S City, southern outskirts.
An area that had once seemed somewhat desolate was now surrounded by noise and activity.
A huge shopping mall that had been on the verge of bankruptcy and left vacant for a long time had been completely transformed.
The entire building had been painted a dignified dark gray, with clean, rugged lines.
What drew the most attention was the enormous gilded sign hanging above the main entrance, more than ten meters long and glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.
Four large characters danced across it with magnificent momentum—
Dengfeng Martial Arts School!
Beneath the sign, a brand-new red carpet stretched from the steps of the entrance all the way to the edge of the sidewalk.
On either side of the carpet stood two neat rows of teenagers dressed in matching gray cotton-and-linen training uniforms.
They were between ten and sixteen years old, boys and girls alike.
Most of them were thin, and their skin still carried the slight dullness left by long-term malnutrition, perhaps, but their eyes were astonishingly bright.
Their gazes held none of the mischievousness or confusion common in children.
Instead, they were filled with a determination beyond their years and a cautiously budding yet vigorous hope for the future.
They straightened their perhaps-not-yet-strong backs and did their best to stand perfectly upright.
Their eyes followed the young figure ahead, who was exchanging greetings with the guests who had come to offer their congratulations.
Their director, Xu Feng.
The guests were mainly representatives from Wanbao Auction House and the heads of several small and mid-sized trade associations that did business with Xu Feng.
These children were all among the fifty orphans Xu Feng had adopted through special agreements with several nearby orphanages.
The terms of that agreement were unbelievably generous in this day and age: