Chapter 2

Under the evening breeze of the setting sun, the workers of the Zhang Clan Mining Site walked out of the mine. Today they received their wages, and tomorrow they could rest for a day. Everyone's face was brimming with happy smiles, feeling that a month of hard work was worth it at this moment.

"I got five hundred wen; I'm eating meat tonight."

As he spoke, Zhang Daniu's sweat-covered face revealed a hint of intoxication. He patted the money bag at his waist hard, already beginning to fantasize about the scene of eating meat.

"You, Zhang Daniu, are truly an ox; to think you could dig so much. I only got less than four hundred."

A flash of imperceptible jealousy crossed the bottom of He Laosan's eyes. He had also dug with all his might, but he had received less than four hundred wen.

"A-Yang, how much did you get?" He suddenly looked at Xu Yang, who was silent beside him.

"About the same as you," Xu Yang replied, a hint of a smile appearing on his weary face.

In fact, the wages he received were more than Zhang Daniu's—over six hundred wen—but he did not want to be high-profile. Letting people know he received more was not a good thing.

Last month, someone was robbed and killed on the street that very night because they showed off how much they had earned.

Having transmigrated to this chaotic world for half a year, he was very cautious, always acting low-key and never drawing unnecessary attention to himself.

Mainly because he had no backing!

In this life, his mother died early. Although he had a father, after his father hooked up with a widow, he moved directly into the widow's house and stopped caring about him, leaving only a younger sister to rely on each other for survival.

In this kind of world, with only a half-grown boy in the house, it could be said that anyone could come and trample on them.

For the past half year, he had been struggling in secret, hoping to change this status quo.

"Soon, at most one more year."

Xu Yang looked at the Martial Dao Longevity Panel that had transmigrated with him:

【Comprehension: 21】

【Innate Talent: 22】

【Cultivation Base: None】

【Cultivation Method: None】

【Skill: Mining lv. 3 (283/400)】

【Remaining Lifespan: 57】

【Martial Dao Longevity Points: 1】

The confidence to change his fate naturally came from this "Martial Dao Longevity" panel that had transmigrated with him.

The panel was very magical; as long as his actions were conducive to martial dao longevity, he would receive point rewards. Points could be used to increase lifespan, innate talent, comprehension, and even cultivation methods and skills.

When he first transmigrated, his comprehension and innate talent were both dismal single digits, 2 and 3 respectively. After half a year of effort, both had broken through twenty.

It was also because the panel improved his mining skill that his wages exceeded most people's.

After exploring for half a year, he discovered that only by practicing martial arts could he truly utilize the panel. Although mining was a stepping stone for martial arts longevity, the point rewards were still too few.

Even without the panel, only by practicing martial arts could one get ahead.

With success in martial arts, one could participate in the martial examinations to win fame, or work as a guard to earn money.

Most importantly, in this chaotic world, only having martial strength would suffice.

It was just that the money he had accumulated was still quite far from what was needed to practice martial arts.

Walking out of the mining site, Zhang Daniu suddenly spoke: "I won't be coming to the mine anymore. My dad found me a trade in the city; I'll be an apprentice at a blacksmith shop from now on."

As he spoke, his face was full of self-satisfaction. No matter the era, people with a trade were hard to starve to death.

"You two should also make plans early; you can't mine for a lifetime," he warned his two companions.

The mine was dangerous and often collapsed, with a few people dying every month. Unless a family couldn't put food on the table, basically no one would be willing to come here to take risks.

The two of them had been working at the mine for quite some time; there was no need to continue risking their lives there.

He Laosan laughed and said, "You know my situation. I came here to earn money for the bride price. It's about enough now. Once I'm married, I'll probably go take over the family land."

He belonged to a family whose fortunes had declined, but they had plenty of land, so he wouldn't starve even if he didn't mine.

"Looks like you're getting married soon, congratulations."

Zhang Daniu and He Laosan looked at Xu Yang with a smile: "What about you, A-Yang?"

Both of them had a way out, and their parents were still around. With the elders' support, life was hard but had a goal. The hardest off was Xu Yang.

Although his father was still alive, it was no different from being dead; he couldn't help at all.

"I want to practice martial arts!" Xu Yang said.

Both were stunned. Zhang Daniu laughed: "Don't joke; that was just a game we played when we were kids..."

The three of them had grown up together and once promised that when they grew up, they would practice martial arts together and get ahead.

But as they grew older and their social experience increased, he had long since given up on the dream of practicing martial arts.

Originally, he thought Xu Yang was joking, but looking at Xu Yang's serious expression, the last word "joke" could no longer be said.

"A-Yang, are you crazy? Have you forgotten the lesson of my big brother?" He Laosan widened his eyes, as if he had heard something incredible.

Xu Yang shook his head: "I haven't forgotten."

He Laosan had an older brother in his family who, in his younger years, was also ambitious and determined to practice martial arts to get ahead. His father had sold everything to support his training.

But all the family's assets were thrown in, yet not a single ripple was made.

No! A huge ripple was made.

He Laosan's brother spent dozens of silver taels, but although he failed to become a martial artist, he relied on his training to join a gang. As a result, he was hacked to death on the street in less than seven days, and the He family's fortunes declined from then on.

Later, this incident became a cautionary tale for the surrounding ten miles. Whenever someone wanted to practice martial arts, this story would be brought up.

"Then you still want to practice martial arts?" He Laosan shook his head: "Listen to your brother, even if you spend the money at a brothel, don't throw it away in a place like a martial arts school."

He knew too much about practicing martial arts.

Tuition fees, nutritional supplements, medicinal supplements, and having to stop working entirely—any one of these was something Xu Yang couldn't manage.

Most importantly, one needed talent. His brother was the type without talent, and throwing dozens of silver taels away was of no use.

Xu Yang shook his head: "Don't try to persuade me; even if I wanted to, I don't have the money."

Hearing this, the two remembered that Xu Yang was barely able to feed himself and had no money at all.

"That's right, you don't have the opportunity at all. The best age to practice martial arts is fifteen to eighteen. You are already seventeen. By the time you earn enough money, you will have missed the best time. Even if you have money then, the martial arts master won't take you," He Laosan laughed.

Afterward, the three didn't talk about practicing martial arts again, but Xu Yang keenly discovered that it seemed because of his desire to practice martial arts, He Laosan and Zhang Daniu began to distance themselves from him.

Practicing martial arts burned money. Back then, He Laosan's brother borrowed money from countless friends and relatives, and it took years to pay it back.

When it was time to part ways, the two simply said goodbye and left, no longer making plans to hang out together the next day as they used to.

Xu Yang shook his head secretly and walked quickly toward home.

"Xu Yang!"

Just as he was about to reach his door, a voice suddenly called out to him from behind.

He looked back and saw Li Hu of the Sanhe Gang walking over with two hooligan-like youths.

The Sanhe Gang was the gang in this area. People living here had to pay a "peace fee" to the Sanhe Gang every month. If you dared not pay, your house would either be burglarized or set on fire in a couple of days.

If you dared not pay again, you would encounter violent bandits on the street who would kill you and take your money.

"So it's Tiger Lord, what wind blew you here?" Xu Yang put on a humble smile, his head lowered a bit.