Ten Years
[I don't know, they all write it like this, so]
[Brain Deposit Box]
Ye An stared at the progress bar in front of him that only he could see, his heart beating like a drum.
99%...100%.
Ten years.
Ye An had waited a full ten years.
Ye An was already fifteen years old now.
On the day he transmigrated to this world, ever since he could remember, this gray progress bar had appeared in the corner of his vision, like an endlessly filling progress bar.
Ye An did not know what would happen once it filled up, only that it grew a little bit every day.
Rain or shine, come hell or high water.
And today, it was full!
[Drawing talent...]
Three screens of light unfolded before his eyes.
The first, its radiance restrained—
[Sage of Martial Dao]: Cultivate any Martial Arts without bottlenecks, no need for Sudden Enlightenment, no need for fortuitous encounters, breaking through is possible given sufficient time.
The second, its light dazzling—
[Wealth Rivaling a Nation]: Obtain one hundred thousand taels of gold, and receive ten thousand taels every month.
The third, its light soft—
[Spirit Vein Dao Fetus]: Bone Structure permanently increases by two major grades.
Ye An's gaze paused on the first screen of light.
Wealth Rivaling a Nation was very wealthy, and Spirit Vein Dao Fetus could improve aptitude, but Sage of Martial Dao had no bottlenecks!
In this world, no matter how much money someone with poor Bone Structure acquired, it could not buy a breakthrough.
Furthermore, Bone Structure could later be improved with precious treasures and medicinal herbs.
And Spirit Vein Dao Fetus merely changed Ye An's Bone Structure from High-Grade C to High-Grade A; the talent was top-tier, but breakthroughs required resources and would still get stuck by bottlenecks.
Only Sage of Martial Dao could allow Ye An to walk all the way to the end by himself.
Ye An reached out and tapped the first screen of light.
[Talent bound: Sage of Martial Dao]
The progress bar reset to zero, next draw: three years later.
Ye An took a deep breath and sat up from the bed.
It was still dark outside the window.
"Xiao An, time to eat."
Eldest brother Ye Ping's voice came from the outer room, mild-mannered, just like the person himself.
Ye An acknowledged and pushed the door open.
A wooden table with a missing corner was set in the main room, and eldest brother Ye Ping was already seated there holding a book, muttering under his breath.
Eldest brother Ye Ping was seventeen this year, studying at the county school and taking the path of the imperial examinations.
Father Ye Shouzhuo had said that eldest brother's Bone Structure was no good and practicing martial arts had no future, so studying was at least a viable path.
Second brother Ye Ning sat opposite, and a bowl of porridge, two steamed buns, and a dish of pork were placed before him.
He was sixteen this year, with Mid-Grade B Bone Structure, and was the family's greatest hope.
Ye Ning studied leg techniques at the Black Tiger Martial Arts Hall in the county town, and master Han Bao had personally said that if Ye Ning could maintain this momentum, he was expected to attempt the Third Body Tempering before turning twenty.
"Eat slowly, no one is fighting you for it."
Their mother had died young, and father Ye Shouzhuo sat in the seat of honor, looking at his second son Ye Ning wolfing down his food, his eyes filled with both gratification and heartache.
Ye An sat in his own seat and picked up his porridge bowl.
On the table were a dish of pickled vegetables and a dish of stir-fried greens; only before second brother was there an extra egg and a few pieces of jerky.
Second brother's tuition and medicinal herb expenses alone cost fifteen taels of silver every month, and father's grocery store could earn a little over twenty taels a month, leaving five taels to support a family of four.
"Dad, I want to practice martial arts too."
The three pairs of chopsticks paused.
The main room fell quiet for a moment.
Ye Ning reacted first, his brow furrowing: "What did you say?"
"I want to practice martial arts." Ye An repeated, his tone calm.
With a loud smack!
Ye Ning slammed his chopsticks down on the table. "Do you have any idea how much monthly herbs cost? How much martial hall tuition is? It's already barely enough for the family to support just me, so stop causing trouble!"
"I know."
"What do you know?" Ye Ning raised his voice. "Your Bone Structure is High-Grade C; you might not even reach Second Body Tempering if you practice for a lifetime, so why waste that kind of money?!"
Bone structures were divided into four tiers: Major, Grade, C, and D, with each grade further divided into three levels: Upper, Middle, and Lower.
Ye Ning's Bone Structure was Mid-Grade B, which was considered decent talent in the county town.
Meanwhile, Ye An's Bone Structure was High-Grade C, barely enough to practice martial arts.
This was the iron rule of martial artists—poor Bone Structure meant practicing martial arts was a waste of money.
Eldest brother Ye Ping set his book down, glanced at Ye An, and said nothing.
Father Ye Shouzhuo was silent for a long while. When he finally spoke, his voice was very low. "Xiao An, why did you suddenly want to practice martial arts?"
Ye An did not tell the truth.
He certainly could not say that the ten-year limit had arrived and the Dragon King had returned.
"I want to try."
"Three months. If I can't reach First Body Tempering in three months, I'll give up."
"Three months?" Ye Ning sneered. "What do you think First Body Tempering is? Big bro—"
Ye Ning turned to glance at his eldest brother, Ye Ping, swallowing the second half of what he had been about to say.
His eldest brother had also practiced martial arts back in the day, but after four months without even reaching First Body Tempering, he had switched to studying instead.
Ye Shouzhuo said nothing, carefully scrutinizing his youngest son.
Ye An looked back at his father, Ye Shouzhuo, his gaze calm yet carrying a resolute conviction.
"Three months." Ye Shouzhuo finally spoke. "If you can't reach it, you never bring this up again."
"Fine."
Ye Ning opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing that the matter was settled, he closed it again.
He silently finished the remaining porridge, stood up, and left.
Ye An knew his second brother felt resentful inside.
The family was already hard-pressed, and with one more mouth to feed and train in martial arts, life would become even tighter.
Yet he had no choice.
In this world of the strong preying on the weak, without strength, anything one said was empty.
After finishing the meal, just as Ye An was about to clear the bowls and chopsticks, his eldest brother, Ye Ping, walked over and shoved a cloth bundle into his hand.
"This is what's left of my tuition. Don't tell second brother."
Ye An opened it to take a look—scattered silver pieces, probably about seven or eight taels.
Ye An looked up at his eldest brother, only to see that Ye Ping's expression was devoid of emotion. He merely patted his shoulder and turned back to his room.
That evening, their father called Ye An behind the sundry shop.
Search for the book title and you might find the author instead; perhaps it just got renamed!
Ye Shouzhuo rummaged out an old money box from the bottom of the cabinet, counted and recounted, and managed to piece together ten taels of silver.
"Add this to your eldest brother's, and it makes eighteen taels in total." Ye Shouzhuo pushed the silver across. "It's enough for three months of tuition plus the cheapest herbs."
Looking at this pile of scattered silver, Ye An suddenly felt a slight ache in his heart.
Ye An knew the family had no savings.
These eighteen taels were likely all that his father and eldest brother could scrape together.
"Dad, I won't—"
"Three months." Ye Shouzhuo interrupted Ye An's words, his voice somewhat hoarse. "If you can't reach it, come back. Don't force yourself."
Ye An gripped the silver tightly and nodded.
Early the next morning, when his father set out, Ye An followed right behind him.
Ye Shouzhuo did not head to the sundry shop, instead turning into a small alley and walking up to an old house at the very end of it.
The door was unlocked.
Ye Shouzhuo pushed the door open and went in, with Ye An following behind.
The room was very dark, the windows covered with black cloth so that only a few wisps of light leaked through the gaps.
An old man sat in a rattan chair in the corner, his eyes closed, motionless.
His hair was completely white, the wrinkles on his face as deep as knife-carvings, and his hands rested on the armrests with nails both long and yellow.
This was Ye An's grandfather, Ye Tiangang.
In Ye An's memories, his grandfather had always been like this—never speaking to people, never going out, and never eating at the same table as the family.
His father said grandfather was old and his mind was muddled.
But Ye An didn't believe it.
When this old man occasionally opened his eyes, that pair of eyes was as clear as a deep pool, not looking like the eyes of someone muddled.
"Father," Ye Shouzhuo stood at the doorway, his voice very low as if afraid of disturbing him, but remembering the purpose of his trip, he still mustered up his courage.
"Xiao An wants to practice martial arts, and his bone structure is High-Grade C. If he doesn't reach First Body Tempering in three months, he'll give up. The family scraped together eighteen taels, which is enough for three months of tuition..."
The old man didn't open his eyes, nor did he give any reaction.
Ye Shouzhuo waited for a long time and spoke again, "Father, although Xiao An's bone structure is poor, he's been sensible since he was a child, maybe... can you say something?"
Silence.
Ye Tiangang's eyelids didn't even move.
Ye An looked at his grandfather and suddenly spoke, "Grandfather, I'm not acting on a whim. I've thought about this for ten years!"
And waited for ten years. Ye An didn't speak this sentence out loud.
Ten years.
From the very first day he transmigrated over, Ye An knew this world didn't rely on studying or doing business, but solely on fists.
Ye An also understood that his talent wasn't high and his family was poor; practicing martial arts was just a waste of money!
But yesterday, his opportunity had finally arrived!
Ye Tiangang finally opened his eyes and glanced at Ye An.
This glance was very complex.
There was scrutiny and doubt, but more of it was an indescribable emotion, like guilt, yet also like heartache.
But it was only for a split second.
He closed his eyes again.
From beginning to end, he didn't say a single word.
Ye Shouzhuo stood for a while longer, sighed, and pulled Ye An out the door.
Walking in the alley, Ye Shouzhuo suddenly spoke, "Your grandfather wasn't like this before."
Ye An didn't take up the conversation.
"When he was young... he was very formidable." Ye Shouzhuo seemed to want to say something, but the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back. "Forget it, let's not talk about this."
Ye An didn't press further.
Ye An knew his father harbored too many things in his heart—about his grandfather, about this family, and about that "Capital City main branch" they never mentioned.
But now wasn't the time to ask.
If he couldn't reach First Body Tempering in three months, asking about these things would be meaningless.
When they reached home, his eldest brother Ye Ping was reciting texts in the courtyard. Seeing the two return, he put down his book and walked over.
"Father, I've thought about it." Eldest brother Ye Ping took two more taels of fragmented silver out of his sleeve. "This is my food allowance for next month; give it to the third brother first."
Ye Shouzhuo looked at those two taels of silver, his eye sockets turning a bit red.
"What will you eat next month?"
"The county school cafeteria can let me run a tab first." Eldest brother smiled. "The teacher says my grades are good, so there's no rush to pay."
Ye An knew his eldest brother was lying.
There was no such thing as running a tab at the county school.
Yet he lacked the ability to expose it.
Ye An merely took those two taels of silver, clutching them tightly in the palm of his hand, emotions of being touched difficult to express.
Only through action could one prove everything.
Added to the two extra taels his eldest brother gave, it totaled twenty taels.
Three months of tuition cost nine taels, and the remaining eleven taels for buying the cheapest tendon-and-bone-strengthening ointment would be just enough.
This was all the family could possibly scrape together.
Ye An put the money away and returned to his room.
Lying on the bed, looking at the roof beams overhead, he replayed today's events in his mind.
His father's support, his eldest brother's silver.
And his grandfather's gaze.
With High-Grade C bone structure, normally without encountering a bottleneck it took over four months, but he only had three months.
Yet he had his Golden Finger.
[Sage of Martial Dao]: Cultivate any martial art without bottlenecks.
No sudden enlightenment needed, no opportunities needed, just time.
In three months, if he practiced a few more hours every day than others, would it be enough to charge for First Body Tempering?
Ye An didn't know.
But he no longer had a way out.
Twenty taels 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 practicing martial arts again for the rest of his life.
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 silver underneath his pillow.
Twenty taels.
This was his everything.
Everyone who encounters advertisements such as "Are you a True Person" need not pay attention to them; just close them, and absolutely do not scan codes or send text messages!