“Fifteen cycles a day, thirty years to completion.”

“In other words… I’ll need about thirty years to become a Xiantian Martial Master…”

Seeing this line of text, Wei Tu felt both conflicted and exhilarated.

Conflicted because—

His previous cultivation of Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation had only taken five years to bear fruit, but now, this Marrow Refining Sutra required thirty full years.

And yet, he was only twenty-two years old.

Exhilarated because—

As long as he followed the path step by step, by the time he reached fifty-two, he would have a high probability of breaking into the Xiantian Realm.

At that point, he could extend his lifespan for another century, living up to two hundred years.

A fifty-year-old Xiantian Martial Master would still be considered young in Zheng Kingdom.

Otherwise, when the elder from Martial Luck Pavilion, Xue Du, had tried to recruit him, he wouldn’t have claimed that Wei Tu had a chance to reach Xiantian before fifty.

“Plans never keep up with change…”

“If I can only reach Xiantian after fifty, then I need to start thinking about having children with Xinghua.”

Wei Tu sighed inwardly.

After reaching Xiantian at fifty, he would still be physically strong and youthful.

But Xinghua… might not be.

Thirty years later, she would be nearly sixty.

By then, even if she wanted to bear children, it would no longer be possible.

Even though having children now meant he might one day face the pain of burying his own offspring, he couldn’t let Xinghua go through life without experiencing motherhood.

When she grew old, their child would be their only emotional support.

“Even if my own son doesn’t succeed in martial arts, there’s still the next generation. There’s no need to dwell too much on it.”

Wei Tu made up his mind.

He couldn’t let the fear of failure stop him from having children.

With his current status, he could provide his children a prosperous and stable life—that was enough.

With this thought, Wei Tu got up and stopped his cultivation session.

He stepped out of the training room, drew a bucket of fresh well water, washed himself thoroughly, and walked into the bedroom—where he slipped into Xinghua’s bed.

“Wei ge’er, we still have fresh fish bladder in the kitchen…”

Xinghua’s face flushed as she spoke in a trembling voice, nudging Wei Tu as a subtle reminder.

“From now on, we won’t be using that.”

“Same goes for pig bladders.”

Wei Tu’s tone was firm.

“Wei ge’er, you’ve finally made up your mind?”

Hearing this, Xinghua’s eyes lit up with joy.

She and Wei Tu had been married for almost five years, yet her belly had never swelled.

She had endured mockery from the neighbors multiple times, and even Caixia had secretly urged her to visit a physician for fertility medicine.

But…

She couldn’t explain the real reason.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a child.

It was that Wei Tu had always insisted on waiting.

For five years, they had been using pig bladders and fish bladders as contraception.

But now, she no longer had to wait.

As Wei Tu had anticipated—

Less than a month after returning from Sanyuan Township, the County Garrison Headquarters issued a military order to attack a branch stronghold of Martial Luck Pavilion.

It was an emergency mobilization order, requiring all assigned troops to assemble within half a day.

Failure to comply meant execution.

Because Wei Tu and Wei Fei were both skilled fighters and former Martial Scholars, they were included in the military draft.

Thus—

At the third watch of the night, a force of several hundred elite County Garrison soldiers, under the command of County Captain Xu, marched out of Qingmu County’s gates under the cover of darkness.

Their mission: eradicate Martial Luck Pavilion.

“These men may look like elite troops, but they have no real battle experience. If they step onto the battlefield, they’re going to suffer heavy casualties…”

“Governor Wang is nothing more than an armchair strategist…”

As they rode, Wei Fei and Wei Tu kept pace with each other on horseback.

Wei Fei glanced back at the soldiers hastily marching behind them, then shook his head.

On paper, Qingmu County’s County Garrison was three thousand strong.

In reality, the actual number was barely over a thousand.

Of the one thousand or so soldiers, most had long since abandoned their posts due to low military stipends and unpaid wages, choosing instead to take up odd jobs in Qingmu County to make a living.

This urgent military order had come so suddenly that even the County Garrison Headquarters had no time to properly prepare.

Thus, aside from a handful of actual County Garrison soldiers, a large portion of the troops drafted for this campaign were nothing more than private guards of wealthy families and hired martial artists.

These men looked stronger and more aggressive than regular County Garrison soldiers.

But in reality—

They were completely undisciplined.

The moment they faced real battle, they would collapse in chaos.

“Martial Luck Pavilion shouldn’t be much stronger than us either.”

“They’re just a martial sect, not a trained army. They’re no different from bandits.”

“Besides, we’re only dealing with one of their branch strongholds.”

Wei Tu thought for a moment and then reassured himself.

If County Captain Xu was leading them into an actual battlefield, he would absolutely consider deserting halfway.

But he didn’t believe that Martial Luck Pavilion was any better than them.

If anything, they were probably worse.

On the battlefield, it’s all about being the lesser of two evils.

As long as their side made fewer mistakes than Martial Luck Pavilion, they still stood a chance at victory.

“Right, we’re just dealing with a branch stronghold.”

“How many men could they possibly have?”

Hearing this, Wei Fei nodded, then let out a dry laugh.

After that—

Both men fell into silence, preserving their energy for the battle ahead.

An hour later.

The marching army came to a stop at the foot of a ridge.

County Captain Xu issued an order for everyone to rest, extinguish their torches, and prepare their armor.

“Is this Si Yang Town in Baiyang County?”

“Martial Luck Pavilion’s branch stronghold is hidden here?”

Wei Tu pulled his horse to a halt and scanned the terrain under the moonlight.

Comparing the landscape to the military map in his hands, he muttered to himself.

Since Wei Tu and Wei Fei were only mid-ranked officers, they weren’t privy to the full details of the mission.

It was only now—upon reaching their destination—that they finally learned the target location.

From his elevated vantage point, Wei Tu gazed down at Si Yang Town, comparing it to the map in an attempt to pinpoint where Martial Luck Pavilion’s branch stronghold might be hidden.

But after observing for a long time—

He failed to notice anything unusual about the town.

Like many other small towns of this era, Si Yang Town was pitch dark at night, with only a few wealthy households leaving their lamps lit.

“Looks like I don’t have any real talent for military strategy.”

Wei Tu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Back during the martial examination, he had memorized several military classics and aced the tactical strategy papers.

But now, faced with actual combat, he found himself utterly useless.

No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t formulate a proper battle plan based on the terrain and military texts.

At this moment—he truly felt at a loss.

“If not for my ‘Late Bloomer’ fate helping me grow stronger, I would still be nothing but a nobody.”

Wei Tu sighed.

In just five short years, he had mastered Turtle Breath Energy Cultivation, stepping into the Qi Perception Realm—a feat his master, Dan Yan Gong, had never achieved in his entire lifetime.

This had fostered a certain pride in his heart.

Yet tonight, he realized the truth—

He was still mediocre.

Without his ‘Late Bloomer’ fate, he was no different from anyone else.

Just an ordinary man, struggling like the rest.

With that thought—

Wei Tu turned his horse around and rode back to rejoin the marching troops.

Before long, County Captain Xu finally disclosed their target.

“Liu Family Fortress.”

“Built into the mountains, easy to defend, difficult to attack.”

“It’s located in the northwest corner of Si Yang Town, with the Mao River flowing beside it—a natural moat.”

Xu spoke in a steady voice as he described their objective.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep