Gao Wu: From a poor man in the outer city to a martial saint of the ten directions

The most powerful nation in the world is the Dome Federation, formed by the union of all nations.

Besides the federal government, there are also some civilian martial arts organizations, associations, or companies.

The Dome Martial Arts Academy is the largest non-governmental martial arts organization in China, with nine Martial Kings at its headquarters, each possessing a Yuan Power value of 500,000! It has its own martial arts academy in every city!

Their students have an astonishing 99% pass rate in the martial arts subject of the college entrance examination. Even the top scorers in the college entrance examination in the neighboring Jiangbei Province for 13 consecutive years have come from Qiongding Martial Arts School!

It's not that having money is enough to join the Dome Martial Arts Academy; rather, joining the Dome Martial Arts Academy is like adding a veneer of wealth to your money!

Looking at Lin Qi's smug face, Wei Xiu felt a warmth in his heart.

He knew that his rich second-generation brother might seem carefree at times, but when it came to serious matters, he truly treated him like a brother.

Putting aside the fact that you can learn something, the tuition alone would probably be an unimaginable sum.

"Thanks, Mr. Lin."

Wei Xiu patted Lin Qi's shoulder with his backhand, forcing a smile.

"I'll go with you to take a look tomorrow, but you have to tell me if you need any money. If it's too much, I'll pay you back even if you have to write an IOU."

"Hey, you always help me with my humanities exams, our friendship doesn't need that!"

"Be careful on the road, I'll call you tomorrow!" Lin Qi didn't mince words and made a phone call gesture.

"Okay, let's go!"

Wei Xiu waved his hand, turned around and plunged into the night, rushing towards the light rail subway station in Xiahe District.

……

To get home from the bustling city center school, Wei Xiu needs to take a 40-minute light rail ride.

But when I came out of the subway station, everything in front of me had changed.

The streets were narrow and the streetlights were dim.

In the distance, the sky above the city center shimmered with brilliant light from the elemental barrier, while the sky here was only a heavy, dark black.

Due to the issuance of the blue alert, the usually crowded streets of Xiahe District appeared somewhat desolate at this moment.

The shopkeeper was hurriedly pulling down the roller shutter, and a faint stench emanated from the roadside drain.

Several wild cats, their bodies enlarged by the radiation of vital energy, were scurrying restlessly through the garbage heap.

This area is called Xiahe District, the largest slum in the outer city of Linghai City.

Wei Xiu quickened his pace and walked along the familiar street.

As I walked through an alley and saw the crooked street lamp at the entrance of the residential area in the distance, an extremely dazzling light swept towards me from the front.

Wei Xiu subconsciously tilted his head and squinted his eyes.

A sleek, black, extended sedan with a high-mounted armored chassis slowly drove out of the residential compound's iron gate.

The Lynch family also owns a car like this, but it's not an extended version; it's a car provided by the city hall to important figures like the principal, and it's hard to buy even if you have the money.

According to Lin Qi, the tires alone can withstand a full-force attack from a human-level alien beast, and the car is worth nearly 100,000!

Why would this car be driving on the streets of Xiahe District?

Moreover... looking at this car, Wei Xiu suddenly had a vague sense of familiarity.

It wasn't Lynch's car, or the principal's sedan; it was this extended version, a car I'd glimpsed somewhere long ago, a memory buried deep within.

The car quickly turned out of the alley and disappeared. Wei Xiu stood there for two seconds, then quickened his pace and walked into the residential area.

Several old, gray apartment buildings are arranged in a circle, with a small cement courtyard in the middle.

The adults in the neighborhood were hurrying home carrying bags of substandard rice and flour.

Although the children were running around in the yard, they were quickly dragged back to the stairwell by the panicked adults who grabbed their ears and cursed them.

The city center and inner city can still maintain a certain level of normalcy, but in these vulnerable areas, there is already a palpable sense of impending doom.

As soon as I got to the top of the stairs, several teenagers poked their heads out of the house.

"Brother Xiu! Brother Xiu!"

A seven or eight-year-old boy blinked his big eyes and called out curiously.

"Brother Xiu, do you have any wealthy relatives?"

Wei Xiu turned to look at him: "What's wrong?"

"There was a really expensive car parked downstairs at your building just now!" the little boy gestured.

"It's huge! And all black! The headlights are like eyes, so bright!"

A little girl with pigtails came over from behind.

"Then someone got out of the car and came to your house! They were dressed so nicely!"

"Is it a man or a woman?" Wei Xiu asked.

"A boy and a girl!" the little boy blurted out.

"The man went in and came out shortly after, and then the car drove away!"

Wei Xiu's fingers tightened slightly.

He remembered the black sedan that had just driven out of the residential area.

That inexplicable sense of familiarity suddenly turned into a thorn, piercing into my mind.

He didn't ask any more questions, but simply patted the little boy's head.

"We're relatives, but not very close."

Wei Xiu stepped onto the stairwell, the smile on his face completely gone.

He stopped when he reached the corner on the fifth floor.

The door to room 501 was closed.

The voices of two women could be faintly heard coming from behind the door.

Wei Xiu didn't rush to open the door.

He held his breath, turned to the side, and pressed his ear against it.

The first thing I heard was the voice of a young woman.

His tone was gentle, with a hint of cautious earnestness.

"...Aunt, don't take what Father said to heart. He doesn't really mean he's going to take the house back at the end of the month."

Wei Xiu's pupils contracted slightly.

Just as I had guessed.

It's my cousin Yan Run!

He was the daughter of Yan Hua, the brother of his mother Yan Yu, who was also his uncle.

That means the man sitting in that car that just drove off was...

Yan Run's voice continued to come from behind the door, intermittent and muffled in some places by the door panel, but every key word pierced Wei Xiu's ears.

"...Saying he wanted to take the house back was just an angry outburst...That's just his personality, stubborn but soft-hearted, you know that..."

Take back the house.

Wei Xiu's back stiffened for a moment.

Of course he knew who the landlord of the house was.

Or rather, all the apartments in this area of ​​Xiahe District are owned by the same landlord.

The Yan family of Jiangnan!

They are among the top three wealthy and powerful families in the entire Jiangnan Province!

This was something her mother had never hidden from her.

More than a decade ago, my mother left the Yan family with me, an infant, penniless. Later, we made our way to Linghai City and rented this house.

The rent is 300 yuan per month, never late, and always transferred on time.

Landlord and tenant.

That's it.

The Yan family never pressured them to pay the rent or raise the price, nor did they make things difficult for them.

Wei Xiu always thought this was a tacit understanding.

The Yan family let go, and the mother never looked back.

Both parties are cleared.

But now.

Take the house back!

These four words were like a bucket of cold water, completely shattering the illusion of a "clear break".

What do you mean by "settling accounts evenly"?

The house you live in belongs to someone else.

If someone gets upset one day, they can leave you with nowhere to shelter from the wind and rain with just a word.

Behind the door, Yan Run was still talking.

"...Auntie, Father came, but deep down he still wants you to go back. Really!"

"He may not have said it all these years, but he's always been thinking of you. Grandpa too; you're his youngest daughter, how could he possibly abandon you?"

"...It would be so good if we could all be together as a family. I'll think of something, I'll talk to Grandpa, so you won't have to suffer out there anymore..."

The sound paused for a moment.

Then came the mother's voice.

Wei Xiu was all too familiar with that voice.

Her voice, usually gentle and slightly weary, was now utterly cold.

"Xiao Run, you don't need to say anything more."

"My relationship with your grandfather as his daughter ended seventeen years ago."

"aunt……"

"Moreover," Yan Yu's voice didn't rise, but instead became even softer, as if it were squeezed out from between her teeth.

"You want me to go back, but what are your conditions?"

"Let me leave Xiao Xiu behind."

Each of these four words was spoken extremely slowly.

"I will absolutely not agree to something like that!"