Family Fate

Hearing the noise outside the courtyard, Liu Cuiling's heart stirred. Before Madam Qin could speak, she hurried out, "Is it a letter from Jing'er?"

"Isn't it? Little Jing asked me to bring it," Yang Lao San handed over the letter and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, your Little Jing has really made something of himself. Just standing there, he's different from people like us. Anyway, he just looks like he's very capable."

Yang Lao San didn't know that Yang Jing had already broken through to Bright Strength.

Even this ordinary rural peddler didn't know what Entering Strength specifically referred to.

But he could feel the change in Yang Jing. Just standing there, he exuded a daunting aura that made Yang Lao San, a peddler who had traveled far and wide, secretly tremble.

Hearing Yang Lao San's praise for her son, Liu Cuiling's smile deepened. She politely said, "Thank you for your trouble, Lao San."

After speaking, Liu Cuiling quickly opened the envelope. Old Master Yang and Madam Qin also gathered around.

The letter was written by Yang Jing, stroke by stroke. Though not neat, it was written with extreme seriousness:

"Grandpa, Grandma, Mother: I hope this letter finds you well. Your grandson has broken through to Bright Strength at the martial arts school and has become a formal disciple of the master. I can now take on a position and my monthly stipend is enough for my own use. Do not send any more money from home.

"The Ning Family visited the other day, it must be because I am now a martial artist, and they dare not..."

The three of them read the letter word by word.

"Bright Strength? Formal disciple?" Old Master Yang snatched the letter and leaned in to examine it closely. The dim light in his cloudy eyes gradually brightened, "Jing'er. Jing'er really did it?"

Before Yang Jing started practicing martial arts, they had no idea what Bright Strength was.

But after Yang Jing began practicing, their family's knowledge of martial arts surged.

Although they were not martial artists themselves, they knew a thing or two about martial arts realms like Bright Strength and Hidden Strength.

Madam Qin also excitedly wiped away tears, "Heaven bless us, my grandson has achieved something!"

Liu Cuiling read the words in the letter over and over, tears falling like a broken string of pearls.

The three of them huddled together, reading the letter again and again. The previous unease, like smoke scattered by the wind, gradually faded.

Old Master Yang looked at the ox in the corner of the yard and suddenly laughed heartily, "Good boy. No wonder the Ning Family's attitude changed. So it's because Jing'er has achieved something. This ox is here for Jing'er!"

Madam Qin had also long since relaxed. She patted her chest, "I knew it. There weren't that many conspiracies. It's our grandson who has achieved something and can support us now."

As she spoke, she looked at Old Master Yang and nodded with a smile, "Old man, your decision was the right one. If you hadn't let Jing'er practice martial arts, how could we have imagined this day?"

Yang Jing practicing martial arts was a decision Old Master Yang Shouzhuo made against all objections.

Their family had been toiling in the yellow earth for generations, living as unremarkable farmers.

Old Master Yang had ventured out in his youth and knew that to truly change a family's fortune and make it rise, the most important thing was to have a true martial artist.

The more chaotic the times, the more valuable a martial artist became.

Upon learning that his grandson Yang Jing had the aptitude for martial arts, Old Master Yang immediately decided to go all in, even if it meant selling everything they had to support Yang Jing's training, even if it meant their family's accumulated wealth over generations would be sunk into it.

If he succeeded, the Yang family would soar to great heights from then on, escaping the fate of being farmers for generations.

If he failed, they could simply accumulate land again and toil for a few more generations.

Madam Qin knew that some people in the village were waiting to see their family make a fool of themselves.

Originally, the Yang family had over twenty mu of land, making them a considerable household in the village. To support Yang Jing's martial arts training, their living conditions had deteriorated.

Moreover, a rumor had somehow spread in the village that her grandson was not diligently practicing martial arts at the martial arts school in the city, nor was he cut out for it, and that he would never succeed on the path of martial arts.

But now, look at how well her grandson had performed. Even the Ning Family, a prominent local gentry family in Wazi Township, had sent people to deliver gifts.

Liu Cuiling walked up to the ox and gently stroked its back. The ox was sleek and glossy, much sturdier than the one they had sold earlier.

With spring plowing approaching, they desperately needed an ox. With this one, farm work would be much easier, and they wouldn't have to borrow an ox from others anymore.

As the three were talking, someone else entered from outside the courtyard gate.

Aunt Xue Shi and Yang An entered one after the other.

"Did something happen? I heard you talking from outside," Xue Shi asked.

Yang An scanned the various parts of the courtyard. Seeing no other outsiders, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Since the Ning Family had sent the ox yesterday, the whole family had been uneasy.

The sudden change in the Ning Family's behavior had left them at a loss, and they even worried that the Ning Family might not intend to give them any money in exchange for the two mu of prime land north of the village, but only this ox.

Therefore, Xue Shi had been paying attention to Old Master Yang, worried that the Ning Family might come looking for trouble.

In the past, Xue Shi might not have paid so much attention to Old Master Yang and his wife or Liu Cuiling, but now that the two families had reconciled and their relationship was harmonious, they naturally grew closer.

"Xiao An, this is a letter from your brother. Read it to your mother," Liu Cuiling knew Xue Shi was illiterate and handed the letter to Yang An.

Yang An nodded, took the letter, and read its contents word for word.

As Yang An read, his eyes widened.

His mind was filled with only one thought—Jing'er had cultivated Inner Force!

Compared to the others in the family, Yang An was also passionate about martial arts and had taken the initiative to learn a lot about the martial path. Naturally, he clearly understood what it meant to have cultivated Inner Force.

That was a true Entering Strength martial artist.

At this moment, Yang An instantly understood why the Ning Family had come to offer gifts and show goodwill.

He could also vaguely imagine that their family's destiny might undergo a tremendous change.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.

As dusk settled, Yang Jing finished his martial arts practice, left the training hall, and walked along the streets of Chengping Ward.

With a thought, the next moment, the martial arts panel appeared before his eyes--

[Mountain Collapse Fist - Minor Accomplishment (211/500)]

After more than two months of diligent and arduous training, the progress on Mountain Collapse Fist was nearing the halfway mark.

The reason for such rapid progress, besides his own unwavering daily practice through wind and rain, was primarily the dietary supplements.

With the ten catties of bear meat provided by the Liu family each month, coupled with Yang Jing's monthly stipend of ten taels of silver, Yang Jing's dietary supplements now mainly consisted of bear meat, supplemented by horse meat.

"It's still not enough money. If I had enough money to buy Fierce Beast Meat and a large amount of supplements, the progress on Mountain Collapse Fist would definitely be much faster."

Yang Jing thought to himself.

However, there was no good solution for now.

He spent most of his time practicing martial arts every day, occasionally helping the Liu family escort medicinal herbs, and he simply didn't have the extra energy to earn more money.

Shaking his head, Yang Jing stopped thinking about it.

He was already quite satisfied with the current situation.

Although his cultivation speed couldn't compare to those with average or superior Talent/Aptitude, for Yang Jing, even if the speed was slower, he had no bottlenecks and was destined to break through to Hidden Strength.

Those disciples with good Talent/Aptitude, while faster in cultivation for a time, would inevitably be delayed for a long time at a bottleneck, or even be unable to take that crucial step.

"Hm?"

Upon returning to Datong Ward, as he neared the courtyard gate, Yang Jing's brow furrowed slightly.