Backbone

Guiyuan Sect, outer sect disciples' residential quarters.

Knock, knock, knock.

A rapid series of knocks rang out.

"Zhang Su, your family's old servant is here. He's waiting outside the sect gates."

The door opened, and Zhang Su stepped out.

His eyes held a trace of confusion, as though he were trying to recall something.

"Right, it's the beginning of the month. Uncle Guan must have come to deliver silver again..."

Zhang Su immediately headed toward the sect gates.

Soon, he spotted a familiar figure.

It was an old servant.

His back stooped, he was peering through the sect gates.

"Uncle Guan."

Zhang Su quickly walked over.

When Uncle Guan saw Zhang Su, a smile spread across his face. He hurried forward and said cheerfully, "Second Young Master, the five hundred taels of silver the Eldest Young Master sends you every month have already been deposited into your Identity Token here at the Guiyuan Sect."

"Also, these are Blood Replenishing Pills the Eldest Young Master had someone procure especially for you. They're good for your martial training. And there's also..."

Uncle Guan had brought many things.

Zhang Su knew these were all gifts from the "older brother" in his memories.

His relationship with his older brother was complicated.

He had unilaterally declared that he was severing ties with his brother.

Yet his brother still sent Uncle Guan up the mountain every month with silver and supplements for him.

Seeing Zhang Su remain silent, Uncle Guan let out a long sigh.

But he said nothing.

He had served the Zhang Family for many years.

He knew the family's affairs well.

But when it came to the matter between the Eldest Young Master and the Second Young Master, he could only sigh inwardly.

"Is my brother... doing well?"

After a long while, Zhang Su slowly spoke.

"Hm?"

Uncle Guan abruptly raised his head.

How long had it been since he had heard Zhang Su say "my brother"?

"Second Young Master, you..."

Uncle Guan was deeply moved.

Had the Second Young Master forgiven the Eldest Young Master?

Zhang Su took a deep breath, then said, "Uncle Guan, thank my brother for me when you go back."

"Of course. I'll be sure to tell him! The Eldest Young Master will be so happy..."

Uncle Guan wiped away his tears.

He was overwhelmed with emotion.

The Zhang Family now had only the Eldest Young Master, the Second Young Master, and the Young Miss left.

He had watched the discord between the two brothers, his heart burning with worry.

For an entire year, Zhang Su had not gone down the mountain to see his brother even once.

Who would have thought Zhang Su would have a change of heart today?

Uncle Guan left with several sturdy servants.

Zhang Su returned to the outer sect residential quarters with his many gifts.

Outer sect disciples generally shared crowded rooms.

Of course, those with the means could have a room to themselves.

By all rights, Zhang Su could afford one.

After all, Uncle Guan brought five hundred taels of silver up the mountain every month, as unfailingly as thunder.

But because of his strained relationship with his brother, Zhang Su had stubbornly refused to use the silver his brother sent.

So he shared a room with several other outer sect disciples.

At the moment, Zhang Su was alone in the room.

The other three outer sect disciples were all out.

Zhang Su set everything down and began sorting through the memories in his mind.

He had woken up one day and inexplicably taken Zhang Su's place.

Many of Zhang Su's memories were still unclear to him.

He only knew that Zhang Su had fallen out with his brother, apparently because his brother had married into his wife's family.

But Zhang Su did not know the exact circumstances.

As he sorted through the memories, those concerning his brother gradually surfaced in his mind.

The Zhang Family had once been a scholarly household.

Their father had served as an official in the capital.

After offending Marquis Wuqing, he had been framed by the marquis and died as a result.

Their mother had brought Zhang Su and his two siblings back to their hometown in Qingquan Prefecture.

Before long, she too had fallen ill and died.

His brother had shouldered the Zhang Family alone, but when a wall tottered, everyone gave it a push. Rather than helping, their relatives coveted the inheritance of their ruined household and made trouble for them at every turn.

Later, his brother, Zhang Chen, had married into the Su Family, wedding their only daughter, Su Zhenzhen.

A fierce argument had erupted between Zhang Su and his brother.

He believed his brother had disgraced the entire Zhang Family by marrying into a merchant household.

From then on, he had severed ties with his brother and gone alone to the Guiyuan Sect, becoming an outer sect disciple.

He had not even attended his brother's wedding.

His predecessor had even shown quite a bit of "backbone."

For an entire year, he had not spent a single coin of the silver his brother sent through Uncle Guan.

It was all sitting in his Identity Token.

Under the Guiyuan Sect's rules, silver could be exchanged for contribution points at a one-to-one ratio.

Thus, he now had at least six thousand contribution points in his Identity Token.

After sorting through his memories, Zhang Su remained silent for a long time.

Backbone?

In his eyes, it was nothing more than youthful obstinacy.

Why had his brother married into the Su Family?

He had actually done it for the entire Zhang Family.

The head of the Su Family was known as Su Bancheng—Su Half-the-City. Though they were merchants, they had more silver than they could ever spend.

Zhang Su's actions might have looked like a show of backbone.

But in reality, even his position as an outer sect disciple of the Guiyuan Sect had been bought outright by the Su Family, at great expense and with an unknown amount of silver.

After all, he had already been a full fifteen years old when he came to the Guiyuan Sect a year ago.

The Guiyuan Sect recruited outer sect disciples at the minimum age of fourteen.

He had already passed the age cutoff.

But the Su Family had enough money to make even ghosts turn the millstone.

They had bought him an outer sect disciple's place outright. Only then had he been able to join the Guiyuan Sect.

"Youthful obstinacy, and... rigid, foolish thinking!"

"An entire year in the Guiyuan Sect, and he hasn't even cultivated any blood qi. All he has left is that so-called backbone..."

Zhang Su shook his head.

He immediately tried circulating his cultivation art.

The result... nothing happened.

"Wait, he spent an entire year and still couldn't master even a basic Blood Qi Realm art?"

Zhang Su was dumbfounded.

Surely no one's talent could be that terrible?

Or was there something else behind it?

Zhang Su searched his memories carefully.

And he really did find the reason.

When he first became an outer sect disciple, he had been allowed to choose one cultivation art and one martial technique for free.

But his predecessor's ambitions had soared higher than the heavens, and he had chosen an extraordinarily difficult, obscure Blood Qi Realm art.

It was called the "Great River Divine Art."

Once mastered, it made one's blood qi surge like a mighty river, several times greater than that of others, allowing one to forge a supreme foundation.

But it had one flaw: it was difficult!

Far too difficult!

Countless disciples had attempted to cultivate this art, only to end with their halberds broken and buried in the sand, forced to choose another art.

His predecessor had been no exception.

Worse still, his predecessor had been stubbornly single-minded. Unable to master the Great River Divine Art, he had nevertheless persisted for an entire year without switching arts.

"Not just rigid, but stupid too..."

Zhang Su had already made up his mind.

He had to switch cultivation arts.

Otherwise, if he could not even cultivate blood qi, what martial training could he possibly do?

Without blood qi, he did not even qualify as a martial artist.

Precisely because of this, Zhang Su had already become a laughingstock among the Guiyuan Sect's outer sect disciples.

"The Great River Divine Art..."

Although Zhang Su had decided to switch arts, he was still curious.

Just how difficult was this art?

The Great River Divine Art's cultivation formula surfaced in his mind.

Zhang Su carefully read through it.

The result... bewilderment.

Utter bewilderment.

This art truly was obscure and difficult to grasp. Even understanding it was a struggle, let alone cultivating it.

"Great River Divine Art, compatibility rate: 11%..."

Suddenly, Zhang Su felt a flash of golden light pass before his eyes.

Immediately afterward, a System Panel appeared before him.

Host: Zhang Su

Great River Divine Art: Compatibility rate 11% (not yet at the Initiation Realm)

Spirit Snake Fist: Compatibility rate 81% (Minor Accomplishment Realm)

Compatibility points: 0

Note: One compatibility point can increase the compatibility rate of any cultivation art by 10%.

Note: Bringing any cultivation art to the Perfected Realm grants one compatibility point.

Note: A cultivation art with a 100% compatibility rate is guaranteed to reach the Perfected Realm.

Something stirred in Zhang Su's heart.

Could this be my cheat?

Zhang Su studied it carefully.

The higher an art's compatibility rate, the faster he could cultivate it.

One compatibility point could increase any art's compatibility rate by 10%.

That did not seem like much.

In reality, however, these compatibility points had tremendous uses.

They could forcibly raise an art whose compatibility rate fell short of 100% to 100%. Once its compatibility rate reached 100%, that art was guaranteed to reach the Perfected Realm!

Used properly, this would be an enormous help to a martial artist!

Its value was immeasurable!

"The Great River Divine Art only has an 11% compatibility rate. With a rate that low, even ten years of training wouldn't get me to the Initiation Realm..."

Zhang Su shook his head.

He compared the Great River Divine Art with the Spirit Snake Fist.

With an 81% compatibility rate, he had reached the Minor Accomplishment Realm in the Spirit Snake Fist within a year.

That was fairly good.

Yet even reaching the Initiation Realm in the Great River Divine Art remained a distant prospect.

That was the difference between high and low compatibility rates.

He became even more determined to replace the Great River Divine Art.

And he had to make good use of his advantage.

When choosing an art, he had to pick one with a very high compatibility rate.

With that thought, Zhang Su wasted no more time. He rose at once and headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion.