After an afternoon nap, Xu Yiyi was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed again. She went to the dried-up artificial lake near the school's medical office to feed the stray cats and dogs.

Many students from Dongli University also saw Xu Lai, respectfully greeting him, "Hello, Director Xu."

At Dongli University, Xu Lai had already made quite a name for himself. He had single-handedly turned the school's medical office into a place that even the top research labs of medical universities aspired to. What kind of power was that? In fact, students from the top three medical universities in the country were already considering transferring to Dongli for their postgraduate studies.

For this reason, coupled with the recent Sea Temple Festival, the perceptive Su Daiyi's status within the Su Family became even more solidified. The family became a place where her word was law. The Su Family had thus firmly secured its position as the leading family of Hangcheng!

...

Xu Lai didn't put on airs in the face of the students' enthusiastic greetings, smiling and responding to each one. Many blushing female students even came to ask for his WeChat, but he refused them all.

At five in the afternoon, after spending the day with his daughter, Xu Lai was about to leave when he was approached by Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba. These two heads of the Su and Jiang families approached Xu Lai with an extremely respectful demeanor.

"Yiyi," Su Daiyi said with a smile, "Aunty bought you a pair of shoes on my way here. Why don't you try them on and see if they fit?"

The shoes were pink, flashy things that lit up with every step.

"Thank you, Aunty Su," Xu Yiyi thanked her happily.

Xu Lai nodded at Su Daiyi, took the shoes, and knelt to help his daughter try them on. They weren't too big or too small; they fit just right.

"I'm glad they fit," Su Daiyi smiled.

Old Jiang Ba also presented the small gifts he had prepared: two cute plush dolls.

Xu Lai's gaze was calm as he looked at Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba, waiting for them to state their purpose. He knew they must have a reason for coming. They wouldn't bother him for no reason, especially when he was with his daughter.

"Mr. Xu, the great families of Jiangbei wish to host a banquet in your honor, scheduled for tomorrow night," Su Daiyi said respectfully.

"I'm not going," Xu Lai said indifferently.

He would rather spend the time holding his daughter and catching up on a few new anime series.

"This..."

Old Jiang Ba and Su Daiyi exchanged a glance. Old Jiang Ba said cautiously, "It's like this, Mr. Xu. The past winners of the Sea Temple Festival are expected to pay their respects in Jiangbei. It's tradition."

There were the thirteen cities of Jiangnan and the fifteen cities of Jiangbei. The two regions, one in the south and one in the north, were distinctly different. In recent years, Jiangnan's economy had developed rapidly. While Jiangbei's economy was slightly weaker, its Martial Dao flourished, leaving Jiangnan far behind. The leading families of the fifteen cities were all martial arts powerhouses who placed great importance on the customs of the Martial Dao. Grandmasters emerged like bamboo shoots after the rain, one after another, making a great name for themselves in the Martial Dao of Hua Country.

The Jiangnan region was a different story. It was as if there was something wrong with the feng shui; the only Martial Ancestor to emerge from Hua City's Niu Family in the past hundred years was Niu Taishan, their final saving grace.

This strange requirement to pay respects to the Martial Dao families of Jiangbei started two hundred years ago. Passed down through the generations, it had become a tradition.

"Calling it a banquet and a formal visit is just a polite way of saying the junior has to pay respects to the senior, isn't it?" Xu Lai said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Su Daiyi's face turned red, and Old Jiang Ba looked embarrassed. That was indeed the situation. Who could blame them? Besides Hua City's Niu Family, Jiangnan didn't have a single respectable Martial Dao family to its name.

"In my life, I have never bowed my head or bent my back for anyone," Xu Lai remarked lightly.

Though his words were calm, devoid of any discernible emotion, to Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba they carried an indescribable confidence and authority!

The two were not surprised. They had known before they arrived that given Xu Lai's temperament, he would never agree to go.

Old Jiang Ba hesitated. "But Mr. Xu, if Jiangbei were to express their displeasure..."

"So what if they do? It's not a big deal," Xu Lai said, surprised. "Without their approval, are the Su and Jiang families going to be annihilated or something? If so, I'll take care of it for you!"

After all, I am Xu Lai. I intend to grant the Su and Jiang families a meteoric rise!

"Er..." Old Jiang Ba was taken aback for a moment before shaking his head with a self-deprecating laugh.

That's right. So what if they're displeased? Jiangnan's Martial Dao may not be as developed, but why should we care about Jiangbei's opinion? Things aren't what they were two or three hundred years ago. The era... has changed!

Su Daiyi's beautiful eyes shone with admiration. He truly is the man I admire. How many people in all of Hua Country possess such defiance?! I was born stubborn; I don't know how to bow!

Just then, Xu Yiyi reached out a small hand and tugged on Xu Lai's sleeve. "Daddy, Yiyi wants a horsey ride."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Xu Lai immediately bent over, nearly at a ninety-degree angle, so Yiyi could sit on his back. Then, with his daughter on his back, he galloped out of the school's medical office, moving as fast as a real wild horse.

Su Daiyi: "..."

Old Jiang Ba: "..."

...

...

If Jiangnan was a land of warring lords, with the throne of the number one family constantly changing hands, then in Jiangbei, a land teeming with powerful martial arts families, there was only one voice that mattered: the Lin Family's!

The Lin Family was a martial arts family with a three-hundred-year history. The family had produced dozens of Martial Ancestors, including several Ninth Grade pinnacle Great Martial Sects, and they had even produced one Watchman. The Lin Family held tremendous influence not only in Jiangbei but throughout Hua Country as well!

The decennial visit to Jiangbei was, in fact, a visit to pay respects to the Lin Family.

When the steward of the Lin Family learned that the Seventh Grade Martial Artist named Xu Lai was refusing to follow the rules, his expression turned icy cold. He didn't say much, however, only instructing, "Lin Yong, you make the trip."

Lin Yong was the steward's son. Like his father, he lacked talent for the Martial Dao and chose to work in the family business, belonging to a collateral branch of the family. He worked hard to make money for the high-ranking 'Martial Artists' of the family, providing for their cultivation.

In return, the Martial Artists of the Lin Family brought extraordinary status and prestige to the ordinary members of their clan. In Jiangbei, even a useless commoner from the Lin Family could marry the daughter of a prestigious family or a well-bred young lady. The women of the family, in turn, almost always found husbands who were at least Fourth Grade Martial Artists.

It could only be said that they enabled each other's success.

This model of running a family was adopted by others in Jiangbei, leading to a region with less warmth and more indifference. Here, only fists did the talking. Whoever had the strongest fist got the biggest piece of the pie!

...

At seven in the evening, thirty-year-old Lin Yong drove to East Sea City and met Su Daiyi in a hotel. He looked at the woman who was the head of Hangcheng's Su Family—the foremost family in all of Jiangnan—with an expression of utter contempt.

No wonder Jiangnan's martial prowess has always been so subpar. Their leaders are either old men with one foot in the grave, like the head of the Wan Family, or wet-behind-the-ears girls like Su Daiyi. It would be a wonder if they ever managed to amount to anything!

"Where is Xu Lai? Tell him to come see me!" Lin Yong's attitude was arrogant, and his tone was imperious.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Xu is busy," Su Daiyi replied, neither servile nor haughty.

"Mr. Xu?" Lin Yong sneered coldly. "He's merely a Seventh Grade Martial Artist. What makes him worthy of the title 'Mr.'?"

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