Treading through mud, still yearning for the sea of stars

The streets around No. 9 Vocational Middle School had the most restaurants and hotels, and their business was also the best.

Old Liang led Qin Shi out through the school's back gate, turned into a nearby alley, and stopped before a roadside eatery called Li Ji Fast Food.

"Old Li's cooking is famous around here. It's not mealtime yet, but if we come any later, we might not get a table."

Old Liang was clearly a regular. He pulled out a plastic chair, sat down, and called the owner over to order.

"The usual three: black bean sauce pork ribs, bitter melon stir-fried with beef, and pork liver and goji berry soup. Add a bottle of Hengzhou Lao Jiao.

"For him, a whole box of Nutritional Paste, five hundred grams. Longxiang Ji brand."

"Coming right up, Teacher Liang. Is this your student? Such a refined-looking kid. You can tell at a glance his grades are good—much better than my Xiao Yuan!"

The owner cheerfully wrote down the dishes and Nutritional Paste brand on paper.

Then he handed the note to a half-grown child of eight or nine and had him run the errand.

There were few customers at this hour, so the food came quickly. Before long, steaming dishes were brought to the table.

Old Liang helped himself to several bites, tasting a little of each dish to go with his liquor.

He ate with great relish, utterly unconcerned by Qin Shi's rumbling stomach.

Only after a box of Nutritional Paste roughly the size of a palm fan was delivered did Old Liang begin speaking.

"Whether New Martial Arts or Old Martial Arts, there's one shared understanding. A Martial Artist's path of Life Force Development mainly emphasizes two things: training methods and combat methods. Training methods include Body Cultivation and mind cultivation.

"Body Cultivation is the foundation, and the first priority. Martial training damages the body most severely—torn muscles, worn bones. Over time, hidden injuries accumulate, and by the time you notice them, they're already difficult to treat.

"When Old Martial Arts was at its peak, plenty of Top Martial Artists stumbled over this very issue."

Qin Shi accepted the square box printed with the three words "Longxiang Ji." It was fairly heavy in his hand, looking like a single-soldier ration can from his previous life.

Old Liang wore an eager expression, as though waiting for a show.

"You've only just grasped your Qi sensation, so your physical energy expenditure is high. Ordinary carbs get absorbed as soon as you eat them, and before long, you'll be hungry again.

"Nutritional Paste was used as combat rations during the Great Expedition. It's extremely filling, high in calories, and contains everything the human body needs. It's most suitable for Old Martial Arts practitioners. Enjoy yourself!"

Qin Shi looked down at the long, milky-white, toothpaste-like sticky substance in the box, then glanced at the delicious spread in front of Old Liang.

The difference in meal treatment was way too obvious!

"Teacher Liang, this stuff must be expensive, right?"

Qin Shi scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. As expected, the texture was utterly terrible, like greasy, overcooked rice paste.

Still, he had eaten even worse food in the industrial park in his previous life. He could barely endure it.

He shut off his sense of taste and wolfed it down!

Suppressing the nausea churning in his stomach, Qin Shi rapidly finished the Longxiang Ji Nutritional Paste.

Old Liang silently nodded, secretly pleased.

Muscle Twisting and Back Stretching, grasping Qi sensation, eating Nutritional Paste... every student in his tutoring class had tried them.

Yet few had performed as well as Qin Shi.

"A body that can take training, excellent comprehension, a resilient temperament—well-balanced and outstanding in every aspect. A natural Old Martial Arts prospect!"

Old Liang's mood improved further, and his tone softened.

"Longxiang Ji is relatively cheap. Other brands, like Jin Mao, Feng Chun, and Da Chang, are more expensive."

Qin Shi laboriously swallowed the last mouthful of Nutritional Paste and guzzled water.

"Is Longxiang Ji cheap because it tastes awful?"

Old Liang laughed.

"That's right. They used to supply the expeditionary army. Their focus is portability, fullness, and replenishing energy, but the taste is atrocious. Unless someone has a taste for strange food, I doubt anyone likes eating it.

"Eighty-eight yuan per box. It can keep a manual laborer going for two days without food.

"At your training intensity, you'll probably need two boxes a day."

Qin Shi bared his teeth. He worked the front desk at a gym for twelve hundred yuan a month, earning only forty yuan a day.

Adding his teaching assistant job at the Youth Palace and his part-time work, the pay from all three jobs combined was actually not enough to buy Nutritional Paste!

"Now my understanding of just how poor I am has suddenly become profound and clear."

Qin Shi gave a self-mocking smile.

"Teacher Liang, I'm afraid I can't even afford the cheap Longxiang Ji."

Old Liang sipped the strong liquor in his cup.

"I know. Few students in the tutoring class can afford Nutritional Paste.

"Tuition costs four or five thousand, nutritional expenses another five or six thousand. By the end of a month, around ten thousand yuan has been thrown in.

"That's also why students from Old Factory Street can only go mine or do manual labor after graduation, or else drift around the streets.

"The Martial Arts Track is expensive. If you want to specialize in mechanical engineering or spiritual energy, not only do you have to spend heavily, you also need talent."

Qin Shi's expression remained calm. From the moment he entered New No. 1 Middle School in the Metropolitan Area, he had understood exactly how brutal the contrast between rich and poor could be.

Those Elite Class students who rode to school in luxury cars, or wore and used nothing but famous brands.

They actively participated in club activities, accepted awards on stage, and gave speeches, as though they had been born brimming with confidence.

With their superior family circumstances and carefully cultivated abilities, they seemed to shine from head to toe.

By comparison, the Worker's Children of Old Factory Street truly felt inferior, unable even to summon the desire to compete.

"Teacher Liang, I've read it in books. The road ahead is always made by people walking it."

Warm currents gradually rose within Qin Shi's body. The Nutritional Paste was breaking down inside him, slowly merging into his torn and damaged muscles, tendons, and bones.

"A poor kid stepping in a mud pit has no reason he can't look up at the universe and yearn for the sea of stars.

"Does being born on Old Factory Street mean I should naturally be inferior to the Tai'an Metropolitan Area, Hengzhou Central City, or even the Imperial Capital beyond Distant Light-Years?"

The smile on Old Liang's face froze.

"Do you truly think that?"

Qin Shi met his gaze openly, without the slightest attempt to evade it.

"Purity emerges from filth, and light emerges from darkness. Even a grub buried in dust can transform into a cicada and drink dew in the autumn wind. Let alone a person."

Old Liang's face tightened, and the liquor in his cup rippled.

"Those were the words of Stone Buddha He Lanzhan, one of the First Generation Ten Prodigies, when Tomorrow Group interviewed him after he won the Stellar Cup championship at thirty-six.

"He came from humble origins, born on the frontier, and even suffered from a severe genetic defect. Yet he still carved out a place for himself in the vast sea of stars.

"You want to learn from him?"

Qin Shi gave a soft hum.

"Teacher Liang, I know becoming a Martial Artist isn't easy. But for someone like me, no path will be easy.

"What was that saying the older generation on Old Factory Street always repeated? Before a fierce tiger, there are no ravines; only cowards see obstacles everywhere!"

Old Liang let out a long breath, then suddenly looked up. The fifty-two-proof liquor entered his mouth and slid down his throat like scorching coals, driving away the knot in his heart.

"Good. Little Qin, I'll be blunt. You're a fine prospect for Old Martial Arts.

"You can withstand training, you're smart, your foundation is solid, and you can endure hardship.

"In all my years running a tutoring class, I've rarely seen a student as outstanding as you.

"I can waive your enrollment fee. We'll use half a month as the test period. If you can circulate your Qi sensation five times and complete the Lesser Heavenly Cycle during that time, I'll provide all the Nutritional Paste needed for training. What do you say?"

Qin Shi was stunned and nearly scratched his head. Did I unlock some kind of achievement for talking people into things?

A few words, and Teacher Liang is paying out of pocket to help me develop my Life Force?

He steadied his jumbled thoughts and cautiously tested the waters.

"Then... can I switch to some other premium brand? If I eat Longxiang Ji Nutritional Paste for half a month, I might lose my sense of taste entirely!"

Old Liang snapped irritably.

"Dream on! I'm just a poor teacher from a Sports Academy. Do you think I'm some rich tycoon?"

Qin Shi chuckled. He had naturally only been joking.

No matter how terrible Nutritional Paste tasted, it was still expensive.

His family could afford the occasional purchase, but using it continuously would be no different from burning money for fun.

"Teacher Liang, thank you."

The roadside eatery gradually became lively, voices rising in a roar. Qin Shi slowly stood and gave Old Liang a solemn bow.

Whether in his previous life or this one, meeting someone who bore him goodwill and was willing to nurture him was a rare blessing.

He had to cherish it, and work even harder to seize it!

"No need to thank me. We haven't reached the point of a master-disciple bond in the Old Martial Arts tradition. If you fail, you'll still pay every last cent you owe.

"The tutoring class isn't a charity hall. There are countless students from Old Factory Street with poor conditions, and my abilities are limited. I can't save them all."

Old Liang's words were cold, but inwardly he was quite pleased. After being tucked away at No. 9 Vocational Middle School for so many years, he had always hoped a good prospect would land in his hands.

And now one had practically delivered himself to his door!

"Let's hope this kid can cross the threshold into Old Martial Arts and doesn't make all my effort go to waste."