The Military's Foremost Surname

Lu Qingchan abruptly opened her eyes, disbelief written across her face.

"Mom, this crystal card... seems to be a Cloud Smoke Step crystal card. No, that's not right!"

Thinking of something, she repeatedly shook her head. "It looks very similar, but it isn't Cloud Smoke Step. It seems identical to the movement technique cultivated by my classmate's younger sister, that little girl named Li Xianyu.

"Li Xianyu can barely produce two or three rather stiff afterimages, but the mental world within this crystal card produces dozens, even hundreds of afterimages. They are agile and fluid, each moving differently, making one's eyes swim.

"This doesn't resemble a C-rank martial art at all. It's more like the movement technique of a top-tier B-rank martial art."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Xu Yunyan crouched down and took the crystal card. The colors in its scenery had already faded considerably.

Yang Shen laughed heartily. "Young lady, this is a C-rank movement technique called Cloud Shadow Step, not some B-rank martial art, nor is it Cloud Smoke Step."

"Pay up!"

Xu Yunyan rose to her feet, took out her Star Yuan Card, and swiped it through the card reader on the counter.

Just like that, 260,000 Star Yuan was spent.

"Let's go, Qingchan."

Lu Qingchan gave an "Mm" and followed Xu Yunyan out of the shop.

"Take care! Come again next time!"

Yang Shen saw them off from behind.

After leaving the crystal card shop, Xu Yunyan asked, "Qingchan, did that Cloud Shadow Step crystal card help with your cultivation of Cloud Smoke Step?"

"It did!"

Lu Qingchan nodded. "Is this Cloud Shadow Step really only a C-rank martial art? It feels ninety percent similar to Cloud Smoke Step—more like an advanced version of it."

"As long as it helps you, that's enough. The owner of that crystal card shop doesn't understand. You should know the definition of B-rank martial arts better than most people. If you think it's a B-rank martial art crystal card, then naturally it is one.

"Besides, the martial art inside this crystal card looks identical to the one practiced by your classmate's younger sister. Clearly, the Mind Reader who made this crystal card and the person who taught that girl the movement technique are the same person.

"How could an ordinary high school possibly have so many hidden masters?"

Lu Qingchan nodded, then asked, "Mom, you bought me two sets of Army-Breaking Fist crystal cards just now. Isn't that a little wasteful?"

"If it helps your martial cultivation, how can it be called wasteful?" Xu Yunyan said. "Later, we'll also pick out some spiritual medicines for tempering your qi and blood, so you can soak in medicinal baths. Compared to that, what do two sets of Army-Breaking Fist crystal cards amount to?"

"But my classmates are very frugal with spiritual medicines and crystal cards.

"They only use one set for each martial art crystal card. As for spiritual medicines that temper qi and blood, I've never even heard of my other classmates using them."

"Sigh!"

Xu Yunyan looked at Lu Qingchan and suddenly shook her head with a sigh.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"Nothing."

Xu Yunyan spoke wistfully. "I just feel sorry for you. A direct descendant of the Lu Family of East River, reduced to having to pinch pennies over martial cultivation.

"Do you know that your cousins in the Lu Family, the children of your eldest and second uncles, use at least a dozen sets of the corresponding Psionic Crystal Cards after receiving guidance from renowned teachers whenever they cultivate a martial art?

"The Star Yuan they spend on spiritual medicines for tempering qi and blood in a single session exceeds the total amount you've spent on martial cultivation so far."

Lu Qingchan was surprised as well. "They spend that much on martial cultivation?"

"What does that even count for? Your East River Lu Family is the military's foremost surname.

"The martial cultivation resources enjoyed by the younger generation of the Lu Family are only secondary. More importantly, the direct descendants of the Lu Family can receive guidance from Grandmasters several times a year. That's why they make such rapid progress in martial arts.

"Your father was muddleheaded too. It would have been one thing if he'd fallen out with your eldest uncle and the others and left the Lu Family himself, but he even caused you to lose the treatment you deserved as a direct descendant of the Lu Family.

"Otherwise, with your aptitude, your accomplishments might not have been inferior to Yuan Hao's.

"Fortunately, when I married your father, I brought out the Lu Family's betrothal gifts and the Xu Family's dowry. Though you couldn't enjoy the superior treatment given to the Lu Family's direct descendants, I never let you lack the other resources necessary for martial cultivation. I didn't let your martial progress fall too far behind your peers in the Lu Family."

Lu Qingchan said, "It can't all be blamed on Dad. Eldest Uncle and the others went too far too."

"The youngest among the direct-descendant brothers being suppressed by his elder brothers is how things are in every major family across East River Province. Why was he the only one who couldn't endure it?

"He left the Lu Family in a fit of anger and made you suffer along with him. What kind of sense does that make?

"Before winter break, I'll definitely persuade your father to humble himself and apologize to your eldest uncle and the others, so you can return to the Lu Family and receive the treatment owed to a direct descendant.

"But before that, you must keep tempering your qi and blood and maintain its purity. Listen to me: if you get the chance, you must make contact with that Mind Reader who is around your age.

"A Mind Reader so young—if you can befriend them, they'll be a great help to your martial cultivation even after you return to the Lu Family."

Faced with her mother's painstaking concern, Lu Qingchan could only nod in agreement.

Meanwhile, after Chen Lie returned home, he went to his family's training room and cultivated the Basic Body Tempering Art, digesting the nutrition from the spiritual medicine and beast meat meal.

At that moment, he could feel that his qi-blood value had risen again, though not by much. There was no equipment at home to measure it.

At dinner, Chen Lie's family of three sat together.

Feng Yuelan said, "Your second uncle contacted us again today, asking what we've decided.

"He also said he wants your father to go back home so both families can get together."

Chen Xingyao asked, "What's going on? Mom, what does Second Uncle want? Why does he want Dad to go back?"

"It's because Chen Ye from your second uncle's family advanced his qi-blood value too quickly, causing his qi and blood to become unstable. They want your father to use his military merits to exchange for a Blood Mist Flower for Chen Ye, to stabilize his qi and blood."

"What? That arrogant Chen Ye has unstable qi and blood? He deserves it!

"And since when did Dad have military merits that could be exchanged for a Blood Mist Flower?"

Chen Xingyao asked in confusion.

"Your father has held onto those military merits for more than ten years. He mainly wanted to save them for you and your brother," Feng Yuelan said.

"Second Uncle's family is so snobbish. Now that they need something from us, we definitely can't agree so easily!

"But Blood Mist Flower? What a strange name. Blood Mist Flower, Blood Mist Flower..."

Chen Xingyao put down her bowl and chopsticks, picked up her communicator, and searched the official martial arts trade website. She was immediately shocked.

"A Blood Mist Flower costs sixty-nine million Star Yuan each! Its category is martial arts treasure, and it's even out of stock on the martial arts trade website?"

Chen Xingyao raised her head. "Mom, are Dad's military merits really worth so much? They can be exchanged for rare treasures worth tens of millions of Star Yuan?"

Feng Yuelan nodded. "Otherwise, why would I say your father preserved these merits for you two for more than ten years? He couldn't even bear to use them himself."

"This is outrageous! How can Second Uncle's family have the nerve to ask for something so precious? They're utterly shameless!"

Chen Xingyao spoke indignantly. "Mom, Dad, you absolutely cannot agree to this."

"We won't agree, but it wouldn't be good to refuse them outright. It would be best if we had some sort of reason," Feng Yuelan said.

Chen Lie said, "Just stall them for now. A reason will come."

He knew his parents were thin-skinned. They were relatives, after all, and his parents couldn't bring themselves to refuse. Otherwise, this would not have happened in his previous life.

Chen Xingyao snorted. "They had the nerve to ask, so why should we be embarrassed to refuse?

"If you ask me, we should reject them directly. Ask Second Uncle and Second Aunt whether Chen Ye is worth tens of millions of Star Yuan.

"Didn't he know his strength value was below standard when he was cultivating? Now that his qi and blood has become unstable, he's started eyeing Dad's military merits.

"Ordinary people need a long time before they can end up with unstable qi and blood, even if they cause it themselves, right? Chen Ye must have known from the beginning. He just wanted to cut corners in martial cultivation.

"Even if he uses a Blood Mist Flower to stabilize his qi and blood, something like this or that will definitely happen again in the future. He won't achieve anything great."

Chen Lie looked at his sister in surprise, somewhat taken aback that she could say something so profound.

Only now did he realize that in his previous life, he had been childish in every way and far inferior to his sister. No wonder she had always treated him impatiently and with such little warmth—it was because she thought he was immature.

"Why are you looking at me? I said we should directly refuse Second Uncle and the others. Don't tell me you're unwilling?

"As I recall, you and Chen Ye weren't all that close anyway, right?"

Seeing Chen Lie looking at her, Chen Xingyao could not help asking.

"It's nothing." Chen Lie shook his head.

"Mom, listen to me. That's how we should handle it. If you and Dad are too embarrassed, then the next time Second Uncle contacts us or comes to our home, let me talk to him."

Chen Xingyao looked at Feng Yuelan.

"Enough. This has nothing to do with you. Even if something does happen then, you're not allowed to talk nonsense. Your father and I will handle it," Feng Yuelan instructed Chen Xingyao.

Chen Xingyao pursed her lips, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and continued eating.

Early the next morning, Chen Lie did not go to school. Instead, he went once more to the martial artists' market in the center of the provincial capital.

He now had the enormous sum of 800,000 Star Yuan on him, so naturally he had to consider buying the martial cultivation resources he needed.

Yet after wandering through the martial artists' market for more than half the day, he still could not find the martial cultivation resources he needed.

After leaving the last shop, Chen Lie found that he had reached the end of the market street and could not help pondering, Are martial cultivation resources in East River Province really this scarce? Why is there nothing at all?

Logically speaking, even if East River Province, as one of Blue Star's provinces, was resource-poor, it should not have been so barren that he could not find even one decent martial cultivation resource.

Could it be that he simply had no access to the channels through which the powerful and wealthy purchased martial cultivation resources?

But that was an unsolvable problem for Chen Lie. Blue Star's martial society had rigid class divisions, and people from the upper ranks would almost never appear in the same frame as commoners from the bottom.

For example, at East River Province's key high school, where Chen Lie studied, he had been an ordinary-class student in his previous life. In three whole years, he had only seen the school leadership a handful of times.

The elite classes and ordinary classes were separated by only a wall, yet elite students almost never interacted with the martial arts students from the ordinary classes.

That was a barrier of class, and it was difficult to break.