Chapter 52

So Dad is a famous philanthropist in academia!

He loves helping those in danger and distress, even at the cost of squandering the family fortune.

Whoever hears it gives a thumbs-up and praises him as the timely rain of Imperial Capital and the Liangshan hero of Haizhou.

Lin Xiaohan almost laughed himself silly at his sister.

His father Lin Shuangtian had a bad habit of gambling for fun in his youth; whenever he met someone and spoke more than three sentences, he'd drag them into placing a bet.

A visiting professor of one of the Four Great National Universities, yet so poor he ate every meal at the student cafeteria.

To this day, the North China Imperial Capital still circulates the fine tale of Professor Lin's simple style, his devotion to learning, and how he chewed steamed buns with plain water every day.

Had he not happened to meet his mother, who was interested in ancient history—a branch of the Spiritual Ability Domain—and thus formed a bond,

and then relied on his maternal grandparents, a high-ranking family of Imperial Capital, Professor Lin would have starved to death drinking the northwest wind long ago.

Speaking of which, Mom was also one of Dad's students back then...

Wait, why did I say "also"?

"Fine, fine, fine, I can't argue with you. When the time comes you'll lose everything and can't afford clothes or bags, living off selling your collections—don't drop little pearls."

Lin Xiaohan felt utterly helpless. If he'd known sending Lin Yunqing to the Youth Palace as a volunteer teacher would lead to this, he would have begged his parents to intercede no matter what.

As Director of General Affairs at Qiguang Heng University, and with his own employment history at several top universities, Lin Xiaohan had seen no fewer than three hundred genius students.

Dongxia has no shortage of those with extraordinary talent and remarkable fortunes, and even the descendants of Martial God families are not rare—talents so stunning they could enter the Star Cup at a young age, win good rankings, advance triumphantly all the way, and impact the absolute peak.

The most outstanding among them was none other than his sister's childhood friend Yu Li.

"Do you think this Assistant Teacher Qin can catch up to Xiao Yu?"

Lin Xiaohan pulled out a restaurant chair and sat across from Lin Yunqing:

"The former was born in Hengzhou, a Borderlands New Star whose external routes have been blockaded for nearly ten years.

As for the latter, he grew up in the Military District Compound from childhood, attending Lantian Youeryuan, and the elementary and middle schools directly under the government unit.

Xiao Qin might not even understand the concept of Qi Life Force Cultivation before high school, while Xiao Yu was already practicing Military Boxing with the guards around his grandparents.

I admit that extraordinary talent and effort can smooth over some of the gaps brought by background.

But it's not only the children of workers on Old Factory Street who understand the importance of self-discipline and hard work.

Xiao Yu has also put in tremendous effort to get where he is today.

When talent and character are nearly equal, family background and personal origin are the final straw that crushes the opponent."

Lin Yunqing lightly patted her delicate face, smooth as congealed fat, closed her small makeup mirror, and said completely unconcernedly:

"I won't listen, I won't listen, a turtle chanting scriptures."

Thinking of how his sister's several million in savings, painstakingly accumulated over years, had gone to waste, Lin Xiaohan inexplicably felt a pang in his flesh:

"You really favor outsiders over your own brother! I need research funding and you won't give a cent, yet you're generous with your little boyfriend!"

Lin Yunqing pouted:

"Who made you always like speaking well of Yu Li? Since kindergarten, I've never been able to stand this brat, and the older he gets, the more I dislike him.

If I didn't lack the talent to develop Qi Life Force and could only follow Dad in studying ancient history, I'd definitely stomp on his head hard and beat him until he crawled all over the ground!"

Lin Xiaohan was speechless. He used to think his sister and Yu Li were a pair of love-hate rivals.

Later he discovered that Lin Yunqing's disdain and annoyance toward Yu Li was entirely genuine.

"Then I won't meddle anymore. Do whatever makes you happy. When Xiao Qin's Qi Life Force breaks through twenty points, bring him to Qiguang Heng University, and I'll find him a New Martial Arts teacher."

Seeing he couldn't persuade Lin Yunqing, Lin Xiaohan, feeling he'd worried himself to pieces, could only change the subject:

"By the way, what's the background of Xiao Qin's Old Martial Arts teacher? Have you inquired?"

Lin Yunqing shook her head:

"I heard Assistant Teacher Qin mention it once. He seems to be a Physical Education Teacher at a Zidi Xuexiao. Actually, I don't quite believe it—a Physical Education Teacher cultivating an Old Martial Arts talent who has broken through the body limit?"

Lin Xiaohan frowned and thought. He had just arrived and wasn't yet familiar enough with Hengzhou's Education Bureau, and for a moment couldn't recall the names of any formidable teachers.

He said aloud:

"The Zidi Xuexiao on Old Factory Street was once glorious. Back then, Hengzhou had not yet been blockaded, and Dongxia was preparing to build it into a super-first-tier administrative region where strategic significance and economic development advanced side by side.

Think about it—Dongqiao Suburb was the center of Hengzhou at that time, and the Zidi Xuexiao could be said to stand above all rivals."

Lin Yunqing had been in Imperial Capital before high school, then later transferred to Haizhou, so she really didn't know this history.

"Why did it become so dilapidated? Hengzhou's 'Electronic Blockade' and 'Energy Confinement' are absolutely one of a kind."

She asked curiously.

"I can't tell you."

Lin Xiaohan glanced at Qin Shi sitting in the living room, far away:

"I only know some trivial details. The specific situation is very complex, and I can't arrive at a clear and correct answer.

But one thing—remember this a thousand times: those communication devices and electronic tools you use in Imperial Capital and Haizhou, don't take them to Hengzhou."

Lin Yunqing muttered softly:

"The airport security check is so strict; they'd have been confiscated and dealt with long ago."

Lin Xiaohan still felt uneasy and instructed:

"In short, listen well. Hengzhou is a rather special planet, a 'salt-alkali land' for Mechanics and Espers, producing no good seedlings.

Perhaps because of making up for deficiencies with strengths, it once produced an abundance of Martial Artists and walked out quite a few formidable figures."

Hearing this, Lin Yunqing suddenly became interested. Although she studied ancient history and did the dirty, tiring work of tomb raiding, she had a heart that longed to be a female Martial God!

Otherwise, she wouldn't have begged Dad to teach her New Martial Military Boxing.

"I only know one 'Shuai' named Qin Huai'en, a direct-line commander of the Fourth War Corps under Shuai. The Yincheng Qin Family is shameless, always clinging to this connection, wishing they could trace their ancestors back ten-plus generations just to claim some family ties."

Lin Xiaohan counted on his fingers, calculating carefully:

"Back during the Xinxing Development, the Tuohuang Shidai, when all industries awaited revival and all sorts of snakes and dragons emerged together, competing with each other. Chen Lin Bantiantianxia's 'Chen Quan' and 'Lin Yuanlong' were like that."

The Yincheng Qin Family was quite formidable in its early years; after all, they were also a Pioneer Family, and that Qin Shouge, who single-handedly pioneered Yincheng and garrisoned it for twenty years, was particularly outstanding — his spiritual cultivation once neared the Grandmaster realm.

It's just that in recent years they've gradually faded; those who left an impression on me are few. There was a man surnamed Liang who made a name for himself, but his luck wasn't great — his 'Flame Fist' was very sharp... Oh right, among the countless circulating versions of He Lanchan's parinirvana, Hengzhou is also included.

Lin Yunqing giggled and said:

"He Lanchan has been written to death by stall literature; every protagonist is bound to obtain this Stone Buddha's Tian Yu Mi Zang and then rise meteorically. Across the thirty-four administrative regions of Dongxia, there are at least thirty-four versions, even more.

What poor Imperial Capital scholar gets his engagement broken off, sets a three-year deadline, then receives He Lanchan's cross-generational transmission of power.

What Haizhou scion has his bones dug out and is abandoned, wanders to the Jiangzhou countryside, but lo and behold He Lanchan didn't die — he turned into a spirit tree and secretly imparted a peerless method to him."

Lin Xiaohan glared at his own sister — she just knows how to read Old Era web fiction; the extremely hard-to-get network permit authority, and you waste it on this?

"The Hengzhou version isn't entirely baseless either. Before He Lanchan entered parinirvana, he indeed responded to the Martial Association's policy, listing his own 'Xu Kong Meditation Method' for cultivating the spirit as an SSS-Grade Textbook, and granted it to the Hengzhou local branch.

Originally they planned to support it to the Suburb Schools as a town-guarding treasure, but then that major military factory explosion happened, and many textbooks were lost. Because of this matter, the Hengzhou branch fell out of favor with the Martial Association."

Lin Xiaohan tapped his fingers on the desk, then suddenly teased:

"Don't you say — if one could find this spirit-cultivating 'Xu Kong Meditation Method' that directly approaches Manifest Saint.

Thirty million investment would be sprinkling water; take it to an Imperial Capital auction house, no matter the opening price, those tycoon merchants would all take it."

Lin Yunqing rolled her eyes; if she had that kind of luck, her years of investment and financial management wouldn't have been wasted.

Whatever she buys falls, whatever she sells rises — known in the industry as the 'Industry Mingdeng'.

Chen Yun, an Inspection Team Leader close to her, relying on the operation 'Yunqing buys opposite, seaside villa', has nearly earned enough for a million-grade luxury sedan.

"Assistant Teacher Xiao Qin, this is my elder brother Lin Xiaohan, a teacher at Qiguang Heng University."

Lin Yunqing stood up, pulling her elder brother, and introduced him to Qin Shi.

"Didn't you say last time you were quite interested in New Martial Arts schools? Qiguang Heng University is Hengzhou's New Martial Arts main base; whether 'Bionic Style', 'Military Martial Arts School', or 'Limit Flow' — they're blooming everywhere."

Qin Shi sat quite far away, but the hearing enhancement from Super-Sensory Perception let him catch fragmented snippets.

The names the Lin siblings casually mentioned — what Fourth War Corps Young Master Qin, Pioneer Family elders — were all figures this Old Factory Street worker's son could never hope to contact.

"Director Lin, hello."

Qin Shi's attitude was polite; if not for coincidentally knowing Lin Yunqing, he would have to exhaust all efforts to test into Qiguang Heng University, and perform excellently to enter the student council or such organizations, before he could possibly meet Lin Xiaohan.

"No need for restraint; I treat you as Yunqing's... friend."

Lin Xiaohan glanced at his own sister whose eyes were unkind, and softened his tone:

"Thanks to Qiguang Heng University's Principal Ji vigorously promoting New Martial Arts, innovating schools, updating textbooks, there is today's flourishing scene of a hundred flowers blooming.

I myself also walk the New Martial Arts path, cultivating Revolutionary Tongwen's signature martial art, 'Extreme Nitrogen Freezing Dao', which belongs to 'Limit Flow'."

Revolutionary Tongwen, one of the Four Great National Universities!

Qin Shi secretly sighed with emotion:

"These elite personages with good family backgrounds almost all have to test into the Four Great National Universities. Because the Martial Association's most top-tier textbooks are only shared by these four top universities? Truly a single-log bridge for ten thousand horses and a thousand armies!"

Thinking of his own sister going all-in with her wealth, Lin Xiaohan proactively opened the back door:

"If Classmate Xiao Qin wants to understand New Martial Arts, you can have Yunqing lend you her student card; Qiguang Heng University's Virtual Combat Room is usually very lively."

(Chapter End)