Chapter 59: Settled
Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Settled
Company Commander Jia handed a sealed first-aid kit to Fang Chen.
"Yeah, that’s about it. Keep this first-aid kit handy. It has emergency meds and bandages for treating external wounds. It’ll come in handy at a critical moment."
He conveniently picked up the registration form Fang Chen had just filled out, his eyes scanning the preferences section. "Let me see your first choice..."
"What other choices do I have?" Fang Chen replied calmly. "For a Tier-5 city like our Jinchuan City, the only eligible options are the Martial Arts Academies in the neighboring Cyan Yang City or Jiangyue City, right?"
Company Commander Jia looked at the clear handwriting on the registration form:
First Choice: Cyan Yang City Martial Arts Academy
Second Choice: Jiangyue City Martial Arts Academy
He gave a slight nod.
"True. Cyan Yang City is a Tier-2 metropolis, after all. It’s far from the border warzones, so the safety factor is higher. The academy’s faculty and resources are indeed well-regarded. It’s just..." He paused, then warned, "There’s an enormous number of applicants to the Cyan Yang Martial Arts Academy every year. The competition is much fiercer than in Jiangyue City."
Fang Chen’s expression remained unchanged. "It doesn’t matter. As long as I can reach a better platform, a bit of intense competition is nothing. If it weren’t for the policy restrictions, I would have wanted to try my luck directly at the Jing’an Martial Arts Academy in the capital of our Southwestern Province."
Although Fang Chen had lofty aspirations, he had to recognize reality.
The Zhao Kingdom had profound considerations regarding the cultivation of Martial Dao talents. It wasn’t that the emergence of geniuses was discouraged; rather, the emphasis was on regional balance and grassroots stability. Every province and every major city had its own strategic positioning and defensive duties, requiring a sufficiently strong force of local Martial Artists. If all the exceptionally gifted individuals blindly flocked to the top academies, it would certainly produce a few elites, but the core strength of the vast grassroots levels and important border towns would face a severe shortage of capable successors.
Martial Dao cultivation was entirely different from academic teaching. Academic knowledge could be popularized on a massive scale; a single renowned teacher could instruct thousands of students. However, Martial Dao resources were finite. One portion of resources was only enough for one person and couldn’t be split in two. Many promising talents who were considered geniuses locally might end up fading into obscurity if they squeezed into a hyper-competitive environment filled with national prodigies, ultimately being buried because they couldn’t compete for enough resources.
Therefore, the nation preferred to appropriately distribute high-quality students to the core academies of various regions. This allowed these academies to acquire good talents and rigorously train them using local characteristics and resources, ensuring that the Martial Dao forces formed a structured echelon nationwide—possessing both a sharp vanguard and a solid foundation.
Thus, even though Jing’an Martial Arts Academy reigned supreme in the Southwestern Province, the other Martial Arts Academies had their own unique advantages. They weren’t completely incomparable and were more than capable of cultivating experts who could hold their own and protect a region.
Seeing more students arriving behind him to register, Fang Chen said no more. After nodding to Principal Yu and Company Commander Jia, he picked up his new gear and first-aid kit, turning around to leave the registration point.
Back at the Li Family Village.
As soon as Fang Chen returned and entered the courtyard, his younger sister, Fang Min, instantly spotted the Longsword embedded with a Crystal Stone in his hand. Her eyes lit up immediately.
"Wow! You got a sword!"
She ran over excitedly, looking like she wanted to touch it but didn’t dare to.
Fang Chen set the Longsword down along with his Combat Suit and explained, "Yeah, the higher-ups issued this Combat Suit and weapon."
Hearing the commotion, his mother, Song Qingmei, came out of the house. Looking at the expensive set of equipment on the ground, her face still carried a somewhat disbelieving daze.
"Chen’Er... Did... did you really gather all five hundred thousand? Did you... successfully register?"
"Mom, I told you a couple of days ago that I gathered it all. I just registered today," Fang Chen replied.
Only then did Song Qingmei seem to thoroughly sigh in relief. A smile bloomed on her face, but it carried the sentiment of someone just waking from a dream.
"Heh, it’s just... it always feels like I’m living in a dream. Your father has been working odd jobs from dawn to dusk and borrowing left and right for the better part of a month, and he barely scraped together forty thousand... Yet our Chen’Er managed to earn hundreds of thousands all by himself..."
As she spoke, the rims of her eyes turned slightly red.
Fang Chen’s heart softened, and his tone gentled.
"Mom, didn’t I tell Dad yesterday? Tell him to return all the borrowed money and stop doing those heavy labor jobs. I’ll figure out a way to handle the family’s finances from now on."
He turned his gaze to the adoring Fang Min beside him and promised, "I guarantee that when Fang Min is in her senior year and needs to take the martial arts exam, I will definitely save up enough for her five-hundred-thousand registration fee."
Song Qingmei wiped her hands on her apron, nodding repeatedly.
"Hehe, of course Mom believes you. It’s just your father... he had already promised to help out several households beforehand. They’re all fellow villagers, so it’s hard to refuse. It’s just two more days of work. It’s no trouble at all."
"All right."
Fang Chen knew his father’s temperament, so he didn’t say any more on the matter.
His gaze swept across the table in the main room and landed on a familiar lunchbox still sitting there. His brows furrowed slightly. "Did Aunt Dehui leave without eating again today?"
"That’s exactly it!" Song Qingmei sighed, her tone laced with heartache. "Your Aunt Dehui didn’t get back until it was almost dawn today, reeking of alcohol. Sigh... She slept until past five in the afternoon, scrambled out of bed, hastily threw on her clothes, and left. She only munched on two pieces of fruit to line her stomach. How can she keep this up? Her body is going to break down."
She turned and brought out an insulated container from the kitchen, which held the warm meal she had prepared earlier.
"Here, Chen’Er. Make a trip and deliver this to your Aunt Dehui. Her workplace... isn’t really a convenient place for Min’Er to visit."
Fang Chen nodded and took the insulated container.
He had delivered food to Aunt Dehui a few times before and knew she worked at a nightclub called "Pattaya" on the famous Bobo Street in Jinchuan City.
He set down his equipment and gave Fang Min a few pointers on Power Generation Techniques and Step Technique coordination to pay attention to when practicing the Longsword. Then, he hopped on his bicycle and rode toward Jinchuan City once again.
Meanwhile, in the backstage dressing room of the Pattaya nightclub on Bobo Street.
The lighting was somewhat suggestive, and the air was mixed with the scents of perfume, foundation, and tobacco.
Li Dehui was sitting in front of the mirror, having a familiar younger colleague help her with the final touches on her hair.
In the mirror, her makeup was exquisite, and her eyes were expressive. A tight, sequined short dress outlined her mature, graceful curves, making her look exceptionally alluring under the lights.
"Feifei, you look so beautiful!" the young colleague helping with her hair praised sincerely.
Just then, another young woman rushed in frantically, panic written all over her face.
"Feifei, this is bad! That guy Chen is here again! He’s right outside, and he said... he said it’s his mom’s birthday today, and he insists on inviting you to go with him!"
Li Dehui pressed her red lips together in the mirror, a mocking smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Tch. Yesterday his dad was sick in the hospital, and today it’s his mom’s birthday? His excuses certainly change every day. Wang Xia, just ignore him. At worst... I’ll just drink with him through the night again."
"Feifei, it doesn’t feel that simple today!" Wang Xia stomped her foot in anxiety. "I saw him bring several people with him, and their demeanor is even more intimidating than yesterday! Why don’t you... tell Manager Zhang and take a day off to hide at home first?"
"How could I do that?" Li Dehui reached up herself and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Take a day off? There goes this month’s five-hundred attendance bonus."
"Ah! Feifei!"
Wang Xia wanted to persuade her further, but heavy footsteps and the sounds of a scuffle were already echoing from outside.