Grandfather

Seeing his opponent slash at him, Chu Kuang's expression changed slightly. It was already too late to dodge, so in his haste, he could only circulate the Iron Armor Technique, turn sideways, and use his shoulder to block the strike.

"Pfft—"

With a crisp sound, the blade cut into Chu Kuang's shoulder, only to be caught fast by his muscles and bones.

"Die!"

At that very instant, Chu Kuang endured the pain and exerted force, shaking his spear and sending his opponent flying from the arena.

Before Xu Hong could react, Chu Kuang hurled the spear. It shot out like a massive crossbow bolt and pinned him to the arena floor.

"Whew—"

After that strike, Chu Kuang was teleported outside the arena. Still shaken, he touched his shoulder and found that the saber wound embedded deep in his shoulder bone had completely vanished. Only then did he slowly take a deep breath.

Xu Hong had seized his timing well in that battle, and he had hidden his trump card deeply.

Chu Kuang had originally thought that the Great Accomplishment Stage Black Tiger Saber Technique was Xu Hong's trump card. Who would have thought that he had also mastered the Crouching Tiger Saber Technique to the Great Accomplishment Stage?

The Crouching Tiger Saber Technique excelled at sneak attacks. It often produced miraculous results in close combat. If Chu Kuang had been even slightly careless, he would have been beheaded in a single blow.

Even though he had blocked the attack with his shoulder in the end, he had still suffered severe injuries. If the Iron Armor Technique had not specialized in defense, and if the trait had not raised his defense by twenty percent, Chu Kuang would likely have been split in two.

Chu Kuang's Life Level was as high as 5.6, while his opponent's was only 4.8. Yet he had nearly been killed in a single strike. It was clear that Xu Hong's place among the top three thousand was well deserved.

One had to know that the gap brought by Life Level was not merely strength, but overall physical ability in every aspect.

Chu Kuang's Life Level was nearly twice as high as his opponent's, which meant his base defense, physique, speed, strength, vitality, and recovery ability were all nearly twice as high.

For such a gap to still allow his opponent to wound him badly showed that Xu Hong was indeed quite strong.

"Two advanced saber techniques at the Great Accomplishment Stage. His talent for the saber is indeed impressive."

"Unfortunately, his Life Level is too low. If he had mastered an advanced external martial art to the Great Accomplishment Stage, he could at least have broken into the top thousand."

Chu Kuang took a deep breath and reviewed his own shortcomings. His brow furrowed slightly. "My spear technique is still at too low a level. If the Gold-Splitting Spear had reached the Great Accomplishment Stage, he would never have had the chance to use the Crouching Tiger Saber Technique for a sneak attack."

"Fortunately, I made it into the top three thousand. I can apply for that loan now."

He revealed a faint smile, then opened the Ranking System and immediately saw that his ranking had changed.

Chu Kuang

School: Tian Heng Third Middle School

Rank: 2997

Wins: 12; Losses: 2

Win Rate: 83%

"You have entered the top three thousand. You may now apply for an Interest-Free Loan."

"The system reminds you that you must participate in at least three ranking matches every day. If you do not participate in ranking matches, your ranking will automatically drop by one hundred places each day."

"If your ranking falls below the top four thousand, Tian Heng City Government will have the right to reclaim your Interest-Free Loan or convert it into an interest-bearing loan."

"Special reminder: After entering the top three thousand, you may not participate in fixed matches. Once fixed-match behavior is discovered, your ranking qualification will be permanently revoked, and the Interest-Free Loan and all federal benefits will be directly reclaimed."

Chu Kuang merely glanced over the contract and rules before directly applying for the Interest-Free Loan.

He knew very well that once he obtained this Interest-Free Loan, his strength would enter a period of rapid growth. There was no way he would fall below the top four thousand.

As for the restriction on fixed matches, it was meant to prevent people from selling the opportunity to obtain an Interest-Free Loan through the top three thousand.

Although it was already the early hours of the morning, the one hundred thousand Federal Coin loan was approved quickly. Chu Kuang immediately used it to order a First-Order Source Energy Potion, then exited the Tian Heng Star Realm.

"It'll take some time for the Source Energy Potion to leave storage. It probably won't be delivered until tomorrow morning."

"Better get some rest first."

After a busy day, Chu Kuang felt exhausted in both body and mind. After swallowing a Nutrient Solution, he fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, Chu Kuang was awakened by the sound of the doorbell. He had originally thought the Nutrient Solution had arrived, only to find three men—old, middle-aged, and young—standing outside.

"Grandpa, Uncle, Cousin."

Chu Kuang froze for a moment. The three men were his grandfather, Chu Tianke; his eldest uncle, Chu Meng; and his cousin, Chu Linfeng.

Chu Linfeng was the same age as Chu Kuang. Both studied martial arts at Tian Heng Third Middle School, but Chu Linfeng was in Class Six of the first year, while Chu Kuang was in Class Seven.

Chu Linfeng was a top student in the top ten of Class Six. He had always been arrogant and looked down on his cousin. The two rarely interacted.

At that moment, Chu Tianke nodded and walked into the living room as though it were his own home. Expressionless, he said, "Call your father out."

"I'm already here."

Before Chu Kuang could call him, Father Chu had already come out.

Seeing the three people in the living room, Father Chu frowned slightly, but he still said, "Your grandfather and uncle are rare visitors. Xiao Kuang, go pour them some tea."

Chu Kuang went to make tea, observing the three people in the living room as memories of his family situation surfaced in his mind.

Father Chu had grown up in the most typical kind of large family of this era. His grandfather, Chu Tianke, had a total of seventeen children, all born for the sake of federal childbirth bonuses.

In truth, aside from his eldest uncle, the eldest son, Father Chu's sixteen other siblings had basically been raised by robots and had received little familial affection.

Later, Chu Kuang's uncles had either joined the military or entered the Dark Domain. Many had already died in battle, while most of those still alive barely kept in touch.

Father Chu ranked seventh. He had received almost no love from his grandfather while growing up. Even when his arm had been broken years ago, Chu Tianke had not come to see him once. For his grandfather to visit in person today, he was most likely not here for a family chat.

Sure enough, just as Chu Kuang served the tea, he heard Chu Tianke probe indirectly, "Seventh, you and your wife have worked on the farm all these years. You should have saved quite a bit of money, right?"

Father Chu frowned slightly and said nothing.

Mother Chu could no longer hold herself back and decisively said, "What money? Our little annual salary isn't even enough to cover our expenses."

Chu Tianke's expression darkened slightly, but his tone remained calm. "Neither of you has cultivated for years, so you don't need to spend much. I estimate you've saved at least tens of thousands."

At this point, Chu Tianke said in an unquestionable tone, "Hand it over. Linfeng is in his first year now, and this is exactly when he needs money."

"Linfeng needs money, so our family doesn't?"

Mother Chu laughed in anger. "Chu Kuang is also in his first year. Why don't you have the eldest family give us tens of thousands instead?"

Chu Tianke's face darkened, and he said nothing as Chu Meng spoke from the side.

"Chu Kuang only has Fourth Grade Bone. How can he compare with my Linfeng?"

Pulling Chu Linfeng closer, Chu Meng spoke with a proud expression. "Linfeng has Sixth Grade Bone. In this month's placement examination, he even ranked third in his class."

"Most importantly, he mastered the Arm Penetrating Skill to the Great Accomplishment Stage yesterday. He has a good chance of placing in the top hundred of the entire school in the college entrance examination and obtaining the rare opportunity to enter the Dark Domain."

At that point, Chu Meng looked at Chu Kuang. "I heard that in Chu Kuang's last examination, he only placed around twenty-eighth in the class?"

Chu Kuang finally understood. His grandfather wanted to take money from their family and concentrate their resources on raising Chu Linfeng.

At that moment, Chu Tianke put on the airs of a family patriarch. "Seventh, you need to think of the bigger picture. Chu Kuang's talent is average, and he has stubbornly trained basic martial arts for years. He will most likely be unable to break through to the Mortal Transformation Realm in the future."

"Linfeng is different. With his talent and bone quality, he will surely become the first member of the Chu Family to reach the Mortal Transformation Realm."

"Once one of the Chu Family's descendants reaches the Mortal Transformation Realm, are you afraid you won't live a good life?"

As he spoke, pride appeared in Chu Tianke's eyes.

A genuine Mortal Transformation Realm martial artist was not comparable to the inferior sort who broke through with Gene Potions.

Although their Life Levels were the same, one had perfected martial arts supporting him, while the other was merely a bare Mortal Transformation Realm fighter. The former could easily fight five or even ten of the latter.

Chu Tianke had seventeen children and dozens of grandchildren, yet not one of them was a true Mortal Transformation Realm martial artist.

In this era, the ratio of martial artists to Apprentice Level martial artists was one to ten, but descendants of Mortal Transformation Realm martial artists had at least a fifty percent chance of breaking through to the Mortal Transformation Realm.

Among ordinary Apprentice Level martial artists, the chances of producing a Mortal Transformation Realm martial artist were likely only one in several dozen, or even one in over a hundred.

If Chu Linfeng could successfully break through, he would become someone above the masses. Chu Tianke did not have much lifespan left, and all he wanted before dying was to see a true martial artist emerge among his descendants.

"Chu Yang, hand it over."

Thinking of Chu Linfeng's future, Chu Tianke's eyes gradually brightened. He stared sharply at Chu Yang.

This time, he did not call him Seventh. There was a hint of pressure in his tone.

"We have no money." Father Chu finally spoke. He directly opened the bank account page on his Smart Wristband. "See for yourself."

"Impossible." Chu Tianke's face was full of disbelief as he looked at Mother Chu. "The money must be with you."

"I already said there isn't any."

Mother Chu also opened her bank account and bluntly shut Chu Tianke down.

Still unwilling to give up, Chu Tianke checked Chu Kuang and Chu Yu's accounts, but found nothing. He could only curse as he got up and left.

"Poor trash."

Before leaving, Chu Kuang heard a mocking laugh.

He looked up and saw Chu Linfeng cast him a scornful glance before getting up and following the older generation out of the living room.

Chu Kuang said nothing, but the coldness in his gaze grew increasingly intense.

"Your delivery has arrived. Please sign for your package."

Just as everyone opened the door, a robot flew over from afar and delivered a package to the entrance.

Chu Kuang was delighted. Knowing that the Source Energy Potion had arrived, he hurried forward to receive and sign for it, then picked up the package and prepared to leave.

"Hold it."

At that moment, Chu Linfeng suddenly spoke. He recognized the Source Energy Mark on the packaging and realized that the delivery did not seem to contain an ordinary item.

After being reminded, Chu Tianke also immediately sensed that something was wrong. He snatched the package away and tore it open.

"Source Energy Potion?"

"You little beast! You still said you had no money? What is this?"

A delighted expression appeared on Chu Tianke's face. There was even a trace of resentment in his gaze as he looked at Father Chu. "You unfilial wretch, you hid such a treasure instead of handing it over. Are you trying to ruin the future of the Chu Family's chosen prodigy?"