Chapter 4

"Father, Mother, I will definitely defeat the Anze household! This is the first time I am making a promise to you, and I will not break it!" Hu Tou solemnly responded, his whole body suddenly tensing up. He curved his hand into a tiger claw and struck the wooden wall beside him.

With a crack, the nearly one-inch-thick wooden wall split, leaving Lu Kang and his wife speechless. The confidence and determination Hu Tou displayed reassured them greatly. The feeling of seeing hope in the midst of despair made the two of them hug Hu Tou, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

Hu Tou did not cry. He was savoring the warm current flowing through his heart: "So... this is the feeling of parental love... It really is wonderful!"

Indeed, Hu Tou was a reincarnated soul, or perhaps a穿越者 (穿越者 means "穿越者" in Chinese, but in this context, it can be translated as "time traveler" or "transmigrator"). Before his reincarnation, he had lived in a world called Earth, in a country called Huaxia, where he was known as Lu Qi, a master of animal ecology.

Of course, this was just one of his many identities. Lu Qi's primary identity was a member of a semi-governmental special organization in Huaxia, which could be described as a special agent, a special forces soldier, or even a hitman or bodyguard. He had to complete any task assigned by the organization, and at the time of his death, he was the most powerful existence in the organization and even the world's underground organizations—a Heaven-level Executioner.

On Earth, in Huaxia, Lu Qi was an orphan, a solitary man who believed he understood only gratitude and no other emotions. However, at the moment of his death, he vaguely realized that his heart seemed to understand another wondrous emotion, one that many writers had described in colorful words—love.

Lu Qi did not die for love. A special agent dying for love might be a cliché, but it was absolutely impossible for a "Heaven-level Executioner."

Lu Qi sacrificed himself to protect his first friend, a woman who had made him realize what love was. He bravely stepped into a trap and fought to the death with the most elite ninja master from the island nation. Although it was not a complete mutual destruction, the island nation's ninja master was already dead, while Lu Qi could still smile and gently caress the stubborn girl's face with his bloodied hand, telling her to live well and wait for her happiness.

The dead are gone, but the living must carry on! The girl with blood on her face should have had such thoughts. When Lu Qi found himself reborn in this strange world with all his past memories, carried by a woman named Xiao Hui, he gradually understood a truth: the lost are gone, but the living must carry on!

Lu Qi never imagined that one day, he, who had lived a short and lonely life in his previous life, could transcend the boundaries of reincarnation, ignore the barriers of space, and participate in an emotion that would make even an immortal unforgettable.

Whether it is "the dead are gone" or "the lost are gone," the living must carry on! At the moment of his death, Lu Qi, who had even understood the highest realm of internal martial arts—refining the path to truth—quickly adjusted his mindset even as a baby.

Originally, Lu Qi thought he had returned to ancient Huaxia, as the people here had black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin, though their customs and language were somewhat different. However, ancient Huaxia did not seem to have such an era, a state called Longyuan, or a country called Yunze.

Lu Qi could only say it seemed so, as he was not a historian. However, he was certain that he would never spend his entire life as a slave, working like a beast of burden and making his descendants do the same.

The Ze Nu people, slaves living in the swamp forest, had no right to pay taxes and could only work, hunt, and reproduce endlessly. They ate the least food and did the hardest, most dangerous work.

Lu Qi would not pin his hopes on his taciturn father suddenly becoming a great man, and then benefiting from his father's status. He was not the type to rely on the illusory luck of others. He knew that in his previous life, he could rely on his own efforts to become the strongest martial artist on Earth, and in this life, he could also rely on his own efforts to become the strongest.

No matter what kind of world this was, as long as there were people, the strong would always be revered. After all, the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest—applied to any era and any civilization.

So, from the moment he could move his limbs, Lu Qi began to practice some basic movements. Once he could crawl, he diligently practiced the Tiger and Deer exercises, which is why his humble name was "Hu Tou." When he could walk, he began to practice all five of the Five Animal Exercises, from standing postures to walking frames to the Five Animal Imitation Boxing.

As the world's top martial artist, Lu Qi's survival skill on Earth was the Five Animal Imitation Boxing, which evolved from the Five Animal Exercises and was similar to Xingyi Quan in its internal martial arts.

When practicing the Five Animal Exercises, it looked to outsiders like a child was just crawling and rolling around. Since Lu Kang and Xiao Hui did not have time to watch Lu Qi, no one paid attention to his actions at first, and even if they did, they would only think it was a special way for a wild child to play.

This made it easier for Lu Qi to focus on his practice, though it was hard on his parents. In martial arts, practitioners need more nutrition to build a strong physique than scholars. In his previous life, when Lu Qi practiced internal martial arts to the stage of hidden power, his appetite far exceeded that of ordinary people. When he reached the stage of transformation power, he could almost eat half a cow in one meal.

Hidden power, in Earth's martial arts, refers to the ability to use force throughout the body, a skill that martial arts masters can practice and understand. It is somewhat similar to the internal energy in martial arts novels but is not as powerful. Transformation power is the highest realm in Earth's martial arts, where the body's tendons, bones, and skin are extremely strong, and the control of force is at will, reaching the extremities, and even a mosquito cannot land on the body.

Therefore, Lu Qi was always hungrier than other children from a young age. However, the rations allocated per person were limited, and Lu Kang and Xiao Hui had to save food from their own mouths to feed Lu Qi.

Lu Qi was not a naive infant. He knew that as his appetite increased, his parents would have to eat less. However, he did not hesitate to take the food from his parents' hands because he understood that only by becoming strong could he change the family's situation. Otherwise, the family would have far more tears than smiles. It was during this time that Lu Qi truly felt a sense of belonging in this world.

Just like in his previous life, the first warm emotion Lu Qi experienced in this world was gratitude. The deep parental love, which he had never felt, made this iron-blooded man feel a slight pang in his heart. Especially today, when Lu Kang risked his life again to steal food for his fat son, Lu Qi was even more moved.

However, this only made Lu Qi train even harder. From the age of five, he knew how to find his own food. The swamp forest never lacked food, especially for Lu Qi, who was an expert in this field.

Plant roots, insects, bird eggs, muskrats, even venomous snakes—anything edible that Lu Qi saw, he would find a way to get it and eat it. If he couldn't see it, he would find it. His past memories and knowledge gave him endless help. As a result, Lu Qi grew faster and stronger than any other child, and by the age of twelve, his height could rival some shorter adults, and his physique was more robust than most.

All of Lu Qi's martial arts insights from his previous life were like a vast treasure trove sealed in his mind. As he grew day by day, each movement, based on his small body, gradually unlocked.

In a relatively hard forest not far from the northwest settlement, a five-foot-tall figure stood firm, none other than Lu Qi, who had just comforted Lu Kang and his wife.

At this moment, Lu Qi's waist was slightly lowered, his arms slowly raised, his feet firmly planted on the ground, and his upper body mysteriously rose half an inch. His already solid back suddenly widened.

If someone saw Lu Qi, they would definitely notice that his entire demeanor was thick and steady, like a vigilant bear about to attack.

"Ha!" Staring fiercely, Lu Qi exhaled and struck out, his waist sinking and his palm extending. The tree in front of him, as thick as a bowl, snapped with a crack.

This was definitely more powerful than breaking a wooden wall with a curved hand. If someone saw this, they would certainly exclaim in surprise. Even with an axe, an inexperienced lumberjack would find it difficult to chop down this tree, let alone a child like Lu Qi.

Lu Qi's face showed a hint of joy: "Indeed, starting to practice from infancy in this life has made my foundation even more solid. The whole power I have cultivated is more than twice as strong as when I first cultivated it in my previous life."

Whole power is a sign of success in the integrated stage of martial arts. Practitioners can instantly transfer the force from their feet to their hands or other parts of their body, creating an effect where "no additional force is needed, yet the force is evident." In Lu Qi's previous world, "inch power" and "inch punch" also fall into this category.

By instantly converting the force from the feet into the entire body's inertia, whole power is generated. Any uncoordinated movements by other parts of the body would affect the overall inertia. Therefore, only martial artists who have practiced standing postures and walking frames for many years, integrating each move into their body almost instinctively, and have excellent body coordination, can cultivate whole power. This is a sign of a martial artist's initial success.

In Lu Qi's previous Huaxia, the cultivation of internal martial arts was divided into the whole power stage, the visible power stage, the hidden power stage, the transformation power stage, and the legendary stage of refining the path to truth.