Young Master, Martial Scholar

Phew!

Xie An exhaled in one breath, transforming into a vast white mist that shot a foot into the air.

Xie An revealed an incomparably contented smile and brought up the panel.

Current Lifelong Legacy: Level One!

Five Animal Play: Strengthening the Five Viscera (1/100)

Fetal Breathing Technique: Three Styles Method (90/100)

Remaining Years: 26 years

"Five Animal Play and Fetal Breathing Technique have improved greatly, but their life-extending effects have clearly slowed down a lot..."

When he had first begun practicing Five Animal Play, the life-extending effect had been extremely obvious. There had even been prompts saying, "Complete xx to gain xx years of life." Now, even those prompts had disappeared. Xie An understood it as meaning that the farther one progressed, the more difficult it became to extend one's lifespan.

That did fit the logic that the older a person grew, the closer they came to death.

Even with a Lifelong Legacy, extending one's life against the heavens... was no easy feat.

Still, with twenty-six years left in his grasp, Xie An was no longer so panicked.

As long as he worked hard, he could slowly extend his lifespan.

"Level-One Lifelong Legacy... Could there be a Level Two?"

"I wonder what miraculous effect a Level-Two Lifelong Legacy would have..."

After more than half a year of hard training, Xie An had grown increasingly steady and confident, and his heart was filled with anticipation for the future.

"I'll try the stone lock..."

Xie An walked over to the five-hundred-pound stone lock, gripped its handle with his right hand, and sank into a horse stance. He suddenly exerted force, easily lifting the five-hundred-pound stone lock above his head.

He had barely needed to exert himself and could even spin and swing it around.

"The Household's conditions are limited. We don't have many professional stone locks or other training equipment. My preliminary estimate is that I can probably lift close to six hundred pounds with one hand. Breaking through a thousand pounds with both arms shouldn't be a problem."

Six hundred pounds with one hand—setting aside comparisons with ordinary people, even for a martial artist in the First Gate Bronze Skin Realm, that was already outrageously abnormal!

Moreover, what Xie An had gained was not merely strength, but also speed and stamina. He had extremely precise control over his limbs. With this foundation, even without having practiced martial arts, he possessed considerable combat strength.

Xie An felt that with his current abilities, even if he encountered a martial artist who had just entered the Bronze Skin Realm, he could easily defeat the other party through sheer strength.

For an old man like Xie An, who did not practice martial arts, to reach such a level through the Health Cultivation Technique was utterly absurd.

The only regret was that Xie An had not yet begun practicing martial arts.

It was not that Xie An did not want to practice. The main issue was that he lacked money. He had already struggled to spend all his silver on purchasing the Unique Medicinal Prescription. Not to mention practicing martial arts.

Buying a manual cost a dozen or so taels—that was only the beginning. After that, he would need to purchase various medicinal supplements. Any random prescription cost more than a dozen taels of silver, and it had to be taken regularly. He would also need to spend money to take a master and seek instruction...

It was simply beyond what Xie An could afford at his current stage.

"What I lack... is still money!"

Xie An sighed.

Knock, knock, knock.

A hurried knocking came from outside the door.

Xie An put down the stone lock, put on his clothes, and went to open the door. He saw He Chunli standing outside, his face full of excitement as he said, "Master, tonight's New Year's Eve dinner is being hosted by the master of Li Manor. He wants all of us to go over."

Xie An could not help feeling curious. "In previous years, the master only rewarded us with a few strings of coins and had the kitchen add a few bowls of meat. What happened this year?"

He Chunli said, "I heard that the Young Master passed the county examination, the prefectural examination, and the academy examination one after another. He obtained the title of Martial Scholar in one sweep. Master Li is delighted this year. He says he wants to increase the New Year's money for all of us servants."

Xie An secretly clicked his tongue.

The Young Master of Li Manor truly had some ability.

The Great Qian Dynasty's imperial examinations were similar to those of the ancient era in Xie An's previous life. The difference was that the Great Qian Dynasty valued martial prowess, so the examinations covered both civil and martial subjects. In fact, they leaned slightly more toward the Martial Examination.

Take the civil examinations, for example. Once an ordinary person passed the county examination, they obtained the status of licentiate and would be recognized by society as a scholar.

A licentiate who passed the county examination gained the qualifications to take the prefectural examination. After passing the prefectural examination and then the academy examination, they obtained the status of Cultivated Talent and the opportunity to enter the Imperial Academy to study.

A Cultivated Talent was considered the most basic scholarly honor. They could be exempted from grain taxes and did not have to bow when meeting an official.

Becoming a Cultivated Talent granted one the qualifications to take the provincial examination. Those who passed became Provincial Graduates. That was a formidable achievement, something that brought glory to one's ancestors. They could generally become a seventh-rank official, and with well-managed connections, becoming a sixth-rank official was not out of the question. They could also continue on to the metropolitan examination and strive to become Presented Scholars...

The Martial Examination followed the same path.

For a small place like Wuqiao Town to produce a Martial Scholar was truly a matter of bringing glory to one's ancestors. If the Young Master passed the provincial examination again and managed his connections a little more, he could become a county magistrate at a young age.

No wonder the master of Li Manor was so excited.

Thinking of this, Xie An could not help sighing.

Society valued young people. If he were thirty years younger, he could also take the Martial Examination. Wouldn't becoming a Martial Scholar be as easy as turning over his hand? Give him a few more years, and becoming a Provincial Graduate would not be beyond him either. How wonderful it would be to become a county magistrate then?

The civil examinations had no age restrictions, but the Martial Examination did.

An eighteen-year-old Martial Scholar had a future as bright as brocade. But a fifty-year-old Martial Scholar... was utterly meaningless in the eyes of the Great Qian imperial family. They were not worth cultivating at all.

With only a few years left to live, how could they charge into battlefields? How could they contribute to the nation?

The world looked down on the elderly, leaving Xie An with no choice but to join a martial sect and muddle along...

Damn this world. It was far too unfriendly to old people.

Xie An did not let He Chunli see what he was thinking. He followed with a smile and said, "The Young Master becoming a Cultivated Talent is a wonderful occasion. I'll change clothes and go. By the way, where's Han Li?"

Three months earlier, Xie An's other disciple, Han Li, had returned to work at the pawnshop.

Han Li had been born into poor circumstances, but he was capable, handled matters appropriately, and was clever. With him and He Chunli at the pawnshop, Xie An had been spared a tremendous amount of time.

"Master, were you calling me?"

A sturdy young man about five feet seven inches tall poked his head out from the pawnshop's back door, then scampered over with a beaming smile. "Heh, Master, you're looking better and better. It feels like you're returning to youth."

Compared with He Chunli's wooden honesty, Han Li's mind was much more nimble. He was actually better suited to taking over the shop. Yet Xie An favored He Chunli more, perhaps because He Chunli had served him tirelessly while he had been sick.

Xie An smiled and said, "It's almost dark. Go count the pawn tickets and goods. Close up early and head to Li Manor for New Year's Eve dinner."

"Got it. Little He, let's go get to work."

Han Li dragged He Chunli off to work.

At dusk.

Xie An closed the pawnshop, then went out with his two disciples and headed toward Li Manor.

The shopfronts along both sides of Wuqiao Town's streets had all hung up bright-red lanterns. Many shopkeepers and workers had even put up couplets ahead of time and set off firecrackers, looking forward to a year of good harvests and good fortune.

Some mischievous children were also tossing firecrackers wildly at one another in the street, chasing each other around in a lively commotion.

Though it was only a small town, the New Year atmosphere was rich.

Han Li draped an arm around He Chunli's shoulder and pointed at two children ahead who were throwing firecrackers at each other. He laughed loudly. "Little He, remember? When we had just taken Master, we used to throw firecrackers around like that too. I beat you until you were crawling all over the ground looking for your teeth, then kneeling and begging for mercy."

He Chunli snorted. "That was because you deliberately stuffed a fake firecracker into my pants to scare me. Otherwise, how could I have admitted defeat?"

"Hahaha... How about we buy some firecrackers and have another round?"

Ahem, ahem.

Xie An spoke up at the appropriate moment. "Eat first. We can talk about playing with firecrackers later."

Han Li stuck out his tongue. "Since Master has spoken today, I'll let you off for now. Consider yourself lucky."

He Chunli said, "As long as you don't play dirty, who's afraid of whom?"

"Fine. That's exactly what I was waiting for you to say."

When they arrived at Li Manor, red lanterns and colorful cloth adorned the place, while the entire hall was covered in red carpets. Four large banquet tables had been set up in the reception hall. Xie An and the other two were servants, so they naturally sat at the far end. The food on their table was not as good as the master's, and even the table and stools were a head shorter than those at the master's table, displaying the distinction between master and servant.

Even so, this was already an exceptionally lavish feast for Xie An and the other two.

Chen Yuan was not registered as a servant, so he naturally sat at the master's table. Chunlan, despite being a senior maid, could only sit at the same table as Xie An.

In this world, hierarchy was strict, and it manifested everywhere.

Han Li and He Chunli naturally did not give it much thought, only burying their heads in their food.

Xie An, however, was thinking: I should take advantage of this major New Year festival to bring up the matter of buying my freedom with the master of Li Manor.

Although Li Ru would certainly have agreed if Xie An had brought up buying his freedom when he had been seriously ill, Xie An had not done so because he had thought that life outside Li Manor might not be better. It was better to develop steadily.

Now that he was healthy, Li Ru might refuse to release him if he brought it up again. But Xie An's strength had also risen, so Li Ru would have no choice but to let him go.

After all, strength was the greatest support for establishing oneself in a chaotic age.