The Martial Saint of Humanity, I Have Transformed Low-Level Martial Arts Into Immortal Martial Arts - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Baduanjin! Rebirth!

In the early hours of the morning, with the sky still dim and gray, Su Hao, a young man with a delicate face dressed in worn cloth clothes, was practicing a set of movements in a small courtyard enclosed by a wooden fence.

Although called a form of martial arts, it resembled more a set of ‘broadcast exercises’, with movements that were slow and graceful, like a flowing piece of silk, and thus it was named ‘Baduanjin’!

Name: Su Hao

Skills: Baduanjin (Initiation 99%)

Potential: 1 point (Average talent)

“Phew… Just a bit more, and I’ll break through Baduanjin. There’s still time, so I’ll practice a little longer.”

After completing a set of Baduanjin, Su Hao was slightly sweating, but his whole body felt comfortable. He glanced at the sky and the translucent panel that appeared before his eyes, realizing there was still some time before he needed to head to Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop, so he decided to practice a little longer.

Su Hao was not originally from this world; he was a transmigrator. In his previous life, he was a corporate drone working nine to six, struggling to pay off his mortgage.

Yet, life is fragile—a single truck could end it. One night, on his way home after working late, Su Hao was hit by a truck full of cargo. When he woke up again, he found himself in this world filled with soldiers and bandits, demons wreaking havoc.

As someone who had read over fifty thousand hours on Tomato Reading, Su Hao immediately realized he had transmigrated. Like most transmigrators, Su Hao also had a ‘golden finger’—the ability to see the proficiency of his skills. Apart from that, it seemed to have no other use.

“I would call you the most useless ‘golden finger’ ever!” Su Hao felt somewhat dejected, but he accepted his fate.

In this life, he was a native of Longshe Village, orphaned, and working as an apprentice at Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop in town to make ends meet. He handled miscellaneous tasks and deliveries.

Besides that, Su Hao retained his interest from his previous life in fitness and practiced Baduanjin. Baduanjin is a fitness and wellness exercise similar to gymnastics, divided into eight sections with movements that are elegant, simple, and natural, suitable for everyone. As a transmigrator who was somewhat undernourished, Su Hao felt his body becoming healthier after practicing for a while.

He practiced each movement skillfully, with gentle, slow, calming actions.

After a short session, having completed another full set of Baduanjin, Su Hao broke into a sweat. At the same time, he felt a warmth rising from the soles of his feet, flowing throughout his body, as if he was soaking in a hot spring, feeling incredibly comfortable!

“Could it be that I’ve broken through Baduanjin? The effects are this noticeable?”

After a while, the feeling gradually faded, leaving Su Hao somewhat surprised. He willed it, and the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Su Hao

Skills: Baduanjin (Small accomplishment 1%)

Potential: 3 points (Mediocre talent)

Upon seeing this, Su Hao noticed an anomaly: his potential had increased from the original 1 point to 3 points!

“Is my potential not fixed? Can it increase as long as I break through in the skills I’ve mastered?”

Su Hao’s eyes shone with excitement as a surge of joy rose in his heart. He realized that his ‘golden finger’ was not as useless as he had thought. As long as he achieved breakthroughs in his skills, his potential would increase!

“With increased potential, does that mean I can learn things faster?”

Thinking this, Su Hao decided to test it immediately by practicing Baduanjin again.

With this practice session, Su Hao noticed a significant change. He felt he could recognize the imperfections in his previous movements and correct them with greater ease and naturalness.

“This efficiency… One session now feels like the equivalent of practicing three times before!”

Having completed another set of Baduanjin, Su Hao couldn’t hide his inner joy and amazement.

His potential had increased from 1 to 3, effectively tripling his previous capability!

“If every skill I master can advance to small accomplishment, great accomplishment, or even perfection, all leading to increased potential, what kind of prodigy could I become in the long run?”

Su Hao realized the strength of his ‘talent’ was akin to a snowball effect. Given enough time, he could even become an unprecedented super prodigy! The future held infinite possibilities!

“Not good… I need to hurry to the blacksmith shop.”

But soon, a rooster’s crow startled Su Hao awake. After glancing at the sky, he quickly washed up, left Longshe Village, and headed towards the town.

Hushan Town is comprised of seven villages. Because it is near Wohu Mountain, people often go into the mountain to hunt. It’s also a necessary pass to reach Changqing County Town, making it quite bustling.

After walking for six or seven miles, Su Hao arrived at Hushan Town. The streets of Hushan Town were lively, with people selling breakfast, vegetables, and fruits, while others carried farm tools to the fields to work.

Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop was located in the center of a long street in Hushan Town, surrounded by high walls that were weathered with the marks of time.

Su Hao hurriedly rushed to the blacksmith shop, joining several young apprentices in dusting and hauling the necessary coal and iron ore into the forge room.

“A Hao, come with me.”

At this moment, a dark-skinned, stout middle-aged man beckoned to Su Hao. This man was Zhao Tie, the owner of Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop and one of the few highly skilled blacksmiths there.

“Yes,” Su Hao replied respectfully, following Zhao Tie to the side.

In the small courtyard, Zhao Tie looked at Su Hao with a broad smile and said, “A Hao, you’ve been with our Zhao Family Blacksmith Shop for a year now. You’ve been diligent and eager to learn, never complaining. From today onwards, you will learn forging with Master Zhou and assist him.”

These words made Su Hao’s eyes light up with excitement. He couldn’t hide his emotion as he thanked Zhao Tie: “Uncle Zhao… I promise to work hard and not bring shame to our blacksmith shop!”

“Is Su Hao finally getting to learn a craft?”

“He’s finally made it; becoming a pre-apprentice blacksmith means he’ll earn wages!”

From afar, a few apprentices overheard their conversation, feeling both envious and jealous.

Becoming an apprentice at a blacksmith shop meant you were provided with meals but received no wages!

In these chaotic times, let alone the craft of forging, even professions like carpentry and cooking require starting as an apprentice. Three years of assisting, three years of learning, three years of service—it’s quite normal to spend over a decade to truly learn a craft well enough to earn a living!

Su Hao had been an apprentice at the Zhao Family Blacksmith Shop for a year, handling odd jobs, running errands, and doing heavy work. He never slacked off, and being a local whose parents had passed away, Zhao Tie decided to cultivate him. After just one year of odd jobs, he allowed Su Hao to formally start learning the craft. Though the other apprentices felt envy and jealousy in their hearts, none dared to voice any complaints. Zhao Tie only needed a word to kick them out if they did!

After having breakfast in the blacksmith shop—a bowl of rice porridge and a wheat bun—Su Hao went to the forge room. “Clang clang clang!” Inside the forge, the temperature was high. Flames roared in the furnace, and the sound of hammers falling on the anvils and the clashing of metal were incessant.

“Master Zhou,” Su Hao greeted respectfully as he approached a middle-aged blacksmith. This blacksmith had rough skin, muscular arms, and several healed scars, exuding strength. He was Zhou Xiong, one of the blacksmith shop’s craftsmen and Su Hao’s forging instructor.

“Ah, A Hao, pick up that hammer over there. When I strike, you hit hard,” Zhou Xiong instructed, being a man of few words and very stern. Upon seeing Su Hao arrive, he spoke directly.

Su Hao immediately picked up a heavy forging hammer. Zhou Xiong held a slightly smaller hammer in one hand and iron tongs with a red-hot iron piece in the other.

“Clang!” Zhou Xiong tapped a spot on the iron piece with his small hammer, and Su Hao promptly smashed down with his forging hammer, causing sparks to fly.

“Put some strength into it. Forging is a basic skill of a blacksmith; you can’t do without strength,” Zhou Xiong shouted as he continued pounding away. Su Hao could only grit his teeth and apply more force.

Learning forging with Zhou Xiong was quite grueling. It was not only physically demanding, enduring the intense heat from the fire, but also required him to learn and memorize the forging techniques Zhou Xiong taught!

However, Su Hao was earnest and absorbed in it. For him, learning forging was a means of livelihood, and he genuinely enjoyed the process of acquiring new skills, starting from scratch!

“This lad… he might be talented. He learns quickly, even though he’s slightly lacking in physical strength.”

Zhou Xiong was also secretly surprised because Su Hao’s learning ability was exceptionally strong. When Zhou Xiong demonstrated movements and techniques, Su Hao could understand and master them after just one explanation. This softened Zhou Xiong’s gaze, making him feel that Su Hao was quite promising and determined. The last thing he wanted was someone who was innately slow and unwilling to put in the effort to learn!

Zhou Xiong naturally did not know Su Hao’s potential had reached 3 points, three times that of an average person. In terms of intellect, Su Hao was slightly above average among ordinary people, which naturally helped him learn more quickly!

“So tired… so very tired…”

After a full day, Su Hao fully experienced what it meant to be exhausted. His palms were blistered, and his arms were slightly swollen from all the forging and bellows work, both of which were undoubtedly strenuous tasks.

Forging (Initiation 1%)

Despite his fatigue, Su Hao was incredibly enthusiastic because his skill panel now included a new skill: ‘Forging.’ Although he had just begun, with Su Hao’s hard work, he was bound to make gradual progress!

“Practice Baduanjin and then sleep.”

As night fell, Su Hao returned to the small mud house in the village and practiced Baduanjin to stretch his muscles and bones before going to bed. In this world, ordinary people did not have activities at night; once it was dark, they went to sleep, and at dawn, they began to toil for their livelihood!

The next day, Su Hao followed his routine by practicing Baduanjin in the morning. After reaching a small accomplishment in Baduanjin, it typically would take more time and energy to break through to a great accomplishment. However, with Su Hao’s increased potential, now three times what it was before, it was estimated that the time needed to reach a great accomplishment would actually be less!

In the blacksmith shop, Su Hao continued his usual routine, following Zhou Xiong to learn forging. He advanced rapidly and was already capable of crafting simple farming tools.

But Su Hao knew very well that Zhao’s Blacksmith Shop made its most significant profits not from crafting farm tools but from weapons! A weapon forged from fine iron could easily sell for several taels of silver—a fortune!

However, only Zhao Tie, the shop owner, and a select few blacksmiths could forge these ten-refinement fine iron weapons, which were the shop’s signature products.

Time passed, and three months had already gone by.

“Clang clang clang!”

At a forging station, a shirtless Su Hao swung his forging hammer powerfully, striking the ‘Hoe Blade’ that was fixed on the mold, sending out bright sparks. He then placed the formed Hoe Blade into a bucket of cold water for cooling and quenching—completing the forging of the hoe’s blade.

Su Hao wiped away his sweat and suddenly felt a slight tremor in his body as a warm current surged through him. His eyes lit up, knowing that his ‘Forging’ skill had likely broken through!

Forging (Small Accomplishment 1%)

Potential: 4 points (Average Talent)

Sure enough, in the attributes panel, after three months of Su Hao’s relentless efforts, his forging had successfully reached the realm of small accomplishment, and his potential had once again increased, rising from 3 points to 4 points!

“My potential has increased again; it won’t be long before my Baduanjin breaks through once more!” Su Hao was quietly pleased. Over these three months, his physique had become significantly stronger compared to three months ago, partly due to the physical labor providing exercise and partly due to the continuous improvement from practicing Baduanjin. He could faintly see the muscle definition on his body and could feel himself growing bit by bit!

With 4 points of potential, already four times more than at the start, Su Hao’s progress in practicing Baduanjin could be seen plainly every day!

With Forging at Small Accomplishment, Su Hao was proficient enough to craft various simple farming tools and fulfill the blacksmith shop’s orders, successfully becoming a ‘junior blacksmith.’ Though he earned a salary of 300 wen per month, which wasn’t much, Su Hao was still exhilarated.

Time flew by; it had been six months since Su Hao began learning forging.

Baduanjin (Small Accomplishment 99%)

On this particular evening, in the small courtyard of Longshe Village, Su Hao was practicing Baduanjin as usual. He could see that the progress of Baduanjin had reached a bottleneck!

Focused and intent, his body moved like flowing silk, swaying gracefully with the wind, stretching and invigorating his muscles.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Su Hao’s body shook slightly, and a familiar heat surged from the soles of his feet, spreading to every part of his body, rushing to his head, filling him with an indescribable ease and causing all his pores to open up, giving him the illusion of a complete transformation!

“The changes brought by breaking through to great accomplishment in Baduanjin are this significant?”

Su Hao was slightly surprised and immediately opened the attributes panel to take a look.

Name: Su Hao

Mastered Skills: Baduanjin (Great Accomplishment 1%), Forging (Small Accomplishment 58%)

Potential: 6 points (Remarkable Bone Structure)

Su Hao’s Baduanjin had already reached great accomplishment, and his potential increased from 4 points to 6 points. Most importantly, Su Hao’s potential evaluation had changed from ‘Average Talent’ to ‘Remarkable Bone Structure’!

“A person of average aptitude is only of middling level among ordinary people—not great, but not bad either. But now I’ve experienced a qualitative change, becoming someone with ‘remarkable bone structure.’ No wonder it feels like I’ve been reborn!”

Su Hao’s eyes lit up with realization. Although his potential seemed to have increased by just two points, it actually underwent a qualitative transformation, akin to a complete renewal.

Having ‘remarkable bone structure’ typically describes those naturally extraordinary individuals who learn faster and have bodies with greater inherent strength. In martial arts novels, this term often describes a prodigious young talent with unparalleled potential!

Following this realization, Su Hao felt the immense changes brought about by the transformation of his potential.

While practicing ‘Baduanjin,’ Su Hao developed a keen sensitivity to the wind and nature. With every slight movement, it felt as though he blended seamlessly with the wind, his body swaying like a luxurious, multicolored silk ribbon dancing in the breeze. Every practice session brought new insights compared to before!

“‘Remarkable bone structure’—the potential to achieve greatness… It seems I’ve now stepped into the realm of a genius!”

Su Hao’s eyes gleamed brightly. Effort is important, but talent is even more crucial. Hard work can only secure the lower bounds of success, while innate talent determines the upper limits!