Ten Years

[I don't know either; that's how they all write it, so]

[Brain storage facility]

Ye An stared at the progress bar only he could see, his heart pounding like a drum.

99%...100%.

Ten years.

Ye An had waited a full ten years.

Ye An was fifteen now.

From the day he had transmigrated into this world, this gray progress bar had appeared in the corner of his vision. It was like a bar that could never be filled.

Ye An had no idea what would happen once it was full. He only knew that it increased a little every day.

Steady as a rock, come rain or shine.

And today, it was full!

[Drawing talent...]

Three screens of light unfolded before his eyes.

The first screen held its radiance in check--

[Sage of Martial Dao]: Practicing any martial art has no bottlenecks. No epiphany or fortuitous opportunity is needed; with enough time, one can break through.

The second screen shone dazzlingly--

[Wealth Rivaling a Nation]: Gain one hundred thousand taels of gold and receive ten thousand taels every month.

The third screen glowed softly--

[Spirit Vein Dao Fetus]: Permanently increase innate bone aptitude by two major grades.

Ye An's gaze stopped on the first screen.

Wealth Rivaling a Nation was certainly wealthy, and Spirit Vein Dao Fetus could improve his aptitude, but the Sage of Martial Dao had no bottlenecks!

In this world, no amount of money could buy a breakthrough for someone with poor innate bone aptitude.

Besides, innate bone aptitude could later be improved with treasures and miraculous medicines.

Spirit Vein Dao Fetus would only raise Ye An's innate bone aptitude from Grade C Superior to Grade A Superior. His talent would be first-rate, but breaking through would still require resources, and he would still be stuck at bottlenecks.

Only the Sage of Martial Dao could let Ye An walk all the way to the end on his own.

Ye An reached out and tapped the first screen of light.

[Bound talent: Sage of Martial Dao]

The progress bar returned to zero. Next draw: three years later.

Ye An took a deep breath and sat up in bed.

It was not yet light outside.

"Xiao An, come eat."

His elder brother Ye Ping's voice came from the outer room. It was mild and unhurried, just like the man himself.

Ye An answered and pushed open the door.

A wooden table missing a corner stood in the main room. His elder brother Ye Ping was already sitting there, holding a book and muttering as he read.

Ye Ping was seventeen this year. He studied at the county school and was pursuing the imperial examination route.

His father, Ye Shouzhuo, had said that Ye Ping's innate bone aptitude was inadequate and that he had no future in martial arts. At least studying would give him a way to make a living.

His second brother Ye Ning sat opposite him. A bowl of porridge, two steamed buns, and a dish of pork sat before him.

He was sixteen this year, with Grade B Intermediate innate bone aptitude. He was the family's greatest hope.

Ye Ning studied leg techniques at the Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall in the county seat. The hall master, Han Bao, had personally said that if Ye Ning could maintain this momentum, he might be able to attempt Third Body Tempering before he turned twenty.

"Eat slower. No one's going to steal it from you."

Their mother had died young. Their father, Ye Shouzhuo, sat in the seat of honor, watching his second son Ye Ning wolf down his food. His eyes held both gratification and heartache.

Ye An sat in his place and lifted his bowl of porridge.

There was one dish of pickles and one dish of stir-fried greens on the table. Only Ye Ning had an egg and several pieces of dried meat in front of him.

Every month, Ye Ning's tuition and medicine cost fifteen taels of silver. Their father's grocery shop could earn a little over twenty taels a month, leaving only five taels to support the family of four.

"Dad, I want to practice martial arts too."

The other three stopped with their chopsticks halfway.

The main room fell silent for a moment.

Ye Ning reacted first, his brows knitting together. "What did you say?"

"I want to practice martial arts." Ye An repeated himself, his tone calm.

Smack!

Ye Ning slapped his chopsticks onto the table. "Do you know how much the medicine costs every month? How much the Martial Hall tuition costs? Supporting one person is already hard enough. Don't make trouble!"

"I know."

"What do you know?" Ye Ning's voice rose. "Your innate bone aptitude is Grade C Superior. You might not even reach Second Body Tempering after practicing your whole life. Why waste that money?!"

Innate bone aptitude was divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Each grade was further divided into Superior, Intermediate, and Inferior.

Ye Ning's Grade B Intermediate aptitude was considered quite good in the county seat.

Ye An's Grade C Superior aptitude only barely qualified him to practice martial arts.

This was an ironclad rule among martial artists: with poor aptitude, practicing martial arts was simply throwing money away.

His elder brother Ye Ping put down his book and glanced at Ye An without saying anything.

His father, Ye Shouzhuo, remained silent for a long while before speaking in a low voice. "Xiao An, why did you suddenly want to practice martial arts?"

Ye An did not tell the truth.

He could hardly say that the ten-year period had ended and the Dragon King had returned to his throne, could he?

"I want to give it a try."

"If I can't reach First Body Tempering in three months, I'll give up."

"Three months?" Ye Ning sneered. "Do you think First Body Tempering is something you can just—Big Brother..."

Ye Ning turned to look at Ye Ping and swallowed the rest of his words.

Ye Ping had practiced martial arts in the past too. After four months, he had still failed to reach First Body Tempering, so he had switched to studying.

Ye Shouzhuo said nothing. He carefully examined his youngest son.

Ye An met his father's gaze. His eyes were calm, yet filled with determination.

"Three months." Ye Shouzhuo finally spoke. "If you can't reach it, never bring this up again."

"Good."

Ye Ning opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing that the matter was settled, he said no more.

He lowered his head, finished the remaining porridge, and left.

Ye An knew that his second brother felt stifled.

The family was already struggling. With another mouth to feed and another person practicing martial arts, life would become even tighter.

But he had no choice.

In this world, the strong preyed on the weak. Without strength, everything one said was empty talk.

After eating, Ye An was about to clear away the bowls and chopsticks when his elder brother Ye Ping walked over and pressed a cloth bundle into his hand.

"This is what's left of my tuition money. Don't tell Second Brother."

Ye An opened it and saw broken silver, about seven or eight taels.

Ye An looked up at his elder brother, but Ye Ping's face held little expression. He merely patted Ye An on the shoulder before turning and returning to his room.

That evening, his father called Ye An behind the grocery shop.

Ye Shouzhuo pulled an old money box from beneath the counter, counted and recounted its contents, and scraped together ten taels of silver.

"Together with your elder brother's, that's eighteen taels." Ye Shouzhuo pushed the silver over. "Three months of tuition and the cheapest medicine should be enough."

Ye An looked at the pile of broken silver, and his heart suddenly turned sour.

Ye An knew the family had no savings to speak of.

These eighteen taels were probably everything his father and elder brother could produce.

"Dad, I won't—"

"Three months." Ye Shouzhuo cut him off, his voice slightly hoarse. "If you can't reach it, come back. Don't force yourself."

Ye An clenched the silver and nodded.

Early the next morning, Ye An followed his father when he left.

Ye Shouzhuo did not go to the grocery shop. Instead, he turned into a narrow alley and walked to an old house at its end.

The door was unlocked.

Ye Shouzhuo pushed it open, and Ye An followed him inside.

The room was very dark. Black cloth covered the windows, and only a few rays of light leaked through the cracks.

An old man sat in a cane chair in the corner, his eyes closed and his body utterly still.

His hair was completely white. The wrinkles on his face were deep as if carved by knives, and his hands rested on the armrests, his fingernails long and yellow.

This was Ye An's grandfather, Ye Tiangang.

In Ye An's memories, his grandfather had always been like this: he spoke to no one, never went outside, and never ate at the same table as the family.

His father said that his grandfather was old and muddleheaded.

But Ye An did not believe it.

When the old man occasionally opened his eyes, they were as clear as a deep pool. They did not look like the eyes of a confused man.

"Dad." Ye Shouzhuo stood at the door, his voice very low, as if afraid of disturbing him. Remembering the purpose of his visit, however, he still summoned his courage.

"Xiao An wants to practice martial arts. His innate bone aptitude is Grade C Superior. If he can't reach First Body Tempering in three months, he'll give up. The family scraped together eighteen taels, enough for three months of tuition..."

The old man did not open his eyes, nor did he show the slightest reaction.

Ye Shouzhuo waited a long time before speaking again. "Dad, Xiao An's aptitude may be poor, but he's been sensible since he was little. Maybe... Could you say something?"

Silence.

Not even Ye Tiangang's eyelids moved.

Ye An looked at his grandfather and suddenly spoke. "Grandpa, this isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. I've thought about it for ten years!"

And I've waited ten years too. Ye An did not say those words aloud.

Ten years.

From the first day he had transmigrated, Ye An had known that this world did not rely on studying or doing business. It relied only on one's fists.

Ye An also understood that his talent was mediocre and his family poor. Practicing martial arts was simply throwing money away!

But yesterday, his opportunity had finally arrived!

Ye Tiangang finally opened his eyes and looked at Ye An.

That gaze was complicated.

There was scrutiny and doubt, but more than anything, there was an indescribable emotion. It seemed like guilt, yet also heartache.

But it lasted only an instant.

He closed his eyes again.

From beginning to end, he did not say a single word.

Ye Shouzhuo stood there a while longer, then sighed and pulled Ye An outside.

As they walked through the alley, Ye Shouzhuo suddenly spoke. "Your grandfather wasn't always like this."

Ye An said nothing.

"When he was young... he was formidable." Ye Shouzhuo seemed to want to say more, but swallowed the words when they reached his lips. "Forget it. Let's not talk about this."

Ye An did not press him.

Ye An knew that his father kept too many things hidden in his heart—things about his grandfather, about this family, and about the "main branch in the capital" they never mentioned.

But now was not the time to ask.

If he could not reach First Body Tempering in three months, there would be no point asking about any of it.

When they arrived home, Ye Ping was reciting books in the courtyard. Seeing the two of them return, he put down his book and walked over.

"Dad, I've thought it over." Ye Ping took another two taels of broken silver from his sleeve. "This is my food allowance for next month. Let Third Brother use it first."

Ye Shouzhuo looked at the two taels of silver, and his eyes reddened slightly.

"What will you eat next month?"

"The county school's cafeteria can let me eat on credit for now." Ye Ping smiled. "The teacher says my grades are good, so there's no rush to pay."

Ye An knew his elder brother was lying.

The county school did not allow credit.

But he had no way to expose the lie.

Ye An simply accepted the two taels of silver and clenched them in his palm, his gratitude impossible to express.

Only through action could he prove everything.

With the two extra taels from his elder brother, they had twenty taels in total.

Three months of tuition cost nine taels. The remaining eleven would buy the cheapest bone-strengthening medicinal paste, which was just enough.

This was everything the family could produce.

Ye An put the money away and returned to his room.

Lying on his bed, he stared at the beams overhead and went over the day's events in his mind.

His father's support. His elder brother's silver.

And his grandfather's gaze.

With Grade C Superior innate bone aptitude, it would normally take more than four months to reach First Body Tempering without encountering a bottleneck. He had only three months.

But he had his cheat.

[Sage of Martial Dao]: Practicing any martial art has no bottlenecks.

No epiphany was needed. No fortuitous opportunity was needed. Only time.

In three months, if he practiced several hours more than everyone else each day, would that be enough to break through to First Body Tempering?

Ye An didn't know.

Yet he already had no way out.

Twenty liang of silver, three months of tuition and medicine money—this was squeezed out from between the family's teeth.

If he failed to reach First Body Tempering, he would have to honestly return home and never mention the matter of martial arts again in this lifetime.

If he reached it...

Ye An closed his eyes.

We'll talk about it then!

Tomorrow, Green Bamboo Martial Arts Hall.

Ye An touched the heavy pouch of silver beneath his pillow.

Twenty liang.

This was his everything.