Chapter 96 - 95: Daily Life at Home, Registering With the Martial Artist Alliance

My own mouth is really too loose! Having known Jiang Shu for so long, do I still not know that he’s the reticent type who wouldn’t brag even after making a breakthrough?! I just entered the Bright Strength stage not long ago, and now Jiang Shu has reached Dark Force? Dark Force! He could damn well be a martial arts teacher in an academy! When practicing Health Care Boxing today, I was thinking about how Jiang Shu would dominate the arena in future competitions. Now it seems I was being too conservative. No wonder he’s first in the college Martial Artist genius competition. Truly terrifying! After chatting casually with Shou Junming for a while, Jiang Shu returned to his dormitory. Although Shou Junming’s Martial Arts Talent and perseverance were quite ordinary, he was absolutely top-notch in the academy when it came to gourmet food and gossip. In just a simple half-hour chat, Jiang Shu heard quite a few pieces of gossip, such as which department’s senior female student was the most beautiful. A Martial Artist from Class 2 had become famous in the Jiangnan City arena and started to enter the entertainment industry. Recently, he was even spotted with a former B-list celebrity, going in and out of a mall. 「In the following period.」 The situation in Pingling County became extremely tense. Many prominent families offered generous conditions to attract Martial Artists who were still at the martial arts gyms; even some other Martial Artists were recruited. Inside the Hungry Tiger Gym, several senior brothers were all lured away by these families. Only Jiang Shu and Qi Yuan remained unaffiliated, regularly sparring in the small courtyard. With Jiang Shu’s guidance, Qi Yuan’s strength steadily improved, and he was just one step away from the Iron Sheet Realm. As for Jiang Shu, whenever he had time, he relentlessly practiced the Nameless Three Cuts and Tiger Bone Mad Demon Fist. The bones in his entire right arm had been fully tempered, and the lower part of his left arm was also nearing completion. 「Before you knew it, it was the end of January.」 「Xuanxing, Xia Country.」 Jiangnan Academy issued a vacation notice, and many students packed their bags, ready to go home. Jiang Shu also boarded the high-speed train, speeding all the way home. 「Qingjiang Garden.」 "Mom, Dad didn’t go fishing today?" Jiang Shu asked with a smile as he opened the door and saw his father busy in the kitchen. Normally at this time of day, his dad would have already been heading out in his car. "Go? If he went today, I’d throw out all his fishing rods, and he wouldn’t have to come back to sleep tonight," his mother, Xu Lizhi, said while folding Jiang Shu’s clothes on the sofa. After receiving the news of Jiang Shu’s return yesterday, she had hurriedly washed and sunned all the quilts and clothes. Now, she was also very concerned about government news, knowing that Martial Artists were definitely not as simple as they seemed. Take her own son, for example. He was clearly first in the college Martial Artist genius competition, but he hadn’t appeared on the arena stage again for a long time. All the Martial Artists on stage were in the Bright Strength realm. So where did the even higher-Realm Martial Artists go? She didn’t know. But she could guess that these high-Realm Martial Artists went to places ordinary people like her were unaware of. She knew she couldn’t provide much for her son. Money? She had worked for most of her life yet hadn’t made as much as her son won from a single competition. Power? She and Jiang Yongyi were just ordinary citizens, barely knowing a few government officials. Her son, however, after becoming first in the college Martial Artist genius competition, had even been visited by city leaders. All she could do was take care of these trivial things for her son, to let him sleep more comfortably when he returned and wear clothes that felt better. "Come, try this down jacket. Mom specially went to the mall to buy you new clothes yesterday. See how you like it?" "Hmm." Taking off his clothes, Jiang Shu didn’t explain; at his current realm, he wouldn’t feel the cold even if he only wore a shirt in the dead of winter. He put on the down jacket, his neck still wrapped in the scarf his mom had put on him. "Handsome! Much handsomer than your dad," Xu Lizhi said, becoming more and more satisfied as she watched. At this time, Jiang Yongyi also stopped his work in the kitchen and brought out plates of dishes. The table was full, all of Jiang Shu’s old favorites. "Dad’s cooking skills have improved," Jiang Shu remarked. The familiar flavors danced on his taste buds, warm and satisfying. Exotic beast meat was indeed good, but it would never have this taste of home. "Isn’t that right? Try this fish; I caught it yesterday! Your mom too... if I could have gone fishing today, this pickled fish would definitely be fresher!" Jiang Yongyi said. "Oh yes, fresher," Xu Lizhi interjected. "I seem to recall someone telling me just a few days ago, ’I had a big catch fishing today! If I can catch this one, and two more, I’ll have three in total.’" "Mm, I even kept the voice message from Weixun," she added, glancing at Jiang Yongyi and unmercifully exposing him. Jiang Shu stifled a smile and continued to eat one bowl of rice after another. 「A few days later.」 High school was on holiday. With Jiang Shu’s resources, Jiang Yanyue had already reached Qi Blood Sensing. She appeared even more spirited than before. "Jiang Shu, our homeroom teacher has talked to me several times already, asking if you have time to come to our school for a lecture?" In the living room, Jiang Yanyue turned on the warm air conditioner and squatted in a Horse Stance. She really wanted to slouch on the sofa too. But since her brother was home today, she pretended to be diligent. Besides, she needed something from him right now. "Talk about Martial Arts?" Jiang Shu said truthfully. "There’s no need for that. Since Martial Arts has been included in the college entrance exam, it’s just like the exam itself. Have you seen how the cut-off scores used to be compared to now? "Previously, there were fewer people, so the requirements were relaxed. My cohort could get guaranteed admission to academies with a major circulation of qi and blood. But now, basically, everyone has to take the entrance exam and achieve scores equivalent to at least a bachelor’s degree or higher to qualify. "Maybe by the time your cohort takes the exam, it will require the scores needed for top-tier academies, or even the proficiency of a Bright Strength Martial Artist, just to get into an academy. "My experiences won’t be of much use to you all." After understanding the reasons for the great changes in the world, he knew that learning Martial Arts would become increasingly easy in the future. Xia Country’s resources would become more plentiful. Once all the Heaven and Earth Secret Realms were developed, aside from the top Martial Artists, the rest would merely be considered talented individuals. They wouldn’t have to worry about work, but their status might not be as high as it was now. Moreover, from a personal standpoint, he hoped his family would learn Martial Arts just enough to enhance their physique. Although he had never entered a Heaven and Earth Secret Realm, both Xie Feichen and Shang Jibei had illustrated the inherent dangers and terrors with their own experiences. Such dangers and terrors were best experienced by him alone. For his parents and sister to be safe, healthy, and live long lives – that was the best! "Then I’ll just go and talk to the homeroom teacher when school starts," Jiang Yanyue said. Seeing Jiang Shu decline, Jiang Yanyue immediately stopped practicing her Horse Stance and collapsed onto the sofa like a bolt of lightning, grabbing a bag of chips from the coffee table. CRUNCH. She paid no mind to the peculiar look Jiang Shu was giving her. She had practiced the Horse Stance for several minutes today! Even though it was just for show, that was still diligent, okay?! What was there to stare at?! 「Time passed.」 「New Year’s Eve arrived quickly.」 Despite regulations against setting off fireworks and firecrackers, some people in Qingjiang Garden were still covertly lighting them. The fireworks sparkled like falling stars in the dark night sky, their crisp, booming sounds echoing back and forth. All the lights in the residential area were on, and many residents chatted leisurely in the neighborhood. The whole scene radiated a sense of communal harmony and a country at peace and prosperity. And right at this moment, Shang Jibei’s message finally came through on Weixun: "I’ve sent you a link to the Martial Artist Union’s website. Click on it and register directly with your ID card number. "Then send me your account number. We’ll communicate through there in the future."