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

In the corridor outside the door, Wei Xiu's fingers gripped the door frame, trembling slightly.

He could feel his heart pounding loudly.

It was so loud that he felt the people inside the door could hear it.

Abandon yourself.

These are the conditions offered by the Yan family!

You can come back, but leave that son of the man who made you run away from home outside!

Wei Xiu's breathing was very light, and his whole body was trembling.

It's not fear.

It was something hot and scalding, something that surged up from deep within my chest, something I couldn't quite define as anger or something else.

There was no more talking coming from behind the door.

It was quiet for a long time.

Wei Xiu released his grip on the doorframe, stood up straight, and concealed all his facial expressions behind a calm mask.

Then, he took out his keys and opened the door.

"Mom, I'm home."

The door opened.

The living room is not big.

An old sofa, a folding table, and an old-fashioned television—that's pretty much all the family's possessions.

Mother Yan Yu sat on a wooden chair at the dining table, a cup of tea in front of her, her expression revealing nothing unusual.

Only the slight redness around his eyes betrayed something.

And on the sofa sat another person.

A young woman in her late twenties, wearing a neatly tailored beige trench coat over a pale yellow turtleneck sweater, was tall and had a voluptuous figure.

Her long hair was loosely piled up behind her head, and a somewhat forced smile was on her round face.

The moment he saw Wei Xiu, his smile suddenly became more genuine.

"Minor repair!"

Yan Run stood up.

Wei Xiu glanced at her, then at his mother.

"Sister Run."

Yan Run seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly walked up to Wei Xiu and patted him on the shoulder.

"Goodness, it's gotten even stronger! Did it get into another fight?"

"Let's have a friendly exchange," Wei Xiu corrected.

"Let's have a friendly spar, that's what you guys always say," Yan Run chuckled.

But Wei Xiu noticed that there was an unnatural moisture in the corner of her eyes, and when she smiled, she tilted her head slightly so that he could not see her face directly.

The living room was quiet for a few more seconds.

That kind of quiet is uncomfortable, like a wet towel pressed against your face, making it hard to breathe.

Finally, it was the mother, Yan Yu, who broke the silence.

"Xiao Xiu, Mom is a little tired. I'm going to lie down for a while."

She stood up, her hands supporting her on the edge of the table, moving very slowly.

The spine that was injured by the aftershocks of the monster thirteen years ago makes it take her a few seconds longer than a normal person to get up each time.

Wei Xiu reached out to help.

Yan Yu waved her hand and walked towards the bedroom.

She paused at the door but didn't turn around.

"Xiao Run, sit for a while before you go. Be careful on the road."

"I understand, Auntie," Yan Run replied softly.

Once the bedroom door was closed, only the two of them remained in the living room.

Yan Run sat back down on the sofa, crossed her legs, and rested the toes of her leather boots on the coffee table, staring out the window for a long while.

Then she let out a long sigh and turned to look at Wei Xiu standing by the table.

"How much did you...hear?"

"I heard almost everything," Wei Xiu said without denying it.

Yan Run sighed again.

"Your uncle..."

"Sister Run," Wei Xiu interrupted her.

"You don't need to explain for him."

Yan Run pursed her lips slightly and lowered her head.

After a long silence, Yan Run suddenly raised her head, as if she had made up her mind, and changed the subject.

"Xiao Xiu, your mom just told me you're going to apply to military academy?"

Wei Xiu nodded: "Jiangnan University Military Academy."

"You understand that requirement, right?" Yan Run's tone became serious.

"Age not exceeding twenty, Yuan Power above 600, and overall academic performance A+."

"clear."

"I'm not worried about your grades. You've always been a good student since you were little," Yan Run said, leaning forward slightly.

"But how much Yuanli do you have now?"

"Almost four hundred."

"Almost four hundred..." Yan Run repeated, her gaze complex.

"I'm more than 200 points short of 600. There are only six months left until the college entrance exam."

"If you rely solely on your own practice, you know how much an average person can improve each month. If you're lucky, it's three to five points; if you're unlucky, you'll stay in the same place."

Wei Xiu didn't speak.

"Even if you gain five or thirty points every month for six months, you'll still be more than a hundred points short. Not to mention that reaching four or five hundred to become a quasi-martial artist is also a difficult hurdle."

Yan Run looked at Wei Xiu.

"Unless you plan to wait until you're twenty and try it at the age limit."

"But how will you get through these three years? You're repeating high school and there are no scholarships. How will you pay for your mother's medicine? What if..."

She didn't finish what she meant by "what if," but Wei Xiu understood.

What if Yan Hua really does take back this house...

Although the Yan family's territory is in the provincial capital Jiangnan City, they also own a large amount of land in Linghai, with almost half of the Xiahe District belonging to them.

If we can't stay here anymore, it will be a problem for my mother and me to find a safe and affordable new place to live.

Moreover, disasters could threaten the outer city at any time...

Wei Xiu's gaze fell on the water in the cup, reflecting his calm face.

I will pass the exam.

There was no explanation, no plan, no impassioned declaration.

Just these five words.

Yan Run looked at him and suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

"Okay then."

"Since you have your own ideas, I won't say anything more."

She walked to the table, took something out of the inside pocket of her trench coat, and placed it on the table.

A soft "click" sounded.

Wei Xiu looked down.

It is a capsule.

About the size of a thumbnail, it is deep blue with a delicate sheen on its surface, like a frozen piece of night.

The capsule was packaged in a small, transparent, sealed box with a palm-sized label attached to the bottom.

"This..." Yan Run considered her words carefully.

"It took me a lot of effort to get it. There's only one."

"It can improve bodily functions and clear some blocked meridians. It's not the kind of banned drug that directly increases vital energy, but it should be useful for you."

She looked into Wei Xiu's eyes.

"Take this. It's best to use it on an empty stomach, and avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours afterward."

Wei Xiu looked at the dark blue capsule but didn't take it immediately.

"Sister Run, how much does this cost?"

Yan Run smiled.

That smile contained heartache, helplessness, and a touch of pride.

"Don't worry about how much it cost. I did it myself, and the Yan family has nothing to do with it."

She paused for a moment.

"You are my brother. No one can change that."

Yan Run's voice softened.

"If you become strong, your mother won't have to suffer like this anymore. You must have heard about the house issue; I don't know if Father will actually send someone to evict you at the end of the month..."

Wei Xiu looked at her, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

He looked down at the dark blue capsule on the table.

Just then, a line of very faint, semi-transparent text suddenly appeared in the lower right corner of his retina.

High-purity elemental energy aggregates (low-grade yellow) were detected.

[If ingested and absorbed, it is estimated to convert into 100 experience points.]

Wei Xiu's pupils contracted instantly.

One hundred experience points! Ten points of elemental power!

That's equivalent to injuring someone as terrifying as Zhou Xiong, a near-martial artist, a full five times!

This thing is far more valuable than Yan Run casually described.

For a girl like her to obtain this item in that cold-blooded family, she must have done countless favors and endured countless cold shoulders.

Yan Run didn't say anything more.

She stepped forward, stretched out her arms, and wrapped her arms around Wei Xiu completely.

The 1.85-meter-tall boy was held in her arms, his chin resting on her shoulder. The fabric of his trench coat brushed against his cheek, carrying a faint scent, it was hard to tell if it was perfume or laundry detergent.

"Take care. If anything really happens at the end of the month, be sure to call me."

Yan Run patted his back, let go, turned around, and quickly walked out the door.