Jiang Shu spoke up. He had no plans to go back to the classroom.
He'd learned too much insider information today, and needed time to digest it all.
"Good. You can always come back and visit when you have time. As your principal, I'll wish you smooth sailing in your martial arts training."
Zheng Yanbo didn't stay.
Neither did Jiang Shu.
Zhang Taining couldn't help sighing inwardly. He composed himself and watched Jiang Shu leave.
Outside the school, the clouds were white and the mountains green, the sky vast and the earth wide.
A gentle breeze swept by, and the leaves of the trees lining the street rustled.
Jiang Shu walked along the street, imitating a tiger on the prowl.
He seemed languid and weak, but his mind was intensely focused. His body was coiled like a spring, circulating the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method, ready to unleash a devastating strike at any moment.
Zheng Yanbo lived in Shengjing and had seen too many martial artists. He surely knew that training in the Horse Stance progressed from fast to slow.
From beginner to minor achievement, and from great achievement to perfection, both seemed like crossing a small stage.
In truth, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.
But even so, his words had been mostly encouraging. He'd said Jiang Shu had a chance of getting into a university.
Deep down, he must have felt that getting into one wouldn't be easy.
However, Zheng Yanbo only knew about the progress martial artists made when training through the Horse Stance.
Jiang Shu had never planned to reach Full Body Vital Energy Circulation through the Horse Stance!
The Hungry Tiger Breathing Method.
The Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance.
That was the path he was on now!
A top-tier university was certainly good.
But how could it compare with one of the only four martial arts universities in the Xia Kingdom?!
Before, he'd wanted to get into one merely to surprise his parents.
But now, deep in his heart, Jiang Shu had developed a genuine ambition.
It grew like wild grass, growing without restraint.
A martial arts university was no mere symbol of ability or status.
It meant resources!
Heaven and Earth Precious Medicine!
Exotic Beast Meat!
These were cultivation resources he'd never even heard of in Pingling County.
Even if such resources did exist there, they'd be hidden away in the County Office or in the hands of wealthy families. There was no way he could get them easily!
But on Mystic Star, in the Xia Kingdom—
as long as he got into a martial arts university,
these resources would be within easy reach!
In martial arts, the faster you started, the faster you'd keep advancing!
He, Jiang Shu, would get into a martial arts university!
Jiang Shu left the school.
Quietly, without fanfare.
But word of his story quickly spread from the seniors to the second- and first-year students.
Some students who had been considering switching to the martial arts track became even more determined.
In their minds, scenes took shape, one after another.
Jiang Shu standing proudly.
Jiang Shu lifting a desk with ease.
Jiang Shu chatting and laughing with the principal.
Jiang Shu...
Jiang Shu giving a massage.
"Ow... Ah... Yes, right there... Hiss..."
In the bedroom,
Jiang Yongyi sat bare-chested, gritting his teeth.
Jiang Shu's expert massage had gotten the blood flowing across his entire back, leaving it flushed red.
"Take a break, take a break. Xiaoshu, where'd you learn to do that? How are you so good at it?"
"Dad, I've been practicing martial arts for over three months, after all. You need to understand the body to practice martial arts, so it's normal to learn where some of the acupoints are. Your back's too stiff. You really should get it massaged more often."
"Ah, I'm used to it. This old body of mine is yours to do with as you please. Xiaoshu, with all these benefits for martial artists, do you think the Xia Kingdom will make them go to war?"
From time to time, Jiang Yongyi let out a deep breath. With his back to Jiang Shu, he couldn't help asking.
While Jiang Shu had been giving him a massage, his son had told him about everything from the lecture that day.
The different realms of martial arts.
The benefits offered to martial artists.
The Xia Kingdom's emphasis on martial arts had completely upended his understanding.
Without a doubt, when it came to benefits, martial artists were treated even better than ordinary civil servants.
He just didn't know what they'd have to give in return.
The sky never dropped free pies.
At nearly fifty, he understood that much very well.
"Dad, I don't think you need to worry about it so much. In the age of modern weapons, even a Clear Force martial artist might have a thousand jin of strength and punch hard enough to blast the air apart. But how does that compare with a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher? If it really came to war, wouldn't trained soldiers be better than martial artists who are just a loose mob, relying on their individual strength?"
"Martial artist stipends, just going by the name, are benefits you can enjoy without having to give anything in return. Don't let that ten thousand yuan fool you into thinking it's a huge sum. For martial artists, that amount isn't nearly enough."
"Everything martial artists eat, wear, and use costs at least ten times more than it does for ordinary people. Just look at how many clothes and shoes I've replaced lately, or how much meat I've eaten. And I'm not even a martial artist yet."
"And even if it really came to what you said, Dad, and martial artists had to go to war, then things must be dire. In a situation like that, wouldn't martial artists be better able to protect themselves than ordinary people?"
Jiang Shu explained as he continued massaging his father. In his view, being directly hired as a high school martial arts teacher, with a monthly stipend of ten thousand yuan, was only the most basic benefit.
If martial artists really had to rely on that much income, they'd only live a little better than ordinary people.
It wasn't nearly enough to make progress in martial arts.
Just listen to the resources Zheng Yanbo had mentioned.
Heaven and Earth Precious Medicine.
Exotic Beast Meat.
They certainly didn't sound cheap.
If a student had enough talent to reach Full Body Vital Energy Circulation at university, he could enjoy several more years of Xia Kingdom subsidies, and get a certain amount of Heaven and Earth Precious Medicine and Exotic Beast Meat at a very low price—or even for free.
But what happened after he left school and entered society?
Ten thousand yuan a month.
Compared with the cultivation resources he needed,
it was a drop in the ocean.
"True. And that's only if they become martial artists in the first place. There must be plenty of people who work at it for years and still don't make it. They can't even cross the most basic threshold, and all that effort goes to waste."
"But don't worry, Xiaoshu. If you want to pursue martial arts, your dad will absolutely support you. It's fine if you don't become a martial artist. Getting stronger and healthier is a good thing, too. You don't want to reach your dad's age and discover that everything hurts. That's no good at all."
"Do you have enough money? I'll transfer a few thousand yuan to you. It's from my own little savings stash, so don't tell your mom."
As he spoke, Jiang Yongyi picked up his old phone, which he hadn't replaced in three or four years, and promptly transferred six thousand yuan to Jiang Shu.
"Thanks, Dad. Don't work too hard, either. Your son seems to have a bit of talent for martial arts."
Jiang Shu bent down and gently massaged Jiang Yongyi's head.
At the moment, he could only manage Qi and Blood Transportation.
If one day he managed to cultivate Inner Strength, he could use it to massage his dad.
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