Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

On the same day, at the Yi family mansion in Yunwen Town.

This house is different from the mud-walled, thatched-roof houses in Sanmu Village.

The ground is paved with blue bricks, the windows are carved with wood, and there are two pots of lucky bamboo in the courtyard.

It may not be very elegant, but it's good at conveying meaning to others.

My family is rich.

Inside the main hall, Yi Xun sat in a grand chair, wearing a silk robe, his beard neatly combed, and holding two shiny walnuts in his hands.

He's not young anymore, but he's much more respectable than the old farmers in Sanmu Village.

They eat well, live in warm houses, and even their wrinkles reveal a sense of pampered comfort.

A young man was standing below the hall.

At seventeen or eighteen, he was tall and straight, with an arrogant look in his eyes. A new knife hung at his waist, and his clothes were well-tailored. The way he stood there exuded an aura of "I am not on the same level as ordinary people."

It was Yi Xun's beloved grandson, Yi Zhanzhi.

"Grandpa," Yi Zhanzhi said, chin raised, unable to suppress his pride, "the master of Lei Yun Martial Arts School has agreed to take me as his last disciple."

Upon hearing this, Yi Xun, who was sitting in the armchair, stopped eating the walnuts in his hand.

"really?"

"nature."

Yi Zhanzhi puffed out his chest and said proudly, "I have broken through to the second level of Qi and Blood. The master said that with my talent, if the resources are sufficient, it is not an empty promise for me to enter the Yi Jin realm before the age of twenty."

Seeing this, Yi Xun was overjoyed. He patted the armrest of his chair and stood up, saying happily, "Good! Good! As expected of the Yi family's prodigy! Our Yi family is finally about to reach new heights!"

Several servants outside the hall also joined in the fun.

"Young Master is truly gifted."

"A closed-door disciple? That's something an ordinary apprentice can't compare to."

As Yi Zhanzhi listened to these words, his face became even more reserved, but the glint in his eyes was impossible to suppress.

Geniuses always need someone to support them; if no one does, what's the difference between them and someone who's wearing fine clothes in the dark?

These servants, worthy of having served him, were very sensible.

Yi Xun laughed so hard his mustache stood on end. "Becoming a disciple is a big deal, so we need to prepare gifts. Lei Yun Martial Arts School has a good reputation in the county, so we can't be stingy."

Yi Zhanzhi, who had been standing there the whole time, was waiting for this. He looked at Yi Xun and proposed his apprenticeship gift. "The master's apprenticeship gift is five hundred taels."

Snapped.

Upon hearing his grandson's words, Yi Xun dropped a walnut from his hand, which rolled to the foot of the table.

"Five hundred taels?"

His voice suddenly rose in shock as he exclaimed, "Zhanzhi, did you hear me correctly?"

Yi Zhanzhi frowned, somewhat annoyed that his grandfather was making a fuss, and said, "Grandpa, Lei Yun Martial Arts School isn't like those small restaurants in town. The master only charges five hundred taels for his last disciple, which isn't much."

The joy on Yi Xun's face was suppressed, leaving only heartache.

Five hundred taels.

This is not fifty taels.

The Yi family has accumulated wealth through years of running shops, but money doesn't fall from the sky.

It's fine to use it for daily transactions, but if five hundred taels are taken away all at once, even the accountant will cry.

"My home is usually quite cramped."

Yi Xun bent down to pick up the walnuts, wiped them clean, and said hesitantly, "But the shop is expanding recently, and we have connections in Yunlin County, hoping to get in touch with the Wang family in the inner city. With payments tied up and money needed for bribes, we really can't come up with that much cash right now."

Upon hearing Yi Xun's words, Yi Zhanzhi's arrogance vanished, and he said with great dissatisfaction, "Grandpa, opportunity waits for no one."

At that moment, the curtain of the side room was lifted, and a woman came out.

In her thirties, she wore an apricot-colored silk dress, her hair adorned with a gold hairpin, her eyes were sharp and intelligent, and her steps were slow, yet she exuded the strength of a woman in charge.

She is Yi Zhanzhi's mother, Song Yi.

"Dad, we can't skimp on this money."

Song Yi made her point immediately.

"It's only because the Yi family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke that Zhan Zhi was chosen by the master of Lei Yun Martial Arts School. Five hundred taels sounds like a lot, but spending it on Zhan Zhi is like investing heavily."

Hearing his daughter-in-law's words, Yi Xun frowned and said somewhat displeasedly, "I didn't mean to be unable to explain, but you know the family's situation; we're really short of funds right now."

Song Yi walked into the hall, seemingly remembering something, and her tone softened. "Father, aren't there relatives at home?"

A look of doubt appeared on Yi Xun's face: "Relatives? What relatives do I have that could come up with such a large sum of money?"

Song Yi's eyes revealed a shrewd look as she said, "Don't you have an older brother in Sanmu Village? I heard he still has a few acres of land and an old house there. If you sell them, you can scrape together a few dozen taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Yi Xun's expression changed, and he asked with astonishment and surprise in his eyes, "You mean Yi Yang?"

"Exactly."

Song Yi spoke very casually. "It's just a dilapidated courtyard in the countryside, a few acres of barren land; it won't bring in any wealth. We can just bring the old man and that girl over. There are two empty rooms next to the stable in our backyard; we can tidy them up and they'll be habitable."

Yi Xun tightened his grip on the walnut. "Beside the stable?"

Song Yi seemed oblivious to his displeasure. "Dad, please don't find it offensive. Bringing them to town is much better than them suffering in the village. They can help look after the horses, sweep the yard, and have their food and clothing taken care of. Aren't we letting them enjoy a life of comfort?"

Yi Xun's lips moved slightly; he and Yi Yang had not been in contact for many years.

But no matter what, he was still his older brother. Back then, his parents favored him, which led to the two brothers never speaking to each other again.

Now they're bringing people from the village to live near the stables, and they're even selling people's fields and houses.

If this gets out, it will be really embarrassing.

Seeing that Yi Xun was wavering, Yi Zhanzhi took a step forward and tried to persuade him for the sake of his own future: "Grandpa."

He lowered his voice, his tone pleading. "If my grandson cannot become a disciple, all the hopes the Yi family has held for all these years will be for naught. No matter how many shops we have, they are just shops. Without a martial artist to uphold our reputation, we can't hold onto any amount of money we earn."

These words struck at the heart of the matter.

He understood this principle all too well, as he turned his life around by learning martial arts in his youth.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Song Yi whispered in his ear, "Father, if Zhan Zhi establishes himself at Lei Yun Martial Arts School, he can take the martial arts exam, go to the county town, and marry a woman from a prominent family. Then our Yi family will no longer be just a small merchant family in Yunwen Town."

She softened her tone and said enticingly, "When that time comes, you'll be able to live in the inner city, with someone carrying you in a sedan chair. Who would dare bring up those old saga then?"

When Yi Xun heard the words "inner city," his eyelids twitched.

Inner city.

That's a place that so many townspeople dream of going to. Song Yi continued, "Spending money on Zhanzhi is the most worthwhile thing to do. Leaving the old house in the countryside is just letting the weeds grow fatter."

Yi Zhanzhi also lowered his head and said, "Grandpa, please help your grandson this time."

The room was quiet for a moment.

Yi Xun looked down at the walnut in his palm.

The surface of the walnut is polished to a shine, and the grooves and crevices are full of the oily color worn away by time.

After a long while, he finally looked up.

"housekeeper."

The middle-aged manager outside the door quickly came in.

"master."

Yi Xun closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"Prepare the car, let's go to Miki Village."

The steward of the Yi residence asked, "Aren't we going to invite Master Yi Yang over?"

After a long silence, Yi Xun said, "We should handle this ourselves."

Song Yi lowered her head to adjust her cuffs, a satisfied look on her lips, as if she felt her persuasion had been very successful.

Yi Zhanzhi raised his head again, and the arrogance of a genius returned to his eyes.

As the butler left, the wind rustled through the lucky bamboo outside the courtyard.

The carriages and horses were quickly prepared.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone road, heading towards Sanmu Village.