Talent Vs Hardwork (Patreon)

Chapter 1: The Diligent Will Be Rewarded

Heaven Dou Empire

Farsno Province, Caomiao Village.

A cold mountain breeze whistled through, rustling the bamboo forest.

A wild rabbit poked its head out of its burrow, carefully sniffing the air to ensure there was no danger before hopping out to search for food.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the sound of something cutting through the air was heard.

The rabbit had no time to react before it was pinned to the ground.

It was pierced by an arrow, with blood seeping into the soil along the arrow shaft.

"Got it!"

Lin Chuan slowly jumped down from a tree, pulled out the arrow, and roughly weighed it in his hand.

"Tsk tsk, it's quite fat, almost six pounds. I'll keep some for myself and the rest should fetch a good price."

[You diligently practiced archery and made some progress. Archery proficiency +1]

Lin Chuan was already accustomed to the sudden appearance of this light screen.

In fact, Lin Chuan was a transmigrator.

His parents were unknown; at least, he had never seen them.

According to the villagers, his father was a soldier of the Heaven Dou Empire who unfortunately died in battle a few years ago, and his mother died of sudden complications during childbirth.

A life marked by misfortune.

Fortunately, he was cared for by an old soldier from the same village, which is why he survived till now.

That old soldier grew up with Lin Chuan's father. Unable to become spirit masters, they didn't want to be mere farmers either, so they joined the army together.

The result was predictable.

Lin Chuan's father died in battle, and the old soldier returned to Caomiao Village with one arm missing.

When Lin Chuan was five, the old soldier also died due to his old injuries. Lin Chuan lived quite comfortably with the skills he had learned from the old soldier.

Despite being only a six-year-old child, he had his own golden finger, or as westerners would say, his own cheat.

[Name]: Lin Chuan 

[Blessing]: The Diligent Will Be Rewarded

[Skills]: 

• Basic Archery (456/1000)

• Basic Spearmanship (487/1000)

• Basic Swordsmanship (368/1000)

• Basic Boxing (533/1000)

• Basic Agility (654/1000)

• ….

An unnamed panel that only Lin Chuan could see.

It appeared when he was five years old.

There are no fancy functions, simply put, this ‘golden finger’ of his simply allows him to see the progress of his own skill live like how one would in an RPG game.

He still needs to manually train to increase his skill.

He doesn’t mind though, being able to see the progress bar of life would motivate anyone.

"I'm close. My archery skills are almost on par with the village's old hunters. I wonder how powerful I'll be after reaching the next level?"

Lin Chuan muttered to himself, filled with anticipation.

Carrying the rabbit, he walked briskly towards the village.

As soon as he entered the village, he ran into the village chief of Caomiao Village.

"Little Chuan, I've finally found you. Hurry to the Spirit Hall in the village center. The spirit master from Spirit Hall is here today to conduct the Martial Spirit Awakening Ceremony for you kids. Don't keep the spirit master waiting!"

"I got it, then I'll just put this away and head over."

Lin Chuan nodded, quickening his pace.

For the people of Douluo Continent, six years old was a turning point in life.

Lin Chuan had no hopes of awakening a powerful Martial Spirit, as neither of his parents in this life were spirit masters.

After placing the rabbit at home, he didn't even have time to change his clothes and hurriedly rushed to the village center.

When he arrived at the wooden house, the other children of appropriate age had already gathered. The village chief was bowing and speaking to a handsome young man.

Seeing Lin Chuan appear, the village chief quickly waved him over.

"Honorable Spirit Master, these are the three children who need to undergo the Martial Spirit Awakening this year. We trouble you once again."

"I don't have much time, let's start right away."

The young man responded indifferently and entered the wooden house first.

The village chief quickly urged the three children, including Lin Chuan, to follow.

"Children, my name is Su Yuntao, and I will be your guide. I will help each of you awaken your martial spirit. There's no need to be afraid."

‘Afraid?’

"Lone Wolf, possess!"

As Lin Chuan's thoughts wandered, Su Yuntao had already released his martial spirit.

Su Yuntao muscles bulged, his gray hair grew longer, and ten gleaming claws emerged from his finger, furthermore, his eyes glowed a ghostly green. Su Yuntao had transformed into a werewolf, with one white and one yellow spirit ring floating behind him.

"Cool…”

Lin Chuan couldn't help but mutter.

Su Yuntao glanced at him, then turned to reassure the other two children.

The martial spirit awakening ceremony soon began.

"Pitchfork, no spirit power. You cannot become a spirit master."

"Blue Silver Grass, useless martial spirit, also no spirit power."

In no time, the ceremonies for the first two children ended.

Su Yuntao's expression was blank, as if he had expected this.

Lin Chuan took a deep breath and stepped into the center of the six black stones. Su Yuntao clapped his hands, injecting a bit of spirit power into the stones once more.

Rays of light emitted from the stones, forming a pale golden glow that enveloped Lin Chuan.

A warm feeling gradually flowed from within him.

"Raise your right hand!"

Lin Chuan instinctively raised his right hand, feeling a weight settle into it.

In his sight was a black short bow, unadorned and simple.

"Another tool martial spirit, but at least it has attack power. Let's test your spirit power!"

Su Yuntao was slightly surprised, handing over the spirit power crystal ball.

Lin Chuan placed his hand on the crystal ball, feeling a pull as a warm current from his body flowed into it.

Instantly, the crystal ball glowed blue.

"You actually have level five spirit power!"

Su Yuntao was shocked but then overjoyed.

"Young one, would you like to join the Spirit Hall?"

"I'm not sure... Can I think about it?"

Lin Chuan shook his head slightly, appearing nervous and hesitant.

"Alright, I won't force you."

"If you ever wish to join the Spirit Hall, you can always find me at the Nuoding City Martial Spirit Branch."

Su Yuntao sighed softly, feeling regretful.

But at least he hadn't been outright rejected. There was still hope.

"Thank you, Spirit Master!"

Lin Chuan nodded, accepting the martial spirit certificate from Su Yuntao.

"What a pity."

Before leaving, Su Yuntao couldn't help but sigh.

Lin Chuan: "..."

Does my not joining the Spirit Hall make you that upset?

However, Lin Chuan had no time to dwell on Su Yuntao's regret. After bidding farewell to everyone with the excuse of going home for breakfast, he ran back home.

Locking the windows and making sure no one could see inside, he shrank to the edge of his bed.

[First mastery of extraordinary power, initial reward has been issued]

[Gre[Congratulations: You have obtained the artifact Green Patterned Cauldron]

en Patterned Cauldron: A spiritual refining artifact that can enhance the quality of items through spiritual refining]