Gifting the Sword

The weekend that followed was unremarkable.

After school on Friday, Zhang Tie went to the Iron Thorn Combat Hall once more to serve as a bottom-tier human punching bag. However, compared to two days ago, Zhang Tie—who had now stepped into the strength of a Level 1 Battle Soldier—found dealing with the stuck-up little brat named Andrew Beneta to be a completely effortless affair. Throughout the entire sparring session, Zhang Tie was occasionally able to seize a bit of the rhythm, intentionally letting Beneta's strikes land on specific parts of his body he had chosen. Of course, most of the time, Zhang Tie still pretended to be knocked down by the little brat to satisfy his vanity. Every time he stood back up, he would utter, "Kaman, you coward," goading the little brat into rushing at him again with reddened eyes.

To others, a part-time job at the combat hall was a grueling chore, but for Zhang Tie, this chore was turning into an amusing game. Not only did he get paid, but it also accelerated the ripening of the Iron Fetus Fruit. Furthermore, in the process of constantly getting beaten up during actual combat, Zhang Tie discovered that his combat instincts were steadily improving: his footwork was more flexible, his reactions were sharper, and his judgment of an opponent's attack intentions was more accurate. As the one purely on the receiving end of the blows, he could sometimes even take the initiative to control the rhythm of the fight.

That One-Eyed Dragon actually did a good deed! Zhang Tie thought, feeling quite pleased.

Perhaps because his performance over these two times had been better and he hadn't embarrassingly passed out again, Zhang Tie felt his status in the combat hall had risen just a little bit. At the very least, those two jerks in the equipment room no longer used him as a target for their jokes, betting on when he would faint again. When he left the Iron Thorn Combat Hall, Supervisor Baker offered him a few words of encouragement and then settled his wages for the week—a total of 3 silver coins and 40 copper coins. This was the first money Zhang Tie had ever earned in his life.

Zhang Tie clutched the money tightly in his pocket, and by the time he arrived home, it had grown warm from his grip. When he handed the money to his mother, seeing the surprised expressions on his parents' faces, Zhang Tie felt exceptionally satisfied. Although the amount was small, his mother only took two silver coins, saying she would save them for him, and told him to keep the rest for pocket money. But as the first contribution Zhang Tie had made to this family with his own sweat and labor, his heart was filled with joy and pride.

On Saturday, Zhang Tie continued to help his mother make Rice Brew at home. With the addition of his future sister-in-law, Zhang Tie had much less to do. This future sister-in-law of the Zhang Family was a diligent person; she was smart, managed the household well, and there were no rumors of bad conduct about her. Having been at the Zhang house for these few days, she was slowly being accepted by the Zhang family and was gradually integrating into the household.

Watching his mother teach his future sister-in-law the Zhang family's Rice Brew craft hand-in-hand, a sense of inexplicable sorrow arose in Zhang Tie's heart—his mother was getting older, and the time he had left in this home was growing shorter...

The life of an ordinary person is always mixed with too much bitterness and sweetness. Also on this Saturday, when Zhang Tie rode that ugly tricycle to the rice shop again, he discovered that the price of rice had risen once more—a 25-kilogram bag of ordinary rice had increased by another three copper coins, becoming 4 silver coins and 61 copper coins per bag. Zhang Tie went to several other places and found the same to be true. Not only that, he discovered that the prices of other foods had also risen by varying degrees. The price of sugar had risen even more; compared to rice, the price of raw sugar this week had increased by over 10% per kilogram compared to last week, exceeding 1 silver coin and 10 copper coins per kilogram...

There was no other way; he just had to grit his teeth and buy it. The Zhang family's Rice Brew business had to raise prices, but once they did, sales would certainly be much worse than before, and the role this little family business played in subsidizing their living expenses would be greatly diminished.

Upon hearing the news of the rising grain prices, although his mother's expression didn't change much, the wrinkle on her brow became deeper in Zhang Tie's eyes.

On Saturday night, Zhang Tie planted a large patch of pumpkins on the land within the Castle of Black Iron. The pumpkin seeds were ones he had dug out of the pulp when the family bought pumpkins to eat a while ago. His thrifty mother couldn't bear to throw them away, so she had washed them clean and dried them in the small courtyard. Once these seeds were dried, if you stir-fried them in a pan, they became fragrant and delicious Pumpkin Seeds.

This time, Zhang Tie planted a lot of pumpkins—a full two large handfuls. Two or three hundred seeds were sown. Rising grain prices were one reason, but a more important reason was that Zhang Tie discovered the Castle of Black Iron seemed particularly suited for plant growth. In just one week, all the seeds he had planted inside the Castle of Black Iron had sprouted, including those gifted by Mother Theresa. All the plants were growing well—almost too well. In particular, the Potato and Corn planted earliest were growing the fastest. The barren Castle of Black Iron began to show a hint of vibrant vitality, and the Spirit Qi Value within the Castle of Black Iron was increasing rapidly every day. By this Saturday, the Spirit Qi Value in the Castle of Black Iron had overtaken everything else, with the number already exceeding 70.

After throwing a bag of trash left over from cleaning the house into the Pool of Chaos and gaining a pitiful 0.1 basic energy, Zhang Tie, having finished reclaiming the land in the Castle of Black Iron, checked on the small tree. The ripening progress bar for the Iron Fetus Fruit had reached halfway; it seemed he could enjoy it after getting beaten up two more times. The second Flawless Fruit would also be ready to ripen by next Thursday night. This small tree had now become the greatest source of confidence for Zhang Tie to keep striving in this era.

Exiting the Castle of Black Iron and returning to his small room, Zhang Tie was just about to cultivate when he heard a long, sharp alarm sound faintly from outside the window. In the night, the sound of this hand-cranked fire alarm could travel very far. Zhang Tie hurried to the attic window, opened it, and looked out.

In the pitch-black night sky, a bright glow illuminated the distant sky a deep red. Judging by the source of the fire, it seemed to be the old residential area of Black Flame City near the train station, a place where all sorts of people mingled. Faint, clamorous human voices drifted over...

I wonder whose house is on fire? For this fire occurring near the train station, that was the only question left to Zhang Tie, one he cast to the back of his mind in an instant. Afterward, Zhang Tie closed the small attic window, picked up the crystal on the windowsill, and sat on his bed to cultivate.

After igniting the Divine Palace Bright Point, as soon as he entered a meditative state, he could feel a "tiny point" vibrating near the coccyx by his anus, faintly echoing with the Divine Palace Bright Point. That was the next target Zhang Tie needed to conquer—the first Spinal Bright Point. According to the introduction by the Natural History Class teacher on Friday, this bright point was the "1" in the second number of the Fibonacci Golden Sequence; the next was 2, followed by 3, then 5, and then 8... These bright points distributed along the spine formed a line of 34, corresponding to the 34 vertebrae of the human body. The Divine Palace Bright Point held many mysteries that no one could fully explain, but the efficacy of the Spinal Bright Points was just like the function of the spine itself: it was the support and source of human strength. Igniting each bright point on the spine could greatly increase a person's physical stamina and power. This was why Gelis's physical data could suppress all the students in the school...

Coordinating with the power of Zhang Tie's spirit and will after entering meditation, the energy gathered by the crystal outside was transmitted through the Divine Palace Bright Point to that point on the coccyx. After more than two hours of effort, Zhang Tie's only achievement was polishing that bright point slightly, revealing a red light the size of a grain of rice in his consciousness. Compared to the raging Divine Palace Bright Point, it was incomparable—it was the difference between a tiny firefly and a bonfire. For most people, the cultivation process for every bright point was just such a time-consuming and laborious affair...

On Sunday afternoon, Zhang Tie watched the shop at home as usual, while his father and mother put on new clothes, bought some items, and went out with his future sister-in-law. Needless to say, Zhang Tie knew what they had gone to do. By evening, when his mother and future sister-in-law returned, both of their faces showed a sense of relief and ease, and Zhang Tie knew that the status of this future sister-in-law was basically settled. Starting today, the Zhang family's Rice Brew increased by one copper coin per bowl. Although they had announced it in advance, business in the shop suddenly turned cold, and the day's turnover was only a little more than half of what it used to be.

"Mom, where's Dad? Didn't he come back with you?" Seeing only the two women return, Zhang Tie asked curiously.

"Your dad has something to take care of; he'll be back a little later!" his mother said with a mysterious tone.

In the evening, right at dinner time, his father returned. He was carrying a long object wrapped in cloth. As soon as he saw Zhang Tie, his father smiled and unwrapped the packaging from the long, strip-shaped object. A long sword with a slightly curved blade, encased in a pitch-black scabbard, appeared before Zhang Tie's eyes.

"Ah, a Black Flame Breaking Edge Sword..." Zhang Tie shouted. Like he had seen a treasure, he jumped over and snatched the long sword from his father's hand. With a clang, he drew the sword from its scabbard, and a sharp two-handed sword appeared in Zhang Tie's grip. Zhang Tie gasped in surprise, for on the blade near the hilt, he saw his own name—Zhang Tie. This was a gift from his father.

"After next week, you'll be participating in the school's field trial. This is a gift from Dad. Cough... cough..." His father's face revealed a hint of embarrassment. "This is an ordinary Refined Steel Breaking Edge Sword produced by the Black Flame City arsenal. Its craftsmanship is slightly inferior to the standard-issue equipment of the Black Flame City military, and the scabbard is just ordinary Iron Wood. You know Dad doesn't have much money, so I could only..."

"I'm very satisfied, thank you, Dad!" Zhang Tie hugged his father, cutting off what he was about to say, and kissed his father on the cheek. Zhang Tie was already very satisfied with this gift. He knew very well the price of this kind of Breaking Edge Sword made of ordinary materials produced in Black Flame City; it was basically over one gold coin, which was a significant expense for their family.

Seeing Zhang Tie so happy, a contented smile appeared on his father's face...

"You two, if you don't come over now, the food will get cold..." his mother called out from the side, dissatisfied, trying her best to downplay and dilute something...

In this era, many people's first sword was gifted by their father or brother. Receiving a sword from a father or elder brother meant that, beyond containing the blessings and concern of loved ones, the person holding the sword would have to rely on it to fight for their own life from then on. This was the inescapable fate of many men and many families in this era!

With only one last week left before leaving school, 15-year-old Zhang Tie calmly accepted the arrangement of fate, possessing the first sword of his life with his own name engraved upon it...

Thank you all for your support, there is another chapter at nine o'clock!