Reversing the Milky Way

It was already night, and from a distance, the entire Yu Family Village looked brightly lit. This was all due to the glow of the metallic spirit-storing beads. Some of these beads were placed in the courtyards, while others were placed inside the houses and used as light bulbs.

Bai Cheng remained seated on the stone bench in the courtyard, gazing blankly at the stars in the sky. The stars shimmered like countless dazzling diamonds, their light captivating. At that moment, Yue Ling, who was sitting beside him, asked, "Brother Bai Cheng, are there stars in your hometown at night?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng couldn't help but think of the nights on Blue Star. In fact, in 2050, with the continuous deterioration of the environment, he couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had seen stars on Blue Star. The night sky in the city was always accompanied by haze, and stars could only be seen in the countryside and suburbs.

He then said, "You can't see such beautiful scenery in my hometown."

Yueling tilted her head and asked, "Why?"

Bai Cheng calmly replied, "Because every person there has a devil living in their heart. Driven by desire, they have become increasingly greedy, and this greed has turned into black mist. This black mist has enveloped the sky, the earth, the flowers and trees, the lakes and rivers, and even the ocean." As Bai Cheng spoke, he recalled various things on Blue Star.

Yueling seemed to understand something and asked again, "Then, Brother Bai Cheng, does a devil also live in your heart?"

Bai Cheng smiled slightly: "We all have a devil living in our hearts. Driven by desire, this devil can make people more and more crazy."

After listening to Bai Cheng's words, Yue Ling changed her usual playful expression and said seriously, "Brother Bai Cheng, do you know that there are actually quite a few people like you here? They treat ordinary people like dirt because of their own selfish desires. Fortunately, they don't look at ordinary people, but we can also become stronger through continuous cultivation so that we won't be bullied."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng also said, "Yes, let's become stronger together."

At this moment, Yue Ling said with a grin, "Then you'd better keep it up."

After saying that, all that was heard was a "Hey!" and Yue Ling symbolically punched Bai Cheng in the stomach with her little fist. Bai Cheng knew that Yue Ling hadn't used any force at all, but he still made a gesture as if he had been attacked and said, "Ouch...it hurts...it hurts..."

"Ha...ha...Brother Bai Cheng, this is so fake. I didn't even use any force."

When Bai Cheng heard Yue Ling say this, he then said, "Alright, I'm not playing with you anymore. It's time to sleep."

After saying that, Bai Cheng went back to his room to sleep, and Yue Ling also went back to her room to sleep after watching Bai Cheng leave.

The next morning, the crowing of chickens echoed from the chicken coop in the yard. Bai Cheng got up early to follow the sound. You see, in this world, because there aren't many entertainment options, people go to bed early, so they also wake up early. Back on Earth, he'd be up until eleven o'clock every night.

Hearing the crowing outside, Bai Cheng suddenly felt like he had forgotten something. "Oh no, I forgot to feed the chickens!" Thinking of this, Bai Cheng immediately got up, hurriedly dressed, and rushed to the chicken coop. He saw Yue Ling standing in front of the coop, holding a bowl of rice, feeding the chickens.

Bai Cheng awkwardly walked forward, scratching his head, and said, "Ah... haha... sorry, I forgot to feed the chickens."

Yue Ling turned her head and said, "Oh, it's alright, they won't starve if we don't feed them for a day or two."

Bai Cheng nodded and said, "Then I'll go make breakfast."

Yue Ling continued, "No need, I've already prepared it. We'll set off after you finish eating." Bai Cheng couldn't help but think that he had thought he had gotten up early enough, but he hadn't expected that the people here had gotten up even earlier than him.

He then said, "I know the way. I'll pick you up this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Yue Ling hurriedly said, "No, you've only been there once and you already know the way? You have to go again."

After listening, Bai Cheng said, "It seems like you're fine on your own."

Yueling said somewhat shyly, "I'm worried that you'll be bored at home alone. What if you can't stand the loneliness and go out and encounter danger?"

After listening, Bai Cheng felt that there was some truth to it, and then said, "Well... okay..."

So Bai Cheng walked to the stone table in the courtyard, where a bowl of white rice porridge sat on it. The faint aroma of rice wafted through the air, making his mouth water. Bai Cheng picked it up and slowly took a sip. He found the rice porridge to be plump and melt-in-your-mouth, with a hint of sweetness. It was the first time he had ever tasted such delicious ordinary rice porridge.

After breakfast, the two quickly set off for Wuling Town.

Just like yesterday, pedestrians on the road were still in a hurry today, with many walking in groups of six or seven.

Seeing this, Bai Cheng asked in confusion, "Are these people afraid of bandits?"

After listening, Yue Ling explained, "I heard that a while ago, a merchant from our village was robbed by a group of people on his way to Wuling Town. Although there were three martial artists at the early stage of Body Refinement among the escorts, the other side had a large number of people, I heard there were thirty or forty of them, and there were also several martial artists at the early stage of Body Refinement among them. As a result, the merchant was robbed and he didn't even have his underwear left. So he went to the town and reported it to the Supervisory Office. After learning about it, the Supervisory Office only strengthened the guards around the town. Because the road from Yu Family Village to Wuling Town is surrounded by forests on both sides, it is not easy to search for thieves, so they did not take any action. The man could only accept his bad luck. It can only be said that the guards he hired were not good enough."

Bai Cheng was taken aback after hearing this: "Guard? Isn't that the same as bodyguard?" After thinking this, Bai Cheng asked again: "So, martial artists can work as guards to earn money?"

"Of course, after all, some people need protection."

As they talked, the two arrived at the north entrance of Wuling Town. When Bai Cheng stepped forward, he noticed that there seemed to be more guards today than yesterday. There were only eight yesterday, but twelve today. Moreover, there seemed to be a man with an armband on his uniform who looked like their captain.

This man, named Song Zhentian, was the newly transferred guard captain to the North Gate. At that moment, Bai Cheng and Yue Ling arrived at the gate, and the man stopped Bai Cheng upon seeing them.

The man said, "Hey, a new face. What's your name? What do you do for a living? Where do you live? How many people are in your family? How many acres of land do you own?"

This question caught Bai Cheng off guard, leaving him unsure how to answer. Then, the man took out a stack of bounty posters and showed them to Bai Cheng.

At this moment, a guard next to him said, "Captain, this man is a distant relative of Yu Qing'an."

After hearing this, Song Zhentian stepped forward and asked, "Oh? You're actually a distant relative of Brother Qing'an? What's your name, young man?"

Bai Cheng politely replied, "Just call me Bai Cheng, but I'm not from the Bai family." Bai Cheng answered this way to avoid misunderstandings. He hadn't started cultivating yet, and the Bai family seemed to be some kind of powerful clan. If a misunderstanding arose, he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

After listening, Song Zhentian understood what he meant and said, "I see. Okay, let's go."

So Bai Cheng and Yue Ling entered Wuling Town and soon arrived at the entrance of Renhui Academy.

At this moment, Yueling said to Bai Cheng beside her, "You can stay in town. It's quite safe here. There won't be any robbers or thieves. Under the jurisdiction of the Supervisory Office, there's basically no fighting or injury. It's best not to leave town unless necessary. Wait until I get out of school before you come back with me." After saying that, Yueling took out thirty coins from her pocket and handed them to Bai Cheng.

Bai Cheng shook his head immediately and said, "I already have money." He then took out the silver coin from yesterday.

Seeing this, Yue Ling asked, "Where did you get these silver coins? One of these silver coins is almost equivalent to half a month's income for an ordinary person."

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng asked, "I'm worried, we won't get robbed, will we?"

After listening, Yue Ling laughed and said, "Who would care about your little bit of money? A martial artist in the early stage of Body Refinement has an average monthly income of three silver coins, and a martial artist in the middle stage of Body Refinement has an average monthly income of six silver coins. Why would they care about your little bit of money?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Cheng responded, "Uh...it seems I was too short-sighted."

"However, the bandits outside don't care how much money you have, so try not to leave the town." After saying that, Yue Ling walked into the school.

Meanwhile, Bai Cheng continued to wander around Wuling Town. When he arrived at the town center, he discovered that a martial arts arena had been set up, and many pedestrians were watching from below.

Bai Cheng also went up to the stage and saw that it was a square platform about 200 square meters in size. Several people were sitting in the first row below the stage, who looked like judges. A beautiful woman was hosting the event on the stage.

The woman addressed the crowd below, saying, "Today's martial arts tournament officially begins. The registration fee is one silver coin. Now, I will explain the rules: 1. Participants are not allowed to use external aids such as pills or talismans. 2. The use of weapons or hidden weapons is prohibited. If discovered, the participant will be immediately disqualified. 3. Participants are not allowed to attack those who surrender. Violation of this rule will result in immediate disqualification. 4. To prevent cheating, participants must touch the body measurement stone below the stage. The stone will display your bone age. Only those under the age of twenty-two are allowed to participate. The winner of each round will advance to the next round. The first place winner will receive five hundred silver coins, the second place winner will receive two hundred silver coins, and the third place winner will receive one hundred silver coins. Please register at the body measurement stone below. You have ten minutes to register."

As soon as the woman finished speaking, a crowd gathered at the body-measuring stone below, resembling people rushing to buy goods in a supermarket. One person placed their hand on the stone, and after a second, the stone glowed faintly, displaying the number 20.

Bai Cheng also found it quite amazing that there was a stone that could determine a person's age. He just didn't know what the principle was. He wondered what would happen if this were used on those self-proclaimed eighteen-year-olds on Blue Star.

He watched as each participant registered and received a number. Then, with a gong sounding on stage, the woman announced, "Registration is complete. The competition will now begin. Please come up to the stage if you have number one."

As the words fell, two of the contestants stepped onto the arena. Only then did Bai Cheng notice that the arena was actually made of stone.

The woman stepped forward and said, "Please state your names."

Wang Quanzheng

Zhao Ji

After hearing the two men announce their names, the woman said again, "The competition will now begin."

As she finished speaking, she stepped out of the arena. Then she saw two people on the arena quickly clashing together. One of them bent his arm to gather strength, and then quickly attacked the other. His fist looked incredibly fast, like lightning with the power of a storm.

The other person was not to be outdone. He raised his arms to protect his body and blocked the attack solidly before sliding backward for dozens of meters before stopping.

Then the man named Wang Quanzheng said, "You're actually at the mid-stage of Body Refinement!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ji replied, "That's right. I see you're only at the early stage of Body Refinement. You're no match for me, so admit defeat."

Wang Quanzheng was still unwilling to give up and said again, "How will you know if you don't try?" As soon as he finished speaking, the man named Wang Quanzheng bent over, his legs tensed, and his whole body became taut.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji dared not be careless and immediately assumed a defensive stance. With a loud shout from Wang Quanzheng, he leaped towards Zhao Ji with a powerful kick, leaving a deep footprint in the spot where he had been standing. At the same time, he charged at Zhao Ji with his right hand.

Zhao Ji was equally unyielding. He slammed his right foot into the ground with such force that it left a deep imprint. Then, he stepped forward with his left leg, bent his right arm to gather strength, and collided with Wang Quanzheng's fist.

The two fists collided with a loud thud, a dull sound that everyone in the audience could clearly hear. Then, Wang Quan was seen flying backward, landing heavily on the ring.

Then he staggered to his feet and said, "I lost."

As soon as the words were spoken, cheers erupted from the audience. The beautiful host then walked onto the stage and announced, "The winner is Zhao Ji. Congratulations to Zhao Ji for advancing to the next round. Next group of contestants, please come forward. Now, please have the person who received number two come forward..."

As the competition on the stage intensified, the match proceeded slowly, and Bai Cheng watched with great interest. After all, the habit of enjoying a good show is the same for everyone, no matter which world they live in.

At this moment, Bai Cheng suddenly became interested in the stone that could determine a person's age. He then walked through the crowd to the stone, where two guards were standing. Bai Cheng approached them and asked, "Brothers, may I have my age determined?"

The two guards exchanged glances, and then one of them said, "Registration is over. Come back next time."

After listening, Bai Cheng couldn't help but think, "It seems that the ordinary method won't work. I have to find a different way to satisfy my curiosity."

Bai Cheng then spoke up again: "Actually, it's like this. I injured my head before and forgot how old I am. I wanted to come here to take a look, and I hope you two brothers can do me a favor."

The two guards exchanged glances after hearing this, and then one of them said, "There are actually people who can forget how old they are. Fine, then go and touch them."

After the guard finished speaking, Bai Cheng stepped forward and placed his hand on the measuring stone. After only a second, the number twenty-one slowly appeared on the stone.

Seeing this, Bai Cheng also started to think: "Hmm, am I not twenty-two? How did I become twenty-one? Oh, I remember now, I am twenty-two in the traditional Chinese age system. It seems that people here do not have the concept of traditional Chinese age system, they only have their actual age."

After satisfying his curiosity, Bai Cheng thanked the guards and left. The martial arts competition was still going on in full swing when he left.