After school, Yu Fei stopped by the market near his apartment complex to buy some groceries before heading home.
He had an older sister in university and a younger sister still in middle school. For his ordinary parents, the burden of supporting the family was heavy.
His mother worked as a sales clerk in a clothing shop and often came home late. His father was a team leader at a machinery factory. Neither earned much.
Since awakening the memories of his previous life, Yu Fei had taken it upon himself to share the housework. In fact, he had practically raised his little sister, Yu Wei, by hand.
Yu Wei hadn't returned yet. Yu Fei tied on an apron and busied himself in the kitchen.
For ordinary people, changing fate was nearly impossible. In his last life, Yu Fei had managed some achievements, but his vision and ability had been limited.
In this life, even with his reborn memory, there wasn't much he could do—only lighten his family's load in the ways he could manage.
In any world, study remained the main way to change one's destiny. This time, with martial cultivation in the mix, there were even more opportunities.
Based on his current academic performance, Yu Fei could probably make the cutoff for an ordinary university.
As for martial arts universities, his talent looked too meager—his chances close to zero.
Admission standards for martial universities were strict. At the very least, one had to break through the first three stages of the Body Tempering realm—skin, flesh, and sinew. They also required solid physique and martial proficiency.
Out of the six hundred or so students graduating from Nanguan Second High every year, only about thirty were accepted into martial universities—roughly five percent.
Those who failed weren't completely barred from martial training. There were countless private martial halls outside. But the cost was steep, and the quality of instruction was a far cry from the universities.
The smell of cooking rose around him, and Yu Fei's thoughts wandered.
Just then, the door opened.
"Ge, I'm home!"
The voice was crisp and sweet, like a lark.
Yu Wei tossed her schoolbag onto the sofa, skipped into the kitchen in a few hops, and beamed. "What's cooking? Smells amazing!"
Yu Fei didn't look up."Braised pork ribs, stir-fried pork with chilies, cucumber salad, that spicy pickled radish from yesterday, and soup."
All the dishes were done except the ribs, which just needed the sauce to thicken. He turned to grab a plate—only to catch sight of Yu Wei sneaking a radish strip into her mouth.
His brow furrowed instantly.
Without hesitation, he lifted his leg and gave her a light kick on the backside.
"Wash your hands. Change your shoes. And put your schoolbag where it belongs!"
He barked the order at her.
Yu Wei rubbed her butt, pouting. "Hmph! Annoying!"
Still, she stole another piece of radish like a thief and scurried away, crouched low.
This brat is getting more and more troublesome.
Yu Fei fumed in the kitchen, spatula in hand. He felt like a teenager's body with a middle-aged soul.
He carried a weight his age shouldn't have to bear.
At eight that evening, the family of four sat down to eat together.
On the surface, they looked like an ordinary family—two parents, two children. In truth, three of them had the experiences and minds of forty-year-olds or older. The only real child among them was Yu Wei—and so, invisibly, she was the most pampered.
Yu Fei didn't bother with the dishes or mopping after dinner. He went straight to his room to tackle his homework.
High school coursework was crushing, and academics still mattered greatly. Even martial entrance exams placed heavy emphasis on them.
By the time he finished and climbed into bed, it was already midnight.
Lying down, Yu Fei studied the blue pearl glowing in his spiritual sea—until sleep pulled him under.
In this life, high school had no foreign language course. Instead, there were two new subjects: Human Physiology and The Great Yu Martial Canon.
Human Physiology covered meridians, acupoints, the five elements of qi and blood, even some basics of acupuncture and massage.
The Martial Canon compiled the essays of ancient martial sages, using them to explain the fundamental vocabulary of cultivation techniques. The content was abstruse, mysterious, and hard to grasp.
On Saturday morning, Yu Fei rose early as usual. He went for a run, then practiced the Funiu Stake in a corner of the park. By the time he returned, his limbs were weak.
His body was tough enough to support one extra round of stake training per week without energy fluid—but only barely.
That morning, his father took Yu Wei out to play. Yu Fei stayed home; he had his own plan.
He wasn't a genius, but effort always bore fruit.
He sat down to work through problem sets.
If there was one true reward of living two lives, it was self-discipline. His goals were clear, and he wouldn't be distracted easily.
Around eleven, in the middle of wrestling with math, Yu Fei's spirit suddenly trembled.
He focused inward. In his spiritual sea, the pearl that had awakened with his memory flared with radiant blue light. The last dim spot vanished, completing its transformation.
A surge of information poured into him. Yu Fei closed his eyes, digesting it—until he finally understood the pearl's purpose.
It was called the Fate-Reversing Pearl. Bound to his soul.
Its power was tied to talent.
It categorized the talents of living beings into nine grades, distinguished by color: Gray, White, Green, Blue, Purple, Orange, Red, Silver, Gold.
Most beings were mediocre, with no distinctive traits. Talent was simply the manifestation of a creature's innate qualities.
The pearl's main function was to copy those talents and grant them to its host.
By marking a target, if Yu Fei defeated them, he could randomly copy one of their talents. If he killed them, he would extract their highest-grade talent.
The ability's cooldown was one month.
Copied talents could be equipped, upgraded, fused, or melted down into energy.
Currently, the Fate-Reversing Pearl had three talent slots, allowing Yu Fei to hold three talents. More slots would require unlocking with energy.
Because it had just awakened, Yu Fei could trigger its power twice—copying two talents.
He fell into deep thought.
Copying talents, upgrading them… If he could develop this ability, his potential would be unmatched. But in the beginning, acquiring useful talents would be difficult.
Once per month. Only twelve times a year. He'd have to plan carefully.
"Hm? Once a month… doesn't that feel strangely inconvenient?"
Brooding over the pearl, Yu Fei lost his mood for studying. He put on his shoes and went out for a walk.
There were two ways to acquire talents: defeat or kill. The first gave random results; the second, the best.
But in today's society, where martial arts reigned and the Martial Management Bureau kept watch, killing was out of the question.
Hands clasped behind his back, Yu Fei wandered the scorching neighborhood.
The Fate-Reversing Pearl granted him a special sight: above each living being's head hovered a diamond-shaped gem, its color revealing their best talent.
Out on the street, he watched the passing crowds. Most had nothing above their heads—ordinary people, talentless NPCs.
Occasionally, a passerby bore a gray or white gem.
After ten minutes and hundreds of people, he finally spotted a green.
But how was he supposed to defeat someone?He couldn't just walk up and start beating people!
An hour of sunlight left him even more irritable. He went home to nap.
That evening, still restless, Yu Fei strolled the neighborhood aimlessly. No plan came to him.
"Meow~"
A cat's cry sounded ahead.
The complex had more than a dozen strays—some docile, some fierce. Personalities varied wildly.
Yu Fei looked up. It was a tabby cat.
It weighed at least fifteen pounds, not fat but solid, with a muscular frame.
And then—
"What?!"
On its head gleamed a noble blue gem.
By the pearl's classification, this tabby was a one-in-a-thousand feline genius.
"You'll do."
The thought struck him like lightning.
After all, living beings didn't just mean humans.
Beating up people was illegal. Beating up a cat might make him a weirdo—but being weird wasn't against the law.
Decision made, Yu Fei strode toward the tabby.