Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Adults Are So Complicated
It was the same commercial street.
The same milk tea shop.
And the same Yang Shen, staring blankly from behind the counter in his work uniform.
’An early death? How could Xu Bamboo die young?’
At 17, she was already in the Marrow Refining Realm—the most talented person Yang Shen knew. As long as she took the college entrance exams normally, getting into a top Martial Arts University was a sure thing. Reaching the Innate realm before graduation would be a piece of cake.
Afterward, whether she used her advanced Martial Certificate to find a good job, or took things a step further by joining the Yanhua Official forces, a major corporation, or even participating in Exotic Realm exploration—her future should have been a path paved with success.
But how could someone like that have her journey cut short?
’According to the common understanding on Cyan Blue, didn’t that mean she only had a year left to live?’
A future paved with success, coming to an abrupt halt in the prime of her youth at seventeen...
Yang Shen gritted his teeth. His first thought was of the problematic Liu Yuankui. ’Could his "Swordsmanship" technique be flawed? Could it have ruined Xu Bamboo’s body?’
But he immediately dismissed the idea. ’A Life Chart isn’t the same as one’s physical condition.’
Just as getting injured right now wouldn’t change his own "Life of Labor and Struggle" Life Chart.
Whether as a high school senior or as a Cultivator who had just grasped the reins of his own destiny, he knew a Life Chart was something far more profound than he could currently comprehend.
Yang Shen subconsciously clenched his fists, feeling the enhancement brought by Cultivation.
He had already grasped the key to his destiny, but he hadn’t had time to move anything out of the treasure vault it unlocked. He had only managed a glimpse of what lay inside.
He didn’t know the reason for Xu Bamboo’s early demise, but he understood one thing clearly: his own strength was still insufficient!
’Besides,’ Yang Shen thought, ’I need to change how I manage my time.’
He had already verified the effectiveness of the *Guiding Technique* during the day; he could improve just by sitting there. Continuing to work at the milk tea shop for several hours a day was definitely a disadvantage.
Before, he couldn’t make much progress without injections, so it was better to work and ease his family’s financial burden. But now, he truly had a better option...
Risking the college entrance exams for a little over ten yuan an hour was undoubtedly a case of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
So, when his shift ended, he formally submitted his resignation to the manager.
"Quitting? You sure?"
The manager was a thirty-year-old man named Wang Lin. When Yang Shen found him, he was smoking in the alley behind the shop.
Yang Shen nodded. "The college entrance exams are in three months. I want to focus on my studies."
Wang Lin glanced at Yang Shen and said flatly, "You came looking for a job over a month ago. You didn’t know you had exams then?"
Yang Shen was at a loss for words. "My situation has changed a bit," he could only say. "I want to give it one more push."
Wang Lin exhaled a puff of smoke, showing no emotion. "Whatever. It’s just a part-time gig. I only took you on because I saw you were in a pinch for money. Business at this dump is what it is; one less person won’t make a difference."
"But... you need to think it through. Some things, if they’re not in the cards for you, you have to accept it. It’s pointless to keep jumping for something you can’t reach. You might even take a hard fall."
Yang Shen didn’t quite understand.
Wang Lin let out a derisive snort, but it didn’t seem directed at Yang Shen. It was as if he were mocking himself.
"The closer the exams get, the fiercer the competition. Missing three months of work is a small thing, but you can’t miss three months of injections. All the various potions, injections, and gym tutoring sessions cost a fortune. Are you going to take out a loan for that? Have you ever thought that even if you give it your all, you might just end up saddled with an even heavier burden?"
’Back then, he’d thought the same thing: give it his all.’
’And now, at thirty, he was just a milk tea shop manager... For some things, giving it your all might mean spending ten years paying off the debt.’
After speaking, he patted Yang Shen’s shoulder. "I’ll transfer you today’s wages. No need to come in tomorrow."
Wang Lin started to walk away.
The young man’s voice came from behind him. "Manager, thank you for hiring me back then. I’ve taken what you said today to heart, too. I appreciate all your help during this time, for teaching me how to make milk tea."
...
"But... I still want to give it my all."
The manager’s steps faltered for a moment. Then, with the cigarette between his fingers, he waved his hand dismissively and opened the back door to enter the milk tea shop.
A few minutes later, as Yang Shen was on his way home, his phone vibrated.
’My wages must have arrived,’ he thought. Even though it was only a few dozen yuan, having grown up terrified of poverty, he immediately took out his phone to check.
That’s just how it is when you’re dirt poor. You have to double-check even a two-digit deposit.
"...Transfer Confirmation: Received 824 yuan..."
Yang Shen: ?
At the same time, he received a text message.
"Manager: Your wage was actually 15 yuan an hour. I was taking a five-yuan cut as a finder’s fee."
Yang Shen: ???
He felt a surge of emotion. It was as if Cyan Blue had started spinning backward, as if the equator had shifted!
He hadn’t even decided whether to call and curse out the old-timer when the manager sent another message. It was just four words.
"Keep it up, kid."
Yang Shen stared at the message for a moment, then sighed.
’The world of adults is so complicated...’
’Adults, too.’
But there was one thing he did understand: he had an extra 800 yuan, a "windfall."
Yang Shen clutched his phone, its screen scarred with cracks, and wondered how to spend this huge sum of money...
But after a moment, he sighed again and transferred 500 to his aunt.
’Money was tight everywhere at home. When you’re poor, you can’t just think about yourself; you have to think about family first.’
As for the remaining 300, he planned to add 100 to his meal card, give 100 to his two little sisters, and keep the last 100 to buy Xu Bamboo breakfast.
’He’d already made a bold promise this morning. It wouldn’t be right to just cast it aside now that the mission was complete.’
’I’ll buy it for at least a week... That way, I’ll feel less guilty about drinking Xu Bamboo’s "Essence Liquid," and I can slurp it up with more vigor.’
This unexpected windfall was like a cup of clear water poured into a parched desert.
It was refined in an instant!
Yang Shen tightened the straps of his backpack and jogged back home.
---
His aunt was still at her night shift, and his two little sisters were already asleep.
Yang Shen changed his shoes in the dark. A thought suddenly struck him... ’Maybe Yang Mo and Yang Man have been so quiet and withdrawn lately because they have no one to keep them company.’
’Their father—his uncle—had passed away, leaving the two girls at a fragile, sensitive age. Yet, he and their aunt, the older ones, had no time to comfort them. For all he knew, their little minds were running wild with anxious thoughts.’
’Unfortunately, neither he nor their aunt had the time. They were both busy, struggling in their own ways.’
Yang Shen thought to himself, ’Now that I’m not working at the milk tea shop, even though I still need to focus on Cultivation, at least I’ll be home. I can find some time to talk more with my two little sisters.’
His sisters were sleeping in the bedroom, so Yang Shen decided to cultivate in the living room. After a moment’s thought, he sat right down on the floor.
The *Qi Cultivation Guiding Technique* stated that while Cultivation wasn’t picky about posture, meditation was a relatively better method as it helped quiet the mind and condense one’s qi.
Yang Shen mimicked the posture from the Cultivation Technique: he sat in a full lotus position, aligning his brow, eyes, nose, and heart in a straight line. His hands formed a hollow circle like a moon, hovering slightly above his navel.
The posture was a bit difficult, especially to hold for a long time, but it was no challenge for a Martial Arts High School student in the "Skin Refining Realm." Yang Shen’s two years of hard work had not been in vain.
Perhaps because of the dead of night, Yang Shen entered the state much faster than he had in the classroom during the day. As the Cultivation Technique circulated, the "source"—not abundant in the air, but widely present—was guided into his body, bit by bit.
’According to the *Guiding Technique*, the effects would be better in a place with a richer "source"... For Cultivators, such a place would probably become a contested ’treasure land,’ but things are different on Cyan Blue...’
’Because Martial Artists can’t directly absorb the "source," these places are usually production areas for "Rich Source Foods," mining districts, and the like... They might even have cheaper housing and land prices due to a lack of supporting infrastructure.’
’Unfortunately, not only am I broke, but my Cultivation level is too low to tell the difference. I’d need to reach at least the third layer of Qi Cultivation to sense variations in the "Spiritual Qi" in the air...’
Yang Shen had set his Martial Arts Watch to silent mode, but detection messages kept popping up on it.
[Qi and Blood Value +0.1]
[Qi and Blood Value +0.1]
[Qi and Blood Value +0.1]...
On average, it increased by about 1 point per hour. In theory, he could gain eight or nine points overnight.
But the *Guiding Technique* said that Cultivation must be gradual. Depending on their constitution, a beginner couldn’t just sit there and ascend on the spot like a perpetual motion machine. Everyone had their limits.
Yang Shen hadn’t hit his limit before, but this time he did.
Five hours... Cultivating for five hours a day was his current limit.
His Qi and Blood Value increased by 5 points.
But after five hours, not only did he feel mentally exhausted, but his efficiency also dropped drastically. If he forced himself to continue, he might even get injured.
At four in the morning, Yang Shen wearily stood up and stretched his arms and legs.
In one night, he gained 5 points of Qi and Blood Value... bringing his total to 75.3.
Within a week, he would have a chance to begin Bone Training!
’Time to take off!’
Yang Shen squeezed his fists and thought, ’This is amazing. It’s four in the morning, and I’m not even sleepy... If anything, my legs are just numb from sitting. I feel like doing a set of punches to loosen up.’
’Cultivation and meditation can actually replace sleep?’
This was probably "common knowledge for Cultivators," so basic that even the *Guiding Technique* didn’t mention it. He had figured it all out on his own.
But Yang Shen wasn’t happy about it at all.
He immediately and miserably pulled out his phone and sent a message to his manager, Wang Lin: "Manager, I’ve changed my mind. Can I come back to work tomorrow..."
If he didn’t need to sleep and could only cultivate for five hours, he had plenty of time. Why did he have to quit?!
He thought Wang Lin wouldn’t see the message until the morning, but for some reason, the manager was still awake and replied instantly.
"Get lost."
Yang Shen: ...
---
Lesson number one about adults.
Don’t be in a hurry to quit without a foolproof plan!
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