Live Well, All Is Hope! (Seeking Follow-Up!)

The moment these words were spoken, the entire banquet hall fell silent.

All eyes snapped to the young man who had remained remarkably calm from beginning to end.

Lu Guowei's hand, outstretched to shake Liu Dong's, froze awkwardly in mid-air. The smile he had so carefully prepared shattered inch by inch, leaving him with nothing but the shame and indignation of being stripped bare in public.

The flattery and praise that had surrounded him moments before now felt like invisible slaps, striking his face one after another without mercy.

Beside him, Zhang Lu's fingers tightened involuntarily on her wound, her nails almost digging into her flesh. A tempest of emotions surged within her.

At this moment, under the gaze of countless burning eyes, Lu Jue finally made a move.

He slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze, calm and unruffled, swept over Liu Dong. He showed no pride from the man's flattery, nor anger from the earlier conflict.

He glanced at the mess on the floor and the few neighbors still groaning, then finally settled his gaze on Zhang Lu and her parents, whose expressions were complex.

"Alright, both sides were at fault in this matter. I won't be involved. As for the medical expenses, you two sort it out yourselves!"

Hearing this, Liu Dong was taken aback. He had expected Lu Jue to react with anger, perhaps even lash out, or at least offer a sarcastic remark. He never anticipated a response so completely outside his script.

"Brother Lu is generous! I will definitely handle this properly!"

Lu Jue nodded and said no more, gently supporting his somewhat dazed father's arm.

"Dad, let's go."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the hall.

Lu's father instinctively stood up, allowing his son to help him. His steps were a little unsteady as they walked towards the hall entrance.

Throughout the entire process, Lu Jue didn't look at anyone else. In the deathly silence, he calmly guided his father through the hall strewn with broken dishes and cups, as if he were simply leaving after an ordinary family meal.

It wasn't until their backs disappeared through the hall entrance that the invisible pressure suddenly dissipated.

"Hiss..."

Someone let out a sharp intake of breath, and then, suppressed murmurs erupted like a tide.

"Lu Jue's strength must be far greater than Liu Dong's, otherwise Liu wouldn't be so respectful!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, there really is always someone stronger!"

"I never expected Lu Jue to be the true hidden dragon of our neighborhood!"

"I've always thought Lu Jue was destined for great things since I was little!"

"Lu Guowei's expression just now was hilarious. I really thought that Liu Dong guy was showing him respect..."

Everyone's gaze involuntarily shifted back to the crestfallen Lu Guowei.

All the praise and envy from before now turned into silent mockery.

Lu Guowei's earlier smugness, in the face of Lu Jue's understated demeanor, appeared so ridiculous and insignificant.

Zhang Lu bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes fixed on Lu Jue's retreating back.

Two years ago, she had indeed been attracted to Lu Jue's handsome appearance and had insisted her father propose marriage.

After being rejected, while she didn't develop hatred, she was certainly stimulated. She pushed herself hard in her final year at the martial arts school, achieving good results, and signed a ten-year contract with the Chen Family in Tianhai City.

She had thought that by entering the martial arts school, she had already created an insurmountable gap between herself and Lu Jue.

But the scene just now, like a heavy hammer, had shattered her perception.

Liu Dong's undisguised reverence, his submissive posture of willing to take a beating, all pointed to one ironclad fact!

—Lu Jue's strength was likely far beyond Liu Dong's. The level he was at was perhaps something she herself would have to look up to.

Now, it seemed, the rejection back then wasn't due to youthful arrogance or ignorance, but because he had already seen clearly that their martial arts paths were destined not to intersect on the same trajectory from the very beginning?

Lu Jue hadn't even spared her a single glance, like a cold wind blowing through a hall, stripping away all the composure she had so carefully maintained.

At this moment, she suddenly understood that true triumph never required grand pronouncements, nor the fleeting satisfaction of revenge.

It was merely in a calm, indifferent turn of the head that all past contempt and doubt were transformed into silent admiration.

Perhaps this was the insurmountable chasm between her and Lu Jue.

With this thought, Zhang Lu took a sharp breath, turned, pushed through the crowd, and quickly hurried after him.

The evening breeze outside the hotel carried a hint of coolness, dispelling the lingering scent of alcohol and the clamor of the banquet from her.

She saw Lu Jue supporting his father, standing quietly under a streetlamp, waiting for a taxi.

The father and son's figures appeared exceptionally peaceful in the night, a world away from the mess and noise inside the hotel.

Zhang Lu paused, tidied her slightly disheveled hair and clothes from her hurried run, and approached, asking:

"Can I speak with you alone for a moment, Xiao Jue?"

"En!" Lu Jue glanced at her and nodded.

They walked together to a secluded corner. Zhang Lu suddenly asked:

"Xiao Jue, have you signed any agreements with any factions?"

Lu Jue hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "No, why?"

Zhang Lu gritted her teeth, suddenly shedding her outer coat to reveal a body crisscrossed with scars. Some wounds were still faintly red, clearly recent.

"Xiao Jue, never sign an agreement with those power elites and great families lightly."

Zhang Lu's voice trembled as she pointed to the mix of old and new scars, her eyes filled with humiliation.

"My grades were average back then, so I could only sign the lowest-tier ten-year contract with the Chen Family. I thought with their resources, I could leap like a carp over the dragon gate and completely change my fate. But in reality, I just became a dog under their command."

"What they value is only the worth you can create for them during the contract period. Whatever they give you, they will extract ten or even a hundred times more from you! If you fail a mission or don't meet their expected progress, you'll be whipped at best, or become a medicine person at worst!"

"Xiao Jue, I can tell you're different from us, you won't sign those lowest-tier agreements. But for someone with your exceptional talent, they will use even more favorable conditions and prospects to win you over. Once you sign the contract, the shackles will only be heavier and harder to break than mine!"

"Be careful with everything!"

After she finished speaking, Lu Jue slowly replied:

"Thank you, I understand."

His voice was calm, without a ripple. He showed neither shock nor anger, nor pity or sympathy, and certainly no urge to "draw his sword to help."

He wasn't a saint with a desire to save all living beings.

To him, she was ultimately just a relatively familiar neighbor.

However, what he had just heard gave Lu Jue a deeper understanding of that so-called upper class.

Zhang Lu's experience was like a mirror, reflecting not only the overt competition in cultivation on this martial arts path but also the hidden, bone-devouring rules of the great families.

But this didn't make him feel fear or anger. Instead, it was like a cold wind that dispersed some of the fog, allowing him to see the dangers ahead more clearly.

"It seems I not only need to improve my strength but also quickly establish my own channels for acquiring resources, perhaps outside the city?"

Lu Jue mused. Even organizations with semi-official status like martial schools were ultimately controlled by others. True confidence had to come from one's own strength and resources completely under one's own control.

With this thought, his heart settled. He nodded at Zhang Lu and said, "Live well, there's always hope. Take care!"

After speaking, he didn't linger. He turned and walked towards the taxi waiting by the roadside.

The night swallowed his figure, and with it, the clamor from the hotel entrance and Zhang Lu's complex gaze.