Chapter 79 - 78: Family Gathering, Unbeatable Among Those with Mingjin!

The live streaming room saw its audience number break through ten million. One by one, students from Jiangnan Academy reported their identities, all to cheer for Jiang Shu. Among them: Some had just entered the academy, constantly going in and out of the library. Some were still at the academy, frazzled by their theses. And some had long graduated, working overnight in big companies every day. Their time was extremely tight; they wished they could use one minute as two. But at this moment, all tasks were put aside! Jiang Shu! Jiang Shu! Jiang Shu! The entire live streaming room frantically spammed Jiang Shu’s name. The dedicated forum of Jiangnan Academy was so congested it crashed. Posts about Jiang Shu rapidly refreshed. Even though Jiang Shu had already stepped down from the stage at this moment. Even though the first stage of the Shengjing Sports Stadium’s arena tournament had briefly concluded. The top ten had been tentatively decided, and the live broadcast was moving into the host’s concluding segment. People in the stadium also gradually began to leave. "I look forward to your next fight with Shang Jibei, as well as our next encounter," Wu Zhiming said, waiting for Jiang Shu offstage. As he stepped down, he was constantly reflecting on the reasons for his defeat. Apart from undoubtedly being less skilled, he felt it also had a lot to do with his nature. He had received military education since childhood, which taught that a man should strive for self-improvement. Aggressiveness was something he had always admired. He also considered his own aggressiveness to be unbeatable. Until he met Jiang Shu. Jiang Shu was not only more aggressive but had also understood the significance of gentleness sooner than he had. If he had grasped that earlier, perhaps he wouldn’t have been constantly bombarded with force throughout the fight as he was now. However, it wasn’t too late! Martial Arts, Manifest Strength... it was all just the beginning! "Yes, let’s improve together." After shaking hands, Jiang Shu and Wu Zhiming exchanged a few words about their understanding of martial arts and added each other on WeChat. It was then that Jiang Shu realized Jiang Yanyue had also sent him a message. He tapped open the Long Grass Dumpling avatar: "Jiang Shu, we are in the stands! Mom and Dad are worried about you, afraid you might get hurt. Come up quickly!" He looked up and saw his parents’ anxious figures standing in the now partially empty stands. Next to them, his younger sister Jiang Yanyue was jumping up and down with excitement, enthusiastically waving her hands. "Seen it, coming," he quickly replied and strode toward the corner of the stands. New students from Jiangnan Academy who wanted to greet him halted their steps. Sensing Jiang Shu might be busy, they swallowed the congratulatory words they intended to say. "Dad, Mom, why did you come?" On the stage, he had been as fierce as a tiger and seemingly unrivaled. Now, in front of his parents, he scratched his head, slightly embarrassed. "Less talk, let me check." Xu Lizhi grabbed Jiang Shu’s arm. Seeing how red and swollen it was, she couldn’t help but purse her lips. "Why did you have to fight so fiercely! I’ll buy some safflower oil to rub on it later." "Mom, it’s okay, it recovers quickly. I just need to eat some meat." "Jiang Shu, you... hello, can you give me an autograph?" Jiang Shu had barely finished speaking when a spectator rushed over, holding paper and pen for his autograph. Endorsed by Shang Jibei and with his battle against Wu Zhiming, Jiang Shu’s reputation was solidly established. His popularity skyrocketed, his fame rivaling that of Shang Jibei. Many businesses even began to regret not having paid a hefty sum for Jiang Shu’s endorsement at the time. "Sign the autographs first; we’ll talk when we get back." Seeing a stranger recognize her son, Xu Lizhi naturally wouldn’t embarrass him in public, so she shifted to the side. "Sorry, my arm is really sore, and I need to go back and rest. I can only sign a few." Refusing the growing crowd of spectators, Jiang Shu signed about a dozen autographs and then made a hasty retreat. 「In a guesthouse.」 Having just taken a shower and dressed, Jiang Shu sat on the small sofa in the living room while his mother, Xu Lizhi, rubbed safflower oil on his arm. "Look at you! You looked like a beggar with your clothes all torn. Did you not bring many clothes when you left home this time?" "It’s a good thing I brought some. I knew you practiced martial arts; you always cause us worry. Does it hurt?" On the arena, Jiang Shu’s punches were as fierce as a tiger, and everyone was shocked by his victory over Wu Zhiming. But Xu Lizhi could only think about how much pain her son must be in. It turned out that being a martial artist wasn’t so easy after all. This was only in the arena. If Xia Country were to send her son to the battlefield in the future... She wasn’t foolish. Having opened a shop early, she had interacted with all kinds of people. She had never really thought about it before. But now, the situation in Xia Country was becoming increasingly clear. Her daughter’s school, Ji City First High School, had also started promoting martial arts. Films about martial arts, regardless of quality, were being released at a rapid pace. Some pharmaceutical companies were even issuing notices that they would focus on developing medicines to boost the vital energy of martial artists. The status and pay of celebrities were decreasing sharply. The status and pay of martial artists were on the rise. For a genius martial artist like her son, if he did endorsements, he could earn tens of millions in fees. She couldn’t have imagined such a sum of money before. All these signs indicated that Xia Country needed martial artists. And this need implied that behind it... martial artists would definitely have to give more! "Mom, I’m really okay. You both have started practicing martial arts too, right? Don’t you feel your bodies getting better? You two haven’t sensed your vital energy yet, so you can’t truly appreciate the wonders of martial arts." "For us martial artists, this is just a superficial injury. Later, when I get back to the hotel, I’ll eat some Red Armored Tiger meat provided by the academy. I’ll be mostly healed in less than a day," Jiang Shu said with a grin. He truly hadn’t expected his parents to travel all the way to Shengjing. As a contestant in the University Martial Arts Genius Tournament, he knew that tickets to Shengjing were incredibly hard to come by—practically priceless and always sold out. Contestants like him had charter flights arranged for them. For ordinary people to get to Shengjing, they would probably have to make several high-speed train transfers. Direct travel was definitely out of the question, unless they had arrived very, very early. "You’re something else!" Wanting to pat her son’s shoulder but afraid of touching the injured spot, Xu Lizhi’s hand hovered in mid-air. She finally sighed. As a mother, she realized she could offer little help, as her son, though not yet an adult, was already so capable. She also knew her son might be right. For a martial artist like him, eating the meat of exotic beasts that replenished vital energy was far more effective than this safflower oil. But only by doing this could she feel a little better. "Your dad went out to buy groceries. I’ll cook later. Is there anything special you want to eat? I’ll text your dad to bring it back. If you don’t have anything on tonight, don’t go back to your hotel. This guesthouse has three bedrooms; it’s enough space for all of us." Before coming, she had repeatedly told Jiang Yanyue to book a guesthouse with a kitchen, specifically so she could cook her son some of his favorite dishes. "Mom, anything you cook is delicious. I can sleep anywhere." "Such a sweet talker. Alright, just wait for some tasty food," Xu Lizhi smiled, pushing aside her negative emotions. She stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Although she had already checked the kitchenware multiple times and bought all the necessary seasonings, she still worried she might have missed something as it was almost time to cook. She decided to check everything one more time before she started. "Jiang Shu, how strong are you now?" Jiang Yanyue moved closer to Jiang Shu once their mother had walked away and whispered her question. "I don’t know." Jiang Shu loosened his muscles and joints, smelling the strong scent of safflower oil on himself. A semi-transparent panel appeared in his mind. He saw that his proficiency in Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength was about to reach Great Success. He then continued, "But if you give me another half a month..." "I might... be unbeatable among those at the Manifest Strength realm, perhaps."