The Difference in Family Status

The next morning, the sky was oppressively overcast.

On the Training Ground of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall, several dozen apprentices had already begun practicing. Their shouts rose and fell, and heat steamed from above their heads as though each of them wore a freshly steamed white bun.

Lu Zhen stood in a corner, not rushing to throw punches as he usually did.

He was regulating his breathing.

Although the surging heat within his body had subsided after last night's point allocation, that reborn, remade sense of power now filled every inch of his muscles.

"Whew..."

Lu Zhen slowly exhaled, then fiercely gripped the ground with both feet.

He began with the Coiling Dragon Stake, and the great tendons along his back instantly drew taut.

Then, his waist and stance merged into one. His right arm lashed out like a python emerging from its hole, carrying a savage force.

Power traveled from his heels, past his knees, surged through his waist, pierced his spine, and finally exploded at the edge of his fist.

Crack!

The crisp explosive sound was especially clear amid the noisy Training Ground.

It was no longer the dull whoosh of wind, but the sharp report of flesh and skin truly shaking the air.

Xiong Yue, who had been carrying a rattan cane while patrolling around, suddenly stopped.

She turned her head, her bell-sized eyes fixed on Lu Zhen, surprise appearing on her face.

"Hmm?"

Gu Yanzhi, who was wiping sweat nearby, also froze.

In his eyes, although Lu Zhen was quick-witted, at his age, combined with the hidden injuries left by a life of toil, it would take at least a month or two of grinding effort for him to enter the gate.

"Brother Lu..."

Watching Lu Zhen draw back his fist and stand still, admiration flashed through Gu Yanzhi's eyes. He cupped his hands and said:

"A true person does not reveal himself. It seems Brother Lu is not only skilled in arithmetic; your talent for martial arts is also first-rate."

Lu Zhen steadied his breathing, his expression calm.

"I was merely the stupid bird that flew first, with a few extra measures of brute strength."

Just then, the curtain over the rear courtyard entrance was suddenly lifted.

The formerly noisy Training Ground instantly fell silent.

Yan Tieqiao emerged with his hands behind his back, strolling out at an unhurried pace.

Today, he wore a black satin long gown and still held that purple-clay teapot in his hand, though his expression looked somewhat cold.

The apprentices all stopped moving. Yan Tieqiao swept his gaze over the crowd before finally fixing it on a corner.

A solidly built man stood there.

His skin was dark, and he spoke little. Normally, apart from practicing fists and working, he could not squeeze out so much as a fart.

Everyone called him Mute Gourd.

"Li Gen."

Yan Tieqiao called out indifferently.

The man named Li Gen stepped from the crowd and came to the center of the grounds.

"Mas... Master."

Yan Tieqiao took a sip of tea without even raising his eyelids.

"Counting the days, you've been at the martial arts hall exactly two months, haven't you?"

Li Gen nodded with difficulty. "Yes... today makes exactly sixty days."

"You know the rules."

Yan Tieqiao pointed at the open ground. "Perform the Iron Wire Fist once, then hold a stance for me to see."

"Yes."

Li Gen took a deep breath, as though heading toward the execution ground.

He set his stance and gave a loud shout to bolster his courage.

"Ha!"

His arms swung, and his fist wind howled.

He practiced with all his strength, every punch thrown with every ounce of force he had. The veins on his forehead bulged like earthworms.

Crack!

At last, when he reached the third form, a crisp report burst through the air.

One report.

Much like Lu Zhen's punch just now.

After finishing the fist routine, he immediately dropped into a horse stance and assumed the posture of the Coiling Dragon Stake.

It had to be said that Mute Gourd had truly put in bitter effort.

His stance work was extremely steady, his feet seeming to have grown roots. No matter how the wind blew, he did not waver. Though his back was still not flexible enough, it had faintly taken on the rudimentary shape of a dragon.

Taken as a whole, it was clearly a notch stronger than Lu Zhen's current level.

Yan Tieqiao set down his purple-clay teapot and gently shook his head.

"That single report from your fist was forced out by brute strength. It wasn't crisp enough, nor did it penetrate deeply enough."

"Your stance work is steady, but unfortunately, it's too dead. It has only the deathly air of Withered Wood, not the living spirit of a swimming dragon."

Yan Tieqiao sighed, his voice level.

"The two-month deadline has arrived. You have not entered the gate."

"From now on, you are no longer a member of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall. Take off your uniform and leave."

The moment those words fell, Li Gen seemed to have been struck by lightning.

Thud!

This seven-foot-tall man actually dropped stiffly to his knees, his knees striking the hard earth with a muffled sound.

"Master! Master, I beg you!"

Li Gen kowtowed as he shouted through tears:

"Give me one more chance! Just ten days... no, five days! I'll definitely master it!"

"The tuition... my mother sold the family ox just to scrape it together. That was the life of our whole family!"

"I'm begging you, Master!"

Watching this scene, quite a few of the surrounding apprentices turned their heads away, unable to bear looking.

Gu Yanzhi frowned as well. His grip on the fan in his hand tightened. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he did not speak.

Yan Tieqiao remained expressionless.

He had spent his entire life in this trade and had seen such scenes too many times.

If one's heart was not ruthless, one could not stand firm.

If everyone who pleaded were allowed to stay, this martial arts hall would have become a charity house long ago.

"Rules are rules."

Yan Tieqiao turned around, no longer looking at Li Gen on the ground, and headed toward the rear courtyard with his hands behind his back.

"Xiong Yue, see the guest out."

Xiong Yue sighed, the smile on her face long gone.

She walked forward and grabbed Li Gen, who was still kowtowing. Her strength was astonishing as she forcibly hauled him to his feet.

She scratched her head, revealing thick armpit hair.

"Brother, don't make things hard for Sister Xiong Yue."

Xiong Yue's voice was low. "You heard what Master said. Not entering the gate means not entering the gate. More kowtowing won't help."

"Leave yourself some dignity."

Li Gen's body went limp, as though his spine had been pulled from him.

In the end, he said nothing.

With trembling hands, he took off the Iron Arm training uniform he had regarded as a treasure and dragged himself out through the martial arts hall's gates, step by dragging step.

His back was desolate, like a dog that had lost its home.

Lu Zhen watched the whole time, until Li Gen disappeared around the street corner.

He unconsciously touched the two words "Iron Arm" on his chest.

Li Gen had trained longer than he had, and had even worked harder. Every day, Li Gen arrived before dawn and did not leave until night had fallen.

But this was fate.

This was aptitude.

If not for that Panel...

A chill ran through Lu Zhen's heart.

Without the Panel, no matter how desperately he struggled, even if he threw this life away, his ending would probably have been the same as Li Gen's.

After two months, he would have been stripped of this protective layer and thrown back into that rotten mud pit that devoured people.

"Whew..."

Lu Zhen withdrew his gaze, his eyes becoming firmer than ever before.

He turned and walked to the stone locks, grabbing the heaviest one in a single motion.

He did not want to taste this helplessness a second time.

South of the city, Tofu Alley.

This place had once been called Top Scholar Street, and those living here had all been families of some standing.

The Zhou Family's grand residence stood midway down the alley.

Blue bricks, black tiles, and a lofty gatehouse.

Only, the vermilion gates had peeling paint, exposing the dusty gray wood beneath.

Above the entrance hung a plaque reading "Cultivate and Study Family Motto." Its gold paint had dulled beneath a thick layer of dust.

The Zhou Family had once produced a successful military examination candidate, making them figures of some renown in Ocean City.

Unfortunately, their descendants had failed to live up to expectations. By this generation, the family fortune had long been nearly squandered away.

The house was cold and gloomy, its stove fire weak.

Lu Fang tugged at her washed-faded blue padded jacket and carefully refilled the teapot on the table.

Two people sat beside the table: her husband, Zhou Wenjing, wore a half-worn long gown, round glasses perched on his nose, and held a thread-bound book. Across from him sat their distant cousin Li Qingyue, with a fashionable student bob, blue blouse, black skirt, and little leather shoes. Her features were proper, but her expression carried some of the pride of a new woman from the Women's Normal University.

Lu Fang wiped her hands, her gaze passing between the two. At last, she forced a smile. "Xiaoyue, no classes this Sunday?"

Li Qingyue played with her fountain pen without looking up. "Mm."

"In the blink of an eye, you're already a grown young lady. In another couple of years, it'll be time to discuss marriage." Lu Fang leaned forward tentatively. "Do you... still remember my younger brother, Lu Zhen?"

Zhou Wenjing's hand paused slightly as he turned a page, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Li Qingyue raised her head and thought for a moment. "Cousin Lu Zhen? I remember. When we were little, he took me to catch cicadas and bought me sugar figurines."

"Yes! Brother Zhen is honest and thoughtful..." Lu Fang was about to strike while the iron was hot when Li Qingyue's indifferent voice interrupted her.

"Cousin-in-law." Li Qingyue lifted the chipped porcelain cup, took a sip, then set it down in distaste. "This is the twentieth century. We believe in 'Freedom,' in free love."

"Parents' orders are feudal dregs, barbaric to the extreme. If I discussed this sort of old-fashioned marriage at the Women's Normal University, my classmates would laugh at me."

Lu Fang's smile stiffened. "Brother Zhen isn't an outsider..."

"Don't say any more." A trace of mockery rose in Li Qingyue's eyes. "A while ago, I saw him on Xiafei Road. He was bare-chested, with a filthy towel slung around his neck, pulling a rickshaw."

Her tone grew heavier, carrying a certain yearning. "At the time, a comprador from a foreign firm passed by beside him, in a suit and bow tie with a walking cane. Now that was what you called a 'Gentleman.'"

"Cousin-in-law, we must seek resonance between souls. A crude man like Cousin Lu, who does not even know ABCD, is not at all 'Romantic.'"

What she thought of was that foreign-educated teaching assistant at school who drank coffee and spoke French. That was civilization.

Lu Fang opened her mouth to argue. "Brother Zhen has practiced martial arts too..."

"Cough, cough."

Zhou Wenjing, who had remained silent all along, pushed up his glasses and spoke in an unhurried manner:

"My dear, Xiaoyue's words may sound foreign, but her reasoning is not wrong."

"Of all pursuits, only study stands high."

"Xiaoyue is now a talented woman educated in the new ways, so naturally her horizons differ."

"Do not mention such reckless matchmaking again in the future, lest you disgrace refinement!"

Seeing this, Lu Fang sighed helplessly and could only let the matter drop.