Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

Days passed by, and soon it was time to pay the autumn tax.

The county clerk set up a table at the village entrance, holding a leather whip in his hand, and shouted loudly, "Autumn tax is due! Every household, hurry up and hand over your tax money. If you're late, you'll be in for a beating!"

As soon as the shouts subsided, the villagers rushed to the village entrance with their silver coins.

The official glanced at the villagers who had gathered around and raised his voice, "The war in the west is intense, and the imperial court urgently needs military funds, so this year's tax will be three taels of silver per person!"

"What?! Three taels of silver?!"

"I work hard all year and only manage to save six taels of silver. Now I have to pay three taels. Are they trying to kill me?"

"Sigh, taxes are increased so suddenly, how are we supposed to live like this!"

"..."

The villagers were instantly in an uproar. Three taels of silver was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, enough to plunge a family into dire straits.

With a snap!

The official lashed the ground with his whip.

"Quiet!"

"If the war in the west is lost and the Red-Haired Tribe invades, will you still be standing here? Will you still be able to protect your home?"

"The nation is in peril, and instead of thinking of serving your country, you are here complaining. Are you plotting treason?"

With this serious accusation leveled down, the crowd quieted down considerably, but some people were still whispering among themselves.

Seeing this, the official changed the subject, saying, "If you can't pay, that's easy to solve. I heard that Blackrock City is short of manpower for repairing the city walls..."

The crowd fell silent. Blackrock City was located on the northern border, a harsh and cold place. If someone went there to build a city wall, there was a high chance they wouldn't come back.

This isn't tax deduction, it's suicide!

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle, or you'll be late, and I'll make you regret it!"

The official cracked his whip again, and only then did the crowd begin to move.

The villagers had no choice but to step forward one by one and carefully hand over the tax money.

When it was Qin Jiuzhen's turn, the clerk's eyes instantly turned lecherous, his gaze sweeping over Qin Jiuzhen, his tone laced with greed:

"Your Li Tao'er is fifteen years old, isn't she? According to the rules, a woman who is fifteen years old or older has to pay an extra two taels of silver in taxes. You should pay the extra two taels of silver as soon as possible."

Qin Jiuzhen was taken aback, and whispered in protest, "Sir, you must be mistaken. My Tao'er is only fourteen years old, not even fifteen yet..."

"What? Are you saying I can't count?"

The clerk's face darkened: "I said fifteen, and it's fifteen!"

He raised the whip high in his hand, then brought it down with a thud, striking the ground next to Qin Jiuzhen with a loud crack, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Qin Jiuzhen trembled with fright and took several steps back.

Hong Lang quickly stepped forward, blocking Qin Jiuzhen's path, and said with a forced smile, "Sir, we made a mistake. This is two taels of silver."

He took out a tael of silver from his pocket and handed it to the clerk with both hands.

The clerk took the silver, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and nodded with satisfaction: "Hmm, you've got some sense, buddy. Next!"

Taiping Village has a total of 34 households, and the taxes were all collected in less than an hour.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as a man rode up, wearing short armor and carrying a short sword at his waist.

The arrogant clerk who had been so aloof just moments before immediately adopted a fawning expression, quickly stepped forward, presented the heavy money bag with both hands, and bowed, saying with a smile, "County Commandant Wang, why have you come in person?"

He turned to the villagers and announced loudly, "Look closely, this is Wang, the new County Commandant!"

The county constable was an official in charge of suppressing thieves, maintaining order, and patrolling in a county. Although his rank was not high, he held real power and commanded the county's servants. Ordinary people and minor officials alike showed him a great deal of respect.

County Magistrate Wang swept his gaze over the crowd, his voice cold and hard: "Remember this, all of you! The imperial court urgently needs this tax revenue. Anyone who dares to falsify it will not only lose their head, but their entire family will also be implicated!"

His gaze swept across the crowd, pausing slightly when it landed on Qin Jiuzhen and Li Tao'er.

The clerk next to him noticed this detail and immediately leaned close to his ear, whispering a few words in a low voice.

County Lieutenant Wang shook his head and smiled, then led a few officials and rode away, raising a cloud of dust.

Only the villagers were left behind, touching their empty pockets and sighing inwardly.

……

And so, several more days passed.

That morning, Hong Lang looked at his control panel.

[Next draw progress: 99%]

Just 1% away from entering the Blood Refining Realm and drawing another affix!

With Niu Da's six taels of silver, he can now eat meat to his heart's content every day, and his blood and energy are becoming more and more abundant, with his progress bar increasing even faster than before.

Hong Lang immediately assumed the posture of Hunyuan Zhuang Gong, calmed his mind, and let his Qi and blood circulate in his body.

In the past, when practicing stance training, I would always feel a sense of weakness at the end, and my qi and blood would dissipate.

Today, I feel like my blood and energy are boiling, flowing continuously to my limbs and bones, and every muscle and bone is trembling slightly.

He could clearly feel a warm current slowly rising from his dantian and flowing along his meridians.

Wherever the warm current passed, the blood and qi instantly boiled, and the sound could even be clearly heard.

Not far away, several disciples who were also practicing their stances noticed Hong Lang's unusual behavior and stopped what they were doing to gather around him.

"Look, he's breaking through the checkpoint!"

"All you do is bury yourself in training every day, and you can't even afford the herbal medicine. How can you expect to break through the barrier so easily?"

Shh! He might slap you in the face.

"With Master and Mistress both here today, would he dare to lay a hand on me?"

The whispers of the surrounding disciples flooded into Honglang's ears like a tidal wave.

Master's wife, Tang Chen, also came over at this time. She reminded him, "Sink your Qi to your Dantian, focus your mind on your original intention, and let your Qi and blood flow through your limbs."

Hong Lang immediately followed his master's wife's advice, relinquishing control over his qi and blood and letting it circulate freely within his body.

As his blood and qi surged, he felt an invisible barrier blocking his way.

This is the threshold for blood training!

Rush!

Hong Lang mobilized all his qi and blood and rushed towards the pass. The violent impact made Hong Lang tremble all over.

His body was making hissing sounds, white smoke was rising from his head, and the veins on his forehead and arms were bulging.

Sweat streamed down his face and dripped onto the ground.

Tang Chen was secretly shocked. Such vigorous blood and energy was truly rare. Even the true disciples of those sects were probably no more than this!

Suddenly, a muffled thud was heard, as if something had broken.

Hong Lang shuddered, and a surge of powerful blood and qi erupted from his dantian, instantly flowing through all his meridians, completely breaking through that invisible barrier!

A tingling sensation spread through my limbs and bones, as if all constraints had been completely broken, making me feel much lighter and allowing my blood and energy to circulate more smoothly.

The muscles and bones, like withered wood soaked by spring rain, gradually stretched out.

"ah--!"

Hong Lang couldn't help but roar to the sky, "Blood Refining Realm, achieved!"

Joy welled up in his heart; he had become a true warrior, no longer the woodcutter who could be manipulated by others.

A new panel popped up:

[Successfully entered the martial arts path, gained 10 martial arts points]

[Unlock the Martial Arts Exchange System, where you can exchange Martial Arts Points for items.]

"Martial Arts Points... Exchange System?"

Hong Lang was somewhat surprised, not expecting to unlock new functions on the panel. Before he could take a closer look, people gathered around him.

"Brother Hong, congratulations!"

"Brother Hong, please take care of me in the future!"

Many disciples came over to offer their congratulations, including a few who had just mocked Hong Lang. Hong Lang didn't care and returned their greetings one by one.

Several wealthy young men gathered around, all expressing their willingness to sponsor Hong Lang, saying they could sign a contract right now if he was willing.

Hong Lang refused them all. Signing a contract would be like being shackled, and he absolutely could not accept such conditions. If there was no need to sign a contract, he could consider it.

These people were all somewhat annoyed when Hong Lang rejected them.

What a country bumpkin! He's so ungrateful! All he did was break through to the Blood Refining Realm a little faster.

A disciple named Zhou Tong, whose family was in the medicinal herb business, gave Hong Lang a bottle of Blood Qi Pills as a gesture of friendship.

Blood Qi Pills can enhance cultivation effects, even better than medicinal soups. The downside is that they are too expensive, costing ten taels of silver per bottle, and only disciples from wealthy families can afford them.

When someone offers a gift, they must have something in return, so Hong Lang politely declined his offer.

Zhou Tong added, "If you have time, please do me the honor of having dinner together."

Hong Lang still refused, but Zhou Tong was not annoyed and still politely said that he would definitely let him know when he had time in the future.

His politeness made Hong Lang feel a little uncomfortable.

Since coming into this world, the people I've encountered have been either scoundrels, sycophants, or arrogant rich kids.

This was the first time Hong Lang had ever met such a normal person! It made Hong Lang wonder, was this guy trying to cut his own kidney?

Not far away, Feng Hu stared at Hong Lang, a ruthless glint in his eyes. How could this kid be so lucky? He succeeded on his first attempt.

If he hadn't extorted ten taels of silver from his own family, he probably wouldn't have reached the Blood Refining Realm so quickly.

Beside Feng Hu, Liu Yuan continued practicing his stance training, ignoring the commotion.

In his view, Hong Lang, a peasant, was not from the same world as him. So what if he managed to break through to the Blood Refinement stage?

The Blood Refining Realm is his limit. No matter how talented he is, without resources, how can he cultivate?

People like Hong Lang are destined to become their slaves and be driven by them.