I Broke Up with My Girlfriend — Don’t Look Down on Me Just Because I’m Poor - Chapter 2:
Chapter 2: Crushing Ants to Level Up
[0 years old, you were born. You were born into an ordinary family with loving parents.]
[1 year old, you started babbling. Your adorable appearance often made your parents laugh.]
[2 years old, you began to toddle. Your father returned from hunting with a vicious dog.]
[3 years old, while teasing the dog, you were bitten and lost a leg.]
[4 years old, village children found joy in bullying you because you were crippled.]
[5 years old, you continued being bullied, began playing alone, and gradually became withdrawn.]
[6 years old, as a disabled child, you frequently thought of suicide.]
[7 years old, after a failed suicide attempt, your parents scolded you.]
[8 years old, bandits attacked the village. Everyone was massacred. You survived, pinned beneath your parents’ corpses. A female disciple from the Sword Sect rescued you and took you as her disciple.]
[9 years old, your master sought medicine and healed your leg, but your foundation was damaged, making cultivation impossible.]
[10 years old, you refused to give up and secretly cultivated. Progress was slow, but your master, moved by your perseverance, began to guide you personally.]
[11 years old, you continued cultivating, though your progress remained slow.]
[17 years old, your master brought back a young girl as your junior sister.]
[18 years old, your master entrusted her training to you.]
[19 years old, your junior sister advanced rapidly. Within a year, she surpassed you, defeating you in a spar with a single strike.]
[20 years old, you both descended the mountain for training. At the Martial Sect Tournament, your junior sister, at 14, astonished everyone, defeating all challengers with ease and claiming the championship. You, however, failed to pass the preliminaries.]
[21 years old, your junior sister ventured out alone for training, leaving you behind.]
[23 years old, you were killed by your junior sister’s enemies.]
[You have died.]
[Once reincarnation begins, it cannot be stopped. There is a risk of death. Do you wish to start the Reincarnation Road?]
Staring at the tragic life trajectory simulated before him, Su Mo felt a dull ache in his liver. “Su Xuan, even though you’re useless… who told me to be your big brother…” he murmured. This time, risking everything to venture into another world for little Xuanzi, was truly a massive loss. He could only hope for a safe return, rather than ending up with a buy-one-get-one-free tragedy, leaving Su Xuan thinking he abandoned her, ran off with her private stash.
Sighing, Su Mo hesitated briefly but couldn’t resist pulling out his phone and sending a message. “Luo Xi, wait for my return…” After sending it, he felt a surge of inexplicable courage and pressed confirm. “Confirm!”
[This Reincarnation Mission requires you to change your fate and find the person destined to become the Empress. Raise her affection to 100 and successfully win her over.]
[Complete the mission to return.]
[Reincarnation begins! Good luck, host.]
A chaotic torrent swept through his vision, dragging Su Mo’s consciousness into endless darkness…
No one knew how much time had passed.
In Qingshan Town, there was a courtyard of an ordinary family where a baby, around one year old, often caught grasshoppers, ants, or crushed little insects from time to time. The baby was chubby and adorable, with a calmness far beyond his age, moving with incredible agility. Indeed, with such dexterity, the little one had already stomped quite a few insects in no time.
[Ding! You killed a grasshopper. Experience +1.]
[Ding! You stomped a caterpillar. Experience +1.]
[Ding! You destroyed an ant nest. Experience +5.]
Naturally, this little one was Su Mo after traversing through the Reincarnation World. Apart from him, who else would have the cunning of an old fox at such a tender age?
Hearing the constant system notifications, Su Mo’s baby face showed a hint of delight. This was another function of the Martial Dao System. As long as he kept fighting and killing, he could gain experience and level up. Every insect he killed granted experience, making him stronger.
Today, Su Mo was lucky. His parents had gone out to farm, leaving their “troublesome” child at home, assured by his sudden transformation from a noisy brat to an obedient and clever little boy a month ago. Seizing the moment after pretending to sleep and waiting for his parents to leave, Su Mo sprang into action, full of sly intent.
It had been over a year since he transmigrated to the Reincarnation World. Only a month ago did his consciousness awaken from the baby’s muddled state. Once awake, he immediately showcased his genius, replacing mindless crying with purposeful actions, gaining his parents’ trust to let him play alone. Now, his daily leveling depended entirely on his parents’ “sense of responsibility.”
Fortunately, in ancient rural settings, parents weren’t always so meticulous. Otherwise, how could he have been bitten by his own dog at three, nearly losing his life? (Original Su Mo: “Thank you very much…”)
This past month, while his parents were busy, Su Mo enjoyed countless “friendly interactions” with insects. By now, his progress bar was nearly full, just one caterpillar away from leveling up.
[Host: Su Mo]
[Age: 11 months] (It’s normal for babies under one to walk, especially with the rapid development in a high-martial world enriched by spiritual energy.)
[Level: 0]
[Experience: 99/100]
[Evaluation: Weak as a chicken.]
“Sigh, what I’m doing isn’t right. Everyone should protect the environment. Aren’t these little insects lives too?” Su Mo said in a childish voice, pretending to be remorseful while watching his experience increase.
“Oh? There’s one more here?” Without hesitation, he stomped hard.
“Pa!”
Perfect hit, clean and crisp.
[Ding! You stomped a caterpillar. Experience +1.]
[Your level has increased.]
A golden light flashed over Su Mo’s body as a warm current swept through him. He could clearly feel his small hands gaining strength, his body becoming sturdier.
[Host: Su Mo]
[Age: 11 months]
[Level: 1]
[Experience: 0/200]
[Evaluation: Strength of one chicken.]
“Strength of one chicken… I like this evaluation. It’s very straightforward.” Su Mo chuckled. “So now I need 200 experience points to reach the next level?” Glancing at his updated stats, Su Mo muttered, “That means the experience needed doubled.”
Setting aside his duties as a baby, he could secretly squash five or six bugs a day. With luck, maybe even ten. So reaching level two was just a matter of time.
“This is my first time leveling up, this feeling… I like it.” Su Mo clenched his tiny fists, estimating he now had the strength of a seven- or eight-year-old child, finally able to lift heavier stones. Yet, no one would imagine this “child” was not even a year old.
Next, he planned to raise the difficulty, targeting harmful insects or even poisonous ones. Time was pressing. Not only did his sister wait for him in the main world, but at three years old in this Reincarnation World, he would face a disaster—the vicious dog that once bit off his leg. Worse, at eight, the entire village would face annihilation.
Could he survive this time?
Time waited for no one. He had to become stronger, level up desperately. Taking advantage of his parents’ absence, Su Mo’s innocent (yet terrifying) gaze searched for his next target…
However, good days don’t last long. After autumn, as farming duties eased, his parents began taking him everywhere, leaving Su Mo with fewer chances to “grind” stealthily.
Still, over the year, his body grew sturdier, his features more refined and delicate. His fair skin and mischievous charm made him a beloved child in the village, far more like an older toddler than a one-year-old.
Until today.
With his parents working again, Su Mo enjoyed a rare windfall.
[Ding! You smashed a centipede with a stone. Experience +10.]
[Ding! You smashed a spider with a stone. Experience +10.]
[Ding! You stomped a butterfly. Experience +5.]
[Ding! You destroyed an ant nest. Experience +5.]
[Ding! Your level has increased.]
[Host: Su Mo]
[Age: 1]
[Level: 2]
[Experience: 0/500]
[Evaluation: Strength of two chickens.]
“Not bad, leveled up again. Now I have the strength of two chickens. Given another two and a half years… just how strong will I become? It’s hard to imagine…” Su Mo raised his hand, feeling the surging power in his grip, his face lighting up with joy.
After all, what boy wouldn’t want the strength of two chickens to perform a rap while singing and dancing?
Yet, his joy was short-lived. Su Mo’s face darkened. “Damn, leveling up to level 3 needs 500 experience points? System, do you even know basic math? Not even capitalists dare stretch the experience bar this long…”
“I’ve given up my rightful life of eating and sleeping as a baby, already living the life of a worker at just over a year old. Do you think this is easy for me?” Su Mo grumbled. He had thought the experience would follow an arithmetic progression, only increasing by 100 each time. Who knew this system would use a geometric progression?
“With fewer insects and limited time, my leveling speed will only slow down. I might barely handle that vicious dog at three, but what about the village massacre at eight? Those bandits are probably at least level 10…” Without sufficient strength, how could they even be bandits?
Thinking about it filled Su Mo with urgency. At his current pace, there was no way he could resist those bandits by the time he was eight.
“Should I try persuading my parents to move away early? But the villagers have been kind to me, and whether my parents will listen to a kid like me is uncertain…” Su Mo thought bitterly.
Just as he was racking his brains…
[Ding! Due to the excessive number of ants you have killed, you have earned the title ‘Ant Killer.’]
[Title: Ant Killer]
[Effect: Ability to control ants within a certain range.]
“Ant Killer? Did I really kill that many ants?” Su Mo grumbled in dissatisfaction, even though he vaguely remembered stomping only a tiny bit more than a billion…
“Control ants… this has potential!” Seeing the title’s effect, Su Mo’s eyes lit up again.
From despair to hope! With the ability to command ants, he could have them search for more insects or even carry them to him directly. With an ant army as his eyes and hands, wouldn’t his leveling efficiency skyrocket?
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