The Reincarnated Hunter Sweeps Up All Fortunes - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 3
Episode 3
The Great Strength Overwhelming Technique was registered as a skill, and Im Gang settled back into lotus position.
Not long after closing his eyes.
He sensed the world transforming through his skin and breath.
Though it was only the first stage, the difference between having learned an Inner Power Cultivation Manual and not knowing it was as vast as heaven and earth.
‘My body feels light.’
To exaggerate a bit, it felt as though even a gentle breeze could send him flying.
And the best part.
The Great Strength Overwhelming Technique was a passive skill.
It didn’t activate like Map or Treasure Search—the moment he closed his eyes and exhaled, the Breathing Circulation Method engaged automatically!
‘Is this what Qi feels like?’
Inhale, exhale.
With each breath, Qi flowed through his respiratory system and into his body.
At first it stopped around his solar plexus, but after several cycles it reached his abdomen, and eventually below his navel.
[Your Dantian has been formed.]
[Your Inner Power has increased to 1 Sexagenary Cycle Unit.]
The Martial World measures Inner Power in Sexagenary Cycle Units.
In ancient times, performing Breathing Circulation for 365 days would accumulate one year’s worth of Inner Power, and reaching sixty years of cultivation counted as one Sexagenary Cycle Unit.
Of course, that was the old saying from the ancient Martial World era.
As Inner Power Cultivation Manuals advanced and elixirs were developed, merely practicing Breathing Circulation for a few hours daily could now accumulate anywhere from several days to dozens of days’ worth of Inner Power.
‘Hmm. That diluted Qi-Gathering Pill was worth five years of Inner Power, wasn’t it?’
Im Gang unfolded from his seated position and got to his feet, then dug into the floor.
Having just learned the Inner Power Cultivation Manual, he intended to consume the Qi-Gathering Pill—a threat that could invite robbery—to eliminate it.
The result.
Ding!
[Your Inner Power has increased to 5 years and 1 day.]
[Your Peak Great Strength Overwhelming Technique skill has advanced to Fifth Stage.]
“……??”
He had no idea what had happened.
Wondering if something had gone wrong with the system window, Im Gang attempted the ancient truth-method for fixing electronic devices—striking it with the Palm of Buddha—but.
He only cut through empty air.
“Huh. What’s this?”
Puzzled, he pressed (More Details) to examine the skill more carefully.
Skill: Third-Rate Wind Fang Sword Technique Eighth Stage, Second-Rate Bronze Body Technique Fourth Stage, Map Lv. 1, Trap Detection Lv. 1, Treasure Search Lv. 1, Appraisal Lv. 1, Trap Disarm Lv. 1, Lock Picking Lv. 1, Stealth Lv. 1, Ranged Attack Enhancement Lv. 1, Ranged Homing Lv. 1, Peak Great Strength Overwhelming Technique Fifth Stage NEW!
Let him focus once more on this.
[Peak Great Strength Overwhelming Technique Fifth Stage]
⌞
First Stage: Forms the Dantian to complete the vessel for holding Great Strength.
Second Stage: Strengthens the bones to complete the vessel for holding Great Strength.
Third Stage: Toughens the muscles to complete the vessel for holding Great Strength.
Fourth Stage: Hardens the meridians to complete the vessel for holding Great Strength.
Fifth Stage: Infuses Inner Power into the outer skin to complete the vessel for holding Great Strength.
The supplementary explanation emerged.
In short, it meant his physical capabilities had improved.
As for what he actually felt…….
Crack.
……it worked beautifully.
Without even applying much force, the Bamboo Armor in his grip shattered.
Bamboo was harder than one might think.
If twisted and bent, one could break it eventually, but crushing it through pure grip strength alone was impossible—even for a male gorilla with approximately 326 kilograms of jaw force.
‘But I just did it?’
And he’d done it without even using Inner Power!
According to the description his physical abilities had improved, but something felt off.
His strength was far too much.
With grip strength like this, he’d transcended humanity.
And his skin had become so hardened……or rather, rigid.
When he’d mastered the Bronze Body Technique, his skin had toughened somewhat, but back then a blade would need to pierce five centimeters when it would only penetrate 4.5 centimeters.
Now the sharp fragment from the Bamboo Armor couldn’t pierce his skin at all—it snapped instead.
“……Could it be that the Great Strength Overwhelming Technique and Bronze Body Technique have excellent synergy?”
No.
Simply saying they had good compatibility wasn’t enough.
Because I wasn’t using Inner Power at all.
Im Gang was still wrestling with this when it happened.
[Great Strength Overwhelming Technique and Bronze Body Technique have achieved Chaining.]
‘……Chaining?!’
Im Gang clamped his mouth shut to avoid apologizing to the neighbors.
Chaining.
Put simply, it meant two skills had compatible effects and linked together into a chain.
In his past life, it had been one of the essential conditions for becoming a high-tier Awakener.
And at the same time.
He naturally grasped the effect of the Chaining.
Im Gang picked up his sword like a man possessed and brought it down hard against his forearm.
Clang!
Without putting in full force, the Chaining gave him strength that transcended human limits.
Compared to before and after awakening, that was one and a half times the power!
But it bounced off.
It left only a tiny scratch, barely visible to the eye.
Just as the martial technique Bronze Body Technique suggested, his skin had hardened to something like copper.
It would be different if he’d infused Inner Power into the strike.
‘Wow. That’s insane.’
Setting aside his joy and bewilderment, he took a moment to organize his thoughts.
One: my skin has hardened to about half the density of copper.
Two: when I channel Inner Power into it, it temporarily becomes as hard as copper itself.
Three: I’m a walking copper shield.
Satisfying.
Now he understood why Bronze Body Technique was ranked Second-Rate External Cultivation.
Its true power only manifested when one possessed Inner Power.
Come to think of it, that had always seemed strange.
Shaolin Temple had plenty of External Cultivation techniques.
Even that famous Iron Head Technique hardened the skull to steel-like density—so that when struck by a blade carrying sword energy, it was the blade that shattered, not the head.
It was a truth he’d never have learned if he hadn’t awakened and become a Hunter.
Hunter awakening…… huzzah!
‘Wait. Does that mean the Wind Fang Sword Technique has changed too?’
Martial techniques required Inner Power.
Without Inner Power, a technique’s effectiveness dropped by half or more.
Wind Fang Sword Technique was Third-Rate, but now that he had Inner Power, it might be different.
Im Gang raised his sword with anticipation and swung it.
‘Not much difference, really.’
He wasn’t particularly disappointed.
There was a noticeable improvement in his body control and technique proficiency compared to before awakening.
If he had to put it in numbers, maybe from a ten to about ten point five?
That was being generous.
In actual combat, technique proficiency rarely reached a hundred percent effectiveness.
Unless you were First-Rate or higher, of course.
‘But I’m just a Third-Rate Vagrant with barely over five years’ worth of Inner Power.’
Right.
I’m out of my league.
It was the hard limit of a pathetic Third-Rate sword technique.
There was a reason the Martial World said true martial artists started from Second-Rate and up.
Look at Bronze Body Technique.
Even though it’s Second-Rate, it turned me into a walking copper shield—yet I should still be grateful to the system, or heaven, for giving me such a supreme Inner Power Cultivation Manual.
Otherwise I’d have lived my whole life as a Third-Rate Vagrant.
Grrrr.
After all that thinking and wandering around, his stomach was growling.
He decided he should at least get some noodles and checked his pockets.
‘Ah…… right. I spent a lot of money today.’
He’d thrown caution to the wind, planning to pay it back later.
He had twelve coins left.
If he stuck to noodles, that would feed him for four days.
‘Four days…… Four days……’
But surprisingly, even the Slums demanded monthly rent.
He’d paid it ten days ago, yet the landlord collected it early whenever the mood struck him.
There was no way to know when he’d come knocking for an advance.
The monthly rent was fifty copper coins.
Dirt cheap, even for the Slums—but Im Gang’s pockets were emptier still.
‘Right. I need to pull off something big.’
Im Gang hurried out to Market Street, wolfed down some thin noodles, and came home to lie down.
Too keyed up to sleep properly, he tossed and turned before finally drifting off.
* * *
The next morning.
Im Gang’s eyes snapped open, and he grabbed his blade, heading straight for the Broker’s Office.
“Brr. It’s biting cold.”
“Ocean wind does that.”
A quick scan of the Broker’s Office interior revealed two or three wanderers already seated.
Earlier than usual, though.
‘Figures like me.’
Wanderers show their faces earlier the more desperate their coin purse becomes.
It’s how serious vagrants catch their breaks.
But the Broker’s Office felt off today—restless, stirred up.
“Hey, friend.”
As Im Gang surveyed the room, one of the seated wanderers beckoned him over.
Since blade-drawing was forbidden in the Broker’s Office, he simply took an empty chair nearby.
“You here because of the Black Blade Faction and the Red Stream Faction too?”
“Still mulling it over.”
Im Gang shrugged and scratched his head, thinking.
First, the Black Blade Faction.
They ran a loan-sharking operation out of Hangzhou with roughly fifty members—a small gang by any measure.
The Martial World called usurer’s debt a Yama Debt, which was basically the old loan-shark trade rebranded; simple enough to understand.
Then there was the Red Stream Faction.
Since Hangzhou sat where the sea met the rivers, maritime and river trade were the lifeblood here, and the Red Stream controlled the less lucrative northern water routes.
With a roster nearly matching the Black Blade Faction’s, they’d clashed constantly over the years.
‘I heard the bad blood got worse a few months back……’
From what the wanderers were saying, the two had decided on an outright clash.
Honestly, it puzzled him.
Neither the Black Blade nor the Red Stream bosses were particularly formidable.
Both had only just scratched First-Rate, if that.
Compared to him, they were naturally weak—but Hangzhou had no shortage of gangs this size with leaders ranked First-Rate or higher.
A gang rarely fought if blocking other powers meant bleeding their own strength dry, risking conquest by some upstart.
“But why are the Black Blade and Red Stream even fighting?”
“Beats me.”
“I hope they just stare each other down for ages. More chances to make real coin.”
“Wouldn’t more coin come if it ended quick and clean?”
“Yeah. Along with your life ending quick and clean.”
“Damn. I’m parched.”
A surge of satisfaction warmed his chest.
This was the intellectual average of the vagrant world.
The problem was that Im Gang himself didn’t stand much higher.
‘Pulling off one big score? This is perfect timing.’
Im Gang made his choice: the Red Stream Faction.
The reason was simple.
In his past life, loan sharks had burned him badly, and that left a sour taste.
All criminal syndicates were much of a muchness, but those running usury played by different rules—they’d threaten debtors’ relatives, neighbors, friends, anyone and everyone, just to squeeze out every last coin, even if the original mark was dead.
These mad bastards even dealt with the Demonic Sect; one loan shark had actually left behind the infamous motto:
-“No money, guilty! Have money, innocent! Before money, all humans are equal!”
before he died.
The sound of shuffling feet filled the air.
While his mind had wandered, dozens of wanderers had crowded into the office.
Far more than usual.
Clearly, it was the coming war between the Black Blade Faction and the Red Stream Faction that had drawn them all.
A Broker’s Office staff member recited the commission details, and the vagrants who’d raised their hands filtered out one by one.
Still, a considerable number remained.
More wanderers kept trickling into the Broker’s Office even as they spoke.
“You’ll join either the Black Blade Faction or the Red Stream Faction…”
Time passed, and soon they reached the main event.
Since Im Gang had already decided on the Red Stream Faction, he let the rest wash over him.
Once the briefing concluded, he took a letter of introduction from the staff member and headed straight for the Red Stream Faction.
Upon arriving at the Red Stream Faction, he submitted the letter and stepped inside.
“Who’s this? Didn’t expect to see you alive?”
“Hey there. What happened to your master? Dead?”
Familiar faces among the vagrants greeted him with laughter.
“I plan to live many more years. No point dying now.”
“That old bastard’s probably pushing up daisies by now, I’d wager.”
He gave them brief, adequate responses and scanned the surroundings.
Counting the Red Stream Faction members and wanderers together, there were roughly a hundred.
That was quite a lot.
‘Something feels off.’
An ominous atmosphere already hung in the air.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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