Repayment

The sky was darkening, and the mountain wind howled.

Chu Ning pushed the empty cart onward at a frantic pace, gravel flying beneath his feet. Every step seemed to shatter the shackles of fate. The cold wind lifted the hem of his clothes, exposing the half-healed whip marks across his back—the "interest" left behind by the Wang Family's enforcers.

Before long, the outline of the village surfaced in the dusk. Low, dilapidated thatched huts stood scattered about, and wisps of chill seeped through the muddy alleys. The villagers had long grown accustomed to the burden of life. Poverty had carved deep scars into this place, and nearly everyone had been crushed by the ways of the world, struggling simply to survive.

Yet, ironically, precisely because they knew how difficult survival was, they were even harsher toward those of their own class.

When a household ran out of grain, someone would always watch with cold eyes, or even snicker in secret. When a household owed debts, the neighbors would whisper among themselves, afraid of being tainted by bad luck. If anyone showed the slightest sign of improvement, they would instead invite envy and ostracism. It was as though, on this barren land, no one was willing to see another person live better than they did.

Several figures hurriedly glanced over from beneath the eaves, muttered a few words, then shrank back into their shabby homes, as though Chu Ning's presence were merely a gust of cold wind that passed by without carrying away a shred of warmth.

He gave the cart a sudden shove. It slid several feet before coming to a steady stop at the village entrance.

Chu Ning paused briefly, exhaled a breath of warmth, then turned and hurried toward home.

A faint candlelight glowed inside the house, flickering unsteadily through the crack in the door as if it might go out at any moment.

"Creak—"

Chu Ning pushed open the door and saw his sister, Chu Yun, sitting before the table. The dim yellow candlelight fell across her thin, sallow face, and a trace of weariness lingered in her eyes.

"Brother Ning, you're finally back."

Chu Yun looked up. A hint of relief flashed through her eyes, accompanied by worry she could not hide.

Ever since he was young, Chu Ning had always been like this, shouldering everything himself and refusing to make her worry. After their father died, he had taken on the entire household alone, like an adult. He was not yet eighteen, yet he already lived under a weight heavier than that borne by many grown men.

A pang of bitterness welled up in Chu Yun's heart. How she wished that, one day, her little brother would no longer have to fight so desperately, no longer have life's burdens pressing the breath from him...

"Sis, I was only a little late. There's no need to worry about me!"

Her gaze fell on Chu Ning. His clothes were torn and spattered with blood, and her expression immediately darkened.

"How did you end up in such a state?"

She knew that Chu Ning had suffered plenty outside, but he never said a word. He merely kept smiling as always, as though he could withstand anything.

"You... went into the mountains again?"

Chu Ning nodded, doing his best to keep his tone light. "I had good luck. I hunted a wild boar, sold it for twelve taels, and have already paid off what we owed."

"Really? Don't tease me." Chu Yun's eyes widened slightly, as if she could hardly believe it.

"Really." Chu Ning grinned and placed the remaining silver on the table. "I also bought you medicine and winter clothes. You won't have to fear the cold this winter."

Chu Yun stared blankly at the silver on the table. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she lowered her head to wipe them.

"Brother Ning, this family has made you suffer..."

Her voice was choked with emotion. In the end, she still could not stop worrying over him.

Chu Ning smiled, pulled over a stool, and sat down. He casually broke off a piece of coarse-grain cake and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with a loud crunch.

"Sis, we're family. What's there to say about suffering? Our days will only get better."

He spoke with firm certainty, his resolve leaving no room for doubt.

Afterward, he boiled medicine for his sister, gently helped her sit down, placed the warm bowl of medicine in her hands, and draped the newly bought winter clothes over her.

Chu Yun watched her little brother bustle about, her eyes full of heartache. In a gentle voice, she said, "You earned money and spent all of it on me after paying the debts. You need to treat yourself better."

In this world, family affection was merely a thread swaying in wind and rain. The slightest carelessness, and reality would sever it without mercy. The children of poor families were either sold into slavery or snatched away by creditors. Before the barrenness of life, familial love appeared unbearably fragile.

Chu Yun would never realize that Chu Ning wanted to study martial arts at a martial arts school. Nor did Chu Ning intend to tell his sister. He did not want her to spend her days drowning in guilt.

Night fell. Chu Ning lay on the shabby wooden bed, staring at the dim ceiling as his thoughts churned.

He knew that relying on hunting would never be enough to change his circumstances.

If he wanted to rise above his lot, he had only one choice: become stronger!

The cold words of the Chaos Divine Order surfaced in his mind.

Repayment condition: Perform one thousand deep squats while bearing a five-hundred-pound boulder to complete the repayment. Once repaid, the next advance effect will be unlocked!

Chu Ning drew a deep breath, sat up in bed, and pushed open the door.

He hoisted the bluestone in the courtyard onto his shoulders. Its surface was mottled like the patterns on the divine order. In a daze, he seemed to hear a whisper circling beside his ear: "If you wish to bear its strength, first endure its weight."

He braced the bluestone against his shoulders, his spine bending like a drawn bow.

The boulder was as heavy as a mountain. It crushed his shoulders with pain, and his knees nearly burst apart.

On the first repetition, sweat sprang out instantly.

On the second, the muscles in his legs trembled violently.

On the third, his bones creaked faintly.

As he performed the squats, he seemed to hear his bones being hammered on an anvil, ringing sharply. Sweat struck the ground and splashed tiny beads of blood. His skin split and healed again and again, like rough stone repeatedly honed.

When he reached the hundredth squat, he suddenly remembered his father's hand clutching the "Rough Stone Hardening Technique" before his death. It had been skinny as kindling, yet it had squeezed cracks into the pages.

"Ning'er, this technique... can keep you alive."

Only now did he understand that what it meant to keep alive was to grind one's life into a blade.

Suddenly, firelight leaped in the distance, and hoofbeats shattered the silence.

Several martial artists rode through the village with torches raised. The leader flicked his whip and sent an old beggar curled by the roadside flying, his laughter piercing the night sky. "Filthy commoners think they're fit to block the road?"

He clenched his teeth but did not stop.

In the darkness, only his heavy breathing and the deep, muffled thud of the boulder rising and falling could be heard.

When he completed the thousandth squat, the moonlight abruptly turned deathly pale.

With a crack, the bluestone split apart. Fragments pattered down, revealing blood-jade-like patterns within.

Boom...

In an instant, a wave of heat swept through his entire body. His muscles seemed to be tempered in raging flames, his blood boiling as it coursed through every limb and bone.

He opened his eyes, and ghostly fire suddenly blazed within his pupils.

He could even hear the thunderous rush of blood surging through his meridians beside his ears.

"So this is what it feels like for the 'Rough Stone Hardening Technique' to reach minor mastery?"

He murmured softly and slowly released the boulder from his shoulders. The weight that had once been unbearably heavy now felt as light as nothing.

He clenched his fists and felt that his skin was hard as iron, while every muscle within him held an explosive power he had never possessed before.

His gaze fell upon a thick wooden post standing in the courtyard. He suddenly strode forward, his fist shooting out with explosive force.

"Bang!"

The wooden post burst apart inch by inch. Wood chips flew in every direction, and the force of his punch shook a crack into the ground as a fierce wind swept through the surroundings.

Chu Ning slowly withdrew his fist, the blood-colored light still lingering in his eyes.

Beneath his ragged clothes, his newly grown skin gleamed with a stony chill. He lowered his foot and crushed the shards scattered across the ground, then looked ahead.

"The Wang Family... my father's blood debt..."

Amid the cries of night owls, he bared bloodstained lips in a grin.

"Sooner or later, I'll make you pay it back."

The next morning, the first light of dawn barely glimmered.

Chu Ning practically struggled out of bed. Every inch of his muscles hurt as if torn apart, as though he had been crushed beneath a heavy hammer. Even breathing brought a dull ache. After the exhilaration of trading his vitality for strength, repayment had made his body pay a brutal price.

Yet he did not hesitate in the slightest. If he wanted to improve his hunting efficiency, he had to become faster, more precise, and stronger. Even if he had to endure the same agony once more, he would not shrink back.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright and walked toward the courtyard with determined steps. The morning wind brushed past, carrying a trace of coolness, but his gaze was colder still.

The next moment, the Chaos Divine Order emerged from the void, faint light flowing across it, tranquil and majestic.

The current order master is attempting to rely on the Hardening Cultivation Technique: "Hundred Steps Penetrating Willow." Advance of "Hundred Steps Penetrating Willow" successful.

Repayment condition: Hit the target with fifty consecutive arrows while moving to complete the repayment. Once repaid, the next advance effect will be unlocked!

Currently advanceable techniques and martial arts: None.