Chapter 43: Massive Family Debts

Fang Huiyi looked into Lin Qi’s eyes, which were bright and profound. An intangible aura emanated from him, commanding awe and leaving her momentarily dazed.

Unwittingly, her son had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation.

"Yes, you've grown up!"

Fang Huiyi smiled and said,

"In the past, we always treated you as a child and were afraid of affecting you, so we kept many things from you. Now, it's time to tell you."

"Over the past decade or so, our family has borrowed a total of about 1.25 million Xia State coins from your uncle's family."

"All these years, your father and I have wanted to pay it back, but helplessly, the debt just kept growing larger."

"Your aunt has also expressed quite a bit of discontent toward us." Fang Huiyi sighed.

Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat. Owning this much? His uncle hadn't said a word all these years; he truly was a wonderful person.

The same went for his aunt; for all these years, she had only occasionally voiced some discontent.

If it were anyone else, they probably would have utterly hated their family.

"Besides what we owe your uncle's family, to pay for my medical treatments over the years, both your father and I maxed out online loans and credit cards."

"Originally, we could barely manage to make small repayments, but ever since I fell ill during the summer vacation, we completely lost the ability to repay and could only sustain the debt through new loans."

"Between the two of us, online loans and credit cards combined, we owe just a bit over 1 million. Your father knows the exact detailed amounts."

As his mother, Fang Huiyi, spoke to this point, her voice grew lower and lower, her tone mixed with guilt and apology.

To Lin Qi’s parents, who were both martial artists, an online loan debt of around 1 million was slightly less than expected, but it was still a massive sum.

Lin Qi did a rough calculation: just the monthly interest alone on this 1 million Xia State coin debt was a huge amount of money.

"Mom, don't worry. With me here, the debt will definitely be paid off."

"And Mom, your illness will definitely get better." Lin Qi spoke up to comfort her.

Fang Huiyi looked up and nodded firmly: "Xiao Qi, Mom believes in you."

Looking at his emaciated mother, Lin Qi sighed inwardly, finding it hard to imagine how much pain and psychological pressure she had been enduring.

When he was three years old, right in the university town nestled between Rongshan Residential Area and No. 2 High School, a small spatial gate had appeared, and countless ferocious disaster beasts poured out to slaughter everything.

At that time, the three members of Lin Qi's family were out shopping nearby and bore the brunt of the disaster beasts' attack.

To protect him, his father Lin Zhen, a tier-3 martial artist, had his arm bitten off by a Mastiff-toothed Hound.

His mother, Fang Huiyi, was likewise attacked and accidentally struck by the venom of a tier-3 disaster beast, the Dark-Winged Bat.

Her entire body's blood and organs were corroded and eroded. Although she was barely saved, the toxins in her body could not be completely cleared, and her immune system was destroyed, requiring various medications every day just to sustain her life.

From time to time, the toxins would suddenly flare up, requiring emergency treatment at the hospital.

Yet every treatment only addressed the symptoms rather than the root cause, while costing a fortune.

"Even though both my parents are still alive, my family's financial situation is no better than Taozi's family's," Lin Qi thought with self-deprecating irony.

...

A few minutes later, feeling physically weak, Fang Huiyi went back to her room to rest.

Lin Qi lay on his bed. In the dark, his brain continued to operate at high speed.

At present, the family carried a debt of around 2.25 million, with huge amounts of interest piling up every month. The pressure was like a colossal mountain, making it hard to breathe.

Wanting to pay off all the debts was no easy task.

Lin Qi himself only had a few hundred thousand on him, which was merely a drop in the bucket compared to the total debt.

"To both clear all the family's debts and not delay my own cultivation is extremely difficult."

" Unless I can acquire more money..."

Lin Qi knew very well that when it came to money, one could never have too much of it.

His current avenue for making money was to apply for a higher-tier Genius Loan.

Although the Genius Loan was still a loan, it carried no interest, and as long as it was repaid by the time of university graduation, it was fine.

Apart from that, there was another method: signing a contract with the three major martial arts dojos.

The four tiers of contracts—D, C, B, and A—each offered higher amounts than the last.

So, when all was said and done, it still came down to demonstrating sufficient talent and strength.

Clenching his fists and locking onto his goal, Lin Qi drifted off to sleep.

...

Martial Calendar Year 2045, October 10th

During the martial arts class

Zhang Cheng's roaring voice filled every corner of the room.

"Xu Chenhui, now that you've come to the elite class, my rules are the rules!!"

"Right now, immediately stop your swordplay and go practice the basic sword techniques a hundred times! Your swordplay is limp and feeble, and you haven't even laid a solid foundation. How on earth did your martial arts teacher teach you?"

Xu Chenhui, the newly joined member of the elite class, felt his head buzzing, his face turning unsightly.

His face flushed red and his breathing grew rapid, as if he were ready to make a move at any second.

Countless people around looked on, waiting for a good show, and Zhang Cheng grinned broadly.

After holding out like this for a few seconds, Xu Chenhui suddenly turned and walked away. After a brief flash of anger, his rationality returned.

He had heard that the elite class teacher was extremely domineering, but he hadn't expected it to actually be true.

Moreover, he was quite self-preserving; he sensed danger and was certain that if he talked back to Zhang Cheng, he would die a very ugly death.

"Tch!"

The onlookers shook their heads and dispersed.

Zhang Cheng also shook his head with a bored expression and moved on to someone else, arriving in front of Lin Qi before he knew it.

Looking at Lin Qi, his expression turned complex. The boy's comprehension skills had genuinely amazed him.

Whenever a problem was pointed out, Lin Qi could quickly improve, and what he lacked now was merely a matter of proficiency.

Even if he wanted to scold him, he didn't even know how to begin.

"Teacher, I have a question." Lin Qi spoke up at that moment.

"Oh, what question?"

"Is there a way to increase my blood-qi value? I need stronger strength," Lin Qi inquired.

Zhang Cheng shook his head and said, "Your question is too broad."

"If you want to rapidly increase your blood-qi value, aside from talent, it depends on your own hard work and the resources you utilize."

"What you actually want to ask about are the little tricks outside of these three, right?"

"Exactly!" Lin Qi nodded.

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng grinned and said,

"I anticipated you would ask that."

"To temper the flesh and raise the blood-qi value, one must practice the Hunyuan Stance. Yet, even if you practice stance work to the absolute peak, it cannot improve the efficiency of physical tempering."

"At that point, you have to start from the Five-Form Fist."

"The higher your mastery of boxing techniques, the more you can not only improve tempering efficiency, but also enhance your control over your own body."

"Therefore, boxing techniques are crucial."

"Boxing techniques?" Lin Qi frowned slightly, as if having a sudden epiphany, countless thoughts surfacing in his mind.

"In the practice of boxing techniques, there has always been a little trick, but many people, even if they know it, cannot use it." Zhang Cheng smiled broadly.

"That is, if you can master and execute two different Five-Form boxing styles consecutively, both your tempering efficiency and your mastery of the boxing techniques will rapidly improve."

"What you are learning is the Tiger Form from the Five-Form Fist. If you can also learn the Crane Form, and perform both boxing styles back-to-back, your tempering efficiency and even the enhancement of your boxing mastery will be vastly amplified."

Hearing this, Lin Qi's eyes lit up. There were actually such tricks within the Five-Form Fist.

"However!" Zhang Cheng's tone shifted.

"This method is only suitable for a small minority. Only geniuses with high comprehension are adaptable to this technique."

"Yet, wanting to master a single boxing technique takes no small amount of time. If it delays the cultivation of your practical skills, the loss would outweigh the gain."

"If you have confidence in your own comprehension, go ahead and practice the Crane Form Fist!"

Zhang Cheng grinned widely as he looked at Lin Qi.

"I understand. Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance!"

Lin Qi nodded in gratitude.

After Zhang Cheng walked away, Lin Qi stayed put, his mind beginning to recall the Crane Form from the Five-Form Fist.

Everyone had learned the five boxing styles of the Five-Form Fist, but once most people chose the one they excelled at most, they never practiced the other four.

Lin Qi was no exception.

Zhang Cheng had said that practicing two boxing styles required high comprehension, and Lin Qi had absolute confidence in his own comprehension.

If even he couldn't practice them, then no one could.

Thinking of this, he set his boxing stance—not the familiar Three-Body Posture, but a brand new boxing posture.