Chapter 8

A few days later, the Jiangnan Province training team returned home, and Xu Jingming also left the Starry Sky Fighting Hall, preparing to return to his hometown.

In the afternoon, at the high-speed railway station in the north of Binhai City.

"Take care of yourself while you're in Binhai City." Xu Jingming hugged Li Miaomiao, who was wearing a mask and accompanied by a female assistant. Although Xu Jingming had twice made it to the World Martial Arts Competition, once reaching the round of sixteen and once the round of eight, he rarely appeared in public, so few people recognized him on the street. However, Li Miaomiao was different; she was very popular, even though she only streamed once a month, she still had millions of fans. Without a mask, she would be quickly recognized.

"I estimate it will take another two or three days to get everything arranged, and then I can return. Kong Jie has already gone to Mingyue City; they have already rented a house," Li Miaomiao said. Kong Jie was one of Li Miaomiao's two assistants.

"Xiao Zeng, you must take good care of your boss these few days," Xu Jingming said to the slim female assistant, Xiao Zeng.

"Yes, sir," Xiao Zeng immediately straightened up and replied.

Xu Jingming smiled and nodded, then hugged his girlfriend again.

"Send me a message when you get home," Li Miaomiao instructed.

"Okay, I'm off."

Xu Jingming turned around, backpack on his back, passed through the checkpoint, and boarded the high-speed train.

Li Miaomiao, accompanied by her female assistant, watched Xu Jingming's figure disappear into the passage before leaving.

******

On the high-speed train, Xu Jingming sat in his seat, with a three-foot-wide holographic screen floating in front of him.

The screen was only visible from Xu Jingming's angle; from other angles, the light was not bright enough and would be distorted.

"Dear friends and family, from now on, I will be settling in Mingyue City! I welcome everyone to visit Mingyue City, and I will definitely treat you to a full tour!" Xu Jingming posted a message on his social media, and replies quickly started coming in.

"Junior, have a safe journey!" This comment was from Fang Xinglong, the owner of the Starry Sky Fighting Hall and his senior.

"Old Xu, leaving Binhai?" This was from his former national team teammate and good friend, Heng Fang.

"Senior, you're finally back in Mingyue City! The brothers have been eagerly waiting for you!" This was from his junior at the Ba Ji Men in Mingyue City, Zhu Tong.

"Back, come see me soon." This was from Dai Tongda, the head of the Chuo Jiao Men in Mingyue City, one of Xu Jingming's two masters during his youth. When he was young, Xu Jingming's启蒙 master was his own father, and later, under his father's guidance, he also became a disciple of Dai Tongda.

"I've heard that Mingyue City is a very beautiful city. I will definitely visit if I have the chance." This was from the world-class martial arts expert "Hunter" Micky, who had studied in Xia Country and was proficient in Chinese.

"Great master is returning home! You must treat us to a meal; many old classmates want to see you." This was from his high school classmate, Wu Wei.

As time passed, more and more comments appeared.

There were old classmates, relatives, teammates from the provincial and national teams, and some martial arts experts he had met through competition, as well as some martial arts agents, coaches, and students he had taught.

Xu Jingming looked at these comments with a smile and responded to each of his friends.

...

In Beijing, inside a traditional Chinese villa.

Liu Hai, who was eating his third meal of the day, was also looking at the social media on the holographic screen. He usually checked social media during his meals when he was in seclusion to stay informed about the outside world.

"Jingming has left Binhai and returned to Mingyue City?" Liu Hai understood, "It's because of that Cheng Zihao from Hu Sha Group."

"National key cultivation list."

Liu Hai lightly tapped the screen, looking at the list of candidates, and shook his head helplessly, "I talked to several old friends, but Jingming was still eliminated."

"There are twenty people on the list, twelve martial arts masters, five from other combat styles. Only three spots are open for competition... In the end, these three spots were taken by two professional martial arts athletes and one professional sanda athlete."

"The professional sanda athlete is a grand slam winner."

"The two professional martial arts athletes, one placed fourth in the World Martial Arts Competition! The other has entered the world's top eight three times, with better results than Jingming."

This list was too special, and Liu Hai only had the right to recommend. He had done his best.

...

The scenery outside the window rushed by.

Xu Jingming looked out the window, and after just a short chat on social media, he had already entered the territory of Mingyue City.

The high-speed train from Binhai City to Mingyue City only took thirty-five minutes.

"Back home." Xu Jingming was in a good mood. Looking out the window, he saw the numerous willows by the river. The scenery of the Jiangnan water town was refreshing and invigorating.

Although Mingyue City couldn't compare to Xia Country's economic center, Binhai City, in terms of economic development, it was far superior in terms of livability. The entire city seemed to be built in a park, with a slow pace of life, and many elderly people from across the country moved here to retire.

"Mingyue City, I'm back." After getting off the high-speed train, Xu Jingming took an autonomous smart car straight to his parents' residence, a historic villa complex where he had lived until he was eighteen.

Inside the villa complex.

Xu Jingming walked down the alley, the stone bricks on the ground showing signs of age, some old and some new, replaced by the property management. A faint graffiti mark on a wall caught Xu Jingming's eye, and he reached out to touch it.

This graffiti was something he had drawn on his neighbor Li Daniu's wall when he was five. After so many years, it still left a faint trace.

Walking down this alley, he thought of his childhood, carrying his schoolbag to school, with his father picking him up and dropping him off. Back then, robots weren't as intelligent, and his mother was responsible for cooking while his father handled the pick-ups and drop-offs.

"In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed." Xu Jingming arrived at the familiar gate, which was unlocked and already open.

Xu Jingming walked into the front yard, a small courtyard of about thirty square meters where he had practiced martial arts for a long time as a child.

"Dad, Mom." Xu Jingming called out.

"Jingming is back!"

"It's Jingming!"

Voices came from inside the house, and Xu Jingming pushed open the living room door to see his parents already standing up. His mother was in a nightgown and slippers, and his father was in a sleeveless shirt and shorts. After all, it was mid-summer, and they were quite casual at home.

"Jingming." His mother hugged him happily, "I missed you so much. Where's Miaomiao? Did you come back alone?"

"Miaomiao will be back in a couple of days," Xu Jingming said with a smile.

His father came out, looked at Xu Jingming, and asked, "Where are your weapons?"

"I sent them by courier. Since there were a lot of bulky items, they will arrive tomorrow and be delivered to the new house," Xu Jingming explained.

His father nodded.

His father, named Xu Hong, was about the same height as Xu Jingming but much more robust. After all, he was the founder of the Ba Ji Men in Mingyue City, specializing in Ba Ji techniques, practicing桩功 (zhuang gong) every day. Ba Ji Men's桩功 involved using various parts of the body, such as the arms, chest, shoulders, back, and elbows, to strike wooden stakes. There was also the single-arm handstand桩功, which was very difficult, simplified to a "two-handed handstand," and further simplified to "push-up桩功." There was also the "underwater moon捞月功" for leg training...

The various techniques of the Ba Ji Men aimed to make every part of the body strong and fierce, like a bear or a tiger.

His father, with his broad back and bear-like build, exuded a dominant aura just by standing there.

"Dad, you need to lose some weight," Xu Jingming said, "You're over two hundred pounds now, right?"

"Two hundred and ten pounds," his father shook his head, "I can't help it. I'm old, and my back often hurts. I have to be more careful when practicing. I only practice for two hours a day now, and my weight has gone up. I used to maintain around one hundred and ninety pounds."

"Less practice time means you should eat less, but you keep eating. How can you not gain weight?" His mother, whose figure many young girls would envy, had wrinkles and a few white hairs that revealed her age.

His mother was a painter who had traveled the world with his father in their youth and later settled in Mingyue City.

"I'm used to eating and can't control it," his father laughed.

"You were too competitive in your youth, visiting various combat styles around the world and often sparring. You accumulated a lot of injuries. You could handle it when you were young, but now you feel it. Jingming, you should take this as a lesson and focus more on health and less on actual combat."

"Yes, martial arts and weapon combat are very dangerous," his father nodded, remembering when their son's leg was broken by an opponent on the World Martial Arts Competition stage, which had them both very worried.

"Don't worry, Dad and Mom, I'm settling in Mingyue City. Who would I spar with here?" Xu Jingming laughed.

"Jingming is back?" A voice came from upstairs.

"Grandpa?" Xu Jingming was overjoyed.

"Your grandpa knew you were coming back today, so he came over early in the morning and took a nap in the afternoon. He must have heard us talking," his mother said.

Xu Jingming put down his backpack and walked to the villa's courtyard, where he saw his white-haired grandfather descending the stairs, his steps still steady.

"Grandpa." Xu Jingming walked to the stairs.

"Good to be back. Isn't Mingyue City more beautiful and comfortable than Binhai City?" The white-haired old man smiled, clearly very happy to see his grandson.

"I'm not leaving this time. I'll be able to spend more time with you, Grandpa." Xu Jingming was also very concerned about his grandfather.

His grandfather, named Xu Guishun, came from a rural family and was a professional e-sports player in his youth, with the game nickname "Unnamed Master."

Back then, it was still the era of mobile games! His grandfather had even won an FMVP once and had a high career income. After retiring, he became a game streamer and saved a considerable amount of money over the years, which helped establish the foundation for the Xu family.

However, his grandfather was now eighty-eight years old, and his health was deteriorating.

"Come, have some fruit." His father and mother brought out two large fruit platters with grapes, bananas, and watermelon.

"Have some fruit." The old man was in a great mood, sat down, and handed a slice of watermelon to Xu Jingming, "Try the local watermelon."

"Grandpa, I can do it myself." Xu Jingming also sat down and picked up a slice of watermelon.

He remembered that when he was young, his grandfather often played with him. His mother was still young, and his father was in his prime, often training a group of disciples.

Now, his grandfather was old, with wrinkles and age spots on his face.

His mother had more white hair and wrinkles, and his father, though still robust, was sixty and had a hint of old age.

"Life and death, no one can escape it." Xu Jingming thought, "I've grown up, but my parents are getting older, and my grandfather is getting older every year."

Returning home, he felt the warmth of family, but also the ruthlessness of time.

"These fruits were bought by your father this morning, all fresh," his mother said.

"They are very good." Xu Jingming ate happily, smiling.