Cousin

The effect of the first body metamorphosis was like going from 60 to 90 on an exam in his previous life. It kept his enthusiasm for training burning every moment.

Before long, he had been practicing Mantis Snake Swordsmanship for a full week.

After another exhausting day, he completed his second body metamorphosis in his sleep without realizing it.

Then, on the night before he had been at the martial arts school for a full month, he completed his third body metamorphosis, again in his sleep.

In just one month, Chen Yiming had broken through three shackles and completed three body metamorphoses, becoming a minor expert impervious to ordinary blades and spears.

His training speed was terrifying. Judging by what he had learned from chatting with other students, he could easily set a new Apprentice Realm record in East Lake City.

If word got out, the whole city might be shaken by the rise of a promising new martial artist.

Chen Yiming did not dare breathe a word of it. He had not even told his family the truth. Being called a martial arts prodigy came with dangers of its own.

He acted as though nothing had happened, remaining an ordinary, hardworking student and keeping to his daily routine between home and the martial arts school.

His original plan had gone perfectly. Nothing unexpected had happened, and he had reached the third body metamorphosis.

Chen Yiming

Talent: Swordsmanship—Level 1

Skill Points: 3

He saved the three new skill points instead of spending them carelessly, setting them aside for Level 2 Swordsmanship talent.

Level 2 Swordsmanship talent required 30 skill points, ten times as many as Level 1. At his current rate, it would take more than half a year.

Pale moonlight spilled across the ground, illuminating the entire courtyard.

A figure moved continuously behind the courtyard wall. The doors of the Chen Family Restaurant stood open, but passing neighbors merely glanced inside before hurrying on.

After dinner, Chen Yiming was doing extra practice in the courtyard, unwilling to waste a single moment he could spend training.

Now that he had undergone three body metamorphoses, he was a minor expert. His skin seemed to have gained an extra layer of callus; an ordinary sharp weapon could leave only a white mark on it.

A thug with a knife could not even break his skin. So he simply left the doors wide open to deter anyone lurking nearby.

His father, Chen Jindong, had just returned from dinner at his younger brother's home. A little drunk from all he had drunk, he leaned back in a recliner and smoked his pipe.

The bamboo recliner was old, with several parts beginning to loosen. It creaked beneath him.

As Chen Yiming's mother washed the dishes, she talked with his father about the dinner his uncle had hosted that night and his cousin's special recruitment into the City Patrol.

For ordinary people, a job with the City Patrol was something to envy.

Patrol officers made their rounds in assigned areas on a fixed schedule, maintained public order, and drove off vendors who broke the rules. The work was not especially dangerous, and the income was steady.

From his parents' conversation, Chen Yiming learned that his cousin had been recruited for a permanent position, not a temporary job from which he could be dismissed at any time.

There was a huge difference. Unless someone in a permanent position committed a serious offense, he could work until retirement. In previous years, hundreds or even thousands of people had competed for each opening. Temporary work, on the other hand, was much like a job at a private company: all sorts of factors could get someone dismissed without warning.

By the time Chen Yiming finished his extra practice, his parents still had not settled the matter.

Seeing Chen Yiming lower his sword, his father could not help asking, "Yiming, your uncle asked me to check with you. What do you think of the City Patrol job? Should Shaojie take it?"

With the world showing signs of growing more chaotic, the job had become somewhat more dangerous. His uncle's family was hesitating.

"Isn't there a war going on in the west? Why join the City Patrol now? Wouldn't it be better for him to stay home like Yingying?"

Chen Yiming frowned. His uncle worked in a city government department. Surely he knew what was happening.

His father took a deep drag on his pipe. "It's a permanent position. Who would've thought Shaojie would be chosen? There's a war in the west, but your uncle's family thinks he'll have a hard time finding a better job if he passes this up."

Chen Shaojie was a year younger than Chen Yiming. With high school classes suspended, he was staying home, just like Chen Yingying.

"There's no use asking me. I go straight from home to the martial arts school and back every day. I don't know much about anything else," Chen Yiming said helplessly.

At that, his father laid out what his uncle really wanted:

"Your uncle actually asked me to find out whether you could help your cousin become a student at the martial arts school. If you can, he won't join the City Patrol."

Chen Yiming nearly choked. "How would that work? I'm just a junior student myself. I've only met the school master once. I can't simply get someone admitted."

His father sighed around his pipe.

"That's what I told him, but your uncle insisted I ask."

His mother set down the bowl she was washing and turned on his father.

"I told you not to get mixed up in this nonsense! Our son's only been there a month. How could you make such an unreasonable request? If it leaves a bad impression at the school, our son will be the one who suffers."

His father hurried to calm her down.

"His uncle only asked. If it can't be done, I'll tell him no. Shaojie is younger than Yiming. There's nothing wrong with looking out for his cousin."

Tears welled in his mother's eyes as she brought up the past.

"Why didn't his uncle think of helping Yiming back then? Yiming didn't score well on the high school entrance exam. He needed connections and a school-choice fee to get into one of the three top high schools. I still haven't forgotten how his uncle turned us down."

Sensing trouble, his father tried to defend his brother.

"There were special circumstances. Your uncle was up for a promotion then, and he was afraid someone might use it against him."

His mother wiped away her tears and shouted, "Then how did Shaojie get in? His entrance exam score was more than ten points lower than Yiming's! Stop making excuses for your brother. He didn't want to help, so he didn't. Why pretend otherwise?"

To her, her son's future mattered most. Now that he was doing well, relatives were brazenly trying to curry favor without a thought for how it might affect his prospects.

Watching his parents argue, Chen Yiming understood the meaning of an old saying.

When you're poor, no one visits even if you live in a bustling city. When you're rich, distant relatives find you even in the mountains.

His uncle's family lived in a residential complex in the city center. They had always looked down on Chen Yiming's family, and the two households had little contact beyond New Year visits.

From his predecessor's memories, Chen Yiming knew he had grown up in an urban village, with the village children as his friends. He had naturally picked up some mischievous habits.

Whenever they visited his uncle's family, no one said anything outright, but the distance between them showed in their expressions.

Chen Shaojie would not even let Chen Yiming touch his toys. Every time, he locked them in a drawer before they arrived.