7.
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{Name: Yang Ze}
{Realm: Qi Condensing}
{XP: 300/300}
{Technique: Seaheart Art First Layer}+
{Martial Arts: Black Tiger Blade Technique 'Small Accomplishment'} [0/300]+
{Efficiency: 100 XP/day}
{Level: 1} (0/10 spirit stones needed to upgrade)
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It's been three days since he reached Small accomplishment in the Black Tiger Blade Technique. During these three days, he had gotten extremely proficient in using it. One could say that it has almost become his habit now.
Looking at the 300 XP, he was torn between the choices he had.
Upgrading Seaheart Art means an overall improvement while upgrading the Black Tiger Blade Technique means reaching the level that only a few in the family were able to achieve. Both of them were able to give him a boost in his strength. As for what the most suitable choice was, he was still pondering it.
This lasted for a good hour or two before Yang Ze made up his mind. Gritting his teeth he finally decided to upgrade the Seaheart Art first. Even though the Black Tiger Blade Technique was good, for the current him who was living in the safety of the Yang family, it didn't seem to matter much.
Besides, one's own realm was much more important than the mastery of martial arts.
Imagine the scenario where two guys began practising at the same time. One guy goes on to improve his Black Tiger Blade Technique while another guy goes on to improve his realm. A few decades later, both of them have reached their pinnacle and are ready to fight. But before the Black Tiger Blade mastery guy could even do anything, the other guy just waved his hand and squashed him to death...
Though the martial arts were important, the realm was even more important. Without it, anyone with a higher realm could squash the other party to death.
After making up his mind, he pushed the '+' behind the Seaheart Art. As soon as he pushed the sign, the ray of qi inside his body suddenly started growing at a pace visible to the naked eye.
For other people, this was a gradual process of slowly nourishing the qi and increasing it over the course of time, but for him, it all just happened in an instant. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already over.
Yang Ze felt a warm current that was slowly circulating inside his body. In both of his life, this was the first time he felt something moving inside his body. It felt weird and creepy at first, but after realizing he could control it, Yang Ze relaxed a lot.
The realm after Qi Condensing is known as Qi Guiding. In this realm, one is able to control the Qi and slowly nourish his body with it.
Right now his sense of smell, his eyesight, and his reaction time were far superior compared to before. So much so, that for a moment he was awestruck. He could hear the distant chirping of birds and insects along with the muffled noise and waves of laughter of the servants. Gazing across the room, he could even see an ant that was at the furthest corner of the room. As for the smell... He raised his nose, sniffing around him but the moment he did, he furrowed his brows.
He didn't know how or since when he could perceive the difference in smells. It was as if he could tell which scent belonged to whom. A moment ago when he raised his nose and inhaled deeply, he could feel the familiar scent of the Old Xie standing right outside his house.
Holding his breath still, Yang Ze stood in the place staring at the door. Now that he was fully paying attention, he could hear the faint sound of breathing outside the door. For ordinary people or even the people in the Qi condensing stage, this was imperceivable.
"Second young master."
Sure enough, the voice of old Xie came from the outside.
Opening the door, Yang Ze looked at the old man who was standing there silently. Even though he didn't show it, Yang Ze could perceive the hesitation on his face.
"What happened?"
Since his exile from the main manor, Old Xie has been in charge of his daily life. Other than providing meals, they both rarely talk to each other. To the current Yang Ze, the old Xie in front of him was familiar yet extremely unfamiliar.
"This old slave just bought an order from the Patriarch."
After hesitating for a moment, he took out a sealed letter before respectfully giving it to Yang Ze. After that, he gave him one last bow and took his leave.
Yang Ze first looked at his departing back and then at the sealed letter in confusion. After hesitating for a while, he opened the letter and took a look at the content inside.
"In the monthly family meeting, it has been decided that the second son of the current patriarch Yang Yuanzhen is hereby appointed as the steward of the Darati City textiles industries."
'Heh.'
The moment he saw the content, Yang Ze immediately knew what it was about. With a smirk, he kept on reading.
"Yang Ze is hereby ordered to leave for Darati City within a week by the orders of Patriarch Yang Yuanzhen and the family elders."
Yang Ze stood there quietly for a long time. Even though he knew this day would come sooner or later, he didn't expect it to arrive this soon. After all, asking a sixteen-year-old to take care of textiles wasn't the smartest thing to do.
But this thought lasted only for a brief moment before he broke out in a smile. He was still judging this world by his previous world's standards.
Staying here and living his day in peace was his wishful thinking. The family didn't hesitate to throw him out. For the current him, the identity of the second young master was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in case of getting comfort and resources without doing anything. A curse because he would be the first one to bear the brunt if anything went wrong.
"If I decided to show off my progress, I can compete for the quota to join the academy."
Murmuring to himself, this was the first idea that came to his mind. The Xuanwu Martial Academy would visit this city after six months. By that time, even he himself wasn't sure how much he would progress. At that time, he could easily show off his talent and join the academy.
"But....."
Taking a deep breath he went into deep thoughts.
Every family in the city only has one quota. If he decided to join the academy, he would automatically use up the quota from the Yang family.
For him who had a plug-in, this would be an easy outcome. Yet there wasn't a trace of happiness on his face.
If he joined by his own efforts and hard work, he wouldn't mind it in the slightest, yet he himself knew about his own talent and aptitude. It would be extremely unfair to others who worked hard for decades just for this single chance. Though his elder brother Yang Hai was the most talented and gifted person, everyone knew how much blood and tears he had spilt during the past fourteen years. Unlike Yang Ze his success didn't come overnight but was built step by step.
"Forget it, I am not going to participate in it."
He didn't want to owe this family any more favours. After making up his mind, Yang Ze breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulder. He didn't necessarily need the Xuanwu Academy to get stronger. As for the matter of exploring this strange new world... he would have plenty of time to do it later. With this, he walked out with a smile on his face.
"After four days, I will depart for the Darati City."
With a relaxed tone, Yang Ze spoke to the old Xie who was standing outside the door, surprising him greatly. Old Xie was expecting a tantrum or even protest, but everything happened rather peacefully. After a pause, Yang Ze continued. "Prepare the necessary items for the travel."
"As you wish second young master."
After a bow, old Xie left for the main house.
.....
"Hey, did you hear the news about the second young master?"
"Yes, but I still don't know if it's true or not."
The news of Yang Ze leaving for a remote piece of property spread like wildfire in the entire Yang family.
Some people were gloating, some were taking pleasure in his misfortune while others were making jokes about him. Yet, in the family, there were many who were secretly lamenting the sad fate of the second young master. For many of them, it was a living example of how one's fate can be changed in an instant. Even the second son of the patriarch wasn't spared, so it wouldn't be difficult to imagine their future in case they didn't make any progress.
Days passed in a flash.
Three days later, Yang Ze was sitting on a bamboo chair outside his house in the shade of a tree. Contrary to others' beliefs, his mood wasn't gloomy or upset. Right now he was staring at the transparent screen in front of him with a smile.
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{Name: Yang Ze}
{Realm: Qi Guiding}
{XP: 300/500}
{Technique: Seaheart Art Second Layer}
{Martial Arts: Black Tiger Blade Technique 'Small Accomplishment'} [0/300] +
{Efficiency: 100 XP/day}
{Level: 1} (0/10 spirit stones needed to upgrade)
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Looking at the '+' sign, he finally laughed for a long time before clicking on it.