The characters before Xie Yuan’s eyes flickered and changed.

[Chopping Wood: (1/1000)]

In that instant, Xie Yuan felt as if ten years of a woodcutter’s experience had been implanted in his mind. He knew instinctively how to wield an axe and where to find a tree’s weak spots.

With ten years of experience chopping wood and felling trees, the logging axe felt as if he had swung it countless times. It was like an extension of his own arm, one he could command at will.

[After days and months of swinging your axe without rest, you have had a sudden epiphany and comprehended "Cleave."]

Feeling the new skill that had appeared in his mind out of nowhere, Xie Yuan blinked.

’This is incredible!’

The woodpile in front of him looked the same as before, but now, his eyes could read the grain of every log, revealing its properties. He naturally knew which pieces were good, which were bad, and how to chop them most efficiently.

Xie Yuan took a piece of firewood, placed it on the chopping block, and swung the axe casually.

The wood split into two halves. While not perfectly smooth, the cut was remarkably clean—a stark contrast to his previous attempts, which sent splinters flying all over the courtyard.

Xie Yuan found it incredible:

’I chop wood for three days and suddenly I’m a veteran woodcutter?’

It was as if he’d known these skills since birth.

More importantly, when he wielded the axe now, lifting and swinging it felt completely effortless.

Wielding the axe was as natural as moving his own limbs, and he automatically found the most efficient way to do it.

’Could this be considered some kind of ’Axe Mastery’?’

Xie Yuan pondered.

’But... I comprehended ’Cleave’? What’s that? I already knew how to chop with an axe. What was there to comprehend...?’

As this thought crossed his mind, he paused, looking down at the axe in his hands.

Then, Xie Yuan took another piece of wood, straightened up, raised the axe with both hands, took a shallow breath, and brought it down with all his might.

The axe blade moved too fast to be seen, like a flash of cold lightning streaking across the yard.

With a loud CRACK, the log—and the chopping block beneath it—were split clean in two.

Xie Yuan leaned on his axe, panting heavily.

He felt as if more than half his strength had been drained, but the result of the strike astonished him.

The chopping block was one his older brother, Xie Lun, had hauled back years ago. It was as wide as a millstone and about calf-high, making it easier to chop wood without having to bend over each time.

Such a massive block hadn’t been damaged after years of use, yet just now, he had split it—and the log on top of it—clean in two with a single strike!

’This ’Cleave’ technique... it massively amplifies my strength and the power of the axe. This... this could be considered a martial art!’

Xie Yuan was suddenly overcome with excitement.

A martial art!

He’d heard that people in the surrounding villages who spent ten, or even dozens, of silver to learn martial arts only ever managed to practice the most basic stances.

Beyond the basic stances were the true arts: training regimens, conditioning techniques, and actual combat methods—the martial arts.

To learn a real martial art, you had to be a core member or a Direct Disciple of a dojo—it wasn’t something a few dozen pieces of silver could buy.

’And now I’ve learned a martial art just by chopping some wood?’

’Yes! This is amazing!’

’My aptitude is incredible!’

Three days of Chopping Wood, one hundred progress points. Xie Yuan had transformed into a veteran woodcutter and comprehended a new axe technique.

This ability was just off the charts!

Xie Yuan celebrated for a while, then, as if it were child’s play, he finished chopping all the knotty firewood in the yard before pausing.

’Wait a minute. I’m a veteran woodcutter now. Why am I still chopping this knotty stuff? It’s beneath me.’

His eyes lit up. He kicked the knotty firewood aside to clear a path and headed excitedly toward the mountain behind his house.

The Xie family lived on the mountainside, so it wasn’t a long walk to the forest.

Xie Yuan didn’t dare venture too deep, but he was very familiar with this part of the woods. He walked with a clear purpose in a specific direction.

Before long, he stood before a tall Iron Poplar. Sizing it up with his axe, he flashed a grin, revealing his bright white teeth.

’I think I can take this down.’

Firewood from an Iron Poplar was highly sought after. It burned long and hot, gave off plenty of warmth, and produced little smoke.

But the trunk of an Iron Poplar was incredibly hard. Not only was it exhausting for a woodcutter to chop, but a moment of carelessness could chip one’s axe.

An axe was a man’s livelihood, not something to be careless with. As a result, few people in the village were willing to fell Iron Poplars.

In Xie Yuan’s eyes, however, the Iron Poplar wasn’t uniformly tough. As long as you found the right spots and used the right technique, you could chop it down without damaging your axe.

And he just so happened to have the technique. The only problem was... he still lacked the raw strength.

’I can try using ’Cleave’.’

Xie Yuan mused.

The ’Cleave’ he’d just used had required all his strength and was incredibly draining. It wasn’t suitable for felling a tree—the technique didn’t seem designed for that purpose anyway.

’But what if I control it? If I don’t use as much power and just borrow the force-generation principle, couldn’t I use it multiple times?’

’It’s worth a shot!’

Xie Yuan blew warm air into his hands, gripped the axe, settled into his stance, and then began to chop with all his might.

THWACK, THWACK...

After some time, with one last mighty swing from Xie Yuan, the Iron Poplar slowly tipped to one side and crashed to the ground with a thunderous BOOM, startling a flock of birds into the air.

Success!

A genuine smile spread across Xie Yuan’s face.

’A tree this big... if I chop it all up and sell it, I could probably afford meat for two whole meals!’

’That knotty firewood can’t compare at all.’

Even his brother, Xie Lun, had rarely felled Iron Poplars. Only the most seasoned woodcutters would dare attempt it.

And now, after only three days of chopping wood, he had easily felled one himself.

Looking at the text floating before his eyes, Xie Yuan felt a surge of motivation.

’If one hundred points is this good, won’t a thousand have me flying?’

’As my progress gets higher, maybe I’ll become the God of Woodcutters?’

Xie Yuan chopped the Iron Poplar into smaller logs on the spot. He dragged a few back to his yard and began splitting them into fine firewood.

He was less than halfway through when he was already drenched in sweat. It was Iron Poplar, after all—still tough work.

He filled a basket, intending to take it over to Li Lan’s place.

’Sister Orchid’s family is trying to save money. Aside from the knotty stuff I bring them, Brother Shitou just gathers whatever he can from the mountain. It’s so cold... burning some Iron Poplar will finally make the house warm, and Huwa won’t have to be cold...’

But just as he was about to leave, Xie Yuan changed his mind and headed in a different direction.

He entered the village, rounded a few corners, and knocked on a door.

A dark-faced man opened the door and stared at Xie Yuan, startled.

"Yuanzi? What are you doing here... Oh, right. I told you last time, my wife’s nursing the baby, and she can’t stand the smoke. I’m not buying any, okay?"

The man sounded slightly impatient and moved to close the door.

Xie Yuan stopped him with a hand and smiled.

"Brother Zhu, this is Iron Poplar. Not much smoke, and it burns real hot. Your wife’s in confinement, right? All the more reason to keep the house warm."

Zhu Dongming’s eyes widened at his words.

"Iron Poplar? Let me see... It really is! Yuanzi, when did you start chopping Iron Poplar? Weren’t you afraid of dulling your axe? And with your build, you can actually cut it down..."

He muttered to himself. Xie Yuan just smiled and asked,

"Brother Zhu, have you caught any pheasants lately? I’d like to trade this firewood for one."

Zhu Dongming was the village Hunter. He was skilled and often brought back game, making him a major source of meat for the villagers.

Zhu Dongming slapped his thigh.

"As a matter of fact, I caught a pheasant just yesterday! Wait here!"

He went inside and came back out a moment later, holding a long-tailed pheasant.

"Look, it’s still kicking! For this basket of firewood... you’re getting a bargain, kid!"

Xie Yuan lowered his gaze, unslung the basket, and dumped the Iron Poplar firewood in a corner of Zhu Dongming’s yard. Then he took the pheasant and smiled.

"Then I thank you, Brother Zhu!"

"Of course! Bring any good firewood you get my way. I won’t have my kid freezing!"

Seeing him agree, Zhu Dongming’s expression visibly relaxed.

Xie Yuan nodded and left with the pheasant.

’Actually, this basket of firewood is probably worth more than this skinny little pheasant. There’s never a shortage of buyers for Iron Poplar.’

’But Zhu Dongming is the village’s top Hunter. He’s a stout man, and the other hunters listen to him. Even people like Zhang the Second and his gang wouldn’t dare to provoke him.’

’There’s no harm in getting on his good side. Besides, when you’re bartering in the village, it’s not like there’s a set price for anything.’

’Time for a meat dinner!’

After Xie Yuan left, Zhu Dongming watched his retreating figure, then glanced down at the firewood at his feet and muttered to himself,

"That kid... his skills are really improving."

"Zhu Dongming! Are you going to close the door or not? Do you want your son and me to freeze?!"

A high, sharp voice came from inside. Zhu Dongming jumped, then scooped up a pile of firewood and hurried into the house.

"Coming, coming! Look at the great firewood I got for you and our son!"

Everyone knew that the fiercest Hunter in the village was afraid of his wife.

But Zhu Dongming didn’t consider himself afraid of his wife; he was just being considerate.

After all, she had given him a son!