Hua Nation, Jinghai City, Old District.
Inside an aging sixth-floor apartment accessible only by stairs, dim yellow light illuminated the cramped interior.
“Dad!” Wang Teng’s voice rang especially clearly through the small living room. He clenched his fists, stubborn determination written across his youthful face. “I’ve already made up my mind. Even if you oppose me, I’ve decided! I don’t want to choose the Academic Track. I want the Martial Arts Track!”
There was still something he did not say aloud.
‘I don’t want to end up like you, trapped at the bottom of society for my entire life. I don’t want to spend my whole life as an ordinary person in a world ruled by Martial Artists. I don’t want to become a father with neither money nor strength… a useless father!!’
Of course, it wasn’t that Wang Teng didn’t love his father. He loved him very much. He simply refused to follow the same path his father had walked, unwilling to spend his entire life in mediocrity.
In truth, his father’s abilities were limited, and he had already given Wang Teng everything he could. It was simply that, from a child’s perspective, what he had received still did not seem good enough.
The room suddenly fell silent. Only the steady ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock remained.
The living room wasn’t large, so although Wang Teng hadn’t raised his voice much, everyone present had heard every word clearly.
Wang Huai’an remained silent, but his eyes trembled slightly.
At that moment, his son’s stubborn declaration tore through memories that had been buried beneath the dust of more than a decade. The exact same choice he had once faced seemed to descend upon him again.
When Wang Huai’an was eighteen, he had transmigrated into this high-martial world. Back then, his heart had burned with ambition. He had believed himself to be the protagonist of this world, and during the college entrance examination, he had also wanted to choose the Martial Arts Track and eventually become a top Martial Artist.
However, reality had slapped him across the face with brutal cruelty.
Martial Aptitude test: No Martial Aptitude!
He hadn’t even possessed the lowest Low-Grade Martial Aptitude.
Simply put, it would have been extremely difficult for him to become even a 1st-Rank Martial Artist in his lifetime.
Even so, Wang Huai’an had stubbornly wanted to choose the Martial Arts Track. He had wanted to force himself down the martial path despite having No Martial Aptitude. After all, he was a transmigrator. Surely someone like him was supposed to be the protagonist.
Unfortunately, that was clearly impossible.
In this world, anyone without Martial Aptitude simply could not cultivate martial arts. They were destined to remain an ordinary person.
Back then, his teachers and classmates had told the young Wang Huai’an, “You have No Martial Aptitude, no resources, and not even a capable father. Stop dreaming about choosing the Martial Arts Track! An ordinary person trying to practice martial arts is only humiliating himself! Just accept your fate!!”
He had been unwilling to accept it, yet he had been powerless to refute them.
In the end, he could only choose the Academic Track.
Unfortunately, his academic grades were merely average. It wasn’t until he graduated from an academic university that he finally realized that in this turbulent high-martial society, getting a good job didn’t necessarily depend on ability. More often than not, it depended on having a capable father.
Without connections or a powerful father, it was incredibly difficult to make one’s way through society.
Wang Huai’an himself was an orphan. Naturally, he had neither a capable father nor a family fortune waiting for him to inherit.
From then on, he became an ordinary person. The passionate ambition he had possessed when he first transmigrated, the dream of becoming the protagonist of the world, gradually disappeared as well.
Many years later, the same cycle seemed to repeat itself.
Wang Huai’an looked at the son standing before him. In what felt like the blink of an eye, Wang Teng had already reached the final year of high school and was now facing the choice between the Academic Track and Martial Arts Track.
Time really had passed quickly.
Still, Wang Huai’an was happy. He hadn’t expected his son to possess reasonably good Martial Aptitude.
The problem was that martial arts cultivation required an enormous investment during its early stages. Without sufficient resources, Wang Teng wouldn’t even be able to enter a good Martial Arts University.
With Wang Huai’an’s salary of only 2,800 yuan and savings of merely 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, he probably couldn’t even afford more than a few Qi and Blood Pills for Wang Teng.
The poor pursued academics, while the wealthy pursued martial arts.
Without money, how could one even think about cultivating martial arts?
“Wang Teng, no!” A voice suddenly came from the woman seated at the other end of the sofa. Her name was Yang Liu, and her voice was calm, realistic, and almost cruel. “Choosing between the Academic Track and Martial Arts Track also depends on your family’s financial situation. You should choose the Academic Track.”
Her words almost perfectly recreated the verdict Wang Huai’an’s teachers had given him when he faced the same choice years ago.
Yang Liu turned toward Wang Huai’an, who sat in the single armchair, then leaned slightly forward and patiently explained, “Huai’an, your son has fairly good martial arts talent. The placement test results for the second half of his final year came out today. Wang Teng has Medium-Grade Martial Aptitude. According to what people say online, after cultivating for 20 or 30 years, he could potentially become a Mid-Rank Martial Artist. That’s why he wants to choose the Martial Arts Track and enter a Martial Arts University.”
Wang Huai’an looked at her.
This woman wasn’t his wife.
The black-and-white photograph hanging on the wall belonged to his wife.
More than a decade ago, she had died at the hands of a Demonic Beast.
In an era where Demonic Beasts ran rampant and Martial Artists held power, Wang Huai’an had No Martial Aptitude and had spent his entire life as an insignificant figure at the bottom of society.
All he could do was survive in the Old District on his meager salary. His wife had died fighting a Demonic Beast, yet he hadn’t even possessed the strength to kill one and vent his hatred.
It was no wonder his son looked down on him to some extent.
Truthfully, Wang Huai’an had lived an incredibly stifling life for a transmigrator. Even if he didn’t want to accept his fate, reality had eventually forced him to do so.
The woman before him was Yang Liu, Wang Teng’s homeroom teacher and one of Wang Huai’an’s former classmates. The two had always maintained a fairly good relationship.
The division between the Academic Track and Martial Arts Track during the college entrance examination was one of the most important crossroads in a person’s life.
Choosing the wrong path could lead to an entirely different future.
According to Hua Nation’s regulations, students chose between the Academic Track and Martial Arts Track during the second half of their final year, meaning at the beginning of their final semester.
By then, every high school student had already reached adulthood, and their Martial Aptitude had developed to its optimal stage.
During the final semester, students on the Martial Arts Track could formally begin cultivating martial arts. Afterward, they would participate in the Martial Arts Entrance Examination and compete for admission to their desired Martial Arts University.
Yang Liu looked at Wang Teng with a trace of helplessness on her face and said, “You really are stubborn. Practicing martial arts depends not only on your talent but also on your family’s circumstances and your father’s capabilities. Your grades in the Academic Track are also good. You could get into a good university and earn plenty of money in the future. Becoming a Martial Artist is certainly an excellent choice in this world, but you still have to consider reality.”
Wang Teng unconsciously glanced at his father.
Yang Liu continued, “Talent is certainly important on the martial path, but cold, hard cash and Martial Arts Resources are even more indispensable.”
Her gaze shifted between father and son, her words carrying the unmistakable weight of reality.
“For an ordinary family without abundant cultivation resources, even if you choose the Martial Arts Track, you’ll probably only get into an average Martial Arts University. After graduating, you still won’t have many resources to support your cultivation. At best, you might remain a 1st-Rank or 2nd-Rank Martial Artist for the rest of your life.”
“In today’s world, a 1st-Rank or 2nd-Rank Martial Artist isn’t particularly impressive. Their status isn’t much different from an ordinary person.”
Yang Liu then looked toward Wang Huai’an, and her expression softened.
Although Wang Huai’an had already entered middle age, he was still just as handsome as he had been in his youth.
She spoke gently, “Huai’an, if this involved an ordinary student, I probably wouldn’t have come personally. But we’re friends, after all, so I naturally wanted to say a few words. Besides… it gave me a chance to visit an old classmate.”
Wang Huai’an poured Yang Liu a cup of tea and smiled. “Thank you for going to so much trouble. I’m sorry you had to make the trip personally.”
Yang Liu replied, “Wang Teng’s Martial Aptitude can be considered average among the students at an ordinary high school like ours. However, cultivation requires a great deal of money if he wants to distinguish himself during the Martial Arts Entrance Examination. I’m sure you understand that better than most.”
Wang Huai’an nodded. Naturally, he understood all of this.
“For ordinary people like us, having Martial Aptitude is certainly better than having No Martial Aptitude. Medium-Grade Martial Aptitude is fairly decent, but among actual Martial Artists, it can only be considered average.”
Yang Liu continued patiently, “Quite a few students at our school have Medium-Grade Martial Aptitude. However, many parents also understand that progressing along the martial path consumes enormous amounts of resources. Most families simply can’t afford it. That’s why many students ultimately give up the Martial Arts Track and switch to the Academic Track.”
“If Wang Teng insists on choosing the Martial Arts Track without sufficient resources, he’ll have no choice but to rely entirely on grueling cultivation!”
After saying this, Yang Liu glanced around at the furnishings in Wang Huai’an’s home and sighed inwardly.
This environment truly didn’t resemble a household capable of supporting a student preparing for the Martial Arts Entrance Examination.
She believed that after a little persuasion, Wang Huai’an would certainly convince his son to choose the Academic Track.
Some things simply couldn’t be forced.
She had only come as an ordinary friend to offer a well-intentioned reminder.
Wang Teng remained stubborn. “I’m not afraid of suffering through cultivation. Even without resources, I still want to try. At the very least, I won’t regret it afterward!”
Wang Huai’an looked at his son.
Wang Teng possessed the stubbornness unique to youth. His still-immature face was filled with an unwillingness to admit defeat.
He wore a clean blue-and-white school uniform that had clearly been washed countless times. He had inherited Wang Huai’an’s looks and was equally handsome.
At that moment, however, Wang Teng lowered his head and waited for his father’s verdict.
Thus, the decision had fallen to Wang Huai’an.
He would be the one deciding the path his son walked in the future.
Should he use the family’s meager savings to let Wang Teng venture down the martial path for a while, or should he make his son choose an academic university and live the life of an ordinary person?
It seemed like an incredibly difficult choice.
Yet perhaps it wasn’t.
The truth was painfully simple.
Their family had no money.
Wang Teng’s martial path simply couldn’t continue for long. If he stubbornly persisted, his eventual achievements might even be worse than if he had chosen the Academic Track from the beginning.
From a realistic perspective, choosing the Academic Track was the safer choice.
However, it would also mean severing Wang Teng’s connection to the martial path completely.
Yang Liu looked at Wang Huai’an. Her voice carried both persuasion and the cold finality of reality as she said, “Huai’an, you’ve already experienced this yourself. You understand better than anyone.”
“The Academic Track and Martial Arts Track lead down completely different roads. Sometimes, fate is already decided.”
“You had No Martial Aptitude back then, so the martial path was closed to you. You could only choose the Academic Track and live an ordinary, stable life.”
“Your family circumstances are still ordinary now, and you can’t provide your child with enough resources to secure a good future on the martial path. Don’t let him act impulsively and take a road that leads nowhere!”
“Medium-Grade Martial Aptitude. Choose the Academic Track, and he can live a stable life. Choose the Martial Arts Track, and there’s a high chance all his effort will amount to nothing!”
As a father, Wang Huai’an naturally wanted his son to choose the Academic Track. At the very least, it would provide him with a stable future.
But once Wang Huai’an made that choice, his son would have to give up martial arts.
He would be forcing Wang Teng to repeat the same suffocating fate that had defined his own life.
A lifetime of stability and mediocrity, forever cut off from the martial path.
Of course, Wang Teng could still enter a Martial Arts School and practice martial arts after graduating from university, but by then, he would have already missed the optimal age for cultivation. It would essentially be useless.
Wang Huai’an stared at his son’s burning, stubborn eyes.
Memories of his own despairing fate resurfaced, and helplessness gradually filled his heart.
Back then, he had accepted his fate because he possessed No Martial Aptitude.
Yet now, his son clearly possessed Martial Aptitude, and Wang Huai’an was still about to make him accept his fate and choose the Academic Track.
In the end, it was all because Wang Huai’an was incapable.
But there was nothing he could do.
Reality decided everything.
This was fate.
They had no choice but to accept it!
Wang Huai’an sighed.
He prepared to speak the answer that had weighed upon him for his entire life, the answer of submission and resignation.
“I choose…”
Just as he was about to announce his decision…
Buzz!!!
A deafening mechanical system voice suddenly exploded inside his mind!
Light flooded his vision, becoming so brilliant that he couldn’t see anything for a moment.
Then, a dazzling golden screen abruptly appeared before his eyes.
Golden words flashed across it.
[Wishing for His Father to Rise to Greatness System bound successfully.]
[Detected Wang Teng’s desire to have a capable father.]
[Host: Wang Huai’an]
[Bound Descendant: Wang Teng]
[System Ability: Your strength will always remain five cultivation realms above your son Wang Teng.]
[Important Notes]
[1. Protect Wang Teng. Wang Teng is the foundation that guarantees the growth of your strength.]
[2. If Wang Teng dies, your strength will not decrease.]
[3. The Host and his son are bound together. Whenever Wang Teng faces a life-or-death crisis, the Host can be teleported directly to his side to protect him!]
[4. System binding duration: 1 hour!]