Frank Ming, My Lord

When Lu Yuan walked out of the alloy weapon shop, his entire being was in a daze.

At this moment, his War Rune Space held a massive sword, one and a half meters long, with a pitch-black blade gleaming with cold light.

An A1 Type Blacklight Alloy Sword.

The lowest-grade alloy equipment, costing Lu Yuan 3,700 yuan.

That was the price he managed to haggle down to.

Otherwise, it would have been 3,900—a full 200 more!

Originally, Lu Yuan had thought about buying armor or something, but now looking back...

How had he been so confident that he could buy both a weapon and armor for 4,000?

Glancing at the 300 yuan left in his pocket, Lu Yuan had initially considered moving to a better place to live.

Now, he didn't even dare to think about it.

What had blinded my eyes?

Poverty.

Leaving the mall, Lu Yuan didn't dare look back for another glance.

He had taken a taxi to the mall earlier, but now with only 300 yuan left and needing to eat, he could only walk back.

Fortunately, after absorbing spirit qi, Lu Yuan found that his stamina was much better than before, and his strength had increased somewhat.

Although the mall was over ten kilometers from the slums, he jogged the whole way and returned in just over half an hour.

The slums during the day looked much more peaceful than at night. Pedestrians hurried along the streets, some looking gaunt and sallow.

Both sides of the road were littered with trash. Children scavenged through the garbage, taking anything useful back home.

Nearby, a few punks with hair dyed in garish colors stood with their hands in their pockets, occasionally glancing around, loitering for no apparent reason.

Lu Yuan lowered his head slightly and returned to the residential area, entering his rented room.

The living room was quiet.

The apartment he rented was divided into four rooms.

One was his, another belonged to Qinghe Jie, and the remaining two were occupied by a middle-aged woman and a couple.

However, the middle-aged woman and the couple usually left early in the day, so they rarely crossed paths.

As for Qinghe Jie, she worked at night, so she should be sleeping now.

Lu Yuan gently closed the door and entered his own partitioned room.

Then, he opened his laptop, logged into the Battle Net, and started watching videos to learn the Military Body Fist and the Military Killing Sword.

The room was very small, but fortunately, Lu Yuan was just starting to practice, moving slowly, so he didn't bump into anything or cause damage.

He practiced until the sun set, drenched in sweat. Putting away the Blacklight Alloy Sword, he sat on the bed to rest.

From outside the door came the sound of a door opening and closing. Lu Yuan knew it was Qinghe Jie leaving for work.

He couldn't help but sigh.

In his past life, a girl with a decent appearance like Li Qinghe would have been adored by countless men, showered with affection.

Not like in this world, where even survival was a struggle.

After resting for a while, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged and began to absorb spirit qi.

As the spirit qi flowed in, his body grew warm, and his tired muscles were significantly relieved.

Lu Yuan was surprised to find that when his body was fatigued, practicing the Spirit Qi Guiding Art was more effective than when he was rested.

No wonder they said physical techniques helped improve spirit qi—so that was how it worked.

The body, the mind, and spirit qi complemented and enhanced each other.

Early the next morning, Lu Yuan went out, planning to find a quiet place outside to practice his physical techniques.

Just then, the front door opened, and Li Qinghe walked in.

She was holding some pan-fried buns. Seeing Lu Yuan, she smiled and said:

"Yuan Didi, I bought too many."

Lu Yuan smiled back:

"Thanks, Qinghe Jie."

He reached out and took the buns.

"By the way, Yuan Didi, have you been practicing boxing?"

"How did you know, Qinghe Jie?"

"You were so loud yesterday, I could hear it from my room."

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

Although he knew the room's soundproofing wasn't great—he often heard the couple making noise at night—he hadn't expected his own practice punches to be overheard too.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm planning to enter the Origin Land, so I need to get some self-defense techniques down first."

"Oh."

Li Qinghe nodded, a hint of vague understanding flickering in her eyes.

She spoke up. "I know a place that's really convenient for practicing punches."

Lu Yuan was taken aback, looking at Li Qinghe:

"Really? Where?"

He'd just been about to look for a quiet spot to train his techniques, and here Li Qinghe already knew of one.

Thinking of something and having it appear—was this the legendary protagonist treatment?

As expected of me.

"Your big sis here has been hanging around the slums for a while. I know a friend who runs a martial hall—you can practice punches there. I'll take you later."

"Big sis, you'll take me? Won't that cut into your rest? You're pretty tired from working nights."

Li Qinghe pulled a cigarette from her chest, lit it, took a drag, then laughed heartily:

"Taking you there won't take much time."

Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded in agreement.

After breakfast, Li Qinghe led Lu Yuan out the door.

Walking along the street, both Li Qinghe and Lu Yuan kept their heads slightly lowered, their steps hurried.

Look little, listen little, mind no one else's business.

This was something Li Qinghe had taught Lu Yuan.

The way of life for ordinary people in the slums.

They turned a few corners on the somewhat foul-smelling streets, eventually arriving at a metal gate that looked very worn and shabby.

Above the gate were four large characters: 'Da Ming Martial Hall.' The neon lights on the letters flickered on and off, as if partially broken.

Outside the gate, a few burly men were squatting and smoking.

As the two approached, the men looked up. When they saw Li Qinghe, their eyes lit up, and one scarred man with a blade mark over his left eye even let out a lewd whistle.

Lu Yuan frowned, but Li Qinghe gave the men a charming smile.

The scarred man stood up, grinning. "Hey, pretty thing, pretty hot, huh? Here looking for me?"

Li Qinghe chuckled lightly. "I'm here to see Ming Ge."

At these words, the other men who'd been stirring froze, and the standing man's smile stiffened.

Without a word, he silently squatted back down and smoked in sullen quiet.

Lu Yuan glanced at the subdued men with some confusion.

Li Qinghe had already called to him, "Follow me in."

Lu Yuan followed Li Qinghe through the gate.

Inside was a vast open space filled with various mechanical equipment.

There were metal posts, fitness machines, boxing rings, and more.

Many people were inside, shouting as they worked out, practiced punches, or even trained in weapon techniques like blade forms.

Lu Yuan watched a burly man with a mechanical arm slam a heavy punch into a metal post, warping it, and felt a flicker of surprise—he hadn't expected such a place to exist in the slums.

He asked curiously, "Qinghe Jie, who's Ming Ge? How do you know him?"

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow at Lu Yuan, a strange smile curling on her lips. "Little brother, you sure you want to know? How detailed do you want it?"

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched, and he gave a dry laugh. "...Never mind."

Li Qinghe smiled and led Lu Yuan deeper into the martial hall.

At the far end of the hall, a brown-haired man nearly two meters tall, wearing a tight black tank top with exaggerated muscles all over his body, was throwing punches at a metal post.

Bang bang bang bang!!

Each punch landed with a heavy thud, leaving deep fist imprints in the metal.

Lu Yuan's pupils contracted.

This was solid metal, yet someone had managed to leave such deep fist prints on it.

Was this even human?

Could this man also be a Gene Warrior?

As Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe approached, the burly man stopped what he was doing and turned to look at them.

His gaze swept over Lu Yuan, then settled on Li Qinghe. A strange smile curled across his face as he spoke in a rough voice:

"What are you doing here?"

Li Qinghe smiled sweetly. "What, I can't miss you?"

The burly man turned to Lu Yuan. "And who's this kid?"

"He's my little brother. I want him to train here a bit, so he can protect himself in this place."

"Your little brother? Then train here. No charge."

The burly man was surprisingly easygoing, waving his hand in agreement.

Lu Yuan had expected him to be much fiercer.

Li Qinghe spoke up. "Yuan Didi, this is the owner here, Frank Ming. You can call him Ming Ge."

Lu Yuan quickly nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Ming Ge."

Frank Ming waved dismissively, a lewd grin spreading across his face. "Look around yourself. Qinghe, come with me."

With that, he turned and entered a side room. Li Qinghe gave Lu Yuan a strange smile. "Look around on your own. I'm going in."

Lu Yuan: "..."

He nodded, his heart a tangled mess.

Was this kind of transaction really something a minor like him should be witnessing?

Li Qinghe entered the room and closed the door. Frank Ming had already drawn the curtains.

Contrary to what Lu Yuan had imagined, Frank Ming stood straight and looked at Li Qinghe. "My Lord!"

Li Qinghe lit a cigarette, sat down on the brown leather sofa, and crossed her legs. "Mm."

Frank Ming stole a glance at Li Qinghe and cautiously asked, "My Lord... that kid outside, who is he really?"

Li Qinghe smiled. "A little brother I met by chance. A decent kid at heart. He just awakened his gene and hasn't entered Origin Land yet. I plan to have him train here. Teach him what you can."

Frank Ming's face lit up with understanding. He slapped his chest, which felt as hard as a brick. "No problem! Leave it to me!"

"Don't overdo it. Don't blow our cover."

"Understood."

"Mm. I'll stay a bit longer, then I'm leaving."

Li Qinghe nodded, pulled out her phone, and started playing a little game.

Frank Ming's face twisted in hesitation, then he spoke up. "...My Lord, could you stay a little longer?"

Li Qinghe looked up at Frank Ming. "Reason?"

"Ahem... you see, if the time is too short, word might get out and it won't sound good..."

"Mm?"

Li Qinghe narrowed her eyes, a brilliant smile spreading across her face.

Frank Ming's face went pale. He quickly stammered, "No, no, I misspoke! Whatever you say, My Lord!"

Li Qinghe's smile faded. Then, as if remembering something, she said, "Oh, right. There's a man outside with a scar over his left eye. I don't want to see him again."

"Understood!"

We've already signed the contract! Big shots, please recommend, bookmark, and throw your monthly tickets~~