The Future Was Full of Hope

In this day and age, anyone who had turned eighteen could get married.

"Uh... huh?"

Fang Lingxue froze for a moment, her face flushing red. "We were having such a nice conversation. Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Qin Heng's gaze was resolute. "I want to marry you!"

Fang Lingxue looked bashful, then shook her head. "No. Getting married now would affect your future. A Quasi-Martial Warrior should devote all their energy to training. Only after becoming a true Martial Warrior can you be considered accomplished. Don't become smug so quickly—the road of martial cultivation has only just begun."

"This..."

Qin Heng was somewhat surprised.

He had thought she would happily agree. He never expected such an answer instead.

"Then when will we..."

he asked.

Fang Lingxue smiled. "When your punch strength reaches 1,000 kilograms, and I've turned eighteen, we'll go get our marriage certificate!"

One Ton Punch was the standard for an official Martial Warrior.

Qin Heng pursed his lips, thinking that could still take who knew how long.

But Fang Lingxue was thinking of his best interests, so he could only nod. "All right. Then I'll keep working hard. First I'll pass the assessment in three days, then join one of the Four Great Martial Halls, and strive to meet your requirement as soon as possible!"

"Speaking of that..."

Fang Lingxue asked him, "Have you decided which of the Four Great Martial Halls you want to join?"

As long as one passed the Quasi-Martial Warrior assessment, they could immediately submit their preferences, selecting any two of the Four Great Martial Halls as their desired targets. The martial halls would then decide whether to accept them.

Usually, one would be selected by their first choice. Rejections were extremely rare.

Even if the first choice rejected them, the second choice had to accept them. In short, it was impossible not to get in anywhere.

Qin Heng replied, "I've been considering that question lately too. Each of the Four Great Martial Halls has its own specialties, so it's hard to choose. How about... you help me weigh it up?"

The so-called Four Great Martial Halls were Heavenly Dao Martial Hall, Dragon God Martial Hall, War God Martial Hall, and Hero Martial Hall.

All four martial halls were humanity's guardians. Their rankings were in no particular order, and their names were known in every household.

Fang Lingxue suggested, "The masters of War God Martial Hall and Hero Martial Hall are both foreigners. You should choose between Heavenly Dao Martial Hall and Dragon God Martial Hall."

Qin Heng said, "That was what I was thinking too. But even choosing between these two is difficult. Heavenly Dao Martial Hall pays Quasi-Martial Warriors 5,000 a month and gives two days off each month to go home. Dragon God Martial Hall only pays 3,500 a month, but it's close to my home, so I can come back every day."

A difference of 1,500 a month was no small sum. It was enough to cover two months of expenses for an ordinary Slum District family.

Fang Lingxue smacked him on the head. "Idiot, what's there to hesitate over? Of course you pick the one that pays more!"

"But Heavenly Dao Martial Hall is too far away. If I can't go home, what will happen to my parents?" Qin Heng scratched his head.

Fang Lingxue said, "Isn't that what I'm here for? I can take care of them for you! Besides, with a monthly salary of 5,000, you can spend 500 to hire someone to look after Uncle and Auntie. You'd still have two days off every month, and you wouldn't have to keep running home and delaying your training. No matter how you look at it, Heavenly Dao Martial Hall is the better choice!"

After thinking it over, Qin Heng felt that seemed to make sense.

Sigh, he had been poor for so long that it had never occurred to him he could hire someone to care for his parents once he had money!

"Ling Xue, you're still the smart one. I'm too stupid." Qin Heng grinned foolishly.

The corners of Fang Lingxue's lips curved upward. "You've trained yourself stupid. Your brain is growing muscles."

Then she got to her feet. "Idiot Qin Heng, I'm getting off work. You should head home too. See you tomorrow."

"Oh, all right..."

Qin Heng finished the orange drink in his cup and parted from her reluctantly.

On his way home, Qin Heng stopped by the market and spent five yuan on a small piece of pork and several garlic sprouts.

The moment he got home, his father Qin Ziming, who was sitting in a wheelchair, frowned. "Xiao Heng, why did you buy meat? Xiao Xue doesn't have an easy time earning money. Don't keep spending her money recklessly."

Qin Heng explained, "Dad, Mom, I have good news today. My punch strength has reached 544 kilograms!"

"What? 544 kilograms!"

His parents were so delighted they nearly jumped out of their wheelchairs.

"Our Xiao Heng has made something of himself!"

"Hahaha! Our family is going to produce a Martial Warrior! Smoke is rising from the Qin family's ancestral graves!"

The two laughed heartily, no longer having any intention of criticizing Qin Heng for wasting money.

Of course such good news called for a celebration!

"Let's stir-fry a meat dish tonight. Once I pass the Quasi-Martial Warrior assessment in three days and join Heavenly Dao Martial Hall, we'll be eating meat and fish every day!" Qin Heng said with a smile as he headed for the kitchen, his heart brimming with visions of a better life.

There was light in both his parents' eyes as well, as if their gray lives had finally gained a touch of color.

His mother, Sheng Yuhan, wheeled herself into the kitchen to help wash the vegetables.

His father, Qin Ziming, followed behind and asked, "Xiao Heng, from the sound of it, have you decided to join Heavenly Dao Martial Hall? Didn't you say it was too far away before?"

Qin Heng had discussed the matter of his preferences with his parents before.

He replied, "Ling Xue gave me the suggestion. She said that as a Quasi-Martial Warrior, I'd earn a high salary and could hire someone to look after you. Plus, I'd have two free days every month, and if I wanted to come home, I could ask for leave anytime."

"Hire someone?" Qin Ziming and Sheng Yuhan exchanged a glance. Clearly, like Qin Heng, they had never had such an idea.

Only after hearing this were they enlightened. Qin Ziming immediately said, "That's right! We can hire Xiao Lin downstairs as a nanny. She raises two families by herself and has a hard time working odd jobs everywhere. Once Xiao Heng makes something of himself, you can give her a steadier job. That way, not only will someone take care of our daily needs, but we can repay her for how she looked after you before."

Xiao Lin downstairs...

A gentle, beautiful face flashed through Qin Heng's mind.

Lin Muyue, the older sister next door, was six years older than Qin Heng. She had married three years ago, but her husband died in an accident while working as a security guard in the Rich Area. She returned to live with her parents, bringing along her month-old child. Their circumstances were very difficult.

This older sister had shown Qin Heng no small amount of care in the past, and he remembered it deeply.

"Mm. Once I get my first paycheck, I'll hire Sister Lin." Qin Heng nodded, agreeing to his father's suggestion.

Before long, dinner was ready.

The meal consisted of coarse rice, plain boiled water for soup, a dish of old pickled vegetables, and a fragrant serving of Garlic Sprout Stir-fry.

The mere presence of that one meat dish already qualified it as a luxurious dinner in the Slum District.

"Dinner's ready! Our days ahead will be even better than this!" Qin Heng declared confidently.

"Mm, Dad and Mom believe in you!"

The two elders were both overjoyed, constantly putting meat into his bowl.

"Eat more meat. You're still growing, so you need plenty of nutrition."

"You need to eat your fill to have the strength to train. Strive to become a true Martial Warrior soon!"

"I wonder how handsome our Xiao Heng will look in a Combat Suit. He'll definitely be more handsome than those Martial Warriors on television!"

Looking at the bowl of rice completely covered in meat, Qin Heng did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Mom, Dad, you should eat some yourselves too. My regular training meals already have meat. I prepared this especially for you—why has it all ended up in my bowl?"

"We're eating, we're eating. We've had several pieces already."

"Stop talking nonsense and eat up. It won't taste as good once it gets cold."

Not only did the two elders see nothing wrong with it, they even urged him on.

Qin Heng was helpless. He wanted to put it back into their bowls, but he was afraid his parents would get angry, so he could only eat everything in his bowl.