Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil in the Cultivation World Chapter 5: Soaring Snake Technique

"This."

Merely by leafing through the pages, Jiang Fan felt utterly perplexed at once, unable to grasp any of it.

To him, the symbols within resembled eerie, illegible scrawls.

In his previous life, he held at least a bachelor's degree and served as an instructor in education, guiding learners.

Yet in this realm, he had turned into someone who couldn't read.

He recognized solely his own name.

This wasn't his own shortcoming anyway.

In this world, how could the destitute possibly access lessons in reading?

Only the elite, offspring of aristocratic lineages, get to study literacy.

As for peasants and anglers, these lowly trades sap every bit of vitality just to avoid starvation.

Even desiring to learn, they'd encounter no path forward.

Innumerable barriers guarantee that the poor stay trapped in poverty for life.

No route exists for rising above.

Boom~~

Right then, Jiang Fan absentmindedly brushed the book with his palm, causing a brilliant golden radiance to erupt from his form and swiftly shroud the tome.

The instant after, myriad letters and depictions from the book's interior animated vividly, fusing straight into the core of his mind. Following that, the manual crumbled to dust and faded away.

Right away, he detected a shining golden speck forming in the depths of his awareness, and he prodded it softly.

Abruptly, a glowing panel surfaced before his eyes.

[Name: Jiang Fan]

[Life Chart: Great Blessings Equal to Heaven, Attribute: Surviving Great Calamities Leads to Fortune]

[Lifespan: 48]

[Luck Points: 100]

[Cultivation Technique: Soaring Snake Technique (Incomplete), Beginner (+)]

[Skills: Fishing (Beginner (+))]

[Realm: None]

Upon glancing at these details, Jiang Fan swiftly understood that this functioned as an inherent power of his Life Chart, helping him gain a sharper view of his present state.

"I can only live to forty-eight?"

Jiang Fan stood dumbfounded. While he hadn't dreamed of an extremely long life, he'd figured on at least hitting seventy or eighty.

Yet it appeared he'd overestimated his body's resilience.

As the son of a fisherman, he'd endured malnutrition from childhood, always short on food and lacking warm garments, battling all sorts of brutal elements; his frame surely hid numerous underlying afflictions by now.

Those problems simply hadn't fully emerged yet, thanks to his relative youth.

His parents had suffered similarly, laboring fiercely, succumbing to illness, and ultimately perishing.

If conditions stayed the same, he might tread the identical road as his parents.

"If I want to solve this problem, I probably have to practice martial arts."

Jiang Fan clenched his fist.

Without doubt, this martial method known as the Soaring Snake Technique marked his prime reward this time, standing as one of the foremost martial arts in this domain.

The Soaring Snake, a fabled Divine Beast, rides the clouds with boundless might.

This martial art was forged by emulating the Soaring Snake.

When fully acquired, it wields deep and staggering power.

Still, this method remains fragmented, lacking wholeness.

Were it intact, its worth would exceed a mere Eighth-Grade Opportunity.

"This technique is truly precious."

Jiang Fan buzzed with thrill, well aware of how priceless martial arts methods prove in this world.

Ordinarily, only noble clans and martial academies hold such treasures.

For commoners, even nearing one borders on impossibility.

Even entering a martial hall demands pouring out heaps of silver and offering decades of devoted service to the teacher for a mere taste of the real doctrines.

Gaining entry to a noble house means descending into servitude or enslavement to access martial arts methods.

The scarcity of these martial arts confines endless ordinary folks' paths to further growth.

Should this method slip out, it would inevitably unleash havoc he couldn't endure.

Luckily, the arcane force bursting from his body had just reduced this hidden manual to ashes.

In this manner, beyond himself, no other soul can unearth this method ever again.

Furthermore, this surge of insight let him master the language of the world in a flash.

Though not wholly expert, he's escaped the bonds of illiteracy.

"Now I have two abilities to improve."

"One is the Soaring Snake Technique, and the other is the skill of fishing."

"And they all have plus signs, meaning I can improve them using luck points."

"So that's the purpose of luck points?"

Jiang Fan clenched his fist.

At last, he grasped the intent behind luck points: to expend them in advancing his cultivation methods and refining his own skills; it's utterly wondrous.

While others must train relentlessly for progress, he merely deploys luck points.

The gains are immense.

After all, his Life Chart grants him Great Blessings Equal to Heaven, deficient only in destiny.

"But destiny is not so easily obtained."

"The saying 'surviving great calamities leads to fortune' means that only through overcoming tribulations can one gain destiny."

"If you don't overcome them, you may end up dead and gone."

"But once you do, destiny blesses you, leading to opportunities."

"Living in turbulent times now, there are plenty of tribulations."

Jiang Fan viewed his route to gathering luck points as uncomplicated: simply enduring in peace, a challenge profoundly tough for everyday people in this world, riddled with dangers all around.

Just persisting through life proves a grueling endeavor.

"So, as long as I act low-key and cautiously, I can naturally overcome many tribulations and collect luck points."

"Then use the mysterious energy of luck points to enhance my power."

"Earlier, I survived a killing from the Dragon King Gang and acquired a hundred luck points."

"These luck points can enhance many of my abilities."

Jiang Fan contemplated the ways to bolster his capabilities.

Enhancing his fishing prowess would sharpen his angling ways, yield greater hauls, bring in coin, and crown him as Osmanthus Village's top fisherman.

Securing Treasure Fish would banish concerns over sustenance and refreshment.

However, after beholding today's chaos, he recognized that in these disorderly eras, martial skill holds supremacy.

Even as the finest angler, he'd face squeezing from the Dragon King Gang.

Every fish he'd labored to capture would escape his hold, handed over as tribute to superiors.

Armed with supreme martial force, how could Dragon King Gang thugs dare strike at him?!

If they braved an assault, he could counter fiercely and slay them outright.

Devoid of power, he'd resort to bearing it all in lowly deference.

Thus, his path stayed singular: to heighten his martial might.

"In that case, no more words are needed."

"Soaring Snake Technique, time for entry."

Jiang Fan drew in a profound breath and pressed the plus beside the Soaring Snake Technique.

In a flash, every luck point on the panel vanished, the entire hundred fully depleted.