Chapter 1

(Severe Warning: This chapter is an extra, not the main text. It mainly provides some background. First-time readers of "Happy Martial Arts" can start from the first chapter of the next volume.)

Xiaoming, moving like a robot, got up, dressed, and made the bed, just as he did every day, one after another.

Life was both boring and monotonous, yet rich and colorful.

Compared to the lives of ancient people, the present was like living in heaven.

After brushing his teeth and eating three and a half green apples, he juiced the remaining half. Qin Chao's brow furrowed slightly. Jia Daru, who had only practiced a few basic sword techniques, actually challenged the level 32 thief 'Don't Mess With Me.' Qin Chao and Jia Daru met in the online game 'Heavenly Dragon.'

Today's technology has made human neural sensing technology very advanced.

All online games can be played through a holographic helmet, allowing the player's consciousness to enter a virtual world. 'Heavenly Dragon' is such a game where the player's consciousness directly enters the virtual world. Qin Chao and Jia Daru practiced sword techniques at the low-level martial arts school 'Qin Family Martial Arts School' for beginners in the game 'Heavenly Dragon.' They both, like fools, did not level up or complete quests, and every day, they practiced basic sword techniques under the watchful eyes of other players who looked at them as if they were idiots.

They also studied, pondered, wrote reflections, and discussed until they were spitting, even for a year, and another year!

"Clang!"

The sword light flashed, instantly enveloping Qin Chao's figure. The sword in his hand seemed to come alive. The sword techniques practiced in the game 'Heavenly Dragon' were connected to reality. Qin Chao had practiced basic sword techniques in the game for five years, which, in terms of neural awareness, was equivalent to five years of hard practice in reality.

"Out!"

A voice sounded, and suddenly, rubber bullet-like objects appeared in the room.

"Pop!" "Pop!" "Pop!"

Sounds like popping beans echoed, and the bullets were all swept away by the sword.

If someone had seen Qin Chao's basic sword techniques performed at an advanced level, they would have been stunned.

After finishing his sword practice, Qin Chao was drenched in sweat.

"The bottleneck that limits sword techniques is still physical strength. After all, in reality, there is no internal energy like in the game." With a flick of his hand, the sword flew to the wall rack. Qin Chao walked into the bathroom and soon lay in the bathtub. At this moment, a black silk thread around his neck held a plaque, red as blood, with an ancient seal script 'Kill' on the front. Qin Chao glanced at the 'Kill' character.

"Hisss!"

A cold killing intent emanated, and Qin Chao didn't notice a red light entering his brow. Then, he was enveloped in a faint red light. Qin Chao reached out and grabbed the wooden plaque.

"The front of the 'Sha Wooden Plaque' has the character 'Kill,' and the back has a 'White Tiger Gazing at the Moon' pattern. What does it mean?"

The wooden plaque was a family heirloom.

According to the Qin family's ancestral rules, every descendant of the Qin family must have a 'Sha Wooden Plaque' made by a blood relative at birth. This 'Sha Wooden Plaque' is the symbol of the Qin family. Once made, it is given to the child and must not be removed except in special circumstances.

"Qinglong, Baihu, Xuanwu, Zhuque. The west belongs to the tiger, which represents the煞 (sha). My father said that our Qin family belongs to the Western Qin and is a descendant of the ancient criminal family. The 'Sha Wooden Plaque' not only signifies the identity of the Qin family but also reminds us not to forget our roots as descendants of the criminal family." Qin Chao shook his head, and with a finger movement, a silver button beside the bathtub was pressed.

Light shone.

On the white LCD glass wall opposite Qin Chao, which was originally just a clean white wall, black text appeared as the light flickered.

"Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhezong's reign."

Qin Chao began to speak—

"Emperor Zhezong Zhao Xu, originally named Yong..."

"At this time, the religions were Daoism, Buddhism..."

"At that time, the cultivation of qi had reached its peak, and the path to immortality was blocked. The followers of various schools, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Mohism, each sought their own way. The great scholar Zhou Dunyi, with his extraordinary talent, integrated the teachings of various schools to form Neo-Confucianism, which he passed on to his disciples Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi..."

"Cheng Hao has passed away, and Cheng Yi took over, teaching in Luoyang, known as the Lu School..."

...

The text and images on the wall rolled, presenting a real history of the Northern Song Dynasty to Qin Chao.

"The plot of the online game 'Heavenly Dragon' is based on this history."

As a realistic historical game, 'Heavenly Dragon' perfectly recreates the customs, folkways, architecture, and geographical features of the Northern Song Dynasty during Emperor Zhezong's reign. The actions and words of the NPCs in the game are all consistent with historical reality. It is said that the accuracy score is 95, and even the internationally renowned historian Yi Shuihan gave it a real accuracy score of 99.

"Yi Shuihan is an expert in brick-throwing, but the background of the online game 'Heavenly Dragon' is based on this book 'The True History of the Martial World.' Although netizens say that to travel to the ancient martial arts world, 'The True History of the Martial World' is a must-read, it's a joke, but reading it is crucial for playing 'Heavenly Dragon' well."

While analyzing and memorizing 'The True History of the Martial World,' Qin Chao's eyes closed without him noticing.

Suddenly!

A red light flashed on his brow, but it disappeared instantly.

On July 4th, a 'Heavenly Dragon' player in Jiangsu was found dead in his bathtub. The forensic doctor found that the player's physiological indicators were very healthy, and he did not drown. The cause of death was a mystery. Some netizens commented that he had traveled to the martial arts world.

...

Northern Song Dynasty, Xining period.

This year, Duan Zhengchun was playing among the flowers.

This year, Qiao Feng was still learning martial arts under Master Xuanku at Shaolin Temple.

This year, the demon blade Qin Hongmian had not yet left her hometown, Dali Qin Family Village.

This year...

In the martial arts family Qin Family Village in Dali, Yunnan, the first hero of the Le generation, Qin Le Dao, married the younger sister of the first beauty of the Baiyi tribe, Dao Baifeng, named Dao Yufeng.

At the fifth watch, before dawn.

Flames shot up to the sky.

It was a house very similar to the Qin Family buildings in the online game 'Heavenly Dragon.' In front of the house, a circle of men surrounded a bonfire, praying for blessings. Inside, the lights were on in seven or eight large rooms, and whispers of women's voices could be heard. The northern inner room was tightly closed, and outside, seven or eight men looked anxious. Among them, a burly man was pacing back and forth in the room, wearing only two layers of blue clothes in the cold winter.

"Le Dao, sit down and be quiet, don't pace around."

"Uncle, I'm worried. This is a premature birth, a whole month early. Not to mention the child, this is Yufeng's first pregnancy, and the first pregnancy is the most dangerous..."

Qin Le Dao married Dao Yufeng in April, and today was just two hours past New Year's Eve. Calculating the time, the pregnancy was not yet eight months. Not only was Qin Le Dao worried, but even his experienced uncle, Qin Shuwen, was anxious.

Dao Yufeng was the younger sister of the Princess of Zhen Nan, and her marriage to the Qin Family Village was like a 'patriarch.' It was absolutely unacceptable for her to have complications during childbirth.

The darkest part of the night passed, and the first light of dawn appeared—

"It's a boy... It's a boy..."

The midwife's loud voice echoed, "Congratulations, mother and child are safe!"

"It's a boy! I'm a father!"

Qin Le Dao stopped pacing and burst into laughter, "Haha, Yufeng is fine, haha, I'm a father..."

"Brother Le Dao, congratulations!"

"Le Dao, congratulations! Now we can drink to your happiness!"

...

In the room, the men, Qin Le Quan, Qin Le Wu, and Qin Le Shu, were Qin Le Dao's brothers, and there were also elderly clan members. Six or seven men congratulated Qin Le Dao, but the old man sitting at the head of the table, Qin Shuwen, frowned even more, and the only beautiful woman also frowned.

She was the famous 'Demon Blade' Qin Hongmian, Qin Le Dao's older sister.

"Le Shan, something is wrong with the child," Qin Hongmian said coldly.

The baby was indeed unusual because no one heard the newborn's cry.

"Yes, no cry!" Qin Le Shan's face changed instantly.

In the delivery room, the midwife was also puzzled. The baby's hands and feet were moving, and the breathing was normal, but why wasn't it crying? She held the wrinkled baby upside down and slapped its bottom hard, one slap after another, for eight or nine times.

"Waa..."

The baby's cry finally echoed.

...

Qin Le Dao's child was named 'Chao' because he was born as the sky was just beginning to brighten on New Year's Day, the first day of the year. The Qin family follows a generational naming system, and although the martial arts family values martial arts, they still hope for a peaceful era. The generational name is 'Shu Le Sheng Shi,' and Qin Chao belongs to the 'Sheng' generation, so he is also called Qin Sheng Chao.

Three years passed.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the weather was clear.

On the mulberry and hemp path, women or grandmothers carried or held small children and walked towards the village square of Qin Family Village.

"Mom, why hasn't Dad come home all night, and he's still not here?" A small boy, wrapped like a dumpling, asked his mother, Dao Yufeng.

"Your father is handling a big matter," Dao Yufeng said with a smile, wrapping the little Qin Chao in a thick coat, and then, still unsatisfied, she wrapped his head and neck with a long scarf before feeling reassured.

Perhaps because he was premature, little Qin Chao's body was very weak, and he often caught colds throughout the year. To the villagers, it was a miracle that he had survived this long, blessed by heaven.

"Big matter?" Qin Chao was puzzled, and Dao Yufeng picked him up.

"Let's go, our little Chao will also participate in this big matter today."

Qin Family Village was large, and the village square was three miles from Qin Chao's home. Dao Yufeng carried Qin Chao to the village square. On a cart, mother and son sat on a soft couch, and the cart was driven by an old woman. As the younger sister of a princess, Dao Yufeng's treatment was naturally different from others, and she had an extra cart. After walking half a mile, a thatched house appeared ahead, and a young woman led a boy who was a head taller than Qin Chao. Although the boy was also dressed warmly, he was far from as well-dressed as Qin Chao.

"Aunt Lin!" Qin Chao called out from a distance, and the young woman smiled and responded, leading the child to the cart.

"Quick, quick, get in the cart." Dao Yufeng invited him, as the younger sister of a princess, she was very good at getting along with people and won the respect of the villagers in Qin Family Village.

"Sister Yufeng, let the child sit in the cart, I'll walk." Aunt Lin lifted the child into the cart.

The child sat in the cart and looked at little Qin Chao with rolling eyes.

Qin Chao couldn't help but look at the back of the child's neck, where a blood-red dragon mark was visible on the white skin, the dragon's head on the neck, spiraling down along the spine.

"Born with a dragon mark!"

A trace of worry flashed in Qin Chao's eyes. Since he regained consciousness, Qin Chao knew he was from the modern world of the previous life, playing the game 'Heavenly Dragon.' With the memories of his previous life, he was not a naive child.

The dragon is supreme!

Only the royal family can be called dragons, and in the common people, dragons are taboo. Even if the emperor is benevolent, he must still guard against these things.

From historical records, Qin Chao knew that during the Song Dynasty, it was fashionable to have tattoos on the body. The founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, had a tattoo, and these tattoos included tigers, leopards, wolves, and jackals, but dragons were only for the royal family, and anyone else would be suspected of plotting rebellion.

A child born with a dragon-shaped birthmark symbolizes a natural rebel, a harbinger of chaos. The fact that he was not bound and drowned in the village pond shows the boldness of Qin Family Village, but this matter was kept secret, and the child was told never to expose his back and neck to outsiders. Qin Chao only discovered this by chance.

"Qin Long, do you know what the big matter is today?" Qin Chao asked.

"Um, blood recognition ceremony," the child 'Qin Long' said in a baby voice, "All children who turn three this year must go, because after today, they will become true descendants of the Qin family." Qin Long was also of the 'Sheng' generation, a cousin of Qin Chao, born a month earlier but looking a year or two older.

"Do you know what the blood recognition ceremony is?" Little Qin Long looked at Qin Chao with curious eyes, thinking that this shorter Qin Chao, who was often sick, knew more than he did.

"Is it the blood recognition ceremony?"

Qin Chao was moved. In the three years he had been in this society, he had noticed some things, such as the Qin Family Village, which clearly had the same traditions as his previous life's Qin family, or they might be of the same clan. The Qin family in this village also had the custom of wearing the 'Sha Wooden Plaque.'

In his previous life, Qin Chao wore the 'Sha Wooden Plaque' on the fifth day of the first lunar month when he turned three.

As they moved forward, more women carrying or holding children joined the cart procession, and most of these children were about three years old. When they arrived at the village square, there were already fifty or sixty people.

"Wow, so big!"

Little Qin Long exclaimed, and Qin Chao followed his finger and his eyes lit up.

To the north, a huge, square building stood against the mountain.

Tall, thick, rugged, and majestic.

It was like the 'Tulou' in Yongding, Fujian, but not round, but square. The three-story building was made of blue bricks and looked like a huge wall from a distance.

"Just like in the 'Heavenly Dragon' game."

Qin Chao squinted. In the game 'Heavenly Dragon,' Qin Chao had learned martial arts at the 'Qin Family Martial Arts School,' and he had visited the Qin Family Village, where there was such a square 'Tulou.'

"Let's go, the training ground and the ancestral hall of our Qin Family Village are inside." Aunt Lin smiled and led the group of women and carts towards the central gate of the 'wall.' The gate was ten feet high, made of seven-inch-thick wooden planks, and covered with thick copper plates. It would take a thousand pounds of strength to push it open.

"So familiar!"

Entering the gate was like entering a city gate. Qin Chao looked up and saw a thousand-pound gate above his head.

"One man at the gate, ten thousand cannot pass. This is the protective force of Qin Family Village." Qin Chao noticed that except for the bricks, stones, and plaster, which were different from the game, it was almost a replica of the ancestral hall and wall of the Qin Family Village in the 'Heavenly Dragon' world.

Exiting the gate.

"Hey!" "Ha!"

A loud and整齐 (neat) roar echoed.

"This..." Qin Chao was stunned as he looked at the training ground, which was as large as three football fields, with seven or eight hundred men practicing knife techniques.

"Open the gate and ask the mountain!" A large knife was swung down;

"Return the knife to the sky!" The knife was swung at the sky;

"A hundred cuts without regret!" The knife went out without returning;

...

On the left, rows of teenagers, all about ten years old, were wrapped in red silk on their foreheads, practicing knives in neat rows under the guidance of their coaches. The loud shouts came from their mouths.

In the cold winter, these teenagers were bare-chested, and each one was sweating profusely.

In the golden sunlight.

Hundreds of teenagers practicing knives in neat rows created a momentum that made people feel like a thousand troops were charging, and their blood boiled. On the right, the young men were practicing individually, some with knives, some with spears, some with swords, some with fists, and even some lifting stone locks and throwing stone balls. The knives were like匹 (horses), the sword light was like water, the spears were so tight that water could not get through, the fists were so fast that people could not be seen, and the stone balls rolled in the sky... It was even more shocking to watch.

So many people practicing martial arts together.

Hundreds of people shouting and practicing with their knives.

In a daze, Qin Chao felt like he was not in reality, as if he had really returned to the 'Heavenly Dragon' game, watching thousands of players practice and learn martial arts.

"Flying... flying up...!"

Beside him, Qin Long was also stunned by the scene, and the other children who came with their mothers had their mouths wide open, staring in amazement at the hundreds of people practicing martial arts.

The large knives could roll all over the body without hurting anyone, the sharp sword edges seemed to be everywhere, the spears twisted like snakes...

People could take five steps in the air.

A boulder as big as a horse's head could be tossed around on the body.

...

This completely exceeded the normal understanding of their small minds.

After all, although they had heard about practicing martial arts and learning knives before, their family members, parents, and relatives had never demonstrated any martial arts skills in front of them.

Shocked.

The hearts of these children were completely stunned.

"Ha ha, these little rascals..." The adults laughed. In Qin Family Village, it was a rule not to show high-level martial arts to children under three years old, so that on this day, they could be shocked by this extremely magnificent and stunning performance, planting the seeds of martial arts and strength in their young hearts.

"Watch carefully, you won't see the Qin family's boxing techniques until you're seven years old." Aunt Lin said with a smile.

Qin Long nodded in a daze, but Qin Chao heard the underlying meaning and looked at Aunt Lin, "So, the children of Qin Family Village can start learning martial arts at seven years old?"

Aunt Lin smiled, "My son Long can learn martial arts, but little Chao...?"

"Little Chao can't learn martial arts?"

Qin Long finally came to his senses and asked, and the other children of the same age also looked over.

"Little Chao's body is weak, he is more suitable for studying literature, not martial arts..." Aunt Lin shook her head.

A trace of sadness flashed in Dao Yufeng's eyes, but she smiled and patted Qin Chao's hand, "Studying literature is also a way to succeed. My little Chao is very smart. He will surely become a top scholar and serve in the government, bringing peace to the court and the people, just as a good man should." She smiled, but Qin Chao, who was sensitive, noticed a lingering regret in her eyes.

At that time, the martial arts atmosphere in Yunnan was very strong. The Dali royal family was the top martial arts family, and the Duan family's 'One Finger Yang' was on par with the 'Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms' and 'Beggar's Staff' of the Song Dynasty's Beggar Sect. As for the 'Six Pulse Sword,' it far surpassed the so-called supreme martial arts secrets of the martial arts world. Other powerful families, like the Gao family, were also skilled in martial arts, and Gao Shengtai was a standout in Dali.

In the southern part of Yunnan, not only the royal family but also the common people took pride in martial arts. People often carried swords and knives when they went out, and even if they were unarmed, they might be experts in fist and palm techniques.

If ordinary people were like this, the large families and sects were even more so.

There were many martial arts families here.

Like Qin Family Village, which was famous for its knife techniques, the Five Tiger Door Knife of the Qin family was well-known.

In addition to the