Chapter 51

The upcoming weekend was uneventful.

On Friday after school, Zhang Tie once again went to the Iron Thorn Combat Hall to serve as a human punching bag, albeit at the lowest level. Compared to two days ago, Zhang Tie, who had now reached the level of a First-Class Warrior, found it much easier to deal with that arrogant little brat, Andrew Benetta. During the entire training session, there were times when Zhang Tie could slightly control the rhythm, intentionally allowing Benetta's strikes to land on certain body parts he chose. Of course, most of the time, Zhang Tie would still pretend to be knocked down by the little brat to satisfy his vanity. After getting up, he would say, "Kaman, you're despicable," which would make the little brat's eyes turn red with anger and charge at him again.

To others, the part-time job at the combat hall was a tough gig, but for Zhang Tie, it was turning into a fun game—earning money, making the Iron Fruit mature faster, and improving his combat instincts. His steps became more agile, his reactions quicker, and his judgment of the opponent's attack intentions more accurate. As the one who was purely taking the hits, he could sometimes even take the initiative to control the rhythm of the fight.

That one-eyed man really did a good thing! Zhang Tie felt delighted.

And perhaps because of his better performance these two times, without fainting again, Zhang Tie felt his status at the combat hall had slightly improved. At least the two jerks in the equipment room no longer used him as a joke, betting on when he would faint again. When leaving the Iron Thorn Combat Hall, Manager Beck even encouraged him a bit and settled his weekly salary—three silver coins and forty copper coins. This was the first money Zhang Tie had ever earned in his life.

Zhang Tie tightly clutched the money in his pocket, and by the time he got home, it was already warm from being held. When he handed the money to his mother, seeing the surprised expressions of his parents, Zhang Tie felt extremely satisfied. Although the amount was small, his mother only took two silver coins, saying she would save them for Zhang Tie, and let him keep the rest for pocket money. But as the first contribution to the family with his own sweat and labor, Zhang Tie felt a great sense of happiness and pride.

On Saturday, Zhang Tie continued to help his mother make rice wine at home. With the future daughter-in-law's help, Zhang Tie's workload was much lighter. This future daughter-in-law was a hardworking and smart person, good at managing the household, and had no bad reputation. Over the past few days, she had gradually been accepted by the Zhang family and started to integrate into the family.

Watching his mother teach the future daughter-in-law the Zhang family's rice wine-making skills, Zhang Tie felt a sense of melancholy—his mother was getting older, and his time at home was becoming less and less...

The life of a common person is always filled with a mix of sweetness, bitterness, and hardship. On this Saturday, when Zhang Tie rode his ugly tricycle to the rice store, he found that the price of rice had gone up again. A 25-kilogram bag of ordinary rice had increased by three copper coins, now costing four silver coins and sixty-one copper coins per bag. Zhang Tie found the same price increase at several other places. Not only that, but he also noticed that the prices of other foods had risen slightly, with sugar prices increasing the most. Compared to rice, the price of coarse sugar had risen by more than 10% per kilogram, now exceeding one silver coin and ten copper coins per kilogram...

There was no choice but to buy it, gritting his teeth. The Zhang family's rice wine business had to raise prices, and once the prices went up, sales would definitely drop, making the small business less effective in supplementing the household income.

After hearing the news of the grain price increase, although his mother's expression didn't change much, the wrinkles on her forehead seemed deeper to Zhang Tie.

On Saturday evening, Zhang Tie planted a large patch of pumpkins on the land of the Black Iron Castle. The pumpkin seeds were from the pumpkins they had eaten at home recently. His thrifty mother had washed and dried them, storing them in the courtyard. After drying, these seeds could be stir-fried in a pot to make fragrant and delicious pumpkin seeds.

This time, Zhang Tie planted a lot of pumpkins, two large handfuls, with two to three hundred seeds. The rise in grain prices was one reason, but a more important reason was that Zhang Tie had discovered that the Black Iron Castle seemed particularly suitable for plant growth. In just one week, all the seeds he had planted in the Black Iron Castle had sprouted, including those given by Sister Teresa. All the plants were growing well, almost too well. The earliest planted potatoes and corn were growing fast, and the barren Black Iron Castle was beginning to show signs of vitality. The spiritual energy value in the Black Iron Castle was increasing rapidly every day. By this Saturday, the spiritual energy value in the Black Iron Castle had surpassed 70.

After throwing a bag of garbage from cleaning the house into the Chaos Pool and gaining a pitiful 0.1 basic energy, Zhang Tie, who had finished clearing the land in the Black Iron Castle, checked the small tree. The maturity progress of the Iron Fruit had reached halfway, and it seemed that after two more beatings, it would be ready to eat. The second Unleak Fruit would also be ripe by Thursday night next week. This small tree had become the greatest source of confidence for Zhang Tie in this era.

Leaving the Black Iron Castle and returning to his small house, Zhang Tie was about to practice when he heard a long, sharp alarm sound faintly from outside the window. At night, the sound of the hand-cranked fire alarm could travel far. Zhang Tie quickly went to the attic window, opened it, and looked out.

In the dark night sky, a bright flame illuminated a distant area, turning the sky red. The source of the fire seemed to be the old residential area near the train station, where various people and groups mixed. Some muffled voices could be heard...

Whose house was on fire? For the fire near the train station, the only question left in Zhang Tie's mind was this, which he quickly forgot. He then closed the small window in the attic, picked up the crystal on the windowsill, and sat on the bed to practice.

After lighting the Ming Point in the Divine Palace, as soon as he entered a meditative state, he could feel a "small point" near his anus, at the base of the spine, vibrating faintly, resonating with the Ming Point in the Divine Palace. This was the next target Zhang Tie needed to conquer—the first Spinal Ming Point. According to the teacher's introduction in the museum class on Friday, this Ming Point was the second number in the Fibonacci sequence, 1, followed by 2, then 3, 5, 8... These Ming Points, distributed along the spine, formed a line of 34 points, corresponding to the 34 vertebrae in the human body. The Divine Palace Ming Point had many mysteries, but the function of the Spinal Ming Points was like the spine itself, supporting and sourcing human strength. Each time a Spinal Ming Point was lit, it would greatly increase a person's physical strength and power. This was why Gris's body data could surpass all the students in the school...

With the help of Zhang Tie's mental and spiritual power during meditation, the energy gathered by the crystal was transmitted through the Divine Palace Ming Point to the point at the base of the spine. After more than two hours, Zhang Tie's achievement was merely to slightly brighten that Ming Point, revealing a grain-sized red light in his consciousness. Compared to the blazing Divine Palace Ming Point, it was like the difference between a tiny firefly and a bonfire. For most people, the cultivation of each Ming Point was a time-consuming and energy-draining process...

On Sunday afternoon, Zhang Tie, as usual, stayed at home to watch the shop, while his parents, dressed in new clothes, bought some things and went out with the future daughter-in-law. Zhang Tie knew what they were doing. In the evening, his mother and the future daughter-in-law returned, their faces showing a sense of relief and ease. Zhang Tie knew that the identity of the future daughter-in-law was basically confirmed. The Zhang family's rice wine increased by one copper coin per bowl from that day on. Although they had announced it in advance, the business at the shop became much quieter, with the daily revenue being only a little more than half of what it used to be.

"Mom, where's Dad? Didn't he come back with you?" Zhang Tie asked, a bit puzzled, seeing only the two women return.

"Your father has something to do and will be back a bit later!" His mother's tone was a bit mysterious.

In the evening, just as it was time for dinner, his father returned, holding a long object wrapped in cloth. Seeing Zhang Tie, he smiled and unwrapped the object, revealing a long sword with a black scabbard and a slightly curved blade.

"Ah, the Black Flame Breaking Sword..." Zhang Tie exclaimed, jumping over and snatching the sword from his father's hands. With a sharp sound, he drew the sword, revealing a sharp two-handed sword. Zhang Tie gasped in surprise because he saw his name, "Zhang Tie," engraved on the blade near the hilt. This was a gift from his father.

"Next week, you'll be participating in the school's field trial. This is a gift from your father, cough... cough..." His father's face showed a hint of embarrassment. "This is a regular fine steel Breaking Sword produced by the Black Flame City armory, slightly inferior in craftsmanship to the standard military equipment of the Black Flame City army. The scabbard is just ordinary ironwood. You know your father doesn't have much money, so I could only..."

"I'm very satisfied, thank you, Dad!" Zhang Tie hugged his father, interrupting what he was about to say. He kissed his father on the cheek, and he was already very satisfied with the gift. Zhang Tie knew the price of such a Breaking Sword made from ordinary materials produced in Black Flame City, which was generally over one gold coin, a significant expense for the family.

Seeing Zhang Tie so happy, his father's face also showed a contented smile...

"You two, if you don't come over, the food will get cold..." His mother called out from the side, trying to downplay and diffuse something...

In this era, many people's first swords were gifts from their fathers or older brothers. Receiving a sword from a father or older brother meant more than just the blessing and concern of a family member. It also meant that the person holding the sword would have to rely on it to fight for their own life. This was an inescapable fate for many men and families in this era!

With one week left before leaving school, 15-year-old Zhang Tie accepted his fate, holding his first sword, engraved with his name...

...

Thank you all for your support, there's another chapter at 9 PM!

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