Chapter 29: Fa Er Weng Suo Si

Four years old: Unbeknownst to you, you have reached the age where you can run around happily all over the ground, and you often secretly observe your father's daily life; adults are the best mirror for children.

Dad gets up at five every morning to practice boxing and hit the sandbag, lift dumbbells, and you also get up at five and learn by imitating him nearby.

After Dad finishes training, he starts giving lessons, teaching people boxing. You've lived here since childhood, so you naturally have a strong interest in boxing, and you never misbehave; you learn whatever Dad teaches his students, even if you don't know the meaning of the movements, you still persist in learning.

After finishing the boxing lesson, Dad would start his side job as a prosthetic doctor.

Dad's skills are good, the prosthetics that come in are high-quality and cheap, so business is booming; therefore, although you started out in the toilet, your quality of life is already better than most people here.

Outside, giant beasts rampage, and their body parts are also good materials for making prosthetics; a giant beast's muscle fibers can combine with flexible metal to form bionic fibers, and its bones can be made into bionic human bones. Unlike prosthetics made purely of steel, those made by combining biological materials are high-end goods, firmly controlled by all major prosthetic companies.

Because you are obedient and honest, never shouting, you quickly became beloved by a group of girls who come to practice boxing.

Xiao Jiejie~ come~ let aunt hug you!

Zhang Jie nimbly dodged the beautiful woman's embrace; his shy appearance made the beautiful woman delighted.

Go away, don't scold my son; there are plenty of people in the boxing gym enough for you to eat.

Dad grabbed Zhang Jie's hand; the beautiful woman walked away, and she rolled her eyes angrily.

You don't like others touching you; you only know their arms are icy cold and lack warmth, and some people's cheap arms even scratch your face—there are many odd folks, but Dad always protects you well.

But this beautiful woman is different; she seems to have taken a liking to your father, often secretly buying you nice things and then coaxing you to call her 'mom'.

With your intelligence, you will certainly not be fooled.

Five years old: When Dad taught you to read, he discovered your learning talent was extremely strong—you never forget what you see and have exceptional comprehension; although Dad is an expert in prosthetics, his knowledge reserves in education are insufficient.

You are like a sponge, constantly absorbing the knowledge Dad imparts, and each of your days is very fulfilling.

That day, you were idly wandering in the boxing gym when you unexpectedly discovered a locked room; you thought it was a storage closet, so you didn't pay it any attention.

Six years old: On your birthday, Dad took you to watch a very grand boxing match; he said it was some kind of golden something final—you didn't understand, but you could sense his enthusiasm was high.

The two people on the stage fiercely exchanged blows, punch to flesh, each punch sparking not blood but sparks from clashing steel; the audience below roared like a tidal wave, and you quietly watched Dad, noticing a hint of longing and regret in his eyes.

The boxing match was ultimately won by a person whose only flesh is his head, and you can sense Dad is not satisfied with this result.

You formally requested to start learning boxing from Dad, but he did not agree.

He asked you the purpose of learning boxing; you told him you saw Dad's silence and longing while watching the match, and you wanted to make him a bit happier. After hearing your words, Dad remained silent for a long time.

Finally Dad rejected your wholehearted request to learn boxing, telling you that learning boxing has no future, that boxing was once his dream but is no longer, and it shouldn't be yours either.

He hopes you will go to school, study, learn to read, and preferably take over his prosthetic doctor's skills; boxing can be discussed later.

You felt something was odd, so you asked Dad why he chose to open a boxing gym.

Although you found Dad's following words confusing, they still left a vivid impression on your memory.

"I only wish that when they are at their wit's end, they have a chance to strike back against fate."

Seven years old: Dad wanted you to go to school, but in this era it's extremely difficult to find a proper school; only in the city's most affluent districts are there schools, and the fees are extremely high.

But fortunately, the money Dad saved over many years from running the boxing gym and working as a prosthetic doctor is plenty enough to send you to school; and for the first time you saw your usually mighty father fawning over others, while the father you thought invincible was actually defeated by a seemingly frail prosthetic arm.

The power of prosthetics far exceeds your imagination, and you seem to have understood what Dad meant by 'being at the mercy of circumstances'.

Dad's arm was broken by being stepped on; you have no ability to help him, all you can do is silently remember these people's faces and plant a seed of resentment in your heart.

Because his arm was stepped on and broken, Dad's boxing gym and prosthetic doctor professions both suffered a blow.

Beside the prosthetic surgery table, Zhang Jie quietly watched Dad manipulate the mechanical arm as he treated his own arm.

"Dad, why don't you get a prosthetic?"

Dad's hand paused, as if reminiscing, as if blaming himself.

After a moment, he slowly spoke.

"Before... because of some things... maybe it was also because I was too arrogant."

"Xiao Jie... originally... you should have had a mother and a sister..."

The mechanical arm extended a laser cutting knife; with Dad's operation, the knife hissed as it pierced his mangled broken arm, wafts of meat aroma came, yet he seemed to feel no pain.

"Now... I will no longer be obstinate, nor will I worry about anything."

Snip! The severed limb was completely cut off; Zhang Jie stared blankly—he had seen many prosthetic limbs cut off during Dad's surgeries before, but such a bloody scene still made him somewhat unaccustomed.

Dad picked up the severed arm, grinning; Zhang Jie seemed to know what Dad intended to do.

"As a highly skilled prosthetic doctor, remodeling your own arm can be said to be easy; in less than half a day, a bionic muscle prosthetic arm identical to Dad's previous arm was manufactured."

"After putting on the arm, Dad regained his mighty vigor; he found the person who stepped on his arm, smashed that person's prosthetic arm with one punch, then proceeded to beat the prosthetics of a group of people to pieces—the invincible Dad is back!"

Eight years old: After Dad acquired a prosthetic, many things changed; you finally gained the qualification to attend school, but you always knew this came from exchanging one of Dad's arms, so you cherish it greatly.

Your learning talent is extremely strong; from being last in your school you rose all the way to the top, you are unbeaten in fights among your peers, unbeaten in studies, and your reputation as a six-sided warrior is spreading.

On the other hand, Dad seemed to have opened the door to a new world; you can see the prosthetic modifications on his body increasing, and his boxing practice time is also growing, as if he is planning something.

Eight years old: You completed all courses in less than two years; genius... seems to be merely your threshold.

And you finally know what Dad is plotting—he is preparing to enter a boxing competition!

You are somewhat puzzled; the boxing competition's prize money they don't lack, Dad doesn't care much about fame—so why exactly does he want to join the boxing competition?

He smiled and rubbed your head, saying, "For a promise."

Dad's hand is no longer warm and heavy as before, but has become cold and heavy; yet you know Dad is still Dad, and that has never changed.

Nine years old: You learned that the competition Dad signed up for is called the most valuable contest in C Area, held every five years, known as the Golden Thunder Fist Tournament! C Area is where you live, and through school you learned that the whole world has been invaded by terrifying beast tides, high walls blocking the beasts and also blocking humanity itself.

You also learned the history of this planet; unlike now, when it is divided into so many walled zones, it once had a beautiful name: Fa Er Weng Suo Si, and in that era when giant beasts were not so rampant, there was a term that ran through the glorious history of that age.

"Martial Way!"