Volume One: First Signs of Brilliance Chapter Six: A Mother’s Counsel

In this heavy silence, Wang Jue lost his appetite and quietly returned to his own room. Lying on the bed, he felt adrift, uncertain whether he should give up or continue on.

With the system in his possession, Wang Jue understood well that the path of the martial artist might be difficult for others, but for him, it would be smooth, perhaps even meteoric enough to astonish the world. Yet all this depended on one thing: he had to figure out how to obtain Star Essence.

With a thought, Wang Jue opened his system panel. When he had first discovered the system, it had contained a single point of Star Essence. He had used it to test whether the system was truly effective. Tapping the plus sign beside his talent attribute, he had upgraded his inferior talent to a medium grade. The effect was real—and impressively potent.

Now, the greatest problem before him was the lack of Star Essence. He was still at a loss as to how to acquire it, and after spending his only point, the system had become little more than a decoration. The thought that the system was useless without Star Essence frustrated him so much he almost wanted to bang his head against the wall.

He had initially assumed the system might allow him to spend money for power, but after trying unsuccessfully to use the thousand yuan his mother had given him, he found that it was useless. That avenue was closed.

The only remaining way he could imagine was to hunt Star Beasts. But Wang Jue was self-aware enough to know that, in the wilderness, even the weakest Star Beast was not something he could currently hunt. And this wasn't one of those online games where monsters dropped items or experience points. In any case, the system panel didn’t display any experience points, making this possibility seem unlikely.

As for exchanging cultivation resources for Star Essence, he dismissed the thought immediately. His family was ordinary; they couldn’t even afford the lowest-grade Black Iron techniques, let alone more expensive resources.

Given his family’s situation and his own abilities, he was in no position to accomplish anything significant. His path of cultivation had, for all practical purposes, reached a dead end.

Wang Jue recalled that, in the novels he’d read in his past life, most systems had a system spirit. He wondered if his system had one as well.

It was his first time gaining a system in two lifetimes, and nerves made him uncertain what to do. Tentatively, he called out, “System?” Then, “Hey, System, are you there? If you are, come out and talk.”

But nothing happened. The system did not respond at all.

From what he could tell, only a system with Star Essence was truly complete. Without it, the system was less than useless; the only benefit was the attribute panel.

Yet, Wang Jue found that panel surprisingly useful. With it, he could always know his cultivation progress. Before, he’d been clueless about his improvement, having struggled for nine years to barely break through to the first stage of Body Tempering, with no martial skills or techniques due to his poor talent.

Suddenly, he realized that perhaps Star Essence wasn’t as precious as he’d thought. After all, while a single point had been enough to raise his talent by one grade, it now required a hundred points for another upgrade. Moreover, the absence of a plus sign by his cultivation rank suggested that Star Essence couldn’t be used to raise his cultivation directly. The reason for this, he didn’t yet know.

In any case, it felt like he was playing a game: at first, leveling up was easy, but as his rank increased, so did the experience needed for each advance. The difference was that, in games, you could grind monsters for experience, while he was left worrying about how to get Star Essence.

Not long after, there was a knock at his door. Wang Jue got up to answer it and was surprised to find his little sister, Wang Xiaoyu, standing there. Without a word, the little girl thrust her rabbit-shaped piggy bank into his hands and declared, “Here, you big meanie. This is all my New Year's money from the past few years. I’m giving it to you so you can become a powerful martial artist and protect me in the future!”

Before Wang Jue could respond, she spun around and ran off.

Wang Jue was momentarily taken aback, then couldn’t help but laugh. That little rascal… If he remembered correctly, she was supposed to be the sort who valued money above all else. Who would have thought she’d have such a generous side? Still, her sweet gesture warmed his heart.

He hadn’t finished basking in her cuteness when, the very next second, his sister returned. She hung her head, clearly conflicted, before finally looking up at him with pitiful eyes. “Brother… what if I say I regret it?”

Wang Jue could only shake his head in exasperation.

Looking at her, he couldn’t help but smile wryly. There she was—the sister from his memories.

He had no intention of replying. Instead, he silently hugged the piggy bank closer to his chest.

Seeing this, Wang Xiaoyu grew indignant. She stamped her foot, but Wang Jue was ready and easily dodged her attack. She gritted her teeth for a while before huffing, “You big meanie, remember this—this money is only a loan! You have to pay me back!”

With that, she stomped away in her usual dramatic fashion, not giving him a chance to reply.

Wang Jue watched her storm off, quietly amused. He closed the door, set the piggy bank on his bedside table, and after a moment’s thought, tucked it under his bed, with no intention of touching it. If the system had accepted top-ups, he would have smashed the piggy bank without hesitation for the money inside. But after discovering that wasn’t possible, there was no reason to break into his sister’s savings.

Besides, he knew there were at most two or three hundred yuan inside—four hundred, tops. It was hardly enough to make a difference. He did need money for martial skills and techniques, but in the face of prices that started at one hundred thousand, two or three hundred yuan was barely a drop in the ocean.

He might as well keep it safe for his sister and return it to her some other time.

This unexpected visit from his sister, bearing money, lifted Wang Jue’s spirits.

Just as he lay back on the bed, there was another knock at the door and his mother’s gentle voice called, “Little Jue, may I come in?”

“Mom, the door isn’t locked. Come in,” Wang Jue replied, getting up from the bed.

The door opened.

“Were you resting? I brought you some fruit. Have some,” his mother, Liu Wenjing, said as she entered, carrying a fruit plate.

Wang Jue could guess what she wanted to say. “Mom, if you have something to say, just say it. I’m not a child anymore.”

As she set the fruit beside him, Wang Jue didn’t stand on ceremony—he picked up a piece and started eating.

Liu Wenjing tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear, her gaze fixed on her son. “Be honest with me—are you planning to give up cultivating?”

“You know my talent is poor. If it were better, maybe I’d persist, but now I’m not so sure,” Wang Jue said, forcing a bitter smile. “Our family simply can’t afford the cost of cultivation after becoming a martial artist. Even basic techniques are beyond our means. If I had good talent, perhaps someone would recruit me and provide those resources, but as things are, my talent is so lacking that it took me nine years just to reach the first stage of Body Tempering. That might put me slightly above the average person, but among those with true talent, I’m at the bottom.”

He continued, “If our family were wealthy enough to support my cultivation, of course I’d continue. But I’m not the kind of person who would stubbornly persist, knowing full well we can’t afford it. Rather than waste money on me, it would be better to save it for Xiaoyu. She’ll be old enough for her talent test next year. As for me, I’ve decided to devote only a small part of my time to cultivation—the rest will go toward my studies.”

He spoke nothing but the truth; he especially didn’t want his mother, who cared for him so much, to worry.

“It’s good that you think this way. Practicing martial arts is fine as a hobby, but you should focus on your studies. Getting into a good school is the most important thing,” his mother said, visibly relieved. She hadn’t voiced her objections at the dinner table, but that didn’t mean she approved of his becoming a martial artist—especially after hearing how brutal that world was. Naturally, she didn’t want her son to walk that path.

“I believe that if you put as much effort into studying as you did into cultivating, your grades will be excellent. Don’t waste your time on martial arts—we simply can’t afford it.”

Having confirmed his intentions, his mother no longer hid her worries. “As your mother, I couldn’t bear to hear that you’d died somewhere. I couldn’t accept it. Call it selfishness if you will, but please, don’t do anything reckless. I’m begging you.”

Her heartfelt pleas softened Wang Jue’s wavering resolve.

He took another piece of fruit and chewed thoughtfully. “Don’t worry, Mom. From now on, I’ll devote myself to my studies.”

“That’s wonderful.” She smiled, took out her wallet, and put all the big bills she had on the bed beside him. “Here, take this money. Buy yourself something nice, or go out with your classmates if you want. But remember your promise—don’t let your studies slip. If you don’t get into high school, forget about college; you’ll just have to come home and help out at the noodle shop.”