[You obtained cultivation techniques, martial skills, and a large sum of money]

[You took out three cultivation manuals and examined them carefully]

[Cultivation techniques are graded from low to high: third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, top-tier, and sect-defining techniques]

[The two third-rate Skin Refining manuals were immediately tossed back into your storage space]

["Common trash, not worth mentioning!"]

[You turned your attention to the Bone Tempering technique - the Golden Saber Technique]

[The Golden Saber Technique was the prized treasure of the Golden Saber Martial Arts School, a first-rate technique]

[The reason the Golden Saber Martial Arts School ranked second among all martial schools in Xian'an County was precisely because of this manual]

[You decided to cultivate the Golden Saber Technique - its fierce and powerful nature perfectly suited your needs for Bone Tempering]

["Hehehe... When the time comes to use this technique to wipe out the Golden Saber School Master's family, just thinking about it excites me!"]

[You could also practice the second-rate movement skill Cloud Treading Steps as a backup - if you couldn't win a fight, at least you could escape]

[You planned to quietly leave the Golden Saber Martial Arts School and find a secluded place to cultivate]

[Once you mastered these techniques, you'd reappear and give them a good scare]

[You left your room and arrived at the school's entrance]

[The gatekeeper, who had been instructed not to let you leave freely, stopped you]

[Your eyes darted around as you claimed you were going to buy osmanthus cakes for Wang Yulin's favorite treat]

[The gatekeeper still refused to let you pass, leading to a standoff]

[Seeing no progress, you were about to give up and consider sneaking out through the dog hole at night]

[Another gatekeeper who couldn't stand watching intervened - he knew you were Wang Yulin's devoted admirer and that Wang Yuanyi would beat you up]

[Feeling some sympathy, he let you go, reminding you to return early]

["I'll definitely be back!" you nodded vigorously]

[After leaving, you bought a fast horse and rode day and night, putting great distance between yourself and Xian'an County, arriving at neighboring Yanggu County]

[You were in the Great Qian Nation, occupying the wealthy southern regions]

[To the north lay the larger but poorer Jin Yue Nation]

[The two nations had been warring for centuries, becoming sworn enemies]

[Below the national level were provinces, counties, and villages]

[In Yanggu County, you found the best blacksmith shop in town]

[You requested the smith use the finest materials to forge you the sharpest longsword]

[You needed it to practice the Golden Saber Technique]

[The smith agreed, asking you to return in half a month]

[Unwilling to wait, you demanded it in three days]

[The smith insisted a fortnight was tradition, unchanged since his great-grandfather's time]

[Without another word, you added fifty taels of silver]

[The smith immediately made a decision that betrayed his ancestors: "Return in three days for your peerless treasure blade!"]

[You stayed at an inn where the warm, comfortable room was infinitely better than the drafty thatched hut from your previous life's village]

[You began attempting martial cultivation but felt an intangible restraint, as if not fully adapted to this body]

[After two frustrating days of this sensation, you were completely baffled]

[On the second night, you secretly returned to your previous life's Stone Cave Village]

[You paid respects to your former parents]

[As you prepared to leave, you discovered your former neighbor - an elderly man and his five-year-old granddaughter - were starving to death]

[The little girl used to follow you around calling you "big brother" and loved playing with you]

[The pair had gone days without food, too weak to flee the famine]

[With your current wealth and resources, you left them a hundred taels and a large roasted chicken before slipping away]

[Thinking deities had blessed them, the pair knelt crying and worshiping toward the dark sky]

[At that moment, you felt a weight lift - the intangible restraint vanished completely]

[Looking up, you seemed to understand something]

[Without lingering, you returned to the inn overnight]

[Resuming cultivation, everything now flowed smoothly]

[You cultivated through the night until the next afternoon]

[Though you hadn't condensed true qi yet, you'd grasped the fundamentals]

[At the smithy, you collected your expensive longsword]

[The blade proved incredibly sharp and resilient - you named it "Cry of the Swan Goose"]

[The smith included a delicate dagger made from leftover materials]

[Seeing he'd had time for this extra, you realized you'd overpaid those fifty taels]

[But satisfied with your sword, you didn't dwell on it]

[Leaving Yanggu County, you rode south to distance yourself from the Golden Saber School and avoid Wang Yuanyi]

[Along the way, you encountered many refugees - entire families starving]

[They shied away from a mounted traveler like you, knowing only important people rode horses]

[After days of hard riding covering over a thousand li, you finally abandoned your horse to blend with refugees]

[Unlike the starving masses, food was never your concern]

[Each night you secretly ate well from your storage space, maintaining peak condition]

[After two days with the refugees, you reached a sparsely populated village]

[With only about a dozen widely-spaced households, you decided to stay]

[You approached one family - an elderly couple and their unmarried thirty-something son]

[For three measures of coarse rice, they explained the village situation]

[Willow Tree Village currently had seventeen households with many abandoned homes]

[You chose a dilapidated house with a small courtyard, not far from the elderly couple]

[After repairs, your thatched shack became a countryside mansion]

[You even planted a peach tree that brought life to the courtyard]

[Living reclusively, you devoted yourself daily to martial cultivation behind high walls]

[Through persistent practice of the Golden Saber Technique, you gradually mastered the Cry of the Swan Goose]

[After six months of cultivation supplemented with medicinal baths, you generated your first wisp of true qi]

[You had officially begun your martial path]

[Your physical abilities noticeably improved - boundless energy and strength]

[You could now easily lift hundred-pound millstones with one hand]

[Against six or seven ordinary men, you'd emerge victorious without trouble]

[Though not yet at early Skin Refining stage, you knew reaching it was only a matter of time]

[In high spirits, you made a rare outing]

[After necessary shopping at the nearest market]

[You returned to find the elderly couple's bachelor son waiting outside]

[Over these months, you'd learned about their family]

[Their son, Miao Jiayao, thirty-two, remained unmarried due to poverty]

[Seeing you never worked yet lacked nothing, they guessed your wealth]

[Recognizing your extraordinary bearing, they kept their distance - until today]

[Based on experience, when long-lost contacts suddenly appear, they want money]

[But to your surprise, Miao Jiayao wasn't here to borrow]

[The elderly couple had adopted a thirteen-year-old girl and invited you to witness the occasion]

[Puzzled, you wondered why this struggling family would take in another mouth to feed]