Starting with photographic memory, I've worked my way up to become a martial arts immortal.

Jiang Yuan is not from this world.

He originally came from Earth and has a rather niche hobby: hiking.

Having spent years roaming icy mountains and mighty rivers, dancing on the scythe of death, he never expected to slip and lose consciousness.

When he woke up again, he found himself in this world.

The place he was in was called Da Jin, which had been established for more than nine hundred years. Now, bandits roamed the country, rebels rose up everywhere, powerful local lords occupied their own territories, and demons ravaged the land, causing great suffering to the people.

These signs clearly indicate the end of a dynasty, a chaotic time on the verge of collapse.

As the ancients said, it is better to be a dog in times of peace than a citizen in times of chaos.

In that kind of world, human life was as worthless as grass, and could be harvested by others at any time.

As far as Jiang Yuan knew, in the short span of a few decades between the collapse of many old dynasties and the establishment of a new unified dynasty, the national population could decrease by half or even more.

What does this mean?

Based on the average calculation, with an average of four people per household nationwide, at least two people in each household would die.

The reality was that in places where war broke out, the entire population of the county, prefecture, and state was wiped out; rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the fields.

Every time Jiang Yuan thought of this, he felt a chill run down his spine.

In such a situation, only by relying on one's own strength can one survive in the chaos.

This is also why he was so envious of the swordsman in the green robe just now.

Otherwise, caught up in this situation, ordinary people would only eke out a living like ants, and if they were unlucky, they would be crushed into dust.

Of course, he was no ordinary person either; he came with a control panel when he transmigrated.

This panel serves the purposes of rewarding diligence and providing permanent proof.

Any skill in inputting data can be steadily improved with focused practice, without any bottlenecks!

Once you've mastered something, you'll never regress from it!

Having this panel means you have the opportunity to change your destiny.

When I first transmigrated, the body left behind by the original owner was injured. It took several months to recover, during which time I completely exhausted the little bit of wealth I had left behind.

During this period, he tried to record and study this skill, but found that with his current ability, he could not record any other skills, otherwise his body would not be able to handle it.

He progressed step by step from beginner to proficient, from minor to major, and finally to perfection. Each breakthrough brought benefits, making his mind clearer and his thinking more focused. He no longer felt the groggy feeling he had when he first woke up.

He already felt that the benefits of advancing his study of this skill to the next level would be enough for him to take on a new skill.

When he first broke through to perfection, he thought that the skill could not be improved any further. He did not expect that he could continue, which made him realize that there seemed to be no end to the improvement of skills.

"Just a little bit more. At this rate, I should be able to accumulate enough experience by tomorrow."

Jiang Yuan came to his senses and found that the medicine had been prepared. He woke his mother up and fed her the medicine little by little before quickly wiping himself off and going to sleep.

I slept without any dreams.

Jiang Yuan got up early in the morning.

As the sun rose, it gilded the scattered adobe houses with a golden glow.

Not long after Jiang Yuan left, a figure collapsed at his feet.

"Little Jiang, save me!"

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Yuan was astonished and quickly took a few steps back, recognizing Sun Bo, his neighbor next door.

Before Uncle Sun could speak, a series of unhurried footsteps echoed through the alley.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A few breaths later, a burly man with triangular eyes and a fierce look on his face walked out with his arms crossed.

Jiang Yuan broke out in a cold sweat: "Black Tiger Gang, Liu San!"

Liu San, known as Third Master, is the leader of the Black Tiger Gang who manages Pingkangfang and the surrounding area.

In addition to paying for lighting lamps, people here have to give him a sum of money for every occasion, whether it's a wedding or a funeral. Even the bride has to be sent to his residence a day in advance for a "test of virility." If she doesn't comply, an "accident" may happen at any time.

Everyone in the neighborhood turned pale at the mere mention of "Third Master's" name. When naughty children misbehaved, a simple "Third Master is coming" was more effective than any scolding from their parents.

"Uncle Sun, why are you running away? I kindly lent you money to see a doctor when your son was sick. Now that the repayment date has come, you're telling me you have no money?" Liu San had a gentle smile on his face, but it looked particularly eerie in the sunlight.

"Third Master, I only borrowed one tael, and in just two months, how could I have five taels more!"

"The interest of thirty cash per tael of silver per day is clearly written in black and white, and you even put your fingerprint on it. Now you're denying it?"

Liu San raised his hand with a cold smile. The thugs behind him surrounded him and began punching and kicking Uncle Sun, beating the old man so badly that he could only lie on the ground groaning.

"Third Master, please grant me two more days, no, just one more day!"

Liu San squatted down and helped Uncle Sun up, his tone much gentler: "Let me show you a way. Your grandson's wife has only just married into the family. Do you expect her to obediently remain a widow? Rather than adding another mouth to feed, why not just sell her to me? I'll give you two taels of silver, how about that?"

Uncle Sun shook his head vehemently: "No way! She's just carrying my Sun family's child!"

Liu San's eyes lit up, and his interest increased: "That's even better! I'll give you another half month to repay the loan. That way, you'll have a way to raise the money, right?"

"No, no, it really won't work, Third Master, I beg you, please leave a descendant for my Sun family..." Uncle Sun lay on the ground and wailed.

Liu San disdainfully kicked Uncle Sun twice, then suddenly turned his head and grinned at Jiang Yuan:

"Little Jiang, where are you going so early in the morning?"

Jiang Yuan had already bent down, a simple and honest smile on his face: "Third Master, I'm going to work at the docks."

"Look at him! He kindly lent him money back then, but now he's not paying it back. How can that be right? It's only right to pay back debts, isn't it?" Liu San strode over.

"Yes, yes."

Jiang Yuan smiled apologetically, but his heart was ice-cold.

One tael of silver yields thirty coins of interest per day. Over a year, the compounded interest becomes an astronomical figure. This is not kindness; it's blatant predation!

Uncle Sun was illiterate and couldn't understand the intricacies of the situation, so he pressed his handprint without fully comprehending it. With that one press, his family was doomed. Like countless other vanished refugees, they were stripped of their last bit of value and thrown into the lake, leaving not a ripple.

Liu San walked around Jiang Yuan and patted him on the chest. "I passed by your house yesterday and saw that your mother's cough had gotten worse. As her son, why don't you take her to see a doctor? Your Third Uncle has always been generous. If you're short of money, just ask me for a loan. I'll use your dilapidated house as collateral and give you half a tael of silver."

"Third Master is right. I will definitely come to Third Master if I need anything in the future." Jiang Yuan bowed respectfully.

"Okay, let's go."

A hint of disgust flashed in Liu San's eyes. Seeing that he couldn't squeeze any more money out of this peasant, he stopped bothering with him.

Jiang Yuan felt a great weight lifted from his heart, but before he could take two steps, Liu San's voice rang out again.

"etc."

Jiang Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around, his face already beaming with smiles: "Third Master, is there anything else you need me to do?"

"I almost forgot, our gang leader's birthday is next month," Liu San said with a forced smile. "It's really unlucky that you people only have one red lantern hanging at your door. Starting next month, hang another one."

"Thank you for the reminder, Third Master. I will definitely hang it up next month." Jiang Yuan bowed gratefully before quickly leaving.

He walked quite a distance before stopping, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"A specially made red lantern costs five hundred coins, plus lamp oil, that'll be an extra eight hundred coins next month. What's gotten into the Black Tiger Gang that they're in such a hurry to kill us?!"

Jiang Yuan felt a chill run down his spine, sensing something ominous.