Of All Pursuits, None Surpassed Martial Arts!

The next day, Lu Jue was awakened by his phone ringing and discovered that it was already ten in the morning.

After hastily mastering the Basic Fist Arts last night, his body had been seized by an unprecedented exhaustion. He had actually slept for so long without realizing it.

"Hello, Dad?"

"Xiao Jue, are you home? Bring six hundred yuan out, then meet me at Fulailai Restaurant."

"Fulailai Restaurant? Is Lu Guowei hosting another banquet? What's the excuse this time?"

"Sigh, your cousin earned outstanding results in the final assessment of a Martial Arts Winter Class."

His father's voice carried its usual weariness from the other end of the line. Lu Jue said nothing more, hung up, and began getting ready.

Ever since his mother had died of illness, his father had cut off contact with the Lu Family Members for a time, but before long, he had resumed contact with them.

His father always said that it was not Grandfather's fault. There had truly been no money left at the time.

But Lu Jue did not believe it at all. Were the training clothes his cousin replaced every month picked up off the streets?

Lu Guowei was the only son of Lu Jue's Uncle, attended the same school as him, and would also be taking the Martial Arts Examination this year.

When he was six, Guowei had once been praised by Grandfather's former superior in the Scavenger Team for having rather good natural talent.

From then on, Uncle's family, already the most favored, received all of Grandfather's support. Every resource was tilted toward his cousin, and the whole family even moved out of the slums with Grandfather and into the better-off Commoner District.

Yet laughably, the cousin on whom the Lu Family had pinned such high hopes had merely placed somewhere in the seven hundreds across the entire grade in last term's year-end assessment. He had even held a banquet over that result and collected quite a lot of gift money from the relatives.

As for Lu Jue, without the abundant resources his cousin enjoyed, he had still fought his way into the seven hundreds in the year-end assessment through his own efforts.

Lu Jue bore no resentment over that. The money on Grandfather's side was wealth Grandfather had accumulated in the Scavenger Team. He could give it to whomever he wanted.

But he could not understand what had happened to his mother.

Why would they rather buy his cousin so many brand-name clothes than lend his family money to save a life?

He did not want to attend this baffling banquet at all, but his father had already agreed. At the very least, they had to eat enough to get some of their investment back.

After boarding the bus bound for the Commoner District, Lu Jue found a window seat and turned his gaze toward the passing scenery outside.

At first glance, this area seemed no different from the world of his past life.

The same ranks of towering buildings sketched out a cold skyline, the same ceaseless streams of vehicles surged along broad roads, and the same countless shops crowded both sides of the streets.

Voices buzzed like a boiling cauldron, noisy and brimming with the warmth of everyday life.

Yet beneath that seemingly ordinary bustle, more than sixty percent of it was closely tied to the words "martial arts."

The largest sign on the street corner no longer belonged to a bank or supermarket, but to an advanced martial arts academy called Hundred Refinements. Through its enormous glass windows, students in uniform training clothes could vaguely be seen sweating profusely.

What looked like a café was, astonishingly, a Nutrient Solution specialty store. Its display windows held all kinds of nutrient solutions gleaming faintly, and the numbers on their price tags were enough to make one's tongue click.

Further on, Li's Weapon Shop, extreme weight-training equipment stores, martial artist bookstores—every sort of shop related to martial artists dazzled the eye, even more densely packed than restaurants and clothing stores.

On the advertising spaces at bus stops, images of muscle-knotted martial artists had replaced celebrities, promoting the latest combat suits or the online courses of some Martial Arts Master.

Fragments of pedestrians' conversations drifted through the bus window on the wind, most of them concerning topics like "Qi and Blood Value," "when can one enter Entering Force," or "the seeded contestant from such-and-such martial arts academy."

Even in online livestream sales, martial arts-related products constantly occupied the top eight spots on the sales rankings.

This world appeared modern and civilized, yet its core had long since been utterly dominated by martial arts.

Every corner silently spoke of the law that Might Reigns Supreme.

Of all pursuits, all were lowly; only martial arts stood high!

An hour later, they arrived at Fulailai Restaurant.

This restaurant was not luxurious, merely an old-established eatery.

The moment Lu Jue reached the entrance, he saw his father pacing outside. He quickly handed over the money.

"What? They won't let you in unless you pay the gift money?"

"Hey, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find the place, so I waited outside for you!" His father was clearly embarrassed. He rubbed his hands together and accepted the stack of bills still warm from Lu Jue's body.

Lu Jue frowned slightly. Catching sight of the old jacket his father wore, its collar already worn through, his heart clenched with sour pain.

In three years, Uncle's family had held more than ten banquets at this restaurant. How could his father possibly fail to find it?

Lu Jue was the first to push open Fulailai Restaurant's glass door.

The restaurant was steaming with heat and buzzing with voices.

Uncle's family sat at the main table, chatting and laughing with the relatives.

Lu Guowei wore a full set of brand-name sportswear and was boasting about something to Fourth Uncle's son.

"Do you know about Crimson Flame Savage Bull? Its meat is what truly melts in your mouth! Last month, Grandfather had to beg an old acquaintance before he finally managed to buy a pound. I ate all of it—the taste, tsk tsk tsk!"

"And Rock Armor Rhinoceros Pig—that texture is something else! I had it at Songhe Tower, you know? Songhe Tower! Guo Chun treated us!"

At that moment, Lu Jue followed his father over in silence.

Lu Guowei caught sight of them from the corner of his eye. Not only did he not lower his showy voice, he raised it even higher, carrying an intentionally condescending air.

Lu Jue raised his eyes expressionlessly and gave him a faint glance.

Though he had not interacted much with this cousin of his, he had seen through him completely.

He was clearly only the son of commoners, yet he was single-mindedly trying to squeeze into the circles of those rich young masters, boring his way in like a sharpened drill.

Usually, he was nothing more than a lackey trailing behind some wealthy young master's backside. Thinking he had rubbed off some of the grandeur of influential families, he actually took himself for somebody.

"Oh, Second Brother and Xiao Jue are here!"

Aunt had sharp eyes and immediately rose to greet them. Her gaze paused for a moment on the red envelope Father had just taken out, and her smile grew even brighter. "We've been waiting for you! Hurry, sit down, sit down!"

As usual, Father had intended to take Lu Jue to find a corner seat and eat more dishes, but to his surprise, Grandfather stood and waved.

"Second Brother, come sit here!"

Hearing that, Father was flattered beyond measure and hurried over at once.

But alarm bells rang loudly in Lu Jue's heart. This unusual arrangement made him smell something out of the ordinary.

Only two tables had been set for this banquet, yet Father, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle—who were usually neglected—had all been seated at the main table this time.

This was probably a Hongmen Banquet.

Sure enough, after three rounds of wine, Grandfather suddenly rose with his cup in hand. The noisy private room instantly fell silent, and everyone's gaze converged on him.

"Today, while Guowei is celebrating this happy occasion, I have something to announce!" Grandfather's voice was loud and carried an authority that brooked no doubt.

"You all saw yesterday's news, right? Starting next term, martial arts schools will charge one hundred thousand yuan in tuition every term. Second Brother, Xiao Jue in your family studies martial arts too. Can you afford to pay that one hundred thousand?"

"Dad, how could I possibly have the money for that tuition? To be honest, I'm planning to sign up for the next Scavenger Team."

"Nonsense! Do you think the Scavenger Team is child's play? With your physique, I'm afraid you wouldn't even last the first day!"

"Then Dad, what do you mean?"

"One hundred thousand is no small sum. Even for your eldest brother's family, gathering it would not be easy. Xiao Jue's talent is ordinary—he isn't worth it!"

"It was one thing when learning martial arts had no threshold before. Our Lu Family's means are limited. I propose that we pool the strength of every Lu Family Member and raise Guowei into a martial artist!"

"As long as Guowei achieves something, everyone will be able to bask in his glory!"