"Nine hundred ninety-nine!"
"One thousand!"
Finally… he reached one thousand.
"Haah… haah…"
Qin Yi gasped for breath, yet an unprecedented radiant smile blossomed across his face.
He did it.
Something he once believed was completely impossible… he had actually accomplished.
"Hehe…"
Thinking about it, Qin Yi couldn't help but giggle happily.
Old Huang watched Datou and nodded with satisfaction.
Although the boy was still young, he already possessed such tenacious perseverance.
This little fellow was truly remarkable.
Old Huang only sighed inwardly for a moment. Then, without paying attention to Qin Yi's reaction, he immediately performed his usual three-step routine—massage, soup, and couch.
Lying on the couch, Qin Yi quickly calmed his excited emotions and began performing the Rejuvenation Secret Method to restore his strength.
Less than fifteen minutes later, when Qin Yi fully recovered and stood up again, the red glow of the setting sun had already spread across the entire courtyard.
Seeing that Datou had recovered, Qin Xu said,
"Alright. Today's lesson is over. Put down the wooden sword and go home."
Qin Yi looked at the wooden sword with reluctance and pleaded,
"Young Master, may I take this wooden sword home? I'll continue practicing whenever I have time."
Qin Xu sighed inwardly.
This is exactly what I was afraid of.
He had asked Datou to leave the sword here precisely to prevent this.
With Datou's ordinary bone foundation, if he practiced extra without drinking the Nourishing Essence Soup, even just once or twice a day, his body could be ruined.
Then how could he continue cultivating martial arts?
"No!" Qin Xu said firmly. "Datou, once you leave here, you are not allowed to practice martial arts. Understood?"
"I understand."
Seeing Qin Xu's serious expression, Qin Yi nodded helplessly and slowly placed the wooden sword down with obvious reluctance.
Seeing Datou's depressed expression, Qin Xu patiently advised him:
"Datou, you're still young. When it's time to study, focus on studying. When it's time to play, focus on playing. When it's time to train, concentrate on training. And when it's time to live, live wholeheartedly. Do you understand?"
In the end, Qin Xu couldn't bring himself to tell the cruel truth—that Datou's bones were merely mortal bones, and without resources he couldn't practice martial arts.
Instead, he used another explanation to guide him.
But wasn't this also Qin Xu speaking from the heart?
Youth was such a short and precious time.
How could it be spent only studying and training?
Children deserved the right to play with other children.
Even if that time was greatly reduced, it shouldn't disappear completely.
Perhaps one day, it would become the most beautiful memory of your life.
"Yes, I understand, Young Master."
When Old Huang returned after seeing Datou off, he looked at Qin Xu and sighed with emotion.
"Young Master, you treat Datou very well."
Qin Xu shook his head and explained,
"This is also to cultivate his martial will."
"You know as well as I do, Old Huang. Condensing the martial will of the Yuanwu Path is different from the literary and martial paths. It cannot rely on visualization diagrams, making it a hundred times more difficult."
"Although Datou's comprehension is exceptional, he is still young. If he knew his bone foundation was poor and lost confidence…"
"…he might never be able to condense martial will in his lifetime and truly step onto the martial path."
After leaving the western courtyard of the village, Qin Yi looked at the two new skills that had appeared on his game panel. He happily hopped and skipped along the path, humming a countryside lullaby that Aunt Zhen used to sing to help him fall asleep as a child.
Soon he entered his yard.
"Gensheng!"
When Qin Yi saw Wang Gensheng, he immediately called out happily.
But then he suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday.
His smile disappeared. He snorted and turned his head away.
"Didn't you say I was a big liar? Then why did you come to my house?"
When Wang Gensheng saw Datou, a smile immediately appeared on his face as well.
When he heard Datou call his name with surprise, he instantly realized something—
Datou hadn't actually been angry about yesterday.
But seeing Datou turn away angrily again, he began doubting his judgment.
Aunt Zhen heard Datou's voice and came out of the kitchen, standing nearby to watch the scene.
Seeing the two boys acting awkwardly, she shook her head helplessly.
She walked over, crouched beside Wang Gensheng, and whispered in encouragement,
"Datou isn't angry. He's just embarrassed. If you apologize first, he'll forgive you immediately."
Hearing Aunt Zhen's words, Wang Gensheng gathered his courage and stepped forward to apologize.
As expected, Qin Yi quickly forgave him.
The two boys seemed to forget yesterday's unpleasantness completely and began playing together again with the unfinished bamboo house model Wang Gensheng had brought.
Zhuzi, who had enjoyed bragging earlier, became anxious when Datou didn't start talking about the amazing experiences at the western courtyard like before.
He hurried over and stood beside Qin Yi, smiling eagerly.
"Datou! Tell us what happened today in the western courtyard!"
When that topic was mentioned, Wang Gensheng also became excited.
This had become the hottest topic among the village children today.
Even Wang Gensheng—who rarely played with other kids—had heard several versions of the story.
At some point, Shuanzi quietly appeared and sat beside Qin Yi's other side, silently listening with his ears perked up.
He clearly intended to hear the first-hand version from Qin Yi himself.
"Today's experience…"
Qin Yi pretended to think seriously for a moment before shaking his head.
"Other than drinking Nourishing Essence Soup instead of breakfast and learning characters from the Young Master… nothing special happened."
"What? No new amazing story?" Zhuzi cried out in disappointment.
The same disappointment appeared in Wang Gensheng's and Shuanzi's eyes.
After all, in this remote and isolated mountain village, life rarely changed.
Every day was the same people and the same events.
Suddenly a mysterious and extraordinary Young Master had arrived in the village—and Qin Yi, someone they knew well, interacted with him closely every day and shared those experiences.
How could that not attract everyone's attention?
Seeing the disappointed expressions of the three boys, Qin Yi couldn't hold it in anymore.
He suddenly burst out laughing while clutching his stomach.
"I was lying! Hahaha!"
Datou really was a liar.
Wang Gensheng thought to himself.
But after what happened yesterday, he no longer felt angry about it.
Zhuzi, realizing there was still hope for a story, ignored the fact that Datou had tricked them and quickly asked,
"What happened then? Hurry up and tell us!"
This would be new bragging material for tomorrow.
Naturally, Zhuzi cared the most.
Shuanzi still sat quietly, but the disappointment in his eyes had turned back into anticipation.
Under the eager gazes of the three boys, Qin Yi deliberately built suspense before slowly speaking.
"Today… the Young Master officially started teaching me martial arts. You should have seen how incredible the Young Master was…"
After trimming and exaggerating parts of the story, Qin Yi finished telling them about the sword training.
At that moment, Qin Yong walked over and said,
"Datou, stop playing. Later you're coming with me to visit an elder."
"Okay, Father."
"This elder is called Uncle Ding by me. You should call him Grandpa Ding, understand?"
"Yes, Father."
(End of Chapter)