Martial Saint!

The figure who arrived on a motorcycle was none other than the master of the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall.

Bright Winged Swallow, Ji Xuantong.

His expression was far from pleasant.

Void Things were not strong, but their appearance at this time was worrisome. Perhaps before the convergence point in the Taihu Virtual Realm was discovered, many had already hidden in Su City, choosing their victims to consume.

Or perhaps, there were other convergence points in Su City.

Ji Xuantong said gravely,

"I saw that driverless car suddenly head towards a deserted alley, and I sensed something was off, so I followed it. These damn things love to kill like that. Come on, get on the bike, where do you live? I'll take you home."

The motorcycle had already fallen to the ground, which Ji Xuantong promptly picked up.

He dialed a number on his phone.

"Master, what's happening?"

Lu Chenzhou's voice came from the other end.

"Have you made it home?"

"Yes, I'm practicing Heavenly Pile now."

"Be careful, and it's best to sleep with the 'Yang Flame Lamp' on, don't worry about the electric bill."

"Master, has a Void Thing appeared?"

"Yes."

"Thanks for the heads up, Master. I'll be careful."

Following that, Ji Xuantong also called his family and Ji Feiyan, and posted a message in the small group chat of the Martial Arts Hall, telling everyone to be on guard.

As for his daughter's safety, he wasn't too worried. Against the likes of the creature that had just appeared, Ji Feiyan might not be able to kill it, but neither could it harm her.

Moreover, his daughter lived at Dragon City Martial Arts University. That place was a no-go zone for Void Things, the rising smoke of Qi-Blood from Martial Artists was enough to deter most Void Things.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The motorcycle roared into life, and as Du held onto the master's waist, he finally felt safe. He had lived peacefully for over ten years, and this was the first time he encountered a Virtual Disaster. After witnessing the master slay a Void Thing, he developed an intense desire to become a Martial Artist!

He would never forget this night.

He had been tormented, humiliated, and had his dignity stripped away by a Void Thing!

Thinking of his junior, Lu, who was almost surpassing him, Du made up his mind: he would put in even more effort to pursue Martial Arts and spare no expense!

While driving, Ji Xuantong made another call.

"Officer Lu, sorry to disturb you."

"What is it?"

"A Void Thing was hiding in an unmanned car and attacked my student. I noticed something was wrong, followed it, and dealt with it, but I'm worried there may be more..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment.

"What Level was the Void Thing?"

"Floating Level."

"I see, thank you for letting me know."

The roar of the motorcycle vanished into the night streets.

...

Stone Lake Garden, Building 3, Apartment 2802.

"What? Another Virtual Disaster?"

Li Xianghua and Lu Guoping came out of the bedroom, looking flustered.

Lu Chenzhou didn't plan on keeping his parents in the dark. Although ordinary people couldn't change anything, it was better for them to know than to meet death in ignorance.

"Du was attacked. Our master saved him."

Before, Lu Chenzhou had always felt that Virtual Disasters were something distant, perhaps because such misfortune had never struck close to him, always happening in news reports.

The attack on Du made him realize... danger was never far away.

Li Xianghua gripped Lu Guoping's hand and asked,

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know... keep the lights on?"

The elderly couple had, although seen many news reports about Virtual Disasters over the past forty years, never experienced something so close, and they didn't know what to do.

A dazzling light burst forth, filling the room with brightness as if it were daytime.

Lu Chenzhou had turned on the "Yang Flame Lamp."

"Let's just keep it on from now on, and don't worry about the electricity bill anymore."

The Yang Flame Lamp was developed by the Void Control Department as a high-tech device to effectively prevent most low-level Void Things, which property developers were required to install in new residential buildings. The fire department would conduct regular inspections, and any deception would land someone in prison with a hefty sentence.

The downside was that it was power-hungry.

Of course, if one were to encounter "Void Things" of the 11.3 Virtual Disaster Level, this lamp would be utterly useless. All one could do is hope that the Void Things wouldn't randomly target their home.

Li Xianghua just couldn't feel at ease about letting Lu Chenzhou go out.

"Chenzhou, why don't you start practicing at home from tomorrow?"

"Mom, I'll see how things go tomorrow."

Lu Guoping said,

"You all go to sleep; I'll keep watch tonight."

Lu Chenzhou replied,

"Everyone should go to sleep; keeping watch is useless. If the Yang Flame Lamp can't protect us, staying up won't help. I just need to strive to reach Fourth Rank as soon as possible."

Lu Chenzhou had read the popular science materials from the Void Control Department and knew that once a human's Qi-Blood surpassed 2, the chances of encountering ordinary Virtual Disasters would significantly decrease.

To the Void, the Qi-Blood of a Martial Artist blazes like the sun.

After his persuasion, the old couple both went to bed.

In the bedroom, Lu Chenzhou continued with his Martial Arts Training of the Heavenly Pile.

He then received a prompt on his Martial Arts Tree.

[Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile: Fourth Aperture (2%)]

Earlier that day, he had just learned Pile Skill that focused on the Shaochong Acupoint, and he could clearly feel that the difficulty of increasing proficiency had gone up a notch.

The future would be even harder, but with the Martial Arts Tree, he felt that spending a bit more time each day, he would be able to master the Fourth Aperture within a month.

It just meant working harder.

Before he had the Martial Arts Tree, he had persisted despite being unable to see the path ahead. Now with a real-time proficiency panel, he could work harder than anyone else!

"Time to sleep!"

Lu Chenzhou still followed a regular routine, laying on the bed ready to fall asleep.

A text message came through on his mobile phone from the Su City police, informing all citizens to turn on their Yang Flame Lamps, to not go out at night, and to avoid riding in autonomous vehicles.

Starting tomorrow, all schools would be temporarily suspended; businesses were to operate from home where possible. The police would carry out searches for possible hidden Void Things throughout the city.

The night was destined to be another sleepless one.

Many people, connecting the situation to the commotion around Taihu, felt that big changes were looming over Su City. They predicted that more people would start moving away from here beginning tomorrow.

On the internet, there were also people taking the opportunity to spread rumors and create a panic, hoping for chaos. They were quickly located by the police through their IP addresses and dealt with according to the law.

In the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall chat group, many people expressed their concern for Du and marveled at his luck. They also gained a profound understanding of Ji Xuantong's strength.

After this incident, everyone should be even more motivated and determined in their Martial Arts Training.

Lu Chenzhou looked for a while but soon lost interest and quickly fell asleep.

All he could do now was to amass strength and become stronger bit by bit.

...

The following day.

Lu Chenzhou got up early to practice his boxing.

The old couple had worried all night and didn't sleep well.

"It's great, everyone is fine."

Li Xianghua made calls to close relatives and friends, and no one had been a victim, but the news reported others besides Du had been affected.

The victim was a woman who had come out of a nightclub, drunk to the point of collapse, falling asleep by the roadside. When someone found her, her body was swollen; her skin broke upon the slightest touch, and yellowish fluid flowed out from within, leaving behind nothing but a human skin.

She had been hollowed out, with all her bones and internal organs dissolved.

The methods of Void Things were extremely cruel.

This was the second known case this year of someone being killed by a Void Thing.

Li Xianghua was distressed.

"Ah, how pitiful. God knows which parents' hearts are going to break because of this."

Lu Guoping was on the phone with his workplace, looking unhappy.

"This crappy job! Do you think I don't want to work?"

"What happened?"

"During the shutdown, they'll only pay us minimum wage."

"Forget it; it's better than being laid off."

"The kid needs money right now."

"Don't worry, we'll manage. We have enough savings to last us a while. I'll knit more handcrafts to earn some extra money... Once the child gets into Martial Arts University, things will be better. I remember there are state scholarships, meant to reward children like Chenzhou."

"It's okay; I can use this time to rest."

"Yeah, Chenzhou can teach us some boxing too."

For the old couple, Lu Chenzhou's current excellent performance was diluting the accumulation of misfortunes in their bleak life. This was their faith.

Everything will get better!