Iron Hammer Village.
An obscure town situated on the frontier of the trapped Dragon Continent.
The village is small with only a dozen or so families.
At this moment, dusk was upon them, and every household had smoke rising from their cooking fires.
"Creak."
In a shabby house on the western edge of the village, the door was slightly ajar.
The first thing that caught the eye was a head of shiny black hair. Under the broad linen clothes, you could roughly discern the voluptuous figure. The next thing you saw was a delicate face, so charming that it arouses pity.
Without exaggeration, any man who saw that face, from the age of 10 to 80, would have his heart racing.
She is Lin Xue'er, the woman every man in Iron Hammer Town dreams of, a widow at just sixteen. Her husband died a tragic death on their wedding night.
While Lin Xue'er was the object of all men's dreams, she was also the nemesis of all the women in the village.
Ultimately, it was all due to her enchanting beauty. Furthermore, being a widow did not help her situation in the village. Lin Xue'er usually maintained her living by cultivating and selling medicinal herbs.
As dusk approached, Lin Xue'er left her house to gather the medicinal herbs drying in the front yard.
The subtle sadness in her eyes would cause any man’s heart to flutter.
In the forest not far from Lin Xue'er, a boy around 12 or 13 looked at her adoringly.
The boy was covered in a fair amount of blood, adding a layer of fierceness to his image. Behind him, a giant wild boar stood with eyes wide open, having already breathed its last.
The young man stood motionless, staring at Lin Xueer as if under a spell.
Not until Lin Xueer entered the house did the young man reluctantly withdraw his gaze. He turned to glance at the wild boar behind him, his brows slightly creased. "The beasts that have been attacking Sister Xueer recently are getting more and more aggressive. This Thorn Demon Pig has almost reached the level of a grade one monster. If it wasn't for the fact that I managed to unblock the meridians in my hands the day before yesterday, gaining an extra hundred pounds of strength, this time it might have been dangerous."
"It seems I have to quickly increase my strength, or else next time I won't be able to handle it, and thus fail the task that old man gave me."
The youth couldn't help but think back to a month ago, his first time seeing Lin Xueer when he came to this village, his spirit was as if taken away. As a wanderer since childhood, when had he seen such incomparable beauty. At that time, an old man found him and asked him to protect Lin Xueer for a while, the reward being a yellow rank secret manual. For such a good deal, the youth agreed without hesitation.
As for its veracity? Having been wandering alone for so many years, the youth had seen countless scams. His judgement whether he was being conned was 90 percent certain. Moreover, he was indeed smitten with Lin Xueer at first sight, so he agreed.
With that, the young man hoisted the giant wild boar that was considerably larger than himself onto his shoulder and walked deeper into the forest.
That place was his temporary residence.
-------
At the same time, on the east side of the village, there was a residence that was notably larger and more lavish than the other houses around it.
This was the dwelling of the most powerful person in the village, the Village Chief of Tie Hammer Village.
"Boom!"
A heavy thud came from a secret room, followed by a burst of hearty laughter: "Hahaha, finally I have unblocked the five meridians!"
The door was opened and out walked a bare-chested teenager. This teenager looked to be in his mid-teens, but had a fierce look on his face. There was a deep scar on his left cheek, revealing a brutality that was unsuitable for his age.
He was Tie Tiger, the son of the Village Chief of Tie Hammer Village.
The teenager wore an evil smile on his face: "With all five meridians unblocked, no one among the youth of Tie Hammer Village is my match now. Qin Mo, you're a goner. You dare injure my face. I’m going to make you wish you were dead," he said, touching the scar on his face. "And Lin Xueer, that woman. Weren’t you supposed to protect her? Then I will humiliate her horribly in front of you!"
Deep in the woods, the young man casually tossed aside the massive wild boar slung over his shoulder. After a puff of dust settled, he sat nearby in a daze.
He took an ancient jade pendant from around his neck, a traditional Chinese character 'Qin' engraved on it. This had filled his visual field.
The young man was called Qin Mo. From the time he became aware, he was alone, not knowing who his parents were. The only proof of Qin Mo's identity was this jade pendant on his body.
After a moment of daze, Qin Mo shook his head and carefully put away the jade pendant.
Then, he started to prepare the giant wild boar. Skinning it, removing the innards, and deboning, he moved as smoothly as flowing water.
In no time at all, a savory whole roast pig was ready. Qin Mo wolfed down his meal, and in a short while, he'd consumed half of the wild boar.
Rubbing his belly, Qin Mo felt warmth spread throughout his body, and it seemed like he had an endless amount of vigor.
The wild boar was on the verge of becoming a monster. Its flesh, rich and substantial, proved more nourishing than century-old ginseng or other precious medicinal herbs.
Qin Mo didn't waste any of this energy, instead, he picked up a huge rock nearby and began lifting it.
He ran around carrying the huge rock. As Qin Mo ran, his muscles trembled incessantly.
Round after round, Qin Mo's legs started to shake, and his clothes were soaked with sweat.
After ten more laps, Qin Mo's feet felt heavier, and his breathing quickened.
With a determined look, there was no indication that Qin Mo intended to stop.
From all his struggles and fights over the years, he, coming from the lowest rung, knew that the only way to survive was through relentless dedication, requiring an effort ten or even a hundred times that of others.
Now, after completing ten more laps, Qin Mo was unable to run any further and could only continue by walking slowly. His strength was rapidly depleting.
Biting his teeth together, finally, the last bit of energy within Qin Mo was drained. His body stumbled, almost causing him to collapse. His vision became blurry, but the only thing sustaining him from falling was the last breath within him!
Finally, after Qin Mo's physical strength was completely drained, a new surge of energy extended from the pit of his stomach and spread throughout his body.
Qin Mo's body shuddered, realizing that this energy was from consuming wild boar meat.
He immediately channeled this energy throughout his body.
Suddenly, the muscle aches throughout his body quickly faded away, and with this, his muscles became even tighter.
"Roar!"
With a roar, he hurled the giant rock he was carrying on his shoulder into the air, and then launched a fist at it.
"Bam"
Under Qin Mo's single punch, the giant rock shattered into pieces, and Qin Mo's fist remained unscathed.
"Added twenty pounds of strength," Qin Mo grinned.