Chapter 4  : Genius and Good-for-Nothing

“Why are you doing commentaries? Why would anyone want to hire a little girl like you?” Chu Yunfan said with a smile, concealing his pain.

The internet of the Kunlun Era had become like the virtual world mentioned in the novels of the Common Era. Everything within it was exactly the same as the real world. There was no difference.

With the previous limits of technology, it was impossible for humanity to enter such a virtual reality. As it was, according to historical records, humans had obtained a powerful artifact while venturing into the Kunlun Realm. It was called the Virtual Realm. The entire network was built with the Virtual Realm at its core. That was the main reason the virtual world could be created.

With everyone practicing martial arts, it was easy for one to get hurt when sparring in reality, but that would not happen online. Hence, there were all sorts of battles in cyberspace and even live streams. Fights between skilled masters would sell out and draw big crowds.

As the popularity of live-streamed battles rose, naturally numerous commentators came out of it. Many experienced commentators could tell what kind of techniques the experts used at any given time. They could even speculate who would win among the fighters.

In turn, such commentators would often gain a sizable fanbase with ease. The better their commentaries, the more money they would make.

“Brother, you’re underestimating me. The online battle video that I commentated on has millions of views now. That’s why there are live-stream websites that are willing to hire me to do live commentaries!” Chu Qingxuan said, failing to hold back her excitement.

“Alright, go ahead then. I can’t believe my sister has become an influencer now. It seems I shouldn’t underestimate you in the future!” Chu Yunfan said as he patted Chu Qingxuan’s head.

The idea seemed less strange as he thought about it. To be able to commentate on such battles, one would need excellent judgment in a variety of martial arts scenarios.

Chu Qingxuan had an exceptional talent for that. Although she could not cultivate, she was much more attentive than he was. She could continuously learn from the internet since she had nothing else to do all day. It was unfortunate that she could not cultivate, as she could certainly have reached the Qi Sea Stage or even higher.

“Of course. You definitely shouldn’t underestimate me!” Chu Qingxuan raised her dainty head. She was so cute, her proud little face resembling that of a victorious general.

Suddenly, the door opened automatically and a tall figure walked in. He was a man who appeared to be in his thirties wearing a suit and leather shoes.

“Dad!”

“Dad, you’re home!”

The brother and sister exclaimed immediately. That man was the master of the Chu family, Chu Wencheng.

Chu Wencheng was just an ordinary office worker in the Kunlun Era. He was paid a few thousand coins each month, which was enough to cover the household expenses.

He was rather tired, but he had a smile on his face when he saw his children.

“All of you are home. That’s great. Let’s eat!” Yang Yayun walked out and served the dishes on the table one after another.

Although it was homemade, a table full of dishes was expensive back in the Common Era. Ginseng, deer antlers, ganoderma, and other supplements that were once rare could be harvested on a large scale now. They could mature quickly too, so the ginseng was at least a century old. Although it was done using technology, they were no different than if they had aged naturally.

Without this development, the Age of Great Cultivation where everyone was cultivating would not have been sustainable. Such eating habits had spread across tens of thousands of households.

When they were halfway through their meal, Chu Wencheng suddenly said, “Oh, yeah. There’s something I almost forgot about. Big Brother sent me an invitation today, asking us to go to Yuntian’s birthday party in a month. It’s also to celebrate Yuntian getting into the martial arts stream!”

“No, we’re not going. Besides looking to squeeze more money out of us, he just wants to show off his son getting into the martial arts stream!” Yang Yayun said plainly as she pushed her bowl away.

“Big Brother didn’t mean it like that!” Chu Wencheng could not help but hastily reply as he looked at his angry wife.

“He didn’t mean it like that? Do you think I don’t know what Big Brother and Sister-in-law are like? All they want to do is to show off their son. How many times have they done that over the years? I just don’t understand this, Chu Wencheng. You guys have the same father, so why is he like this? When your big brother’s son was born, Dad went back to the family himself to beg for a Meridian Cleansing Pill to cleanse Yuntian’s meridians. How about our Yunfan? He was born just a few days after him. So what if he’s not the first grandson of the first son? Is there anything left for us after all these years?!” With her pretty brows slightly creased, Yang Yayun went on,?“Our Xuanxuan has been in bad health since young. It’s so hard to even ask Dad for some money to treat her. However, your parents have spent so much on Yuntian for years. They can’t play favorites like that!”

Chu Wencheng smiled slightly and said, “You know this family has been in the doghouse for a long time. We need to endure it now that we have someone as gifted as Yuntian. My parents are just hoping that he will bring honor to our family!”

“Gifted how? Would he have such a cultivation base if Dad didn’t beg for the Meridian Cleansing Pill and spend hundreds of thousands buying all sorts of expensive herbs for him to soak his body in since he was a little?” Yang Yayun could not help but say, “Chu Wencheng, our family is already in a difficult situation. We don’t have the money to treat Xuanxuan, and your parents want you to lend money to your big brother. Over time, you’ve lent them over 300,000. Are we ever going to see that money again?”

“Don’t you see that they’ll pay it back now? Not only is Yuntian going into the martial arts stream, there’s a tutor from Federation University who’s interested in him. He guarantees that Yuntian will get into the university. At that point, our family will benefit from his achievements!” Chu Wencheng kept smiling as he spoke.

“Benefit? What kind of benefits are we getting? Big Brother has been looking down on us all this time. Now that this is happening, you’re expecting us to benefit from it? Forget it! I’ve lost my appetite!”

Yang Yayun swiftly stood up, turned around, and left the room.

Chu Wencheng went after her immediately. Sitting at the table, the siblings, Chu Yunfan and Chu Qingxuan, looked as if they had gotten used to such occurrences.

Chu Yunfan helped her to get a bowl of ginseng chicken soup and served himself another bowl of rice. It made sense that people who practiced martial arts had large appetites.

That was why modern society was so abundant with supplies. Without them, no one would have enough energy.

As it was, their words had caused a stir inside Chu Yunfan. That cousin of his, Chu Yuntian, born just a few days before him, was like a personal nightmare.

Compared to Chu Yunfan, with his mediocre abilities, Chu Yuntian was very intelligent ever since he was born. He left all who met him stunned. To cleanse his meridians, his grandfather went to the Chu family’s ancestral home to beg for a Meridian Cleansing Pill that was worth up to ten million coins. Thus, Chu Yuntian performed extraordinarily since young, and his talent was outstanding. Given that the family bought all sorts of herbs for him to soak in ever since he was little, he cultivated extremely swiftly.

Chu Yuntian and Chu Yunfan were of the same age, and both were in Year 3. That being the case, Chu Yunfan went to the humble Calm Ocean City’s No.13 High School, whereas Chu Yuntian went to Donghua City’s No.1 High School. It was the best school in the entire city, with countless geniuses and experts. Even its worst student could get into one of the top schools in the Federation. The best batch could get into Federation University, ranked first among the top ten schools.

Chu Yuntian had just got to Year 3, and a tutor from Federation University was interested in him. He guaranteed Chu Yuntian would get into the university. It was not an exaggeration to say that he brought honor to the Chu family.

Federation University ranked first in the entire Federation, and it was backed by the Federation government. In all the world, those who got into the school were one in a million. They were the elite of the elite. To use a phrase from the feudal period, such a person would be a general in the field or a minister at court. Many officers in the military came from Federation University. More than half of the senior officers in the government came from there too, as well as famous people in all fields, including science, economics, and culture. They were innumerable.

Getting into Federation University would ensure a bright future when one entered society!

Meanwhile, Chu Yunfan, born merely a few days later than Chu Yuntian, was naturally going to be compared. More than once, he had been told to his face that all the best things the Chu family possessed were given to Chu Yuntian. Being born a few days later, he got nothing. He was worthless.

Chu Yunfan was no weakling compared to regular people, but when he was juxtaposed with the genius Chu Yuntian, many saw him as a good-for-nothing.

Everyone had pride. Chu Yunfan was being compared and looked down on openly since childhood. How could he not be affected? It was just that he had learned to hide it and not show any emotion on his face. He did this because he knew the people who would get upset were not those who made fun of him but his parents who loved him the most.

Chu Yunfan gazed at Chu Qingxuan as he thought about this and pity filled his eyes. He was not gifted, but Chu Qingxuan was different. She had tremendous talent. To him, she was no less than Chu Yuntian, but God was unfair. She was given an unusual congenital gene defect. There was nothing she could do about her gradually shrinking body no matter how capable she was.

Chu Yunfan listened to the noise that came out of the room every now and then. He thought to himself, ‘Is Dad really a coward?

‘Did he truly just do what Grandpa and Big Uncle commanded? Did he lend Uncle money just because they asked him to?’

He accidentally found out about his father’s plan before. He knew that he might never be able to make enough money to treat his sister. On the other hand, Chu Yuntian’s talents meant he was different. He would be one of humanity’s elites in the future. Although ten million was a lot, it should not be too much for Chu Yuntian at that point.

If Chu Yuntian remembered what they had done for him and helped them, there would be hope for his sister’s illness!

This plan was the reason his father put away all of his pride, allowing Grandpa and Big Uncle to push him around.

‘No, I must change this!’

Chu Yunfan could not help but ball his hands into fists as he thought about this. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails went pale and sunk into his flesh. He did not notice at all.

After waiting for his sister to finish her dinner, Chu Yunfan sorted out the dishes and placed all of them in the dishwasher. With modern technology, there was no need for them to do the dishes, a chore just as dreadful as ever. All of the dishes would be washed and organized automatically.

After it was all done, Chu Yunfan went into his room and closed the door.. He sat with his legs crossed on a cushion beneath the bed and began his cultivation routine.