However, Ji Xiu had not long left the Lin Residence and was about to pass through the grimy alleyway—a place of overflowing sewage that led to his own dilapidated, mud-yellow hovel.
It was then that he saw a figure rushing toward him, taking several strides in one.
"Ji Xiu! Ji Xiu!"
Hearing the commotion, Ji Xiu stopped in his tracks, looking at the panting, buzz-cut youth with straw-yellow hair who had run up to him.
The newcomer was named Zhang Qing. He was the sixth child in his family, with five older, married sisters, so he was also known as 'Little Sixth.'
He was one of the few people Ji Xiu, a destitute and down-on-his-luck resident of the slums, actually knew.
Before awakening his Innate Wisdom, they had been childhood playmates.
After losing his own parents this past year, Ji Xiu had received no small amount of help from Zhang Qing's family.
So, even though his heart was surging with excitement from having achieved Bone Marrow and becoming a Martial Artist, Ji Xiu didn't forget his roots and greeted him with a smile.
"Little Sixth, have you eaten?"
He was in a good mood and was about to joke around a bit, but in the next second, a sentence from Zhang the Sixth made Ji Xiu's smile freeze. His grip on the handle of his Wooden Blade suddenly tightened.
"Forget eating! Just hurry and come with me!"
Little Sixth rubbed his straw-yellow scalp and stomped his foot in agitation.
"A steward from the Fire Kiln—I don't know what's gotten into him—is dead set on making trouble for your family! He's insisting on collecting an 'autumn rent,' and no one can stop him. He says if you can't pay, he's going to take your sister away!"
"You sold yourself to the Lin Residence, leaving your sister Ji Wei all alone. This is just blatant bullying! They're trying to prey on a family with no one left to defend it!"
'Collecting rent!'
Ji Xiu's eyes turned cold as he instantly recalled this matter.
The Fire Kiln was a general term for a business that encompassed many trades, including coal mining, iron forging, and smelting.
It was the epitome of a massive industry.
It provided a livelihood for countless ordinary families.
Along with the Chai Market, the Cattle and Sheep Market, and the various venues and shops run by underground gangs, it formed the economic backbone of the entire five-hundred-li Anning County.
But this was no charity.
For instance, the dilapidated street where Ji Xiu lived was an 'asset' the Fire Kiln had purchased from the Government Office. It was simply rented out to poor households like his as a place to live. If you didn't work for the Fire Kiln, you had to pay rent.
Otherwise, you wouldn't even have a place to live.
But rent had always been paid once a year. What sense did it make to collect an additional 'autumn rent'?
'Do they really think this is the Spring and Autumn Biannual Tax decreed by the Government Office?!'
Hearing this, Ji Xiu didn't slow down, running all the way to the gate of his own wicker-fenced yard.
There, he saw a crowd of onlookers had gathered, their heads bobbing as they stared at the drafty, thatched-roof hut.
"The little Ji girl has really run into trouble. Her brother sold himself to the Lin Residence and doesn't have to worry about food or drink, but she's the one left to suffer."
"Collecting rent is one thing, but putting on a show like this... it's obvious someone is trying to prey on a defenseless family. Either that, or her brother offended a steward from the Fire Kiln!"
"A few nights ago, I heard her brother making some strange noises. Sounded like he was grinding a Wooden Blade? What can you possibly accomplish with a worthless Wooden Blade? It was so noisy it kept people from getting a good night's sleep!"
"They're already that poor, and he's still chasing unrealistic dreams."
"And Old Man Shuanzhi from the Zhang Family, too. He's always been too kind, insisting on walking right into the line of fire…"
Amidst the whispers,
two cold snorts could be heard.
"Old uncle, you're getting on in years and you've worked at the Fire Kiln for so long. I won't make things difficult for you. Just get out of the way."
"Let me be clear. I'm collecting an autumn rent of three taels of silver from Ji Wei. You're not going to pay it for her, are you?"
The man in red, Qiao Jin, who had a rather intimidating tattoo on his face, stood with his arms crossed.
The simple-looking man tugging at his sleeve, his face a picture of honesty, was stunned by the mention of "three taels of silver" and spoke hesitantly:
"B-But... hasn't the rent always been two or three hundred large coins? How can it be..."
Hearing this, Qiao Jin impatiently kicked out, sending the man tumbling into the muddy, yellow earth. After he rolled a couple of times, Qiao Jin spat.
"Annoying pest. I say how much it is, and that's how much it is!"
"Move it!"
Hearing the order, the few ruffians behind him advanced menacingly on the little girl, who was trembling and clutching the dilapidated wooden door.
"Little girl, you've got bad luck."
Qiao Jin let out a sinister laugh.
"Someone wants to teach your family a lesson, to put you in your place."
"Your brother doesn't know his place, so you'll just have to be the one to suffer for it."
"You... you people..."
As the setting sun cast its final rays, Ji Wei's little face was pale with fright. She glanced at Uncle Shuanzhi, who was covered in mud on the ground, and wanted to go help him up.
But she was too scared of these men and could only retreat, clutching the hem of her clothes...
However, at that very moment!
SPLAT!
The sound of splashing mud and sand suddenly rang out.
"Since when was I aware I'd offended someone?"
Shoving aside the crowd of villagers, Ji Xiu kicked the wicker fence open and leaped forward in great strides, his gaze as cold as the early spring dew, heavy with frost.
Anyone who met his eyes couldn't help but shiver involuntarily!
'How has this Ji Xiu changed so much? He's like a different person.' Those who had known him for years were inwardly astonished.
Is this,
the same sallow-faced, emaciated Ji Xiu who used to be nothing but skin and bones?!
And behind Ji Xiu, Little Sixth, whose face had turned crimson with rage at seeing his father kicked to the ground, was utterly stunned as he watched Ji Xiu charge in without a moment's hesitation, Wooden Blade in hand.
As his childhood playmate,
he had never seen this side of Ji Xiu before!
"Brother!"
Tears welled in the corners of Ji Wei's eyes, but they turned to tears of joyous surprise the moment she saw Ji Xiu.
Meanwhile, a chill ran down Qiao Jin's spine. His heart sank, and he immediately tightened his grip on the sheathed blade at his waist, whirling around.
Only then did he realize... that behind him was just a 'paper tiger' in cloth robes, holding a Wooden Blade.
He instantly relaxed and laughed.
"You put on a pretty good show of bravado,"
"but that's just a worthless Wooden Blade..."
His gaze suddenly turned fierce.
"I've practiced the blade for years and only just barely Entered the Realm! Do you think you're a Martial Artist who has Entered the Realm?!"
"No wonder that 'brother' from the residence asked me to teach you a good lesson."
"You really don't know the rules."
"Originally, I was just going to collect three taels of rent and teach you a lesson, and that would have been the end of it. I wasn't going to make things hard on the little girl. But now..."
"This won't be over without five taels!"
'The residence?'
Ji Xiu furrowed his brow. In an instant, his thoughts raced, and he quickly locked onto a suspect.
'The Inner House Steward in charge of the stables, the one who wears that long, blue brocade robe!'
'His repeated, subtle provocations, and his deliberate targeting of me...'
Ji Xiu recalled the incident with Lin Ruyue's startled horse when he first entered the residence, and for some reason, he connected the two events.
'This is aimed at me!'
His expression darkened. He helped Little Sixth's father, Uncle Shuanzhi, up from the mud, a look of apology in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Uncle."
He entrusted the man to the anxious-looking Little Sixth behind him, then turned without hesitation and advanced, dragging his blade.
"Only when the granaries are full do people learn etiquette; only when they are well-fed and clothed do they know honor and shame."
If his blade skills were not yet complete,
he would have endured it.
After all,
the character for 'endurance' has a knife above it. A little humiliation is nothing compared to one's life.
But...
today was different!
"Hurry and stop your Brother Ji! He's just a hot-headed youth! How would he know that a Fire Kiln Steward has to be a Martial Artist to hold the position?!"
"He... he..."
Uncle Shuanzhi, covered in yellow mud and so battered his back was bent, saw this and anxiously shoved his son, Zhang the Sixth.
"Brother Ji, stop! That's a Fire Kiln Steward! We can't afford to provoke him!"
Little Sixth reached out to grab him but missed Ji Xiu's sleeve.
And his Wooden Blade was already thrust forward.
At that moment,
the few ruffians trailing Qiao Jin burst into roaring laughter.
"A worthless Wooden Blade against a real one?"
"This kid must have practiced his blade work until he went crazy!"
"Brother Qiao, teach him a lesson!"
The crowd jeered.
Outside the wicker fence, the villagers shook their heads one by one.
However, Qiao Jin, who had been smiling, thinking the boy had lost his mind and paying him no heed, slapped out with a large palm, intending to block the Wooden Blade directly.
But the instant he made contact with the Wooden Blade, his expression changed.
"Wait, you...?"
When the edgeless Wooden Blade—a mere sword-blank that used Force as its edge—smashed into his arm,
Qiao Jin felt something that should have been impossible for the Ji Family's Son to possess.
That something... was called 'Sword Force'!
In that instant, instinctively,
his muscles drove his Qi and Blood. The moment Qiao Jin sensed danger, he tried to channel Force into his palm to resist.
But it was too late.
CRACK!
The Sword Force had already penetrated his arm.
His strong Flesh, Bone, and Skin, like a deflating leather ball, immediately went limp at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The pain caused the imposing Fire Kiln Steward...
...to drop violently to one knee!
At the same time,
he clutched his other limp, paralyzed arm, cold sweat pouring down his face as he grit his teeth against the pain.
Under the dumbfounded stares of the crowd, a vein throbbed on his forehead. He forced his head up, his lips trembling.
"Ji Family's Son..."
"You... you..."
"You've mastered Sword Force... and become a Martial Artist?!"
One sentence!
In an instant,
silence fell both inside and outside the wicker fence.
In this mud-caked alley, not a single Martial Artist had emerged in three generations.
And today...
you're saying that the Ji Family's Son... actually did it?!