It's All a Scheme by Capital

God.

Not some "god of craftsmanship," or "you are my god."

A real god, one that existed in myths.

Not to mention that the gods and immortals of those ancient myths had been proven here to be merely powerful martial artists.

Even if gods truly existed, what could they do?

Benbo'erba was at least a demon.

But while there were no gods, demons and monsters did exist.

From ancient demons like Hanba, who could turn a thousand miles of land scarlet and barren, to modern Zombies that spread infection with a bite—they were all demons and monsters.

But in Divine Land, great demons felt to him like someone storming into the Pentagon in a rage. Everyone knew about it, everyone had heard of it, but no one had personally experienced it.

Lesser demons were more like petty thieves. There were certainly people who encountered them, but even more had never seen one, because the moment they appeared, they were dealt with immediately.

Divine Land protected its people too well!

With nearly two billion people across Divine Land, the average chance of encountering demons and monsters was pitifully low.

Li Ye had once wondered whether demons were gods, and had devoted himself to researching ancient texts and modern papers.

But the more information he looked up, the colder his heart became.

As the saying went, he might not even be able to beat Benbo'erba.

The demons revered as gods in the records were not something ordinary people could even dream of challenging.

As for lesser demons...

He had actually encountered one last year.

During last winter break, Ningjiang City had seen a rare snowfall. The cold had been terrifying, and he had encountered a Snow Spirit.

He had killed it by pouring hot water over it.

Demons and monsters were demons and monsters, not Gods.

With modern analyses of demons and monsters, some lesser demons could even be handled by ordinary people.

And not long afterward, relevant personnel had come to question him. They told him to make sure he called the police if anything happened next time, and even gave him a thousand-yuan reward.

The good news was that he had been born in a relatively safe and humane country.

The bad news was that his system was not humane.

Li Ye could feel the presence of the Godslayer System growing fainter and fainter. Somewhere in the unseen, it was already telling him that when he turned eighteen and came of age, the system would disappear.

Mediocre talent, a useless system, a worrying family situation—his life had already come to a halt.

If he did not give up, who would?

It was not as though he would die if he did not practice martial arts. In Divine Land, the personal safety of ordinary citizens was still something one could trust.

As long as he did not court death, he could live to old age like any ordinary person.

Leaving the school gates, Li Ye took out his keys, started his little electric scooter, and headed straight home.

Li Ye's home was in an old residential complex called Green Water Shore. It was old, but the location was decent. Two roads south lay the river, and from the tenth floor, one could take in the great river in a single sweeping glance.

The environment of an old residential complex naturally could not be called good, but it was fairly clean overall. Still, when Li Ye passed the neighboring building, he caught a strange smell.

The garbage bins downstairs were giving off a peculiar stench.

Li Ye frowned, but did not think much of it. The smell had lasted three days already. It could only mean the trash had not been cleared in time; perhaps it would be gone tomorrow.

He rode his electric scooter to the parking area beneath his building, then took the elevator home.

Li Ye's home was Unit 1002 of Building 10. It covered a hundred square meters, with three bedrooms and one living room. Housing prices were not much different from his previous world, except there was none of that evil shared-area surcharge.

After unlocking the door with his key, he saw his father sitting on the sofa with the television on, holding a phone in his hand.

His mother was busy in the kitchen.

"You got back pretty early today," Li Ye said.

His father, Li Haihua, was the maintenance supervisor of Ningjiang City's largest supermarket chain. He made around ten thousand yuan a month and usually came home very late, but today he was back early.

His mother, Liu Qingxia, also worked for the supermarket chain, handling cashier and warehouse duties. She usually got off work on time.

"There wasn't much to do today."

Li Haihua said, "Go wash your hands. We'll eat soon."

Li Ye did not say much. He put down his backpack and went to wash up.

He did not feel awkward around his parents, because they were no different from his parents in his previous life.

Other than the world being different, as far as family was concerned, Li Ye had essentially lived another life.

After washing his hands, Li Ye was just about to head into the kitchen to help when he heard the television.

"We now bring you a news report. Fu Yan, a martial artist of Jianghuai Province, successfully killed the demon that had been ravaging the Tongguan Mountain Mining Area in Jinze City, Jianghuai Province, at one o'clock this morning. The demonic threat has been completely eliminated."

Li Ye casually looked over and saw the news anchor sitting upright, speaking with clear and precise diction. As she spoke, the footage changed. First came an aerial shot of a mining area in utter devastation, the surrounding mountains looking as if they had been cleaved by blades, huge gashes everywhere.

Then it changed to a photograph of a resolute-looking middle-aged man standing at the entrance to the mining area.

After only two seconds, the footage returned to the anchor.

"Follow-up cleanup is proceeding simultaneously. Residents in the area are advised to guard against residual contamination. For the next three days, please temporarily drink bottled mineral water or honey lemon water."

"We continue with the news."

Li Haihua exclaimed in admiration, "Xiaoye, did you see that? That fight was outrageous. The whole mountain was split apart."

Then he asked, "What kind of demon was that? Jinze is the neighboring city. Should we stock up on mineral water too?"

"No need, Dad."

Li Ye said with a smile, "If they only reminded people about mineral water, it would mean the groundwater nearby had been contaminated, and we would need to prepare some. But since they also mentioned honey lemon water, it isn't a groundwater issue. Honey lemon water helps guard against heavy metals."

"It might be to prevent air pollution from something like mining dust. Given the kind of contamination it can cause, plus the fact that it happened in a mining area, it was most likely either an Ore Skeleton Ape or a Toxin Dust Ore Demon."

"Demons of that type generally have a fixed range, and once they're dead, there isn't much contamination left. Drinking those things is just a precaution."

The Ore Skeleton Ape was a mountain demon. The fur it shed became mineral dust, and once it touched someone, that person would be tainted by its aura and involuntarily draw closer to its main body, vanishing without a trace.

Over in East Japan, it was called Kamikakushi.

The Toxin Dust Ore Demon was more like a parasite. It released mineral dust, and inhaling it caused heavy-metal poisoning. Then the demon would continue breeding inside the victim's body.

But regardless of which one it was, their range of activity was limited. They could not spread across a wide area.

However...

Li Ye took out his phone and searched for news about Jinze City. Before long, he found the information he needed.

A month ago, there had been a mining accident at the Tongguan Mountain Mining Area.

The methods by which those two demons came into being were both related to mining accidents. The former grew within mountains when corpses fused with ore.

The latter was formed when the resentment produced by mining accidents transformed into a demon.

"What are you looking at?" Li Haihua asked.

Li Ye explained what he had found. Li Haihua slapped his thigh. "That's what I thought! Fu Yan isn't even an official, so why did killing a demon make the news? Those black-hearted capitalists mined illegally—this is all a scheme cooked up by capital!"

Li Ye: "..."

"Eat. What capital this, capital that?"

Liu Qingxia had finished cooking and set the dishes on the table. She even rolled her eyes at Li Haihua.

Steamed sea bass, tomato-braised beef brisket, sweet-and-sour ribs, saltwater shrimp, stir-fried carrots with wood ear mushrooms, and stir-fried asparagus with lily bulbs.

While training in martial arts, Li Ye ate very well every day, especially during this crucial period before entering his final year of high school.

"And this—drink it while it's hot. I worked the day shift today, so I came back early to stew it for you."

Liu Qingxia carried over a bowl of soup and placed it before Li Ye.

The soup was a dark golden red, with a layer of amber-like oil floating on top. Inside were stewed, translucent tendons.

The table held ordinary home-cooked dishes, but they were not cheap overall. This bowl of soup was even more expensive.

Dragon Blood Stewed Mountain Ginseng and Deer Tendon, which boosted qi and blood and strengthened the sinews and bones.

Deer tendon, mountain ginseng, red dates, angelica, goji berries, and old ginger were not particularly expensive in today's developed society. They cost only several dozen yuan. What was expensive was the Blood Ganoderma that gave the soup its dark golden-red color.

It was an excellent ingredient for boosting qi and blood. One gram was enough for a bowl of soup, and one gram cost two hundred yuan.

This was a "small snack" essential to the three daily meals of martial arts students.

"Mom, you don't need to prepare this anymore," Li Ye said. "I told my teacher today that I'm switching to the liberal arts track."

Those words made both his parents stiffen.

Li Haihua set down his chopsticks, his voice carrying some reluctance. "Can't you train for one more year?"

Liu Qingxia echoed him, "Yeah. Didn't you do pretty well on the physical test?"

They had discussed their son switching to the liberal arts track before. Though they strongly opposed it, Li Ye had always had his own ideas since childhood. They simply could not stop him.

Li Ye picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. "I looked up the statistics. Among high school Preparatory Students nationwide, only ten percent can step onto the martial path. At our school, it's even more outrageous. The data from the last two years is one hundred to one."

"Excellent, good, qualified—different schools have different standards, so none of it means much. Your son just isn't cut from that cloth. It would be better to spend the final year consolidating and improving my liberal arts grades, then get into a decent university."

Li Ye smiled. "Practicing martial arts is not necessarily that great, either. A lot of people spend enormous effort training, only to achieve Qi Circulation once in the end. It doesn't do much."

"Look at our homeroom teacher. He's nearly forty and has only achieved Qi Circulation once. Other than looking a little younger, he's about the same as everyone else. He's just a high school teacher."

He said lightly, "My General Knowledge grades are excellent. If I get into a good university, maybe after graduation I can work as a Security Consultant for some big company. The salary would be much higher than a teacher's."

"Don't talk nonsense! How are you not cut from that cloth?"

Liu Qingxia cried, "You're definitely the type who excels in both literature and martial arts! You say you won't train, and that's it? I definitely won't agree! And that matter with Thunderclap Martial Hall—you quit without even discussing it with us. That absolutely won't do!"

Li Haihua also cried, "Xiaoye, you're muddleheaded! How can the liberal arts compare to martial arts? Today's martial arts students were officials and masters in ancient times! Do you know that for civil service exams and public institution jobs, martial arts students are definitely ranked first?"

"As for practicing martial arts, your mother and I have to make that decision. Drink the soup first. No matter what, boosting your qi and blood is good. A strong body is better than anything!"

Li Ye did not respond. He merely took a sip of soup, lowered his head, and focused on eating. He wolfed down the food, and the dishes on the table visibly dwindled.

"I'm going to do my papers."

Li Ye drank the last of the soup dregs, put his bowl and chopsticks away, wiped his mouth, and returned to his room.

Li Haihua and Liu Qingxia exchanged a glance. The former picked up a piece of fish, ate it, and let out a muffled sigh.

They had known this would happen when their son stopped going to Thunderclap Martial Hall some time ago.

He had always had firm ideas since he was young, and he was smart too. The things he did were basically never wrong.

They also knew he was not wrong. Though Li Ye did not say some things aloud, as his parents, they understood perfectly well. The family truly had no money left. They had even accumulated a debt of two hundred thousand yuan outside just for his martial arts training.

But...

It was not about hoping their son would become a dragon, nor was it about bringing glory to their ancestors. Their child's future was important, but they knew even better that if he truly did not like it, he would not have trained so diligently at the martial hall. Many times, he had even come home injured.

They had been young once too, and they knew what the martial path was like. Those who succeeded to Fu Yan's level were few and far between, people whose worlds would never intersect with theirs.

The people whose lives truly intersected with theirs were still people like Li Ye's homeroom teacher.

Achieving Qi Circulation once only made it somewhat easier to find work. In other respects, there was little difference from ordinary people. They still lived their lives and went to work as usual.

But before achieving Qi Circulation, martial arts training was bitter.

When they were young, let alone going to martial halls, they had been too lazy even to practice the Guiding Method. That was what true ordinary people were like.

Their son definitely liked martial arts!

After a while, Li Haihua seemed to make up his mind. "Let's hire another instructor!"

Liu Qingxia's hand paused as she picked up food. "Alright!"

Li Haihua gritted his teeth. "Tomorrow, I'll go borrow some more money. No matter what, we can't leave regrets behind! No matter how firm Xiaoye's ideas are, he has to train during summer vacation!"