I maxed out the Scholar talent at the start, but I want to be a Warrior.

With the village settling in the mountain stronghold, the issue of food became a pressing concern.

With about a hundred people, plus the grain seized from the bandits, it's enough to last for a month at most.

The clan elders gathered in the council hall, and without arguing, they quickly came up with a solution.

Hunting – Behind the stronghold are mountains. Although bandits had wreaked havoc for a while, wild animals cannot be wiped out overnight. Sending a few experienced hunters up the mountain will surely yield some catches.

Picking wild vegetables—there are many wild vegetables in the mountains. It is springtime now, and some old women recognize dozens of kinds of wild vegetables, enough to feed the whole village for a while.

Clearing wasteland for farming—this was proposed by the third uncle of the Gu family.

He's over sixty years old and has farmed all his life. He said that the sunny slope behind the mountain has thick soil and a nearby water source, making it suitable for building terraced fields.

The bandits have been entrenched there for several years; they might have already established a presence there. We should go and see for ourselves.

After listening, Gu Chang'an made a decision: "Do all three things at the same time. The hunters will go up the mountain tomorrow, the women will take the children to gather wild vegetables, and the men will come with me to clear the wasteland in the back mountain."

The meeting adjourned.

Gu Cheng followed his uncle out.

"Uncle, I'm going to the back mountain too."

Gu Chang'an glanced at him.

"Do you know how to farm?"

"……Won't."

"Alright, go and see if you can help."

……

The next morning, the back hill came alive with activity.

The men carried hoes and picks up the mountain, with the third uncle leading the way, pointing and gesturing as he went—the soil here is thick, there needs to be water, this plot of land is suitable for growing potatoes, that plot is suitable for growing millet.

Gu Cheng followed behind, unable to understand a single word.

When they arrived at the destination, Uncle San squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, squeezed it, and smelled it.

"Good land." He stood up. "The bandits did indeed cultivate it. Look over there, the traces of the terraced fields are still there, but it's been abandoned."

Sure enough, there were layers of field ridges on the hillside, and although they were overgrown with weeds, their outlines were still visible.

"After weeding and turning over the soil, you can plant," Uncle San said.

Everyone started working.

Gu Cheng also picked up a hoe.

He confidently raised his hoe and slammed it into the ground—hitting a protruding rock squarely.

The hoe bounced back and almost hit him.

A young man next to him glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh.

"Xiao Cheng, that's not how you use a hoe."

"I know." Gu Cheng remained expressionless, adjusted his posture, and smashed it again.

He managed to swallow it, but when he pulled it out, the hoe got stuck in the soil. He pulled with both hands—and almost fell backward.

The young and strong men couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

Gu Cheng planted the hoe in the ground and took a deep breath.

I, a top-tier expert with future talents in both fields, have been defeated today by this trivial matter of spring plowing. This... is absolutely unacceptable.

"Never mind... I'll go move the stones."

Third Uncle shook his head and muttered, "What a hassle..."

Gu Cheng slunk away to the side and began moving stones.

He's still good at moving stones.

Strength: 50 (maximum) / 35

He was stronger than most young men, and lifting things was effortless for him.

After moving around for a while, he noticed a child in the corner moving stones, sweating profusely.

Other children move stones by pushing or rolling them, but he's different—he moves them directly by hand.

He grabbed a rock weighing at least fifty or sixty pounds with both hands and placed it steadily to the side without changing his expression.

After placing one piece, they would move on to the next.

Gu Cheng watched for a while, then walked over.

To investigate.

[Gu Yuanba] [Constitution: 96 (Max) / 48] [Strength: 91 (Max) / 27] [Spirit: 62 (Max) / 31] [Warrior Skill: None] [Scholar Skill: None] [Preferred Weapon: None] [Equipment/Items: None]

Gu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then rubbed his eyes.

Strength cap: 91.

The talent of a first-rate warrior.

Wow, that's one in a million!

This... the Gu family is about to produce a true dragon.

Gu Cheng took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

He squatted down to be at eye level with the child.

"What's your name?"

The child looked up at him but didn't say anything.

"I'm asking you a question." Gu Cheng smiled. "My name is Gu Cheng, and yours is Gu Cheng?"

"...Gu Yuanba."

The voice was very soft, as if afraid of being overheard.

"Yuanba?" Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Good name. Who named you that?"

"My dad."

"Where's your dad?"

The child lowered his head and remained silent.

Gu Cheng didn't ask any more questions. He had heard his uncle mention before that there was a child from a collateral branch of the clan whose parents had died of illness a few years ago and who was living with his uncle and aunt.

"You're quite strong," Gu Cheng said.

Gu Yuanba shook his head: "Not big."

"You can easily lift a stone weighing fifty or sixty pounds, isn't that a big deal?"

"Others... can move it too."

"Others push, you grab with your hands. It's different."

Gu Yuanba stopped talking, but the tips of his ears turned a little red.

Gu Cheng stood up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Take a break."

The child shook his head.

"Not tired."

"Little guy, take a rest even if you're not tired." Gu Cheng patted his head, picked up a stone from the side, and placed it on the pile he had moved.

The child paused for a moment, a hint of emotion flashing in his eyes.

Gu Cheng didn't pay any attention and turned around to continue moving things.

His strength has improved considerably with recent training, so moving these stones is not difficult for him.

After working together for a while, Gu Yuanba lifted a large rock buried in the ground—this one was bigger than the previous ones, weighing at least seventy or eighty pounds.

He gritted his teeth and picked it up, but as soon as he took a step, his foot touched the loose soil.

His body tilted to one side.

The stone slipped from his hand and crashed heavily to the ground.

With a loud bang.

The ground collapsed.

Gu Yuanba slid down.

"ah--"

Gu Cheng reacted quickly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back sharply.

Gu Yuanba was pulled back and sat down on the ground with a thud, still shaken.

The two looked down and saw a square hole that had collapsed beneath their feet. It was dark and they had no idea how deep it was.

Gu Cheng squatted down by the cave entrance and peered down, scanning the area.

A row of handrails was found nailed to the edge of the hole.

The bandits' cellar?

Gu Cheng stood up and said to Gu Yuanba, "Yuanba, I'll go down and take a look. Go and call for help."

Gu Yuanba nodded, got up, and ran.

Gu Cheng grabbed the handrail and climbed down the cave wall.

Landing.

The cave was very dark, with only a beam of light shining down from the cave entrance overhead.

Gu Cheng used his detection skill to scan his surroundings.

A dozen or so bags of grain were neatly piled in the corner.

A desk, a chair, a half-burnt candle, and a drawing on the desk.

There was also a large box, its lid half-open.

Gu Cheng lit the candle, walked over, and lifted the lid of the box.

It contained approximately several hundred taels of silver and some gold and silver jewelry.

Gu Cheng rummaged through it and found that there were several gold ingots inside.

He picked up a gold ingot and weighed it in his hand.

The fingers tightened.

Breaking the limit.

By adding this gold, his power ceiling can be raised even further. The barbarians could attack at any time, and the stronger he is, the better he can protect the people in the village.

but……

These are things from the village.

Gu Cheng stared at the gold ingots for a long time in silence.

After hesitating for a moment, he made a decision.

He took two gold ingots out of the box and put them in his pocket.

He decided to top up a portion of his account.

If you want to become stronger and cultivate both literary and martial arts in the future, then seize every opportunity to make yourself stronger.

Breaking the limit is just too incredible. He doesn't intend to tell anyone this secret, including—Gu Chang'an.

The numbers on the panel started to jump.

[Limit Break Point: 2]

[Limit Break Point: 3]

……

[Limit Break Point: 8]

The gold disappeared, and Gu Cheng gained 7 more breakthrough points.

He put all his breakthrough points into his strength cap.

[Maximum Strength: 58]

The maximum strength has been increased from 50 to 58.

Footsteps came from above.

Gu Chang'an has arrived.

He stood at the entrance of the cave, looked down, and then jumped down.

It landed silently.

Gu Chang'an scanned the cellar.

"There is plenty of food."

"Um."

"Who discovered it?"

"The ground collapsed when Yuanba moved stones."

Gu Chang'an nodded, his gaze falling on the scattered gold and silver.

"Perfect timing! This has solved our immediate problem. With these provisions, we can hold out for a while longer."

……

With everyone's combined efforts, the items in the cellar were gradually moved out.

The group discovered that the drawing on the table in the cellar was a map.

The drawing is rather hasty, but the key information is very detailed—the location, troop strength, and garrison situation of more than a dozen surrounding villages are all marked on it.

Gu Chang'an looked at the map, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"Who drew this picture?"

"I don't know. But someone who can draw something like this is no ordinary bandit."

Gu Chang'an's finger moved slowly across the map, stopping at a certain spot.

A red circle.

Next to the red circle was written a word—

"avoid."

"Avoid what?" Gu Cheng asked.

Gu Chang'an shook his head.

"This location... is about three days' journey from us."

He stared at the red circle for a long time.

"Let's leave that aside for now." He put the map away. "Now that the food problem is solved, the next thing to consider is—where exactly have the barbarians advanced?"

I want to go take a look tomorrow.

Gu Chang'an looked up at him.

"you?"

"Reconnaissance allows us to see attributes and assess the strength of barbarians in advance," Gu Cheng said. "It's more suitable for reconnaissance than anyone else."

Gu Chang'an remained silent for a long time.

"Bring two people."

"Gu Qingshan".

"Add one more."

"OK."

Gu Chang'an looked at him, hesitant to speak.

In the end, he only said one sentence:

"careful."

Gu Cheng nodded.

He returned to his room, closed the door, and turned on the control panel.

【Strength: 58/35】

15 points away from awakening the Warrior skill.

He closed his eyes.

Not urgent.