before his eyes and then fainted, losing consciousness.

"I was already in a bad mood, and you're just asking for trouble!"

"Even though I can't beat them, I'm not a weakling either! Damn it!"

Zhao Rui spat, shook his head self-deprecatingly, and disappeared into the shadows of the alley without pausing.

Just as he disappeared, five or six heavily armed police officers finally arrived at the alley entrance.

"Captain, that person just now...!"

"He's probably a professional martial artist. Ignore him for now. Check on the prisoner first. If he's still alive, handcuff him and take him away. Remember to install a security device beforehand!"

"Yes, Captain!"

A moment later!

"Captain, he has a broken rib, but he's okay!"

"Take it with you!"

A group of people rushed in without breaking a sweat, and then hurriedly led the prisoner away.

……

Name: Zhao Rui Height: 182cm Copyable martial art: Butterfly Catching Hand (Copy?) Copy progress: 0/10 Available advancement points: 0..."

What is this?

Zhao Rui was stunned, staring in astonishment at the transparent digital panel that had appeared out of thin air in his mind.

Could it be a system panel that every time traveler needs?

Zhao Rui awakened his memories of his past life, or rather, a previous dimension, three days ago.

From the outside, this world is not much different from a certain stage of society on his previous planet. The cities are full of skyscrapers and traffic, while the countryside is lush with greenery and abundant vegetation.

Even their historical processes and technological developments are remarkably similar.

People work hard every day to make a living, bustling about in the world.

However, all of this is just a facade.

As a martial artist, he knew that this world was not entirely the same as his previous life. The biggest difference was that this world had martial arts.

The martial arts, or rather the martial arts way, are roughly similar to those described in martial arts novels from my previous life. When practiced to a high level, one can unleash a palm strike that can split the air, and leap into the air for seven or eight zhang.

Furthermore, they possess internal energy that infuses their bodies, making them impervious to ordinary swords and spears, and capable of harming people invisibly with flying flowers and falling leaves.

Of course, this is only what Zhao Rui has personally witnessed. As for those stories about flying and disappearing on the internet, it's hard to tell what's true and what's false.

Anyway, he, a professional martial artist with a formal position, has never seen him before.

Martial arts have become secularized in this world, and everyone knows about the Way of Martial Arts.

However, not everyone can master it.

Ordinary people who lack talent or the ability to generate internal energy will only be like those in their previous lives—all show and no substance, cultivating the body but not the internal energy.

In this life, Zhao Rui belongs to the type who is neither good enough for high positions nor good enough for low ones.

You might say he has low talent, but he also has a talent for martial arts, and his physical attributes are not ordinary. He is far superior to ordinary people who live a mediocre life and never achieve anything significant.

If you say he has high talent, compared to those top talents, he is far behind in both comprehension and intuition.

No matter how hard you work to make up for lack of talent, or how early a slow bird catches the worm, you'll still fall short of the top performers in some ways.

The original owner worked hard for ten years before barely becoming a professional martial artist, preparing to take the college entrance examination based on his martial arts skills.

Martial artists in this world are divided into professional martial artists and non-professional martial artists.

Professional martial artists, as the name suggests, are personnel with official positions and records who specialize in martial arts innovation, combat, and fighting.

They are widely distributed among various guard units, professional sports events, and security departments of government agencies and enterprises.

In truth, they're not much different from the combat athletes of their previous lives, except that they're all much stronger and can easily scale walls and rooftops.

The other type is non-professional martial artists, who are not officially registered and operate outside of formal official channels.

These people, whether openly or covertly, are the most numerous. They may work for private armed forces, run gangs, open their own martial arts schools, or participate in folk competitions.

Because of their overwhelming combat prowess, these unregistered martial artists are difficult to control, and the level of chaos in society far exceeds that of the previous life.

It has a bit of a sense of déjà vu, like a Hong Kong urban kung fu movie or a chaotic period in the Republic of China era. There are guns, kung fu, violence, murder, drug trafficking, gang fights, and grudges in the martial arts world. Chaos is rampant.

The apparent orderliness contrasted sharply with the clandestine power struggles beneath the surface.

However, in this life, Zhao Rui is just an eighteen-year-old student. His knowledge is limited, and he mostly learns about things through the news media and the people around him.

He just finished participating in a friendly competition organized by the district martial arts association today.

Unfortunately, they didn't make it into the top 100.

"Damn it, this talent is just as useless as it was in my previous life!"

In his previous life, Zhao Rui was a professional table tennis player in the province, but unfortunately his skill level was limited and he could never make it big, so he could only serve as a sparring partner for the top players in the team.

This role lasted for many years!

Who doesn't have a bit of pride? Who doesn't want to shine in front of others, who doesn't want to be the center of attention under the spotlight?

Unfortunately, in the arena, talent is something that sometimes cannot be compensated for by hard work.

"Hey handsome, come join us! You're so good-looking, it'll only cost two hundred!"

Just as his emotions were fluctuating because of the panel that appeared in his mind, a sexy long-haired woman appeared at the corner of the road. The woman leaned against the high wall, gave him a flirtatious wink, and said in a flirtatious tone.

Zhao Rui looked in the direction of the voice, his gaze slightly surprised. He hadn't expected the woman to be so pretty.

Her delicate features were like jade carvings, her graceful figure was curvaceous, and her exposed skin was smooth and fair; you could tell it was incredibly smooth and delicate without even touching it.

Her legs, long and straight beneath the miniskirt, were sexy and graceful, making it hard to look away at first glance.

Putting aside other advantages, a martial artist's eyes are absolutely sharp.

What a pity, such a beautiful woman is actually a prostitute!

Zhao Rui shook his head and sighed. Two hundred? He didn't even have two hundred.

"Sister, I'm still a virgin. People say you have to pay to 'break out' a virgin!"

Upon hearing his words, the beautiful woman's expression visibly froze for a moment, then she said with a charming smile, "So tell me, how much will you pay me?"

"Twenty thousand! I won't do any work for less!"

Zhao Ruitian said shamelessly.

The woman was clearly angered by his words!

With my looks, I actually have to pay extra? That's outrageous!

(End of this chapter)